I'm seeing a lot of crap that's irritating me recently. I don't know if it's my mood cycle or not, but it is seeming to me that maybe I might not be normal in my reactions. I see something that points out how much we live in a society of followers, and it irritates me.
An example. A friend posted this story on facebook, with her own note that it "made her cry".
"SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"
DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?"SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"DAD: "That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?"SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"DAD: "If you must know, I make $100 an hour."SON: "Oh! (With his head down).SON: "Daddy, may I please borrow $50?"The father was furious.DAD: "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior."
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think:Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $ 50 and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.
DAD: "Are you asleep, son?"
SON: "No daddy, I'm awake".DAD: "I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier. It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $50 you asked for."
The little boy sat straight up, smiling.SON: "Oh, thank you daddy!"Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.
DAD: "Why do you want more money if you already have some?"
SON: "Because I didn't have enough, but now I do.
"Daddy, I have $100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness. It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $100 worth of your time with someone you love? If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family and friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family.
Some things are more important."
My comment to this story was "Where the h is he working that he makes $100/hr?".
Well naturally I got admonished, and told I missed the point of the story.
No, I don't think I did. I don't think I missed the "Like and share" at the end of it, I don't think I missed the fact that there is nothing a little boy "needs" to buy with $50, I don't think I missed that this obviously made up, unrelatable parable is was written by someone who a) likely doesn't have children and has no idea how they actually behave and b) is more than likely a pompous ass who feels himself better than his peers because he makes time for his family.
I also didn't miss that this was shared originally by a car salesman, in an obvious attempt to show how caring he is to his customers, and therefore you should go buy a car from that guy. He's a family man.
Maybe I'm not normal. Maybe I should just say, oh what a sweet story, and it's so true! We really do need to take stock of our lives blah blah blah passive aggressive bull shit blah blah blah. It makes me wonder if these stories ever do make a difference to anyone reading them. Is your life so fragile that something like this would make you think and act differently?
Friday, 22 February 2013
Thursday, 21 February 2013
Let's talk food
He posted a link to an article in the New York Times about the science behind junk food. I read it a couple of times, finding it fascinating. I love marketing as well, so marketing food is something I could read about for hours.
If you haven't read the article, you really must. It has me thinking about what is in my fridge and cupboards.
We are not the healthiest people on the planet, but we do believe in moderation. Scott is a little bit over weight, but not significantly. His weight issue is more from his inability to do physical activity than from his eating habits, although I'm certain that does nothing to slow things down. I'm underweight, and despite what doctors tell me, I'm certain I have thyroid issues that cause that. My eating habits are not fantastic, and I don't watch what I eat as well as I should. I do eat moderately well, simply because we do so as a family.
As I'm a homemaker, it is part of my responsibilities to prepare meals for the family. I'm a bit of a naturalist when it comes to being mom, and try to make as much from scratch as possible. It's not easy on a limited budget, as some times those cans of tomato sauce they claim is great for pasta is cheaper than making a big batch ourselves, nor do I always have the time. But since I recognize that most things processed includes ingredients that are not always the best for us, I do like to make real food when I can.
There are things that set me off about food. While I'm fascinated with this article about junk food, it is obvious most people just don't get it.
Case and point: This is something I saw one of my friends post on Pinterest today.
Now. Let's look beyond the obvious fact that this information has nothing to do with weddings and that this website is very obviously just a home for links stupid people find interesting. It's an obvious money maker for someone in this social networking society. But. This is a page that is being repinned all over the place, because people BELIEVE it.
Well, a cake mix plus a can of blueberry pie filling must be healthy. It has blueberries. We all know of the fantastic anti-oxidants blueberries have.
If you were to point out the absurdity to the normally reasonable person who thought to try this themselves, they would likely admit that of course it isn't healthy. The amount of sugar and preservatives in both the pie filling and cake mix negate any benefit the fruit might otherwise give. (FYI, a proper blueberry pie filling consists of blueberries. That's it.) But the then reasonable person would then say, well, we all have our vices.
And we do. I admit, I like my Doritos and Coke every once and a while. I am fully aware I should stay away from that shit. But to pass it off as healthy, no. No, no, NO.
Anyway. I don't know what point I'm making here. Emptying my brain, I guess. And knowing now, from the first article, about the link between salt in junk food and salt in our regular food (addictive properties whaaaattt?), I'll make a better effort to stay away. I have noticed in our own family, when there are alternative snack options like fruit and veggies, salt is less used at the dinner table. Why I didn't make that connection before, I don't know.
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
Free will
So Pope Benedict is yet again sharing thoughts on gay marriage.
I'm certain this is what he will be remembered for. He was a bulldog against gay anything before becoming Pope, he remains so.
A few quotes for the tl&dr crew.
“People dispute the idea that they have a nature, given to them by their bodily identity, that serves as a defining element of the human being,” he said. “They deny their nature and decide that it is not something previously given to them, but that they make it for themselves.”
“The manipulation of nature, which we deplore today where our environment is concerned, now becomes man’s fundamental choice where he himself is concerned,” he said.
“When freedom to be creative becomes the freedom to create oneself, then necessarily the Maker himself is denied and ultimately man too is stripped of his dignity as a creature of God,” Benedict said.
Now to be a priest of the Catholic church, one must accept a life of celibacy. Priests are modeled after Jesus, who was never married. As it is a sin to have sex before marriage, it is therefore determined that Jesus never had sex. And so his priests are celibate.
In Genesis, God tells Adam and Eve to "go, be fruitful and multiply". Ergo, have babies. Go have wanton sex and populate the world. Therefore, it is in humanity's nature to have sex. And lots of it. To be celibate is, therefore, to manipulate one's nature.
But all this is not a new argument and let's face it, we'll be arguing with the Catholic Church about this until we are blue in the face. It will be a very long time from now before any of this becomes allowed. It is only recently that the church told its followers that gays are to be treated with compassion, you know, like your neighbour's two legged dog.
No, my concern in these comments is summed up by the last quote I shared. I'll share it again.
“When freedom to be creative becomes the freedom to create oneself, then necessarily the Maker himself is denied and ultimately man too is stripped of his dignity as a creature of God,” Benedict said.
Ah, here is where we come to the crux of it. We may have freedom of choice, but we really only have one right answer when it comes to any decision. What would God do?
We are made in God's image; and so we must strive to live our life as God intended. Married to our husband/wife, as many children as we've had sex, a white picket fence, wearing a hat on Sunday and eating fish on Friday. Anything that deviates from this are stemmed from decisions influenced by the devil.
I'm certain this is what he will be remembered for. He was a bulldog against gay anything before becoming Pope, he remains so.
A few quotes for the tl&dr crew.
“People dispute the idea that they have a nature, given to them by their bodily identity, that serves as a defining element of the human being,” he said. “They deny their nature and decide that it is not something previously given to them, but that they make it for themselves.”
“The manipulation of nature, which we deplore today where our environment is concerned, now becomes man’s fundamental choice where he himself is concerned,” he said.
“When freedom to be creative becomes the freedom to create oneself, then necessarily the Maker himself is denied and ultimately man too is stripped of his dignity as a creature of God,” Benedict said.
Now to be a priest of the Catholic church, one must accept a life of celibacy. Priests are modeled after Jesus, who was never married. As it is a sin to have sex before marriage, it is therefore determined that Jesus never had sex. And so his priests are celibate.
In Genesis, God tells Adam and Eve to "go, be fruitful and multiply". Ergo, have babies. Go have wanton sex and populate the world. Therefore, it is in humanity's nature to have sex. And lots of it. To be celibate is, therefore, to manipulate one's nature.
But all this is not a new argument and let's face it, we'll be arguing with the Catholic Church about this until we are blue in the face. It will be a very long time from now before any of this becomes allowed. It is only recently that the church told its followers that gays are to be treated with compassion, you know, like your neighbour's two legged dog.
No, my concern in these comments is summed up by the last quote I shared. I'll share it again.
“When freedom to be creative becomes the freedom to create oneself, then necessarily the Maker himself is denied and ultimately man too is stripped of his dignity as a creature of God,” Benedict said.
Ah, here is where we come to the crux of it. We may have freedom of choice, but we really only have one right answer when it comes to any decision. What would God do?
We are made in God's image; and so we must strive to live our life as God intended. Married to our husband/wife, as many children as we've had sex, a white picket fence, wearing a hat on Sunday and eating fish on Friday. Anything that deviates from this are stemmed from decisions influenced by the devil.
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
Victims
Not that I think it shouldn't be talked about; on the contrary. I'm pissed off that the entire conversation is directed at women.
One of the things being sent around is a list of tips to avoid being raped. It includes keeping your hair short, carrying your keys in your hand, etc.
Even the photo included in the message causes us to look at this girl, knowing she is about to be attacked. Why? Well obviously because that guy is wearing a ski mask. All rapists wear ski masks. But her skirt is above her knees, she has long hair, she's going for a walk near an abandoned building!
Now I'm not saying we shouldn't talk to women about rape. We absolutely should protect our sisters and daughters as much as we can. We cannot, however, ignore talking to our brothers and sons about it.
For me it comes down to this: Instead of giving our daughters tips to avoid being the victim, we should be teaching our sons to not be assailant. Raise your sons right, your daughters can live without fear.
It baffles me why men aren't pissed off at all this talk directed at the women. Why aren't they pissed off that it is assumed a man cannot control his base urges, that he is naturally a rapist? Realistically if I think about it, it's likely because if a man ever stood up and said, "hey! I'm not a rapist! I can control my pants, stop putting us all in the same box!" women's groups would go BATSHIT and claim the problem is being ignored. After all, if we can't blame the men for this, who can we blame?
Everyone needs a scapegoat. No disaster can happen without some finger pointing going on. In this case, it's being pointed at the victims far too often. And quite frankly, one might as well say "she asked for it".
Monday, 7 January 2013
The first post
Numero uno. The inaugural post. Again. Those who know me know this isn't my first blog, nor my fist post; in fact I have too many blogs. So the best thing to do is start completely fresh, right?
Seems I already have several blogs in various places that I can't access, since I used e-mail addresses that I don't remember, much less the passwords for them.
Anyway. I do have a very public blog, and those who know me know where to find that. This one is intended to be slightly more anonymous. I'll talk about daily stuff, most likely boring things, but these are things I want to write about. No one said you had to read this.
There you have it. I don't lead a very exciting life. I'm a stay at home mom who spends too much time on the internet, gaming, and knitting.
The most exciting thing that happened today? My husband asked me to knit him an ass pillow. No joke.
Seems I already have several blogs in various places that I can't access, since I used e-mail addresses that I don't remember, much less the passwords for them.
Anyway. I do have a very public blog, and those who know me know where to find that. This one is intended to be slightly more anonymous. I'll talk about daily stuff, most likely boring things, but these are things I want to write about. No one said you had to read this.
There you have it. I don't lead a very exciting life. I'm a stay at home mom who spends too much time on the internet, gaming, and knitting.
The most exciting thing that happened today? My husband asked me to knit him an ass pillow. No joke.
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