Life a Many Splintered Things or “My Thing of the Week”
Hi and Welcome to the A & J PEI Treasures E Jean Simpson Author Blog Post and Podcast. I’m your host, Jean coming to you from the beautiful Province of Prince Edward Island, Canada!! The blog post and podcast is an opinion piece and only reflects this author’s opinion and not that of any other entity. I hold no designations in politics, economics or medicine. I am retired from the mental health field. I am a humanitarian and speak from that viewpoint only. Whether you agree with me or not, at least I hope it makes you think. This week I take a look at some of the current events and their potential messages. I also look at attitudes and where things are falling off the rails…it becomes pretty evident seeing the events and messages in general. If you want to find out more, then stay tuned…!
This week has been a smorgasbord of strange things in my feed. Late in January a balloon flew over parts of Canada and into the USA. People seem to have mixed feelings on it. However, when it comes to tensions between countries, it is nothing to sneeze at when you see things flying over your area. There seems a lack of people actually reading the news coverage because they do speak as to why it wasn’t shot down over Canada…whether or not we like the reason is immaterial. Before jumping to conclusions, it might be a good idea to determine exactly what the purpose of the balloon was. Most often, such things are passed through Government channels and this is why, when things come out of the blue, people tend to become worried. There have been some indications since I last read that it might be a weather balloon, however, there really needs to be confirmation of the purpose. This brings us to why they need to analyze it. I am guessing that nowadays, since you can’t trust much of what comes out of some Governmental mouths, confirmation is a good idea. https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/why-w... gives the reason it was not shot down in Canada. You don’t have to like or agree with it, but they did give one. Often with these sorts of events, it is a darned if you do and darned if you don’t situation. Some will scream about it one way and some the other. But, apparently it didn’t get tweeted and so no one purports to know it. This, if it doesn’t fit in social media or in a Tweet, it is an issue being ignored is rather interesting and shows the move toward bite sized answers and instant gratification that seems to be the norm. Is it healthy is the important question. With all the information being set out, people don’t know what to think and often don’t bother to find out. People need to be less interested in bite sized information and actually look at what is going on. You can’t possibly know everything. It is important for them to find the balloon and figure out was it, indeed as suggested, a weather balloon that went off course. However, it is also interesting that this is not the first one. Time will tell what the resolution will be.
My next thing of the week was the Grammy Awards. I actually don’t watch the awards as I am more old school music and just catch highlights later. This year I found that there was a pretty thin line between some of the best and worst dressed. Adele had a classic number on…classy never gets old for those of you who wonder. What I did notice is that half or more of the artists I didn’t recognize. I’m pretty sure that the Grammy Awards are not something I would watch for fashion tips. https://ca.style.yahoo.com/grammys-20... gives a glimpse of the best and worst dressed. I either no longer understand fashion or Grammy party goers no longer understand fashion. I know that sometimes fashion is about shocking people, but I prefer mine to be wearable. You see, my problem is that I never considered putting on strips of cloth to be a fashion statement. In most of Canada it wouldn’t even be a wise choice. I know in ancient times it may have been top of the line haute couture, but I prefer my clothing to be wearable and in mid-February warm is a plus. Then I also ignore the over 45 should or should not wear or grow their hair this way or that sorts of things. Wearing a nude dress with underwear never hit me as a viable fashion choice. I did however, create a ‘nude’ dress (flower pattered but flimsy) … but I did wear it over actual black t-shirt and shorts in mid-summer to feel cooler and have a dress on.
This brings me to the latest thing which approaches kids giggling over side-boob. This brings me back to the days when the old calculators had 8008…and the kids laughed and laughed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcula... In our defense, we were maybe 12 at the time and this was pretty big stuff. We were just getting into the ‘technical age’ where we had calculators (no computer access then) that we could use in science class. We still were not allowed unfettered use of calculators and had to learn how to do math without one first. Some of the stuff they wore brings that back to mind. Now back to the Grammy Show and my feelings on the ‘fashion’ of today. Don’t get me wrong, I guess you are ‘legally’ entitled to wear whatever you want. The real question is should you? First of all, it’s the middle of February. I know that in some areas of the USA, the weather is less frigid than the -40’s with wind-chill we got late last week. But, just on the practical side of things, one could catch a chill. Now the style of the plaid body suit, it was an unusual choice. Again, if you’ve ever worn a body suit, the practical problem is to use the facilities you pretty much have to disrobe. No one wants that kind of problem. You got to hold the arms up so they don’t drag on the bathroom floor. It could be that bathrooms are less prone to be messy in rich venues than in regular ones…albeit he did reduce that problem by it having limited top to worry about. I have a dress made out of jeans that I wear…but not to town…if I have to use facilities, I don’t want to have to balance the top and complete the … um…transaction and I wear a shirt of some sort under it. This lack of top brings us back to the concern of catching a draft. My Grammy instinct kicks in and I want to say, honey put on a sweater with that. I must be real old as I am not sure the fuss about Madonna, other than the crop her outfit was really pretty decent. I’m not sure if this is more suggestive of the fact that I’m now old and don’t understand fashion or if I missed the point...except that she might have partaken in some rejuvenation stuff or needed treatment with steroids either way, not my business. On the plus side, I don’t have to be seen in public in some of the outfits that hit the red carpet. For that I thank my lack of talents and the academy that I don’t get recognized.
The next event that grabbed my attention was that it appears, at one time, people went to official speeches by people like the President and listened respectfully. They might or might not have liked it. If they had something to say about it after the fact, they would do so to the media or where ever. When did it become acceptable to heckle people loudly in public speeches? It’s one thing to disagree with policy and with people. It is quite another to go and make a ruckus in a crowd. It just cheapens the whole process. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo.... This seems to be something that has become more prevalent in the past few years. It cheapens the credibility of the system that it purports to support by showing people a poor example of behaviour. I cannot say that there is one side or the other that is at fault…they both seem to be displaying this in the US speeches over the past few years. There seems a lack of manners when it comes to different things. I see it daily in some feeds. This lack of thought and manners becomes ever clearer after seeing a question that focuses on someone being forced to interact with a child who is not popular. You think the world would have ended. Everyone seemed to think it was perfectly fine to exclude children based on some characteristic rather than suggesting that someone work with the child and help them fit in carefully. It was an issue when I was a child as well. I don’t think that the school or the kids, and certainly not the parents give much consideration to the damage to the child being excluded. So, if the teacher, the parents and the peers shouldn’t do anything, then who would you suggest should? I’m not saying that they should make the kid their best buddy, but couldn’t they have some kind of interaction that is monitored. Could they not create some sort of potential for some success for the ostracized child? It’s very sad that we nowadays act like it is OK to hate others based on factors they cannot change. That we ‘care’ when it suits us, but not when it doesn’t attitude is what hamstrings chances to deal with issues early.
https://percolately.com/parent-pulls-... gives the story. The focus seems the sad thing. It focuses on whether they were right in making the trip a fight between popular and unpopular kids. The child that is shown as the outcast is further ostracized in the process and all but forgotten by the readers. This should have been dealt with early in the term. If they have buddies, should be everyone having them. If not, no point to it. How it would entail that the child wouldn’t be able to be with her friends as well is a mystery to me. The school handled it poorly, the parents handled it poorly. The child is still stuck in the corner and being ostracized. There was no understanding of the actual issues. It just hit me as sad all the way around. No one thinks about the outcast kid and how this will affect them. Just could have had a different ending. Details come out later on after people started to complain…about it only being their child required this. Not sure what training they give teachers nowadays, but the whole thing seemed rather sad. It shows we’re still fighting the same battles and doing the same things as they did 50 years ago, but with fewer skills.
So, it seems sometimes there is little thought given to others unless it is convenient. When it becomes inconvenient then disrespect to everyone. Respect is used as a battle cry with no consideration for what we are freeing? What are we teaching our kids about caring? Are we teaching them to care selectively about our fellow humans? Are we training them to see only the side of the one that is the loudest and feels most put upon? Are we training people to find bite sized information and if not, then it doesn’t exist? Could we look at such situations from a third or even fourth perspective to give the chance for everyone to be successful rather than good/popular vs. naughty/unpopular? Could the parents have done a better job by getting together and trying to resolve an obvious issue with socializing for a child rather than taking the easy way out and salve their consciences on Reddit? The answers are up to you. Whether you agree with me or not, I hope I made you think. Thanks for listening to my podcast and/or reading my blog post and thanks for your interest in A & J PEI Treasures! Keep watching because we’re always working on something. Thank you!
The podcast that matches this blog post can be found on Anchor FM: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures/...
Blog Posts are available on
WordPress: https://aandjpeitreasures.wordpress.com/ and
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Podcast are available on:
Anchor FM in a variety of formats: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures
iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-e-...
Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/e-... name a few
All my e-books can be found on:
Smashwords (my Affiliate link): https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
You can also find us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EJS08026749
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5zp...
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/ej2466
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/e-j-s-151a...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewAandJP...
This week has been a smorgasbord of strange things in my feed. Late in January a balloon flew over parts of Canada and into the USA. People seem to have mixed feelings on it. However, when it comes to tensions between countries, it is nothing to sneeze at when you see things flying over your area. There seems a lack of people actually reading the news coverage because they do speak as to why it wasn’t shot down over Canada…whether or not we like the reason is immaterial. Before jumping to conclusions, it might be a good idea to determine exactly what the purpose of the balloon was. Most often, such things are passed through Government channels and this is why, when things come out of the blue, people tend to become worried. There have been some indications since I last read that it might be a weather balloon, however, there really needs to be confirmation of the purpose. This brings us to why they need to analyze it. I am guessing that nowadays, since you can’t trust much of what comes out of some Governmental mouths, confirmation is a good idea. https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/why-w... gives the reason it was not shot down in Canada. You don’t have to like or agree with it, but they did give one. Often with these sorts of events, it is a darned if you do and darned if you don’t situation. Some will scream about it one way and some the other. But, apparently it didn’t get tweeted and so no one purports to know it. This, if it doesn’t fit in social media or in a Tweet, it is an issue being ignored is rather interesting and shows the move toward bite sized answers and instant gratification that seems to be the norm. Is it healthy is the important question. With all the information being set out, people don’t know what to think and often don’t bother to find out. People need to be less interested in bite sized information and actually look at what is going on. You can’t possibly know everything. It is important for them to find the balloon and figure out was it, indeed as suggested, a weather balloon that went off course. However, it is also interesting that this is not the first one. Time will tell what the resolution will be.
My next thing of the week was the Grammy Awards. I actually don’t watch the awards as I am more old school music and just catch highlights later. This year I found that there was a pretty thin line between some of the best and worst dressed. Adele had a classic number on…classy never gets old for those of you who wonder. What I did notice is that half or more of the artists I didn’t recognize. I’m pretty sure that the Grammy Awards are not something I would watch for fashion tips. https://ca.style.yahoo.com/grammys-20... gives a glimpse of the best and worst dressed. I either no longer understand fashion or Grammy party goers no longer understand fashion. I know that sometimes fashion is about shocking people, but I prefer mine to be wearable. You see, my problem is that I never considered putting on strips of cloth to be a fashion statement. In most of Canada it wouldn’t even be a wise choice. I know in ancient times it may have been top of the line haute couture, but I prefer my clothing to be wearable and in mid-February warm is a plus. Then I also ignore the over 45 should or should not wear or grow their hair this way or that sorts of things. Wearing a nude dress with underwear never hit me as a viable fashion choice. I did however, create a ‘nude’ dress (flower pattered but flimsy) … but I did wear it over actual black t-shirt and shorts in mid-summer to feel cooler and have a dress on.
This brings me to the latest thing which approaches kids giggling over side-boob. This brings me back to the days when the old calculators had 8008…and the kids laughed and laughed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcula... In our defense, we were maybe 12 at the time and this was pretty big stuff. We were just getting into the ‘technical age’ where we had calculators (no computer access then) that we could use in science class. We still were not allowed unfettered use of calculators and had to learn how to do math without one first. Some of the stuff they wore brings that back to mind. Now back to the Grammy Show and my feelings on the ‘fashion’ of today. Don’t get me wrong, I guess you are ‘legally’ entitled to wear whatever you want. The real question is should you? First of all, it’s the middle of February. I know that in some areas of the USA, the weather is less frigid than the -40’s with wind-chill we got late last week. But, just on the practical side of things, one could catch a chill. Now the style of the plaid body suit, it was an unusual choice. Again, if you’ve ever worn a body suit, the practical problem is to use the facilities you pretty much have to disrobe. No one wants that kind of problem. You got to hold the arms up so they don’t drag on the bathroom floor. It could be that bathrooms are less prone to be messy in rich venues than in regular ones…albeit he did reduce that problem by it having limited top to worry about. I have a dress made out of jeans that I wear…but not to town…if I have to use facilities, I don’t want to have to balance the top and complete the … um…transaction and I wear a shirt of some sort under it. This lack of top brings us back to the concern of catching a draft. My Grammy instinct kicks in and I want to say, honey put on a sweater with that. I must be real old as I am not sure the fuss about Madonna, other than the crop her outfit was really pretty decent. I’m not sure if this is more suggestive of the fact that I’m now old and don’t understand fashion or if I missed the point...except that she might have partaken in some rejuvenation stuff or needed treatment with steroids either way, not my business. On the plus side, I don’t have to be seen in public in some of the outfits that hit the red carpet. For that I thank my lack of talents and the academy that I don’t get recognized.
The next event that grabbed my attention was that it appears, at one time, people went to official speeches by people like the President and listened respectfully. They might or might not have liked it. If they had something to say about it after the fact, they would do so to the media or where ever. When did it become acceptable to heckle people loudly in public speeches? It’s one thing to disagree with policy and with people. It is quite another to go and make a ruckus in a crowd. It just cheapens the whole process. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo.... This seems to be something that has become more prevalent in the past few years. It cheapens the credibility of the system that it purports to support by showing people a poor example of behaviour. I cannot say that there is one side or the other that is at fault…they both seem to be displaying this in the US speeches over the past few years. There seems a lack of manners when it comes to different things. I see it daily in some feeds. This lack of thought and manners becomes ever clearer after seeing a question that focuses on someone being forced to interact with a child who is not popular. You think the world would have ended. Everyone seemed to think it was perfectly fine to exclude children based on some characteristic rather than suggesting that someone work with the child and help them fit in carefully. It was an issue when I was a child as well. I don’t think that the school or the kids, and certainly not the parents give much consideration to the damage to the child being excluded. So, if the teacher, the parents and the peers shouldn’t do anything, then who would you suggest should? I’m not saying that they should make the kid their best buddy, but couldn’t they have some kind of interaction that is monitored. Could they not create some sort of potential for some success for the ostracized child? It’s very sad that we nowadays act like it is OK to hate others based on factors they cannot change. That we ‘care’ when it suits us, but not when it doesn’t attitude is what hamstrings chances to deal with issues early.
https://percolately.com/parent-pulls-... gives the story. The focus seems the sad thing. It focuses on whether they were right in making the trip a fight between popular and unpopular kids. The child that is shown as the outcast is further ostracized in the process and all but forgotten by the readers. This should have been dealt with early in the term. If they have buddies, should be everyone having them. If not, no point to it. How it would entail that the child wouldn’t be able to be with her friends as well is a mystery to me. The school handled it poorly, the parents handled it poorly. The child is still stuck in the corner and being ostracized. There was no understanding of the actual issues. It just hit me as sad all the way around. No one thinks about the outcast kid and how this will affect them. Just could have had a different ending. Details come out later on after people started to complain…about it only being their child required this. Not sure what training they give teachers nowadays, but the whole thing seemed rather sad. It shows we’re still fighting the same battles and doing the same things as they did 50 years ago, but with fewer skills.
So, it seems sometimes there is little thought given to others unless it is convenient. When it becomes inconvenient then disrespect to everyone. Respect is used as a battle cry with no consideration for what we are freeing? What are we teaching our kids about caring? Are we teaching them to care selectively about our fellow humans? Are we training them to see only the side of the one that is the loudest and feels most put upon? Are we training people to find bite sized information and if not, then it doesn’t exist? Could we look at such situations from a third or even fourth perspective to give the chance for everyone to be successful rather than good/popular vs. naughty/unpopular? Could the parents have done a better job by getting together and trying to resolve an obvious issue with socializing for a child rather than taking the easy way out and salve their consciences on Reddit? The answers are up to you. Whether you agree with me or not, I hope I made you think. Thanks for listening to my podcast and/or reading my blog post and thanks for your interest in A & J PEI Treasures! Keep watching because we’re always working on something. Thank you!
The podcast that matches this blog post can be found on Anchor FM: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures/...
Blog Posts are available on
WordPress: https://aandjpeitreasures.wordpress.com/ and
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Podcast are available on:
Anchor FM in a variety of formats: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures
iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-e-...
Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/e-... name a few
All my e-books can be found on:
Smashwords (my Affiliate link): https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
You can also find us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EJS08026749
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5zp...
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/ej2466
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/e-j-s-151a...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewAandJP...
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A & J PEI Treasures/E Jean Simpson, BEd, BA, MA
A & J PEI Treasures is located on Prince Edward Island, Canada. We are a husband and wife team and our companion animals. There are a number of things that drew us to the Island…one of which was the n
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