"And God Created Great Whales"

Alan Hovhaness composed "And God Created Great Whales", Op. 229, No. 1,  a symphonic poem for orchestra and recorded whale sounds. 

If you have not listened to it, you should.  The whale sounds, produced by humpback whales as well as bowhead whales, seem to indicate intelligent communication.  I cannot help but wonder what the whales are communicating to each other about.

In the music, sometimes the whales sounds seem a little angry. I imagine one whale saying to another:  "I know you are having an affair with Janet.  I am so done with you, you impotent piece of blubber."  

Then maybe the angry whale whacks her partner with her pectoral fin.  

Could they talk to each other in that fashion?  

Or are their conversations more elementary and mundane, like "where are the krill today?"  

Listening to "And God Created Great Whales"  

Interestingly, the title is derived from Genesis 1:21

 

Social Media Masturbation

What is the purpose of social media?  To make connections, to inform, to pass the time, to connect with friends or compete with friends, to discuss shared problems, to ask for help,  to argue with strangers or to deceive and misinform?  All of these!

A disturbing trend is "social media masturbation".  This must be called out when we see it, and eventually eradicated.

Comments on social media posts that contribute nothing, and/or demean the post author are "social media masturbation".

Why masturbation?   Masturbation is a behavior that makes you feel good, but does not do any good for anyone else. 

Masturbation in real life is done privately.  

Social media masturbation is public.  

Why do individuals "masturbate" on social media? 

(1). Sometimes the masturbator does not think about what he is doing and why he is doing it, failing to consider that his name or "handle" is associated with the post.

(2). Sometimes the masturbator thinks he is impressing the rest of the community by putting down the post author.  But the masturbator is really just wasting everyone's time.  

If you genuinely do not agree with the content of the post, you can point out the area(s) of disagreement and provide proof or evidence for your position.  This takes mental energy and effort, whereas masturbation does not.  If you are not willing to do that, then move on.  

(3). Sometimes the masturbator just wants to feel good.  We all understand that, but masturbation is a private act.  And the masturbator should ask himself why putting someone else down makes him feel good?

The next time you are reading social media and spot this behavior, please call out the masturbator and refer him to this article.

Image courtesy of Rosy.Ziegler@web.de

Project 2026: Revenge of the Cat Ladies

NOTE:  This is a parody; it is intended to be humorous and thought-provoking.

Project 2025 is a document from the Heritage Foundation for transforming America into a Christian, white, male-dominant society, with a government providing only the bare necessities.  

If you have not heard of Project 2025, you can read about it here:  

https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf

I propose Project 2026 to "one up" (literally) Project 2025.  Project 2026 will transform America into a multi-cultural, pluralistic, and sensible society led by women.

Project 2026 provides the following core principles:

I.  Women, and only women, will occupy all governing and leadership positions.  Men will be permitted in support and advisory positions.  Men have done a poor job over the last 2,000 years creating upheaval and violence all around us.  We are done with that.

II.  Young men will fulfill their God-given role to carry heavy boxes, move heavy furniture, unscrew tight jar lids, and tote luggage for older women.

III.  All male babies will have vasectomies within 90 days of birth.  In about fifty years, the men will be "shooting blanks" and women will not have to concern themselves with birth control, unwanted pregnancies, or abortions.  Men will no longer control women's bodies, because in our new society, male bodies are controlled at birth.   If a married couple wishes to conceive a child, the man must present a document with his wife's signature agreeing to the vasectomy reversal.

IV.  Borrowing from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' concept of "natural law,"  older men with erectile dysfunction will not be allowed to take drugs to remedy this problem without the written consent of their wives.  After all, at some point in the aging process erectile dysfunction is "natural", and the wife will determine if she wants this in her marriage.

V. The Equal Rights Amendment will be ratified.

VI.  Fire arms will be registered and licensed. 

VII.  Qualified immunity for law enforcement will be repealed.  

VIII.  GDP will be redefined to de-emphasize growth and profit.  Instead GDP will prioritize human well-being.  This means that companies that create products that:  pollute the environment, addict humans, lead to obesity, or in any other way harm human beings, will be prohibited.  The companies will have to find another mission.  

IX.   Fundamentalist Christians must provide a written statement explaining how their beliefs about "fetal personhood" are consistent with Genesis 2:7.   If the statement is not well-reasoned, the person will be extradicted to the Middle East to join other fundamentalists.

X.  All social media posters/contributors will be identified and authenticated; you post something, you are responsible for it.  All posts must be truthful. 

NOTE:  While the Trump Campaign has claimed no knowledge of Project 2025,  Trump's name appears 312 times in the document.  Conclusion:  Project 2025 is equivalent to the Trump Campaign platform.

NOTE:  This blog post is a parody; it is intended to be humorous and thought-provoking.

Image by nadeem abdullah from Pixabay

Why I am a Joyful Childless Cat Lady

The paint store lady gave us a brochure on the latest trends in exterior paint colors for houses.  The colors were various shades of brown.  My husband selected three; I selected three.  We took our six sample cans home, and painted 20 inch squares on the southwestern side of the house.  Two coats.  

The next morning as I was looking at the various shades and hues, all I could think of was "baby shit brown".  That afternoon, I checked the colors again in the afternoon light.  Again, "baby shit brown" popped into my head.

I have seen a lot of baby shit, involuntarily. I was pressed into babysitting my three younger brothers at a very young age.   If you are changing six to ten diapers a day, you have seen a lot of baby shit.  Depending on what the baby ate, and the general state of his health,  you could have dark brown baby shit or light brown baby shit or yellowish brown baby shit or baby shit with a pinkish brown hue.  In other words, most hues, tones, shades of the brown color family are well represented by baby shit.

From this and other experiences with my three younger brothers,  I determined that motherhood was not for me.   In case it is not obvious, there is nothing intellectually stimulating or challenging with infant care.  It is, in fact, really boring, really tedious, and very unrewarding.  This is particularly true if the baby is not yours.

Reading a book, traveling to historic sites, learning a foreign language, attending a play -- these are stimulating experiences.   The endless drudgery of diaper changing, well, not so much.   I suppose JD Vance would say "Well that's just you.  Most women relish childcare and we cherish and reward mothers."

Nope.  I don't think so.  Here's why.

America is all about money.  We value money.  We admire people with a lot of money.  We dole out rewards based on money.   Money permeates the soul of America.  We pay CEOs, major league athletes, celebrities, and other performance artists huge sums of money -- in the millions of dollars.  What do we pay child care workers?  

If it is your own child, you receive no compensation.  

If you have to pay for childcare, it is about $16,945 annually (1).  

Most significantly, if you are a child care worker, you earn just about minimum wage, between $22,450 and $36,200 annually (2).  

Let's compare that to CEO compensation.  Of the top 100 CEOs, the first one earns $198 million and the one on the bottom of the list earns $33 million (3).  

Do we really value child care?  In American society, where your value is represented by your earnings and/or your wealth, the people of value are at least 900 times more valuable than a child care worker.  Worse, if it is your own child you have no value at all.

Of course, motivations like avoiding loneliness or requiring assistance in old age inform many decisions to bear children.  While very compelling reasons more than one hundred years ago, one must question these reasons today.  They have no validity.  

Massive opportunities to connect with others of like mind and like values exist today, representing and resembling prior family connections.  Better yet, they are by choice and not by blood.  Many of our blood relations do not represent people we would  select as family.  

In about twenty years, robots will assist the elderly requiring help.  The robots will administer medications, bathe us, assist with other bodily functions, and provide companionship.  The long suffering caregiver spouse or child will disappear, and a better end-of-life relationship will emerge.

So, what about the paint color for the house?  My favorite from the Dunn-Edwards Paints' New Neutrals Collection is "Distillery".  "Distillery is a warm neutral color inspired by aged whisky barrels."   To me,  Distillery has absolutely no resemblance to the contents of a soiled diaper, and that is just fine by me.

(1). https://tootris.com/edu/blog/parents/cost-of-child-care-in-california-by-city-age-and-type-of-care-provider/

(2) Bureau of Labor Statistics:  https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes399011.htm#:~:text=National%20estimates%20for%20Childcare%20Workers:%20;%20Hourly,22%2C450%2C%20$%2027%2C040%2C%20$%2030%2C370%2C%20$%2036%2C200

(3). https://www.equilar.com/reports/111-table-equilar-new-york-times-top-100-highest-paid-ceos-2024.html