do you know where your food comes from?

I have not yet gotten over learning that a fair number of people think that chocolate milk comes from brown cows..... How many pure white cows have you seen?  What about black cows-do they give licorice milk? I knew better when I was 4 years old, and NOT because anyone told me so.....

Now I have read an article about, (I cannot believe it...) "washing" chicken before cooking it. Seriously?  Why would that make any difference .... I am not going to get into the whole biology or whatever you want to call it, of chicken meat.  And here is some news for one particular ignoramus: the meat was in the animal, the blood was in the animal.... my advice to you is this: if you haven't a clue how it works or where the meat REALLY comes from -become a vegetarian NOW.

(DISCLAIMER: IF YOU ARE A VEGETARIAN, OR HAVE A WEAK STOMACH, OR WEAK CONSTITUTION --STOP READING RIGHT NOW AND CLOSE THIS WEBPAGE.)

Look at this:

do you understand what the moron is saying?  Do you know where your food comes from?  (It boggles my mind -wondering what they are teaching children in school these days... What ARE they teaching in school anyway?)

"Moron" thinks that they kill animals right at the farm, and package the meat up,...I don't know, I am guessing that this ignorant woman actually believes that they butcher the meat at the farm and -perhaps outdoors? - package it up and put it on store shelves.... maybe by teleportation.... I don't know.

I had a job that took me to meat processing plants --that means a factory where they butcher the meat that you buy in the grocery store.  I never took a tour of the plant -because I am not a moron -I know what they do in the meat processing plant.  The guy asked me every day, 5 or 6 days in a row, if I wanted the tour, and every day I repeated the same thing: "I don't need a tour, thank you. I know what you do here."

Here is a simple break down of the process.....

The farmer raises the animal.... chickens, pigs, cows, turkeys.... whatever.

When the animals reach a certain weight they are ready to be loaded onto a truck.  They put the animals on a truck that then takes the animals to a MEAT PROCESSING plant or factory.  There the animals are unloaded from the truck trailer.

Very shortly thereafter the animals are killed.  This is done in short order because they do not have facilities to feed or water the animals.

At some point here they remove feathers and/or skin from the carcass, which is what the animal has become.

They butcher the carcass. They chop it up into whatever pieces are appropriate for that type of animal meat products.  They render it, removing organs, etc.  Some of the by-product is not allowed to be sold in the U.S.  Those portions, so I was told, are shipped to other countries --I have not tried to verify that -because I simply do not care.

They package the meat in some fashion,... sometimes it is prepared in the plant, and packaged for sale in retail stores right there.  I don't have all the details myself.

check out this video:  Where Does Our Meat Come From?

here is a link to an article about NOT needing to "wash" meat:  According to the USDA washing meat before cooking it is NOT recommended


PLEASE do not spread misinformation on the Internet.


(this is what got me started:  link to Buzz Feed article  and there was a Facebook share of this article on July 27 at 16:16)

$50 words.... capiche?

hors d oeuvres? ....répondez s'il vous plaît ..........ostensibly ostentatious.... obsequious

OOHHH! You're gonna need a dictionary! or google.....  and very possibly a large bottle of aspirin.... 😉  vocabulary, superficiality, antiestablishmentarianism..... supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.....
etcetera, etcetera....blah, blah, blah.....

Euphemisms -click to see a video of George Carlin talking about euphemisms.... because some people feel a bizarre, obsessive urge to be "politically correct"

what's it all about? well, there really is no point here.... It is just that I have always been fascinated by words. I find vocabulary interesting.  I actually enjoyed spelling "class" in grade school, but not spelling tests...does that make sense? the study of words.  It goes to my love of books (see my blog of March 13, 2017: Books are In My Soul for the background to this obsession.)

Like Henry Higgins the Pygmalion of My Fair Lady....a wordsmith, word master, linguist, .... have you ever considered that the same man who portrayed Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady also portrayed Doctor Doolittle (no relation to the aforementioned "Fair Lady" 😉)  --Rex Harrison, portrayed two linguists... think about that....

Ok, back on topic...

this vocabulary thing is ubiquitous for me,.. I rather enjoy some pithy prose, and scintillating conversation is sometimes spewed by the more obstreperous amongst you. But I a vehemently in strong favor of studying the turn of a phrase in modern American English.  

enough of this superciliousness.... farewell ... that is all.

one reference... otherwise: just google it!

for the big finale click here

I should have been a linguist. I mean I really love linguini, marinara, puttanesca (no I hate anchovies), alfredo, al fresco, Al Pacino is a decent actor. But I really prefer others in my current viewing. Wow, pasta, pizza, Italian -eye-talian cuisine, pizza with pepperoni and a doughy crust would be wonderful, yes please, but do make it gluten free. Gluten free is a must because I have celiac disease, and consuming will kill the cilia in my digestive tract, which eventually leads to death, but first explosive diarrhea anyone? I wish I could remember what I was talking about. Where did this begin...or we could begin the beguine, yes, let's dance ..wait. no that's wrong... -don't click on that link, the music is all wrong for a beguine...well, actually it's not far off if you like this version: beguine this,.. I mean click here to begin. But what I mean is end because I am finished with this particular narrative.

part 2 --Villains we Love to Hate .... a brief look at the villains of Stargate SG-1

I LOVE a well portrayed villain.....

That's right: A Brief Look at the Villains of Stargate SG-1

This will be brief, because Stargate SG-1 was 10 seasons, with many villains, some minor and only in single episodes or short story arcs, and some recurring over several seasons.  I will look at human or Earth villains, as well as the major Goa'uld villians.  I am thinking mainly of a handful of actors I have met - who portrayed Goa'uld villains.... Goa'uld character in Stargate SG-1

Not taken in any particular order: 

Goa'uld villains

Let me first explain, for those who are uninitiated, that the Goa'uld are parasites that possess their "host" by invading the body and attaching to the base of the brain, by wrapping their snake-like body around the spinal cord at the cervical level.  This allows them to gain control over the host, and pervasively take over control, leaving the unwitting host able to see the horrible atrocities that are committed by the Goa'uld, while remaining unable to regain control over their body.  A living nightmare that is prolonged for as long as several centuries, by the use of a sarcophagus in which they are restored, or rejuvenated, and even healed from extreme injury and illness.

Apophis is a Goa'uld System Lord, deliciously portrayed by Peter Williams.  

Apophis is the main Goa'uld villain for most of the first four seasons of Stargate SG-1.  It is Apophis who takes Daniel Jackson's wife Sha're to be host to his queen, Amonet. This keeps Daniel Jackson in the story, because Daniel wants to rescue his beloved wife Sha're from what amounts to possession by the Goa'uld Amonet. 
Apophis is a fearsome character who attempt to launch attacks on Earth, and several times actually captures the SG-1 team, only to have them effect their escape every time.  Apophis is no quitter. Time and again he meets the SG-1 team and each time he is thwarted in his efforts to hold and destroy, or enslave them. 
(I met Peter Williams, and took the opportunity to tell him how much I appreciated his delightfully evil portrayal of Apophis.)

Hathor, Goa'uld,  former Queen of Ra, appears in 3 episodes, excellently portrayed by Suanne Braun

Another evilly delicious villain... Hathor had viewers squirming as she took over the male population of SG headquarters, an inhalant, brainwashing drug.  Every male in the base was enslaved to Hathor to do her bidding.  Fortunately Major Samantha Carter and Doctor Janet Frasier were able to thwart Hathor's plot to turn the male population of SG Command into Jaffa slaves, by placing Goa'uld symbiotes in them. (It should be mentioned that Teal'c, as a Jaffa, was immune to Hathor's evil plot.)
(I also had the opportunity to tell the delightful Suanne Braun that I appreciated her mastery as the villainous, mesmerizing Hathor.)

Ba'al, Goa'uld System Lord, mesmerizingly portrayed by Cliff Simon.

"I am a god. Gods are all-knowing." -Ba'al

Exasperating and scornfully arrogant, Ba'al is one of the last System Lords.  Ba'al has a basic understanding of the concept of  humor, unlike the other System Lords.  Utterly ruthless, he even clones himself.  (for more detail regarding Ba'al click here)  There is a certain mesmerizing delight in seeing multiple versions of Ba'al sharing the screen.  Cliff Simon moves with a grace that adds a layer to his gorgeous portrayal of Ba'al.... and, as I learned while searching for just the right photo of Ba'al, there is no "right" picture, you must actually watch him portray Ba'al to truly grasp the beauty of the portrayal.   (for a sampling of Ba'al click here -or search on youtube for Ba'al Stargate)
(Cliff Simon appeared taken aback when I told him how much I loved his mesmerizingly evil portrayal of Ba'al, and also delighted with my perspective.) ---  See also see also Paris Nights: My Year at the Moulin Rouge by Cliff Simon

Earth villains

Two particular Earth villains come immediately to mind:

Senator Kinsey 

Ronny Cox as Senator Kinsey

A particularly despicable Senator who wants to shut down the entire Stargate program.  And yet he also protects a rogue team (with the NID) in possession of a second Earth Stargate, who venture through their Stargate to steal alien weapons and other technology.  Kinsey is a despicable and exasperating character who crops up now and then, but is always thwarted by Jack O'Neill and company. (../wiki/Robert_Kinsey -click here for more)

Colonel Simmons

John de Lancie as Colonel Frank Simmons

Colonel Simmons was a member of the NID. He had his own agenda in interfering with the Stargate Program.  Even more exasperating than Senator Kinsey, Simmons gets his just desserts in the end and dies in space.  ( /wiki/Frank_Simmons for more click here)

As you can see, the Goa'uld villains are far more entertaining, and long-lived than the human villains.... although the human villains are more exasperating by a large degree.... 

That is just a brief look at a few of the villains of Stargate SG-1.....


haven't seen Stargate SG-1?  you don't know what you're missing.....

How did you even create a FB page to begin with.....

It is true: some people really make me scratch my head in wonder.  Just when I was feeling kind of dumb myself, someone came along and showed me how wrong I can be.... I mean no offense, but I wonder how some folks even.... ...well insert a thing,.... I mean some people get lost if you spin them around to face the opposite direction..... 

Yesterday I had the following comment on one of my Facebook posts:

Yes,.... "Please stop sending me so much stuff...."  
Ok.
Think about that.
The original post was a photo I shared on my wall.  It was not addressed to anyone, but (as most people on Facebook are aware) anyone who "follows" me on Facebook can see that photo.  Either they can go to my wall and see it, OR some of my friends "follow" me, meaning that they see many, if not all, of my posts in their newsfeed. That's what it's all about.... if you do not "follow" your FB friends, then you don't see the majority of their posts.  Understand?

Now, I will admit that, of late, I have been over-sharing things to my FB wall. There are reasons for that, which my friends know, and I won't go into that here.  But I digress....

Back to the topic at hand, clearly this person who thinks that I am "sending" her my wall shares clearly does not have much of a clue.  I say "unfollow" me and get a question mark.  Seriously? then WHY are you on Facebook. Do you know how to use a "help" screen, or how to "google" something?

here:

you need to be logged in to Facebook to connect to this link for the above graphic


Now, for your edification: Unfollowing someone does not mean that you are no longer Friends on FB.  (I seriously cannot believe that I have to explain this...)  Unfollowing means that you stop seeing the majority of what they post or share...in your own newsfeed.

After trying to explain it briefly as shown in the first graphic I also posted the following:

Did the message get through? I have NO idea.... but people older than myself have fewer troubles navigating Facebook,...or maybe they ask others for help.  
I would be happy to work with anyone in my area (of the country) who needs help figuring out things like Unfollow, Unfriend, blocking, restricting privacy..... on Facebook.  
NOT that I am an expert by any means...see the beginning of this blog, where I mention feeling a little dumb....  But I know how to use "help" and how to "google" for information.

if you don't understand: GET HELP!

I could not do more, at the time of the postings, because I was on a cell phone, and even if I had the Internet and a laptop, I am not sure I could have made this person understand what I was talking about.......

another way to "unfollow"  -- one more time:  

I am sorry if this comes off as mean, but I am so tired of everything and it would certainly help if I had someone to talk to -face to face- on a regular (read weekly) basis.

an encounter with the police in the Texas panhandle

In January of 2015 my employer had me drive to New Mexico, to assist one of our teams in the field. Their dually pickup was being repaired, and I drove down in another dually pickup -which they would use to move the trailer to the next jobs... In other words I was going to be sticking around for a few days.  I stayed 3 nights in the Zia Park Casino hotel in Hobbs, New Mexico.  I had a rental car: an orange Camaro...which was a free upgrade, because it was there.  

Hobbs is the pointer on the map.... yes that close to Mexico... people in northern Illinois think that seems like the perfect kind of place to go in the winter, right?  Except that I have a weird history with these trips to the southern U.S. in winter time... that's right: it snowed.  That is not all that strange to the folks who live in New Mexico, ..it was January after all. 

After a few days I got the truck that was being serviced back, so I headed north and made my way to Hereford, Texas,... which was town that had suitable overnight accommodations -nearest to the jobs where the techicians needed to be.  Okay, that is why I was in the Texas panhandle....

I met the technicians in Bovina (lower left corner of map), and we discussed the condition of their dually pickup truck, which I had returned to them the previous day.  It was decided that all was good with the vehicle repairs, and I could begin the drive back to northern Illnois.

I set out on US Highway 60, headed toward Hereford.  I did not get far.  I was somewhere between Friona and Summerfield when I saw a state trooper heading in the opposite direction. Well, he saw me too....  I was not speeding, that's what cruise control is for!  But he made the turn around on the divided highway, and came after me with lights flashing.  I pulled over, stopped the truck, and opened the center console to retrieve the truck documentation.  This was a DOT registered vehicle, normally used to pull a trailer weighing more than 20,000lbs. 

As the officer approached I rolled down the window and held the documentation and my driver's license ready.  And the office looked at me, and his face fell just a little bit, and he stammered... 
right. I did nothing wrong, and he knew immediately that he had made a slight error. 
So, he stammered,...he did not know what to say! He looked at the documentation and handed all of it back to me, including my CDL driver's license.  And then he said something about my truck not having mud flaps on it.  I pointed out the fifth wheel hitch and stated that there was usually, nearly always, a trailer attached, so mud flaps would not be a necessity.  Ok,... then he mentioned the spare tire, which was bolted in place, but did appear to be back rather far in the bed of the truck.  In all honesty it does look like it is going to fall out. (I am almost certain that the person who bolted it down did it that way on purpose.).... I told the officer: "it's bolted down, go ahead and take a look.."

No, no, that was fine, but he needed to write me a notice about the mud flaps.  Fine, it's only a notice, not a ticket, because I DID NOTHING wrong.  All polite and everything, he gives me the notice, and I drive away.  And I go directly to the nearest dealership, in Hereford, and go into the service department, where the fellows there all laugh out loud when I ask about mud flaps.  They inquire, "police pull you over, ma'am?"  and they all laugh again.  They tell me that "drug runners" use big, white, dually pickup trucks, and they run drugs along US Highway 60.

Wow. So the state trooper saw a white, dually pickup truck.  He saw a driver with long hair.  He thought he was going to make a big drug bust.  BUSTED!! that explains why he stammered, and "mud flaps" really? No. not at all. So, I climbed back into the dually pickup truck and went on my way.

That was my only encounter with the police in Texas to date.

I didn't see these guys while I was in Texas man.....

strange dreams....2

I am only an observer here.  The setting is a farm, and I sense that it is a time long past.  There is an Indian, he has long, shiny, black hair, and a pleasant countenance.  For some reason I think Al Pacino,.... (dreams rarely make any sense). And Joe Mantegna is in the dream as well.  It is rural, almost primitive. There is are old buildings, and they appear as aged and weathered.  There is a corn field, stalks fully grown, tall in the sunlight.  There is another person, I cannot see him, but it appears that I am viewing this from his perspective.  This person is trying to help the Indian to hide from Joe. The Indian hides off the wood, across the corn field; he is hidden in the corn field as he approaches the buildings.  He emerges from the corn stalks and meets with the two men near the buildings.  They converse for a while, then the Indian crosses to a different building, and goes through a gate, disappearing from view.  Then I see him enter the field of tall corn stalks, as if he is trying again to be stealthy. I see this as if I were directly behind the Indian, but I do not follow the Indian. Joe gives chase, I don't know why; but he is very near to the Indian who at first moves quietly, then begins to try to run.  Something trips the Indian, and he falls in a total faceplant on the soil, feet in the air. The Indian struggles to regain an upright attitude, and I can clearly see that it is Al Pacino. (Is this weird or what..)  Joe is gone, vanished from the dream.  The Indian rises to his feet and stalks off through the corn field toward the wood.

I wake up with the song Try To Remember in my head.  I feel that there is something different -- kind of like "a disturbance in the Force",... I just sense some change or release for me personally.  
I wonder what to make of this.  
I am not asking for analysis.
I wait, with mounting curiosity, to see if a change of some kind will be apparent to me today.
I feel a sense of release.

------
I have always had weird, vivid, colorful dreams, all my life.  And some nights it's like I went to the movies, strange, nonsensical, bizarre movies.  Often I fail to retain a memory of a dream for long enough to write it down.  I do remember a handful of sleeping dreams that I have had in my life.

Some of this dream I describe above came from Stargate SG-1 :3.10 Forever In A Day,.... I believe that the buildings I could not see all of, and the gate that I watched the Indian pass through came from this episode, which I viewed 2 nights past.  I have read a couple of articles and the Facebook posts of Joe Mantegna this week.  How Al Pacino got in there is anybody's guess, but I do see a lot of adverts for t-shirts featuring Michael Corleone (Pacino's character in The Godfather films).

I love that I wake up with music in my head.  This is a relatively new phenomenon for me.... this started about 2 years ago.  I wish I knew why it didn't begin earlier in my life, or if it did -why I never noticed.  I only know that being rudely awakened by an alarm takes the music away.

(Things are trying to change in my life right now, but it all mired in a mucked up mess of snafus.)

That's my story, and I am sticking to it.

Are you offended? ----- #IcannotknoweveryonesbusinessnordoIwantto

I posted something I found humorous.... heck, my momma would have laughed out loud.... anyway, I finally got around to offending someone....a person who apparently had not been offended previously, by my facebook posts... seriously? because I know as well as anyone, that there has been something there to offend almost everyone.  

Realistically, my friends,.. we are all offended by something.  I do not think that I would be lying if I stated that every person I know, who posts regularly on social media, has offended me at some point.... Ok, ok, not EVERY person,... I am not naming names. But almost every person I follow has offended me at some point.  Do I unfriend? I have indeed unfriended a person, but I would "unfollow" sooner than I might unfriend. 

It is a fact that many of my friends may have offended me at some point.  But it is also a fact that I can scroll on by, ignoring the offensive post, and continuing to live my life without starting an argument,...without making someone question their postings.  I know darn well that some of them would not care if I did complain, a few would be concerned, probably they would not remove the offending item..... at this point I will say that I did not delete the post.  I won't share it here, tough nouggies.... I was not the only person who shared the item, and the majority of people on the other two walls either liked the item, or shared more merriment. 

It was funny.  It was meant to be humorous, and it was not meant to be hurtful.  Bad timing on my part? perhaps, except that there were events of which I was unaware.  

Go ahead and be offended, but try to remember that we are all different.... Know that I try to not be malicious.... and always remember, and don't ever forget:  IF I HAVE NOT OFFENDED YOU YET, PLEASE BE PATIENT,.... I WILL GET TO YOU EVENTUALLY..... 

never forget Dishonest John..... dirty deeds, done dirt cheap....

lighten up

#mostlyharmless #meantnoharm 

#whatwasit-wouldntyouliketoknow #pardonme #Excusez-moi

I will not apologize for what makes me laugh out loud.

#Beckerfan #KenTitusfan

Steve Martin

the power of music in my life

It can cut deeply, into my very soul.... music.  Music that pulls memories to the surface.  Memories that are oh, so painful....  I was born this way... from a very young age, certain songs, touch the depths of my soul. Maybe I am what they call an "old" soul,..I mean I was born with it.  

I think I was 2 years old. The first time I remember a song reaching into me and making me feel ...melancholy is one word that might describe the feeling.  At the age of 2! It was on The Today Show, and I have never forgotten it...  I think that a woman sang the song, that autumn morning....

Try to Remember, Jerry Orbach 1962

I remember it wistfully. I made me very sad. I must have closed my heart, that day.... because I do not remember anything hurting me that way again, until I was much older.

Music should not hurt one's soul.  How do I know that? well, you see, my father loved television, and what he loved most of all was variety programs, and than meant a lot of music.  Music was a joyful thing in our home.  But only by way of the television or radio.  

When riding in the car, I was instructed to sing.  That was cool with me,... I knew a lot of songs, and, once I learned to read, I was given a songbook...Reader's Digest Family Songbook.... which, of course, I still possess....

A spiral bound book, containing 114 songs, most of which I knew.  I only needed to have the words in front of me and I was (still am) able to summon the tune to my mind.  Thus was my father entertained on automobile trips.

Now, the majority of my life songs have only made me happy. Even joyful.  I love music, beyond anything else. Almost beyond reason.

And I can name you the songs that hurt me the most,...and yet I have always gone back to those songs and listened to them again and again.... and then push them away again.  I sing right along, but then I have to protect my psyche from that hurt.  You probably know some of the songs.... 

Time In A Bottle  ......  Alone Again, Naturally , which, oddly has a rather upbeat tune....

  Think of Laura , which was used on General Hospital when Laura "died", and this had me crying on freezing cold winter days that year. It still brings a tear to my eye, not because of a soap opera, but because it is a touching and moving memorial.

There I will end my list because, frankly, I dont' really have a list of songs that hurt my soul, and I am not going to continue this exploration today.

Music has power to touch souls, to make us laugh, and to make us cry.... 

so,..I am going to close this by sharing links to the songs that currently amuse me....

It's Hard to Be Humble

Wildwood Weed

The Lincoln Park Pirates (beloved by Chicagoans)

Don't Worry, Be Happy (which amuses me because it annoys some folks)

and I have more songs that amuse me, on a long playlist on YouTube, titled "Just for Fun".

studying and memories of schooling

This is an "off the cuff" blog post,.... not thought out in advance.
I have been rather busy with other things, to the extent that I did not allow inspiration to interrupt my studies.  I was studying for 20 days, trying to learn what I might need to pass the state insurance producer licensing test.  One thing I learned is that it is much more difficult to put more knowledge into my brain and retain.... I cannot spit much of it back out either.... makes me wonder how I passed the exam.  And they give you NO information other than a piece of paper that states that I passed because I correctly answered more than 70% of the questions on the test. After 20 days of intense studying I sure would like to know which questions I incorrectly answered -so that I can study some more.
Oh, did you know me in high school? Yes, I was a total slacker. I detested school, from the start,... K through grade 12 - I hated every minute of it,... except for music, recess, and lunch.  I imagine that I might have loved home-schooling, but my mother was not going anywhere near that.  Oh well.... later in life I appreciated school more.  Not when I went to the local community college -straight out of high school, but later when I returned to school.
In my late 20's I went back to school, and this time it was very important for me to do well.  I took computer classes, which at that time consisted of how to use a computer, and how to use each of various computer programs: WordPerfect, Excel, the Internet, ... followed by Computer Logic, and various other, more advanced things.  Microcomputer Skills was the name they put on it.  And it was very important to me to do well,.... my final GPA was 3.87.  Pretty good for someone who only managed 2.0 in high school --mostly due to lack of attendance.
Looking back, at my high school years, I had a great time.  I regret some of it, but ideally, if I could go back, I would go back further than high school --ONLY if I could know the most important things that I now know.
Ok, well, that's all I have for now.