The Fallacy Of “The Black Dot Campaign”
Posted: September 24, 2015 Filed under: Whats left | Tags: black dot campaign, dating violence, Domestic Violence, spouse abuse 19 CommentsI write a lot of silly stuff on my blog; I’ll get back to that with my next post. Today, I want to discuss domestic violence and a well-intentioned but bad idea making the rounds on social media.
Before I go too far into this issue, let me explain that I have been a part of hundreds of domestic violence prosecutions. I’ve written policy and lectured on the topic. I chaired a county board that advocated for abuse victims. This is not a topic on which I see much gray area. Abusers choose to be violent; it is always an unacceptable and criminal choice.
This is simple, the problem is not (image public domain)
It bothers me to speak against this idea. I know it is being circulated with the best intentions. But I’m going to tell you that The Black Dot Campaign is ill-conceived. Folks that spread the idea likely don’t realize that it is; they just want to help. Read the rest of this entry »
Everyone Fits Somewhere. We All Fit At The Deli.
Posted: March 19, 2015 Filed under: favorites, Whats left | Tags: blogging, life, observations, postaweek, thoughts, writing 2 CommentsIt was a busy day. I spent the morning running writing and running errands. Hitting everything on my to do list felt great. I’d finished the list, except for the thing on it that I’d been looking forward to – lunch.
As I drove, I considered my options. Pizza was a possibility. Some really spicy Thai food would’ve hit the spot. I hadn’t had Chinese food for days. There was a great burger joint close by. And then I decided to try something completely different.
One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others
To be fair, the food was good, but maybe not this good. (image public domain)
Not far from our house, there is a little local deli that I’ve never been in. The place is in an older, interesting looking building that I’ve wanted to get a look at. It always looks busy at lunch. I took that as a good sign and gave the joint a shot. Read the rest of this entry »
If You Were Born In The ’60’s, ’70’s Or ’80’s, You Have To Read This. Wow.
Posted: March 19, 2014 Filed under: Whats left | Tags: chain emails, Facebook, generations, growing up in the 70s, humor, internet memes, life, postaweek 49 CommentsI’ve noticed that the web is littered with wistful paeans to the virtues of growing up in the mid to late twentieth century (here’s an example of the sort of thing I’m talking about). Sprinkled in with the praise of the way things were are thinly veiled digs at the way things are and implications that younger generations are soft because they did not have the same upbringing.
As a nostalgic product of the mid-twentieth century, I’d like to bring a different perspective. Yes, things were different for those of us in our forties and older. Is different better or is it worse?
To me, the answer is yes.
Playing Outside
One of the arguments that I see for the idea that things were better “back when” is that kids had to try out for youth sports and that not everyone made the team. I can testify that all those who made the team did not get to play every game. This is said to be good because it taught the older generations to handle disappointment. Read the rest of this entry »
Getting Sweden’s Goat, Again
Posted: December 24, 2013 Filed under: Whats left | Tags: Christmas, Gävle Goat, humor, life, postaweek, you tube, Yule Goat 9 Comments
The Gävle Goat (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Last year, I learned that the town of Gävle in Sweden has a tradition of building a Christmas goat out of straw. I learned that at the same time that I learned that the goat burned down last year.
Inspired by the sight of last year’s Christmas Goat in flames, I wrote a post proclaiming that when writing this blog made me rich I would commission straw goats all across North America. My goats would be constructed and burned for charity. These charity goat events would be called Get My Goat. I stand by that proclamation, though the blog has not made me rich yet. Read the rest of this entry »
What If The Doors Didn’t Bust On Thanksgiving?
Posted: November 21, 2013 Filed under: Whats left | Tags: boycott stores on thanksgiving, Christmas and holiday season, christmas shopping, thanksgiving, wal-mart, what time does walmart open on thanksgiving 15 CommentsThere are lessons we all learn as a kid. A few years later, we forget them. We all learn that when someone teases us, the most effective tactic is to ignore the taunting. The apparent indifference causes those hassling us to move on to another target.
How soon we forget.
Crossing The Line
If reward them, you can’t whine about the consequence (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In the United States, the Christmas holiday shopping season has been traditionally defined as starting the day after the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving was a solid line that no one crossed. There were no Christmas holiday sales on the Wednesday before, but there were discounts galore on the Friday following.
And then retailers started toying with their hours on the Friday after Thanksgiving, moving their opening times to 8 a.m., then 6…and then earlier. There were special discounts available, if you were one of the adventurous souls who were there when the doors opened. People didn’t ignore the tease, they bought into it…and they bought like mad.
Recently, stores have crossed that once solid line. They’ve started opening on Thanksgiving with “unbeatable offers”. Some of us have responded in that uniquely American way – whining about how sad it is that the holiday has been violated as we drive to the stores. Read the rest of this entry »
Road Trip
Posted: October 31, 2013 Filed under: Whats left | Tags: blogging, Hellenic Air Force, humor, postaweek, reruns 12 Comments
Greek Air Force Motto: Our name is scary, but our planes are not. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I know it got quiet here. Sorry about that. I’m on a little road trip and haven’t written like I planned to.
Maybe I needed the break. For sure, I don’t need to stop.
I’m going to throw some links to old favorites up here now and again just to keep the mice from having free run of the place. My aim is to restart the machine next Wednesday to get you fresh stuff to read.
Here is your serving of leftovers for today. There are more in the fridge for later. Today’s is a salad made from mythology, juggling raw eggs and the Greek Air Force. Remember, your salad fork is the one all the way to the left of your plate.
Puppies, Funnel Cakes and Jesus
Posted: October 15, 2013 Filed under: Whats left | Tags: humor, life, postaweek, Religion and Spirituality, thank you jesus for funnel cakes 34 CommentsI don’t write about religion. Folks believe what they believe.
My belief is that there are a lot of religious texts out there. Generally, they all agree that everything and everyone came from some God who wants us all to be good to one another. If you believe something different from that, I’m cool. Hurt feelings are the only thing that comes from debating people’s beliefs; arguments don’t win hearts and minds over to any side.
So I don’t write about religion, except for now.
Most faiths put importance on being in touch with the higher power to give praise and to seek blessings. That’s important, I’m all for it. I’m grateful for my life and I look to heaven to bless us all with peace.
I’ve heard that no prayer goes unheard or is too small. That’s probably so. But here is where I’m going to deviate a little. I know I’m doing this because I think like me and not like a deity. Read the rest of this entry »
Blurt 
People that have blurted back