What I learnt from The Butler

This is a little different to the other 'What I learnt from...' series, with a little less frivolity and silliness. I saw The Butler by default, as the Chinese movie I wanted to see had finished, and so had apparently Percy Jackson. So I went to The Butler because it was on at the right time - I really liked it, though it didn't show me much I didn't know, except maybe that Bobby Kennedy was a little more influential than I realised. I'm not going to talk about this shameful historic period of time. The biggest thing I learnt from that movie, is that human beings have so much potential to be truly supreme beings, and yet we are still routinely doing horrific unthinkable things to other human beings.

And I mean here. In Australia.

Think of our current stances on Marriage equality, on Refugees, on a myriad of fund cutting the services for lower socio-economic groups, our blind-eye consumerism and the list goes on. I don't really have a solution, but I'm pretty sure twenty years from now, we'll be embarrassed by what we currently considered acceptable.

There is a line in the movie, 'We turn a blind eye to what we do to our own, but sit in judgement of the rest of the world'. I think that is the nutshell of human nature. Perhaps we need to pay a little more attention to our own behaviour. I don't know how we start change, but I know raising it to the consciousness as a problem has to be the seed of thoughtful living. How to make that seed take root and grow will take time, but it is definitely something worth considering.


PS The other thing I learnt is that I totally LOVE Oprah - I don't care what anyone says, her heart was in the right place with that show. (and yes, I did nerdily take that photo in the cinema like a weirdo)

Linking also with I must confess - head over and tell Kirsty how you feel.

Cart wheels

I have promised my daughter I'll teach her how to do cartwheels tomorrow. The only problem is, I haven't done a cartwheel in well over 30 years. I'm old, unfit and a little brittle-feeling in the bones. When I wanted to hang upside down from the monkey bars a few years back, it took me ages to get the courage to let go.

I used to be able to do it. Easily. Not now.

And I feel the same about the cart wheels. I'm scared I'll go smashing face first into the ground.
Or dislocating my shoulder like a friend of mine, when she tried to do one with her kid.

Why is that? Why, as we age, do we get scared of what we used to do all the time without giving it a second thought? Shouldn't we use that experience and memory to make us confident? This seems to be a huge flaw in human design.

So, I'm putting it on the list, so I have no option to chicken out. Will selfie from hospital should that eventuate.

Thus, the current list now reads:

Torshlusspanik List:

1. Shooting (check)
2. Fencing (check)
3. Play croquet at Croquet Club
4. Laser skeet
5. Off road buggy driving
6. Play Assassins Creed
7. Jetpacking (check)
8. The Color Run (check)
9. Invent something
10. Cooking Masterclass (check)

11. Master a Masterclass (check)
12. Perform a rap song (check)
13. Trampoline adventure (check)
14. BMX Riding (check)
15. Do a cart wheel.

Linking up with Grace for FYBF.

Confidence - women in the media

Last night on Facebook, there was a photo of an over-weight woman in her underwear posted on a site run by women saying 'This sort of strength and self-love should be celebrated not derided'. It was obviously click bait to make us say she looked fat, or had huge health issues. My issue is not even with the cheap tactics used to insult women. My issue, is that it reinforces the idea that women are to be objectified on their looks. Not only that, women should see their self worth in their ability to post naked or semi-naked photos of themselves on the internet. Way to go, female empowerment!

If you are a site for women, perhaps a good way to promote confidence in women, is to tell the stories of confident women that actually DO something. There's a thought. A confident woman who can play with the big boys, not just send them sexy photos in her underwear.

I hope this site understands they can never criticise politicians for condescending to women in the workplace, or rappers for objectifying women, if they themselves encourage the same condescension and objectification, encouraging confidence by saying 'Strong women are ok with naked photos of themselves'. You can not have it both ways.

To paraphrase Tina Fey, I would say strong women get things done.

Here's a little story of a confident woman and action that I would celebrate. Elizabeth Blackburn is a scientist, she won the Nobel Prize for her discoveries in cell research (short version, she discovered 2 things that are integral in understanding genetic diseases and cancer, and thus aiding eventually finding cures). That, however, is not the bit that we're celebrating in this story. She was on the Bush panel for Council for Bioethics. When he took a stand on stem cell research, she didn't agree. She walked in and had the confidence to tell him to shove it. I'm pretty sure she wasn't in her underwear or naked at the time. She didn't actually tell him to shove it, she argued her beliefs, and was subsequently let go, as a result. She publicly told the media why she believed she was let go, and why she believed it was the wrong course of action for the Bush Government to take. That is strength and confidence that should be celebrated. Standing for your beliefs, even if it's at your own detriment, or by achieving great things, that's what we should using as our yardstick for celebrating confident women.

I understand that body image is a huge issue for women. I would prefer if the women in the media encouraged women to look at action and achievement, not the outer casing.

Can the merit of a woman not be her ability to parade around in her underwear, pandering to men? If women reinforce that, how can we then get annoyed with men that objectify women?

Riddle me this, once more...

1. Why do I always forget to set up the google analytics code? And how do I make it happen automatically?

2. Do you eat soup or drink soup?

3. Why didn't Americans adopt the metric system, especially when they fought so hard to get rid of the British? (I believe there are only 3 countries not metric these days)

4. Do any other countries, other than America,  call autumn 'Fall'?

5. What is the job title of a food court cleaner - you know, the person that clears the rubbish and wipes down tables?

6. What are clicks? (as in three clicks west). Are they actually kilometres? So why does the US army use metric?

7. What countries are on the equator?*

8. How thick is the equator?

9. Is the earth an actual sphere, like the globe implies? If so, how is that possible?

10. Why don't I seem to know anything any more?

I have a confession. These questions all came up at dinner after the Melbourne Cup (except #1). I was asked by my kids, and failed to have answers. I have googled the answer to number 7, because I was tired of sounding like an idiot who didn't know anything about anything at all. This is what happens when you eat dinner in a food court with inquiring minds.

So without further ado, the countries on the equator are as follows (let me know if you got them all):

From Africa eastward...

1. Sao Tome and Principe
2. Gabon
3. Republic of The Congo
4. Democratic Republic of The Congo
5. Uganda
6. Kenya
7. Somalia
8. Maldives (the equator passes through the territory but not on dry land)
9. Indonesia
10. Kiribati (the equator may or may not touch dry land)
11. Ecuador
12. Colombia
13. Brazil

(from http://geography.about.com/od/physicalgeography/a/equatorialctys.htm).

Have your kids stumped you with a question lately? Or do you have one yourself, that the Universe has confounded you with? Or better yet, do you have an answer?

Linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT.

Phone calls in the night

We've all had them. We all hate them. There is nothing worse than being woken by a phone call. It is never good news. The bell tolls death, disaster or misfortune.

My husband is off in New York, running the marathon - literally. I went to bed at 2am having watched him cross the start line on an app. At 5.50 the phone rang. In a groggy haze of confusion, a man explained that they couldn't find my husband. His belongings were in the room still, but they hadn't been able to find him for two days. I was panicked and felt a wave of nausea descend. My world contracted to a confused tunnel. "What do you mean he's missing? What's happened?"

Then as the man talked more, I realised it was the hotel (though I'm sure they must have said that at the start of the call, and I'd not been awake enough to register). They thought he was due to check out yesterday. They'd extended his booking as a courtesy but no longer knew what to do.

Ah, sweet relief. It was nothing - 'He's running, right now, as we speak.' We extended the booking another day and I gratefully hung up, though adrenalin coursed through my veins, so there was no going back to sleep.

I found the booking confirmation, which had the correct dates, so I have no idea what the problem was. Just one of those things.

My thoughts, however, have been with those that received that call after Boston. Or after Sept 11. Or after any ill fated trip. I can not fathom the cruelness of the distance and remoteness, the echo in the phone line, the confusing time difference, all adding to an already terrible call, heralding your world collapsing.

I am thankful it was nothing. I am counting the days until he returns even more keenly than before.
I am wishing that we were all spared those calls in the night.

Linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT.

List of places I want to visit...

I wrote this list 3 years ago and I've managed to get to 2 of the destinations...(though not the Ha Long Bay part of Vietnam, so that's still on the list).  I would probably add to it, though there's nothing I'd take away!

So where do I want to visit - money no object, of course, because money being the object is why I haven't been yet. And that's just dull!

In no particular order:

1.Hawaii - I want to see lava fall into the ocean on Big Island, and monk seals just lazing on the beach. The massive crater and ziplining over Akaka Falls. So much splendorous beauty in nature.

2. Lapland (or there abouts) to see the Northern Lights.

3. Vegas - because I love a freak show. Disneyland for adults.

4. Antartica. Amazing.

5. South America - to watch the Dakar live.

6. Belgium - no particular reason, just thinks it looks like my kind of place.

7. Vietnam - Ha long bay look amazing!

8. Wilson Island - not so much for the island it's self, I just want to hire out an island for my own private use. http://www.wilsonisland.com/

9. Great Wall of China. Looks great, 'nuff said.

10. Mauritius. Just think it looks lovely and with a lot to do. Simple as that.

What about you? What's on your list of places you want to visit, and why?

Linking with #IMustConfess Where would you go for your dream destination?

What lifts me up when I'm down...

The quickest pick me up, other than eating junk, which I'm trying not to do, is to blare music in the car and sing along! Something groovy and uptempo. Of late, when cranky (which has been frequently, of late), I've headed back to Pigeon John, The Bomb. The clapping releases endorphins - try it out. You'll see...you can't stay sad or cross if you're clapping.

The other luxury, if I have the time, is escape down to Cottage Point for a swim and respite from the real world. Nothing lifts my spirits like the smell of lemon myrtle and the sea views. Just a tiny piece of paradise in Sydney.

If time is of the essence, I try to grab a quiet half hour in the bath or on the deck in the sunshine with a book - the naughtiness of indulging instead of doing whatever I'm meant to be doing often recharges the batteries. Ditto with sneaking off to the cinema.

 

Music, Movies, Reading & Scenery. That about sums it up for me!

What about you? What are your pick-me-ups?

 

Linking with Kirsty for I must confess.