A New Year thought- Dull days of history- they were all at “it”- and seemingly still are

Gillray’s print, Fashionable Contrasts- But whose feet are those?
Trying to get through this season of happy , happy , joy , joy I have once again tried to escape to “lose” myself in history once more .
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2012/12/21/and-do-their-mothers-mortal-hurt-2/

I exchanged the WW2 for that boring old history of Kings and Queens and the aristocracy. However I can tell you Reality TV has nothing on these folk! But there is the connection with Downton Abbey fans. Oh! if these old walls could talk ;).

Source http://www.inveraray-castle.com/

I will never be able to look at another old movie starring David Niven or Douglas Fairbanks in the same way as just two days ago a story in the Daily Mail :

How I lost my virginity to the VERY racy real life chatelaine of Downton’s Scottish castle by Micheal Thornton

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2254473/How-I-lost-virginity-VERY-racy-real-life-chatelaine-Downtons-Scottish-castle.html

It seems the late Duchess Of Argyll ( Margaret Campbell) had numerous affairs with many a young man including the writer of the Daily Mail piece mentioned above. Quite scandalous for the 1930’s but then again this was the time of a King abdicating for the “lust” of a woman- Edward and Mrs. Simpson. It seems they were all at it in the “dirty thirties”

He( The Duke) compiled a list of her alleged lovers, believing he could cite 88 men. My name,(Micheal Thornton) and that of Anthony Wallace-Turner, escaped the list.
A note in the Duke’s handwriting, found among the Argyll divorce papers, records: ‘MT and AW-T are both innocent victims of M’s nymphomania.’ The original list contained some famous names. The Hollywood stars Bob Hope and Maurice Chevalier were on it. So, too, was David Niven, who had taken Margaret’s virginity at the age of 15. The 13 Polaroid snaps discovered by the Duke appeared to show two different naked men. Pornographic comments written beneath pictures of one of the naked men were alleged to be in the handwriting of Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

Was Douglas Fairbanks Jr. indeed the “headless man” ? A Tale of the headless whores’ man 😉 http://fascinatinghistory.blogspot.com/2005/07/duchess-of-argyll-and-headless-men.html

So what you say old history – not quite my mum is still around to remember the “players”- She remembers the abdication and the scandals of the day – living history or reliving it

and this Duchess and her connections wasn’t alone in my “viewing pleasure of this week- Keira Knightley was on Ovation in her role as “Duchess”.

As I watched because I wondered how close to the “real” story was this “movie “- I was surprised to learn- pretty damned close- WHY WASN’T THIS EVER MENTIONED IN THOSE DULL OLD HISTORY CLASSES in school- I bet I wouldn’t have been alone in remembering this figure of history and the Prime Minister 🙂 The names are sounding familiar to royal watchers of today.

The Duchess of Devonshire -Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (née Spencer) 7 June 1757 – 30 March 1806) was the first wife of the 5th Duke of Devonshire, and mother of the 6th Duke of Devonshire. Her father, the 1st Earl Spencer, was a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough. Her niece was Lady Caroline Lamb. She is an ancestor (via her illegitimate daughter Eliza Courtney) of Sarah, Duchess of York. She is also related to Diana, Princess of Wales, who was her great-great-grandniece.

It seems Princess Diana was not the first in her family to have to endure three in a marriage

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/2530446/Princess-Diana-and-the-Duchess-of-Devonshire-Striking-similarities.html

In 1782 the Devonshire’s travelled to Bath and their met the woman who would be with them for the rest of their lives, Lady Elizabeth Foster, or ‘Bess’ as she was known.

Bess ingratiated herself into the Devonshire household, became the Duchess’s lifelong confidant and later mistress to the Duke. They lived together as a menage a trois for 25 years, and soon after Georgiana died, Bess persuaded the duke to marry her and finally legalize their relationship http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~awoodley/regency/devon.html

In an interview with Martin Bashir in 1995, the Princess said she had known her husband had renewed a relationship with the then Camilla Parker Bowles in 1986, just five years after their wedding.

“I wasn’t in a position to do anything about it,” she said. “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/diana/panorama.html

Poor Diana – three’s a crowd- and you can find the text to the scandalous “Camilla- gate” or Sqidgy tapes here – says it all- http://www.textfiles.com/phreak/camilla.txt

Well it makes our local scandals seem very tame by comparison! So that is something to be thankful for I suppose- May your New Year be Scandal Free or at least worth the notoriety to be endured !

BLACKLISTED- WHO KNEW? It is all in a IP

UPDATE NOTE FROM TIME WARNER :

Thank you for contacting Time Warner Cable, Road Runner email Support.

I am glad you have contacted us.

I will provide you the information.

Ernest, I understand your concern. We are currently experiencing problems with sending e-mails as
they are being Blocked. Our team have been made aware of the problem and are working to resolve it
as soon as possible. As of now, we don’t have any expected time period on when the issue will be
resolved. We appreciate your patience as we work towards a resolution as quickly as possible. We
apologize for any inconvenience caused.

It is not a good week , first of all the “horrible trogolodytes” ( no this time it isn’t the used to be in- laws) found a way to attack my computer and the “spy ware” had trouble keeping up so the “defender of my windows”…. sigh…. decided to shut me down in safe mode. 5 days later I have a computer back BUT then strange things started to happen when I sent roadrunner email.

My Ip ( roadrunner accouint) was being blocked by “spam cop” from the Chronicle Telegram and something called Spam Haus-zen and SORBS – these are spam filters. Of course you can’t get through to these people to say –

I may be prolific BUT honest I am not a spammer.

So feeling like a low life with a “dirty IP” showing to “media” and to local government – I scrolled through all the pertinent information I could find on how to delist my “dirty IP”.

Frustration- is it worth it these emails and computers? I have been down this road before here before with Yahoo and their rotating servers…… being blocked -which means Century Link and I are only sometimes “connected”.

https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/the-i-t-non-factor-its-not-me/

and
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2011/07/06/it-wasnt-me-update-you-are-it/

Still as I went through to the very German sounding Spam-Haus zen- ( you think they cottoned on I was English and that may have had a bearing? 😉 they informed me as I tried to get delisted

Ref: PBL359036

XX.XX.XXX.XX is listed on the Policy Block List (PBL)
Outbound Email Policy of Time Warner Cable/Road Runner for this IP range:

It is the policy of Time Warner Cable/Road Runner to share with other entities lists of our dynamic IP address space. While Time Warner Cable/Road Runner does not currently forbid customers from sending out mail directly from such space, it recognizes that others may wish to refuse mail from such space, and so Time Warner Cable/Road Runner makes that space known to others to facilitate their enforcement of their policies. Customers finding their mail refused by others due to a PBL listing should send their outbound mail through the outbound mail server designated for them; see http://help.rr.com/HMSFaqs/e_emailserveraddys.aspx for more information on the servers’ names.

and then following through I get

THE PBL IS NOT A BLACKLIST. You are not blacklisted for spamming or for anything you have done.

TELL THAT TO THE SPAM COPS AND MEDIA AND GOVERNMENT IT UNITS-

The PBL is simply a list of ALL of the world’s end-user broadband IP space, i.e: IP space normally assigned to broadband/ADSL customers. It is perfectly normal for dynamic IP addresses (DSL, DHCP, cable, dialup) to be listed on the PBL. In fact all IP addresses in the world which are not designated mail server machines *should be* on the PBL.

The PBL does not prevent you sending email unless your email program is not authenticating properly when it connects to your ISP or company’s mail server. This can happen if you have forgotten to turn on ‘Authentication’ in your ‘outgoing mail’ account settings, or if the username/password your email program is giving to your outgoing mail server is wrong.

If you are using a normal email program, such as Outlook, Entourage, Thunderbird, Apple Mail, and you are being blocked by a Spamhaus PBL listing when you try to send email, the reason is simply that YOU NEED TO TURN ON ‘SMTP AUTHENTICATION’ in your email program’s account settings. See: How do I turn on SMTP Authentication?

Like a dutiful little –non computer savvy IT illiterate– I did what was requested . I would check it out to see whether it worked and I I have cleaned up my IP – but quite honestly is it worth it???? – maybe tomorrow I will clear my IP in the court of IT-

In the meantime , you call me I won’t be emailing you 🙂 with my dirty IP showing. Oh the shame of it all– what was it my mother said about always having clean knickers does that equate to Ip ‘s now in this cyber world?

Puk-wudgies and Settlers’ Watch- Beware the Puk-wudiges

Don’t ask me why but I have always thought of the “ground hogs” around my neighborhood as “Puk-wudgies”- it probably is a throw back to another of my mother’s poems and a remembered passage
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/two-little-boys-my-childhood-song-the-american-civil-war-connection/

And no tree begrudges
The little Puk-Wudgies
A pocket of acorns, a handful of mast!

In the vacated green space next to Settlers’ Watch lives a colony of “ground hogs”. They live in the tunnels that make up the old basement of a house that used to be. You can see them in the evening and early morning along with rabbits and geese foraging. Sometimes neighbors will leave fruit etc out for them so they don’t eat the plants so lovingly planted at Settler’s Watch. The squirrels haven’t been so accommodating and we have lost a plethora of bulbs this year.

Photo Mark Teleha
Settlers’ Watch, we hope, will become a recognized urban wildlife habitat garden therefore, we have planted the plants that attract the bees, butterflies and birds and hope the Puk-wudgies and squirrels forage in another part of the acreage .

Imagine my surprise when I heard from the background noise of the television in the other room- one of the “paranormal” tv shows investigating a family having a problem with “Puk-wudgies”- it seems they are Native American legend-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pukwudgie

A Puk-wudgie is a 2-or-3-foot-tall (0.61 or 0.91 m) being from the Wampanoag folklore. Puk-wudgies’ features resemble those of a human, but with enlarged noses, fingers and ears. Their skin is described as being a smooth grey, and at times has been known to glow.

In Native American lore, Puk-wudgies have the following traits and abilities;
they can appear and disappear at will
they can transform into a walking porcupine (it looks like a porcupine from the back, and the front is half-troll, half-human and walks upright)
they can attack people and lure them to their deaths
they are able to use magic
they have poison arrows
they can create fire at will
Puk-wudgies control Tei-Pai-Wankas which are believed to be the souls of Native Americans they have killed.

Native Americans believed that Puk-wudgies were best left alone. When you see a Puk-wudgie you are not supposed to mess with them, or they will repay you by playing nasty tricks on you, or by following you and causing trouble. They were once friendly to humans, but then turned against them

PHOTO- MARK TELEHA

Oh dear! and I had visions of fairy- like pixies scampering about amongst the roses and granny’s toenails – if not my cute little ground hogs( who for the most part mind their own business).

Still, according the “Paranormal Research Team”- ,the best way to be on the good side of the “Puk-wudgies” is to give them fruits and berries and they will be grateful and leave you alone . Hopefully, the grapes and berries at Settlers’ Watch should help keep the Puk-wudgies from playing any tricks on us- but just in case the next time you are jogging around over there you might want to run counter-clockwise three times 🙂 that porcupine you spy may just be a animal of a different kind ;).

The Puk-Wudgies
They live ‘neath the curtain
Of fir woods and heather,
And never take hurt in
The wildest of weather,
But best they love Autumn?she’s brown as themselves?
Source http://www.writteninstone.com.au
And they are the brownest of all the brown elves;
When loud sings the West Wind,
The bravest and best wind,
And puddles are shining in all the cart ruts,
They turn up the dead leaves,
The russet and red leaves,
Where squirrels have taught them to look out for nuts!
Source http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1337907
The hedge-cutters hear them
Where berries are glowing,
The scythe circles near them
At time of the mowing,
But most they love woodlands when
Autumn’s winds pipe,
And all through the cover the beechnuts are ripe,
And great spikey chestnuts,
The biggest and best nuts,
Blown down in the ditches, fair windfalls lie cast,

And no tree begrudges
The little Puk-Wudjies
A pocket of acorns, a handful of mast!

So should you be roaming
Where branches are sighing,
When up in the gloaming
The moon-wrack is flying,
And hear through the darkness, again and again,
What’s neither the wind nor the spatter of rain?
Photo Lisa Miller

A flutter, a flurry,
A scuffle, a scurry,
A bump like the rabbits’ that bump on the ground,
A patter, a bustle
Of small things that rustle,
You’ll know the Puk-Wudgies are somewhere around!

by Patrick Reginald Chalmers

THE FISH THAT “SOARED” – well kind of -The CHRIS MISS – Present

Note to self – stop getting brilliant ideas in your numbed brain state–

I have not missed the self -imposed stress of Christmas’s past. There has been something freeing about not decking the halls, hauling out the holly and trying to find the perfect gift and the perfect Christmas dinner.

Although in at least one room – Nana’s new living room at the top of the house- a little tree winks and blinks at the night outside the window. In fact we are referring to it as Santa’s grotto.

Not all the animated Santa’s are out this year ( apparently some are still locked in an attic cupboard at the ” Kenny’s I just want to be happy house” .https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/what-are-they-thinking-the-thought-process-stops-here/ I missed some of them when moving her out. We would have had to downsize animated Santa’s anyway.

My focus once again this year was finding the “Chris Miss” present for Gavin.
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2009/12/25/christmas-the-day-after-chris-miss-christmas/

https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2010/12/27/visiting-the-holidays/

After spending time watching “Cars” and Gavin’s fascination with “Lightening McQueen” and a new baby going to need a crib in a few weeks –

Aha! thought I I have the solution!!!

However, how to get it under the tree- not possible- so how to get an excited two-year and a half-year old to where “Lightening McQueen” would be “parked”. Instead of following the bouncing ball how about following the “flying fish”-

Note to self “Good call Nag Nog (NOT) but at least you didn’t get the shark”

I didn’t take in as I watched a video on-line just how big this “clown fish ” would be. The idea was to have him float in and up the stairs to the room.
on Christmas Eve and we would all follow.

Hey if Santa can come down chimneys in the middle of the night with a flying sled and reindeer then flying fish should be acceptable.

The night before the night before Christmas found Nana, Pooh Bah, and me trying to work out the instructions

“I thought you said it was just a balloon with a remote what are all these parts” –

“what does hook here mean – what a these little bits and where do they go – hold the damned thing still will you !

First step blow up the fish with the helium tank- also purchased for the purpose.

Now where do you put the nozzel- no not there!!!! if I let go will it go phhhhhhhhhhhttttttttttttt

.

No! apparently it is self sealing

OH! OH! that means we can’t let it down once it is up! and as the damned thing flew up to the ceiling with nothing to grab – I bounced around the couch – there went the knee again trying to catch hold of something as slippery as well a “fish” without wrecking it…. whilst Tetley and Misty were barking at the foolishness of adults

It took us three hours, 5 mince-pie tarts, two large glasses of brandy egg-nog and a whole lot of swearing but finally the fish was ready- only we weren’t ready for the fish……it was huge-

Some balloon

said Nana as she cowered on the couch as it menacingly made its way across to her ( sans remote)

it is like the bloody Hindenburg-

Misty and Tetley unsure if they were supposed to attack the intruder or run decided on the latter.

It needs a weight where is the weight- oh wait it must be this putty stuff- where do I put it –

a very disgruntled husband announced he knew where I could put it…….

As he/she fish finally came together I realized that somehow I was going to have to get this fish in the car for the following day- and another OH! OH!…… since the Amherst Giant Eagle’s lobster tank was out of order it meant a trip to Elyria to pick up the 6 live lobsters to be sacrificed for Christmas Eve dinner with Nikki Jim and Gavin.

Somehow flying fish, presents , my husband and Nana would have to make the trip the next afternoon in the one car . And he/she would have to be hidden from Gavin until, the big unveiling. After a cramped haul to Elyria ( grumbling all around with fish and food and presents I ran in ( well limped and hobbled more like) to the seafood dept to pick up the lobsters.

As I stood in line to pay surrounded by fellow “stressed out shoppers” a chap remarked -his utter disdain and disbelief for what I was going to do to the lobsters evident in his tone.

Are you going to “boil them” on Christmas Eve??????

( it should be noted his cart held ham and a turkey ).

I turned , my knee wrecked again – thinking of the problems of the “flying fish and hypocrisy” and in my best British said

” Of course Sir -but not before naming them after all the people I find disdainful this Christmas

.

” Ah! goodwill toward men ‘ eh what”- Did you go into the Ritchey pot this year? 🙂

to be continued……….

Literary License- the burn- CITY OF LORAIN

I am writing under a Restricted Literary License It seems I am in learning mode. I have been used to writing on the wrong side of the rules for a Literary License– this is a habit I am going to find hard to break but they assure me it is easy enough to do- OTHER BLOGGERS have no problem 😉

http://www.loraindirt.com

Also my usage of the English language can confuse the American reader from time to time – I do apologize for that and my “run on ” sentences- as I read the handbook that came with my Literary License given out by the 7th floor – I am sure I will learn and will punctuate my sentences and articulate with the inevitable ” ummm”.

Also I have to stay within the speed limit of my keyboard- something else that is going to be very, very difficult.

So now I have my Literary ( albeit restricted ) License I will begin with Tuesday evenings City Council Meeting from my perspective:

You can find Ree’s here
http://margareetaville.blogspot.com/2011/07/lorain-mayor-tony-krasienko-thats-just.html

and Lisa’s here
http://bustershouse.wordpress.com/2011/07/06/we-didnt-start-the-fire/

My first council meeting was back in the late 70″s – a young thing was I- I was new to the political arena of Lorain- I went for two reasons:

One I had an issue with the fact that another “bright spark” was going to put ore piles in my neighborhood ( we know how that worked out)

Two – the fact that a directive was sent by a Mr. Jacabozzi to all city personnel ( my husband had been recently hired ) they and their families should NOT attend City Council meetings and so it began..

I have sat through 6 Administrations – dozens and dozens of different faces on council – I have grown old watching political game playing- complete and utter fiascos – I have seen division- wheeling and dealing- I have seen patience – I have seen the good – the bad – the ugly I have even seen my own council person( a few years back) fall asleep and then fall off the chair……

I have watched the business of legislation and the business of adminstration. I have watched when citizens speak at cross purposes with the people on the other side of the barrier.

There are times that I admire the patience with which “OUR” elected officials listen and deal with us.

You see WE don’t always KNOW the procedure, the terminology, the chain of command – we don’t live in the world of the politician – we jump into the government pool when we need help or have a concern.

Mostly we live our lives, and yes “bitch” on occasion, but we are there when they need more money and our votes and then they come looking for US!

I am not sure I should be writing under the influence of “anger” there maybe a Literary License “Cop” hanging around???

I attended the City Council Meeting Tuesday night in order to introduce to the Administration and Lorain City Council individuals who had been experiencing some very negative situations all caused by the City of Lorain.

And silly me I thought

if their elected representatives are aware of the situation they would do something to ease the way for these members of the tax paying public.

Their complaints were documented and legitimate.
I truly believed in bringing the big guns to bear would get action

However, I learned one or two things at that meeting.
One city council members were unaware of the controlled burn program-

WHY????????? DO THEY NOT READ THE BOARD OF CONTROL MINUTES TO FIND OUT WHAT THE BOARD OF CONTROL IS DOING?

After a little research on my part to see whose “idea” this partnership with Tri C was I found it in the BOC minutes .
Gilchrist ( Community Development) Krasienko ( Mayor) Dore ( Safety Director) with advice from the Fire Chief.

I also was chagrined to hear Mayor Krasienko in his explanation to Mr. Silecky negating the concerns of one of his citizens by questioning their integrity and worthiness of reporting what happened to them when contacting the City of Lorain Community Development Dept. A bad workman may blame his tools but good Mayor should never belittle a taxpayer

As bad as that was I was also upset with council members who knew these people were in the audience and were their constituents and they sat on their hands they didn’t even bring a pea shooter to bear – their constituents were silenced:

Artwork Chris Ritchey
YES I KNOW MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC CAN’T SPEAK AT REGULAR COUNCIL MEETINGS BUT

I also know that if a member of council calls for someone to speak they can as Mrs. Molnar did to Chief Brown- he had his say -the Mayor had his say- but the people who were most effected by this “controlled burn- were left to burn in enforced silence ….

original artwork idea – Sangrea

Somehow in this whole government cock up ( oops sorry back to the English again sorry) the city turned this from being a “COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT” issue into a LORAIN FIRE DEPT issue.

This was never about the burning it was about the taking down the eyesores left by the burning in a timely manner and getting answers!

It has now become about RESPECT and the lack thereof and once again “what were they thinking?

BUREAU OF GOVERNMENT COCK UPS AND LITERARY LICENSE EVALUATIONS- In order to lift the restrictions on your Literary License – please answer the following questions :

ONE Did your writing contain half-truths and inaccuracies? – NO

TWO Do you have witnesses and documentation? – YES

THREE Were you present at said scene? YES

FOUR Were you truthful? YES

Sorry THATWOMAN you failed your first Literary License Test. You are still under restriction

The “Visioning” of Lorain as seen by the see(rs)

Source – The WISHING box
There have been any number of “visionings” since I have lived in this ‘Old town” of Lorain. Each and every one touted by the participants/ administrations etc as the solution to our ills. ( none have come to pass).

I have copies of “visions” for “Portside/ Charleston Village” going back to 1975. ( none of those suggestions have happened either). However , maybe now the power plant etc has come down we can hope but if that vision takes another 30 years to come to reality -well I probably won’t be here to see it.

I am afraid after being on “community committees” for visioning since the one in 1993 , vision 2000 vision 2010 Welcome to OZ – the regional thinking report – the ERA report – the Staubach report
https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2008/01/31/there-is-a-surprise/

and beyond, the latest PSI facilitated community and leadership visioning felt at little like –

been there, done that- said that saw that where is the time line?-

Oh! right that was suggestion in the Staubach report and just how much cost did we that tax payers fork out for that report? Was that the one for 60 thousand or am I getting mixed up with the ERA report or maybe ????

Oh! all these reports and visions are clouding my vision- I can no longer see a difference.

This week the “future is glowing” according to some –

Envision Lorain unveiled: Plan stresses downtown, citizen outreach

http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2011/01/11/news/mj3948255.txt

The Editor of the Morning Journal, Tom Skoch, is behind the latest “vision”
OUR VIEW EDITORIAL: Making Envision Lorain a reality would be in everyone’s best interests

But cynical, jaded and lacking enthusiasm for another “visioning” as I am there is one whose rose coloured glasses have definitely gone to the dark side.

My Old buddy ( King) Cole – now of the Chronicle has “a visioning” of his own on the same day as the Morning Journal Editor. His vision is a little different as he peers into the future of Lorain-

Mayor Mike Scherach, the streets, the schools, the port and Attorney Giardini

you can see for yourself ( pun intended)

I cannot link to the on-line version, as the Cole Chronicle column seemingly only appears in the print edition.

Therefore, you my readers , will have to suffer the jpg version and any comments to the visionary should be directed to ‘John Cole” ctnews@chroniclet.com

Click on to enlarge – (but not Cole’s head that is big enough already) 😉

If you have difficulty reading the jpg the PDF file -such as it is -( you will have to enlarge and rotate) now now none of that – I know what you are thinking but the file can be found here
coledvision

The Media and The Blogger- ad- it- up

SOURCE- Dave Walker

Cartoon by Dave Walker

What is a blog? It depends on one’s perspective ( isn’t that always the way 😉 ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2005/02/05/what-is-a-blog/

In the beginning of my experience on the www. I had a website which I used to document my writings for “print media” so I could have easier access than all those magazines cluttering up everything in my attic. I retired from writing in 2005- (SIGH)

One of those web sites is still “hanging on” and still receives traffic and the owners of the site still run adverts. Another website I use quite regularly is the Charleston Village Website which is graciously hosted by Emerge . If you check out that website you will also see adverts. It is how the “hosts” bring in dollars to sustain their business. They host my writings and in turn ( hopefully for them) my readers read the ads, the more readers the more popular you are the more the advertisers pay to advertise and the more money the “host ” can charge.

This WordPress “BLOG” called “that woman blog” will have google ads from time to time- it is how WordPress recovers their costs of hosting a free blog. Now I could pay them to host my blog and the ads will go but I appreciate them being my host!

This “that woman blog” started back in January 2008– but that was not the beginning of my “blogging ” experience”. Initially I was introduced to the “blogging” world ( rather than my website world) by a Blogger/musician Scott Bakalar.

Scott was a “blogger”- he was documenting and venting on his blog “wordofmouthblogspot” the trials and tribulations he, as a resident of Lorain ,faced ( mainly his basement flooding problems). Scott contacted me to ask permission to use one of my articles that had been in print- thereby developed a relationship .

The blogging world caught my attention and eventually the WoM Blog was born- in its heyday there were “11 bloggers blogging and guest bloggers posting and hundreds of comments waiting and a partridge in a pear tree”.

Most bloggers blog about something that is of particular interest to them, politics, photography, sports, family, cooking, history , health, dogs, you name it people with a passion for their subject write about it on their blogs. etc .

This “that woman blog”- is like a blog on steroids-( just check the category list there are over 60 of them. What started out ( after leaving WoM) as a “finishing up on a follow through”soon became eclectic epistle of who I am , what I think at any given moment and a sharing of my experiences from Cra(p) documenting history , the British take, – Alsace-Lorraine to City of Lorain and in recent months exposing my innermost thoughts and pain to the world.
Source
When blogs first appeared the print media flew into a tizzy-

These bloggers are nothing but unsubstantiated writers of opinion- they aren’t journalists- puffed up with their own self importance.-They do nothing but comment of the work of “real journalists” – they don’t deserve respect …. etc etc.

http://blog.nj.com/njv_george_berkin/2009/05/bloggers.html

However, the “blogajournalists” started to make a difference and started to draw in a huge readership. People started to look to the bloggers for the “rest of the story” – even if most based their research on speculation and opinion. As the blogs grew so did their credibility. In a short period of time media was using the talent and tenacity displayed by bloggers to their advantage. Then came the dawn of the professional blogger who gets a stipend for their “blogs”

Note :This “post” comes from the standpoint of one of the criticisms leveled at bloggers – who just read what others are doing and comment- please bear that in mind – my thoughts on the following are from one who has observed from afar.

For many weeks now one local print media has been recruiting bloggers for their community media lab.
http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2010/12/13/news/doc4d04085d1dc3b978443516.txt

This is a good thing for the bloggers, it will mean hopefully that they will draw a larger audience to their blogs and therefore spread their thoughts wider as they are under the umbrella of a “host media” who can use their ability to advertise ( for free) to bring readers to their member blogs.
SOURCE

Initially I had the “Tell it to the Editor “ Blog link on my blog roll- but I took it off because the “editor” didn’t update regularly ( sorry Tom)
http://telltheeditor.blogspot.com/

The Morning Journal has decided to benefit its readers but giving them “citizens forum” so to speak – bit like the old WoM blog if the truth be known 🙂
http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2010/12/12/opinion/mj3828367.txt?viewmode=3

I was pleased to see the Daniel Brady blog as one of the “group”- he fills a niche in this area that is fascinating. And his writings are always based on facts.

But the little voice in me ( who used to be a journalist 🙂 ) nags a little-

What do those writers who have gone through Journalism 101 think about all this- after all from their perspective bloggers ( unless they too are paid???) are doing the research, the writing and the work for free-

now that may be a little worrying to the “professional journalist” but don’t fear the bloggers are saving you-

In the case of our local media ( The Plain Dealer also had this bloggers unite idea a few years ago with political blogs such as “Writes Like She Talks”) The bloggers get exposure through a “recognised media outlet” in turn the media outlet brings more “hits” to their “umbrella hosting” which in turn means they can tell their advertisers

We have so many more readership on our “site” we can now raise the advertising rates

which keeps the “mother organisation” able to pay the journalists and possibly allowing the professional journalist to now cover a specialized area and become yes! a pseudo TV reporter and camera person- another option open to the journalist 😉

So a partnership has evolved and a partnership is born . Who knew that those who were so pilloried just a few short years ago may now keep the “print” ???media afloat……..

Watch out channels 3,5,8,19 Cnn etc. the Mini Me Print Media is coming

Lorain Dude – Election Lorain 2010

Word had it that Nag Nog was not going to vote! Now there is one thing that I have learned on my short time on this planet (all of my 18 months) is that the right to vote has been fought for for a long long time. I was not going to let Nag Nog let the side down!

Mummy and I got into the car- I, of course in my special seat and insisted Nag Nog come with us to this special place where you can vote before voting day and you can vote early

Although Nag Nog pleaded that she hadn’t studied all the issues and didn’t want to “vote for the lesser of two evils” – Mummy and I struck whilst the iron was hot and Nag Nog wasn’t in her pajamas for once!

I have to say I was a little disappointed that I was 16 /12 years TOO EARLY and had to stay in the car with Nana whilst Mummy and Nag Nog voted hmmmmmmmm

wonder what the lesser of two evils means anyway?

NAG NOG NOTE:
So , yes, in order to set a good example , I went and voted. Since I haven’t been too involved with the information pouring through my mail box (not that I pay too much attention to those anway- “the only thing you can’t spin is a suppository”),
For the first time I had NO clear idea of how I was going to vote.

I hadn’t done my homework. There were one or two races for which I had a preference and one or two issues but the rest- apart from not voting for anyone who was unopposed ( Stewart and Betleski etc) for example.

And if I really wasn’t sure which way to go – I didn’t – then it was a case of eenie/ meenie…. not a format I would endorse but best I could do ……..

So there you have it an “uneducated voter voted”!

AND if my one vote is the tipping point either way don’t blame me – it was all the Lorain Dude’s fault 🙂
HOWEVER YOU CAN VOTE FOR THE KIDS AND IT WON’T COST YOU A PENNY

The Longfellow News Crew wrote a Bing grant for at least $50,000 or more to try for a new production studio and it has been accepted at the first level. Now we have moved to the second level to get ratings.

We need your help, please, to rate our need at our school. We have until Oct. 26th to improve our rating and the school with the highest ratings win. The students worked very hard to put together this grant and we really need the studio moved into the digital age of technology.
Please click on the link below to our grant or if you have problems click the link at the bottom on 7-9 grade level on page 3 project number 1883 Title of the grant Longfellow Needs a New Production Studio

In order to rate our school you will have to log in first.

http://ourschoolneeds.discoverbing.com/projects/default.aspx?prj=1883#fbid=HoUtKk6mTII&wom=false

http://ourschoolneeds.discoverbing.com

LE -Brawn- is Gawn! Thank Gawd!!!

Duck on a Rock

Ok ! I admit it – I don’t like Basketball, could care less about the sport, although some male acquaintances ( including a certain son-in-law) are big fans. I, for one am glad this King of the Court has finally made his decision! I was becoming nauseated by the coverage.

I never could get into this game ( sorry if I have upset 3/4 of the American population) even though the game was invented by a Canadian

Dr. James Naismith is known world-wide as the inventor of basketball. He was born in 1861 in Ramsay township, near Almonte, Ontario, Canada. The concept of basketball was born from Naismith’s school days in the area where he played a simple child’s game known as duck-on-a-rock outside his one-room schoolhouse. The game involved attempting to knock a “duck” off the top of a large rock by tossing another rock at it.

http://www.kansasheritage.org/people/naismith.html

Quite frankly it may have been a ploy to undermine those who ditched the King back in 1776 and pay them back ( conspiracy theorist feel free to jump in ) After all instead of Basketball ( a Canadian invention) and Baseball ( Oh yes that old English game of “rounders”), the Americans might have found the love of real football ( soccer) instead of American Football . We have long memories and retaliation is a dish best served cold . Those of the loyalist colonies may have found a way to break your will and spirit after all – Goodbye King James 😉

by Goya

Personally I find this LeBron media debacle and the hand wringing and beating of chests because of one , albeit apparently talented superstar of being able to put a ball in a hoop, absolutely mind-boggling that his playing status merits breaking news not only locally but nationally and internationally . Is it any wonder this young man has a big head and an ego worthy of a colossus.

Television/ Radio coverage reminiscent of the opening hours of the Gulf War in importance, errrrr sorry but we really need to take a good look at ourselves if this is the most important newstory to come out of this country. MSM and bloggers consider yourselves slapped up side the head.

YOU made him this “icon” – this young man – YOU have given him riches beyond the ken of 95% of the USA, YOU have stuffed him full of his own self importance , YOU held rallys for him, phone a thons – this is a just a young man that is all- not a god -not a saviour of our sins -not the next coming – not the one who will cure our ills.

Hell! even the President of the United States of America- arguably the most powerful man in the world chimed in…and errrrr that is another thing Mr. President – I don’t want you playing golf, mentoring LeBron I want you doing something about what is happening in the GULF not Golf and in on the “world court ” not the basketball court.

Granted – LeBron is a commodity , brings in loads of dollars -why – is he a tangible asset like manufacturing? No! he is an intangible because what he does is put a round ball in a hoop and apparently well but when he stops doing that and we must all cry Cleveland’s doom! (Roll the tragic music cue here )

Now we have the Traitor Talks Channel 19 Cleveland and Is LeBron the new Benedict Arnold ( oops could it be that dish best served cold again 😉
http://www.cleveland.com/sportsnetwork/index.ssf/2010/07/cleveland_bloggers_on_lebron_j.html

He is not a King ( not sure many Kings get as much coverage) he is not invincible , he isn’t even very articulate. He can run and jump and play with a ball but apparently Cleveland and Ohio are dooooooooooooooommmmmmmed because he won’t be running and jumping and playing with a ball with a bunch of other runners and jumpers and hoop aficionados.

ERRRRRR People there is something wrong here and it is something that says a lot about what we have become and what our media has become .

But if it makes everyone feel better it won’t last long , the abuse his body will take , the aging process, the lack of adoration on his phsyche will take its toll I promise and guess what there will be another overpaid , over adored, runner , jumper and hoop player to save Cleveland or then again maybe not- maybe Cleveland and Ohio need to chill and focus on the real issues and not “Hoop Dreams” .

And No I won’t be putting up his picture he has had enough exposure 🙂

Now about those bunch of overpaid prima donnas that couldn’t hit a cow’s bum with a banjo – namely the England team – you were pants and couldn’t thread a pass together for toffee!

COW-elle – Are you ready?

Robert Seymour -1878

Is polite society ready for COW-elle to come to the picnic? 🙂

Simon Cowell, the icon of American Idol made the American TV audiences sit up wide-eyed and incredulous with his ” style of critique”
From Times Online May 3, 2007
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article1743452.ece

Simon Cowell’s most vicious American Idol insults
(AP)

Is he a spiteful, malicious little man with ludicrously white teeth? Or is he a great wit who saves America’s top-rated show from becoming an all-out love-in?
I presume there was no mirror in your dressing room tonight.”

“Shave off your beard and wear a dress. I think you’d be a great female impersonator”

“Did you really believe you could become the American Idol? Well, then, you’re deaf.”

“You have just invented a new form of torture”

“If you had lived 2,000 years ago and sung like that, I think they would have stoned you.”

“You have the personality of a handle.”

“I’m tempted to ask if you sang that the night before your wife left you.”

Love him or hate him, he took his niche and ran with it all the way to the bank and the ratings.

This blog , has no ratings, no money, no prestige upon which to support a lifestyle. It is just me and a few guests. I write under my own name , they are my opinions as I see things at the time of writing. Sometimes my opinions have changed and some are definitely couched in terms where you have to be able to read between the lines or be party to the “back story” .

I have taken issue with people who insult, destroy people’s reputations because they can under “nom de plumes” , given them the white feather of cowardice upon occasion.

My family and some friends – the few I have left 🙂 know a caustic and irreverent side of me shared with them from time to time. You may have seen some of that on the “Old WoM”. https://thatwoman.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/revisionist-history-by-omission/

I jokingly said to one who comments on this blog when discussing the “sock puppets and nom de plume posters” that maybe I should consider a reverse format:

“Yeah it could be a reverse twist on the sock puppet and nom de plume posters instead of reading the “blog post” and trying to guess the author you will know who the author is ( Me) and try to guess the “subject “

But are you ready for me to be a “Cow” of the “she” variety – do people really want to hear the unvarnished truth as I see it?

We play the guessing game as to who the nom de plumes really are – sometimes that misfires, as it did with me when thinking a detractor coming on WoM was one person and making an accusation as to the identity on that blog only to find out that infact it was someone completely different.

I try now not to get caught up in the “who is the mouth behind the name”. BUT I have to admit I have fallen back into that game a couple of times and I have to remind myself not to.

Thinking about “Cow-elle” would the fact I wouldn’t be naming the person who would be the target of MY truth cause distress to others who may erroneously be misidentified by readers. And, if I made it too plain as to who the MY truth target actually is – wouldn’t that be defeating the purpose of the exercise?

We will see but I will say this if COW-elle does surface some people are in for a hell of a bumpy ride 🙂