Simply Priceless. You really want to watch this one. Will Frey and Austin Zenhder are famous. Infamous even.

Just a question... When did wanting to see small businesses have a fighting chance against bloated multinationals and wanting to see that ordinary people have a living wage and a place to live and enough to eat and not have to fear that an illness will beggar them become socialism? And if that is socialism, what's so horrible about it? - Gillian Cameron

Calogrenant Week 2, July 23, 2012

Victimizing the victims - instead of the perpetrators . . .

I am a survivor of Sexual Assault, which in most states in a first degree felony.  My now late husband used power, privilege and money every step of the way to fight from having the light of truth shined on his miserable soul. At every turn he used the courts against me to keep me from having any real closure or protection from his ongoing actions.  Six some odd years ago he died while fighting our divorce. He was found in contempt of court repeatedly for violations of retraining orders, failure to appear and continuing to stalk me. He didn't even get a slap on the wrist.  His death was the only closure I got.  I had to find out about it second hand.  My lawyer who'd been notified by the court that the divorce was dismissed because Earl died didn't bother to contact me. A Friend called to let me know when she heard from one of my husband's friends that he had died.

I've often said rapists and sexual predators should be put to death.  But you know, I'm not completely sure about that anymore, because frankly, Earl got off easy and "escaped" for now, the consequences of his actions.

Regrettably, we live in a rape culture.  Where rapists, and sexual predators are protected while their victims continue to get victimized.

Recently a young woman in Kentucky was sexually assaulted and had pictures of her assault spread to the four winds BY THE two men that committed the assault.  It took a year to get the matter into court, and rather than fighting the charges and getting a real sentence, they made a plea arrangement with the court to get what amounts to a slap on the wrist. Outraged, she tweeted their names and what had happened.

So guess who is likely to wind up in jail? The victim!

Savannah Dietrich, 17-Year-Old Sexual Assault Victim, Faces Charge For Naming Attackers

Once again the victim being victimized instead of the perpetrators.  So I did some digging, and managed to catch more of the information and most importantly, the names and pictures of the two CONVICTED SEX OFFENDERS that attacked Savannah.

First up we have Austin Zehnder of Kentucky:

Austin Zehnder - Convicted Of First Degree Sexual Assault, A Felony.

Don't you just love those eyes? That winning smile? The hardened chiseled features? Ruggedly handsome or lifelong sociopath.  My money is on the later.

Next up we have Will Frey III also of Kentucky:

Will Frey III - Convicted Of First Degree Sexual Assault, A Felony.

Another award winning specimen of humanity here.  These men Sexually Assaulted Savannah in Kentucky and posted PICTURES of the act electronically. They violated a young woman without her consent for their own deviant needs and BRAGGED about it to friends and online.  They were convicted of First Degree Sexual Assault, A FELONY and given a slap on the wrist while Savannah, rightfully upset and violated may go to jail for letting the world know who these men are?  By a FEMALE judge no less.

Once again, Victimizing the victims instead of the perpetrators. Way to go America.  Savannah, we are your sisters and we stand with you.

Calogrenant begins!

My dear friend, brilliant artist, and talented story teller Gillian Cameron of Mythcongeniality has undertaken a new weekly comic set in an around Camelot.  Having been a big fan of anything to do with the old Legend, and or stories based around it, Calogrenant gives us a whole new twist on one of the Knights of King Arthur's round table.  So with great pleasure, I give you the first two pages of this young Knight's adventure.

Now this is what I call progress!

Today, while running errands, I came through an intersection that I'd not really paid attention to in a while.  Or it could be the new glasses giving me a different enough view of the world that I'm seeing more.  Or it could be all the meditation and being instead of doing.  It could be all of the above.

Or it could just be that it's Friday the thirteenth?

Whatever the case may be, I noticed something different about the intersection.  Something changed, new, missing.

Here is the intersection a year ago:

The above image was taken from Google Maps which still shows the Taco Bell Restaurant clearly there. This is from the Galbraith side of the space.  When I moved here in 2008, that's the way the corner looked right up until last year when Taco Bell closed.  When I saw that it had closed I kinda groaned. We all know about urban sprawl.  The obsession with paving over and building on every bit of property till there's nothing natural left. Here's the intersection from the Winton road side:

Today however was a very different story.  The restaurant, parking, blacktop, the blight, was gone and in it's place, grass and trees!  I'm thrilled and amazed.  Progress, in the right direction!  I mean really, planting grass, trees, and shrubs?  Holy Hannah!!!  This is something to cheer about in my book.

Given that my last "profile" picture was taken I think last year - maybe - I decided that a fresh one was in order.  That and of course the fact that I'm now rockin the librarian look, I figured what the heck right?

So as I'm sitting here working away on the computer I thought it was time. To the right, the result. Untouched, unprocessed, and without make-up of any kind is me in natural light. I'm sitting in front of a nice large window that looks out over sky and trees.  So the light was good for a shot.  On the wall, boring stuff like a calendar, a map of the Little Miami Scenic Trail that runs through Ohio, a place I enjoy riding now and then, and a reminder for workouts.  Namely that if you can sing while working out, you're not working hard enough.  Something a friend told me when I was giving thought to upgrading my heart rate monitor.  So there you have it. Short post, new picture, and a smile.

Lucid Dreaming meets Quantum Jumping . . .

So if you go snuffling about on the web you can find all sorts of bits and pieces on the concepts of both Lucid Dreaming and Quantum Jumping.  I will let you chose to chase those down if you are of a mind and just close over what they are.

Lucid dreaming in short is the ability to direct dreams. Instead of being an observer taken by the dream where your subconcious mind would take you, one is an active participant, and is offered the chance to go in dream space where you wish.

Quantum Jumping simply put is quite literally surfing the multiverse for other nows, thens, and whens.  Everything that possibly can exist, does exist, somewhere and time is just an illusion.

Often I have dreams that are either Lucid in nature, or Quantum in nature, last night was the first time the two meshed quite unexpectedly and seamlessly.

I found myself standing next to Jumper One, in the parking lot of Catherine's Confections in Great Barrington Massachusetts.  A place I know and love, but do not often get to, especially these days when I'm over a thousand miles from there.  In any case, I'm standing there, the day is wonderful and I don't have a bag with me.  I could either go in, get some of their fudge, or head on out to other places.  In fact I realized I was stopping there as I was taking the back way to Stockbridge to go hunting for a church that I'm not sure I've lost. That's a topic for another post.  So in any case, I of course chose to go inside to get some fudge.

What happened next was fascinating to say the least.

My sister P, who passed from this world into the next four years ago looked up from behind the counter, smiled and said "Hey Sis" as she was helping another customer.  A flood of memories opened themselves to me and I remembered that in this part of time space, her life, and mine, had gone very differently and she was obviously still alive.  "D" she hollered over her shoulder "Customer" and said I'll be with you in a bit.

So this really good looking guy walks out of the back room, gives me a smile I'd know anywhere, and says "Can I help you Ms?"  The stunned look on my face wasn't missed by my sister who gave me a wink and a smile as she finished ringing up her customer.

Looking around for Alan Funt, or one of those "I get that all the time" cameras I stammered "Dillon McDermot, as I live and breath, what are YOU doing here?"

Shock, then a blank look on his face, then a "Yes I am, how did you know my name? I'm new here, P just hired me."

My sister also surprised said "Dillon, I'd like you to meet my sister Sam, but I guess you two already know each other?"

Looking at both of them I manage "This is a joke right?" Then it hits me, no, no joke, my sister is still alive so anything is possible and I'm somewhere else.  Here he's not the famous actor, here he's not known to some as the guy that managed to do a respectable job of following in Jimmy Stewart's shoes.  Here he's just a guy working at a Confectionery.  I pause for dramatic effect, decide to share some of what his life became somewhere else.  He looks at me like I'm crazy and says "What the hell am I doing here then? Are you kidding me? How can this be possible if I'm working here and hardly anyone knows me?" Then as an aside to my sister "Sorry P, it's nothing personal, I appreciate the job, but I've always wondered what my life could be if I wasn't so ... normal?"

She looks at Dillon and says "D, my sister is special, she's always known things and sometimes she shares. Life could be very different in other places and times and she can see them all. Years ago, she saw what life could be, warned us, told our family what was going to happen. If I, we'd not listened, I'd be four years dead now.  You're looking at a woman that died four years ago somewhere else. I'd be lying if I said I understood it, but my sister is like my Mom, some kind of magical being or something.  I learned years ago to just roll with it. Maybe you two should talk more, see what she can tell you about you somewhere else. Maybe you could get out of here, have a different life. It's all up to you. But I know if that my sister knows you, and shares things that may seem incredible, you might want to listen.  For now, she's my sister and we're going to have some lunch."

It was great day. It was cool seeing P healthy, happy and living a life she wouldn't have otherwise ever had. Possibly the best part from my perspective is we'd stayed best of friends, the trauma and pain of our lives never cost us our relationship, or her - both of us - our lives.  It was kinda cool. After lunch with my sister I had lunch (again) with Dillon and I encouraged him to take charge of his life. Rekindle his dream of acting. It was really nice. Got to spread the hope around some. Even shared with him the hit series he stared in, what it was about, some highlights, the whole nine yards.

Dreams teach, but they also give us the chance to spread our wings and fly.  Typically in Quantum Jumping, one finds out about their own life and how they can make it better, different.  They get to share information about themselves.  In this one, I was all at once me, and the alternate me that I'd been, was being in that part of time and space. I decided to stay a few days in town with my sister, it was time well spent.