Myrtus

On the bright side of life

The world is going to hell in a hand basket!  Everybody says so.

It's because there are too many angry people carrying bad energy, going around like walking time bombs just waiting to go off, not to mention the nasty gas emissions released into the environment from eating too many fartburgers!

There!  I said it!

Umm...oh yea, the bright side....

Hey,we're all in this together baby!

So what are we going to do about it?

What exactly makes the world go around?

Is it you, is it me?

Is it God, is it money?

Is it love, is it oil?

I dare you share the answer.

Energy Vampires

Are you or someone else you know what's called an "energy vampire"?

Energy vampires are real and can be very dangerous sometimes......and I personally believe we can all be considered energy vampires up to a certain extent.

I found these videos a few days ago while browsing for something totally different and I've been meaning to post about it ever since, because I have so much to say about the subject, but I haven't had time.

Anti-Wilders Clip Misses the Mark

Has anyone seen this sadly clueless video as a so-called response to Geert Wilders' stupid and bigoted presentation about what he says Islam is?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpiccERJaFk

I came across it and I feel the need to express how wrong this is for a variety of reasons.

I consider methods like this to be "pendulum swinging," in which we go back and forth with the ever-paramount "let's talk about your race/religion/ethnicity/culture, etc." mentality, and pick each other's scabs just to make a point. I don't agree with it when Wilders does it, and I don't agree with it as a response to Wilders. The time has come to stop justifying being more obsessed with how "the other" acts than how we ourselves act as a way to try and mitigate dysfunctional behavior found amongst us rather than just deal with it and change it.

Now, I know the purpose of the above clip was to show that religion can be painted in a negative light rather than bash Christians or Jews. Still, let's not pretend that there is not usually a hidden desire to "equal the playing field" with such methods.

However, all that aside, it should be noted that all the Biblical verses in this video come from the Tanakh (the Old Testament), which is the Jewish holy book. Yet they use Christian fundamentalism to prove their point. Whoever made the video doesn't understand the difference between the two religions. Smiting Amelekites in Jesus' name? Hello? Anyone home? That's like claiming American white nationalism in the name of the Magna Carta.

Clearly just because someone says something it doesn't mean it's right, but that's what happens when you hear the opinion of an idiot and then stop listening. Some Christian fundamentalists have misinterpreted the Jewish law book to suit their own purposes and think that laws specific to Jews during a one-time-deal are relevant to Christians for eternity; and "defenders of Islamophobia," with their own ignorance about Judaism and Christianity, hear these fundamentalists preach their skewed misappropriation of Judaism as if it were Christianity, and in turn buy into it. Oh, and of course, EVERYONE claims to be doing this in self-defense. Meanwhile ... back-and-forth we go, which is exactly why people on both sides should just BE QUIET, quit talking about each other's religious affiliations because because their views are shaped by militants on both sides. How about we just get to work changing how they and we act? Regardless of who may mean well, the fact of the matter is that most people talking about "the other," don't know what they are doing and wind up only perpetuating more misunderstanding and propaganda, and thus cultivating more animosity between groups, rather than soothing tensions and defending themselves.

Here is some advice to anyone else thinking about making a video like this. If you're gonna go out of your way to make a point, at least do your research so you do it right. Ya know?

Miss Slackistan and the Burka Beauties

How Miss Slackistan and the Burka Beauties fell foul of the racism zealots

It probably seemed like a good idea at the time. Stuck for inspiration about what to wear at their village carnival, one group made a last-minute decision to dress up in mock Muslim burkas.

Calling themselves the "Page Three Beauties from the Ramalama Ding-Dong Times", the 17 men and women carried placards with made-up names such as "Miss Hairyarmpitsbad", "Miss Slackistan", "Miss Notbadinbedabad" and "Miss Reallyamanistan".

See also Ramalama Ding Dong Burka Beauties | Ironic Surrealism II

Now before anyone rushes to judgement and accuse me of "pouring lemon juice on a paper cut" like in the previous post, here's a little bandaid to sooth the pain.....heheh don't shoot the messenger is all I'm saying.

Arabian Beauty (<~~click on "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page if you want to see more)

Burqa Blues

Watch it!  Some of you may get turned on/off in ways you wouldn't expect.

What would the Old Gipper do?

My friend Jawad raises an interesting issue here...I wish he would post more often.

Jawad: In DHD: Got A Problem? Build A Wall

What has the world come to when the nation that advocated tearing down world barriers for the last five decades is now looking for big sturdy walls to solve its problems?

• Immigration problem? No worries, build a wall.
• Violent uprising in the Palestinian Territories? We like your idea, build a wall.
• Mounting violence in Baghdad? mmmhhh....Got it! build a wall.

In the latter case - in contrast to the first - one wonders what the US is thinking to erect a separation wall in someone else's country.

I can still hear him call out: "Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Where is the old Gipper when you need him? Or is that so last century!!

My response to Jawad:

Not all walls are bad, you know?  Some walls are erected for practical purposes, like partitions, to set harmless boundaries.  Some walls are built to provide security and protect civilians from outside forces that threaten their livelihood, other walls are intended to keep people in line under tyrannical rule.  Some walls a real and others are imaginary.  Some imaginary walls may have really existed at one time as a security measure, but were eventually forced to transcend into the legendary realm by relentless winds of change which remain constant even today...think of the Great Wall of China and think of that certain wall in New York that Wall Street was named after - both walls were initially built for security reasons and both walls have gone on to symbolizing different things in our life time.  Ironically Wall Street also gave rise to the World Trade Center and we all know the tragic story of how those walls came tumbling down.

True, bringing down the Berlin Wall is one of the many breakthroughs the Old Gipper deserves credit for, but that's because wall building was not his specialty. Although he was always prepared to use force if he had to, he preferred doing that which he was best at: building bridges and making his nation stronger.

 
If walls are meant to be torn down, we would have to build them first, wouldn't you say? 
And before we start tearing them down, we must make ourselves better at building bridges.

What I'm trying to say point out is that there is a cause and effect...what goes up may come down, but it doesn't have to.  There is a time and place for everything.

Burning Question

Our friend Jewaira wants to know your thoughts on........Nipple Bra

Update:

Some of our readers offer great tips.  (Andy baby you're da man!)

I say yeah baby keep them coming!

Stealing time and what's rightfully mine

Notice how I haven't been on here or heard from on email as much?

Just in case you haven't noticed, the reason behind it is because I've been swamped and busy making all kinds progress. 

I honestly have been so busy that I haven't even had a chance to tell you the juicy story of my recent attempt to have my car fixed after it got stuck in second gear since October, and how I ended up calling the police and stealing my car back.

I've been so busy that I haven't had the time to tell you about how I ended up firing that lawyer who I thought came to me as heaven sent (<~yeah imagine that!), even before he started representing me in my (now almost 5  year old) divorce case.  Reason?  He had a great sales pitch but was very lousy at courting.

I've been so pressed for time that I haven't been able to update you on how I figured out a way to beat the system in order to get some of my money, pay off a big chunk of my (and my ex's debts) and get my own apartment finally.

In fact even now, I'm still busy packing and getting ready to take a trip to New York to get my stuff from storage and driving it back to Chicago.

Ayyy so much to do and so little time!

I'm really sorry if you feel I'm neglecting you, my friends.  I promise things will get better real soon, so please bear with me just a little while longer.

And BTW this was my last picture with short hair.  I decided to let my hair down, but I had to let it grow first....it's much longer now.

huggies!

Najia

I swear!

Echt waar!  Ik meen het.

If it weren't for The Moderate Voice, there would be little reason left in the mainstream blogosphere.

See for yourself here and here.