WHAT I WON’T TELL YOU TODAY

Published July 31, 2023 by Nan Mykel

I won’t tell you the sad but important lessons from the 3-hour movie OPPENHEIMER, nor more of the truth about diet pop. Nor will I tell you about the N.Y. Times stories on The Secret History of Gun Rights: How Lawmakers Armed the N.R.A., or The Morning: An Enemy in Mexico.

I will tell you that I wish I’d titled my blog DOWN HOME, but it probably costs moolah to change it now. NAN MYKEL doesn’t sound nearly as nice as NAN’S NOTEBOOK, a different Nan’s blog.

AND I GUESS I DO NEED to let you know that the local Letter to the Editor attack against the Athens Ohio County library system following Pride week recognition, as well as a religious attack for its Dungeons and Dragons games, backfired. A whiff of fresh air. Thank you, Athens County.

Also to let you know about the Ohio vote on Issue 1, the GOP’s move to make it more difficult for citizens to change anything in the state constitution. If the effort ever came to pass, the public could only make a change in our state constitution with a 60 percent endorsement. The vote will be Tuesday, August 8. Even the League of Women Voters has taken a stand against it. It’s seen as a move to make it more difficult for citizens to challenge forced abortions or even the use of contraception.

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DOWN HOME

And OH YES, the 3-day Nelsonville Ohio Music Festival happened week before last. My friend Alexa Abercrombie Ross wrote about it for her weekly writing group and I thought you might enjoy the flavor of a local music festival, with her kind permission (edited slightly for space concerns). Alexa writes:

NELSONVILLE MUSIC FESTIVAL 2023

Nelsonvillains (people who live in Nelsonville) get free tickets for the three day festival, so I was in, although not a big fan of the music scene. The parking pass was $35 for the three days but I knew the entrance was just two blocks from the main drag of our undistinguished neighboring town, Buchtel with free parking next to the only gas station.It was a nice long walk for ue three denizens of the Nelsonville Senior Citizens. Advised to bring chairs, I would have had a hell of a walk if one of my collapsible metal things had been intact. Even with a lightweight aluminum woven chair it was a punishing walk in the sun a quarter mile down a rocky road, but once we were there we could just open up those 30-year old lawn chairs, face the stage and look around. I’d come last year out of curiosity and had enjoyed the Korean barbecue tacos and the hippie ambience of the place, with three stages.

Colorful Passion Works art by challenged adults lined the entrance.The creekside stage had lots of occupied hammocks strung between the trees. Everywhere there were lines, for food, water, porta-a-potties and beer. Lines were where you met and talked with people.

What happens at a music festival? You fill the water bottle. You hit the john. You stand in line for food after a tour of the possibilities. You wait for the food. Then you sit at a picnic table with other people and eat. We wanted to explore but had those damn chairs to worry about. “You don’t have to worry about it,” the dyke in the next lawn chair said.

The Beer Tent: Festival glasses to hold your local artisanal beer were twelve dollars.That fancy beer cost eight dollars and up.. Nothing dark was available of course, the way I like it. I met a guy carrying four glasses in two stacks. The top two glasses still had beer. He gave me a twelve dollar glass and I asked why he hadn’t reused it instead of buying 3 more. He said he didn’t want to wait in line. With only pale ale available, I got a tiny can of cabernet sauvignon with pomegranate for a cool $7. Bargains are relative.

But on a hot day beer is not advisable. You get sluggish and even walking becomes a challenge over uneven ground. I watched a fellow in hot blue jeans and a flowered shirt dance like no one was watching, His skin was burned rose from the sun.

I saw many familiar faces, notably Democratic women from Athens.No voter registration booth this year. Most patrons were out-of-towners if not out-of-staters. Babies and children frolicked in the play area by the stage up the hill below the campsite. My friends bought Garlic Naan bread from the Fat Indian cart. The dyke was eating an ice cream cone, so the others decided they needed one too.

I actually enjoyed the musical act, Sierra F—-, a catchy female lead on guitar, The only act I’d heard of were the headliners, Kurt Vile and the Violators who were loud loud loud. My friends were gone a long time. It was getting dark and I was more than ready to leave, thinking of leaving alone when they finally returned. (I volunteered to drive us all in my electric car.) One had noticed what looked like a smear of blood on her cone and got a free replacement, after she’d enjoyed most of it. I noticed a van heading out and recognized the driver. and asked if they were going to Buchtel..We didn’t have to make that long walk back to my car! I dropped off the on in Doanville and the other in Frog Hollow. I got home and fed the cats, and went to see what was on PBS for more entertainment!….

Alexa

REFLECTIONS

Published July 21, 2023 by Nan Mykel

It’s all too much. Let’s pretend it ain’t so, because the photo above somehow penetrates me with its unstranslated and unstranslatable meaning or message. If it were a message it might be nice, because it would suggest that something sentient out there might bother to connect.

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OHIO AIN’T ALL BAD:

An amputee rabbit named Miss Rose holds a special place in Greif’s heart for being one of the “best therapy rabbits” that came through her care.

From <https://athensindependent.com/rabbit-rescue-gives-hope-to-countys-pets-and-people/>

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IS THE CHRISTIAN GOD AN UNCLE?

I’m confused. Doesn’t the Bible suggest a competition between Gods? If so, does that mean they’re

all uncles, offspring of our Grandfather God who embraces us all? I’d sure like something to unite human kind….

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REBLOGGED FROM CLOUD CUCKOO:

How many labels do we need in order to feel complete?

“„I‘m a Caucasian American. A New Yorker. A Democrat. A pharmacist. An Ivy League graduate. A baseball aficionado. A BMW driver. A church member. A family dad.” – Good for you!

Or is it? What does all that say about your essence? And do labels help us to make this world a better place?

You know what always strikes me odd? People complain about all the negativity in the (world) news but can’t do without apparently. They seem trapped in a vicious circle. “One must stay informed”, they tend to justify themselves. What for? In order to stay a part of the general negativity?

“Those nasty delinquents should be punished much more severely!” – Why? Does society mainly consist of saints who are threatened by a few criminals?

Isn’t it remarkable how the civilized man constantly looks for a scapegoat? In every single age of history, in every single region of the world.

There are actually numerous folks who read a book by a spiritual author like Eckhart Tolle and afterwards they claim, “Even if this guy is right the masses will never change!” Guess what, it’s not about the masses. It’s about us.

Why do we keep expecting only the people in charge to improve life on earth? Hardly anyone becomes a politician to establish world peace. And probably nobody becomes a CEO in order to introduce social justice. Man seeks power for his own material benefit. Or do you really give a significant part of your income to charity? Don’t you consider a comfortable house for yourself more important than a dignified life for a random person somewhere in the less privileged parts of the world?

In fact, no one is to be blamed. For in essence we are all equal….

“But what about an idealistic activist?”, one might ask. Well, what are the true motives of their actions? After all, there are a number of established lobbyists who threw stones when they were students. Peaceful warriors like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Tenzin Gyatso, or Thich Nhat Hanh, on the other hand, have always been extremely scarce. Probably because they are ancient souls.

We necessarily create. Whether more misery or more miracles depends on our level of consciousness. As long as we identify with a superficial label we separate ourselves from the rest of humanity, from life on earth, from the universe. As soon as we overcome the vicious circle of self-defining we become free. Free of any burden. And free to embrace the essence of life—which is true beauty.

By cloud cuckoo kissin self-reflection 13. March 2021460 Words13 Comments

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CAREERING: A REBLOG

Published July 17, 2023 by Nan Mykel

WOW…Telling it like it is!

ehjohnson3

“If one wanted to crush and destroy a man entirely, to mete out to him the most terrible punishment … all one would have to do would be to make him do work that was completely and utterly devoid of usefulness and meaning.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Wealth is agile, you are not.

Wealth can move any which way around in the economy. Left alone—or manipulated by an invisible hand—it concentrates. it bubbles up, it doesn’t trickle down. That myth was invented by people who benefit from the bubble-up truth to keep those who don’t, doing what needs to be done to keep the system as it is. In this economic but not political sense, they are Conservatives.

Then there are economic Progressives, they are the folks who want to distribute incoming wealth differently. These days as capital (what one has) is valued more than labor (what one does) progressives want…

View original post 1,090 more words

OUCH

Published July 17, 2023 by Nan Mykel

I just realized that the big tech corporations that own the most advanced and convincing AI robots are the wealthiest and most conservative. Aren’t liberals duped losers already?

An article by Jane McAlevey in the July 10/17 The Nation reminds us that hope for a turn-around may exist in nationwide negotiations by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the United Auto Workers (UAW), following revitalized teachers’ unions in Chicago and Los Angeles that shone light on the impact of privatization, tax breaks to corporations, real estate developers and the rich, which have been draining resources from public education, affordable housing, and key social services.

The Federal Reserve’s tendency to suggest that the main driver of inflation is workers’s wage growth instead of executive compensation and stock paybacks enables a two-tiered structure of political and economic power and the two-tiered economy that we are experiencing. (More than two thousand dollars to attend a show? Who are these people?)

How many squabbling diversions of attention there are in each day’s headlines, detracting from the clarity and understanding of our two-tiered system! The Teamsters President Sean O’Brien and UAW president Shawn Fain have signaled their intention to “show a better, fairer and more just country–starting in the workplace.”

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THINKING

Well maybe not thinking

but tousling with ideas,

trying to recall dreams

and now, pencil in hand

I write and remember

the trees all green but not

the forks, stripped and bare of

life among their brothers.

Or would they be not forks

but the Devil’s tridents,

poor souls.

Nan 7/17/23

From Here to There to…

Published July 16, 2023 by Nan Mykel

Marley

ANIMAL ADVENTURE THIS WEEK:

As a long retired member of the human race, It’s not often that I come into contact with other animals (than those like me). This week I had a small adventure (or sighting) of four other animals: a racoon, a ground hog, a skunk and a Chihuahua. Remember, I’m an elder, so it was exciting for me, though probably incidental to the reader.

My daughter and I decided to get a dog, and had to drive to Columbus to adopt one of our choosing. We found one at the Humane Society, but he already had interested folks, though it would be first come at 2 p.m. the following day, first takers. Since Athens was almost 2 hours away, and despite not having my nighttime pills with me, in order to be first in line we drove down the road and found a rest area and slept in the car. At the rest stop and prior to sleeping, my daughter saw a large racoon running up to me, and fearful that it might be rabid and attack me, she threw it food in the other direction. Shortly thereafter a huge racoon climbed a garbage can right in front of the car before it and a companion ran off into the woods. I do wonder where they sleep. I can’t imagine running across one sleeping during the day.

IN ORDER TO ASSUAGE MY GUILT ABOUT PERHAPS USURPING SOMEONE ELSE FOR MARLEY, I HOPED THEY WERE ONE OF THE PUPPY FOLKS WHO BUY ALL THE PUPPIES THEY CAN IN ORDER TO RESELL THEM AT MUCH HIGHER PRICES.

Back home in Athens that night there was some excitement when a groundhog became trapped in a wired garbage cage (my vocabulary fails me). Its head was stuck under the strong wire fencing during the hottest part of the day. A neighbor’s dog noticed him stuck there with his nose pinned to the earth, and barked. Three female college students tried to free the ground hog to no avail. My daughter and I came out of the condo building, roused by the nighttime activity, and began trying to saw through the bars to no avail. One student called the police to come with bolt cutters, and a big strong policeman soon appeared without bolt cutters, but muscles. At this point the little feller had been trapped in high temperature, and although my daughter brought out a bowl of water it wasn’t clear that he would be alive to drink it, even if rescued. The big strong policeman just grabbed the enclosing metal fence and pulled it up, freeing the little feller, who ran like heck across the lawn of the condo building to hide behind the outside air conditioning units there. My daughter put the bowl of water down near where he was hiding, and we all thanked the policeman. A few minutes later my daughter went out to toss a few crumbs of bread for the ground hog, and found a large skunk drinking from the bowl. When he saw my daughter not far away he ran right at her. She avoided him and isn’t sure he had really seen her or just headed in her direction. That’s three of the animals we ran into this week, and oh yes, I forgot to mention Marley, who joined our family that day (actually, yesterday). And I forgot the two deer sightings during the trip.

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Pray Never to become an Immigrant:

“The political left in both Europe and the U.S. has struggled to come up with a response to these [immigration] developments. Instead, many progressives have dismissed immigration concerns as merely a reflection of bigotry that needs to be defeated. And opposition to immigration is frequently infused with racism: Right-wing leaders like Marine Le Pen in France traffic in hateful stereotypes about immigrants…”

Source lost–probably nytimes this week__

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Opinion David French

WHO TRULY THREATENS THE CHURCH?

To quote Jesus in the book of Mark, “There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” All manner of sin and evil comes “from within, out of the heart of man.”

Under this understanding of Scripture, we are all our own greatest enemy — Christians as fully as those who do not share our beliefs. We do not, either as individuals or as a religious movement, possess an inherent virtue that should entitle any of us to rule. We shun the will to power because we rightly fear our own sin, and we protect the liberty of others because we do not possess all wisdom and we need to hear their ideas.

“Of course that is not to say that external voices and ideas can have no negative effect in our lives. We might be our own greatest enemy, but we’re not our only enemy. But if we are deeply flawed, then that realization has to profoundly impact how we approach politics. It has to temper our confidence that we either can control or should control the public square.”

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UNBELIEVABLE

“Mr. Trump’s lawyers asked Judge Cannon this week to postpone the trial indefinitely, a move that could serve to push it until after the 2024 election. If that were to happen and Mr. Trump were to win the race, he could try to pardon himself after taking office or have his attorney general dismiss the case.”

From <https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/14/us/politics/trump

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MAUREEN DOWD SAYS

The ingesting and synthesizing of words, images and music is going on in giant gulps. Indeed, the day is fast approaching when the digerati will be able to make a whole fake movie.

As Lanier said, “They might say, ‘Make me a movie that’s similar to Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible.” However, make sure that none of the synthetic actors can be mistaken for known actors and make sure that we’re not going to get sued, but let’s go right up to the line.’ That’s not quite feasible today, but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be. It’s just math. And we can do it.”

From <https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/15/opinion/writers-actors-strike.html?campaign_id=191&emc=edit_ntmd_20230715&instance_id=97605&nl=maureen-dowd&regi_id=92821497&segment_id=139388&te=1&user_id=808aa8374858aa0bb61eef25d704e6b0>

FUNNY OR SERIOUS?

Published July 14, 2023 by Nan Mykel

I laughed so long at the following 7/12/23 Letter to the Athens News that now I’m not sure if it’s serious or funny. Again, I won’t mention the author’s name but it was in the Athens News this week along with six other responses to last week’s Athens News letter (one of which was mine). The letter I took or mistook for comic is the following:

READER GLAD LIBRARIES, SCHOOLS CALLED OUT

To the Editor:

I’m glad people are finally calling out the libraries and schools for their obvious liberal socialist agenda. I, for one, was shocked to learn that the libraries hold weekly Dungeons and Dragons meetings for kids. What other anti-religious meetings are they allowing to happen to try to turn our kids against God and his word? Why are they holding meetings like Dungeons and Dragons with their focus on demons and witchcraft, that are known to be harmful to children? This indoctrination of our kids must stop! County residents concerned about their children should show up at the next library board meeting and school board meetings to demand answers to why our taxpayer money is being used for an anti-family agenda and to promote anti-religion to our kids. I also encourage churches in the area to pray for the libraries so that they may be shown the light.

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At least the above did not end with the word Amen. I think my laughter was because decades ago when I played Dungeons and Dragons it never occurred to me that it had anything to do with religion. If this is legit, then we should bar many fairy tales and any information on the Greek gods and goddesses.

Tell Me What to Do

Published July 10, 2023 by Nan Mykel

I like to blog, but now I’m a little suspicious of the internet to re-tell a lot of “information.” I don’t even know if AI has my number, though I’ve never invited it in. Au contraire! How would I know if “they” have a contract with Alexa? There’s nothing I especially want to keep secret, but for Pete’s sake! If nothing else has caused it, AI is making folks paranoid and disbelievng….me, anyway.

I’m not even sure about the New York Times. I know it has funneled stories onto its site full of unscrupulous ads (as the false U.S. postage stamps). And today I’m wondering about how much Chinese money went into the LONG story about the United States’ abuse of its current colonies, including Guam. I’ve heard criticism of England for having colonies, but not us. That’s good to know, but I have to wonder what or who’s behind this exceptionally long article at this point in time.

Not to malign the authors (I’m adding authorship below) but to be struck by how long it is and how many photos there are. Given the level of scheming today I can’t help wondering if some organization from China moneywalled it, or those U.S. citizens who are pulling for Russia and China to win perhaps? Just too handy for them to be accidental at this time, though true? Warren Buffet is one of the supporters of the womens’ journalism group who produced it, and I can’t tell from reading Google/Wikipedia where he stands on things.

I’m tempted to question the New York Times as well as other “news,” sources (and nobody, even you, can assure me that what I read and see is not AI-tainted.)

“Sarah A. Topol is a contributing writer for the magazine. She lived in Cairo and Istanbul for over a decade, reporting from the Middle East, the former Soviet Union, Asia and Africa. Her work for the magazine has won a National Magazine Award for feature writing and an Overseas Press Club award. This reporting was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists. Glenna Gordon is a documentary photographer whose work seeks out unexpected narratives. She is also a teacher and a licensed E.M.T.”

Now I’m regretting the title of this post, because I can understand some responses as being Shut Up!

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN LOCAL OHIO

I don’t know whether to list her name or not…maybe not, but the Letter to the Editor was in The Athens News of Wednesday, July 5, 2023, and I’m leaving some out only for brevity’s sake:

Libraries Should Be a Place for All, and that Includes Its Traditional Families

“In regards to our county libraries, no one is arguing that libraries don’t do good or aren’t valuable. What many like-minded individuals are realizing that our libraries are promoting alternate lifestyles and wokeness on children. I wasn’t blind to the fact that The Plains Library has pride flags strewn all over the building when I walked in. I should feel comfortable sending my child to the library without it being in your face. We want safe public libraries for all!

“….We encourage all like-minded supporters who object the blatant sexualization of children to show up [at the next board meeting] and voice their disapproval of the library board and the direction of the county libraries and demand the current library board be replaced by those that actually listen to the county residents. Hopefully we can then get a new director who is more willing to listen and respond and not take sides with the immoral agenda of the left.

“We must not allow our children to suffer at the hands of the liberal agenda. Unite to wipe this scourge out completely! We publicly invite Jay Edwards* to attend and hope to have representatives from the growing Moms for Liberty** organization join us at this school board meeting,”

*Jay Edwards - "Jay Edwards was born and raised right here in Southeast Ohio. He shares our faith, our values and our commitment to community – and to one another. Jay is a graduate of Nelsonville-York High School, excelling in the classroom and in sports. He earned a scholarship to Ohio University, where he received his Bachelor of Science  degree in mathematics. Today, Jay lives in Nelsonville and works as a Realtor. He is a member of the Farm Bureau, Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, Nelsonville Chamber of Commerce, Nelsonville Rotary, Belpre Chamber of Commerce, 
Meigs County Chamber of Commerce, Marietta Area Chamber of Commerce and the National Rifle Association. Jay Edwards is not a career politician. He is also an appointed member of the Athens County Transportation Improvement District and the Meigs County Transportation Improvement District. He's one of us."  From jayedwardsohio.com

**Moms for Liberty – Pick your definition from Google.

FOUNDERS OF MOMS FOR LIBERTY:

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SOMETIMES I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE WORDS MEAN

I looked it up, and you might as well throw out the word “progressive,” because there are too many contradictory meanings. Certainly I don’t know what it means when I read it!

“Liberal democracy” means Widespread political participation by adult citizens, including members of minority groups that include racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic, and economic …per Encyclopedia.com

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AN EARLIER QUESTION: Why is the statue of liberty a woman? (Women are the least free gender on the planet)

For example, recall some states’ actions to prevent any abortions and also the following development:

“There is a movement in the Southern Baptist Convention, a denomination that is often a bellwether for evangelical America, to purge women from its leadership.

“The right wing of the Southern Baptists, the largest Protestant denomination in America, is now — like conservatives more broadly — cracking down on what it sees as dangerous liberal drift. Most people in the denomination have long believed that the office of head pastor should be reserved for men. But an ultraconservative faction with a loud online presence is going further, pressing for ideological purity and arguing that female pastors are a precursor to acceptance of homosexuality and sexual immorality….”

Elizabeth Dias reported from New Orleans and Ruth Graham from Dallas. June 13, 2023 Updated 7:52 p.m. nytimes