Thursday, October 6, 2016

Thursday Thoughts rising

1. Do people talk to their kids about internet behavior? One of the culprits behind the insane clown bullshit in Philadelphia is a 13 year old girl. A 13 year old girl, threatening to shoot and stab and kill people as a PRANK. Lesson: pranks typically do not involve police and the Department of Homeland Security.  We're failing kids at home or in school or in our communities or all of the above. We think violence and threats and tough guy behind a keyboard behavior is okay or funny or entertaining - in the last two weeks alone I have seen adults invite other adults to physically meet up to discuss political differences. Have we lost our minds? Look what we are teaching our children. All they see is adults enamored with the goddamn internet, so they think life is happening there. It's not happening there. It's happening in real time and there are real consequences. Get their asses off of social media until they learn how to use it and the implications of using it incorrectly...which in order to fully enforce would require adults themselves to learn those things. If you wouldn't say it to someone's face - and be honest with yourself about what you actually would say to someone, okay ? - don't say it online. Christ almighty. p.s. clowns are fucking creeps. Stop it.

2. I was about to throw myself a ticker tape parade because I had nothing political to include in this week's Thursday Thoughts...until I saw people start to make comments like, "I like Pence" online. Which of these things do you like best about him?

  • The fact that last month he said he'd like to "send Roe v. Wade to the ash heap of history"
  • That during his 12 years as a congressman, he voted against nearly every piece of environmental legislation?
  • That he advocated the use of public funds for conversion therapy, a discredited and harmful form of anti-gay therapy
  • That he won't pardon an innocent man
  • That he slashed Planned Parenthood funding as governor and coincidentally a county had an HIV outbreak...because PP is not the abortion mill he'd like you to believe it is, but instead a health center the community relies on
  • That he signed a 2015 bill permitting Indiana business owners to cite religious beliefs as a reason to refuse service to gay and lesbian customers (remember when you could do that based on skin color and everyone was like nooo that's illegal? mm hmm)
  • That he advocates for the teaching of creationism in public schools - which is in opposition to the separation of church and state this country abides by
I could go on, but I'll refrain. If you click above Mother Jones will bring it on home. Pence would like this country to go back to the 1950s in all the bad ways - women under the thumb of men, gays in hiding, etc etc - and too often we see politicians share beliefs and say "but they won't act on that." He has acted on these things and he will continue to. Keep that in mind. He's not boring, he's not ho hum, he's a power hungry control freak man who need not be involved in policy or law in this country. If you like him, please, do tell me why in the context of the above. 

3. Today is National Depression Screening Day. It began in 1990 as an effort to reach individuals across the nation and connect them with support services. Today it has expanded to thousands of colleges, community-based organizations, and military installations.

4. I got my first pair of LulaRoe leggings a few weeks ago. I wore them for the first time this weekend. I liked them a lot more than I thought I would. Since then, I've been trolling LulaRoe pop ups for patterns I like. It's a problem. I bought these two this weekend. They really are very comfortable and, as they say, like butter.
5. One of my favorite kitchen hacks remains the lining of a bowl with tin foil to catch bacon grease, so it can just be thrown out or frozen.
6. You will very rarely hear me ask someone what they do. I'd rather hear about what makes them laugh, what makes their blood boil, what issues they vote on, what song makes them think of college, the things they love most in the world. If their profession comes up in any of those topics, fair play.

7. Just over three weeks until our Ireland trip, so my preparations are ramping up. Those preparations include writing a post for things I typically do before a trip...both things I should do and things I shouldn't do but do anyway. Like buy shoes.

8. Tuesday is Show Us Your books, the second anniversary! There will be giveaways. Hope to see you as a linker upper or as a reader and giveaway enterer or both!

9. Reminder: humans make things so difficult. They're actually usually quite simple.

10.  E-card of the week: 



 photo purple_zpse5f7f916.png

Linking up with Kristen & Gretch  & Kristin

What's New With You






Stuff, Things, etc.

30 comments:

  1. This was a facebook status from a guy that I was friends with in college. One of his sons and my nephew have grown up together. "Mike Pence is more presidential than the other 3 clowns combined." He has 13 comments agreeing with him and 73 "likes". I guess this is a slice of an example why Trump is leading in Texas. Holy hell.

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  2. The T/P ticket is exposing many unkind and bigoted supporters. As I typed T/P, I immediately thought toilet paper. Appropriate , I guess! Goddess help us all! Never heard of those leggings. I will have to google. I have been getting stuff from the Sam's Club or Marshalls! I got a pair of reversible capris at Sam's for $6.67!
    Happy Friday eve! Love. Your. Momma.

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  3. The clown stuff is so ridiculous. It is going on here too and scaring a lot of kids unnecessarily. I love that post about kindness. SO true. Your e-card also made me think of this one: http://www.someecards.com/breast-cancer-awareness-cards/mammogram-instagram-breast-cancer-awareness-month-funny-ecard

    Looking forward to Show us your books!! WOW 2 years!! You ladies are amazing for really building a fantastic reading community via that link up.

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  4. Love that bacon grease hack! I hadn't seen that one before but it's genius!
    Agree with Pence and Trump, but you know this already. I just can't. And I also agree with the internet/bullying/nonsense. Kids just don't get it and we don't do very much to help them "get it". I'm scared for the future because it's not going to get better without some changes. We just live in a society where kids get whatever they want. They're indulged to the max on almost every level and it's scary what becomes of that!

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  5. i think one of the biggest mistakes that parents make is letting their kids have social media accounts before they know how to be responsible people. i have friends whose 8/9yr old kids have IG, twitter and facebook. then they wonder why other kids are calling them names on their accounts and leaving nasty messages. kayla once asked me what instagram was and if she could have an account so she could message her friends. For one, girlfriend rarely gets screen time and two, HELL NO. i simply told her that instagram are for adults and if she wants to talk to her friend, we'll go to the park and meet them.

    parents also need to put some checks and balances on their own internet time; as in pay attention to your kids instead of burying your face on your phone all the goddamn time. i have a lot to say about shitting parenting so i'll stop now.

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  6. Love LLR! My only ish with the leggings are they are too thick/hot to wear in the summer in South Carolina. But for winter, they are perfect! Make sure you keep track of where you buy them from in case you get holey leggings (not uncommon) and you can ask to switch them out.

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  7. This clown trend is giving me a complex. I seriously get nervous to walk out to my car at night or even go in my basement. (I know that's all in my head, but still!) And the kids with the internet- UGH. My 15 year old cousin uses the internet to buy and sell things. One day he asked his parents if he could give his address to a guy to meet up and buy something from him. He was mad when my aunt and uncle said no. It's 100% my aunt and uncle's fault that he's so careless on there, but it scares the crap out of all of us!
    Pence is a soft-speaking legislative monster. If there's anyone in Washington that hate women more than Trump, it's Pence.
    I like that you don't ask people about what they do- it always irritates me when people ask because I don't especially like my job and I don't want to talk with others about it. Ha.

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  8. I don't know too much about Pence, but everything I've heard has horrified me. He sounds like a total dinosaur.

    I always do panic shopping before I go on a trip. I need to knock that on the head because it usually turns out to be unnecessary.

    Stupid question, how do you cook your bacon so that there's a bowl under to catch the grease? Or are you straining it post cooking in a frying pan? Or have I totally missed the point here?

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  9. Clowns are creepy, they couldn't have picked anything worse. Why is this child not being watched?! I didn't have the internet until... junior high? Ya know, cause I'm old. But when I started being able to go online and have AIM, my mother was in the room every 5 minutes. Children need to be parented. If you're unable to do that, you should not have them. Quite simple, really.
    I cannot believe it's only 3 weeks to Ireland, that came up so quickly. I'm really excited for you!!

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  10. There was a 12 year old girl arrested under the youth criminal justice act around here this week in relation to the whole clown thing. There are so many factors to why kids make these decisions from parents not monitoring internet use to parents not knowing how to teach their kids about safe/responsible internet use and kids spending too much time online in the first place....I'll get off my soapbox now but I feel like I could talk until I'm blue in the face about the whole situation!

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  11. I'm going to my first LulaRoe party next week - I cant wait to see this stuff up close.
    Kids today... something needs to be done with the social media & their access to the internet. parents just dont seem to care or are aware of what their kids are doing. We just had a local freak out where a kid put on Twitter a picture of him with a butt load of guns & said, "Ready for school"... the school had to go on shut down while the police too him out. I'm like, Where did the kid get all those gun?... parents just leave them out for the kid to take a picture with? LORD HELP US!

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  12. The foil thing is so smart. I normally let it congeal and wipe it out with a million paper towels but draining it into a foil lined bowl right away is much simpler. I missed the VP debate and it seems like I didn't miss much.

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  13. Oh kids and the internet. Kids in general these days. Sigh. It seems we are breeding a generation of children who think they are entitled to everything, can do as they please and never have to understand the consequences of any action they might do. I have very little faith in humanity these days.

    I'm with you, if you can't say it to someones face, you have no right to be saying it about them in the first place. It's a shame people don't hold themselves to better standards any more. Why people no longer take pride in being a decent human being, I don't know.

    Sigh.

    Ireland sounds like loads of fun though!

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  14. i cannot believe there is a 13 year old behind that... that is creepy and jeepers, those parents! my mum would slap me silly if i did anything like that.
    the pence guy sounds like a complete idiot.
    i hate when people ask me what i do. my job is just a job to me. it's not something i'm excited or passionate about, and i don't want to talk about it when i'm not there lol. i do it enough when i am there.
    the bacon/foil trick is so smart!
    can't believe it's the second anniversary of show us your books! how awesome.

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  15. The clown stuff is out of control. It is all over the place and I can't believe 13 year olds are even thinking like that. I for sure hope that I am instilling better values in to my kid because I wont stand for that shit!! And clowns are creepy as fuck! I hate them! LulaRoe leggings are all over the place and I didn't even know what they were until a few weeks ago. I don't do prints on pants but I wouldn't mind trying a plain pair! I like comfy!

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  16. Mike Pence is a disgusting tool of a human. I also read recently that he accepted the federal funding for accepting refugees...then said, "We're going to refuse Syrian refugees in Indiana!" and they were like, "Yeah...you can't do that after accepting the money." Asshole probably wanted to use the money for some of his other disgusting pursuits like conversion therapy.

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  17. This clown shit has got to stop. I cannot even begin to see anything remotely funny about it. And those stupid clowns freak me out. Pence. Amen to everything you said. He may seem rational and sane standing next to Trump. But who wouldn't? In some ways, he scares me more than Trump, because Trump is a lot of hot (and annoying and bigoted) air, whereas Pence has actually followed through and made some despicable laws. Love #6 and #9. Beautiful, true words.

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  18. #6: YES

    I can't even address the clowns. Which is actually a funny predecessor to your rant about Pence because he's a fucking assclown.

    Thanks for the reminder about the depression screening. I have to share that now.

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  19. This clown thing is baffling me. Someone really close (geographically; not someone I know) was stalked and harassed just the other day. I hadn't heard about the 13-year-old girl though. I think a lot of people are failing tremendously by shying away from frank and sometimes ugly conversations with kids. If adults were honest with kids about sex, drugs, and consequences, kids wouldn't be so misinformed and therefore cavalier about the things they do and behaviors they engage in. I kind of disagree in that I don't think the internet is a separate thing from real life -- it is a part of modern real life, or at least it can/only should be if you have the logic and education to participate constructively in online environments. It's not a separate world because the people you engage with online are (as we bloggers know so well!) still real people, elsewhere in the world, but real nonetheless. Adults need to be able to have these conversations with their kids or, I agree, no one involved should be given this kind of unlimited, overreaching access to other people via internet. But that's a big soapbox of mine and one I don't need to climb onto here.

    I try not to namecall, but Pence is another garbage candidate if you even want to further disrespect the office of VP to acknowledge him as a candidate. People refuse to acknowledge how much weight these political offices hold—it's not just POTUS. That's not how the government works. And that's why people need to start freaking voting in elections of every size! (Oops, who put that soapbox there?)

    You know I agree about the "what do you do" question, and I love the way that quote card phrases it! So true.

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  20. I just found out about LulaRoe this morning from a coworker and that material sold me immediately. So soft!

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  21. I watched the debate (obviously). If that was my first experience of Mike Pence, I'd think he was...fine. Likable? No. But, fine. More capable, intelligent and prepared than his running mate - that's for sure. The debate also served him VERY well not highlight all the things you listed above. The truth is, Mike Pence is a fucking MONSTER. And while he might perform "better" in a debate than his running mate, he's potentially even more dangerous than him. AND THAT IS SCARY.

    I gotta say, I'm so perplexed by the LulaRoe leggings thing - what makes them so different? Aren't they ONE SIZE? I need answers...I'm in so many FB groups about them.

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  22. I recently got my first pair of Lularoe leggings too. They're so comfy. I want to try the dresses next. Some of the patterns are kind of crazy but I've seen a few I like so I'll have to bite the bullet one of these days.

    Also, the clown thing is so ridiculous. I did hear on my drive home tonight that clown costume sales are up THREE HUNDRED PERCENT. The world has gone mad.

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  23. I have been hearing about those leggings everywhere. I think I need to jump onboard (especially since I wear leggings to my home office daily.) Also, yes to everyone about Pence - he makes my skin crawl. Blah.

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  24. Oh the LuLaRoe leggings!!! I just got my first pair recently, as well because I actually saw a pattern I liked. I'm now doing the same thing as you...I've been added to a ton of pop up groups recently, and I keep stalking them for patterns I want. They are the softest, most fabulous leggings I've ever owned, but I have to love the pattern to justify that $25 price tag. I mean, they ARE leggings. Technically, they're like acceptable pajamas that can be worn to work....

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  25. I think our society in America focuses way too much on what people do. If someone's job is paying the bills, then it's a job and it deserves respect.

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  26. I use your bacon grease hack all the time!

    I've wondered about LLR leggings...Like, maybe the black ones...I think I've just been trying to stay off of the bandwagon.

    One of my students mentioned the clown thing to me because she wanted to get a reaction. I told her it wasn't okay for people to act that way and cut it off at that. The more we feed into these things, the more they grow. Plus, I don't really know the facts because I haven't read up on it.

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  27. I live right across the river from Indiana, so I know ALL about Pence and I don't like him one bit.

    Yes, we in America focus too much on our occupations in terms of defining us. I am a speech pathologist and yes, that is a big part of my life, but that is not my passion and I hope to God that that's not what I'm remembered for when I gone from this world. There is SO much more to me than what I do 10 months out of the year to earn a living.

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  28. Oh the clown craziness . . . it's running rampant around here since they are threatening schools. Kids are freaking out. And then other kids are stupid enough to wear clown masks and hide near the schools. Speaking of craptastic parenting . . .

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  29. These are beautiful and inspiring thoughts indeed. I agree with #1, we should never ever let younger children to use social media because they are not yet responsible and are easily lure by people as per help research paper discussion.

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