I was at the Rodriguez concert the other night, and I was struck with a thought when he sang the lyrics:
"And I wonder about the soldier that dies.
I wonder will this hatred ever end"
I thought how funny it was that he became the soundtrack to the movement against apartheid in a country so far away, and he was totally unaware of it until well after the fact. Then I started thinking about how no one would have ever thought that apartheid was going to end, no matter what they did to try and bring change. Certainly Nelson Mandela would never have believed he was going to become the Prime Minister of the country and revered across the globe, as he sat there for much of his life in that tiny prison cell.
Then the big thought hit me. Maybe we are looking at things all wrong? That feeling that the issues are so overwhelming that we may as well not bother. All the problems of the world can be fixed - the poverty, terrorism, climate change, ebola, cancer, the wars, all of it. Nothing is insurmountable, it will, eventually come to pass.
So maybe we need to see our tiny actions as one part of a movement, that the numbers swell and the action is a surge that can eventually create change. Rosa Parks wasn't the one and only protestor of the day. There were thousands, all individuals making small stands. Her's was picked by the media to showcase, and thus we all know it nearly 60 years on. Not in any way diminishing her bravery, I'm just pointing out she was part of a movement, even if it wasn't planned that way.
I went to bed composing this post in my head, but in the morning, I decided it was too rambling and didn't bother writing it. Then I received this in my email:
"There are people who change the world everyday… People like you."
So I took that as a sign and sat down and wrote. Let's stop being overwhelmed by the problems in the world and lets fix this thing!
Linking up with #SunshineSundays on Change.
For those that haven't signed up, My Journey, Am I there yet? sends out thoughts for the day - even if they aren't applicable to me at the time, I've used them as prompts for stories or blog posts. Definitely worth a look.
If you haven't heard the story, get the film Searching For Sugarman from the video shop (or download on whatever you legally do that on).
Monday, 27 October 2014
Sunday, 26 October 2014
First of the Month Fiction - November
Straight into it - rules & examples here for new comers - all welcome. Put your short story in exactly 100 words or less than 30 in the comments, and
link your blog in the linky.
Mine, an attempt at a happy one - Ironically not entirely happy with it though (For someone who writes a lot about happiness, my fiction is much better the blacker it is):
The young zombie lamented to her mother "but what if I never eat 'The One'!"
Mine, an attempt at a happy one - Ironically not entirely happy with it though (For someone who writes a lot about happiness, my fiction is much better the blacker it is):
The race official had never liked him. He knew they would do anything to stop him winning, but to disqualify him when he had actually won was beyond belief. He tried to complain but to no avail. He was told to leave the marshalling area immediately, and that rules were there for a reason. The trophy he’d earned would never be presented, at least not to him.
Mrs De Santos rolled her eyes in frustration. “Why do we even bother with the sack race? Every year some kid tries to run in the sack. Without fail, it ends in tears!”
My other, an under 30, is seasonal, for Halloween.
Zombie Prom: an undead tale of love & loss
The young zombie lamented to her mother "but what if I never eat 'The One'!"
Happy Halloween to you all....
Linking with #HalloweenHorrors
Monday, 20 October 2014
Elegant evening style under $50...WHAT?!
As an homage to Ness I will refer to everything as a piece (purely for my own amusement - I am sniggering as I type)...so this piece is from my favourite shop in Singapore - a little cheapie market with the best clothes, and my first (and only) shopping stop on every visit.This piece set me back $12. That may've even been twelve Singapore dollars, which is even less but let's say it's a whopping $12 Aussie.
These shoes I had to buy to go with a cocktail dress - I made the mistake of getting this absolutely fabulous cocktail dress then realised I had nothing to wear with it - neither shoes nor jewellery. So that proved a more expensive lesson than I intended. However, as I needed shoes for just that dress, I set my limit for $30. I ended up getting these shoes for $25 (somewhere in the city) because they were deemed too tarty, uncool or just plain ugly for a normal price (they were a marked down mark down. I LOVE those!) I liked them enough, and they went with the cocktail number (which is way more than the $50 limit thus not shown), so I got them, and they go with this dress too...
I had better earrings to match but I dropped one down the sink when drunk(ish). So these I got for $16 online - I also got a number of pairs for xmas gifts so the postage is divvied up on the gifts, not this pair. I'll just wear one with my other ear covered in a fancy hairstyle to keep me under the $50 limit). Or I could wear these which were only $10.
There you have it, glam evening wear for under $50....
Linking up with #Stylewitasmile
What's in a name?
Whenever people ask me what type of blogger I am, I say travel. That's because of my travel blog. Easypeasy.
How do I describe Where the Wild Things Were? It's a long rambling description that lacks confidence. I woke this morning with an epiphany. I'm a 'mouthy mummy blogger gone rogue'. Sums it up without committing me to write about anything in particular. Take that pigeon holes!
How do you describe your blog to non bloggers?
Linking up with Things I Know
How do I describe Where the Wild Things Were? It's a long rambling description that lacks confidence. I woke this morning with an epiphany. I'm a 'mouthy mummy blogger gone rogue'. Sums it up without committing me to write about anything in particular. Take that pigeon holes!
How do you describe your blog to non bloggers?
Linking up with Things I Know
Friday, 17 October 2014
Celebrate the good
It buzzed past on my facebook feed that Mark Zuckerburg was donating $25 million US to try to stop the spread of Ebola, as it is in the critical stage, and needed to be contained NOW.
I clicked on the comments, and there was a trail of hate, along the lines of "Well he spent $100 million buying a private island" or the very mature "Facebook gives you Ebola". How does something positive attract all this negativity?
I have noticed on Facebook there seems to be people that can't help spouting hate - they see a concert promoter post about a pending concert, and instead of just scrolling past, they have to jump on and share with the world how much they hate the artist. I am dumbfounded by the energy involved on something that shouldn't even fill your thought processes for a nanosecond. If you don't like the music, don't buy the tickets.
Back to Zuckerburg. We all saw the movie, we all have judgments based on that telling of the story. However, this time he's doing something really generous, that benefits us all. So what if he got himself a private island at vast expense. I am paying off a house that is purely for my benefit. The price difference is huge but the end result is the same. The amount of his personal income he is donating to this cause is also vastly greater than I can give.
I find it a very disappointing side of humanity, this tendency for an outpouring of hate on anything and everything. I'm not saying don't voice your opinions on injustice. Just don't share your negativity on things that don't matter, and celebrate the good where you can. If we showcase and promote the good in the world, there may just be more of it!
Linking up with ThankfulThursdays, as I'm thankful some people are donating and providing money where it is badly needed.
I clicked on the comments, and there was a trail of hate, along the lines of "Well he spent $100 million buying a private island" or the very mature "Facebook gives you Ebola". How does something positive attract all this negativity?
I have noticed on Facebook there seems to be people that can't help spouting hate - they see a concert promoter post about a pending concert, and instead of just scrolling past, they have to jump on and share with the world how much they hate the artist. I am dumbfounded by the energy involved on something that shouldn't even fill your thought processes for a nanosecond. If you don't like the music, don't buy the tickets.
Back to Zuckerburg. We all saw the movie, we all have judgments based on that telling of the story. However, this time he's doing something really generous, that benefits us all. So what if he got himself a private island at vast expense. I am paying off a house that is purely for my benefit. The price difference is huge but the end result is the same. The amount of his personal income he is donating to this cause is also vastly greater than I can give.
I find it a very disappointing side of humanity, this tendency for an outpouring of hate on anything and everything. I'm not saying don't voice your opinions on injustice. Just don't share your negativity on things that don't matter, and celebrate the good where you can. If we showcase and promote the good in the world, there may just be more of it!
Linking up with ThankfulThursdays, as I'm thankful some people are donating and providing money where it is badly needed.
Monday, 13 October 2014
Fear and Food for thought.
A friend posted an incredulous comment that people from West Africa were allowed to travel on planes on her Facebook page. I did notice apparently people in the US and Spain were still allowed on planes, even though they have Ebola too.
I will admit I had that knee jerk reaction when our plane announced prior to landing that anyone who had been in Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Senegal, Guinea and Liberia in the past 30 days were to present themselves at Customs for Quarantine clearance into Singapore. "What?! They've been on the plane? What?! It's too late, we'll all have it!" (I would like to say I'm exaggerating but that over the top panic was exactly what went through my head. However, I have learnt that when ever you think or argue in terms of "THEY" (that nameless, faceless "THEM"), rather than specifics, you probably need to research a little more).
When you look at the cases vs populations of these countries, it is less than 1 percent of the total population. So her logic is 99 percent of the population should have their passports confiscated, just in case?
I'm not saying this is not a horrific situation with potential for global plague proportions. What I'm saying is we need to be doing the right things about it. We need to direct our concern into something useful. Quickly.
One of the major food delivery companies stopped deliveries to the supermarkets in some of the affected regions - and while I totally understand that, I wouldn't want to make those deliveries if it was my job or my husband's, it does mean it's harder to quarantine and isolate the disease. If people now travel for food and supplies, or enterprising people are moving into the region to sell food, then the disease will move into other regions, and so infection grows. How can we minimise the spread of infection?
What is being done to protect the people with the knowledge and expertise in the field of this type of disease, because the unfortunate side effect is, that those with the most experience are also the highest risk of infection, as previous mourned on this blog?
Those types of questions are more urgent to ask. Of course, those practicalities on the ground in a continent far away don't really impact me. Keeping 'them' off a plane does. I guess the difference is, do we worry about it not being our problem, or do we worry about stopping it being a problem?
Ebola is horrific. It is hard to contain. It is necessary to contain it to stop it spreading across the globe. Maybe we all should be grounded for a bit until it passes. Or at least put our thinking into something productive that will contain the disease, and the people at risk of infection.
There is nothing wrong with being scared. It's a very scary situation. If you are feeling panic, then get out your credit card and give generously. Medecins Sans Frontieres are on the ground and doing great work where it is needed. It is far more useful and productive than sounding alarm on Facebook. Spread the word on giving aid. If anyone raises the topic, ask them if they've donated. Make a difference.
This is not sponsored, I admire their work, you are welcome to link other organisations on the ground that are trying to battle the spread of this disease.
Linking up With Some Grace for FYBF
PS Since I wrote this, the world has gone into a frenzy over 'no letting them fly'. If we learnt anything from Bird flu, the disease travels faster than the health warnings, so the only way for that to be effective is to let NO ONE fly, regardless of what country they are coming from. No one in and no one out (even returning citizens).
There has been talk of breaking protocol. The problem is the majority of countries don't have protocol on this, the US included. You shouldn't wait to get the disease to them implement protocol. You should have it in place prior to getting the disease. Singapore apparently does, Europe and Australia don't. Implimented with Bird Flu, there are airports & ferry terminals where you still walk through a machine that registers your temperature. This would be a very useful protocol to implement prior to boarding, but how you distinguish between normal flu and colds, I don't know.
Liberia shut it's borders (no one in, no one out) and at the same time, they made government restrictions on public gatherings. This was a warning at the height of the bird flu, remember? I am curious why that hasn't been jumped on again? Maybe because we feel safer and less inconvenienced if we make the solution 'don't let them fly, close the borders to them' rather than we have to forgo our concerts and other entertainments.
Lastly, there is a flurry of people saying that it's spread differently to how they're saying - that the 'government' are telling us lies about how it spreads. We have known how it's spread since the '70's, so rule that out. The bodies wouldn't still be contagious after death if it was airborne (though the droplets can fly through the air with a cough).
The reason why people should getting frantic about the nurse on the plane is because it can then have spread to not just where she went, but potentially to where other passengers went on their connecting flights, thus impossible to contain. Not being on the plane itself.
There is a good article in the SMH where the writer says that this is a case where throwing money at the problem will actually help. So maybe it's time we think about that instead.
I will admit I had that knee jerk reaction when our plane announced prior to landing that anyone who had been in Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Senegal, Guinea and Liberia in the past 30 days were to present themselves at Customs for Quarantine clearance into Singapore. "What?! They've been on the plane? What?! It's too late, we'll all have it!" (I would like to say I'm exaggerating but that over the top panic was exactly what went through my head. However, I have learnt that when ever you think or argue in terms of "THEY" (that nameless, faceless "THEM"), rather than specifics, you probably need to research a little more).
When you look at the cases vs populations of these countries, it is less than 1 percent of the total population. So her logic is 99 percent of the population should have their passports confiscated, just in case?
I'm not saying this is not a horrific situation with potential for global plague proportions. What I'm saying is we need to be doing the right things about it. We need to direct our concern into something useful. Quickly.
One of the major food delivery companies stopped deliveries to the supermarkets in some of the affected regions - and while I totally understand that, I wouldn't want to make those deliveries if it was my job or my husband's, it does mean it's harder to quarantine and isolate the disease. If people now travel for food and supplies, or enterprising people are moving into the region to sell food, then the disease will move into other regions, and so infection grows. How can we minimise the spread of infection?
What is being done to protect the people with the knowledge and expertise in the field of this type of disease, because the unfortunate side effect is, that those with the most experience are also the highest risk of infection, as previous mourned on this blog?
Those types of questions are more urgent to ask. Of course, those practicalities on the ground in a continent far away don't really impact me. Keeping 'them' off a plane does. I guess the difference is, do we worry about it not being our problem, or do we worry about stopping it being a problem?
Ebola is horrific. It is hard to contain. It is necessary to contain it to stop it spreading across the globe. Maybe we all should be grounded for a bit until it passes. Or at least put our thinking into something productive that will contain the disease, and the people at risk of infection.
There is nothing wrong with being scared. It's a very scary situation. If you are feeling panic, then get out your credit card and give generously. Medecins Sans Frontieres are on the ground and doing great work where it is needed. It is far more useful and productive than sounding alarm on Facebook. Spread the word on giving aid. If anyone raises the topic, ask them if they've donated. Make a difference.
This is not sponsored, I admire their work, you are welcome to link other organisations on the ground that are trying to battle the spread of this disease.
Linking up With Some Grace for FYBF
PS Since I wrote this, the world has gone into a frenzy over 'no letting them fly'. If we learnt anything from Bird flu, the disease travels faster than the health warnings, so the only way for that to be effective is to let NO ONE fly, regardless of what country they are coming from. No one in and no one out (even returning citizens).
There has been talk of breaking protocol. The problem is the majority of countries don't have protocol on this, the US included. You shouldn't wait to get the disease to them implement protocol. You should have it in place prior to getting the disease. Singapore apparently does, Europe and Australia don't. Implimented with Bird Flu, there are airports & ferry terminals where you still walk through a machine that registers your temperature. This would be a very useful protocol to implement prior to boarding, but how you distinguish between normal flu and colds, I don't know.
Liberia shut it's borders (no one in, no one out) and at the same time, they made government restrictions on public gatherings. This was a warning at the height of the bird flu, remember? I am curious why that hasn't been jumped on again? Maybe because we feel safer and less inconvenienced if we make the solution 'don't let them fly, close the borders to them' rather than we have to forgo our concerts and other entertainments.
Lastly, there is a flurry of people saying that it's spread differently to how they're saying - that the 'government' are telling us lies about how it spreads. We have known how it's spread since the '70's, so rule that out. The bodies wouldn't still be contagious after death if it was airborne (though the droplets can fly through the air with a cough).
The reason why people should getting frantic about the nurse on the plane is because it can then have spread to not just where she went, but potentially to where other passengers went on their connecting flights, thus impossible to contain. Not being on the plane itself.
There is a good article in the SMH where the writer says that this is a case where throwing money at the problem will actually help. So maybe it's time we think about that instead.
A Toast
Em from Have a Laugh on Me titled a facebook photo with "Here's to being yourself and being loved for it". I was very taken with this, and decided on the spot it would be my new toast when I had nothing specific to toast.
I put it up on Facebook (announcing I was raising my cup of coffee and toasting all my friends).
This has been my most popular post in a while, and one person even thanked me saying it was exactly what they needed to hear that day (they'd been insulted the night before, for being perceived as difficult).
So I'm saying it to all of you. Something to remember for yourself, and something to remind friends.
And if you aren't already, follow Have a Laugh on Me on Facebook - she's inspirational, literally. (I'm just a thief! ;) Here's her post she wrote that inspired it on the nature of friendship.
Linking up with #HappyNow and #HappyTuesday - unfortunately it appears Have a Laugh on Me is no more....like many of the blogs from back when I posted this....
I put it up on Facebook (announcing I was raising my cup of coffee and toasting all my friends).
This has been my most popular post in a while, and one person even thanked me saying it was exactly what they needed to hear that day (they'd been insulted the night before, for being perceived as difficult).
So I'm saying it to all of you. Something to remember for yourself, and something to remind friends.
And if you aren't already, follow Have a Laugh on Me on Facebook - she's inspirational, literally. (I'm just a thief! ;) Here's her post she wrote that inspired it on the nature of friendship.
Linking up with #HappyNow and #HappyTuesday - unfortunately it appears Have a Laugh on Me is no more....like many of the blogs from back when I posted this....
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