Care to try to …

If you had to go to another country and learn their culture, could you leave what you knew behind? Would you try to learn more than a few words? Would you fully try to immerse yourself in the culture and see what is on the other side of the looking glass?

I have been listening to some of the videos about people who feel they are totally entitled and that have fits when they don’t get their way. Some of things are so totally out there that I have to laugh and others are just ones that I shake my head and wonder what they are thinking.

One that I have heard in several variations is that people who are upset that someone doesn’t speak ‘English’ even when they are in a ‘ethnic’ restaurant. I have heard people that get upset when they see people using sign language and I honestly wonder what rock they have been living under. There have been people who call the manager and tell them the greatest lies to try to get the person thrown out.

There have been stories where people have tried to take pets or even someone’s child away because they feel that they would be better off with them. They will often think that because the person has said no to the child that the child would be better off with them.

What would make someone think that they are able to do this? What makes people feel that they know better than a person who has raised a child or English isn’t their main language that they are being rude or wrong? Why do some Americans feel that they are better than others?

With the world being as hard and cruel as it is, could you take the time to look through the looking glass and see what is really going on?

Do they exist?

This is going to be another strange post but I honestly wonder at times how different religions see both the good and the dark entities. I am polytheistic or have the belief in more than one deity and have always wondered why some religions believe that some are ‘dark’ by nature and others don’t see it that way.

When you look at some of the Ancient Gods of Egypt or Greece, you can see that there seems to be a balance between the two of them. In Ancient Greece, you have Athena and Ares. Athena is the goddess of warfare, handicraft and wisdom. When you look at Ares you find that he is the god of war. So why would they have two gods that were of war?

Ares is the one that goes running into battle. He is the wild bloodlust that takes over in combat where Athena is the General who has sat down and planned the attack. So they are two sides of the same coin. Both are gods of war but one is the brains while the other is person who doesn’t think.

What about Hades? Hades is the lord of the Underworld. But he isn’t evil. Hades is one of the three brothers that make up the high lords of the Greek Pantheon of Gods. Hades brother’s are Zeus and Poseidon. If you remember history then you will remember that Zeus rules the heavens, Poseidon is the lord of the seas and Hades ruled the Underworld. Yet none of these are evil. They were showing the way the people thought at the time. They didn’t understand that lightening was electricity going through the air. They didn’t understand that the storms were caused by currents and the wind. They didn’t understand where their souls went when they passed away. These gods helped with that.

So why do the religions that go towards the monotheism that seem to have more deities that are ‘dark’?

I am not sure, but in my opinion, it is used as a fear factor. If a person who is very religious keeps getting told that if they go to an adult club, then they are committing sin and will go to hell, they are less likely to go. The reason is that they have been programmed to believe that if they commit a sin then they won’t be able to go and sit in heaven. But at the same time they aren’t having a balanced life … are they?

In my opinion no they aren’t. We can’t live a life that is perfect without having some problems along the way. We need to learn how to live in balance. What do I mean by living in balance? While people are going to church and trying to live by what the Bible says, they are going too stray. The guy that goes to an adult club, might be single or married they at the same time aren’t seeing a street walker that is selling their body for others to use. Both would require for them to admit their guilt but living in balance means that when they cross over their soul will still make it to paradise.

I believe that living in a balance would be the best way to go. When you have to stand before the scales of the soul, would yours weigh the same as a feather? We need to be judged and held accountable for all that we do, both good and bad.

So do things like angels and demon’s exist? In my opinion there is no right or wrong answer. We need to look at the balance of our lives and see how things go and how we can help each other.

Do you believe …

Do you believe in life after death? Do you believe in ghosts? Do you believe in the paranormal? There is a reason that I ask this. This is going to have a lot of my opinion in it so please understand.

With all the paranormal shows that are on the TV and other channels do they ever stop to think that they may as interested in us or that they want peace. One of the things that I find rather disturbing with the shows, they never seem to show the respect that in my opinion they should. Those that have crossed over are wanting to have peace. If a person is going to be visiting their residence, they should bring offerings for the fact that they are disturbing the person’s rest. This has been done through the ages and it shows a sign of respect.

Those who go on ghost hunting adventures need to understand that there is a lot of pain in the world and when they go to get a shock and something unexplainable but the fact is that they are disturbing another person’s afterlife. If they are going to see places that are truly ‘haunted’ then go with the respect that those they wish to communicate with.

Through the passage of time the customs have changed. When the Ancient Pharaohs passed, it was thought that as long as the Pharaoh was remembered and offerings were left they would live forever. So the next time you are having a conversation with a friend about ‘King Tut’ remember that you are helping give him an eternal life.

Others who have lived in the time of slaves and when the voodoo was prevalent they may want to go and find out from the history books how the people would show respect to the dead. Often it is giving of ‘libations’ or giving of a drink to the person. If the person was known to like whiskey then if you were going to the area then pour a couple of shots out onto the ground for the person as an offering to the person. Bring them something like fruit to enjoy and show them the respect that they deserve.

It doesn’t matter if you believe in the dead, an afterlife or the paranormal … showing those who have passed on the respect that their life deserves is a way to keep them alive in your heart and be a comfort when others are needing the strength to go on. Often people don’t think that it is important when a person passes over and that they just keep going on with their lives. We don’t know what really happens with our soul when we pass.

Remember that when people go on ghost hunts they need to remember that ghost used to be people. They aren’t there for the ‘entertainment’ of others. They should be shown the respect that they would be as if they were still alive.

When I write ….

I have gotten questions on this so I figured I would address it.

When I was a young adult (in high school) I took a basic Journalism class. The main thing that I think about when I write goes back to the basics. Who, what, where, when, why, and how? Why those basic questions? The information that I put it out is meant to be a conversation starter. I often will even have conversations that sounds like I am trying to fill in a story by getting info from them.

A perfect example is earlier today I had a conversation with a friend named Frank and it was a fun conversation. This is part of it. Frank’s is in Gray and mine is in the blue.

Now for me politics is a conversation that I can get rather heated on but at the same time it is one of those things that can show how people feel. Some of the people will honestly think that I am trying to get attention and I am not.

As in the conversation that Frank and I had (yes, I got his OK to mention this in the post) it brought up a strange point. When we go through the basic questions, we have some basic information there. The Embassy is a building. It has walls, doors, windows, and a roof. Where it is located is a place that would have more concern. Jerusalem is the home to three of the major religions and therefore it is a very heated area. The fact that we need to have an Embassy in the area is clear. However, why don’t we do more than one so all the people can have access to the services that the Embassy.

When we as a country of the United States are having an Embassy, we must be able to make sure that we respect the country that we are in. When I served in the Military, we got told that we were a two-stage person. We were soldiers of the US and we were also a form of ambassadors for the US and the US Military. People would judge the country and our other soldiers by how we behaved.

I served in Germany and even though I didn’t take German in high school (took Spanish) I still had the chance to go on the German Economy and learn about their culture. When we look at the country today, there are so many ways that we can help each other so what is happening. We are having a global pandemic, yet I see people that are having a hard time and still willing to give what little they have. Then there are those that choose to say no to the basic helping of others and I don’t understand.

I get some comments and I honestly don’t think the person or people understand what I am trying to do. I often get comments “The subsequent time I learn a weblog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as a lot as this one. I imply, I know it was my option to read, but I actually thought youd have one thing interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about one thing that you can fix in case you werent too busy searching for attention.” This is one of the many that people are not trying to ask the basic questions.

It comes down to the basic questions that we need to ask. We also need to help others.

 

We can do it again …

While I am not a scientist, I am using information that was shown to be correct by scientist.

We have been able to save the planet once and it wasn’t that long ago, we can do it again. We were able to save the Ozone Layer from the damage that we did to it. We had been using CFC’s in spray cans. It was everything. Hair spray, spray paint, spray on deodorant, fridges and AC units – CFC’s were in everything. We ended up with a hole in the Ozone layer and were killing the planet.

All the countries came together, and we were able to stop using them and find a better way. In 1987 the countries of the world came to get in Montreal for the Montreal Protocol (1) and found a better way.

So, my question is why can’t we do it again? When we know that the planet is warming up and it is due to the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are things like coal, oil, and natural gas. They aren’t renewable. (2) They are used in many things including fertilizers that get used. They also release CO 2 which is Carbon Dioxide, and this is a known greenhouse gas. (3) The release of undesirable substances such as dust, smoke and harmful gases in the atmosphere is called air pollution and these undesirable substances are called pollutants. (3)

The thing is that we can reverse the way that we treat the planet. There are so many other sources that we can work with the planet to make things better. We have solar power; the sun is a great way to use what we have been given. Former President Jimmy Carter had put solar panels on the White House to help with the conservation of power. (4) He started the project in June of ’79. When President Carter realized what impact it could have, he wanted to help with global warming. President Regan had them removed when he was in office. (4).

Wind Power: In places where there is a lot of open spaces, we could use the wind to help with powering our homes. The thing that people are saying that makes no sense in my opinion are that they are noisy. I did some looking and the wind turbines sound is about 55dB. What that means is you can stand next to it and talk in a normal voice. (5) The thing is that people are willing to put up the noise from vehicles and they are far louder than the sound of the wind turbines.

What about the birds? There are some birds that will get killed by the wind turbines. This is due to the fact in that they are 30 meters in the air and the fact that the blades are moving at 80 meters per second. (6) “It’s the raptors that started all the protests, when hundreds of carcasses were found strewn across Northern California’s Altamont Pass wind farm.” (6) However, when you look deeper into the wind farm you will find there is more information than others are telling you. Altamont Pass is one of the first Wind farms built in the US. There are more than 4,000 wind turbines that are over 20 years old and the fact that it was built on a major migration route for the birds.

There have been major changes that have been made to make sure that the wind farms are in a ‘bird friendly area.’ “Now, all new turbine proposals are reviewed for ideal, bird-friendly placement. Wind farms cannot be built in migratory pathways, in areas with high bird populations, or in areas with special features that could possibly attract high bird populations in the future. Also, the growing trend toward offshore turbine construction bodes well for birds, since offshore wind farms have fewer bird collisions than land-based farms.” This is according to science.howstuffworks.com and there are even talks of doing them in the water to where they are off coast.

We can do things right now while the governments try to work it out. Turning the heat down in your house and wearing a sweater, it will save you money and it will use less power. Walk to the store, take a bus or van share with others to save fuel. It makes it easier on the amount of pollution in the air. If you are going to have property, plant some pine trees. Grow a natural garden. All these things are easy to do and you might find that you enjoy your day a bit when you go out and have a good time with the planet.

 

Source:

1. https://environment.gov.au/protection/ozone/montreal-protocol
2. https://byjus.com/chemistry/uses-of-fossil-fuels/#:~:text=The%20three%20forms%20of%20fossil%20fuels%20are%20natural,is%20through%20coal%20and%20it%20is%20abundant%20resource.
3. https://www.preservearticles.com/geography/fossil-fuels-causes-air-pollution/530
4. https://www.powerhome.com/the-journey-of-jimmy-carters-solar-panels/
5. https://www.ramblingsdc.net/wtnoise.html#:~:text=Wind%20turbines%20are%20not%20loud%20in%20the%20sense,measured%20at%20a%20distance%20of%20about%20100%20m.
6. https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/wind-turbine-kill-birds.htm#pt1

Who was the real Vlad Tepes?

Who was Vlad Tepes? Why was he called ‘The Impaler’? Where did the name ‘Dracula’ come into play and where did he rule? How much is true and how much is total fiction that we have enjoyed over the years?

Vlad Tepes III, was born in 1431 in Sighișoara, Romania. (1) The name ‘Dracula’ meant the ‘son of the Dracul’ or the dragon. (2) The name ‘Dracula’ is “It was a surname of Prince Vlad II of Wallachia (d. 1476), and means in Romanian “son of Dracul,” literally “the dragon” (see dragon), from the name and emblem taken by Vlad’s father, also named Vlad, c. 1431 when he joined the Order of the Dragon, founded 1418 by Sigismund the Glorious of Hungary to defend the Christian religion from the Turks and crush heretics and schismatics.” (2)

Vlad had 3 brothers. They were Radu cel Frumos, Mircea II of Wallachia, and Vlad Călugărul.

Radu cel Frumos was Vlad’s younger brother and in 1442 he and Vlad were sent to live court of Ottoman Sultan Murad II as collateral to assure the sultan that their father, in a reversal of his previous position, would support Ottoman policies. (1) In 1448 Vlad returned due to the fact that having been informed of the assassination of his father and older brother at the hands of Walachian boyars (nobles) the year before. Radu cel Frumos was left with the Sultan.

When Vlad ruled, he used impalement to deal with those that were criminals or were against him. The use of impalement has been used for a form of execution all the way back to the Ancient Egyptians. (3) Warning – a bit gross coming up – The most common way of the impalement was a blunt pole “with a narrow end that was pushed up through either the anus or the vagina.” (3) It was to make the torture of the impalement slower and the body would be displayed at the time.

If the sharp end of the pole would have been used there is a chance that organs would have been punctured and the person would have passed away faster. This was the most common way from the Ancient Egyptians, Middle East and in the Mediterranean areas of the world.

Now the book and the movie are fiction, but the person was real. Vlad Tepes would be surprised to hear how his name has been used. Bram Strokers novel is wonderful to read and has made many movies but we need to look at the person who was named that.

 

 

Sources:

1. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vlad-the-Impaler
2. https://www.etymonline.com/word/Dracula
3. https://strangeago.com/2019/09/14/vlad-tepes-method-of-impalement/