Asides
Is This Thing On? Check? Check? 1, 2, 3? Sibilance.
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Well…
I managed to “avoid” blogging throughout the entire COVID-19 quarantine and lockdown(s) to date. Still, Caitlin Abber’s article comparing and contrasting GenX, Millennials, and GenZ caught my eye, so I figured I would at least post it.
Will it will be the impetus I need to start blogging again? Who knows? To be perfectly honest, I can’t say I’ve missed my blog. It had become just another item on my weekly To-Do List that kept getting “postponed” and “rescheduled.” I think I’ll strive for a biweekly post and go from there.
To better understand Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z, taking a look at their upbringings, personal style, and how they feel about each other offers a list of differing attitudes and behaviors attributed to each generation. What struck me was that she actually included GenX (my people!) in the list. Usually, we are an afterthought once someone notices that GenX was left out. However, in true GenX fashion, we always see whether or not we are included. We just don’t vocalize it, preferring to observe from a safe distance away from the drama…er…action.
This was most clearly demonstrated during the lockdowns – where GenX continued to thrive as our latchkey kid skills, honed in childhood, served us to navigate the isolation created thereby. For months, we read social media posts from family and friends (of other generations) struggling with being “stuck at home” while we took it in stride. I absolutely loved it, for the most part. No more awkward small talk with coworkers about inane subjects. No more “creating work” to “look busy” at work. I could just work, be done with it, take naps, snuggle with my dogs, binge watch shows and movies, bake bread, cook from scratch and do nothing if the spirit moved me.
Unfortunately, bigotry in all its forms refused to take a break and we’ve had a front-row seat to the ugliness humans can inflict on one another in the name of our “I got mine, screw you _________ (input name of marginalized community)” society. My concern for our American experiment has grown exponentially and I fear that reactionary forces have damaged our institutions in deeper ways than we can imagine.
My sincerest hope is that Millennials and GenZ really step into their light, organize, and vote in unheard-of numbers – at least in big enough numbers to offset the votes of Baby Boomers. Millennials and GenZ might be able to save us from ourselves.
“Fuck you, I like guns.”
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Perspective provided by a U.S. Army Veteran. What stuck me, was how similar his views are to my husband’s (who is also a Veteran). We need more voices, like this, speaking truth to power, via “Fuck you, I like guns.”
“A Snowflake Manifesto” by John Pavlovitz
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Read it. 65 million “snowflakes” will be an avalanche, speaking truth to power. We are #TheResistance.
Leia Organa: A Critical Obituary
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Leia Organa, the politician and revolutionary who led the defeat of the Galactic Empire, died after a short illness. She was 60 years old. Hers was a life laced with controversy concerning everythi…
Source: Leia Organa: A Critical Obituary
What’s Next for Americans of Conscience (in the Age of Trump)
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99 Ways to Fight Trump is a new blog that is enumerating different types of actions we can take to advocate on behalf of our Republic. Silence, and inaction, is no longer an option. Remember, democracy is not a spectator sport.
White nationalists see advocate in Steve Bannon who will hold Trump to his campaign promises
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White nationalists see advocate in Steve Bannon who will hold Trump to his campaign promises
http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/14/politics/white-nationalists-on-bannon/index.html
NEVER AGAIN. Stay woke and we shall not be moved, people . Do not waste time blaming and shaming. Use the energy to regroup and organize.
Who ort DONALD TRUMP picked for his new campaign manager
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Hello there SundyBesters. Drew here. Trae is busy being super famous and Corey is busy being super fat-headed, so I’m doing the blog. Today marks one of the last editions of OurSundyBest. Tha…
Source: Who ort DONALD TRUMP picked for his new campaign manager
Leadership, as Demonstrated by Bernie Sanders -#ImWithHer @HillaryClinton
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Today, Senator Bernie Sanders further doubled down on his support of Hillary Clinton for the Presidency of the United States. He eloquently and explicitly stated why, in an opinion piece entitled “I Support Hillary Clinton. So Should Everyone Who Voted for Me” for the LA Times.
Most of Sen. Sanders’ supporters transitioned to Sec. Clinton during, and immediately following the Democratic Party’s Convention. However, there were a small group of holdouts, who were being called the “tea party of the left.” This vocal minority, many of whom have aligned themselves with the Green Party, were threatening to vote for Donald Trump, in protest.
Sen. Sanders did not mince any words when he said, “During the primaries, my supporters and I began a political revolution to transform America. That revolution continues as Hillary Clinton seeks the White House. It will continue after the election. It will continue until we create a government which represents all of us and not just the 1 percent – a government based on the principle of economic, social, racial and environmental justice.”
“I understand that many of my supporters are disappointed by the final results of the nominating process, but being despondent and inactive is not going to improve anything. Going forward and continuing the struggle is what matters. And, in that struggle, the most immediate task we face is to defeat Donald Trump,” He further stated. Sen. Sanders understands that in order to enact progressive legislation, Democrats and other left-leaning and centrist groups, must unite against the propsed tyranny of trump, and his ilk. Bernie or Bust bros please take note, as Sen. Sanders is demonstrating how consensus and coalition building works.
As for me, I got my “Woman Card,” so deal me in, because I’m with Hillary Clinton!
How Hillary Clinton’s Presidential Campaign Is Personal to Me
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Whether you support Sec. Clinton or not, take a close look at the adjectives used to describe her. Commonly used are words like “b#tch,” and those words you would never say to or about a woman, in polite conversation.
Far too many of us – women in workforce – recognize some version of the inappropriate language used to speak about Sec. Clinton, because we have either been subjected to it or have been bystanders as another female coworker has been subjected to it.
My VERY FIRST week, at my first professional job, was spent “revisiting” Personnel policies and sensitivity training, because a male supervisor had sexually harrasssed a female subordinate to such an extent that he should have been fired on the spot. He was “encouraged” to resign. She quit soon after. Then the incident as swept under the rug. It was the mid-1990s.
This process is called systemic misogyny.
My vote in November will be for Sec. Clinton, because as President Obama stated, “I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America.”
Michael Hulshof-Schmidt, from And Social Justice for All, provides a male perspective in his latest blog post (below).
Let me be as candid and transparent as possible: I was a very strong supporter of Bernie Sanders, and until the past four weeks, held out great hope that he would become our next President. Over th…
Source: Dear Hillary: How Very Dare You!
24 Things Women Over 30 Should Wear
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A cautionary tale for all of us women who are “over 30.”
This morning, as I was perusing my Facebook timeline, I happened upon an article that a lovely friend shared. It was entitled “24 Things Women Should Stop Wearing After Age 30”, and it …
Interstate Message Signs Literally Can’t Even Right Now
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Thousands of Nashville-area motorists were reportedly surprised, concerned, offended, and otherwise taken-aback today when the city’s typically affable system of electronic interstate message signs…
Source: Interstate Message Signs Literally Can’t Even Right Now
I Live in the “New Loneliness”
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In her article This is the New Loneliness Jamie Varon focuses on the Millennial Generation. She categorizes them as both the most and least connected generation, due to their inherent, almost organic, use of social media.
I believe millennials have a arrested interpersonal communication skills, simply as a result of being born into a technology-dependent culture. Communication requires “doing.” As children, millenials were not encouraged to physically be present. Most of their play needs were met by technology. So, it is unfair to paint them as disconnected. They connect differently. Social media, rather than face-to-face interactions, is their preferred vehicle.
Ms. Varon overlooked the original disconnected generation – Generation X.
We were latchkey kids. Loneliness was ingrained in our lives. Sure we participated in every activity we wanted to, but most of us held a piece of ourselves back – a self-preservation piece.
These early experiences served us well as we entered an unpredictable, and sometimes volatile work environment, vastly different from the generations that preceded us. The days of a life-long career with one company ended, just as we came of age. So we became latchkey adults.
Social media paired nicely with Generation X, because it allowed us that “separation” we learned in childhood. Technology offered the buffer against anonymity. We were still communicating, just indirectly.
I work primarily from home, so I have limited contact with others. And, even though I prefer to work alone, I genuinely miss the everyday interactions among coworkers in an office.
Sometimes, I force…no…motivate myself to physically interact with other people. As a natural “loner” and “homebody,” this is as unnatural and outside my comfort zone, as it gets.
Additionally, I am an extroverted introvert, suffering from clinical depression. Not only do I have to psych myself up to “participate,” I then need several days within my soul cave to regroup and recharge.
The paradox for me has been that even though social media is “artificial” (as in manmade, rather than preexisting) I am still myself when I am online. Some people create entirely new personas and lives. I did not and have not. Regardless of the clever nicknames I take on, given the site, my personality remains intact. Acting as someone else, is just not in my skill set.
Missing in technology-based interactions are the subtleties of speech, inflection and body language. For someone who joyfully wields sarcasm and dark humor, this is a slippery slope. Not only have I written/said things that were not understood as I had intended, I too have felt the string of a poorly worded online barb.
And, those words that are carelessly hurled around under the guise of anonymity? Those words injure, sometimes fatally. They bring the loneliness to a level that surpasses having a “dark/gloomy” or even “sad” day. Social media gives us the liberty to erect invisible walls to hide safely behind.
The key is to peek over the wall, open the gate and talk to our neighbors…but it’s easier and quicker to just text them, isn’t it?
Dominant Persuasion’s Author Spotlights – Bella Juarez
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I’ve been a fan of Bella Juarez’s for several years, having become addicted to her “Black Ops Brotherhood,” series. She was one, of a select few authors, who featured strong Latinas as heroines, in a sea of “New Adult,” early-20-somethings mania.
Bella’s characters were unique in that they were “Everywomen.” Many were middle-aged, yet in the prime of life. They were intelligent, confident, and fully embraced themselves as sexual beings…with some scorchingly sexy, strong men at their sides.
I am looking forward to the “Dominant Persuasion” Anthology, and “Out of Touch,” in particular, because it is based in my stopping grounds of the Tampa Bay area. I’m interested in how Bella handles the dynamic between a Domme and her gentleman love, who just happens to be a Dom. It should make for an erotically good time! Can’t wait!
Out of Order
by Bella Juarez
BIO:
Bella Juarez has a passion for writing and tells her stories with a high level of military suspense and erotic romance. A few years ago, Bella was an IT technician with a craving for military and espionage history and would devour anything, fact or fiction, about the subject. Today, she lives on a south Texas ranch with her family and dogs.
With stories of intrigue running through her imagination, she always dreamed of writing a novel. Finally, in 2012, she wrote and released Rapid Dominance, book 1 of the Black Ops Brotherhood Series. Since then, she has released five more novels in this series. Branching out, she’s written three erotic romance novellas all with military elements.
Her stories blend today’s headlines into thought provoking, intricate plots interwoven with razor-sharp suspense, intrigue, and scorching, white-hot romance.
Bella’s idea of a perfect day starts out…
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Reading, Drinking and Dancing with a Chaser of Snark 