rabid1st

On the Russell Brand charges

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 17:03:11 GMT

It probably won't come as a shock to know that I am the "Negative Nelly" at most meetings I've attended. I'm the one going, "Wait a second, won't that idea cause THIS problem and unravel this sector." And all too often I was greeted with groans of despair. I feel because 1) people hate going to meetings and 2) people love simple-minded "solutions" that sound good in a sound bite.

The Russell Brand charges have reminded me of something that I have been meaning to address in a Rabid Rant and that is our modern tendency to love a slogan. And to turn real life problems into game show or reality TV fodder, distilling them down into a caricature. We see no end of people who represent a BRAND, an idea that they can embody for us to "understand" it.

Russell Brand represented this cartoonish expression of sexual freedom and "genius" looks at social convention. He painted it all on a satirically huge canvas and then he pivoted to his guru position as a writer and teacher of spiritual truth.

It didn't take much observation to realize that there was a pathology at work under his commercialized facade. Russell himself admitted to pathology in his writings and his comedy. We simply assumed it was a benign pathology at work, because we were used to seeing it on TV and it never harmed us directly.

Donald Trump is much the same. He was also an entertainer on Reality TV. That's who he "Came to fame" as it were. And even though he was scripted on The Apprentice, he still displayed his underlying pathology. He expressed it clearly, even when he had the sense not to ramble in public. His supporters enjoyed the reckless aggression and lack of compassion for others that he readily displayed. They felt it was not harmful, because they had never experienced the harm it could cause. They were inoculated by becoming accustom to his lack of empathy as an entertainment.

Elon Musk dances around on stage with a chainsaw and people have been reading about his "genius" as a rich man for ages. His procreating exploits were all over the covers of People magazine. Complaints and lawsuits from his employees piled up in the courts, but he had the money and influence to be the one on TV, spouting his own pathological ideas as a trope for "being wealthy and successful."

It is the branding of Fox News that all of these attractive people they hire support "success and wealth" for all, while also ignoring pathologically antisocial behaviors in the name of self-aggrandizement. They gave the same lip-service to Patriotism and the Constitution, without ever understanding deeper meaning.

Their caricature of leadership was Donald Trump, who paints such broad strokes of ideas that they can mean anything at all, so nobody can fail to understand them. And yet, those broad strokes cover up the sick fallout happening in our current reality. Locking up anyone who you don't like, does not lead to justice for all. The innocent people dying in prisons that America flew them to without due process as required by our Constitution. The loyal workers who are out of a job, not because they did a bad job, but because they were loyal to something other than Trump.

Slowly but surely the Alt+Right presented us with entertaining figures who offered simplistic (and often sociopathic) solutions to problems, which in reality required the ability to think and plan for the good of most people, not the self-centered gyrations for attention that these "icons" presented to us.

We, as a species, need to start working on ourselves to encourage longer attention spans and more in-depth discussions of issues. We need to tolerate more ambiguity and awareness that our experience is not EVERYONE's experience and that can be a strength for us all if we allow expression of all experiences.

We need to look at who will be suffering from our policies and why caring about those affected people matters. We need responsible, moral people in positions of power, people who understand their own limitations. And that means, despite the onslaught of infotainment and attention-seekers, we need to beware of the Avatars who present a "good idea" without considering the fallout from the single-minded pursuit of the "good idea."

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The Dreamwidth Format

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 02:07:06 GMT

This is what I think of as an abbreviated LiveJournal style. It seems to be different, somehow. But I know it has been many years since I was a regular on LiveJournal, so perhaps I am simply comparing it unfairly to newer tech.

But the fact is that new tech really bugs me. I like a simple interface. I don't like loads of random crap happening. And I especially don't like a steep learning curve on a comparatively simple urge to talk about my cat or take photos of some flowers in my yard or call someone and leave a message.

When it comes to random crap and ads and political rants, I suppose I have some experience with Twitter, back when it was Twitter. And Instagram. And Tumblr. I like to have the assorted interests just drift by my face sometimes. Cute Dog. Jorts. Famous writer. Advert for cleansing facial lotions. Strange Diet Guru. Recipe for bunny shaped cupcakes.

We have a reading page here. I could use a few more posts on it, but I suppose I must give to receive.

So, here I am feeling nostalgic and maybe hopeful that people might finally be fed up with Tech Bros keeping us from having nice things.

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Preparing to say Goodbye to Facebook

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 21:12:32 GMT

Hello again, everyone!

I have not posted here in a very long time.

I remember LiveJournal quite fondly though and often lamented our mass exodus to Facebook and Twitter.

Now that Twitter is gone and Facebook has made it clear that they only wish to exploit, censor and manipulate their users for their own ends, I feel it is time to return to Open Source simplicity.

Therefore, I shall try to entice assorted friends back to this format for the time being.

Rae

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Shamanism--The Beginnings

Thu, 26 Apr 2018 17:05:27 GMT

So, around 11:00 AM yesterday, April 25, 2018, I had this weird feeling that the world had gone through some subtle awareness shift. Anyone who spends a bit of time in the New Age circles of Wiccans or Pagans or soothsayers or Shamans will know that many of them are expecting "the Shift," in much the same way that many Christians expect "the Rapture." I have never counted myself among that number. And I'm not completely sure I count myself in it now, despite finally having some "Shift" feelings, myself. I could have just had a bad tuna sandwich or something. ;->

And this led me to think about how I became a Shaman when I am essentially a scientifically-minded person.

I like proofs and theories. I like to see the science behind conclusions. "How did you come up with that ridiculous notion?" I often ask others. LOL

So, let me explain why I am a Shaman. It is a little complicated, I suppose. First, I believe it was because of Sheba, our cat. My parents were not mature people and didn't know how to care for a child properly. They were neglectful and self-involved, mentally ill and alcoholic. I learned at a very early age to ask "How did you come up with THAT ridiculous notion?" of them.

Sheba was a cat, but also a responsible adult. She loved me, in that no nonsense way that responsible adults love children. She tried to teach me all the things I might need to know. When I wandered into the woods, she trotted after me. She showed me stuff, like mice and beetles and how to hunt rabbits. She brought me live baby birds and rabbits to eat (I did not eat them, I saved them from her). She tucked me in at night and comforted me when I had bad dreams or felt scared. She was calm and sure of herself. So, I naturally respected her.

Sheba encouraged me, from a very early age, to pay attention to the natural world and to respect other life forms, beings radically different from myself.

Second, there was my curious nature at school. When a teacher told me something, I would ask them more about the ideas. "How did you come up with this?" I would ask. And I wondered what other conclusions we might extrapolate from information we had. Too many teachers told me that what they taught was just "common knowledge" or I "didn't need to know the reasons, just remember the facts." But I would think, "Here's another person who doesn't know." And off I would go to the library to find out.

Sometimes, like with the Theory of Relativity, even the library would fail me. It took years to get to the answers I wanted, mostly because it was only recently that scientists found some proof and context for the theory.

So, one day, in about third grade, I learned that everything I saw was made of atoms. And sub-atomically there was a lot of space and energy in solid things like tables and trees. This made me think about God being everywhere. They had told me this in Church, but hadn't really been able to explain "What makes you believe THAT?"

Shamanism teaches that God is everywhere, in all things. That's the heart of "animism." Everything has a spirit or soul. And, of course, science teaches that everything is made up of energy and matter, attraction and repelling. Things. Spirits. Positive. Negative. And all of it is connected, via Quantum Physics.

"How exactly do you feel God did these things?" I would ask religious leaders. "How does it actually all work?" And they would say..."It was a miracle." Which was generally the same thing as saying "Just accept that these facts are true." That's faith.

And there is a bit of faith in Shamanism as well. I have faith that the connections in all things, the subatomic energy, is aware of the universe. That all of existence is not some great coincidence. One New Age guru suggested that it all happened at once, like the Big Bang. The universe and a greater awareness of it can into being at the same time.

I don't know though, because it would take a series of astronomically absurd coincidences to create a universe, with a consciousness and people like ourselves who are aware of it. If it is all just random...why would we THEN invent a God figure? Because the atheists are right about one thing...without the God figure many of our issues could be solved as humans.

If this is all that there is and we have evolved to this point by chance...it is in our best interest, as a survival-oriented species, to take care of our health, our world, one another and to really treasure the short span of our lives. We would enjoy our lives a lot more by accepting reality as it is, but more than that, I am not sure we would imagine a different reality COULD exist.

So very many of us are maladapted...angry about being here...in separation. We cry out for connections that, by all rights, we could easily cultivate. Why would we randomly evolve such a feature of discontent? What possible use was it to so many of us to believe in God directing us or wanting us to be different? Think of the people who have sacrificed their lives in service to the unseen God or gods. That goes directly against all survival instincts, which are clearly evolved.

Maybe we believe, simply because there is something to believe in. Maybe we COME from a place of connection and wholeness. Connection is a subatomic reality in the universe. Part of us knows THIS HUMAN state of separation, of being distinct entities, of personal awareness is unnatural. But that would mean...there is a greater awareness in the universe that we are part of and so we have to come up with an explanation for our feeling separate from it. Why are we even here?

It certainly feels like punishment...unnatural...corrupt. But maybe it is because we can only be individuals here...in this illusion of separate things...like tables and trees. Here we can be us. Here we can be separate beings, dreaming of God.

Tags:Show tag navigation shamanism

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New in the Rae World...curtains!

Sun, 22 Apr 2018 03:26:26 GMT

So, for about three years, I've been thinking about doing something about my living room curtains.

They were heavy, awkward, and styled by someone's grandma. But, you know how it is, we all sort of put off things like curtain management in favor of mopping and sweeping and installing new floors to mop and sweep.

Then, late in the evening, last night...my wall got sick of my curtains, too. And being unable to stand them a moment longer, spit out one end of the curtain rod. The curtain rod crashed to the floor, bring with it...lots of plaster dust to mop and sweep and...an entire pulley apparatus for opening and closing curtains and...the aforementioned curtains.

"That's IT!" I said...as if I hadn't been ignoring the curtains for years.

And so, after a night of having our home illuminated by streetlights, neighbors with laser torches and what was certainly an alien ship landing...we went out and purchased new curtains and a rod to put them on. This meant that we needed to learn all sorts of handyman stuff in record time. Stuff like how to size a drill bit, how to patch dry wall, how to find a wall stud, how to make things level if those things are 84 inches apart, etc. But now we have curtains and a fancy, decorative bronze curtain rod. But no more pulley system.

Rae

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In America Today

Fri, 13 Apr 2018 21:21:31 GMT

I discovered a new product on my local grocery store shelf about 3 months ago. I'm not saying the product was completely new. It was actually introduced in 2017, but it was new to me and relatively new to the market. I purchased it and loved it. Delish...and pretty healthy.

In the last 3 months, I have purchased the product every week and the store has sold out of the product twice, forcing me to go to other stores in the chain to find it. Two weeks ago, it was out again, but I couldn't find it at any other store.

So, I asked after it.

Discontinued by the manufacture, the store buyer tells me. Alas...what a shame. Being a pro-active otter I decide to ask the manufacturer 1) Why discontinue something that is selling so well? and 2) Do they sell a similar product I might love?

The manufacture tells me..."We haven't discontinued that product. You can buy it at your local store." He names my local store. I tell him..."No! They say you discontinued it." He says..."They are mistaken. That line is still produced. It's new and selling well." I said..."I noticed." Back to the store again...to ask for further searching. "It has been discontinued by the manufacturer," they say. "They are just lying to you to make you happy." Uhm...what?

Now I'm pretty sure the store buyer is the lying weasel here, because why would a manufacture of an item try to mislead me by telling me they still MADE something...rather than try to mislead me into buying an alternative product they make? But in America today, with companies just no longer giving a fig about customers...who can tell for sure?

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An Interesting Experiment In Governing

Fri, 13 Apr 2018 14:46:57 GMT

Baltimore is trying a new way to clean up bad neighborhoods...

...they are helping people in bad neighborhoods. More police officers to assist. More lighting. Clean streets. Someone caring for someone else. That's what makes a society work. Too many people seem to think that threats and punishment and suffering will bring about change. People will change when they are miserable enough, when they pull themselves up by their bootstraps. But those people are often not good people, but drug lords and slum lords and narcissists.

People need to feel that someone cares, that they matter and that doesn't have to cost us that much as a society. Sometimes it is the little things, the listening ear, the kind word and the new streetlight that make a difference.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-transformation-zones-20180308-story.html

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Here I Am, Again

Mon, 09 Apr 2018 22:01:14 GMT

Another day...another Dreamwidth post. I must say that I do enjoy using the DW initials, given those are the same ones I use for Doctor Who. Every time I use them for this site, I get a small shiver of excitement. I use the DW because I have a distressing tendency to misspell the site name...most often as Dreamwidge, but also as Dreamwith and Dreamwitch. Dream width...just the right size for our dreams?

Anyway, I have nothing much to post today. If you have read this far, I apologize. I did have a mild adventure buying toilet paper, because there were three old people in line ahead of me having a heated argument about politics.

I learned what a Rhino is -- Republican In Name Only, apparently, which means that one of the people, a 60's lady wanted even MORE ridiculous policies to go into place that would be "REAL" Republican rules, I guess. And the whole kerfuffle was set off by the price of jelly beans. They have doubled in price, it seems, since the factory moved to Mexico. "And sending troops to the border won't change that," according to the geriatric jelly bean activist.

Rae

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Horses and Doctor Who

Mon, 09 Apr 2018 00:03:10 GMT

Look at me, posting two days in a row.

Soon, we shall have a new female Doctor and I shall surely have an opinion on her. So it is time to get back into the habit of blogging, I think.

Also, as happens every year, I have predictions for the Kentucky Derby. This year we have two sons of Scat Daddy coming from either side of the world to battle it out for horse supremacy. Maybe it is time for a European win in the Triple Crown races.

I started out the year favoring Bolt D'Oro, but he ran a very disappointing race his last time out. So, I wasn't high on him for the Santa Anita. I wasn't a huge fan of Justify either, because all we had was talk about him. Admittedly, it was Bob Baffert and Mike Smith doing some convincing talking. But I like to see a horse run around two turns before I buy into "Greatness."

So, I was on Mendelssohn another Scat Daddy son and one that sold for $3 million at the Keeneland sales. That's too much money. But he put up when he ran away with the UAE Derby a week ago. He romped home, in a time that beats Justify. So, he's still my horse. But the thing is...I'm not sure Justify has been tested, yet.

This could be a great duel...brother-against-brother. If Justify can hold up after such a race. If Mendelssohn ships healthy and likes Kentucky tracks. If the weather holds. But all of that is horse racing.

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Pig Tickling

Sat, 07 Apr 2018 21:14:49 GMT

Okay! Hello, Dreamwidth!

I have suggested that I would like to be here, rather than on FB.

And so I must post more here.

To that end...here is a link to a vid of someone tickling a tiny piglet.

https://youtu.be/s0mTuPXKKk4

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No Sugar, No Flour...Again! Yes! Again!

Sun, 03 Dec 2017 02:10:25 GMT

So, periodically I decide to give up sugar and flour, my joint addictions. I take the pledge. I blow the dust off of my journal and prayer book and meditative coloring book. I start working on my feelings. I toss out food that is not helping me and stock up on food I love that is pure of heart and purpose. This is never a huge change.

I don't really mind eating real food. I eat it for most of my meals. Other people think I'm obsessive about having no processed stuff. I enjoy salads. I love poached chicken and beans and broccoli without cheese sauces. I don't drink soda. I don't eat chips. I don't really like pasta or rice or ice cream. I'm a mostly clean eater.

If you followed me around and tried to figure out why I am overweight, you might be puzzled. But that is because you would not know about the sugar and baked goods. Brownies. Peanut butter cups. Frosted Oreos. These small treats add up to a major health issue for me.

I use sugar as a drug, to off-set my fatigue and pain. Just like any drug, the dosage keeps going up and the "Benefits" keep going down. I eat about 150 grams of sugar a day, in the form of brownies and peanut butter cups. I don't binge on these things...I eat them in place of real food...and I eat comparatively small amounts. For example...if I eat two packages of dark chocolate, peanut butter cups that is only about 6 oz of food. But it is 100 grams of sugar. If I drink an eggnog latte I can easily add another 68 grams.

That's a huge sugar hit to have every day. So, I am...once again...swearing off the sugar and flour. I currently have a very bad headache and some digestive upset. It's like a mild flu, on top of my usual serious flu symptoms of fibro.

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Hello Limited Number of Friends

Thu, 04 May 2017 22:29:12 GMT

I am going to try to post more on this journal.

Currently, I'm in the middle of a sugar and flour fast. I have given up both sugar and flour for several weeks. However, it would be more accurate to say that I am no longer in the middle of the fast, but have moved beyond it to a place where I once again consume sugar and flour.

I was doing very well. My pancreas was healing from the years of abuse, after only a couple of weeks off the white stuff. But then, I cracked a tooth and needed to have oral surgery.

After oral surgery I could no longer eat meat or raw veggies. I could only consume soups and very soft cooked foods. This meant that my blood sugar spiked and dropped more often and before I knew what was happening...I lunged for a brownie...soft...delicious...comforting.

So, my mouth is healing in this second week. I tried to eat some poached chicken last night, but could not manage it. Still, I think I can manage to let go of the soft, comfort foods and begin my detox again. It shouldn't be too difficult as yet. I've only consumed a little of the white stuff at this time. I'm not fully back on the flour or swept up in old habits. But I'm not teetotaling either.

So...Day 1 again...and if anyone knows of something that is soft, warm, comforting and not sweet...let me know.

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My Dream Width Journal is quite plain!

Tue, 25 Apr 2017 00:00:48 GMT

But I do like that they have now imported the comments from LiveJournal.

*Hugs all of my lovely comments

Also, I hope these steps help keep my fanfic alive until I can export it to other places. Maybe to my own website...or to appropriate archives.

I'm quite lazy about going back and correcting the grammar and formatting in older works so they can be properly archived. SIGH!

Anyway...comments...YAY!

Rae

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I'm back

Fri, 14 Apr 2017 18:05:15 GMT

And I think I am going to try to import my LJ entries over here. And maybe become an active person again in journaling.

If you know me, you know that I can't not be political. So, the user agreement at LiveJournal means I have to part ways with the Russian capitalists. Truly, it should have happened long ago. But I stopped posting there and just used it as a sort of storage center. When they asked me to sign the new form...I did so impatiently...and, we all know where that leads...to overlooking the fine print.

I am thankful for my good friends in the Buffy community for alerting me that I wasn't just being lazy...but also being a bad citizen to the world.

Hello, again, Dreamwidth.

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First Entry

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:08:24 GMT

Let us mark this auspicious date with a brief entry of introduction, shall we?

I have come here thanks to an invite by the lovely Missmurchison. Thanks again, Miss M!

I am a fanfiction writer and library associate and I hope to live off of the scribblings of original fiction and cat health assignments I can write. This is a forelorn hope, at this time, because all I manage to do most days is sleep and rant about the wrong turn Doctor Who took at the end of Season 4. I have a chronic fatigue illness that defies medical care. And that's all anyone needs to know about me to read and enjoy my journalings.

Rae

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