Foreward

February 27 is National Retro Day: A day to celebrate nostalgia and past fashions/trends.

However...

*climbing onto soapbox*

Folks,

We will NOT turn back the hands of the clock.

We cannot recreate any society that once was.

I personally refuse to live in a backwards-facing political climate.

The present is current; the past is GONE.

Pull up your adult-ass britches and jump into the NOW.

Thank you.

*jumps off soapbox, hurts knee*

Oof.

Therefore, although old-timey styles and events are fun, let's get retro in another way.

Baby pics of MOI!

Okay, the hair looks the same, and I think I still have the pearls.

Pensive, solemn, quiet...nope, I grew outta that, and am wild, loud, and colorful!

The modern version that you all know and love, at a peaceful demonstration in 2025.

The sign I showed to passersby read: "The Whole World is Watching!"

TGIF, y'all.

😹😹😹

Yay Men!

On this International Men’s Day, I want to take a moment to thank ALL of the amazing men who have supported and uplifted me throughout my life. 

Your love and guidance mean the world to me.

❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Learn more here: International Men's Day

“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”

 David Brinkley, American Newscaster: 1920-2003

“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.”

Samuel Johnson, British Writer: 1709-1784

"Knowing that we can be loved exactly as we are gives us all the best opportunity for growing into the healthiest of people." 

Fred Rogers, American Television Host: 

1928-2003

~~~

Soapbox Rant:

There is a crisis in this country and in others, where young men feel isolated and are unsure of their place in society.

This predicament is not CAUSED by women, but rather by a overarching sentiment that men are basically near-Neanderthals, and that traditionally male jobs/roles have evolved, without men being taught how to cope.

And everything that's wrong with the government, the legal systems, the fact that automotive companies MUST make vehicles that can drive themselves because humans are too dumb to do it without crashing, IS NOT the fault of men.

WE...together, arm in arm, of all skin colors and backgrounds, EVERY gender, are in charge.

We really are, yet we're being lead down a path because older generations taught us to respect authorities which often do NOT have our best interests in mind.

It's time to shed the chains of traditions, and "we've done it this way for generations!"

Helping our neighbors, buying from small and local businesses, recycling, doing unpolluting things, are HUMAN TRAITS, and for the benefit of ourselves, the flora and fauna, and our planet.

It's going to be difficult, yet the end result is everything.

HE/SHE/THEY: Let's work together!

Peace ~ Love ~ Earth

☮️ ❤️ 🌎

Rollin'

It's PO'Monday!

October, 2016, and Celestial Paddy O'Malley was rolling around on the warm pavement.

Lazy.

Lost his head!

Ahh, those eyes, dat belleh, big back feets....PERFECTION!

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁

Rant:

And what to do about Columbus Day, celebrated in the US and other countries?

The Europe-centric idea behind this date, although certainly the Italian diaspora is entitled to venerate Christopher Columbus, feels terribly old-fashioned.

Many US communities have changed the holiday to Indigenous Peoples Day, or don't acknowledge it at all anymore.

It's not a day off from work, although the US Postal Service and banks are closed, so it's really a sort of mess.

Alternatively, there are indications that Norse settlers 'found' North America in the 1000's, and Polynesian and Japanese travelers may also have landed centuries before Columbus.

In Michigan, there is evidence of Phoenician expeditions, which match with petroglyphs found near Toronto, Canada.

There is a heavy bias towards 'nothing was there until Europeans noticed it' that is sophomoric in this day and age.  

Just sayin'...

End rant.

Am Torn About Book Review: Rant

The Girl Before
Written by J. P. Delaney
Hardcover, 341 pages
Published January 24th 2017 by Ballantine Books
ISBN 0425285049 (ISBN13: 9780425285046

I listened to the audiobook version, and was enthralled from the very beginning by the uniqueness of the characters, the premise (an architect's dream home for rent), and the 'who really is a monster' mystery that winds through every chapter.

Why I'm torn: I really, REALLY liked this mystery.  But there is one problem:  a kitten is killed.  Savagely.  It's actually a teeny tiny part of the story, and yet it broke my heart.  Sure, it's not a living cat, as this is just fiction.  But why even think it, let alone write it into a story?  If that wee part could be excised, the story would have been fine.   

Why do that?

On the flipside, am I too sensitive to cats (dogs, birds, you name it) being mistreated, in books and movies?  Another case in point, "The X-Files: I Want To Believe", which was the 2nd movie made from the hit TV series, which I love.  My friends and I gathered in Memphis, Tennessee, to see this movie premier together.  I left the theatre in tears, and shaking.  Fake animal mutilation pushed me over the edge.  Everyone else stayed for the next showing of the movie; I refused, and instead went to see "Mama Mia"...and was traumatized again by Pierce Brosnan singing.

I must not be alone, because I've seen t-shirts with "I Don't Care Who Dies In The Movie As Long As The Dog Lives" written on them.  In this book, I had no idea the kitten was even a part of the story, until about 75% way into the book.  Otherwise, I wouldn't have started it.

*stepping off soapbox*

 😾🙀😾