Day: 02/14/2015

The Cat who saved my life. Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaby!

https://stlluna7.wordpress.com/2015/01/27/the-cat-who-saved-my-life-baaaaaaaaaaaaaaby/

When help came, first by Baby being classified as emotional support animal by the VA. I had help with the cat by a local humane society who knew the cat and I needed each other. They were actually impressed that I would not give up on her or gave her to someone else. The VA said I needed to get rid of baby and I read them the riot act and got very upset. Because of that they (The Humane Society) did all they could for me and the cat…

One of the categories this is posted under is “Art and Awe Therapy” — because cats (and dogs) are awesome. 🙂

Women and men really aren’t that different

Women are a different species…

https://insanitybytes2.wordpress.com/2015/02/14/women-are-a-differant-species/

This is a very well-written piece, even if I don’t agree with all of it.  And it highlights something special about women that isn’t specifically mentioned by InsanityBytes:  our great sense of humor.

But I don’t see the sharp difference between men and women that IB describes and feels is true. And I think both sexes have suffered from society’s (and biology’s) definition of what it means to be a woman or a man.

I think men and women really aren’t that different — it’s just that society has educated and trained us to be a lot more different than we actually are.  For instance, I remember taking home economics in high school, and I never saw a boy in those classes.  (Hopefully, that’s not as true as it used to be.)  But shouldn’t both girls and boys learn how to cook?  If girls learned how to take care of their cars on their own, it would be a lot less expensive to own a car.

And this education and training has resulted in communication styles and needs that are very different from one another.  Often we take our cues for how we communicate by what society says is right or wrong for our gender, which can distort our meanings and behaviors.

Yes, men and women are biologically different.  But so are kids and adults; Italians and Native Americans; Chinese and British.  And considering how unique we all are, defining ourselves just by being female or male can be very restricting. Being given a label by society that’s supposed to define our strengths and weaknesses is not only discriminatory, it can be hurtful and mean.  If I’m Irish, am I an alcoholic?  If I’m a woman, am I moody?  If I’m a man, am I uncommunicative? If I’m under 18 years old, am I still a child?

It’s unwise to assume that a woman cannot have the same physical strength as a man — just look at the difference between female bodybuilders or Olympians and average guys.

It’s unfair to assume that a man cannot be as sensitive, sympathetic and empathetic as a woman — just look at the difference between guys like Bradley Cooper and women like Sarah Palin.

I find it amusing that political pundits and the media assume that if Hillary Clinton ran for president, women would just automatically vote for her.  To me, Mrs. Clinton is more like a man than a woman — in her political beliefs, the way she does business, and her personal life.  (But then, there I go, generalizing again…) Perhaps this has more to do with the privileged economic bubble that she has always floated it, along with the struggles she has faced as a very public woman.  But it’s silly to assume that the majority of American women would automatically vote for her because she’s a woman — Americans have learned that just because someone is a minority, that doesn’t automatically mean they would be a good president.

Yes, we should celebrate our differences, by why narrow it down to the difference between men and women?  Testosterone and estrogen?

Defining ourselves early in life as girls, soon to be women, narrows our opportunities and potential.  And it does the same for boys and men.

Just one old woman’s opinion 🙂

Let the Smell of Apples and Cinnamon Be Your New Alarm Clock

http://www.popsugar.com/food/Slow-Cooker-Apple-Cinnamon-Oatmeal-36701195

Someone should invent an alarm clock that sprays out the smell of coffee, like, a minute before it goes off.  Or apples and cinnamon.  All you need to do is combine an alarm clock with an oil burner… it would need a removable part that can be cleaned, not like those throw-away plug-in fragrances.

Since I haven’t looked at a Sharper Image’s catalog in decades, maybe this product has already been invented?  Well, it’s something to think about… Poor people need to invent specialty products for rich people because the wealthy are the only ones who can afford to buy anything. 🙂

It’s a Cruffin [Gesundheit!]

http://www.popsugar.com/food/Best-Bakery-San-Francisco-36846061

The cruffin is flaky and peels apart almost like a layered biscuit . . . it paves the way to a glorious and fluffy coffee-crème center. Despite looking rich, it’s surprisingly light and not so sweet. I could have easily eaten three.

Photography / Brinton Parker

A croissant and a muffin got married in Texas today

to celebrate this year’s Valentine’s Day

Their parents were mad

The kids said too bad

And Bruffin was born that May

Should hate be a crime?

Hate crime prosecutions rare in NC, often difficult to prove

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/02/13/5512962/fbi-examining-3-slain-in-nc-after.html#.VN-GZfnF_bY

Hate is not only an emotion, like love, but it is something you are taught, not born with.  So, who should be punished?  The hater or the people who taught him to hate?  If, as a child, you’ve never received love and only been taught to hate, hasn’t your brain suffered a trauma?  Hasn’t that created some faulty wiring?  Once you turn 18, become a “legal” adult, are your childhood traumas now your fault and your responsibility?

As humans, we all have the capacity for violence — it’s in our DNA.  But civilization and evolution are beginning to reduce violence from our DNA, very slowly but surely.  Our ancestors are not as violent as their ancestors, and we are not as violent as our ancestors.  With every generation, people are learning that violence and hate are just a waste of time and space.

So, should hate be a crime?  Is hate part of free speech?  And who is to blame?  The hater or the ones that taught him to hate?  (This would be a good time to stop watching Fox news.)

“Maybe it will help her heal a little bit.”

Diena Thompson Burns Home Of Convicted Child Killer Jared Harrell

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/13/diena-thompson-fire-killer-home_n_6680144.html

What can pain patients torch that will help them heal?  Well, I’m glad you asked… Please look to the right, and feel free to spend a little time in the “medical cannabis” category.  Questions are encouraged 🙂