Yesterday was International Women’s Day so what could be more appropriate than advocating reading than a book which lays out the ongoing conditions under which many girls and women do not thrive in our world while fighting to survive despite the odds against them? Via chapters presented as entries of significant words and phrases in The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary writer NoNieqa Ramos takes you directly into the inner world of Macy Cashmere–named for the store and the fine wool used in luxury clothing items–who puts the survival skills of the likes of Laura Croft Tomb Raider to shame. Suffice it to say that Macy has truly mad survival skills and an equally mad will to thrive no matter what the world throws, literally, at her. Now there’s one thing that’s crucial for you, the reader, to keep in mind: Macy’s world IS our world, your’s and mine, no matter what your level of reality denial may be based on the specific context in which you live, this is the truth. Savage Inequalities is not only the title of Jonathan Kozol’s indictment of educational inequity in America–which still exists. Savage inequalities is one way of describing the nature of the vastly differing statuses between females and males—unequal on multiple levels and viciously savage from the home-front to the war-fronts. Macy’s dictionary presents an indictment not of the educational system which far too often serves as an overburdened safety net for children, but of American culture which treats girls and women as sexual objects for exploitation and male gratification. If you don’t agree then quite possibly you’re living in a vacuum without a cleaner. I’m not going to argue the point as the media lays it all out there every day with ongoing reality checks from real life—no need for reality television shows which are pure fantasy yet often reflect this sad state of affairs. Now that that fundamental piece of ugly truth has been laid out (no sexual allusion intended) let’s let Macy take the lead. This is a first person narrative which speaks to readers without pulling any punches. Actually it throws very hard punches. Consider your children very lucky, and very privileged, if they have a home, stable family life, enough food to eat –at home–, access to a quality education, and your undivided attention whenever they need it. Macy Cashmere has none of these essentials. Macy is a designated “problem child” at school where she speaks her mind very freely–and is willing to pay the consequences for doing so. She knows the in-school behavior drills so well that at times she pushes the office buzzer herself after crossing lines. If she didn’t have such a strong voice and immense willpower who would pay any attention? School is not perfect, but it does throw life lines to Macy via the likes of Miss Black who sees and hears far more of Macy than she lets on and does what she can to feed and support Macy mentally, emotionally and physically. Oh the power of music, never underestimate it. Jazz pulls Macy’s trigger in all the right ways upon her first hearing of John Coltrane, A Love Supreme in Miss Black’s class.
Macy’s home world might be described as a mix of David Simon’s Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets of Baltimore and Dick Wolf’s Law & Order’s SVU–yes, it’s full of sex crimes and violence. If you think I’m pushing this too far, well, Simon’s book and Wolf’s series kept coming to mind while I followed Macy through her world. So that’s that–the power of references for creating connections. The difference is that it’s all seen and told from the viewpoint of a young teenage girl–not from the perspective of adults. Adult perspectives trickle in via Macy’s observations but they do NOT drive this narrative in her very personalized dictionary format. The chapter titled “I Have A Dream” has nothing to do with Martin Luther King’s speech except perhaps as its utter antithesis. Yet, Macy’s world is one created by adults–and not just her parents–and a system devised by adults and perpetuated by adults–and fought by other adults. Macy is a girl who knows how to effectively put to use whatever comes to hand to deal with important problems like a visit from CPS and the entrapment of her best friend by an oh so caring “uncle”: an all-purpose cleanser, a slave’s machete, a bag of cocaine. Make no mistake, nothing holds Macy back when she sets out to protect those she loves: her brother Zane, her friend George, her best friend Alma–for whom being Gifted & Talented is not enough to ensure escape from poverty, not by a long shot.
As if violence, drugs and wrecked home life aren’t enough challenges for the girls Macy represents there’s the entire SEX package to contend with. What matters to the males of our species? Breasts, bodies, and booty calls—those are what females are for–bottom line, that’s it. Brains never come into the picture. Heart never comes into the picture. It’s all a sex end game never-ending. At least that’s what Macy observes from her mother’s efforts to survive and the prostitutes like Velvet working the streets. Yes, Macy has issues with her mother. Issues so big they’re ethically trying. Ironically, Velvet does more looking out for Macy than her mother seems capable of on a good day with or without her “guests” who provide the necessities of life when Macy’s father goes to prison. Perhaps it’s because one good turn deserves another thinking–or maybe it’s just plain decency and fair play in Velvet’s books. Just because you’re stuck in the sex for hire business in order to eat doesn’t make you a bad person—far from it. But who would Velvet be with other options? What would Macy’s mother do with positive options? Think about that. Who would you be with no positive options in your life? Why do we do the things we do–and don’t? Macy’s dictionary entry:
Why
Noun: Reasons 1 and 2
Why do I hate? Because it’s so much easier than love. Because hate is reality. Love is a fantasy.
Why do I write? Le me break it down. Teacher Man taught us about something called haves and have-nots.
Via the words that really matter and their meanings for this very “disturbed girl”, Nonieqa Ramos deftly gives Macy Cashmere not just a voice but a ROAR impossible to ignore. Ramos does this so effectively that her writing makes it look easy–the sign of real greatness in every art and skill. It’s not difficult to read the writing and words on the pages–but it gets downright nerve-racking to take in the content the words portray. Macy Cashmere’s dictionary is disturbing—it’s supposed to be. It’s a book meant to shake you up and rattle your brain pan. Macy Cashmere is here to wake people up not lull them into sleep at bedtime. How would you go about saving your best friend from the worst daily grind you can imagine? What are machetes for? I don’t think that qualifies as a spoiler. Hmm, naw, just a hook for Macy’s line of action in this microcosm of the world in which we live. Have you asked your teenage girl what’s going in her life lately? If not, you need to get on that right now, because the issues faced by Macy Cashmere are everywhere. If you don’t know what those issues are then you need to read The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary asap because it’s only a matter of degrees.
BREAKING FAKE NEWS:
Prime Real Estate Package Deal Has Green Light.
New Gold Plated DAPL Tower at Standing Rock, ND will offer River Views, breathtaking barricade vistas, hot red clay mud baths with pepper spray on the side, Border Patrol helicopter rides, and 24/7 security by Morton County, ND free of charge. Please do not tip the Police as it breeds bad legal habits.
Never-ending junk food buffet offered 24/7 with Room Service menu offering only the best GMO corn feed beef steaks taxpayer money can buy.
Book your rooms today!
For an extra fee booking of just $250,000 you too can attend the ribbon cutting grand opening with Melania wielding the scissors. We’ve secured her appearance with a fee which will remain undisclosed in respect for her privacy.
Be advised: No Water Protectors, Native or Non-Native, will be allowed to rent rooms. There will be no Prayer Ceremonies except for those performed by the Deluxe Red Apple Band.
Can’t wait to see you in North Dakota after the climate changes and the palm trees have taken root and leafed out.
Myron Dewey ~ Digital Smoke Signals Drones at Work
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All ads appear via WordPress and have NO connection to me whatsoever–damn. Thanks for visiting my blogcasa and don’t forget #WaterIsLife visit http://www.defunddapl.org to make your money talk when it walks out of big banks funding dirty fossil fuel pipelines.
One older white male neighbor’s smoldering pit fire.
Who burns ‘whatever’ in a pit all day and night long when it’s been dry as hell?
An older white dude used to doing whatever he wants.
Late this morning–after I’d put out seed and water:
One younger white dude living in the house next to the fire starter’s saw the fire reach the wood pile along the fence.
Young white dude did nothing.
He thought it was “a grill thing”.
There is NO grill anywhere in sight in any yard.
It was our Mexican American neighbor, Edgar, who lives on the other side of the block who came to the front door and told me about the fire along the fence separating our yards.
He wanted to know if he could use the hose to put out the fire by the fence.
Together we went to work with shovels and hoses.
His wife called the electric company to alert them to the danger to the electric ‘box’ on the ground
There were English as a second language ‘language’ and location issues.
A map would have been very useful for the person answering the electric company phone. As in for seeing that the addresses on one side a block are on a different street than those on the other side of a block along another street. So much for Google maps if you’re working for the Power and Light Company.
We sorted that communication problem out via my resorting to what is commonly known as “bitch” mode in very loud English.
The Power and Light person kept repeating “Call 911.”
I asked her to call 911–she had the address–because WE , Edgar and I, were busy keeping it contained.
A man from Power and Light came to check the ground electric box.
The fire department did not put in an appearance.
The fire is out.
Which neighbors can I do WITHOUT?
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Today on FaceBook I had a close encounter with ExxonMobil’s Public Relations Machine via a video advertisement. The following is my comment/feedback/response to said ad:
Okay, I just ‘inquired’ why I’m seeing this ad and got a ‘good’ explanation from Facebook
[thank you, Facebook]–Exxon wants to reach out to people like ‘me’. Well, Exxon you and
your fellow Oil companies ‘reached’ me long ago via the Niger Delta, Ecuador and
Guatemala, and the house down the street where the owners were ‘stuck’ with a gas drill in
their front yard for years, via the oil storage tanks and refinery in the little township two
miles up north where cancer runs rampant, with the oil spill in Alaska, the oil spill in the
Gulf, et al and that’s why I say NO! to Big Oil. #NoDAPL, No to the entire fossil fuel industry,
NO to Exxon’s influence in Politics, NO to an industry with the biggest profits in the world-
-an Industry which destroys the Earth we all live on, attacks people who criticize it, and lies
about Climate Change and truly doesn’t give a damn about people like me. Yeah, I get it,
you’re on a Public Relations Roll. Good luck with that. I guess the upside is that you’re
giving work to some people in advertising, Facebook and everywhere you’re placing these
ads. So you reached out to someone in my demographics. Well, now I’ve reached back.
#WaterIsLife But hey, Exxon, ‘you’ already knew that, didn’t you? Now learn how to
#HonortheEarthbefore it’s too late. I don’t think Mars is ready for Homo sapiens just yet.
Have a nice day. 🙂 .
Ad reference is to ExxonMobil’s #Energy Lives Here ~ “ExxonMobil is a leader in carbon capture and storage” This sponsored video ad appeared on my fb timeline. Perhaps you’ve seen it there or elsewhere.
~~~~
[note: speaking of ads–any ads appearing here do so at the behest of wordpress and have no connection to moi. thanks for visitng.]
The upside of accepting an invitation to a social gathering far beyond your comfort zone:
You are reminded why you usually keep as far from the mainstream as possible:
Barefoot half-dressed children old enough to know better writhing on the floor of a busy restaurant while people evade stepping on them on the way to the buffet lines.
Tiny birdlike elderly women repeatedly filling multiple plates with food they nibble but do not eat.
Men of all sizes, ages and races bulking up on a never-ending flow of fried chicken, fake mashed potatoes, and ice cream.
Women of all sizes, ages and races eating a never-ending flow of pizza, ice cream and soda.
Children of all sizes, ages and races playing with enough food to supply all the free lunches for several schools for at least a week.
Employees unable to keep up with clearing plates, tables and filling the buffet stations. Even the flatware disappears moments after it appears.
The streets and parking lot are filled with whales of vehicles large enough to swallow your car whole–and then some. What is the gas mileage for such creations? Never mind–you really do not want to know at the moment.
In addition to all of the above, the promised group conversation is disturbingly disjointed,and disconnected among people who supposedly spend some time reading books for pleasure. “Supposedly” being highly suspect at this point. There is a studious evasion of any discussion of politics, climate change and #NoDAPL Standing Rock—
“Let’s not go there.”
“Why the hell not?”
“It makes us uncomfortable.”
“Besides, what is with those protesters?”
“Why can’t they be like everyone else? No, please, please, don’t answer.”
[What two words am I thinking but not saying–(or writing now)?]
Upon exiting the dysfunctional main stream stress level plummets to acceptable health levels.
To do:
Practice polite refusals for future reference until they are part of mental health survival kit and readily available for deployment for evading similar future engagements. After all, It is the ‘season’ when people want to be sooooo sweetly social.
BAH! And Hum Bug Too!
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It’s not often I write about this blog–why it exists, why I return to it after long and short lapses, or its purpose. In reality this blog served its main purpose years ago. Other than that it’s been a means for a non-tech person to learn the absolute bare basics required to connect with the ever-changing venue of the world-wide web. As such it has continued on as a means of sharing any thing that interests me. That said, let’s get a few things very clear:
1–This is a ‘free’ blog: I do not pay WordPress for the privilege of using theme thirteen. And WordPress does not pay me. I appreciate having a quality venue for sharing my personal interests with whoever is inclined to visit my blogcasa.
2–This blog earns absolutely ZILCH, Zero, Nada, Nothing in dollars and cents. I have absolutely no connection to any advertisements which appear here. This blog was never intended to generate any personal income whatsoever for moi. It has not. It does not.
3–I will not post comments which contain hate speech, personal attacks on individuals whose books, views, films, music or other creative work I’ve written about. There’s too much hate speech in the world already and I prefer not to contribute to it by giving it yet another platform. Note to those returning to look for said comments: while I respect your First Amendment right to make certain statements please do take some time to consider the meanings of the words slander and libel and potential legal consequences thereof.
4–Regarding a number of primary historical documents from record group 75 posted on this blog. As stated on several such posts–but not all–historical information to which anyone who visits the National Archives has access (take note that there are many people who for one reason or another do NOT have direct access to the National Archives) was shared to make it available to individuals searching for family information (some of this is now currently on ancestry.com), to inform others about historical conditions, perspectives and the lives of real people–what they suffered and endured.
5–Main points one through four being stated as clearly and concisely as I am currently able to write: It’s 26 degrees here (nothing compared to the brutal cold at Standing Rock, North Dakota)–a drop of over sixty degree in a week’s time. Less than one inch of snow has fallen. This is not normal. The ground remains hard as a rock. It’s necessary to break and refill water dishes for the birds, squirrels, coyotes, and whatever creatures dare to come out at night as there is NO standing water in any of the usual areas for them. The city’s seasonally hired snow crews are cutting down trees instead of plowing snow. I am none too thrilled about this continuing tree removal program but so far am as powerless as the squirrels and birds to do anything about it. Removing diseased tress I understand. Cutting down healthy ones is beyond my comprehension. The news on the political level is testing my patience. My tolerance for the mainstream media has entirely evaporated with their failed coverage of the election, #NoDAPL Standing Rock, and Climate Change.
—On the upside: I am NOT a woman living in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Syria, etc.etc. Yes, I’m well aware certain ‘parties’ in America would have it here as is there. When will the female half of the human population decide enough is enough? I don’t know.
Do No Harm
namaste
PS. If you have any questions regarding any of the above or something else, you are welcome to leave them in the coments section for moderaton and posting.
Get informed. Raise your voice. Use your talents. Reach out and engage however you can. Do not put this on the back burner. Do not wait for another day. Do not wait for more time. There is no more time. The time is now. The place is Earth. It’s the ONLY home you’ve got. Finding water on Mars is of no use to you or me or anyone’s children. We can’t just f—the Earth and fly away into space. Star Trek is not reality. Scottie will not be beaming anyone to a nice safe place–and definitely not to any quaint islands whose people are watching the sea rise even as I type.
400 ppm CO2 is here to stay while all of us are alive.
Climate Change is real. It’s happening now. If you’re not feeling it yet, you will. I guarantee it.
~~~
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Just for fun: Jordan’s Ranting Vent on the New York Times’ FAIL reporting on Standing Rock– Heads up, foul language in profusion. Hey, it’s a RANT! It’s to be expected. If you want nice and polite tune into the PBS News Hour.
#WaterIsLife
~~~~~~
(aside: any adverts appearing are via wordpress and have no connection to moi. thank you for visiting my blogcasa.)
Who cares about R2D2 when you’ve got a Water Warrior Drone Scout? Is there anything cooler? Yeah, well Dakota Access Pipeline Layers and the Morton County Sheriff’s forces are not too fond of them. I do not understand why they keep shooting at drones. Actually I do and so will you after seeing what drones can show and tell. Still, what does a helicopter have to fear from a drone? I don’t know, but apparently they’re capable of “stalking” with ill intent. A malicious drone? Huh. Maybe they’re afraid they’ll do that bird flying into the blades or engine or something. Yep. Instead of getting into all that, here’s a few Digital Smoke Signals from Myron Dewey’s drones. If you click through to YouTube you can see more and subscribe. Take a load off and enjoy the views that you have NOT seen on mainstream news.
Drone Day Shift-ing.
Drone-ing at night.
After being asked nicely by the feds to stop construction ETP/DAPL did their usual thing–work.
Click KKFI logo to catch all it offers streaming online.
Nahko Bear
Amazon Watch
Peace Shanti Om
Click on the photo above to visit Amazon Watch.
Alice in Wonderland
pantry
Pavane
Breakfast Special(s)
For the very first post enter "Breakfast Special, #1" and/or scroll through older entries; second helping = Railroad Crossing; third helping, Close Shave; fourth helping, People? Really Now; fifth helping, Pussy No More; sixth helping, 'book ends'; seventh helping, Odds? What Odds?; eighth helping, Do You Dig Pink Flamingoes Dancing in the Snow and Blue Lights?; ninth helping, Old Reliable Jack; tenth helping, Snowing Deep Sleep; eleventh helping, Connecting; twelth helping, Equations; #13, The Most Important Meal of the Day; from then on enter into search box Breakfast Special and a number such as: #14, #15, #16 and so on.
For Kili 90.1 fm, Pine Ridge, SD, click the image below for The Voice of the Lakota Nation.
Native America Calling ~ Native Voice
Native America Calling on Native Voice
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Violating copyright births bad karma---imagine a mad hacker you'll never see coming--nor catch going. Respect = my work is my work and your work is your work.
Everything posted here is my work, copyrighted, unless otherwise noted. Comments aside. Om
Climate Denial Crock of the Week
Tree hugging on a practical level and more. All sorts of great tidbits from Mushroom homes to…well solar panels. Do not delay. Visit today.
Connie Dover
folk ballad singer of “Last Night by the River”
Coto 2
News Site–eg arrests of Mountaintop Removal Protestors
om mani padme hum jewel in the lotus wahupa qi prana universal life energy
47whitebuffalo's Blog 
A Very Sincere Shout Out to ExxonMobil
December 22, 2016 at 7:31 am (creative writing, environment, ethics, exploring interconnectedness, history, issues, life, nature, politics, random, searching, Uncategorized, urban life, Writing)
Tags: #honortheearth, #NoDAPL, #WaterIsLife, Advertising, climate change, comment, ExxonMobil, Facebook, Oil, oil spills, public relations, response
Today on FaceBook I had a close encounter with ExxonMobil’s Public Relations Machine via a video advertisement. The following is my comment/feedback/response to said ad:
Okay, I just ‘inquired’ why I’m seeing this ad and got a ‘good’ explanation from Facebook
[thank you, Facebook]–Exxon wants to reach out to people like ‘me’. Well, Exxon you and
your fellow Oil companies ‘reached’ me long ago via the Niger Delta, Ecuador and
Guatemala, and the house down the street where the owners were ‘stuck’ with a gas drill in
their front yard for years, via the oil storage tanks and refinery in the little township two
miles up north where cancer runs rampant, with the oil spill in Alaska, the oil spill in the
Gulf, et al and that’s why I say NO! to Big Oil. #NoDAPL, No to the entire fossil fuel industry,
NO to Exxon’s influence in Politics, NO to an industry with the biggest profits in the world-
-an Industry which destroys the Earth we all live on, attacks people who criticize it, and lies
about Climate Change and truly doesn’t give a damn about people like me. Yeah, I get it,
you’re on a Public Relations Roll. Good luck with that. I guess the upside is that you’re
giving work to some people in advertising, Facebook and everywhere you’re placing these
ads. So you reached out to someone in my demographics. Well, now I’ve reached back.
#WaterIsLife But hey, Exxon, ‘you’ already knew that, didn’t you? Now learn how to
#HonortheEarthbefore it’s too late. I don’t think Mars is ready for Homo sapiens just yet.
Have a nice day.
🙂 .
Ad reference is to ExxonMobil’s #Energy Lives Here ~ “ExxonMobil is a leader in carbon capture and storage” This sponsored video ad appeared on my fb timeline. Perhaps you’ve seen it there or elsewhere.
~~~~
[note: speaking of ads–any ads appearing here do so at the behest of wordpress and have no connection to moi. thanks for visitng.]
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