hafacenturyncounting

Motivated by a lack of material.

Archive for the tag “perspectives”

21 May 2013
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On A Positive Note

This is a challenging morning for me to task such a title. Not saying anything traumatic has occurred, simply my mind is not warmed up. Yet I feel the need to go to the happier side.

Over the years I have observed moods and the affect they have on how people relate. I see it in my writing and when I am in what I deem to be a “funk” I limit how much I write. I used to completely avoid writing period, but I found good work does rise from the “ashes”.

Today I go to my bag-of -tricks and pull out my motivators, and here is what they helped me create and convey. I rekindled a passion that existed/exists inside of me and I am getting things in order so I can act on this. I  conferred and confirmed it with a loved one,  it just felt right. This was reminiscent of the riding a bicycle parable; you never forget, it does come back to you.

There has to be a point where something more becomes you focal point. Hopefully you have been able to buy that dream car, live in that dream house, and love that dream companion. Now it is time for you to give back. Our lives must be about substance and reach beyond the small scope which is us. Family helps us do this but we must recognize our family extends beyond those folks who share your last name or favor you in looks.

Now know you are charged to do something that will impact another on a grand scale. That grand scale is not defined by a large well lit billboard or an exclusive spread  in a magazine. The grand scale I speak of can simply be the way you directly affect an individual who you can touch. Maybe she is the abandoned teen or he is the overly active boy placed in special ed., perhaps the elderly gentleman sitting on a bench at the local market; reach out to them, you have no idea how much your kind words or gesture will mean. I cannot instruct you in what to do, just follow your heart and let it happen. You will know you are doing it right because you will feel it deep in your very soul,  and that is the best barometer around.

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18 May 2013

That’s How He Does It

Tiger, Tiger, Tiger… will you hurry up and smash those records?! I want this man to play until let’s see he needs to beat Jack Nicklaus’ record and Sam Snead, he needs three more green jackets, he needs to walk on water.. what is this mess?!

He is  not nice to play with, he cheats, he is no gentleman, face it there is no room in the world of golf for the likes of him. Well of course there isn’t. He is taking the fun out of the game right. Hey listen most games, sports, competitions are much more fun when you are winning. It stands to reason; if he is winning like he is, if he is shattering records one after another, he must be cheating.

What happened to the days of champions being loved and adored? Well welcome to the age of the self-assured athlete, but wait it is not limited to the athlete this is a world of self-assured people. Women are now lesbians criticized for being “ballsy”, African Americans are “uppity” and don’t know their place; “mama-mia” what a world and I thought our society was evolving and moving forward.

The next time we will have an opportunity or have to endure Mr. Woods is May 30th at “The Memorial” where he is the defending champion. He has probably done or is planning something unscrupulous as I write this. We won’t know until the tournament is played. Well at least Byron Nelson’s record and legend will remain intact, 11 back to back PGA wins and a GENTLEMAN, lets see Tiger top that this year.

You see unlike other sports golf applauds good manners, behavior, and etiquette. You don’t see those guys on the tour spitting or cursing, none of them are alcohol abusers, or have marital problems. In case you MISSED the sarcasm, Tiger is not the only member of the PGA who is not perfect, he just happens to be one who is in the spotlight preparing to make more history in the sport of golf.

It is odd to think of oneself as cheering for the underdog when cheering for someone with a record such as Tiger Woods, but you have to admit he is golf’s “whipping boy”. They cannot take away from his true talent and skill so they attack his character. I doubt seriously any one of us would be able to stand unblemished by such a vast and multiple assault. Therefore once again I have to go against how I feel about an individual, outside of his notable profession, and cheer him on for the only thing most of us have the ability to judge first hand, his athletic prowess. Admittedly, that is what is a joy to watch. Once again I say, “Geaux Tiger”!

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09 May 2013
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Tarantino… Now He Should Be Chained

Let me begin with the only thing I have ever liked that Quentin Tarantino had anything to do with was “From Dusk Till Dawn” in which he played the mentally challenged deviant brother of George Clooney. I have never watched Pulp Fiction in it’s entirety, Reservoir Dogs no interest, and Jackie Brown was not impressive. Suffice to say I am not particularly impressed with Quentin Tarantino’s work.

Which brings us to Django Unchained. I heard so much clamor about this film. A really good friend suggested and encouraged me to see it. My friend thinks I am quite the rebel, for some odd reason, and thought sure I would love this movie. Anyway it came and went from the theaters. I finally picked it up at my local “RedBox” about a week or two ago. The main reason I resisted seeing the movie was the association with Mr. Tarantino.

I won’t say I hated the film, but when I saw Jamie Fox in the blue “Little Lord Fauntleroy” get-up I was lost forever. I tried to watch it but it was so corny and campy I found myself falling asleep. I faded in and out of consciousness, mostly because I was watching it in bed after a long day at work.  What I did see of it made me say,” It’s a Tarantino movie what did you expect?” I fully intended to rip this film to shreds when I started this piece. However, because I was going to rip the film and Quentin apart I said, ” To do YOUR work justice, YOU must actually watch the movie”. Off to RedBox I went to rent Django Unchained for a second time.

My son asked me what are you going to do, and wouldn’t it be funny if you ended up liking the movie. I laughed it off with, “It’s a Tarantino movie that’s not gonna happen”. Well as I take my first bite of crow, let me say I have to admit I enjoyed it. After I put aside my preconceived notions about Quentin, I was able to see the interesting twist on his film. It had all the flavor of a 1970’s western/black exploitation film the underlying influence. I do not like the way Tarantino pays homage to black films nor the arrogance of him suggesting he has an inside track to understanding black people and their portrayal in film. The “n” word is used entirely too much in most of his work; at last here was a film that it truly could go virtually unnoticed and it was. He did a good job with this movie, I was  thoroughly entertained.

It was not predictable in obvious ways. There is a great deal of blood and violence, along with animated showmanship. The characters were both interesting and unbelievable. Samuel L. Jackson was, however, brilliant as Stephen your “Uncle Tom” prototype. I would watch it again just to see him. IT is mindless entertainment and every-so-often we need to slip ourselves a small dose of just that. I give Quentin a “stay of execution” because of Django Unchained, I am sure there will be other films in the future that will allow me to confirm my opinion of him and his work prior to Django. However, until that time I have to give credit to him for scoring and scoring in a rather big way with me on this particular project.

My changed opinion made me have to ponder renaming my piece, or to at least search for a new title and note I did as much here at the end. Having to find a suitable title after the fact was just hard, and my heart wasn’t in it. I mean it was enough to admit the film wasn’t the horror I fully expected, but to have to change the title to possibly say something else positive about Quentin.. well it was just out of the question. My entire opinion of him has not changed, I just had to be honest about this particular work of his. If you manage to read through the entire piece, you will get the reasoning behind the title and you will also know why the title change did NOT take place. “Jury is still out” regarding the man and his overall talent. Therefore, even in spite of the fact he did produce something I liked, his overall record still leaves a great deal to be desired, and it is because of that I still say he(Tarantino) should be “chained“(restricted).

Posted in Everybody's Critic and tagged
08 May 2013
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“I Hit It First….”

Wow! What have we been reduced to in the world of entertainment? The title alone was a sad testament, but then when you delve deeper you have to ask what is going on with an individual who would publicize something like that.  You have to ask what is the character of the individual himself, the woman and the audience he is pandering to. I think too much of my work and my readers to write the initial thoughts I had of this verbatim, it would be filled with blank spaces and blocked out words. Use your imaginations for it would go something like this; “What a f%@$in piece of s&%#, Ray J and the song.”

We have to demand more, we are more, therefore we should not allow this world of entertainment to insult us like this. Clearly I am not a “Ray J ” fan; as a woman I questioned his morals and ethics long before this particular travesty  he  is calling music emerged, but to effectively assassinate the piece and him as an artist, I forced myself to view/listen to the thing. Pathetic attempt to regain the spotlight/limelight is all I can say. It resonates the attitude and mindset of a 16 year old boy and his desired first sexual conquest, after he is dropped by the girl of his dreams without reaching his ultimate goal.  I will not go through a frame by frame dissection, for he may actually possess some talent on some level, but this video renders all of that and all possibilities NULL and VOID.

“Ray J” get a life, find a hobby! Please don’t bother supporting this garbage; it is not worth the time, and certainly not the money. Unless “Ray J” is donating all proceeds to Up and Coming Artist Who Do NOT Want To Suck seminars, where he is the featured example of what NOT to do. My vote puts this “song”into the Stupidity Hall  of Fame with OJ Simpson’s “book” If I Did It” . Who can forget that literary genius. “OJ”, “Ray J” is there something missing in the brains of so-called artist/entertainers with “J” at the end of their names? Well judging by what these two have produced  most recently, there is no doubt in my mind. I can only hope the two of them don’t get together and come up with a compilation, “If I Hit, Then I Did It..First”.

Posted in Everybody's Critic and tagged , ,
07 May 2013

All Because You Didn’t Marry The Prince

Perhaps some of you weren’t “his” princess either. Who is this mysterious “man”, well he is different for each of us, but simply he is YOUR particular man. I don’t think men are looking for those types of women(princesses). They do search for an ideal mate and when I say ideal, she cooks, cleans, has babies, retains her figure, is smart yet non combative, and did I mention her libido is in direct sync with his. This is a personal assessment and observation of several  men I know/have known.  We on the other hand ask for little, as demonstrated by our requirements which are much less; we only ask he be handsome, rich, and adore the ground we walk on.

Funny thing about a brain, it sometimes  makes you an independent thinker on a number of levels.  Many years ago you fell madly in love, if memory serves  correctly, it was wonderful. You have to laugh as you recall the time, because it is not real clear now. It is amazing that something that was so very important in your life, has take such a backseat now. Anyway you fell in love and then as time went on, you fell in love again. It happens the problem arose when you discovered, this is not a fairy tale. That was a hard pill to swallow; because he certainly looked like the prince, in short periods of time he acted like the prince, but ultimately he couldn’t pass the test. Sometimes we look directly at something and know we shouldn’t cross that path, but we do it anyway.

So now you are in the dungeon or is it the tower, well you cannot escape in either case. What now? You wait for the prince to come along and rescue from the dragon I mean the prince.. wait a minute. Is it the prince rescuing you from the prince or the dragon. Is the prince the dragon or is the prince rescuing you from himself? If you aren’t confused you should be. You are sitting there waiting for an answer, when you have it you hold the key. Unlock that door and walk right out of that place, go where you feel you are wanted and where you need to be.

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03 May 2013

My May Flowers

Well I am looking forward to seeing what May has to bring/to share with us. We are having a rather mild transition into summer here in Georgia. While I am aware that it has only been 2 days as I write this; I am happy and hoping this is  an indicator that we will now have the mild, humidity free summers like California…. yeah a “pipe dream” I will enjoy it while it lasts.

May is a month of firsts and lasts(so far) for me, they are all very sweet memories. Late spring that generally feels like summer; the summertime memories from the “summertime of my life” is my summation in regards to the month of May.

I have a niece who is growing up, she is turning 12. My poor sister, her daughter is “moments” away from being a teenager. However along with the dread of seeing your child, your baby transitioning into the grown-up person they will ultimately be, you must take note of the wonder you have been allowed to experience along the way. However, she is “My May Flower bud”.

Another sign of summer is the May celebration of Cinco De Mayo. As self-respecting Southern Californian I cannot ignore this day. Although it has little to do with Southern California, other than tacos and margaritas, which I plan to partake of.  For a real history tidbit this celebration is about The Battle of Puebla, a battle had it gone the other way could have greatly affected the outcome of the Civil War.

We have to touch on Mother’s Day and while I am fairly certain I will have an entire blog about mothers, I never miss an opportunity to acknowledge moms since their “day” falls in the confines of this month. Therefore I offer the following; don’t forget the date but take time to love and honor her everyday, not just the one talked about during May.

If I suffered from triskaidekaphobia there are a couple of individuals, who have been in my life, that I would be better served on some levels had they remained an enigma. Even though I smile as I say that I would have to ask myself, “Why do I even talk to _____ ?” Instead I find myself saying, as I nod in affirmation, “No wonder I talk to ______.” They are “My May Flowers in full blooms”.

Two days into the month of May and I see a strange welcomed weather change, a family member transitioning to another phase of life, Cinco De Mayo, and a couple of very attractive memories. That doesn’t even take us to mid-month, but I will stop here. So Happy Birthday Bryanna,  Feliz Cinco De Mayo, Mother’s Day,  and an honorable mention for May 13th!  I think “My May Flowers” are going to make one heck of a bouquet.

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30 Apr 2013

Looks Matter?

The thought of this made me smile. I truly, truly appreciate beauty. The good Lord has provided us all with an array of nice things to look at from stunning seascapes to beautiful faces.

Yet in the wake of failed relationships, where the obvious prerequisites were met, the idea of a beautiful mind is very appealing. In the place where breathtaking good looks is replaced with engaging conversation. One substitutes deep soulful eyes and they are  now interchangeable with intriguing ideas. The cute button nose you so admire takes the form of quick wit. The fantastic physique gives way to solemn comforting thoughts.

I found myself captivated by words and thought patterns that made me stop and grab each word. I dissect the ideas placed before me. Now my mind is experiencing joy and ecstasy with the same intense forces as my physical body has. My mind hungers for more. Yet another growing pain, in yet another form. Brad has been replaced by Albert…. well not quite.

As time goes on we gain a clearer understanding of ourselves and those we relate to, but our ability to convey thoughts and feelings sometimes get lost in the translation. You can find yourself in a “no man’s land” with someone who you thought you knew.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but intelligence is a matter of fact. It is time to dig into something more solid and substantial.

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19 Apr 2013
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Audio-Visual Affair

I love the saxophone. I was introduced to it, by my mother as a small girl. She told me about many things during our afternoon talks and what she told me about a saxophone stayed with me. One morning surfing through music I found myself hypnotized and engulfed. Here’s what happened.

The way he held his saxophone was the way a woman wants to be held by a man. His eyes closed, his face slightly grimaced. He had the look of pain and ecstasy on his face. Yet you were drawn in by his look. He didn’t play his instrument he loved it; and you, his audience, were captivated by the sound, the movement, and the emotion of it all.  His lips wrapped around the source of this audio-visual affair. Watching him play you become aware of every part of him, he is putting it out there for you. Although he is about 5’11” and slender, he emanates 6’3″muscular with strong biceps. The opened shirt buttons tease you with glimpses of his pecs.Then you tell yourself, “Stay above the waist”… Don’t you realize that he is playing you as hard as he is playing that woodwind? Of course you do, but you go along with it any way. The sounds, his sounds are arousing your other senses as well.  He caresses  his instrument with his fingertips and holds it close to his body. They are one.  It begins to get warm, you are in fact what is warm. You examine his hair, his carefully manicured beard with your eyes, but your hands can feel the strands of his dreads.  Each note higher, each note lower; your breathing is matching his with one difference, he is controlling yours.  You wanted more and he gave it to you. Feels good, huh. When he finished, you needed a drink to quench your thirst. You were tired and excited at the same time. Then he started playing again. Nothin like a man playin a sax…

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17 Apr 2013
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Time In Purgatory

Not being Catholic, I believe Purgatory is among some of the most familiar concepts non-Catholics are familiar with. Now note I said familiar, NOT knowledgeable. Through time and interpretation the definition of Purgatory has changed, but in general most associate it with purification; pain and suffering on a temporary basis.

As I wrote that I allowed my mid to wander a bit briefly to a time period in which people were tortured and killed in public in the name of God? The concepts surrounding God in Christianity does address His wrath, but what on Earth ever made people think they were qualified and capable to do God’s work, when it comes to punishment. God is quite capable of handling ALL things Himself. Certainly given the nature of man he would not rely on us to handle such a thing. Man, in his ever present arrogance, decided man was capable, qualified, and he therefore acted. I will move on.

Thus, what we associate Purgatory with is what man has decided it should be. I will not get into a religious debate, I have said before I am not versed enough. I do possess a minor understanding; and can see how concepts in the wrong hands, even religious ones, can get carried away.

During an unhappy time or particularly difficult period, do you ask WHY? When you ask why, do you also provide yourself with an answer, an explanation. For if you do then you are ” treading dangerous waters”. God allows us free will, but when decision that we make do not turn out like we thought they should or were not to our liking we blame God in one way or another.

On a massive scale the idea associated with prison; the way we deal with crime and punishment, is this a distorted solution. For how many actually come away from that experience better than before? I believe you had to have good in you, but you just needed something to bring it out of you, in order to survive the ordeal and then have the desire to be new and improved.

One thing the idea of Purgatory does, is it puts you in a place that allows you to think; although I cannot and do not see how one could think or reflect in a place where pain and suffering were so great. Perhaps, the submission part is all that is needed here.

I think God wants us because he loves us, nothing more. If we examine other aspect of our humanity we are not a very good gamble. He gives us free will to do right or wrong. We are not worthy, yet he loves us anyway.  On those bad or challenging days remember this. You have the reins over your life, and what you do with this control is entirely within your power. Make your choices wisely.

Posted in Ecumenically Speaking and tagged , , , , ,
15 Apr 2013
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Maybe God Is Trying To Tell You Something

I was headed to work early one morning. Not in a particularly good mood. My job was 45 miles away one direction, I disliked my work, my co-workers thought I had denied them something due to my mere presence, and the Postmaster did not want me there. This was my reality at the time. It took me about an hour and 15 minutes to get to Acworth  from my home in Duluth. However more than my travel time to the job, I had to prepare myself for the environment. I was angry and distant from everyone at that place, all I wanted to do was get away from there. Hating my job took on a whole new meaning at Acworth.

I was headed north on the I-75 one cold January morning about 5:15 a.m. when I saw the red lights flashing. I did not have a lot of traffic around me but I did have to slow down. In the darkness I could not make out the vehicle, I do not even know how many were involved. I knew, I could feel someone was leaving this Earth at that moment. I believe I witnessed a soul passing. I felt it and I was overcome with emotion. When I arrived at the post office that same morning and opened it I sat down after it was disarmed and cried.  I did not know it at the time but before the month of January was out; I would be transferred to a location less than 6 miles away from my home, working in an environment where my co-workers held no animosity for me, and my boss was glad to have an assistant.

As I saw smoke rising from what was left of what had to be a car, I was eerily reminded of  bad accident I was involved in back in California in 1989. You don’t forget head on collisions that you walk away from. The same misty like smoke passed in front of me when my Jaguar came to a stop just short of a brick wall. My father had only passed away less than a month earlier. I always felt he was with me and protecting me that night.

However, the message that was sent to me was how quickly things can change and do not put you heart into “things”. I loved that CAR, it was all I had wanted in a vehicle. It meant way too much to me and as I sat pinned in it unable to move. I remember crying for the loss of my car. I also remember crying as I realized the Lord was speaking to me about something more than that CAR. I did not realize I was doing it before the accident, but I stopped worshiping things that night.

Sometimes you are in a situation that does not allow you to see beyond yourself, you are unable to see the “big picture”. God will step in when and where you least expect it and show you a way or wake you up so you don’t miss something you need to see or act upon. I know; He has literally waken me from sleep to show me something. What do you do when God is trying to tell you something? It is not always easy to read, it may be unclear to you what the Lord is saying to you at the time, but you know there is a message and it is to you. I will tell you what I do, I pray. Not anything in particular, I just pray to let God know I hear Him. I just did.

Posted in Ecumenically Speaking and tagged ,

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