After two summers of searing heat (searing by Welsh standards) from early April onwards, we seem to have returned to our usual rainy spring with sunny afternoons, bringing on lush vegetation.
I've only heard a vixen and cub calling to each other once in mid May, but didn't hear any mating calls in January/February. The cub sounded young for mid May, but don't really know. Some wild flowers and trees coming into leaf seemed a bit late, too.
We had a mild, but fairly stormy winter/early spring.
We make jokes about the summer season lasting for two days here in Wales, but we've had what I consider prolonged and brutal heat in recent years. We're supposed to having a heat wave over June and July this year, but I'm hoping the rain will continue as usual.
At the moment, using public transport triggers my mum grief. I think it's a mixture of having travelled to see her in the hospice and having nothng to distract myself with.
So, if I'm on the bus, I try to fake hayfever.
If I'm at home, I let it all out and analyse my thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Sometimes getting upset is about underlying issues, not the immediately obvious trigger. If I understand, I usually move on without further effort.
Sometimes, having someone to talk it over with is key. Just saying things out loud can make thoughts and feelings more tangible and ready for processing.
Protest is inherently antagonistic because it challenges the accepted norms. There is no right way to protest, as even a demonstration picnic is about pushing a boundary.
When we object to protest, or change, we are attepting to maintain a status quo whether that's oppressing others, or our planet. It's easy to latch on to the objections that are hand fed to us through the media because it's effortless and painless for us.
We are all complicit in oppression and the destruction of the planet. Just by having a device to post here we are using the Earths resources, creating waste products, contributing to unethical practises of manufacture/extraction of raw materials and threatening other people's homes/livelihoods/lives/cultures.
We already have historical templates of what happens when people claim they didn't know, were just following the societal rules, just wanted to get on with their own lives, or were protecting themselves and their families.
It is incumbent upon all of us to acknowledge our contribution to harm and do what is within our power to create change. Listening to others is a big part of that.
The question is, what does it cost us to listen? Why is that so difficult?
No, it brings a bad name to politics, especially if they allegations are true and were side-stepped.
I have no idea what the latter sentence means.
I have no idea what this sentence means.
Political correctness is about treating people with equal respect.
If I make everyone a size 12 dress, I'm treating everyone the same.
Only a few people will have a usuable item of clothing though, so I'm not treating everyone equally.
Everyone should have special treatment, that is, I make each person a usuable item of clothing according to their needs and preference.
Of course it's more work and more fatiguing, but it's my job as a tailor, just as treating others equally in any other way is our responsibility as non-discriminatory human beings.
So, you're saying there being no evidence that Depp didn't smash up the kitchen means it's okay to say he did...?
This made my heart sink.
When we become tired, or say we have become tired of movements that give voice to the oppressed and violated, what have we become? Ignoring, or shouting down those who seek fairness are techniques of oppression and violation. For some they are deliberate tacticts, for others it comes from ignorance, but the lack of intent from weariness makes it no less damaging.
Can we afford to let the likes of Heard turn us into people who no longer listen to others' distress? It would make monsters of all of us.
Depp is currently in the UK spending around £2.5K on a hotel room each night. For the same price, he could easily get 25 hours of talking therapy with an accredited counsellor over here.
It's not like Depp and Heard can't afford to get help.
"Heard left the court without comment. But the 36-year-old actor posted soon after on Twitter that she was heartbroken by the verdict.
“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband,” Heard said.
“I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It’s a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously,’’ she said."
Henry VIII's marriage to Anne of Cleves came about because of an overly-flattering (read: photoshopped) painting of Anne by Hans Holbein and many a marriage has been conducted by mail during times of war.
Internet relationship building isn't wholly unique.
A long, long time ago, back in the days when the forums were buzzing with a diverse contributing population, there was a young couple.
They lived in different countries, neither in the best of circumstances and with no hope of meeting anytime soon, if at all. However, it was clear from their interaction how much they enriched each other's lives.
People may scoff about what is 'real', or a proper relationship, but no one gets to decide what other couples can and can't endure, or enjoy.
Belief has nothng to do with it, it's mathematical.
A spectrum can be drawn as a scale:
0_____25_____50_____75_____100
Everyone is 'on' the autistic spectrum, even if the are at the 0 end, i.e. they have zero autistic traits.
When we say someone is 'on' the autistic spectrum, what we really mean is that they have enough autistic traits to be higher up the scale than most people.
When a school says your child isn't dyslexic, what they really mean is your child isn't dyslexic enough for the school to get extra money. The school and other authorities lie so they can ignore your child's misery and confusion.
If your child reaches further education age without dropping out, developing mental health issues, or topping themselves because they've been labelled as mad, or bad instead of neurodivergent, then funding becomes more readily available for testing and support.
If you intend to support your nephew, it's not just about understanding how he views the world, it's about understanding how his world functions. His world may include the nonsensical games of funding, testing, lying and ignorance. If you have certain autistic traits you might find those social games frustrating and difficult to grasp. I'm pretty slow to catch on with that kind of shenanigans because you have to think illogcally and foolishly to find illogical and foolish rules.
The opposite of neurodivergent is neuroconvergent, so you could ditch the hated 'normal' word using that.
It's almost a self-grieving process from that perspective. It's healthy to grieve.
I had a neighbour with such a dry sense of humour, I often didn't get his wry one-liners until we had passed by each other. He went into hospital quite suddenly and finding he had just a few days to live, he planned his own funeral.
After the service I was sitting at home brooding with the order of service in my hand, when it clicked that he had planned half the service in English, half in Welsh, conducted by a multi-lingual Black African vicar at...Babel Chapel. He'd been dead for a week and he was still making me laugh.
jac_the_gripper Forum Posts (5,363)
RE: What are you afraid of?
When I see just one post from Ches...