With beauty in the banal and richness of details New Topographics photography must be aggressively nonjudgmental and devoid of style. Style is a central problem when taking New Topographics picture.

 

Beyond that dividing wall this image took on a completely different 'look'. In my opinion the wall is essential towards the heaviness of the wide angle scene.

Pams Work

 

paying attention to the present moment in an accepting, nonjudgmental way

 

Come in to bed

Switch off the lights

Close your eyes, sleep tonight

Think of all the things we did today You touch me then, we fall apart

I lose control, the hardest part

I wish there it could be another way Losing, i'm losing

I'm losing my mind

Ruining, i'm ruining

You're ruining my mind

 

You cut me deep like broken glass

I wonder when this time will pass

Or will i fall asunder everyday Sitting here beside the fire

The flames they grow just like desire

Will i fall asunder everyday

 

Losing, i'm losing

I'm losing my mind

Ruining, i'm ruining

You're ruining my mind

  

Laughter puts you into the moment, and when you are in the moment you are completely nonjudgmental, just noticing...witnessing...the way things are and the way they ought to be.

~author unknown

 

i think i was given her "direction" then said something like, "i sound like I know what I am doing, huh" :)

This weeks Macro Mondays theme is Evolution.

 

As with many things, the evolution of shaving has made it more PC.

 

The old double edged razor used to be two sharp edges, no waiting.

 

The new 5 bladed shaving works completely different. The blue rubber strip at the bottom, checks social media to see what the general opinion of shaving is, and joins the groundswell.

 

The first blade then tells the hair how important it is, and gives it a participation ribbon.

 

The second blade lulls the hair to sleep with a nice nonjudgmental, gender neutral lullaby.

 

The third blade encourages the hair to extend to its full potential by leading the hair in a nice yoga session.

 

The fourth blade makes it known to all the other hairs that this hair is socially aware, and is doing the right thing.

 

The fifth blade cuts the hair off, and ensures that it will be delivered to a recycling facility.

 

And the green strip at the top posts the hairs updated status to social media, and encourages others to shave too.

 

Oh and I think the new razors are non GMO and gluten free.

 

HMM.

Homily29OT_102223

 

“Love Conquers All”

 

Today, I want to discuss our Gospel reading in the context of the two great commandments Jesus gives us; to love God with all our heart, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. With these clear and straightforward commandments, we navigate a perilous and divided world. Secular culture would have us believe that we must leave our beliefs out of the public discourse. Living the Gospel in such a chaotic environment is challenging and dangerous, as it has always been and will continue to be. We do not walk this journey alone. God has given us an example to live by…HIS Son and the Holy Spirit, our constant companion. We carry, our love for God, not just in our words, but more importantly in our kindness and actions.

 

Our Gospel reading from Matthew, gives us an example of how Jesus navigates unfriendly forces, which always includes the Pharisees and, in this case, the Herodians that were directly supported by the Romans. Their goal is stated clearly “how they could entrap Jesus in speech.” They flatter Jesus: “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.” They then launch the well thought out question: “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”

 

Jesus knows they have witnessed the light. The problem is that they want to extinguish the light. Sometimes we miss this important point. We get the secondary message which is winning the debate…and focusing on the famous “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

 

Some say that this is the seed of our secular culture…the separation of Church and State.

 

We all feel this tension of separation personally. We are taught in our jobs to never talk about religion or politics. Clergy are taught not to preach politics from the pulpit. These two topics have caused division in families and between friends. What are we to do?

 

Our gospel acclamation tells us where our focus should be:

 

“Shine like lights in the world

as you hold on to the word of life.”

 

Let me share a story…I recently read on a deacon blog…and I quote:

“Just before the pandemic, my son had purchased a dog. It quickly became a source of frustration and joy. This dog become the motivation for me to walk every day. Soon several neighbors where meeting in the park with their dogs. The dogs play and the adults talk. Soon we were a caring community…now going on for three years. Most of them where non church goers, but I never preached. I knew the rules and I respected the boundaries. However, I am who I am. They knew I was a Catholic….and a deacon. They knew that I preached at church, andI had other church duties. Most important they knew I saw them as the beautiful and caring people they are. I was nonjudgmental and listened to them.

 

Recently, one couple from this group met me at my house. They had just lost their only son and want me to talk at his funeral.” End quote!

 

In an indirect and influential way…this couple was looking for comfort. They found it with a friend. The boundaries of correctness were breached and healing and comfort where found-a loving light was shining in the darkness.

 

This week, I have been reading a book, by Richard Rohr, called “Everything Belongs. In it, he states:

“When we see that the world is enchanted, we see the revelation of God in each individual as individual. Then our job is not to be Mother Teresa, our job is not to be St. Francis — it’s to do what is ours to do. That, by the way, was Francis’s word as he lay dying. He said, “I have done what was mine to do; now you must do what is yours to do.” We must find out what part of the mystery it is ours to reflect.”

 

We are called to engage and work in the world. God works uniquely in and through each of us and also through those who appear not believe in Him. The way of love is the hardest path to follow. What better example do we have then Jesus himself?

 

In a few moments…we will receive Him in the Eucharist. We will carry this light into the world…this light will surely be shared with others, in a mysterious and beautiful way, as we love God and neighbor.

 

I close with a familiar verse from a Catholic hymn:

 

Faith of our fathers! we will love

Both friend and foe in all our strife:

And preach thee, too, as love knows how,

By kindly deeds and virtuous life.

 

You’ve experienced so much darkness. As you continue to live with this darkness and feel crushed by the truth of your brutal reality, you’ve slowly started learning what a gift it truly is when someone can nonjudgmentally, in a healthy way, meet together with you in the crushing darkness. Though this is healthy it is foreign, unfamiliar, even scary. You lack the words to explain and in your heart you can notice the positive difference, the light, the encouragement, the moments of hope, the growth. And while it doesn’t erase the pain and the struggle, what a beautiful gift this is.

 

______________________

One evening while walking around outside I saw this in our driveway. It was so fascinating to me how these two helicopters made the shape of a heart, they were together and one was dark and the other was full of light from the setting sun.

Last year I decided that I was going to start reading more and I read 255 books. This year, I wanted to up my game a little bit and do more like a reading marathon and ended up the year reading 365 books, a book for every day. Even though I am a pretty athletic person, I can't run because it hurts my knees. I am not as graceful and elegant as I would need to be for professional dance and sports has never interested me. But reading is the one thing I can do and I like to do at the gym, on planes, in bed, and in the bathtub primarily. So, I made an effort to read for a minimum of 2 1/2 hours per day and sometimes ended up reading for more like 4 hours a day on weekends and when I had other days off from work. I didn't read to show off but to escape the reality of our current country's political situation and to learn more about the lives and perspectives of others unlike me. Reading a mixture of novels, nonfiction essays and immigrant stories, collections of poetry and short stories, I read less than 10% of these books by white people and of those 10%, most were by women. I can say that I really enjoyed the vast majority of the books I've read and don't have any significant regrets for this reading marathon.

 

I should also note that, although some of these books did come out in 2019, many did not. The following are my favorite books of this year that I read this year (regardless of their original publication date). I know I am also probably forgetting some and I feel remiss in that too, but I spent hours writing the following (even longer than that reading these) and I hope some of you get some good recommendations of books you might also like to read or can connect with me on a book you have read. Feel free to share your favorites as well! I am highly interested in having conversations about books and finding out about literature I may have had less exposure to living in America.

   

1. Tell Me Who You Are by Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi

 

This book is an astounding work that covers so many different states and personal backgrounds to reflect on race in America. If you like Humans of New York, this is a little like that in the sense that it explores what makes us human but it's a great more complex and thorough than that-maybe a Humans of America. The fact that Guo and Vulchi were able to travel all across the US to gain an understanding of so many people and how their race has affected their lives is a daring and meaningful venture in and of itself but it's also clear that they make a concerted effort to explore the things these people like and enjoy so that there's a fuller sense to some things they have in common with others. In addition, the photographs of these people really add to a sense of them. if you do not fall in love with these humans along with this work as a whole, that is a loss for you. We must change in our country. We must develop more empathy and patience. We must be able to listen to others who we think we share nothing in common with and find the things we do share whilst respecting individual differences. This is the only way we will be able to heal and move forward.

 

This book is a masterpiece and should be celebrated in every household across America.

 

www.chooseorg.org/ournewbook

  

2. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli

 

This book is so relevant to what is happening at the border with the unfair treatment of families from Mexico right now in all of our names but it also manages a personal touch with an extended road trip and the link between the mother/protagonist and her own family and how she handles her own children being separated from her. This is a harrowing read, especially because there is truth in the weight of our names as Americans being tied to the deep sins of mistreating other humans. This is also, however a very poetic read, haunting in its lyrical quality and in the way that Luiselli is able to adeptly convey the range of emotions she feels, desperate and distraught but also so very insightful. You will read these pages wit your heart in your throat, worry that if you are not careful, you may actually end of swallowing it.

 

www.theguardian.com/books/2019/mar/03/lost-children-archi...

  

3. Frontier by Can Xue

 

2019 was the year I discovered Can Xue, the experimental fiction author from China who, at first, everyone thought was male as her pen name isn't especially gender specific. Can Xue is not understood fully by probably most people and I myself had to read several sentences over again a few times, especially this work, the most esoteric of what I've read (three novels and one short story collection this year). The imagery is especially potent here and you don't really know exactly what is happening in the way the human form can transform. You really don't know quite what could be actually happening....and what could be a dream or a hallucination. This would be a book I would read at the end of the world cuddled under a blanket and remembering the most imaginative humans could be then hoping there were some creatives still left out in the tundra of the world.

 

www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-mysterious-fronti...

  

4. Though the Arc of the Rainforest by Karen Tei Yamashita

 

Another new author I discovered was Karen Tei Yamashita and, though I also enjoyed reading a collection of her plays entitled Anime Wong, I even more so enjoyed reading this novel. Yamashita is Japanese American but you get more of that specific perspective from her plays. Set between Japan and Brazil, this novel features a very vivid cast of interesting characters not to mention the protagonist that is the rotating ball in front of the Japanese train conductor's head. This is one of the most unique books I have ever read in my life and it's no surprise that the forward is from one of the most highly intelligent authors in the world, Percival Everett. This novel is a real treat and is a riveting surreal adventure.

 

www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/karen-tei-yamashita-2/...

  

5. Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick

 

I've spent many years not knowing very much at all about the lives of those who live in North Korea, much as the citizens of North Korea have spent their lives knowing not too much about others outside of their country. This non fiction work follows the lives of North Koreans who escape into China and South Korea and manage to be granted refugee status and follows them up until the early 2000s. It's another book that disarms you in its brutality. Demick records the stories of their lives, how they bought into propaganda, and how they started to gather inklings of the truth while they were in their home country. The depth of the poverty and brainwashing is immense from the time that these people are schoolchildren. Even if they were starving, if someone came by and saw that their picture of Kim Jong-il then Kim Jong-un weren't immaculate, they could be taken and forced into a labor camp. If they didn't weep loud enough at the death of Kim Jong-il, they were also suspect and no one could trust their neighbors, who could also very likely be government informants. The only media that they had access to was North Korean and Russian propaganda films and even their literature was greatly restricted. In addition, even having a bowl of rice a day was seen as a great luxury. Many starved to death and were happy to have less mouths to feed in their family. The clothing women could wear was also severely limited. This was (and possibly still in many ways is) a super suppressed society (from the point of view of an American especially.) I'd be curious if anything has changed and what but really what honestly struck me is how the government deliberately misled their citizens into thinking that they were producing things they weren't and that the rest of the world was under the same amount of hardship. This is a government who would rather see their people starve than to stoop to accepting aid from abroad. It's eye opening and terrifying for me to think of the people who have suffered and died under these regimes.

 

www.theguardian.com/books/2010/apr/03/nothing-envy-korea-...

  

6. The Pretty One by Keah Brown

 

There has been a real paucity in literature of valuable and unique human perspectives and this work of nonfiction is an incredibly valuable addition to the canon of literature as a whole and adds to our collective human empathy and understanding of the range of experiences one can have while being alive. Keah Brown is a woman like none other-honest about the world and her own growth as a human, friend, and twin sister, insightful about the racism and ableism in our current present world and humorous in her observations of pop culture. Keah Brown has a different ability level and many might say she has a disability. I say she has an ability that most other people do not possess and may not ever possess. That doesn’t mean that our physical environment does not need to become more accommodating (it does) and that people don’t need to develop more empathy (they do). But, it does mean that we would all be wise to learn from her perspective.

 

keahbrown.com/

 

www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/disabledandcut...

  

7. Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha

 

One of the most astounding books of fiction I read this year was a book that feels incredibly brave and is loosely based on actual incidents that happened in the Rodney King riots of LA. Steph Cha is Korean American but it became widely clear from this novel that she is very invested in promoting healing between the Korean and African American communities. The novel goes back and forth between 1991 and 2019 and explores racism with a deep and personal delving that made me literally at times gasp out loud. There’s a question of human accountability, retribution, and these are treated with care and contentiousness. This is the kind of wholly relevant novel we can all learn something from even despite it being technically fiction. There are still lots of truths to be found here.

 

www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/steph-cha/your-house-w...

  

8. When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Asha Bandele and Patrisse Khan-Cullors

  

If you live in America and are even remotely aware of the racist systems and acts of violence that are committed against those in the African and African American communities, you should be appalled. I can tell you just reading even what is considered to be “liberal” news outlets I am appalled by how quickly and often they show any mug shot of a person of color but (I always call this correctly), when it’s a white terrorist who has committed a hate crime, we don’t see his face for several days or longer. The fact of the matter is, most of the time these acts are not even classified as terrorism and yet they are just as damaging and politically motivated. This book explores the heartache and mobilization of the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the police brutality and death and the systems in place that keep white people especially profiting. One day, I hope to live in a world where all are treated equally but we have a long ways to go and, as a human of privilege in this current world, I believe the only way we’re going to get there is if all people, including white people, advocate for an end to these racist systems and a place of acceptance, love, and respect for everyone in this world. I’m never going to claim I know the fear and the danger and the distrust that one must feel being Black in America but I do feel extreme sadness when I see cops having no accountability for murder, for profit prisons capitalizing on modern day slavery, and a whole range of racism happening in terms of regentrification, lack of funding for public schools in neighborhoods where there are more people of color, food deserts, and other appalling neglectful practices by our own government. It is shameful. There should be reparations. And, even more so, I do believe that the police in this country are currently doing more harm than good and that we should abolish at least 90% of our prisons. (I’d say abolish all but I want there to still be a place for Trump and all his friends.) This is a must read for all humans who want to come to a better understanding of what it takes to make a movement and the real human damage to what has occurred in several cities across America where the blood on our hands cannot ever be washed off.

 

patrissecullors.com/call-terrorist-black-lives-matter-mem...

  

9. Women Talking by Miriam Toews

 

I’ve read several novels by Miriam Toews and, though I have enjoyed all of them, this is one of her stand alone masterpieces. Miriam Toews comes from a Mennonite perspective and often her stories focus on Mennonite life with some personal anecdotes seemingly inserted here and there. This novel feels much different and offers an important aspect of feminism in terms of exploration of the human female mind after the real life events taking place in Bolivia in 2005-2009 when these women were raped consistently by men in their Mennonite community and were basically told by these men that these abuses were not happening and that these women were psychologically unsound. Most books of this nature explore the deep wounds of being a victim. This book offers a different sort of perspective. While still putting a human face to the damage done by men, it focuses more on the action of these women in discussions and meetings to decide how they will solve this problem going forward. Will they kick out the men? Will they leave completely? If they leave, will they take the children including the male children? At what age does a male stay behind? These are complex and very real questions and all choices are intellectually explored with great discussion. It made me feel the strength and empowerment of women vs. another book that would have focused more on these humans as victims instead. Well worth the read!

 

www.npr.org/2019/04/06/709530968/these-women-talking-buil...

  

10. Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann

 

This is a daunting read. When I say daunting, I should clarify that while I have read a few 1000+ page novels before, they are usually separated into separate sentences. Ellmann clearly was going for a marathon level of stream of consciousness when she wrote this one. Most of the novel (I’d say 900+ pages of it) are The fact of___ the fact of______ the fact of____ the fact of___ and Ellmann reveals what haunts her the most-Trump and corporations valuing profit over people, gun toting MAGA white terrorists on the loose, poorly built bridges, cops shooting unarmed African Americans, and sort of what I can only say I would consider the collective disease process of being American in this present day. But, there is also the overarching story line of being a mother, a daughter whose mother has passed away of Cancer, remarrying after divorce, and oddly enough being a pie baker. She goes through several harrowing real life incidents in the book where she and her family are put in danger but that doesn’t give us a break from her very loud internal monologue that will suddenly just start listing off facts of films, every city she can think of, and random products. The reader’s only reprieve from this great feat of literature is when we see the perspective of a lioness running from hunters and trying to protect her progeny. I do think this book is worth reading, especially if you can get in the groove and feel the pulse of the first person female protagonist but you do need to obviously put in a huge time and emotional commitment. In order to help things flow more smoothly for you if you decide to take up this challenge as a reader, I suggest reading about 100 pages for 11 days straight or 50 pages a day for 21 days straight. If you do this, you manage to get into a certain groove by page 300 or so. Slowly but surely, all the tangential word salad starts making a weird sort of sense and you begin to really feel for the sense of this woman’s personal story and what she’s going through. Maybe it says something about me that I found her relatable even though I haven’t lost my mom to Cancer, haven’t gone through a divorce, do not have kids, and don’t have a clue how to bake a pie. But, I understand being caught in a state of almost helplessness about what my country has become and what I witness in terms of how people act towards each other. Anyway, a lot of people have abandoned this but it might be the perfect book to add to the next time capsule. Hopefully, things will get better in the new year.

 

www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/can-one-sentence-capt...

  

11. In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero

 

I still haven’t watched the show Orange is the New Black, which stars Diane Guerrero, but I fell in love with her as Jane the Virgin’s good friend/sidekick Lina early on. (You can’t NOT watch Jane the Virgin if you live in Chicago. So many of my co-workers went to high school with Gina Rodriguez and always talk about how nice she was to everyone which is literally the opposite of what most people say about you in high school). That being said, I usually don’t read books just because they are by celebrities but I enjoyed this one as well as America Ferrera’s American Like Me: Reflections of Life Between Cultures and Tiffany Haddish’s The Last Black Unicorn. All three nonfiction autobiographies are worth reading and pondering over but Guerrero’s personal struggle against adversity when she literally came home as a teenager and found herself completely alone after her parents had been deported to Colombia struck a real sense in me of how, first it’s gotten even worse with ICE raids, and second, these children are such victims and we’re not even considering all the collateral human damage of what we do as a country when this happens. I found this autobiography brave, brutally honest, and even at times a little funny but mostly I found this to me about the power of perseverance and not giving up no matter what, not just in the struggle for survival, which was very real for Guerrero, but also in the struggle to do what you love and follow your dreams and actually make it. Guerrero is talented, that is for sure, but she is also a sort of superhero as well in what she has overcome and she has given us all a real gift of letting us glimpse the power of her human spirit.

 

www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/diane-guerrero/in-the-...

  

12. A Particular Type of Black Man by Tope Folarin

 

This is a complex portrait of a Nigerian family who immigrates to Utah of all places and it seems like some of this story must be based on Folarin’s own life experience in that he did have a family who immigrated here from Nigeria and spent some time growing up in Utah and other areas that are also mentioned in this book. What makes this book more unique than many immigrant fiction or pseudofiction is the exploration of the human mind and exploration of mental health and illness within the protagonist as well as this family unit. What also makes it worth reading is the sense of a celebration in Nigerian culture vs. complete desertion. There were insights and information in this book that really astounded me, even having lived in this country all my life (though, to be fair I have never been to Utah). Well worth the read!

 

www.npr.org/2019/08/24/751917486/tope-folarin-was-a-parti...

  

13. The Memory Police by Yoko Agawa

 

This is the second full length novel I’ve read by Yoko Agawa (I’ve also read and liked The Housekeeper and the Professor as well as her short story collection entitled Revenge). I enjoyed all three of these works but I liked The Memory Police by far the best…the concept that you slowly lose the memory of everything around you and hold dear and the including literally parts of yourself-limbs, for instance, and that anyone who still has the ability to remember is not safe but is taken and separated from society at the very least is a really intriguing concept but where the book really succeeds is in its exploration of memories in the sense that they make us human and are truly a part of us. It’s also a book within a book as we experience this cruel postmodern society from the protagonist while, at the same time, experience her own protagonist of the horror typewriter story she’s been authoring. I really enjoyed the strong sense of mood and contemplation on the nature of existence.

 

www.npr.org/2019/08/12/749538789/quiet-surreal-drama-and-...

  

14. Revolution Sunday by Wendy Guerra

 

This is a mixed sort of book between prose and poetry with some aspects of experimental fiction as well. One cannot help but fall in love a little bit with Guerra as she travels to Mexico, falls in love with an actor, tries to escape persecution from the Cuban government who are constantly monitoring every move she makes, and above all keeps writing as she attempts to discover the truth of the death of her parents as well as gain a sense of her place in the world as a woman, a poet, a human. Some of these lines of poetry are completely haunting and there’s some real themes in this novel about deconstruction and reconstruction.

 

www.npr.org/2018/12/05/673387723/complicated-challenging-...

 

www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/books/review/wendy-guerra-revo...

  

15. The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

 

Lefteri is British but has worked with immigrants in Athens, which is where this story takes place at least in part. This is a really harrowing fictional account of a Syrian husband and wife who have lost their child and are each coping with it in their own ways (the mother soon after goes blind and the father suffers from delusions and hallucinations). This is also a story about the struggle for survival after witnessing the tragedy-the destruction of your home and everything you love, and the process of immigration to a safer space and country and the real life troubles to be found in these places as well. Oddly enough, I also learned a great deal about bees from this book but I still feel it is more focused on the desperation that people in Syria must feel and trying to get over incidents that have devastated them and should have never happened in the first place. On a personal level, I don’t believe in borders and I’d rather have more Syrians in my own country than horrible rich white men. No thanks!

 

www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/beekeeper-aleppo-novel

  

16. Those Who Wander: America's Lost Street Kids by Vivian Ho

 

America is a country of great wealth but, unfortunately, until our tax structure changes, it is a wealth owned by the very few whose greed is overpowering (I mean, everyone needs a 100th house while the homeless are dying on the streets, right). In California, especially the Bay Area, where this nonfiction work concentrates on, this is even more vividly so. The book explores the reasons behind actual murders that took place but also the desperate conditions that drive people to become homeless, the psychologies behind being homeless, and the resources that are available and kind people who have tried to help. This book is a really difficult read because of the subject matter but it is important that none of us look away and turn our backs on those who struggle. No one should have to live in poverty just so the most affluent people can become more powerful. But, of course, these uber rich are miserable too, you know. They too won’t be free until every other human is free.

 

www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/vivian-ho/those-who-wa...

   

18. So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo

 

Oluo is incredible candid and honest not just about racism within our structures such as our for profit prison industrial system but within our daily interactions. She answers some questions white people might be too scared to answer and illuminates other things white people might be oblivious about in terms of their/our own sense of privilege. And she does all of this, I’m guess, with the hope that speaking truth to power will lead us all to be better people regardless of our race and also because communities have suffered because in 2019 (now 2020), white privilege is still very much a thing and is going strong.

 

www.thenationalbookreview.com/features/2018/2/1/pzq0lfjcp...

  

19. Logic in an Illogical World by Eugenia Cheng

 

I wouldn’t call myself a Mathematician by any standards. I can do basic algebra without a calculator and I see the artistic nature of geometry and can read and extrapolate from a variety of graphs but, most of the time, I still prefer art, literature, and music to Mathematics. Still, the one time I became really and truly excited about Math happened when I leared about Mathematical/Logical proofs and Cheng explores the art of proofs within the context of several political arguments relevant to this period of time in our shared human history. She touches on the less controversial to the extreme controversial and offers insights into personality and how she herself has changed when she has thought of an argument or a collection of facts in a different context. This book will help you see multiple points of view and have richer discussions about everything from mandatory voting practices to abortion.

 

www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jul/19/the-art-of-logic-by...

  

20. Making Comics by Lynda Barry

 

Many of the books I have written about have touched me and I have learned a great deal from them but this is one of those books that gave me very concrete ideas about activities to do with children at Chicago Public Schools. Not all of these activities are written to be done with children but many can be adapted and I have found that giving kids a 4-5 minute free draw at the end of my Occupational Therapy sessions not only motivates them to complete other challenges but also addresses a visual motor need they might have. I have really enjoyed tremendously seeing kids draw their favorite monster and also as themselves as an animal in particular. I think drawing can definitely be like dreams….you never truly know exactly what you are thinking and feeling until you let your mind and your hands go across the paper. This book also inspired me in a different way, which is to look at my own drawings not as technically good or bad but as a product of my own mind and spirit and, in that sense, it’s less damaging to me and less frustrating when I can’t draw something exactly how it looks in real life, for example. I loved all the exercises and visual examples in this book! It really can change your life if you let it!

 

www.npr.org/2019/11/27/782921983/cartoonist-lynda-barry-d...

 

21. Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal

 

I have to admit, I fell in love with the protagonist of this story, Kiran Sharma, who identifies with the deity of Krishna and is trying to find how own way in the world as both a boy who is discovering his own sexuality and the fact that he is gay, as well as a young man coming to terms with his identity as an Indian American boy living in middle America (Cincinnati, Ohio). Kiran is dramatic and perfect and Satyal really succeeds in painting a vivid portrait of growing up with obstacles but still being yourself despite these challenges. There were scenes in this book that made me laugh until I cried but also made me cry until I laughed. Wonderfully written with a true celebration of the human spirit and of the joy in being able to be yourself and learn to love everything that makes you: you!

 

www.lambdaliterary.org/reviews/fiction/06/08/blue-boy-by-...

  

22. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous By Ocean Vuong

  

First and foremost, Ocean Vuong is a poet and even in prose this comes out more than the vast majority of novel writers. This is his first actual work of fiction and feels a little traumatic and haunting it it’s deep feeling sense of the experience of life and family. Vuong’s deep feeling protagonist is trying to come to terms with the actions of and his relationship to his mother as well as some of his own life choices. You get the sense that each day brings its own struggles and is definitely not easy and that reality is a cruel sort of mistress that keeps revisiting him. But, the poetry above all will make you remember and want to return to this book.

 

www.npr.org/2019/06/05/729691730/on-earth-is-gorgeous-all...

  

23. A Woman is No Man By Etaf Rum

 

This book is about many things-family, tradition, but also feminism and a new generation of women who think and reach beyond their metaphysical borders. It follows three generations of a family who immigrated to Brooklyn from Palestine and the abuses they suffered at the hands of their men as well as the secrets they covered up. Most devastating is the way that the grandmother and mother expect (though much more so the grandmother) the conforming of the younger women to submit to all the male wishes and hide any evidence of their true selves that might appear ungrateful and difficult. This is a family that would rather kill than be seen as dishonorable and, though it is technically fiction, it is shocking in the depth of abuse these women take and how they themselves as humans are taken for granted. This book was full of surprises for me on virtually every page.

 

www.npr.org/2019/03/02/699051434/for-better-or-worse-new-...

  

24. Broken Places and Outer Spaces Nnedi Okorafor

 

I’m a big fan of the science fiction of Nnedi Okorafor, most notably Lagoon is my favorite, but this book is one I read this year and is a highly personal autobiographical account of her learning to break free from paralysis after a Scoliosis surgery that did not go as well as expected and finding her own unique voice and inspiration in the work of other artists to explore her own realm of Science Fiction in a way that is wholly worthwhile. I had no idea that the author I’ve read so many fiction books from had this extreme experience but I was indeed inspired by her own perseverance and coming to terms with the surgery and not letting limitations define her but pushing beyond these with a strength and dedication that doubtless has made her one of the very best authors in her field.

 

nnedi.com/books/broken_places_outer_spaces.html

  

25. John Edgar Wideman: Fanon

 

This is one of the more complex books of fiction I’ve read this year…it is truly a story within a story within a story based on some of Wideman’s real life with his brother as well as the actual life of the revolutionary Frantz Fanon..it’s about not wanting the cruelty of history to be repeated and about drawing connections between timelines and the way racism continues to impact people across continents today. It is at times highly poetic and at other times so visceral you might have to put it down but in any case very worthwhile reading and incredibly adept and masterful in its exploration of all of these connections and reconciliation between past and present with a hope for a better and different future. There are many passages here that are profound and all are thought provoking.

  

www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/books/review/Siegel-t.html

  

26. The Hungry Ghosts by Shyam Selvadurai

 

I have learned a great deal about the political crisis in Sri Lanka in the 1980s from Selvadurai. If you want to try to understand what was happening between the Tamil and Sinhalese people, this is a topic that Selvadurai visits often as well as coming of age as a man who is gay and being an immigrant in Canada. There’s also a real delving into the classism inherent within the Sri Lankan society between these people and also, between the protagonist’s own grandmother and her tenants and the abuse and neglect that happens to the poor. Meanwhile, the grandmother manages to distance herself from her actions and convince herself that these people brought these things on themselves with bad karma…by her own standards, she should expect a much worse life in her next one. There are many similar topics in terms of Sri Lankan politics and coming to terms with one’s own sexuality in Funny Boy but this seemed more of an in depth work so I would recommend reading The Hungry Ghosts if you have limited reading time but you may find you’d like to read his others anyhow.

  

nationalpost.com/entertainment/books/book-reviews/book-re...

  

27. Taina by Ernesto Quinonez

 

I read two of Quinonez’s novels back to back and while I liked the emotional drama and complexity of Bodega Dreams, I really liked the sense of Puerto Rican tradition and strong female main character here. This involves everything from the idea of magical realism to deep religious beliefs. Could Taina be a postmodern virgin Mary? Could this be immaculate conception? The other protagonist, a young male, is willing to believe anything she says and fight for her virtue. While this story takes place primarily in Spanish Harlem, it also shows the inherent racism and classism in NYC as a whole while adeptly pulling one into the personalities and tribulations of the characters. Well worth reading!

 

apnews.com/f8209640f0554191a893cbe61a4583b9

  

28. On Black Sisters Street Chika Unigwe

 

This book explores the lives of African women immigrating to Belgium in hopes of a better life and being lied to with the idea that they could be housekeepers and nannies but then are sold into a sex trade where they are basically enslaved until they raise an inordinate amount of money to “pay back” their immigration fee. It is about living unsafely as an illegal and being forced into prostitution just to survive, which happens far more frequently than many people might realize. Women on our own are valuable in terms of our ideas and our empathy but the world will still look at women as a whole and women from African especially as only worthwhile as a body to rape. This is a very difficult read, mainly because of the aspects of truth that this happens but also because you get attached to the characters and don’t want them to suffer, which is the work of a great novelist in and of itself.

 

www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/books/review/book-review-on-bl...

  

29. Home a Refugee Story by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah

 

This is a really insightful read for anyone who is looking to hear about the author’s escape from Syria to refugees in Canada. We learn a lot about the power of the human spirit and it is also in many ways a testament to why all countries should welcome refugees. It is also valuable in terms of giving ideas on how we can do better in terms of supporting the transition between countries when there is a new language, culture shock, and when families need to keep something similar in place such as even a space to pray in schools. We need to all make sure we are being kind and sensitive and welcoming as well as aware of the probably trauma that refugees have suffered, especially coming from war torn countries. This also shows us how valuable it is to listen and to help refugees tell their stories, as the work of Rabeeah’s Language Arts teacher Winnie Yeung is the reason why we have this remarkable autobiography.

 

quillandquire.com/review/homes-a-refugee-story/

  

30. The Other Americans by Laila Lalami

 

There were many times reading this book I felt fascinated, wondered about the choices of the characters and what they would do next, and drawn to the mystery surrounding the death that unites all of them from the beginning of the Moroccan American father who owns a restaurant and is suspiciously killed by a hit and run. This is a work of fiction but the way it explores racism and xenophobia is all too real and Lalami really helps the reader sense the loss of humanity when incidents like this take place as well as the complexity of it between the investigation and trial and the level of dishonesty too. It’s also interesting because it involves an unlikely inter-racial love affair and there’s a sense that when these two people can fall in love, maybe we can all reconcile our differences with each other…maybe….hopefully we are capable.

  

www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc-lailalalami-otheramericans...

  

31. The Making of a Dream: How a Group of Young Undocumented Immigrants Helped Change What It Means to Be American By, Laura Wides Munoz

 

This is a really comprehensive work of nonfiction chronicling the 1,500 walk of a group of Dreamers and a decade of work beginning with Obama and coming up to the published date of January 2019. It makes no qualms about exposing the frustrations and stalemate of the Obama presidency in getting protections but also the horrors of our current political situation for these young and determined humans that are also vulnerable despite their bravery and fierceness. We get to know the inner workings of their lives and family situations, their education and history of what drives them the most in terms of their advocacy. Munoz also exposes how some movements such as gay rights and marriage are pitted against others like the movement to protect Dreamers and how a single year cut off can arbitrary ruin human lives and mean deportations. This is an important read for anyone who still thinks these amazing humans don’t belong or deserve to be here (They do!) and who still thinks it’s easy to become a legal immigrant if you’re just willing to go through the established process….this line of thinking is an ignorant myth. These humans deserve so much more than this. Let’s hope 2020 brings us a new president who is willing to provide more protections and also welcome more immigrants to America.

 

www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/books/review/laura-wides-munoz...

  

32. Go Ahead in the Rain by Hanif Abdurraquib

 

Hanif always brings himself into his writing about music and this is why, even if you are not the biggest Tribe Called Quest Fan, you will still find many reasons to fall in love with this book. That being said, my partner has always loved Tribe and I finally fell in love myself when I saw them perform and was able to photograph them (see: www.flickr.com/photos/kirstiecat/35348763944/in/photolist... ) Hanif made me love both him and the band even more in the way that he explores their history, why their music is groundbreaking, and their contemporaries as well. Hanif also explores his own love of music and how music was seen in his family. There’s also a story early on that shows the racism of his music teacher at school that made me feel so devastated that these things happen from teachers who are supposed to be loving and nonjudgmental. There is so much to love and learn from in this book and, even if you don’t fall in love with Tribe, you might still fall deeper in love with humanity and our relationship to nourishing sound.

 

www.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/10/go-ahead-in-the-rai...

 

33. Call Me American Abdi Nor Iftin

 

Oh my God the lengths that this man goes to in order to survive civil war in Somalia, escape to Kenya then to the US is insane. My heart was in my throat for the vast majority of this book…a really survival against all odds life story. It also gives a glimpse at how much tragedy some of our immigrants are carrying with them when they come here and the love and supports we should all give them. Abdi Nor Iftin is extremely intelligent and also funny but I can’t imagine going through even 10% of what he went through when he was trying to escape warring tribes and seeing so much death around him and still being able to lift my head off the pillow each morning.

 

www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/books/call-me-american-abdi-no...

  

34. Passing by Nella Larsen

 

I read both Passing and Quicksand by Nella Larsen this year and liked them both quite a bit. Both have a lot to offer in terms of insights into classism and racism but Passing feels a little more vivid to me maybe because it is set between Chicago and NYC whereas much of Quicksand takes place in Denmark. Both novels are well worth reading though and Passing has both a personal component between these two women with a shared history and that of secrets and racism as one woman is passing for white in trade of an elevated place in society at the time. In addition to giving us glimpses of both cities in 1929, it shows a little bit about what it was like both living as a white woman and living as a black woman and the level of anxiety felt by those who tried to keep their race a secret.

 

electricliterature.com/in-nella-larsens-passing-whiteness...

  

35. Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card Sara Saedi

 

In many ways, this is about a family torn because of their differing immigration statuses and how arbitrary all that seems when we’re talking about real humans and not just letters and numbers on a page. This is a family that will go to all lengths in order to get citizenship for themselves and others and will fight to be Americans even though America does not treat them as kindly or with justice. This is also a great deal about the joys of family, of Iranian culture, and also of coming of age and pop culture in America. Saedi, who now writes for iZombie (I still haven’t seen this show myself but now I might give it a try), is at times poignant and at other times really hilarious. You really get a sense of her personality in this autobiography and it really makes you again realize how much immigrants have to offer America and how they deserve far better than what they are given most of the time. It’s a tragedy that we treat humans the way we do simply because they aren’t born here. That needs to stop.

 

www.npr.org/2018/03/28/597600898/americanized-recounts-wh...

 

36. Lindy West: The Witches are Coming

 

Lindy West is hilarious in her examination of racism, sexism, whole bodyism and all that really needs to change about reality. I learned things I somehow missed, like how “Grumpy Cat’s” owners came up with a ridiculous far fetched story so cover up for the fact they were using an insult/slur used for those with different ability levels. I also found the chapters about Adam Sandler and Joan Rivers pretty insightful as well. There were many times I felt like, “Yeah, I agree with that” but she has a really great cutting way about how she presents information and also her opinions that make it a good read.

 

www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/lindy-west-casts...

 

37. The Reactive By, Ntshanga, Masande

 

I’ve never read a book quite like this. If you want to know what it was like to be HIV+ in the late 1990s-early 2000s and living in South Africa, this book is the one for you. But also, this book is about family, about overcoming loss, about deep friendships and has a great deal of existentialism and in general bizarre interactions, drug trial and substance abuse, and an analysis of racism in Cape Town as well. I felt very strongly that I both learned something and gained an attachment to these fictional characters and what they were going through.

 

slate.com/culture/2016/07/masande-ntshangas-the-reactive-...

  

38. Brother by David Chariandy

 

Set in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto, this follows second generation Trinidadian immigrants and the racism they encounter living there in the early 1990s. This is a really well written look at family, especially these two brothers and the bond between them and how the family deals with all of life’s small and large tragedies. It’s also a book that will likely devastate you, though I don’t want to spoil anything by saying more.

 

www.cbc.ca/books/brother-by-david-chariandy-1.4246382

  

39. A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian

 

This could be another book about class warfare and profit over people but the layers in it are exceptional and what Subramanian does really well is to delve into the different personalities and power in the women in this place ironically called Heaven and illustrate the need for women to stick together.

 

www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/books/review/mathangi-subraman...

 

40. Dinner By, César Aira

 

I read a couple of novels/novellas by César Aira and a collection of short stories called The Musical Brain and Other Stories, which was also phenomenal. Dinner was even more unexpected and hilarious because it combines the need to be remembered and the power of names with a zombie uprising in the little town of Pringles in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I love the politically astute sense to this and the twists in the plot. Really a very unique book not just about zombies but about the power of human memory.

 

www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/cesar-aira/dinner-aira/

  

A couple of really highly recommended books of poetry:

 

The City in Which I Love You Li-Young Lee

 

Rangoli by Pavana Reddy

  

A couple of quick cat related books

 

I don’t think the following books are necessarily life changing but I did want to mention to them in case you are a cat lover like I am! I think animals bring out the best in humans when we find ourselves at our most compassionate and so I’ve always enjoyed reading books that feature cats. Here are the couple I read this year and enjoyed:

 

If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura

 

We could give up movies and time but could we give up cats? What if we were terminally ill and this could buy us one more day on Earth….what would we give up?

  

The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

 

For the vast majority of this book, we really don’t know why the protagonist is looking for someone to take care of his cat but we get to meet a lot of different types of people from his past and learn about them, which is both interesting and philosophical.

 

www.maxtutanoronha.com

This young man was so nice, he posed for pictures, talked, laughed and had a good old time talking with my young lady friend.

It was a fun day in London.

Thank you Ana and Marco, it was great.

 

In God We Trust…buhahaha!

 

The cryptocracy (illuminati) are manipulating the minds of the masses. They use Revelation of the Method to program the group mind—the collective consciousness. Indeed, humanity must be prepared for the New Luciferian Age. They initiate you into group think—mass formation psychosis. It is a rite of passage in which you acceptance their plans for humanity. Welcome to the group! They use open and subliminal messages in order to condition society. They use their esoteric knowledge (the so-called deep secrets of Satan; Revelation 2:24 NIV) to move you toward their goals. They push society into every nook and cranny of immorality and filth. In the end this immorality dehumanizes society, thus breaking it down. They have dehumanized and killed millions of the unborn. In Canada they have been pushing Medically Assisted Suicides for ever expanding reasons, as they continually decrease the legal age and time limits. The value of life continually decreases. That’s why, when speaking about the (soon coming) Tribulation Period, the Bible says: “I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God.”

 

The transhumanist tiptoe, the luciferian tiptoe—both will come to fruition under the Antichrist. You will be able to become a super human (a god) when transhumanism is normalized and openly accepted. You will be able to openly live out your lusts when luciferianism is normalized and openly practiced. At that time ritualistic orgies, rape, and human sacrifice will be done out in the public square.

 

Revelation 9:21 “Furthermore, they did not repent of their murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft.”

 

Many people will take the Mark of the Beast (like many took the jab), because they have been demoralized. This ritualistic programming leads the public down a predetermined road, with a predetermined outcome; this not only dehumanizes us, but it also demoralizes us. Demoralized people end up being weak cowards. These people try to stay center of the road, as the road moves farther and farther down the road of depravity. This means: center also moves farther down the road—dragging you along with it. These people try to be virtuously nonjudgmental, yet they are immoral. They won’t stand up and speak for the truth, because they might get called a bad name. They don’t want to sacrifice their comfort or reputation to fight for the truth.

 

James 4:17 “So then, if we do not do the good we know we should do, we are guilty of sin.”

 

All such people have been unknowingly programmed into these symbolic ritual ceremonies. Yes, indeed! Satan, through the esoteric cryptocracy, has planted his seed, and his harvest is soon ripe.

 

Matthew 13:25 “But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed WEEDS among the wheat, and went away.”

 

“We can differentiate between types of initiations in two ways: types and functions.”

 

This is one of the reasons for/functions of initiations:

 

“It reveals a world open to the trans-human, a world that, in our philosophical terminology, we should call transcendental.” (Wikipedia: Initiation; read what it says under the subtitle: Psychological)

 

One day you will be initiated (baptized) into transhumanism (the Beast—666).

 

When Jesus Christ returns, He will say, “Collect the WEEDS and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.”

 

BTW Covid was an initiation into the Great Reset, and the Great Reset (Build Back Better) is a transitioning into the New World Order—2030: you’ll own nothing, and you’ll be happy (Just think: a nuclear war would fast track their Great Reset agenda). Do you see how covid has charged society thus far? The authoritarian tiptoe! Look at what’s currently happening in China. Do you get it? Do you choose to see it, or do you turn a blind eye and willfully fall into the trap of ritualistic cognitive dissonance (evil)?

 

Evil gains more of a foothold as wickedness increases, thus normalizing it.

 

Truth and freedom go hand in hand: if you lose one, you lose the other.

 

Authoritarianism thrives on lies and control.

 

If we trust in God, we will walk in His light.

 

John 8:12 “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world! The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”

 

In God we trust?

 

Four years seemed to pass in a blink of the eye! Now at nineteen years old, Aiden had never lost sight of his dream. He was ready to try and seek adventure in the world beyond his hometown.

It was during dinner one evening, mid-Spring, when Aiden pushed his empty bowl back and licked his lips. Gazing at his father, he cleared his throat slightly to catch his attention. His father didn't respond, seemingly lost in thought as he stared at his dinner. "Papa?" Aiden ventured softly so as not to startle him too much. "Hm?" His father's eyes refocused, his gaze leaving his half eaten bowl of soup and looked at his son. "What is it?" Aiden nibbled his lower lip with a touch of nervousness as he replied, "I...I wanted to talk to you about something." Aiden's father sat back in his chair and waited expectantly, his eyes gentle and nonjudgmental. "What's on your mind, Son?"

Aiden took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. "Papa, I...I know things are different now without Mama," he said, pausing for a moment as he saw the flash of pain touch his father's eyes. He pressed on, not wanting to lose courage. It had taken a lot to bring this up again after all this time. "You told me I should always follow my dreams and reach for the stars," he continued, tiptoeing through this. However, Aiden's father let out a soft sigh, then gave a sad smile. "Is this the part where you tell me you want to leave home and seek out those adventures in the skies?" Aiden sat up a little straighter and responded quickly, "I do but...but Papa, I know things are different now. I'm scared to leave you here all alone!" His father looked over at the empty chair adjacent to them both where his wife sat for many years before her untimely death due to a plague that went through three years ago. Aiden must really want to go if he was bringing this up despite everything. Aiden, feeling discouraged, began to give up. "Papa, I'm sorry. I don't have to go. I'll stay. I'll-" "Aiden, no. Go," he encouraged his son with glistening eyes and that encouraging smile he always seemed to have for him. "I'll be okay." He cleared his throat and wiped his eyes as Aiden sat there feeling so uncertain. "It's what your mother would have wanted. It's what I want, too. I want you to be happy and free to live your life as you see fit. Don't be like your old man, shackled to expectations of life. Just make sure to send me a letter now and then. I want to hear about everything!"

Aiden had already felt the sting of tears leading up to this but now that his father was really giving him the go ahead, the tears burst forth from his eyes at the love and acceptance his father had for him. He stood and went around the table to hug his father, his father standing and holding him tight and pressing his forehead to his. "Everything is going to be okay, Son." He kissed his son's forehead and once Aiden was settled down more, he released him from the hug and reached for his bowl to wash it. "Besides," his father said in an attempt to lighten the mood, "I'm pretty sure Ms. Moore down the street won't let me starve." Aiden chuckled and wiped his face with his sleeve. "She only comes to feed you lunch every day at the shop. I am starting to think she's sweet on you, Papa." Aiden's father chuckled and said nothing, neither agreeing nor disagreeing as he took their bowls to wash, leaving Aiden smirking at him.

The next morning dawned bright and Aiden was up with it! The city was barely moving and yet Aiden was making his way down the street towards the city square. As he walked through town, a few early risers called and waved to him in greeting. It couldn't be said that Aiden wasn't a well-liked young man.

"Good morning, Aiden! You're out and about early." came a deep voice as he reached the city square. Aiden grinned a bit as he approached the officer in uniform who had spoken to him. "Good morning, Constable." They shook hands amiably before the constable tucked his arms behind him once again. "How's your father? Is he well?" "Yes, Sir, he is. Sturdy as ever." "Good, good. So where are you off to? Not many are so bright-eyed this early in the morning." As if on cue, the constable stifled a yawn which caused Aiden to chuckle. "I'm heading to the advertisement post, Sir." Suddenly from behind Aiden at the tavern, the sound of puking was heard and they both turned to see a man who'd just stumbled out of the tavern, hunched over. The constable turned his nose and coughed. "Disgusting," he grumbled then sighed. "Well, go on then. I suppose I should escort Mr. Smithers home...again. Have a good morning, Aiden." "Thank you, Constable." Aiden watched him go and as he turned to continue on his way towards the large post, he could hear the constable scolding a groaning Mr. Smithers behind him.

 

***

This scene was taken in Second Life at Victorian London - Time Portal in the city square!

You can check out this AMAZING roleplay-type parcel and even rent from there! Its so realistic! Seriously! Check out the detail on the Constable in the picture! Wow, right?! When I first found out about it, I spent over an hour just admiring everything!

***

Next Part: www.flickr.com/photos/153660805@N05/50723835221/in/datepo...

  

To read the rest of the story, here's the album link:

 

www.flickr.com/photos/153660805@N05/albums/72157717075565127

 

***Please note this is a BOY LOVE (BL/yaoi/gay) series. It is a slow burn and rated PG13!***

***

Special thank you to Vin Aydin Raven-Mysterious for collaborating with me on this series and co-starring as The Captain!

 

DISCORD SERVER: That's right! The Captain and the Engineer has a Discord Server! If you would like to join and chat with other crewmates and see what's new and happening before it gets posted to Flickr, click the link!

discord.gg/qBa769TAC4

 

***NEW!!!!***

 

The Captain and the Engineer now has a FACEBOOK PAGE! Please come Like, Follow, and join the crew! Thank you so much for all your support!

FACEBOOK PAGE:

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558531406088

Anima Series 5

Sitting No. 144

Lismore NSW 2017

 

Innocence may be defined by what it is not. Innocence is not ignorance – it is not an inability to take in information or recognise the nature of things.

 

It is not immaturity. Indeed, in some spiritual traditions, cultivating innocence is seen as a maturing of mind that allows us to attain grace and better appreciate nature’s beauty.

 

In the Dhammapada (a collection of sayings by the Buddha) it speaks about thoughtless awareness.

 

Thoughtless awareness doesn’t add to our knowledge, but simply deepens our innocence and helps us to view the world with more awe and wonder. Innocence just ‘sees’ and its beauty lies in a nonjudgmental view of things.

 

In the Buddhist tradition, innocence is about keeping our consciousness at the level of the heart and not allowing it to settle only in the head.

  

Rovingian Council - Nomad Monks - Contemplation, Listening And Feeling by Daniel Arrhakis (2025)

 

 

»»» With the music : Echoes from Cave - Chill, Spiritual, Sensitive, A few minutes of peace

 

youtu.be/AvLR5x8J4bA

 

Contemplation, Listening, and Feeling

 

Contemplation is a practice of deep, nonjudgmental observation of the environment to foster a spiritual connection, opening the senses to perceive the world beyond the surface.

This can involve mindful meditation in situ, allowing oneself to be in touch with the elements and recognize the interconnection of all things, sometimes leading to a mystical experience of a strong presence in the place, which can arise from vibrations or even distant temporal echoes.

 

Find a quiet place in nature and sit or stand to observe the environment with all your senses. Be patient and allow your mind to calm down. Focus on a specific object, such as a rock, the surface of a lake, a water ripple, a tree, a stream, or simply the space around you.

Pay attention to the wind, sounds, sights, smells, and textures of the environment. Listen to the "voice" of the surrounding environment, close your eyes for long periods, and abstract yourself from yourself, slowing your breathing and heart rate.

 

___________________________________________________

 

Contemplação, Ouvir e Sentir

  

A contemplação é uma prática de observação profunda e sem julgamentos do ambiente para promover uma ligação espiritual, abrindo os sentidos para perceber o mundo para além da superfície.

Isto pode envolver a meditação consciente no local, permitindo-se estar em contacto com os elementos e reconhecer a interligação de todas as coisas, levando por vezes a uma experiência mística de uma dada presença forte no local que pode advir de vibrações ou mesmo de ecos longínquos temporais.

 

Encontre um lugar tranquilo na natureza e sente-se ou fique de pé para observar o ambiente com todos os seus sentidos. Seja paciente e permita que a sua mente se acalme. Concentre-se num objeto específico, como uma pedra, a superfície de um lago, a ondulação, uma árvore ou um riacho, ou simplesmente no espaço que o rodeia.

Preste atenção aos sons, ao vento, imagens, cheiros e texturas do ambiente. Ouça a "voz" do ambiente envolvente, feche os olhos por longos períodos e abstraia-se de si mesmo e abrande os seus ritmos respiratórios e cardíacos.

  

I've spent the last several days attending protests, mostly to document, and partially to participate. I haven't always embraced the black half of my identity, despite it being the most visible and forward-facing part. But I have struggled with systemic racism, oppression, and specifically systemic issues with police my entire life.

On Friday the 29th, the group of peaceful protesters I was with in Oakland were teargassed and flashbanged. This isn't news, but I was fucking there and documented it between wiping my eyes and moving upwind from gas and away from explosives. For the thousands of peaceful protesters I saw, there were at most 10 individuals tagging (mostly boards), breaking, setting fires. This minority felt categorically different than the rest of the protesters and in no way was representative. This is the album of those photos.

From then on in Stanford, East Palo Alto, and San Jose, there were zero bad actors at the protests I attended. Completely energizing, excited, and lively, but peaceful and nondestructive. By. The. Thousands.

So take your complicit bullshit out of here if you're trying to legitimize or excuse or divert from police fucking murdering black people by waving around the tiny-ass percentage of people doing property damage. Seriously, what is wrong with y'all??!! The answer is systemic oppression.

 

The thing I've felt the most is hope. Hope that this will finally mobilize real change. America doesn't vote well (especially for legislators) and the Supreme Court doesn't move quickly enough. These are the primary legal actions for enacting change. So what the fuck are people supposed to do to stop our black brothers and sisters from getting brutally murdered if not this? There isn't another answer.

Read the resource guides people post. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, damn, but message me and I'll nonjudgmentally give you some. Go to a protest. Bring a sign. And water. And a towel to wipe the tear gas out of your eyes for when the cops think you need to get brutalized for showing up to stand up to their brutalization (protip: wait until it's dry).

Navratri Night

Silom Road already close traffic .Everyone placed Statues of their gods on the side walk waiting for the procession to ask for Parvati blessings

 

I walk along and stopped here

 

She is a medium

 

A voice came from the people around saying that she is the medium of Goddess Uma (We will not judge this)

There are a number of people were queuing up to meet her and it was this Young woman's turn

The woman knelt down in front of the goddess and received the mask of Mother Uma put on her face

then she started crying

The goddess had gentle face with warm smile (I must say I like her)

Her smile was nonjudgmental ,did not doubt, did not ask anything and touched the girl softly and muttered something (or maybe it was some mantra)

 

She seemed to be taking that sadness of a young lady through her hand (all this took about ten minutes.)

 

It reminded me of Amma ("Mother") 'the hugging saint'

about her magical embrace

 

From a small embrace that started out wanting to relieve sadness, it has become a great embrace, without discrimination of men and women, rich or poor, everyone is equal, we all yearn for love and understanding.

 

Both , they do all for free

_p

.

.

Beautiful moments of Amma's

.

La Science de la Compassion - Un documentaire sur Amma

The Science of Compassion

A Documentary About Amma

.

 

I first saw him sitting on the indoor sun porch overlooking the frozen Lake James in northeastern Indiana. The Potawatomi Inn is an historic building operated by the state of Indiana and located near the town of Angola in the middle of a beautiful start park. He was intently working at some form of paperwork on the table before him.

 

He was still there as I made my return trip through the sun porch, a favorite relaxation spot for people doing jigsaw puzzles and watching birds at the feeders on the other side of the windows. "How's it going?" I asked. "Is it a crossword?" He looked up and smiled and said "No, it's a sudoko puzzle." "Oh, my son loves those"I replied and asked where he was from. Meet Fran which, I soon learned, is short for Francis.

 

We started chatting and finding out about each other and Fran didn't seem to mind being interrupted. He told me he and his wife had come up from Fort Wayne, an hour south of the park, to take a restful break from home and to take advantage of the two nights for the price of one winter bargain at the Inn. I explained my family used to come here for family reunions when my parents were alive and my wife and I decided to revive that tradition by meeting with my brother and his wife who are from Chicago. We also found the two-for-one bargain hard to resist.

 

As we talked, I discovered what an interesting man Fran is. He is 84 and is a retired Minister, having been ordained in the American Baptist church on the east coast. He had a congregation in the Boston area. "So what brought you to Indiana?" I asked. He told me he became more interested in working in the community and the church out east was not happy with that and felt he should be doing more fundraising for the church. Meanwhile he had experience and expertise in community work and in organizing community programs for underserved populations. The Ecumenical Council of Fort Wayne was looking for someone who could offer training to its staff on how to work in a nonjudgmental way with young offenders. That was many years ago (I forget the number) and he served the community in a variety of capacities for many years, finally having to take a retirement due to heart problems.

 

I had to admit to Fran that I'm not a religious person but I really liked his outlook as it came out in our fascinating conversation. I said that I had little to no religious training growing up and have long been concerned at the amount of competition that exists between different religions, competition that has resulted in wars and many deaths. Rather than being defensive, Fran said he shares the same concern. He has a strong belief that more energy needs to be invested in building on the commonalities between faiths rather than their differences and that people of all faiths have a responsibility to not just espouse peace but to be "peace-builders." Hence, his decision to spend much of his career in the ecumenical movement. Fran confirmed my impression of the meaning of ecumenical by telling me it is a cross-faith movement and he said his council embraces most if not all of the major faiths in Fort Wayne.

 

One of the projects Fran is most proud of is a program he and others developed to "reclaim the land" following every homicide in Fort Wayne. Ministers of many faiths meet with members of the community and families of the victims each time a murder is committed and offer a service which is designed to bring the community together in peace. It sounded like a powerful idea.

 

Fran's message is "We all need to work together to forget our differences and build a better, more peaceful world." From our conversation, it was clear that he is living his philosophy. When I told him about my meeting my previous two Strangers in town at the Cahoots coffee shop and youth center the previous day his face lit up and he said "I know the people who organized that project. It's exactly the kind of program I am talking about - an ecumenical project which unites people of more than one faith for the benefit of the community."

 

When I asked Fran if he would be part of my 100 Strangers project he listened and nodded, saying "I"d be glad to." I excused myself to get my camera from my room down the hall and Fran was very accommodating as we experimented with my reflector to even out the strong light coming in the window from the south. In the end, Fran held the diffuser which I placed against the window between him and the bright sun. I think this is the first time I've used the diffuser.

 

When Fran's wife Ann joined us and learned about the project she was very interested. She liked it right off and said "I should leave Fran on his own a bit more often; he winds up having the most interesting experiences." I laughed.

 

We all chatted from time to time as our paths crossed on the final day of our stay and I was able to introduce my wife and my brother and sister in law to Fran and Ann (it has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?) I found much in common with Fran and feel fortunate to have met him and his wife.

 

Thank you Fran for participating in 100 Strangers. You are #691 in Round 7 of my project and I’m very glad we met. Best wishes for your continuing contributions to the community.

 

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by the other photographers in our group at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.

 

Magna Webinar from April 7, 2015 by Dr. Kris Roush. We had about 30 instructors and staff

...she prays and watches over you and she'd gift you anything.

 

For me this is such a true quote.

I was very close to my maternal grandmother and knew that I could always find nonjudgmental love and affection, and a gentle helping hand when I needed it.

It's nice to see that Chloe is forging the same close relationships with both her grandmothers.

She is close to me, but she lives with her maternal grandmother Denise, and it was so nice to be able to observe the closeness the two of them share.

She's a lucky girl to be surrounded by so many strong female role models!

 

Tara, her mother and Chloe came down for an overnight and a day on the beach.

They picked a real winner of a day! On a scale of 1-10 of good beach days, it was an 11!

In the low 80's, no humidity, and the water was 75 degrees!

there will come a day my friend

when time will seem to stand still

opening new gates of opportunities

for all those goals you spent

countless hours pondering over

and to achieve all you have

not yet discovered

 

there will come a day my friend

when thinking of your life

will bring happiness and hope

for whatever unknown lies ahead

and you will hold within your heart

the feeling you have longed for

and belief that you have

lived the days of your life

to their fullest

 

there will come a day my friend

when distress and pain

will become nothing more than

fancy pictures held captive

within the frame of your mind

within your reach and control

 

there will come a day my friend

when people will see

beyond the past

that now clouds their vision

into the innocent eyes

of a caring person

and listen with a nonjudgmental ear

to the truth that has

been so blankly distorted

in time sore wounds will heal

and contentment will fill

the empty gaps in your spirit with sweet serenity

mending all that has been tattered

 

because I know my friend

there will come a day....

~a survivor's poem

 

I saw her coming across the square shortly before the International Pillow Fight Day event was about to begin at City Hall in Toronto. Her outfit was fabulous and her open smile and sparkling eyes captured my attention immediately. I asked if I could take a photo and she said “Sure.” Meet Lori.

 

I took a quick photo where she stood and then mentioned my 100 Strangers project to which she immediately agreed. As I mentioned in my previous submission (Teresa) taking effective photos in Nathan Phillips Square is a bit of a challenge because of the rather open square with little in the way of interesting backgrounds or protection from direct light. I asked her if we could walk a few steps to the side of the square even though I didn’t have a big plan on how to best set the photo up. I was counting on some kind of divine inspiration and as I “winged” it, Lori was thoughtful enough to remove her glasses which I thought had a stylish touch but would have reflected (see comment photo).

 

Just as I figured out an effective position for the photo, a group of fellows walked right behind Lori and set up camp for a nice long chat. I walked over and gestured for them to move to the side if possible and they did so. I joked to Lori that I’ve become bolder since starting my project and she seemed amused. I suppose “bold” for me doesn’t look all that bossy to others.

 

Photos taken, I walked with Lori as the event was about to begin on the other side of the square. I wanted to find out a little bit about her and exchange contact information. Lori is 29 and does youth work in a Community Health Centre (a comprehensive multiservice centre in a high-needs part of west Toronto). She runs a program for youth called TRIP which I looked up when I got home and discovered it is a harm reduction program for youth participating in the electronic music “Rave” scene. It is nonjudgmental and offers unbiased information about lowering risks associated with sex and drugs in a scene that is known to have plenty of both. We “connected” around the fact that I’m a retired Social Worker and a former coworker is employed at a Community Health Centre.

 

As I was struggling to get Lori’s email despite my note-taking cell phone going dead, followed by my pen not working (classic project mishaps) Lori gently reminded me she had to be aware of time because she was in charge of the big Pillow Fight event! I had no idea and was amazed at her generosity since she had given me a few very friendly minutes of her time when she had some serious responsibilities of which I had not been the least bit aware. See www.national-awareness-days.com/international-pillow-figh... and www.newmindspace.com/ for more information about International Pillow Fight Day. I found Lori to be a very relaxed and “grounded” individual and I’m sure she’s very good at what she does with youth. I sensed her calm and trust even in the short 4-5 minutes we spent together.

 

A few brief minutes later the whistle blew and the pillow fight erupted and I got a few photos of the pillow mayhem. It was all in good fun and people really had a blast swinging their pillows at each other.

 

I promised to send Lori her photos and we promised to link up by email for her to tell me a bit more about herself and her work. Thank you Lori for the chance to meet you and for participating in 100 Strangers on a busy day. You are #767 in Round 8 of my project. The pillow fight event was a big success and a lot of fun so you must be quite pleased.

 

Additional note: As if her outfit wasn't proof enough of Lori's great taste and sense of style, when I got home and edited the photos I realized she was carrying an Olympus camera which I hadn't noticed!

 

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by the other photographers in our group at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page.

 

#exercisetips : Our body and mind are connected. Listening to one can reveal secrets to the other. Be observant and nonjudgmental to the answers that come from your form of meditation. #selfportrait

There's no other purpose of friendship than to immerse and dive into its being. To gentle explore through empathy and nonjudgmental listening would ofcourse make you a precious participant, but in fact all you need, is to be you, no more no less, it's all that's needed.

Young Adult Crisis Hotline

 

Check out our Blog at :

 

youngadultcrisishotline.blogspot.com/

  

"Critical Crisis Coaching that can help you again to begin to think Rationally with Reality about the Crisis that you are personally facing!"

____________________________________________________

Call toll Free 1-877-702-2GOD

  

ALL CALLS FREE, CONFIDENTIAL

AND ANONYMOUS!

 

"The Young Adult Crisis Counseling Hotline offers immediate emotional support by telephone volunteers trained to help young adults who may be having relational problems, addictions, have an eating disorder, are suicidal, in emotional distress, or in need of reassurance. Services are at no cost, confidential, and anonymous."

 

“People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

  

"What we're hoping to get the churches to see ... and to really understand is that losing one to Jesus was more important than staying with the entire flock. He would go after the one lost sheep and leave the 99 behind."

   

We provide an accepting environment that allows for God's grace and healing for those seeking with life controlling issues. We offer rational and objective advice from a variety of life issues such as anxiety, depression, abuse, addiction, relational issues, family intervention, eating disorders. If you are at a point of crisis and are looking for objective rational no cost advice please give us a call.

 

WE ARE -

 

- A NUMBER TO CALL THAT WILL BE CONFIDENTIAL, TO RECEIVE HOPE FOR OUR HOPELESSNESS, TO FIND RATIONAL SOLUTIONS FOR OUR IRRATIONAL THOUGHTS, AND TO FACE OUR TOXIC SHAME WITH THE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.

 

- WE ARE A PLACE TO CALL TO FIGURE OUR LIFE'S PUZZLE WITH ENCOURAGEMENT AND GODLY COACHING.

 

- WE ARE A SAFE PLACE TO JUST NOT TALK ABOUT OUR SURFACE PROBLEMS AND RECEIVE A EMOTIONAL BAND AIDS! WE WILL TOGETHER UNCOVER THE DEEP SEATED ISSUES THAT PLAGUE OUR MINDS.

 

- WE ACKNOWLEDGE EVERYONE DESERVES PERSONAL SENSE OF BELONGING AND ACCEPTANCE THAT WILL GIVE YOU INDIVIDUAL DIGNITY THROUGH THE INDIVIDUAL CRISIS.

 

- THIS THEREFORE PROVIDES A SELF-RESPECT AND CARE THAT EVERYONE HAS A NEED FOR IN LIFE.

 

- THIS OPENS THE DOORS OF LEARNING AND GROWTH THAT WILL PAVE AN AVENUE OF INNER-STRENGTH.

If you are a young adult or a family member of a young adult who is in crisis this hotline number is for you. I have below defined what I believe a Critical Crisis can be in a young adults life and hopefully you can reach out for encouragement during these times in you life.

 

Critical Crisis Definition:

 

A crisis is a turning point or decisive moment in events where you as a young adult or as a family member have met a crossroad. Typically, it is the moment from which an imminent critical trauma may go on to death or recovery. More loosely, it is a term meaning 'a testing time' or 'emergency event'. This crossroad is a crucial, decisive point or situation where a turning point, or an emotionally stressful event or traumatic change in a person's life will be taking place. A Critical situation you or a loved one is either in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency.

 

The Young Adult Crisis Hotline offers immediate emotional support by telephone volunteers trained to help young adults who may be having relational problems, addictions, have an eating disorder, are suicidal, in emotional distress, or in need of reassurance. Services are free, confidential, and anonymous. Professionally trained volunteers handle incoming calls using active, caring, and nonjudgmental listening and problem-solving skills. All calls are free, confidential and anonymous.

 

Young Adults in crisis... they're everywhere. Faced with physical and emotional abuse, drugs, peer pressure and the like, many today just don't have the resources or support to handle the pressure.

 

The marketing experts at Hallmark say that "15 million Americans now attend weekly support groups for chemical addictions and other problems. Another 100 million relatives are cheering on their addicted loved ones. This means that half of all Americans are either in recovery or helping someone who is."

 

We personally want to be able to reach out and help those who are in critical crisis with personal encouragement and care through the storm that faces your life personally. Please call us and let me try to help you right where you are at in your life. No matter how far, or how low you think you are it is not too late for help!

 

Most of the time, we are just facing what we have personally chosen previously over and over again as a choice. Now we are facing a mountain and need help or a guide to help us through the dangerous path around the mountain passes. We just want to be that guide and be there for you if you want that guide, to survive the mountain passes. Please call, anytime day or night!

 

In His Grace Forever,

Pastor Teddy Awad, CMHP

Young Adult Crisis Hotline and

Biblical Counseling Center

410-808-6483

theodoreawadjr@comcast.net

yacrisishotline.tripod.com/

youngadultcrisishotline.blogspot.com/

youngadultcrisishotline@comcast.net

    

getfitwinnipeg.com/health-news/covid-deaths-no-longer-ove...

 

Covid deaths no longer overwhelmingly among unvaccinated as toll on elderly grows

Experts say numbers show importance of boosters — and the risks the most vulnerable still face

 

Unvaccinated people accounted for the overwhelming majority of deaths in the United States throughout much of the coronavirus pandemic. But that has changed in recent months, according to a Washington Post analysis of state and federal data.

 

The pandemic’s toll is no longer falling almost exclusively on those who chose not to get shots, with vaccine protection waning over time and the elderly and immunocompromised — who are at greatest risk of succumbing to covid-19, even if vaccinated — having a harder time dodging increasingly contagious strains.

 

The vaccinated made up 42 percent of fatalities in January and February during the highly contagious omicron variant’s surge, compared with 23 percent of the dead in September, the peak of the delta wave, according to nationwide data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed by The Post. The data is based on the date of infection and limited to a sampling of cases in which vaccination status was known.

 

As a group, the unvaccinated remain far more vulnerable to the worst consequences of infection — and are far more likely to die — than people who are vaccinated, and they are especially more at risk than people who have received a booster shot.

 

Tracking the coronavirus vaccine

 

“It’s still absolutely more dangerous to be unvaccinated than vaccinated,” said Andrew Noymer, a public health professor at the University of California at Irvine who studies covid-19 mortality. “A pandemic of — and by — the unvaccinated is not correct. People still need to take care in terms of prevention and action if they became symptomatic.”

 

A key explanation for the rise in deaths among the vaccinated is that covid-19 fatalities are again concentrated among the elderly.

 

Nearly two-thirds of the people who died during the omicron surge were 75 and older, according to a Post analysis, compared with a third during the delta wave. Seniors are overwhelmingly immunized, but vaccines are less effective and their potency wanes over time in older age groups.

 

Experts say they are not surprised that vaccinated seniors are making up a greater share of the dead, even as vaccine holdouts died far more often than the vaccinated during the omicron surge, according to the CDC. As more people are infected with the virus, the more people it will kill, including a greater number who are vaccinated but among the most vulnerable.

 

What to know about the omicron variant and subvariant BA.2

 

The bulk of vaccinated deaths are among people who did not get a booster shot, according to state data provided to The Post. In two of the states, California and Mississippi, three-quarters of the vaccinated senior citizens who died in January and February did not have booster doses. Regulators in recent weeks have authorized second booster doses for people over the age of 50, but administration of first booster doses has stagnated.

 

Even though the death rates for the vaccinated elderly and immunocompromised are low, their losses numbered in the thousands when cases exploded, leaving behind blindsided families. But experts say the rising number of vaccinated people dying should not cause panic in those who got shots, the vast majority of whom will survive infections. Instead, they say, these deaths serve as a reminder that vaccines are not foolproof and that those in high-risk groups should consider getting boosted and taking extra precautions during surges.

 

“Vaccines are one of the most important and longest-lasting tools we have to protect ourselves,” said California State Epidemiologist Erica Pan, citing state estimates showing vaccines have shown to be 85 percent effective in preventing death.

 

“Unfortunately, that does leave another 15,” she said.

 

‘He did not expect to be sick’

 

Arianne Bennett recalled her husband, Scott Bennett, saying, “But I’m vaxxed. But I’m vaxxed,” from the D.C. hospital bed where he struggled to fight off covid-19 this winter.

 

Friends had a hard time believing Bennett, co-founder of the D.C.-based chain Amsterdam Falafelshop, was 70. The adventurous longtime entrepreneur hoped to buy a bar and planned to resume scuba-diving trips and 40-mile bike rides to George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate.

 

Bennett went to get his booster in early December after returning to D.C. from a lodge he owned in the Poconos, where he and his wife hunkered down for fall. Just a few days after his shot, Bennett began experiencing covid-19 symptoms, meaning he was probably exposed before the extra dose of immunity could kick in. His wife suspects he was infected at a dinner where he and his server were unmasked at times.

 

A fever-stricken Bennett limped into the hospital alongside his wife, who was also infected, a week before Christmas. He died Jan. 13, among the 125,000 Americans who succumbed to covid-19 in January and February.

 

“He was absolutely shocked. He did not expect to be sick. He really thought he was safe,’” Arianne Bennett recalled. “And I’m like, ‘But baby, you’ve got to wear the mask all the time. All the time. Up over your nose.’”

 

Jason Salemi, an epidemiologist at the University of South Florida College of Public Health, said the deaths of vaccinated people are among the consequences of a pandemic response that emphasizes individuals protecting themselves.

 

“When we are not taking this collective effort to curb community spread of the virus, the virus has proven time and time again it’s really good at finding that subset of vulnerable people,” Salemi said.

 

While experts say even the medically vulnerable should feel assured that a vaccine will probably save their lives, they should remain vigilant for signs of infection. As more therapeutics become available, early detection and treatment is key.

 

When Wayne Perkey, 84, first started sneezing and feeling other cold symptoms in early February, he resisted his physician daughter’s plea to get tested for the coronavirus.

 

The legendary former morning radio host in Louisville had been boosted in October. He diligently wore a mask and kept his social engagements to a minimum. It must have been the common cold or allergies, he believed. Even the physician who ordered a chest X-ray and had no coronavirus tests on hand thought so.

 

Perkey relented, and the test came back positive. He didn’t think he needed to go to the hospital, even as his oxygen levels declined.

 

“In his last voice conversation with me, he said, ‘I thought I was doing everything right,’” recalled Lady Booth Olson, another daughter, who lives in Virginia. “I believe society is getting complacent, and clearly somebody he was around was carrying the virus. … We’ll never know.”

 

From his hospital bed, Perkey resumed a familiar role as a high-profile proponent for vaccines and coronavirus precautions. He was familiar to many Kentuckians who grew up hearing his voice on the radio and watched him host the televised annual Crusade for Children fundraiser. He spent much of the pandemic as a caregiver to his ex-wife who struggled with chronic fatigue and other long-haul covid symptoms.

 

“It’s the 7th day of my Covid battle, the worst day so far, and my anger boils when I hear deniers talk about banning masks or social distancing,” Perkey wrote on Facebook on Feb. 16, almost exactly one year after he posted about getting his first shot. “I remember times we cared about our neighbors.”

 

In messages to a family group chat, he struck an optimistic note. “Thanks for all the love and positive energy,” he texted on Feb. 23. “Wear your mask.”

 

As is often the case for covid-19 patients, his condition rapidly turned for the worse. His daughter Rebecca Booth, the physician, suspects a previous bout with leukemia made it harder for his immune system to fight off the virus. He died March 6.

 

“Really and truly his final days were about, ‘This virus is bad news.’ He basically was saying: ‘Get vaccinated. Be careful. But there is no guarantee,’” Rebecca Booth said. “And, ‘If you think this isn’t a really bad virus, look at me.’ And it is.”

 

Hospitals, particularly in highly vaccinated areas, have also seen a shift from covid wards filled predominantly with the unvaccinated. Many who end up in the hospital have other conditions that weakens the shield afforded by the vaccine.

 

Vaccinated people made up slightly less than half the patients in the intensive care units of Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California hospital system in December and January, according to a spokesman.

 

Gregory Marelich, chair of critical care for the 21 hospitals in that system, said most of the vaccinated and boosted people he saw in ICUs were immunosuppressed, usually after organ transplants or because of medications for diseases such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.

 

“I’ve cared for patients who are vaccinated and immunosuppressed and are in disbelief when they come down with covid,” Marelich said.

 

‘There’s life potential in those people’

 

Jessica Estep, 41, rang a bell celebrating her last treatment for follicular lymphoma in September. The single mother of two teenagers had settled into a new home in Michigan, near the Indiana border. After her first marriage ended, she found love again and got married in a zoo in November.

 

As an asthmatic cancer survivor, Estep knew she faced a heightened risk from covid-19, relatives said. She saw only a tight circle of friends and worked in her own office in her electronics repair job. She lived in an area where around 1 in 4 residents are fully vaccinated. She planned to get a booster shot in the winter.

 

“She was the most nonjudgmental person I know,” said her mother, Vickie Estep. “It was okay with her if people didn’t mask up or get vaccinated. It was okay with her that they exercised their right of choice, but she just wanted them to do that away from her so that she could be safe.”

 

With Michigan battling back-to-back surges of the delta and omicron variants, Jessica Estep wasn’t able to dodge the virus any longer — she fell ill in mid-December. After surviving a cancer doctors described as incurable, Estep died Jan. 27. Physicians said the coronavirus essentially turned her lungs into concrete, her mother said.

 

Estep’s 14-year-old daughter now lives with her grandparents. Her widower returned to Indianapolis just months after he moved to Michigan to be with his new wife.

 

Her family shared her story with a local television station in hopes of inspiring others to get vaccinated, to protect people such as Estep who could not rely on their own vaccination as a foolproof shield. In response to the station’s Facebook post about the story, several commenters shrugged off their pleas and insinuated it was the vaccines rather than covid causing deaths.

 

Immunocompromised people and those with other underlying conditions are worth protecting, Vickie Estep said. “There’s life potential in those people.”

 

A delayed shot

 

As Arianne Bennett navigates life without her husband, she hopes the lesson people heed from his death is to take advantage of all tools available to mitigate a virus that still finds and kills the vulnerable, including by getting boosters.

 

Bennett wore a music festival shirt her husband gave her as she walked into a grocery store to get her third shot in March. Her husband urged her to get one when they returned to D.C., but she became sick at the same time he did. She scheduled the appointment for the earliest she could get the shot: 90 days after receiving monoclonal antibodies to treat the disease.

 

“My booster! Yay!” Bennett exclaimed in her chair as the pharmacist presented an updated vaccine card.

 

“It’s been challenging, but we got through it,” the pharmacist said, unaware of Scott Bennett’s death.

 

Tears welled in Bennett’s eyes as the needle went in her left arm, just over a year after she and her husband received their first shots.

 

“Last time we got it, we took selfies: ‘Look, we had vaccines,’” Bennett said, beginning to sob. “This one leaves me crying, missing him so much.”

 

The pharmacist leaned over and gave Bennett a hug in her chair.

 

“He would want you to do this,” the pharmacist said. “You have to know.”

 

Lenny Bernstein contributed to this report.

 

Methodology

 

Death rates compare the number of deaths in various groups with an adjustment for the number of people in each group. The death rates listed for the fully vaccinated, the unvaccinated and those vaccinated with boosters were calculated by the CDC using a sample of deaths from 23 health departments in the country that record vaccine status, including boosters, for deaths related to covid-19. The CDC study assigns deaths to the month when a patient contracted covid-19, not the month of death. The latest data published in April reflected deaths of people who contracted covid as of February. The CDC study of deaths among the vaccinated is online, and the data can be downloaded.

 

The death rates for fully vaccinated people, unvaccinated people and fully vaccinated people who received an additional booster are expressed as deaths per 100,000 people. The death rates are also called incidence rates. The CDC estimated the population sizes from census data and vaccination records. The study does not include partially vaccinated people in the deaths or population. CDC adjusted the population sizes for inaccuracies in the vaccination data. The death data is provisional and subject to change. The study sample includes the population eligible for boosters, which was originally 18 and older, and now is 12 and older.

 

To compare death rates between groups with different vaccination status, the CDC uses incidence rate ratios. For example, if one group has a rate of 10 deaths per 100,000 people, the death incidence rate would be 10. Another group may have a death incidence rate of 2.5. The ratio between the first group and the second group is the rate of 10 divided by the rate of 2.5, so the incidence rate ratio would be 4 (10÷2.5=4). That means the first group dies at a rate four times that of the second group.

 

The CDC calculates the death incidence rates and incidence rate ratios by age groups. It also calculates a value for the entire population adjusted for the size of the population in each age group. The Post used those age-adjusted total death incidence rates and incidence rate ratios.

 

The Post calculated the share of deaths by vaccine status from the sample of death records the CDC used to calculate death incidence rates by vaccine status. As of April, that data included 44,000 deaths of people who contracted covid in January and February.

 

The share of deaths for each vaccine status does not include deaths for partially vaccinated people because they are not included in the CDC data.

 

The Post calculated the share of deaths in each age group from provisional covid-19 death records that have age details from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. That data assigns deaths by the date of death, not the date on which the person contracted covid-19. That data does not include any information on vaccine status of the people who died.

The Glass Castle -- "Jeannette Walls's father always called her "Mountain Goat" and there's perhaps no more apt nickname for a girl who navigated a sheer and towering cliff of childhood both daily and stoically. In The Glass Castle, Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents--Rose Mary, her frustrated-artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. To call the elder Walls's childrearing style laissez faire would be putting it mildly. As Rose Mary and Rex, motivated by whims and paranoia, uprooted their kids time and again, the youngsters (Walls, her brother and two sisters) were left largely to their own devices. But while Rex and Rose Mary firmly believed children learned best from their own mistakes, they themselves never seemed to do so, repeating the same disastrous patterns that eventually landed them on the streets. Walls describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a child in this family, from the embarrassing (wearing shoes held together with safety pins; using markers to color her skin in an effort to camouflage holes in her pants) to the horrific (being told, after a creepy uncle pleasured himself in close proximity, that sexual assault is a crime of perception; and being pimped by her father at a bar). Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. In fact, Walls' removed, nonjudgmental stance is initially startling, since many of the circumstances she describes could be categorized as abusive (and unquestioningly neglectful). But on the contrary, Walls respects her parents' knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them--despite their overwhelming self-absorption--resonates from cover to cover." -- from www.amazon.com

 

I liked this book but it made me very angry at times...I wanted to smack the parents around a little until they stopped being so incredible self-absorbed and ignorant of what they were doing to their children.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Other Boleyn Girl -- "Before Henry VIII ever considered making Anne Boleyn his wife, her older sister, Mary, was his mistress. Historical novelist Gregory (Virgin Earth) uses the perspective of this "other Boleyn girl" to reveal the rivalries and intrigues swirling through England. The sisters and their brother George were raised with one goal: to advance the Howard family's interests, especially against the Seymours. So when Mary catches the king's fancy, her family orders her to abandon the husband they had chosen. She bears Henry two children, including a son, but Anne's desire to be queen drives her with ruthless intensity, alienating family and foes. As Henry grows more desperate for a legitimate son and Anne strives to replace Catherine as queen, the social fabric weakens. Mary abandons court life to live with a new husband and her children in the countryside, but love and duty bring her back to Anne time and again. We share Mary's helplessness as Anne loses favor, and everyone abandons her amid accusations of adultery, incest, and witchcraft. Even the Boleyn parents won't intervene for their children." -- from www.amazon.com

 

I'm almost halfway through this one right now and it's very interesting but, just like in 'The Glass Castle', I want to smack the (Boleyn) parents around a little for what they do to their children. It does have a little of that Titanic feel to it though -- where you know what the ending is going to be but no matter how much you wish it would work out differently, you know it won't.

 

The Glass Castle -- Started: Aug. 17, 2009 Finished: Aug. 18, 2009

The Other Boleyn Girl -- Started: Aug. 19, 2009 Finished: Aug. 28, 2009

 

25 Book Challenge 2009 Books #45 & #46

Oftentimes we find ourselves in an extremely uncompromising position where we do things or act the way we normally would not do. Our individual nature is to want or desire what we cannot have. That is normal as following a burning feeling that cannot be controlled, satiated or prevented. The darkest natures are those of people who suffer ego issues and need to distract themselves from that reality by enjoying what is lacking in the lust of a nonjudgmental attraction or orgasm.

 

Those who have deficiency in fertility are often victims of lust and even though they cannot have the dream lust achieved they will act out in accord with the sin until every ounce of strength is used. Lust often renders its male victims incapable of performing sexually after long periods of time do to the masturbatory storage of reproduction fluids being used up. Those who are victims of not finding love early in teenage years will most definitely find themselves experimenting away almost everyday to a point where fertility is no longer possible.

 

The sin of lust is costly and can cause a variety of problems and inherited crises. For instance, HIV, genetic traits passed unknowingly to offspring that are unflattering and harmful, AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, pregnancy scares, incest, strains between those caught in a triangle of love affair and trauma caused by going too for sexually with abuse.

 

Average citizens often like to compare themselves to celebrities and find fault in them such that they themselves can have a peace of mind knowing at least someone else is doing the same thing. No being is considered perfect and it is this basis that we like to find faults in others to try and distract our own annoyance from our own lustful tendencies(just like mine or yours) For instance, Chris Brown was charged and went to prison for assaulting popular R&B star Rhianna due to a fight and is now serving community service. Tiger woods recently went to his sinful demise do to his alleged and confirmed cheating on his wife with the sex scandals between several women including a hooters female. Charlie sheen star of Two and a Half Men is known for his insane rounds of alcoholic rampages and lust ego played by his character on the show he got fired from(2011) These examples of celebrity lust scandals show us all how even those destined for greatness and fame are also no less immune to sin as all of us.

The Alliance of AIDS Service - Carolina continues with its mission to serve the community through compassionate nonjudgmental support, education, and care for the prevention of HIV/AIDS/STI.

 

They're are committed to serving all people infected or affected with HIV/AIDS in a non-judgmental and confidential environment, regardless of means of transmission or the ability to pay.

  

Follow on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/http.www.davegill.photography/

 

Un-Watermarked Gallery:https://davegillphotography.shootproof.com/gallery/8759615

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Young Adult Crisis Hotline

 

Check out our Blog at :

 

youngadultcrisishotline.blogspot.com/

  

"Critical Crisis Coaching that can help you again to begin to think Rationally with Reality about the Crisis that you are personally facing!"

____________________________________________________

Call toll Free 1-877-702-2GOD

  

ALL CALLS FREE, CONFIDENTIAL

AND ANONYMOUS!

 

"The Young Adult Crisis Counseling Hotline offers immediate emotional support by telephone volunteers trained to help young adults who may be having relational problems, addictions, have an eating disorder, are suicidal, in emotional distress, or in need of reassurance. Services are at no cost, confidential, and anonymous."

 

“People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

  

"What we're hoping to get the churches to see ... and to really understand is that losing one to Jesus was more important than staying with the entire flock. He would go after the one lost sheep and leave the 99 behind."

   

We provide an accepting environment that allows for God's grace and healing for those seeking with life controlling issues. We offer rational and objective advice from a variety of life issues such as anxiety, depression, abuse, addiction, relational issues, family intervention, eating disorders. If you are at a point of crisis and are looking for objective rational no cost advice please give us a call.

 

WE ARE -

 

- A NUMBER TO CALL THAT WILL BE CONFIDENTIAL, TO RECEIVE HOPE FOR OUR HOPELESSNESS, TO FIND RATIONAL SOLUTIONS FOR OUR IRRATIONAL THOUGHTS, AND TO FACE OUR TOXIC SHAME WITH THE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.

 

- WE ARE A PLACE TO CALL TO FIGURE OUR LIFE'S PUZZLE WITH ENCOURAGEMENT AND GODLY COACHING.

 

- WE ARE A SAFE PLACE TO JUST NOT TALK ABOUT OUR SURFACE PROBLEMS AND RECEIVE A EMOTIONAL BAND AIDS! WE WILL TOGETHER UNCOVER THE DEEP SEATED ISSUES THAT PLAGUE OUR MINDS.

 

- WE ACKNOWLEDGE EVERYONE DESERVES PERSONAL SENSE OF BELONGING AND ACCEPTANCE THAT WILL GIVE YOU INDIVIDUAL DIGNITY THROUGH THE INDIVIDUAL CRISIS.

 

- THIS THEREFORE PROVIDES A SELF-RESPECT AND CARE THAT EVERYONE HAS A NEED FOR IN LIFE.

 

- THIS OPENS THE DOORS OF LEARNING AND GROWTH THAT WILL PAVE AN AVENUE OF INNER-STRENGTH.

If you are a young adult or a family member of a young adult who is in crisis this hotline number is for you. I have below defined what I believe a Critical Crisis can be in a young adults life and hopefully you can reach out for encouragement during these times in you life.

 

Critical Crisis Definition:

 

A crisis is a turning point or decisive moment in events where you as a young adult or as a family member have met a crossroad. Typically, it is the moment from which an imminent critical trauma may go on to death or recovery. More loosely, it is a term meaning 'a testing time' or 'emergency event'. This crossroad is a crucial, decisive point or situation where a turning point, or an emotionally stressful event or traumatic change in a person's life will be taking place. A Critical situation you or a loved one is either in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency.

 

The Young Adult Crisis Hotline offers immediate emotional support by telephone volunteers trained to help young adults who may be having relational problems, addictions, have an eating disorder, are suicidal, in emotional distress, or in need of reassurance. Services are free, confidential, and anonymous. Professionally trained volunteers handle incoming calls using active, caring, and nonjudgmental listening and problem-solving skills. All calls are free, confidential and anonymous.

 

Young Adults in crisis... they're everywhere. Faced with physical and emotional abuse, drugs, peer pressure and the like, many today just don't have the resources or support to handle the pressure.

 

The marketing experts at Hallmark say that "15 million Americans now attend weekly support groups for chemical addictions and other problems. Another 100 million relatives are cheering on their addicted loved ones. This means that half of all Americans are either in recovery or helping someone who is."

 

We personally want to be able to reach out and help those who are in critical crisis with personal encouragement and care through the storm that faces your life personally. Please call us and let me try to help you right where you are at in your life. No matter how far, or how low you think you are it is not too late for help!

 

Most of the time, we are just facing what we have personally chosen previously over and over again as a choice. Now we are facing a mountain and need help or a guide to help us through the dangerous path around the mountain passes. We just want to be that guide and be there for you if you want that guide, to survive the mountain passes. Please call, anytime day or night!

 

In His Grace Forever,

Pastor Teddy Awad, CMHP

Young Adult Crisis Hotline and

Biblical Counseling Center

410-808-6483

theodoreawadjr@comcast.net

yacrisishotline.tripod.com/

youngadultcrisishotline.blogspot.com/

youngadultcrisishotline@comcast.net

    

.

 

The Alliance of AIDS Service - Carolina continues with its mission to serve the community through compassionate nonjudgmental support, education, and care for the prevention of HIV/AIDS/STI.

 

They're are committed to serving all people infected or affected with HIV/AIDS in a non-judgmental and confidential environment, regardless of means of transmission or the ability to pay.

  

Follow on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/http.www.davegill.photography/

 

Un-Watermarked Gallery:https://davegillphotography.shootproof.com/gallery/8759615

The Alliance of AIDS Service - Carolina continues with its mission to serve the community through compassionate nonjudgmental support, education, and care for the prevention of HIV/AIDS/STI.

 

They're committed to serving all people infected or affected with HIV/AIDS in a non-judgmental and confidential environment, regardless of means of transmission or the ability to pay.

 

Follow on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/http.www.davegill.photography/

 

Un-Watermarked Gallery:https://davegillphotography.shootproof.com/gallery/8759615

On lower back....

.

 

The Alliance of AIDS Service - Carolina continues with its mission to serve the community through compassionate nonjudgmental support, education, and care for the prevention of HIV/AIDS/STI.

 

They're committed to serving all people infected or affected with HIV/AIDS in a non-judgmental and confidential environment, regardless of means of transmission or the ability to pay.

 

Follow on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/http.www.davegill.photography/

 

Un-Watermarked Gallery:https://davegillphotography.shootproof.com/gallery/8759615

The Alliance of AIDS Service - Carolina continues with its mission to serve the community through compassionate nonjudgmental support, education, and care for the prevention of HIV/AIDS/STI.

 

They're committed to serving all people infected or affected with HIV/AIDS in a non-judgmental and confidential environment, regardless of means of transmission or the ability to pay.

 

Follow on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/http.www.davegill.photography/

 

Un-Watermarked Gallery:https://davegillphotography.shootproof.com/gallery/8759615

Some advice from a girl from Brooklyn, who I follow on social media, Maria Popova.

 

17 Life-Learnings from 17 Years of The Marginalian

 

Here, layered in chronological order, are the seventeen learnings upon this seventeenth birthday:

 

1. Allow yourself the uncomfortable luxury of changing your mind. Cultivate that capacity for “negative capability.” We live in a culture where one of the greatest social disgraces is not having an opinion, so we often form our “opinions” based on superficial impressions or the borrowed ideas of others, without investing the time and thought that cultivating true conviction necessitates. We then go around asserting these donned opinions and clinging to them as anchors to our own reality. It’s enormously disorienting to simply say, “I don’t know.” But it’s infinitely more rewarding to understand than to be right — even if that means changing your mind about a topic, an ideology, or, above all, yourself.

 

2. Do nothing for prestige or status or money or approval alone. As Paul Graham observed, “prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. It causes you to work not on what you like, but what you’d like to like.” Those extrinsic motivators are fine and can feel life-affirming in the moment, but they ultimately don’t make it thrilling to get up in the morning and gratifying to go to sleep at night — and, in fact, they can often distract and detract from the things that do offer those deeper rewards.

 

3. Be generous. Be generous with your time and your resources and with giving credit and, especially, with your words. It’s so much easier to be a critic than a celebrator. Always remember there is a human being on the other end of every exchange and behind every cultural artifact being critiqued. To understand and be understood, those are among life’s greatest gifts, and every interaction is an opportunity to exchange them.

 

4. Build pockets of stillness into your life. Meditate. Go for walks. Ride your bike going nowhere in particular. There is a creative purpose to daydreaming, even to boredom. The best ideas come to us when we stop actively trying to coax the muse into manifesting and let the fragments of experience float around our unconscious mind in order to click into new combinations. Without this essential stage of unconscious processing, the entire flow of the creative process is broken. Most important, sleep. Besides being the greatest creative aphrodisiac, sleep also affects our every waking moment, dictates our social rhythm, and even mediates our negative moods. Be as religious and disciplined about your sleep as you are about your work. We tend to wear our ability to get by on little sleep as some sort of badge of honor that validates our work ethic. But what it really is is a profound failure of self-respect and of priorities. What could possibly be more important than your health and your sanity, from which all else springs?

 

5. As Maya Angelou famously advised, when people tell you who they are, believe them. Just as important, however, when people try to tell you who you are, don’t believe them. You are the only custodian of your own integrity, and the assumptions made by those that misunderstand who you are and what you stand for reveal a great deal about them and absolutely nothing about you.

 

6. Presence is far more intricate and rewarding an art than productivity. Ours is a culture that measures our worth as human beings by our efficiency, our earnings, our ability to perform this or that. The cult of productivity has its place, but worshipping at its altar daily robs us of the very capacity for joy and wonder that makes life worth living — for, as Annie Dillard memorably put it, “how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

 

7. “Expect anything worthwhile to take a long time.” This is borrowed from the wise and wonderful Debbie Millman, for it’s hard to better capture something so fundamental yet so impatiently overlooked in our culture of immediacy. The myth of the overnight success is just that — a myth — as well as a reminder that our present definition of success needs serious retuning. The flower doesn’t go from bud to blossom in one spritely burst and yet, as a culture, we’re disinterested in the tedium of the blossoming. But that’s where all the real magic unfolds in the making of one’s character and destiny.

 

8. Seek out what magnifies your spirit. Patti Smith, in discussing William Blake and her creative influences, talks about writers and artists who magnified her spirit — it’s a beautiful phrase and a beautiful notion. Who are the people, ideas, and books that magnify your spirit? Find them, hold on to them, and visit them often. Use them not only as a remedy once spiritual malaise has already infected your vitality but as a vaccine administered while you are healthy to protect your radiance.

 

9. Don’t be afraid to be an idealist. There is much to be said for our responsibility as creators and consumers of that constant dynamic interaction we call culture — which side of the fault line between catering and creating are we to stand on? The commercial enterprise is conditioning us to believe that the road to success is paved with catering to existing demands — give the people cat GIFs, the narrative goes, because cat GIFs are what the people want. But E.B. White, one of our last great idealists, was eternally right when he asserted half a century ago that the role of the writer is “to lift people up, not lower them down” — a role each of us is called to with increasing urgency, whatever cog we may be in the machinery of society. Supply creates its own demand. Only by consistently supplying it can we hope to increase the demand for the substantive over the superficial — in our individual lives and in the collective dream called culture.

 

10. Don’t just resist cynicism — fight it actively. Fight it in yourself, for this ungainly beast lies dormant in each of us, and counter it in those you love and engage with, by modeling its opposite. Cynicism often masquerades as nobler faculties and dispositions, but is categorically inferior. Unlike that great Rilkean life-expanding doubt, it is a contracting force. Unlike critical thinking, that pillar of reason and necessary counterpart to hope, it is inherently uncreative, unconstructive, and spiritually corrosive. Life, like the universe itself, tolerates no stasis — in the absence of growth, decay usurps the order. Like all forms of destruction, cynicism is infinitely easier and lazier than construction. There is nothing more difficult yet more gratifying in our society than living with sincerity and acting from a place of largehearted, constructive, rational faith in the human spirit, continually bending toward growth and betterment. This remains the most potent antidote to cynicism. Today, especially, it is an act of courage and resistance.

 

11. A reflection originally offered by way of a wonderful poem about pi: Question your maps and models of the universe, both inner and outer, and continually test them against the raw input of reality. Our maps are still maps, approximating the landscape of truth from the territories of the knowable — incomplete representational models that always leave more to map, more to fathom, because the selfsame forces that made the universe also made the figuring instrument with which we try to comprehend it.

 

12. Because Year 12 is the year in which I finished writing Figuring (though it emanates from my entire life), and because the sentiment, which appears in the prelude, is the guiding credo to which the rest of the book is a 576-page footnote, I will leave it as it stands: There are infinitely many kinds of beautiful lives.

 

13. In any bond of depth and significance, forgive, forgive, forgive. And then forgive again. The richest relationships are lifeboats, but they are also submarines that descend to the darkest and most disquieting places, to the unfathomed trenches of the soul where our deepest shames and foibles and vulnerabilities live, where we are less than we would like to be. Forgiveness is the alchemy by which the shame transforms into the honor and privilege of being invited into another’s darkness and having them witness your own with the undimmed light of love, of sympathy, of nonjudgmental understanding. Forgiveness is the engine of buoyancy that keeps the submarine rising again and again toward the light, so that it may become a lifeboat once more.

 

14. Choose joy. Choose it like a child chooses the shoe to put on the right foot, the crayon to paint a sky. Choose it at first consciously, effortfully, pressing against the weight of a world heavy with reasons for sorrow, restless with need for action. Feel the sorrow, take the action, but keep pressing the weight of joy against it all, until it becomes mindless, automated, like gravity pulling the stream down its course; until it becomes an inner law of nature. If Viktor Frankl can exclaim “yes to life, in spite of everything!” — and what an everything he lived through — then so can any one of us amid the rubble of our plans, so trifling by comparison. Joy is not a function of a life free of friction and frustration, but a function of focus — an inner elevation by the fulcrum of choice. So often, it is a matter of attending to what Hermann Hesse called, as the world was about to come unworlded by its first global war, “the little joys”; so often, those are the slender threads of which we weave the lifeline that saves us.

 

Delight in the age-salted man on the street corner waiting for the light to change, his age-salted dog beside him, each inclined toward the other with the angular subtlety of absolute devotion.

 

Delight in the little girl zooming past you on her little bicycle, this fierce emissary of the future, rainbow tassels waving from her handlebars and a hundred beaded braids spilling from her golden helmet.

 

Delight in the snail taking an afternoon to traverse the abyssal crack in the sidewalk for the sake of pasturing on a single blade of grass.

 

Delight in the tiny new leaf, so shy and so shamelessly lush, unfurling from the crooked stem of the parched geranium.

 

I think often of this verse from Jane Hirshfield’s splendid poem “The Weighing”:

 

So few grains of happiness

measured against all the dark

and still the scales balance.

 

Yes, except we furnish both the grains and the scales. I alone can weigh the blue of my sky, you of yours.

 

15. Outgrow yourself.

 

16. Unself. Nothing is more tedious than self-concern — the antipode of wonder.

 

17. Everything is eventually recompensed, every effort of the heart eventually requited, though not always in the form you imagined or hoped for. What redeems all of life’s disappointments, what makes all of its heartbreaks bearable, is the ability to see how the dissolution of a dream becomes the fertile compost of possibility. Buried between parentheses in the middle of Leaves of Grass is Whitman’s testament to this elemental truth, which turned his greatest heartbreak into his greatest masterpiece:

 

Sometimes with one I love I fill myself with rage for fear I effuse unreturn’d love,

But now I think there is no unreturn’d love, the pay is certain one way or another,

(I loved a certain person ardently and my love was not return’d,

Yet out of that I have written these songs.)

 

P.S. Reading first 16 gave me goosebumps, reading #17 just made tears roll 5 minutes before work. This is what Walt Whitnan can do to you! And moments like this one makes life worth living.

The Alliance of AIDS Service - Carolina continues with its mission to serve the community through compassionate nonjudgmental support, education, and care for the prevention of HIV/AIDS/STI.

 

They're committed to serving all people infected or affected with HIV/AIDS in a non-judgmental and confidential environment, regardless of means of transmission or the ability to pay.

 

Follow on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/http.www.davegill.photography/

 

Un-Watermarked Gallery:https://davegillphotography.shootproof.com/gallery/8759615

The Alliance of AIDS Service - Carolina continues with its mission to serve the community through compassionate nonjudgmental support, education, and care for the prevention of HIV/AIDS/STI.

 

They're committed to serving all people infected or affected with HIV/AIDS in a non-judgmental and confidential environment, regardless of means of transmission or the ability to pay.

 

Follow on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/http.www.davegill.photography/

 

Un-Watermarked Gallery:https://davegillphotography.shootproof.com/gallery/8759615

.

 

The Alliance of AIDS Service - Carolina continues with its mission to serve the community through compassionate nonjudgmental support, education, and care for the prevention of HIV/AIDS/STI.

 

They're committed to serving all people infected or affected with HIV/AIDS in a non-judgmental and confidential environment, regardless of means of transmission or the ability to pay.

 

Follow on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/http.www.davegill.photography/

 

Un-Watermarked Gallery:https://davegillphotography.shootproof.com/gallery/8759615

The Alliance of AIDS Service - Carolina continues with its mission to serve the community through compassionate nonjudgmental support, education, and care for the prevention of HIV/AIDS/STI.

 

They're committed to serving all people infected or affected with HIV/AIDS in a non-judgmental and confidential environment, regardless of means of transmission or the ability to pay.

 

Follow on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/http.www.davegill.photography/

 

Un-Watermarked Gallery:https://davegillphotography.shootproof.com/gallery/8759615

Young Adult Crisis Hotline

 

Check out our Blog at :

 

youngadultcrisishotline.blogspot.com/

  

"Critical Crisis Coaching that can help you again to begin to think Rationally with Reality about the Crisis that you are personally facing!"

____________________________________________________

Call toll Free 1-877-702-2GOD

  

ALL CALLS FREE, CONFIDENTIAL

AND ANONYMOUS!

 

"The Young Adult Crisis Counseling Hotline offers immediate emotional support by telephone volunteers trained to help young adults who may be having relational problems, addictions, have an eating disorder, are suicidal, in emotional distress, or in need of reassurance. Services are at no cost, confidential, and anonymous."

 

“People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

  

"What we're hoping to get the churches to see ... and to really understand is that losing one to Jesus was more important than staying with the entire flock. He would go after the one lost sheep and leave the 99 behind."

   

We provide an accepting environment that allows for God's grace and healing for those seeking with life controlling issues. We offer rational and objective advice from a variety of life issues such as anxiety, depression, abuse, addiction, relational issues, family intervention, eating disorders. If you are at a point of crisis and are looking for objective rational no cost advice please give us a call.

 

WE ARE -

 

- A NUMBER TO CALL THAT WILL BE CONFIDENTIAL, TO RECEIVE HOPE FOR OUR HOPELESSNESS, TO FIND RATIONAL SOLUTIONS FOR OUR IRRATIONAL THOUGHTS, AND TO FACE OUR TOXIC SHAME WITH THE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.

 

- WE ARE A PLACE TO CALL TO FIGURE OUR LIFE'S PUZZLE WITH ENCOURAGEMENT AND GODLY COACHING.

 

- WE ARE A SAFE PLACE TO JUST NOT TALK ABOUT OUR SURFACE PROBLEMS AND RECEIVE A EMOTIONAL BAND AIDS! WE WILL TOGETHER UNCOVER THE DEEP SEATED ISSUES THAT PLAGUE OUR MINDS.

 

- WE ACKNOWLEDGE EVERYONE DESERVES PERSONAL SENSE OF BELONGING AND ACCEPTANCE THAT WILL GIVE YOU INDIVIDUAL DIGNITY THROUGH THE INDIVIDUAL CRISIS.

 

- THIS THEREFORE PROVIDES A SELF-RESPECT AND CARE THAT EVERYONE HAS A NEED FOR IN LIFE.

 

- THIS OPENS THE DOORS OF LEARNING AND GROWTH THAT WILL PAVE AN AVENUE OF INNER-STRENGTH.

If you are a young adult or a family member of a young adult who is in crisis this hotline number is for you. I have below defined what I believe a Critical Crisis can be in a young adults life and hopefully you can reach out for encouragement during these times in you life.

 

Critical Crisis Definition:

 

A crisis is a turning point or decisive moment in events where you as a young adult or as a family member have met a crossroad. Typically, it is the moment from which an imminent critical trauma may go on to death or recovery. More loosely, it is a term meaning 'a testing time' or 'emergency event'. This crossroad is a crucial, decisive point or situation where a turning point, or an emotionally stressful event or traumatic change in a person's life will be taking place. A Critical situation you or a loved one is either in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency.

 

The Young Adult Crisis Hotline offers immediate emotional support by telephone volunteers trained to help young adults who may be having relational problems, addictions, have an eating disorder, are suicidal, in emotional distress, or in need of reassurance. Services are free, confidential, and anonymous. Professionally trained volunteers handle incoming calls using active, caring, and nonjudgmental listening and problem-solving skills. All calls are free, confidential and anonymous.

 

Young Adults in crisis... they're everywhere. Faced with physical and emotional abuse, drugs, peer pressure and the like, many today just don't have the resources or support to handle the pressure.

 

The marketing experts at Hallmark say that "15 million Americans now attend weekly support groups for chemical addictions and other problems. Another 100 million relatives are cheering on their addicted loved ones. This means that half of all Americans are either in recovery or helping someone who is."

 

We personally want to be able to reach out and help those who are in critical crisis with personal encouragement and care through the storm that faces your life personally. Please call us and let me try to help you right where you are at in your life. No matter how far, or how low you think you are it is not too late for help!

 

Most of the time, we are just facing what we have personally chosen previously over and over again as a choice. Now we are facing a mountain and need help or a guide to help us through the dangerous path around the mountain passes. We just want to be that guide and be there for you if you want that guide, to survive the mountain passes. Please call, anytime day or night!

 

In His Grace Forever,

Pastor Teddy Awad, CMHP

Young Adult Crisis Hotline and

Biblical Counseling Center

410-808-6483

theodoreawadjr@comcast.net

yacrisishotline.tripod.com/

youngadultcrisishotline.blogspot.com/

youngadultcrisishotline@comcast.net

    

search.barnesandnoble.com/36-Views-of-Mount-Fuji/Cathy-N-...

In 1980 Cathy Davidson traveled to Japan to teach English at a leading all-women's university. Cathy Davidson had imagined a Japan of rock gardens with raked sand, of delicately arched wooden bridges and glowing paper lanterns. She was not prepared for the grim modernity of Osaka with its garish billboards and dingy concrete apartment blocks. Yet gradually another Japan revealed itself to her—one of rituals and communal baths, of temples with rice-paper walls, of pleasures that are subtle and lasting and deep emotions expressed without words. Even more unexpected, this Japan suggested to her secrets about herself. Spirited and original, "36 Views of Mount Fuji" is at once a look at the seductiveness and disappointments of being a stranger in a strange land, the memoir of a deeply personal interior journey, and a poignant meditation on whether we can see things clearly only at a distance.

  

Publishers Weekly

Empathy infuses Davidson's reactions to the Japanese and lifts this graceful, balanced account of her experiences in their country above the ordinary. Her book's title, taken from the series of woodblock prints by the famed late-18th century artist, Hokusai, reflects her will to see many different and sometimes contradictory aspects of the culture, to avoid stereotypes and to admit a range of emotions. Between 1980 and 1990, she visited Japan four times, twice for year-long assignments as an English professor at Kanzai Women's University. She struggled with the language, made do with standard cramped living quarters, reached out within the acceptable social forms to fellow teachers, students and neighbors. She ate native foods, accepted the invitation of a male colleague to tour the pornographic boites of Osaka's ``Floating World,'' stayed overnight with the priestess of a matriarchal communal religion, and generally learned to feel so much at home that she occasionally thought of herself as Japanese. Through women friends, Davidson came to understand their power in this society as well as their needs. Her charmingly drawn word-pictures resonate.

 

www.amazon.com/36-Views-Mount-Fuji-Finding/dp/0452272408

From Library Journal: One of America's most significant exports is the English language and the culture that accompanies it. Thousands of Americans have gone abroad to teach English, and hundreds of them have written books about their experiences. These books tend to reveal as much about their authors--and thus our shared American culture--as they do about the host culture in which they find themselves. A professor at Duke who has visited Japan four times, Davidson writes perceptively, frankly, and personally about her struggles to understand Japanese ways. She also attempts to reconcile those ways with her own life. Davidson has much to say about the role of women in both cultures and of the problems of trying to live in both worlds, but, unlike most authors of this genre, she is nonjudgmental and fair. This is one of the best "explanations" of Japanese culture, and our problems in understanding it, that has come along in years. Highly recommended. - Harold M. Otness, Southern Oregon State Coll. Lib., Ashland - Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

 

books.google.com/books?id=uFjl2X2YNYEC&pg=PP19&lp...

 

oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~thompsoc/250Davidson.html

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathy_Davidson

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/36_Views_of_Mount_Fuji_(Hokusai)

  

With additional back shading.

This picture is #503 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page

 

I had just been turned down, in front of my favorite coffee shop, no less. While licking my wounds, a barista, Joel (www.flickr.com/photos/bobdeinphoto/15016197129/) came out and spoke with a man sitting alone. He was clearly outgoing, and worked somewhere nearby. When Joel left, I made my move. Andrew was very outgoing, and we had a long conversation about the local homeless situation.

 

He is a bartender at the Gator Club, about a block away. For 18 years he has seen the homeless, drunks, crack addicts, crooks – the gamut. Having been homeless himself, Andrew has seen it all, from both sides. He recounted local homeless people (some of whom I have photographed) who had one stroke of bad luck that destroyed their lives. And others who are crackheads, hustlers, and you-name-it. But overall, Andrew is nonjudgmental, and caring for the homeless population. One fellow has panhandled me several times, and is a former Stranger. Andrew says that Phil gets a Social Security check and has a place to live. Panhandled money goes for cigarettes. Another of my former strangers is an excellent pianist, but gets stinking drunk most nights, sometimes at the Gator Club, and is a general nuisance. One psychotic (harmless) fellow sat in front of the Gator Club rubbing oil on his feet and selling strange artwork. Andrew chased him off. “He's going to hurt business. We need business to pay our taxes, and pay his Social Security.”

 

What an interesting dialog. I look forward to chatting with him some more – so many stories to tell. Oh, and Andrew is positive that Obamacare is going to provide needed services for some of these people. That should appease some readers, and enrage others.

 

Thank you, Andrew, for allowing me to photograph you for the 100 Strangers Flickr group.

 

Young Adult Crisis Hotline

 

Check out our Blog at :

 

youngadultcrisishotline.blogspot.com/

  

"Critical Crisis Coaching that can help you again to begin to think Rationally with Reality about the Crisis that you are personally facing!"

____________________________________________________

Call toll Free 1-877-702-2GOD

  

ALL CALLS FREE, CONFIDENTIAL

AND ANONYMOUS!

 

"The Young Adult Crisis Counseling Hotline offers immediate emotional support by telephone volunteers trained to help young adults who may be having relational problems, addictions, have an eating disorder, are suicidal, in emotional distress, or in need of reassurance. Services are at no cost, confidential, and anonymous."

 

“People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

  

"What we're hoping to get the churches to see ... and to really understand is that losing one to Jesus was more important than staying with the entire flock. He would go after the one lost sheep and leave the 99 behind."

   

We provide an accepting environment that allows for God's grace and healing for those seeking with life controlling issues. We offer rational and objective advice from a variety of life issues such as anxiety, depression, abuse, addiction, relational issues, family intervention, eating disorders. If you are at a point of crisis and are looking for objective rational no cost advice please give us a call.

 

WE ARE -

 

- A NUMBER TO CALL THAT WILL BE CONFIDENTIAL, TO RECEIVE HOPE FOR OUR HOPELESSNESS, TO FIND RATIONAL SOLUTIONS FOR OUR IRRATIONAL THOUGHTS, AND TO FACE OUR TOXIC SHAME WITH THE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.

 

- WE ARE A PLACE TO CALL TO FIGURE OUR LIFE'S PUZZLE WITH ENCOURAGEMENT AND GODLY COACHING.

 

- WE ARE A SAFE PLACE TO JUST NOT TALK ABOUT OUR SURFACE PROBLEMS AND RECEIVE A EMOTIONAL BAND AIDS! WE WILL TOGETHER UNCOVER THE DEEP SEATED ISSUES THAT PLAGUE OUR MINDS.

 

- WE ACKNOWLEDGE EVERYONE DESERVES PERSONAL SENSE OF BELONGING AND ACCEPTANCE THAT WILL GIVE YOU INDIVIDUAL DIGNITY THROUGH THE INDIVIDUAL CRISIS.

 

- THIS THEREFORE PROVIDES A SELF-RESPECT AND CARE THAT EVERYONE HAS A NEED FOR IN LIFE.

 

- THIS OPENS THE DOORS OF LEARNING AND GROWTH THAT WILL PAVE AN AVENUE OF INNER-STRENGTH.

If you are a young adult or a family member of a young adult who is in crisis this hotline number is for you. I have below defined what I believe a Critical Crisis can be in a young adults life and hopefully you can reach out for encouragement during these times in you life.

 

Critical Crisis Definition:

 

A crisis is a turning point or decisive moment in events where you as a young adult or as a family member have met a crossroad. Typically, it is the moment from which an imminent critical trauma may go on to death or recovery. More loosely, it is a term meaning 'a testing time' or 'emergency event'. This crossroad is a crucial, decisive point or situation where a turning point, or an emotionally stressful event or traumatic change in a person's life will be taking place. A Critical situation you or a loved one is either in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency.

 

The Young Adult Crisis Hotline offers immediate emotional support by telephone volunteers trained to help young adults who may be having relational problems, addictions, have an eating disorder, are suicidal, in emotional distress, or in need of reassurance. Services are free, confidential, and anonymous. Professionally trained volunteers handle incoming calls using active, caring, and nonjudgmental listening and problem-solving skills. All calls are free, confidential and anonymous.

 

Young Adults in crisis... they're everywhere. Faced with physical and emotional abuse, drugs, peer pressure and the like, many today just don't have the resources or support to handle the pressure.

 

The marketing experts at Hallmark say that "15 million Americans now attend weekly support groups for chemical addictions and other problems. Another 100 million relatives are cheering on their addicted loved ones. This means that half of all Americans are either in recovery or helping someone who is."

 

We personally want to be able to reach out and help those who are in critical crisis with personal encouragement and care through the storm that faces your life personally. Please call us and let me try to help you right where you are at in your life. No matter how far, or how low you think you are it is not too late for help!

 

Most of the time, we are just facing what we have personally chosen previously over and over again as a choice. Now we are facing a mountain and need help or a guide to help us through the dangerous path around the mountain passes. We just want to be that guide and be there for you if you want that guide, to survive the mountain passes. Please call, anytime day or night!

 

In His Grace Forever,

Pastor Teddy Awad, CMHP

Young Adult Crisis Hotline and

Biblical Counseling Center

410-808-6483

theodoreawadjr@comcast.net

yacrisishotline.tripod.com/

youngadultcrisishotline.blogspot.com/

youngadultcrisishotline@comcast.net

    

.

 

On forearm.

Young Adult Crisis Hotline

 

Check out our Blog at :

 

youngadultcrisishotline.blogspot.com/

  

"Critical Crisis Coaching that can help you again to begin to think Rationally with Reality about the Crisis that you are personally facing!"

____________________________________________________

Call toll Free 1-877-702-2GOD

  

ALL CALLS FREE, CONFIDENTIAL

AND ANONYMOUS!

 

"The Young Adult Crisis Counseling Hotline offers immediate emotional support by telephone volunteers trained to help young adults who may be having relational problems, addictions, have an eating disorder, are suicidal, in emotional distress, or in need of reassurance. Services are at no cost, confidential, and anonymous."

 

“People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

  

"What we're hoping to get the churches to see ... and to really understand is that losing one to Jesus was more important than staying with the entire flock. He would go after the one lost sheep and leave the 99 behind."

   

We provide an accepting environment that allows for God's grace and healing for those seeking with life controlling issues. We offer rational and objective advice from a variety of life issues such as anxiety, depression, abuse, addiction, relational issues, family intervention, eating disorders. If you are at a point of crisis and are looking for objective rational no cost advice please give us a call.

 

WE ARE -

 

- A NUMBER TO CALL THAT WILL BE CONFIDENTIAL, TO RECEIVE HOPE FOR OUR HOPELESSNESS, TO FIND RATIONAL SOLUTIONS FOR OUR IRRATIONAL THOUGHTS, AND TO FACE OUR TOXIC SHAME WITH THE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.

 

- WE ARE A PLACE TO CALL TO FIGURE OUR LIFE'S PUZZLE WITH ENCOURAGEMENT AND GODLY COACHING.

 

- WE ARE A SAFE PLACE TO JUST NOT TALK ABOUT OUR SURFACE PROBLEMS AND RECEIVE A EMOTIONAL BAND AIDS! WE WILL TOGETHER UNCOVER THE DEEP SEATED ISSUES THAT PLAGUE OUR MINDS.

 

- WE ACKNOWLEDGE EVERYONE DESERVES PERSONAL SENSE OF BELONGING AND ACCEPTANCE THAT WILL GIVE YOU INDIVIDUAL DIGNITY THROUGH THE INDIVIDUAL CRISIS.

 

- THIS THEREFORE PROVIDES A SELF-RESPECT AND CARE THAT EVERYONE HAS A NEED FOR IN LIFE.

 

- THIS OPENS THE DOORS OF LEARNING AND GROWTH THAT WILL PAVE AN AVENUE OF INNER-STRENGTH.

If you are a young adult or a family member of a young adult who is in crisis this hotline number is for you. I have below defined what I believe a Critical Crisis can be in a young adults life and hopefully you can reach out for encouragement during these times in you life.

 

Critical Crisis Definition:

 

A crisis is a turning point or decisive moment in events where you as a young adult or as a family member have met a crossroad. Typically, it is the moment from which an imminent critical trauma may go on to death or recovery. More loosely, it is a term meaning 'a testing time' or 'emergency event'. This crossroad is a crucial, decisive point or situation where a turning point, or an emotionally stressful event or traumatic change in a person's life will be taking place. A Critical situation you or a loved one is either in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency.

 

The Young Adult Crisis Hotline offers immediate emotional support by telephone volunteers trained to help young adults who may be having relational problems, addictions, have an eating disorder, are suicidal, in emotional distress, or in need of reassurance. Services are free, confidential, and anonymous. Professionally trained volunteers handle incoming calls using active, caring, and nonjudgmental listening and problem-solving skills. All calls are free, confidential and anonymous.

 

Young Adults in crisis... they're everywhere. Faced with physical and emotional abuse, drugs, peer pressure and the like, many today just don't have the resources or support to handle the pressure.

 

The marketing experts at Hallmark say that "15 million Americans now attend weekly support groups for chemical addictions and other problems. Another 100 million relatives are cheering on their addicted loved ones. This means that half of all Americans are either in recovery or helping someone who is."

 

We personally want to be able to reach out and help those who are in critical crisis with personal encouragement and care through the storm that faces your life personally. Please call us and let me try to help you right where you are at in your life. No matter how far, or how low you think you are it is not too late for help!

 

Most of the time, we are just facing what we have personally chosen previously over and over again as a choice. Now we are facing a mountain and need help or a guide to help us through the dangerous path around the mountain passes. We just want to be that guide and be there for you if you want that guide, to survive the mountain passes. Please call, anytime day or night!

 

In His Grace Forever,

Pastor Teddy Awad, CMHP

Young Adult Crisis Hotline and

Biblical Counseling Center

410-808-6483

theodoreawadjr@comcast.net

yacrisishotline.tripod.com/

youngadultcrisishotline.blogspot.com/

youngadultcrisishotline@comcast.net