This Is Me--2024 A to Z Theme

My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!

Friday, October 13, 2017

13 Thoughts: A Friday the Thirteenth Post




Thirteen for the Thirteenth



Rocket Ship Galileo
Rocket Ship Galileo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 






       Lately I've had so many things that I've wanted to blog about, but I can't motivate myself to write the posts.   Ideas keep coming to me--ideas that interest me.  Do they interest anyone else?  But, alas, I don't post and I don't even visit other blogs like I used to.  And I'm still cleaning my garage.

           This being Friday the 13th, I thought I might post 13 random thoughts that have passed through my mind of late...


1.    Here's my defense of Harvey Weinstein.................................

2.   This Weinstein thing could take several directions.  Wherever it goes, this story could get mighty big going way beyond Harvey.   Unless there is some kind of cover-up.

3.    By the way, what's happening with that Mandalay Bay shooting?   This is starting to get weirder and weirder--as though it weren't weird to begin with.

4.   I'd never seen the 1950 film Destination Moon until recently.  I was impressed by the accuracy of the science in this cinematic version of Robert Heinlein's Rocket Ship Galileo.  Sure there are gaffs and absurdities, but keep in mind this movie came out nearly 70 years ago.

5.   Girls in the Boy Scouts just doesn't seem right. When I was a kid I used to like the official BSA magazine Boys' Life.  What would they call it now?

6.   I don't care what the Boy Scouts do, but please don't mess with the Girl Scouts.  Gotta have those cookies.  What the heck do Boy Scouts sell anyway?

7.  Now and then I tune into CNN just to see what they are reporting.   Has anyone else noticed how whenever they do a story about President Trump they lead-in with something negative?   I'm sure it's a psychological tactic, but that's one reason why I don't watch much CNN.

8.  I watch even less MSNBC--only now and then out of curiosity to see what they are talking about at that moment in time.   My moments with MSNBC are usually fleeting.

9.   Lately I've been tuning in more to One America News Network (OAN).  They present a wider range of news stories than one finds on the other networks.  This network reminds me of CNN in the earlier years when it was almost exclusively news stories with little to no opining.

10.   Going through a box of cassette tapes that I found in my garage, I reboxed them more neatly, looking at each one as I put it into place.  I remembered them all.  So many great memories of listening to taped music in the 80s and 90s.  The Soundtrack of my Life during those years would be very long, lasting for hours.  That box represents a mere fraction of all the cassette tapes I own.

11.  I haven't heard too much in the media about the Rohingya "Crisis" in Myanmar (Burma).   When I have heard reports they don't seem to correctly jibe with what I've understood about the situation.  This problem has been going on for some time and I think it started with the Rohingya people so I don't have much sympathy for them.

12.  Halloween is coming and that reminds me of my old job as well as many other memories.  My earliest posts on Tossing It Out were all related to Halloween.

13.  Sometimes I daydream of moving to some place where I have no connections.  Lately I've been monitoring the housing market in Marion, Virginia.  Anyone know anything about Marion, Virginia?


          Please be sure to come vote on my Battle of the Bands post that will show up on this blog space on Sunday October 15th.   This round I'll be picking a song that is Sunday appropriate. 





29 comments:

  1. I was most interest in your post Arlee, I guess we all get times when being motivated is "Just Not There" but it do emerge sooner than later.
    Take care.
    Yvonne.

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    1. Yvonne, I've been distracted of late, more so than normal. I'm sure I'll get back in the swing of things or at least formulate a new schedule to my life.

      Lee

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  2. That's why I only check Fox for my news. At least it isn't slanted.

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    1. Alex, I'd say (thankfully) that Fox has a slant toward what I believe. Sometimes I see CNN blatantly promoting lies. I don't understand what they are trying to achieve.

      Lee

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  3. I was kicked out of Brownies at the end of first grade and prevented from moving up to the official Girl Scouts, something that would never happen today. For all intents and purposes, there wasn't a name or diagnosis for what was causing my issues in elementary school. All these years later, I still have my old Brownie sash with my badges in my top dresser drawer.

    In the modern era, I'm very angry at Girl Scouts for accepting biological boys whose parents have convinced them they're girls. My neoliberal friends were angry at Boy Scouts in the past for not accepting biological girls whose parents have convinced them they're boys.

    By the way, do you know what happened to the A to Z blog? I went there recently to check for new blog posts, and was redirected to a page saying the domain name has expired.

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    1. Try this: http://a-to-zchallenge.blogspot.com/ or http://atozchallenge.wordpress.com. Arlee can explain.

      Delete
    2. Carrie-Anne, I wont get started in this comment section about some of the points you made--maybe in some future post. I think we are on the same wavelength on this issue.

      See John's comment above for the current A to Z Blog link.

      Lee

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  4. 3. I have a feeling there's much, much more to the Manadalay Bay thing than we're being told.

    5. Probably end up with two magazines, Boys' Life and Not Boys' Life.

    6. Overpriced popcorn and gift wrapping.

    7, 8, 9. I cut the cord a few years ago and it was the best thing I did. Makes me think I should have just stuck an antenna on the roof 30 years ago and forget cable.

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    1. John, the way society is fractionalizing and factionalizing, the might have a few more magazines to cover all the different groups.

      My wife won't let me get rid of Direct TV, but I kind of like having the basic package as well. Maybe eventually we'll go to free and streaming TV.

      Lee

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  5. 8- I tried to look for stories on MSNBCs website for my Martin Fake News story earlier this week, and all I saw is videos. Are written stories on MSNBC gone like the ones on FoxSports?

    9- I saved me a thumbnail to OANs website and will check it out later. Never can have enough legit news sources!

    11- funny thing about the Rohingya, like the Uighurs in China. One mention of their faith pretty much dampens most sympathy. However, you might think the hypocritical leftist media would shed some love on their Muslim buddies.

    13- I barely know anything about Marion, Indiana... and I've been there more than once!

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    1. CW, I was in Marion, Indiana once but don't remember much of it. I was probably just passing through with a one-nighter on one of our show tours. I spend a good more time in Marion, IL but don't remember much either. I've passed by Marion, VA many times but have never gotten off the interstate to see what the town is like. Next time.

      Lee

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  6. Maybe I'm just tired, but is your defense of Weinstein there is no defense? I wonder if he'll go to jail.

    What is going on with the Mandalay Bay shooting? Since the only thing that guy cared about is gambling, was this action some kind of ultimate gamble to him? Will his autopsy show any sort of mental illness or physical illness (brain tumor) or drug usage?

    Boy Scouts sell overpriced popcorn in our area. It's nowhere near as good as Girl Scout Cookies.

    I still have cassette tapes but I don't think I have a machine to play them anymore. Hmm...

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    1. Tamara, yes, I have no defense for Weinstein, but it should be interesting to see where this scandal goes.

      I think they've eliminated the brain tumor theory and so far the only drug that I've heard mentioned is Valium which could or could not have an effect.

      Still cookies for me.

      I have several machines that are not hooked up to any system. Maybe I need to hook one up so I can listen to tapes.

      Lee

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  7. I have been numb since the start of the month. I've only written half the posts that I had planned.

    I had a major bombshell dropped on me early this month, and I'm struggling to sort it out. I need to do it quickly though, as I only have a few weeks to figure out what I'm going to do.

    I have a suspicion that the Vegas shooting was a setup. and that's part of why they keep changing their story and timeline.

    There will always be men like Harvey Weinstein - be it in the hollywood world or the business world. As a female, it's just a fact of life. We have to have strong elbows these days.

    Boy Scouts should just be called 'Scouts'. I used to enjoy the Boys Life Magazines as well. They'll probably just do an online magazine called Scouting Life.

    I had a friend send me a link. His girl was selling nuts and chocolates for her girl scouts program. I almost bought something to support her, but shipping was twice as much as the purchase price of their goods.

    Sorry if my response seems a bit scattered. That's how it's been for me lately.

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    1. Mary, you've got me wondering about your "bombshell". I hope everything is going to be okay.

      Lee

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  8. It's bad luck to post a blog bit on Friday the 13th. Shame on you! You otter know better'n dat.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends

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    1. STMcC, at least I responded on the 15th so that negates any possible bad luck other than what I already have.

      Lee

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  9. Lee, posting on Friday the 13th? Really??? Well, it's Saturday the 14th somewhere.

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  10. The Boy Scouts - Girl Scouts thing is so messed up. So is transgender and all the other gender things they keep inventing. Pretty soon we'll all just be asexual beings.

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    1. L.Diane, So true and so dismaying. I think this might be where this is all going. Will anyone still appreciate the books and movies that revolve around the themes dependent sexuality to at least some degree. Maybe it won't matter.

      Lee

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  11. I love that! This is the kind of list I have for the ideas I accumulate for short stories or novels. Ideas aren't worth a lot when we don't follow through. In the book Big Magic, it's theorized that if we don't grab an idea and develop it right away, it travels on to a new person who is more open and receptive.

    Interesting that you have that fantasy about moving to parts unknown where you have no connections. I do that too, and am not sure why. Maybe to shed obligations and commitments?

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    1. Patricia, I've seen more than a few ideas that I thought seemed original show up somewhere else later on. I agree with some kind of pool of ideas that are floating around us.

      I don't have that many obligations or commitments to shed. Mostly I'm thinking of being closer to family without living on the same streets that they live on. Close enough to drive to for a visit, but not always be in their way.

      Lee

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  12. My mom said she "didn't believe" in the girl scouts. Probably just didn't want to have to "get involved." I never felt like I missed anything. Cassettes - we have them too. Nothing to play them on either - time for a garage sale here too. Wasn't a fan of #45 and dislike him even more now. Praying someone who can do something about it, does something about it. In our neck of the woods, Mandalay Bay has been preempted by the growing fires. Please don't give up on the A to Z!


















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    1. Janet, I am a big fan of President Trump and was behind him from that day when he first got on the "golden escalator". I think the news for the most part is treating him dishonestly and most Americans are hearing the truth. I wish more people would listen closely and think more positively. I think we'd see tremendous things happen in this country. I think those things are going to happen but the resistance will slow down the process.

      A to Z will be back in 2018!

      Lee

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  13. I empathise ... many days these days I don't feel motivated. Maybe now it's mid-month things may improve? Who knows - I hope it does for you Arlee ..

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    1. Susan S., as long as I'm motivated to do something then I hope I start getting more things done even if it's not blogging.

      Lee

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  14. Some interesting thoughts here, some that made me think, what the hell..................lol

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    1. Jo-Anne, if I inspired anybody to think for at least a few second then I accomplished my mission here.

      Lee

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Lee