my journal: various subjects, opinionating, CW at times
The title explains itself.
If you're interested in the ramblings of a middle-aged man with chronic conditions who, at times, sees things a little too clearly for his own good, then read on.
Sometimes I get political, but it won't be all the time.
I don't mind comments in general but if you're going to differ with what I write, that's fine--as long as you can explain your position clearly & reasonably. Rants, shouting & general incoherence will be ignored or flagged, depending on the situation. Try to remember that not everyone else in this world holds your beliefs.
Every so often I may post art or snapshots of projects I'm working on.
If you're still interested after reading all the above, great. (I do wonder at how much time you have on your hands, though)
It's almost 5:30 in the godd**n morning & I am awake because of a yowling cat on my downstairs neighbors' patio a short while ago...
What else? I'm down a chunk of 💵 & I don't know if I'll get it back. My chest hair is slowly turning white now...guess it's going the way of what hair is left on my head. Until late last year, when I hadn't shaved it all off it was a drab brown. Now the stubble on the sides of my cranium is slowly going white.
And I definitely have jowls now. Not large or dangly ones but still...my cheeks aren't staying up the way they used to. Also, my right elbow makes muffled crackling noise whenever I extend my arm & it hurts more often than it ever did when I was young.
Growing old stinks. My life stinks. And that is why I'm sitting here with a can of IPA, at 0530.
@slowdecline48 what is ipa?????
Squirts you with a hose, don't worry I'll wash away lifes stinks😁
It stands for Imperial Pale Ale, which is the most common kind of craft beer in the US. In the microbrewery world, everyone & his brother makes an IPA...not my first choice for mental lubrication, but it will do & is certainly better than horse p!ss.
Last entry for this week, I swear.
(Am not trying to bump up the thread...my mind is just more active than usual lately)
I don't want to go outside although eventually I must, because
Also - gold is down to at or below $2,021/oz. today. On the other hand, the S&P500 & NASDAQ indexes are both up...good news, though I wonder how much government spending is driving this economy as of late. (The fedgov can't just rack up debt forever...at some point it's either hike taxes, cut spending or both at once.)
Today I saw this:
Thank you, @Tinywhisper11. @MistyMagic has been great, too...🤔 So I have a small audience here now. Will have to keep that in mind when posting stuff in the future.
@slowdecline48 yep! I'm your biggest fan 😁 *blow* *blow*
*blow* 😋
@Tinywhisper11
Tiny. I also saw "twist" at this thread. As you know I like to walk in on threads and talk. So I have a question for you. As I have told you before, you seem to have a very strong mind. You have suffered very much, more than anyone of us can imagine. So my question is: How are you able to give so much love to the persons around you here at 7cups.
@Helgafy I've seen hate, I've experienced hate, but I am not like them. I choose love i choose kindness, and that's what I will spread around ❤❤ I know pain, and I will not inflict it on anyone else. Every one deserves love and kindness, hope and laughter. I actually consider myself to be pretty lucky, I mean I have been blessed in so many ways. So I don't want to focus my life on the bad stuff, I want to focus on the positive things instead. We all have so much to be grateful for, I choose to carry that every where and keep it in my heart ❤ hugs you tightly ❤
@Tinywhisper11
Thank you, thank you, thank you Tiny. You're a very special human being, very, very mature, brave and so much more. You could write books! I will not say blessings over you here because the owner of this thread does not want me to talk about my creator, but in my heart and mind a bless you without mention the creators name.
Agree 💕💕💕💯💯💯💕💕💕💯💯💯💕💕💯💯💯💯
Oh no, Helga, please don't misunderstand me. I don't mind blessings or mentioning one's god, per se. It's just the drive-by posting of scriptural verses & overall preachiness that are turn-offs. I know you are Christian, that Jesus & the doctrine attached to him give you fulfilment & joy...& that's fine. Have talked to enough Christians (& dated two of 'em, believe it or not) to see that the faith can be wonderful for those who are drawn to it....TBH I find certain aspects of Xtianity hard to comprehend; however its benefits to so many believers are clear to anyone who sees it firsthand.
More thoughts: As you probably know, in the US the First Amendment lays out separation of civil & religious authority (though the wording is rather vague). I think it's a good stance to take & interpret it rather strictly...if you're familiar with the wars of the Reformation & the bygone caliphates of the Near East then you know why...but.
I think in the modern West, & especially in the United States, secular people often underestimate the extent to which religion contributed to our development as a civilization, including the modern secular version with its focus on "rights". Do you know that until the mid-20th century we had "blue laws" in many parts of this country? They specified closure of stores & shops on Sundays, so that people could go to church & not have to worry about doing business. Looking at how our society is today....I can see why so many parts of my nation had blue laws. For just one day, people didn't worry about earning money, maximizing profits, manufacturing more widgets, publicity for one's products, etc. It was a day when you could go & worship; after that you could go home & relax.
Maybe the West needs a modern version? The difference is several million of us Jews & a few million Muslims live here too...that would make for a three-day weekend. I don't see anything wrong with a three-day weekend!
@Helgafy thanks ❤❤😁❤❤
@Tinywhisper11
Tiny. I just want to say to you that you're a blessing to many, many persons. After what I can think that must be the highest purose of a human beings life. (Well - well - I'm very serious, maybe a bit to serious in my life - lol).
@Slowdecline48
Thank you for your friendly answer. To quote and believe the Bible (both the Old Testament - that came from your ancestors - and the New Testament) is such a big part of my being able to live this (for me many, many times) hard life so I'll continue (not on your threads - but everywhere I can) and maybe it will also be seen as preaching (I don't know). Several times at 7Cups what I wrote on other threads was deleted of the owner of the site (not bio-threads) because of my Bibleverses - LOL. So I was thinking; Either I must be able to quote Bibleverses or I must leave 7Cups (because it is such a big part of me). I asked Glen (our leader) who told that there are no laws at 7Cups that said one could not quote the scripture. But this thread is your thread so of course I will respect you.
@Helgafy Anytime. I might even discuss such topics with you in here if there is reason to bring them up, though I cannot guarantee you'll always agree with or like what I'd say. That's all right...whenever I discuss religious or political topics with someone, I figure a disagreement will come up sooner or later. (that often occurs!) My aim is not to convert the other person to my POV because that never happens, nor have I seen it happen online or in real life even once...I just share my views, listen to the other person's views (& sometimes ponder them later on), & hope (s)he will honestly consider my position even if only for a few seconds.
@slowdecline48
CW: DISCUSSION OF VIOLINS--NOT MUSICAL ONES
I think most people want peace, Helga. The real problem is not limited to the political sphere & certainly not to the Near East.* Physical aggression is part of the human condition. As I see it, the issue is twofold:
- The desire for peace is not truly universal, nor is it constant. For every person who abhors war & wants it gone forever, there is someone else for whom war is the most meaningful experience he's ever had. Note the pronoun. Those most likely to wage war--& to commit violent crime & other bad deeds--are mostly (not exclusively) young males. No society can exist without men, but young men are always the most unstable demographic.
- Not every disagreement can be settled by words alone. Would that it were so. But it is not, never has been & never will be. The situation with Israel is not too unique; look at how many revolts the Irish launched against English rule after the latter marched northward, & later the "Troubles". Right now the Russians & Ukrainians are in the same conflict they had near the end of WW1, the Crimean War before that, etc. Russia's pulled the same s*** at least once every century since Peter the Great was the tsar. African conflicts are numberless!...how 'bout the Reformation & Catholic reactions to it? When two or more nations/tribes/city-states/etc. want the same thing & there isn't enough for everyone, when one wants to expand or move & the other wants the first one to remain as it is, when there is a basic difference in belief (religious or secular)...all too often, sitting around a table & working out a solution fails. Peaceful communication can only do so much.
The above are statements I am not glad to make. 😔
@slowdecline48
I agree with you here so much decline. And - all violence is bad. And yes - young men do a lot of the violence. And more I could comment.
LOL: I had to laugh a bit yesterday and the day before. You know "out of the blue" I wrote to you the song of Whitney Houston. At my TV (not the national channel - we don't have advirtising there) they showed pizza made in Norway and to be bought in the store. And the song was: "And I will always love you." That happens to me every now and then, Oprah Whinfrey called it "organic" - 2 things happen simulateously. Also I see it as a part of my way in life - as Paulo Coelho says in one of his books: "The road was bestrowed with signs". (A bit of myself this time - lol). I'll read later today what you wrote on the other message.
CW: RELIGIOUS SUBJECT, MY UNDILUTED OPINION, SALTY LINGO
Aaaaaannnd...it happened. As I knew it would.
This is an example of why I was certain the Religion & Spirituality Forum was a bad idea when it was first made. This is why my position re the R&S Forum hasn't changed. This is why I never joined it & should not visit it even though I did, like an idi0t, & tried to help someone there. (That's the last time unless someone posts something antisemitic, in which case I'll reply for godd**n sure) This is what I knew would occur sooner or later....could've bet on it with anybody & won some money.
Whenever religion or politics is brought up, sooner or later something said by A will rub B the wrong way, B will reply sharply, & you know what comes next. It's almost a law of nature.
Now I know my answer will certainly get removed...am willing to lay down $40 on that too because our 7Cups Republic has a government with laws it enforces, as it should.* If there's justice in this place then the other girl's comments will be taken down as well. Since this is my journal & so not as public a forum, & because the evidence is obvious, you get snapshots. No "pics or it didn't happen" here.
Some poor soul posted a problem: he believes in god & has untoward thoughts, which he is certain this god can see. Others posted kind replies from their own perspectives. I did likewise & kept it brief:
I laid out some alternatives for OP, as you can see. A teenage girl with what appears to be emotional incontinence replied thusly:
Her replies show poor reading comprehension, half-a**ed reasoning & an inability to distinguish between OP's needs & her own...to say nothing of the obvious tinge of fanaticism. Didn't bother to point out any of that since it would've been a waste of effort & time. "You can lead a horse to water," etc. Instead I gave her a wake-up call:
As I said before, I have no issue with a stance different from my own. I may or may not have an issue with a position directly opposed to my own depending on the topic at hand & why the other person holds his/her position, & other factors. Even then, that by itself is no cause for enmity or incivility...meeting people with views unlike one's own is a part of life. But differing opinions is one thing; attempts at power plays with nothing to back them up are quite another. And I am not going to take that kind of bulls*** off anybody. I have not survived several disasters, drawn & painted & built all that I've made & done, studied & learned from so many books & people, & gone all the miles through all the years just for some Jesus-obsessed brat with mental issues to bark at me like some third-rate preacher.
I'm too old for such nonsense. Unfortunately, too many Gen Alpha kids & younger millennials just can't handle it when they encounter someone with views unlike their own. Social media addiction, their growing up with phones in their hands, & increasing levels of certain mental disorders are definitely factors in this sorry state of affairs...I'm convinced that if Western civilization ever falls apart, the foregoing issues will be among the causes.
...we'll see how far this goes before the mods step in.
Believe what you like, gentle reader. If you want to believe in Jesus, Muhammad, Lord Krishna, Wotan, the Feathered Serpent, the ghost of Elvis, or Bartleby the Great Pumpkin, go ahead. But don't get on some high horse & try to chastise me with authority you do not have. Because I'll call your bluff. Count on it.
@slowdecline48 the ghost of Elvis haha!😂😂😂😂😂 you make me smile ❤but yep! 100% agree, answer forums with kindness and opinions but don't bite at another person's opinions. No one has the right to impose their beliefs or opinions on anyone else, and noone should ever judge anyone. I'm sorry all this as upset you😞 gives you a giant tiny hug ❤ and some beans 😁 don't let it get to you ok, your one of the sweetest people here at cups. I love you ❤❤ and hey!!!! I'm a millennial!!!!!! But a nice one 😁❤
@Tinywhisper11
Hi Tiny. You formulated just what I wanted to say - but I didn't dare to. Lol.
@Helgafy @SunShineAlwaysGrateful @Tinywhisper11
😂 It's not of earth-shaking importance. These things always happen in forums sooner or later. Think of it as part of the entertainment here. If you follow this journal then you might laugh, cry, feel confused or be shocked &/or horrified...but you won't get bored.
Is that thread still up? I haven't checked... It's probably gone by now.
What I'm waiting for is for one of the old religious conflicts to reboot itself in the R&S forum, just like in YouRube comment threads...Catholics vs. Protestants, Sunni Muslims vs. Shi'a, etc. If that should occur, the only thing to do is grab some 🍿, then sit back & watch the show.
Well said 🙌🙌🙌💕💕💕🙌🙌💕💕
@slowdecline48
Well-well decline - you're very fresh in your arguments - hm. hm. - I don't know if I would ever dare to discuss with you.....(Maybe it's also a little bit in your blood/inheritance.) I think a person said that if 2 Jews were to discuss a matter then they each would have much to say - and maybe they would not agree. I can also be agitated during discussions, but I also try to be humble. Many persons are young at 7Cups and do not have very much life-experience so their view on things is different than persons who have lived longer or have suffered much. But young persons also are permitted to voice here and for teens there are special rooms (you have to be above 18 to be in sharing circle).
@Helgafy Has anyone ever told you that you have a pure soul?... You are a pure soul. At least that's the impression I'm getting so far.
Yes, there's an old saying about us: "If three Jews are going to hold a meeting, they will bring five chairs." Those of us descended from eastern Europe, in particular, tend to be opinionated & argumentative...such traits do not always help one get along with others. 😂 The other thing is, I just don't have patience for foolishness. My father didn't either when he was alive...ignorance, slipshod reasoning & slow drivers irritated him always. Every year, I become a little more like Dad. It's funny & tragic at the same time.
So Tiny - here are some things I was thinking of. (@slowdecline48 - you must tell me now - or later - if I "use" your thread too much - it's OK!):
@Helgafy 😆 You got it right. Full marks for observation. Funny how I'm not a "cat person" but in some ways, yeah... If I had been born feline, I'd probably be a jaguar or snow leopard. Lions live in groups, whereas I usually keep to myself & am basically harmless unless I'm provoked.
@slowdecline48 provoke you🤔🤔🤔🤔please don't put ideas in my head😂😂😂😂
@Helgafy your never irritating, I love hearing your comments, and your support and kindness is always welcome in my posts ❤❤ study psychology🤔🤔 it is something I find interesting. But right now I'm still trying to work on recovering in my own mind and pyhiscal disabilities well I really struggle with. But one day maybe ❤ ❤ for now I'll support people here on the forums and in group chats. But oneday I hope I can make a difference in this world ❤ gives you a giant tiny hug ❤❤ I love you ❤
@Tinywhisper11
@Helgafy @Tinywhisper11
Helga - No, it's not a problem because I know you mean well... I also remember it isn't down to you alone. Christians (particularly Evangelicals) are like a girl who discovers a particular kind of ice cream for the first time. She just looovvves it! She loves that flavor so much that she tells everyone she meets about it, so that they can try it for themselves...
If you two would like to keep this convo going, there is a Pen Pals forum for that exact purpose. It's new...I started a thread with someone else in there already.
@slowdecline48
Hi jaguar
@Helgafy 😭😭😭😭😭 I really hope my son loves me😭😭😭😭I would do anything to see him, hold him. Tell him I love him😞 I do really love him, I wish things were di😭😭😭 I'm sorry
@Tinywhisper11 If there is an afterlife (many people believe there is--I hope they're right) & if Joshua is there as I'd expect him to be...then surely he loves you.
For an afterlife to exist, a world beyond ours, I can't help but think the only reason why it would exist is out of some kind of provision for cosmic justice. So often justice is not done in this world...people (usually women & children) are trafficked & enslaved; innocent people lose their lives in horrible ways while bad people screw over others & reap the rewards with nary a qualm; diseases take good people to the grave early, etc. If there is an afterlife, wouldn't it be for the victims of this world to gain the peace they lost or didn't get to begin with?... That's my hypothesis, anyway. Take it for what it's worth.
@slowdecline48 I believe in God and angels and heaven. But I'm not cladding myself as any religion. I know he's up there and safe, he's gonna be a teenager this year. I let my owners take his life, I had to watch, I was 11 tied up scared didn't stop it didn't even try😞 I don't think he will ever forgive me, I don't know if he understands the situation, I failed as a mother. And it haunts me constantly
@Helgafy You ain't kiddin'. That strange yodelling cry that hyenas emit when they're attacking, or whenever they feel like it...it's not like a lion's roar, but it's disturbing enough.
One of the clips on YT that held my attention for less-than-happy reasons was filmed in Africa. A lion who was not in top condition wandered too far from his territory, & a pack of hyenas found him. The way they surrounded him, yodelling...whichever ones were at the lion's flanks or rear kept biting him. The lion was capable enough but he only had one set of jaws & four sets of claws. When you're massively outgunned & there is no way out, you can only do so much. The odds changed only when the lion's pride-mate--definitely healthy with a nice mane--came trotting up, at which point the hyenas turned & exited stage left. Even with their numbers, two lions were too much to handle.
This year, we Americans will go through our silly season. By that I mean this is an election year, which means absurdly expensive campaigns, attack ads, scripted "debates", & coverage of elections as if they were chariot races.
Was talking to a friend when I noticed clear evidence of a luxury belief:
The problem is not that Swift is endorsing Biden; the problem is that she can endorse anyone at all & millions around the world will follow her lead.
More chat about it:
("uncle Joe" is me, in this case)
@slowdecline48 That is a yuck no thought! 😬
@slowdecline48 damn! That's all I can say damn! Damn! Damn!
@Tinywhisper11 @mytwistedsoul Yeah, really...
Don't get the wrong idea--I am not a Trump fan, & never have been. I thought "the Donald" was an a**hole from day one. He did a few good things when he was president (mostly in his foreign policy, by showing he was not weak) but also some bad things. But that was all from 2016-20. He's just three years younger than old Slow Joe...might be 75 now? On top of that, there's Trump's trial. If he is convicted then that only adds to his unfitness for office.
Now having said all that, I don't want to see Biden in office a 2nd time, either.
We need someone younger & healthier, for starters. And while I know there's a snowball's chance in h.e.l.l. of it happening, I would prefer we have a president who, for once, is not beholden to pressure groups, corporate lobbyists, & to whoever else paid for his campaign. Someone with a sense of statesmanship would be nice. We haven't had anyone like that in the White House for a while now.
@slowdecline48 🤔🤔🤔 let's vote for mytwistedsoul😁 go team twisted!!! Yaaay
*shrug* Why not? If Twisted runs then he's got my vote! At this point, if the woman who lives in the next section over put her pit bull in a campaign for president (or state governor, or for a seat in Congress), I'd vote for the dog...
@slowdecline48 @Tinywhisper11 LMAO! I think we should just nominate the dog! 😂 That's not a job I would want
@slowdecline48 I definitely agree with you on this!
A few minutes ago I posted my most recent poem. Feel free to read it...unless you're depressed. In which case you probably shouldn't look at it.
...by the FSM's noodles, I wish I could sleep like a normal human being.
Yesterday afternoon I went out for the first time in a while. It was expensive but fun. I saw a part of town that I hadn't been to before.
Today I'm staying inside because the maintenance crew is mowing the grass...after that they'll break out the leaf blowers. I do not want to breathe in any of that s***, even though my apartment isn't the best spot for clean air itself. Comes down to which is the lesser evil.
Occasionally I do restaurant reviews, particularly when the restaurant sucks for some reason. Sometimes my writing style is not as serious as it is here. Would any of you be interested in reading them?
@slowdecline48 oooo! Oo! Me I want to hear them ❤ if you want clean air in your apartment you should get a plant😁 I just got a indoor palm tree, it's so cool😁 I heard you have to talk to your plants to help them grow, so I named my tree, keuana leaves 😎
@Tinywhisper11 keuana leaves? 😁 That's a good name! I love it! 😂
@Tinywhisper11 Sounds good but I can't pronounce "keuana"... 😏
I have a couple air filters I use...they're slightly helpful. I just need to vacuum more often. If money were no object I would get a house & leave this old crackerbox, but...if wishes were horses...
@slowdecline48 beggars would ride grandma used to say that 😊
*nod* I like it. I like it very much. 😀 Your grandma must've been sharp as a razor when she was alive.
"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride"...that's a shoo-in for calligraphy practice. All the gods that men ever conceived of know I don't do enough of it.
@slowdecline48 She was a firecracker 😁 her idea of cussing was to call someone a dirty bird lol!
@slowdecline48 I wouldn't mind reading them too. I bet they're pretty good especially if the food wasn't lol
@slowdecline48
Decline. Maybe I'll read a bit. I don't have much energy to read unfortunately.
I have been sick for many years - ME (Myalgic encephalomyelitis/CFS-cronic fatigue syndrome).
@Helgafy * send Helgafy strength and gentle bear hugs* ❤️
I didn't know that.... 😔 So sorry, dear. Chronic illness is never easy.
Are your doctors helpful at all? In the US, we've heard about those comprehensive public health care systems the Nordic countries have...I wish we had one like that. I would pay higher taxes just to support it--& normally I hate paying taxes! (Hating taxes is a fine old American tradition)
Since y'all (or at least two of you) would like to see it, one of my reviews follows. Edited from a screenshot...
I didn't remember, until I checked my profile on EvilGoogleEmpire Maps, that not every place I reviewed was a restaurant. Also, not all the reviews are humorous.
There aren't that many of 'em, either.
...I may have to write a few more. Problem is, I cannot afford to eat out all the time. I'm not a struggling peasant in Latin America or Africa or Southeast Asia, but I'm not Elon Musk either. (In fact I am nowhere near his level. I don't need to be. A few million 💵 would do)
I will try for more reviews in the near future, gentle reader.
@slowdecline48 Tbh I've never eaten at a Popeyes - I don't eat out much either but holy cr*p I have noticed the prices are crazy now!
Do the places ever reply back?
😆 No, usually they don't...when they do, the reply almost always feels like a form letter.
@slowdecline48 Kind of like here lol!
Hi Tiny.
@Helgafy Are you surrrre you're a Lutheran?... If you're not an Evangelical, well, you sound like one...on the other hand, I'm a faith-challenged Yid & so don't know much about Christianity in Europe, other than that there's very little of it left on the continent & in the UK.
@slowdecline48
Hi jaguar.
I guess you'll be irritated again. Last night I prayed for you in the name of Jesus Christ (you know He went around and healed people) that your allergy must not be so hard, that you must become better.
@Helgafy Not irritated this time, just bitterly amused...
Go ahead. You can pray that I become healthier all you like. You could also drive around your town wearing a red rubber nose, flappy shoes, a green wig & a tutu while blasting polka music from your car's stereo system, for all the good it'll do.
@slowdecline48
Jaguar - you're very, very funny.