Disney Rudeness Makes For Neat Shot

     I was not sure where to put this post but decided this miscellaneous thoughts blog would be the best place since this is where I posted the picture of which I speak.

    I complain a lot when at Disneyland about the rude people who put their kids on their heads during shows. They seem to think that their kids make a good window, they think that those behind them can see through their kids. That is how it seems. We've been stuck behind some of these rude people many times. 

     One time while we were trying to watch Fantasmic the people in front of us put their kids on their shoulders. We asked them to put them down or hold them at eye level. The people got mad and said that their kids wanted to see the show, for some reason they thought we didn't want to see the show. Go figure, we waited in line to watch, stood there, paid our entrance to the park but didn't' really want to see the show. People are very thoughtless sometimes. We ended up leaving because there was no point to stay and watch the back of a child's head.

     Another time while trying to watch The World of Color a man put his child on his shoulders. We asked him to please put the child down and he apologized and did. He said he wasn't thinking. Others kept theirs up but he was thoughtful and considerate.

     I must say though that there is one time, and one time only that this rude behavior was beneficial. That time is in the shot I used for this blog. The way the children are holding their arms is like they are making a tribute to the beautiful World of Color. So for in this one shot, rude behavior was a positive thing.

Facebook Relationships, Real or Memorex?

     There used to be this saying when I was younger, actually it was a commercial for Memorex video tapes. The commercial showed someone talking and then it would show someone talking on TV, the same person, saying the same things. Then they would mention how you could not tell if it was real or Memorex. It meant that the Memorex copy was so clear that it was hard to distinguish it from the real person talking. So, when I think of something that seems to be real but might not be I like to use that saying, "is it real or Memorex?" simply asking if it is true or false...get it? 


     Facebook makes me wonder much of the time whether they are real or Memorex. I often see these posts of a perfect life on sociail media and I wonder if the people really have these rose garden type of lives. Their kids are always perfect, the husband or wife is always perfect and well, life is perfect. Then you see the person in real life and things are not quite as they seem. Of course we never know what goes on behind closed doors but still you wonder if anything can be that peachy keen.  I believe in every world a little rain must fall. I just find it hard to believe things are so perfect all the time. 

    Then there are the doom and gloom posts. The ones where nothing in life is ever good. It is so dismal and dreary. Funny thing is that many times the doom and gloom comes from the same people the very next day so, again is it real or not? 

    I really don't think most people are truly themselves on social media. It is a place where folks can vent, rant and be who they want to be with the perfect life we all wish we had.  I would like to think that those perfect posts are for real but I always wonder if it is real or Memorex?

     Disclaimer: This blog was not intended to hurt anyone, it was not written with anyone in mind. It was written partly for fun and partly because these are things I do wonder about from time to time.

Guns are Not the Only Weapons Used in Mass Murder Attempts

       Yesterday a woman for unknown reasons ran her car into several pedestrians in Las Vegas, Nevada. This tragedy really bothers me. It also goes to show if people want to kill, they will find a way. The woman who did this intentionally tried to kill at least 40 people with her car. I will not name her because she does not deserve any kind of public attention and I will not give her that glory.

     When I first heard about the tragedy of course, my heart went out those injured. So far, one person is dead which is heartbreaking. Over 30 others were injured and three in critical condition. I am was, and am, sad for their families. I also feel for them because they will never be able to walk down the street again without the fear of harm. I mean, who would have thought of being plowed down on the sidewalk. I sure would not have.  It will haunt them all for the rest of their lives I am sure. That breaks my heart. The woman who was killed, 32-year-old Jessica Valenzuela, will never walk down a street again. Her family will never see her again. That is sad, it is tragic, and it is horrific.

     My next thought after hearing about this tragedy was “well I guess they need to ban cars now”. I mean whenever there is a mass tragedy involving a gun the politicians and media are all calling out for gun bans and gun control. It is all you hear about for days. There has not really been much said about this tragedy, many people have not even heard about it. Granted I am glad for that because I believe the media making criminals famous is a huge part of the problem facing our society today. However, I wonder where the advocates are now.  I mean this is a mass murder attempt, the woman tried to kill many people with her car. She used her car as a weapon for mass destruction. Where are all of the advocates for that? How do you advocate this particular tragedy really? How do we heal the sick society we live in where people want to kill just for the sake of killing?

     Of course, realistically we cannot ban cars, that is silly. A car cant’ kill unless people get behind the wheel and drive it into others. On the other hand, guns cannot kill unless people shoot them. This tragedy shows how tools other than guns can be used to commit mass injuries and possible murder. No amount of gun control or gun bans could have prevented this mass tragedy. The woman might have tried to get a gun and couldn’t so, she used her car to cause others harm instead. If that is not the case in this incident, it might be in another. Guns are not the only weapon that can kill, guns are not the only weapon people can use to commit mass murder, so as a society maybe we need to stop blaming the tools used to commit these heinous crimes and blame the person or people responsible

Morning Cup of Coffee...Grouchy People Make it Hard to Smile in Their Presence

     So many times through life I have been around people who are well, just grouchy all of the time. Everything sets them off. You never know what might make them grumpy, it can be soemthing as simple as a speck of dust on a lens. When you say sometthing to them about being grouchy they just tell you that they don't mean it toward you. However what they do not realize is that, even though their grouchiness it is not aimed toward you, you are the one who gets to hear and see the tirade, so it bothers you. People really need to stop and realize that we all struggle and we all have problems. It is much easier to deal with those problems if you smile. If someone is always grouchy around you it makes it so hard to keep smiling. 

     Life is hard enough, people being grouchy all the time makes it even harder. Everyone has struggles and life can be rough, but being grouchy to others and walking around with a chip on your shoulder all the time does not help you at all and makes you the walking on egg shell kind of person...that person who everyone feels the need to walk on eggshells when around because they are always in such a bad mood in which has many triggers and well, no one knows what those triggers will be. Life is much easier if people are not grouches all the time.

     So my morning thought is ......be a pleasant person to be around, not a grump. 

Morning Cup of Coffee Thoughts: Be True to Your Word and Mean it When Apologizing

      I am not going to write a morning cup of coffee thought every day and sometimes my "morning cup of coffee" thought will be at night but, I just think that sounds good...so I have two today. My "morning cup of coffee" are just thing that are on my mind, sometimes for a reason and sometimes just random. Other times I think of things after watching something on TV or watching a movie. These two today are ones that happen in all our lives and we all need to try our hardest to make sure we are always true to our word and mean it when apologizing.

     So here are my "morning cup of coffee" thoughts today.  Be true to your word. If you tell someone you are going to do something, do it! Granted things do happen and we make promises that are hard to keep but, try your best to keep your word because really your word is all people have to go on. It determines your character. If you are someone who constantly breaks your word, or just says things because they sound good at the time or you want something from someone else...people become wise to that and realize they can never take you on your word.  Be ta person whose word means something!

  
     Mean it when you apologize, don't just say you are sorry so that others won't be mad at you, don't just say it to get your way, say it because you really mean it and if you are sorry, show it. Showing it means trying your hardest to change the thing you are sorry for. If you just say you're sorry and never make an effort to change it is hard for people to forgive and forget because the apology is just an empty phrase. A person never knows if you are sincere unless you show it.

I Want to Earn For Online Writing, Not Online Socializing

     Thee are a lot of sites out there where you can write and earn money still but, you really are not earning for your writing skills on those sites, you earn because you socialize. People aren't drawn to your actual work unless you chit chat a lot. Well for the serous writer that is not really earning for writing. Writing does need advertising but not this constant requirement for the chit chat and socializing to earn. If you have to earn that way then really you are not earning based in what you write and the quality of work you put out there, you are earning baaed on how much time you have to sit in front of the computer and socialize.

     When I first started writing online I wrote for some amazing sites. Associated Content paid for each article and then also residual income based on views that were recieved for each piece. They did not purchae your work unless it met certain guidelins and was something that would draw traffic. You did not have to connect wiht hundreds of other members to earn money. You earned only on the quality of your work.

     Helium was the same way, you did not have to socialize to earn, you wrote, they accepted and the earning began. They accepted lower quality work than Associated at first but later held writers to higher standards.

     I wrote for other content sites too and loved the work. I was making some decent money and know if I had spent more time writing I would have made even more.

     Then along came sites like Bubblews, you wrote posts and all were accepted unless they violated terms of service. There were no quality expectations, anyone could post and it could be complete dribble. The key there was socialization. Well for the serious writer it was fun but not what we are all about.  I did enjoy earning money there but as time progressed they frowned at quality writing more and more, I got tired of the dribble and stopped wasting time there. They also stopped paying well enough to make it worth my time.

     The sites where I earned money for my content seem to all be gone. I have looked and looked for sites like that but now the only way to earn writing online is if you have a lot of time to sit and socialize. I do not have that kind of time and just can't work twelve hour days so I can make a few dollars a day. I won't continue writing for sites where the focus is on my socialization rather than my talent.

     For me now, I will blog for fun and continue to submit my quality work to hard copy magazines and also magazines online. Sadly I think the online writing, content sites are gone which makes me sad.

Remembering 9/11 as a Nation United

       I remember exactly what I was doing on 9/11, I remember watching the horror unfold live.It was heartbreaking for me and I did not know any of those who died. I can only imagine how it was for those who lost loved ones on that day. It was also very scary to have an attack of that magnitude happen on our soil. I also felt the sense of unity and love in our nation on that day and many that followed. We were a nation united, sadly united in grief but also in determination that we would do whatever it takes to prevent something so horrific from ever happening again on our soil.  
     
     As I see all of the tributes on the news and on Facebook many things go through my mind.  The main thing on my mind though is even though we should honor all those who lost their lives that day, I wonder if the ones who lost loved ones on that day really want to remember that day? I wonder if they really want to see all of the footage of that day every time they turn on the news or get on facebook? I know it makes my heart hurt to see the footage and it makes my heart hurt seeing the pictures of the burning buildings...and I lost no loved ones that day. So, if I had lost a loved one I am not sure I could handle reliving the grief of that day again every year.  I am pretty sure I couldn't handle it. 

     That being said, my feelings are that I will honor those who died on that day, pray for those they left behind and I think that what we should remember is the unity we felt in our great nation in the midst of such great tragedy. Right after we were attacked, we became a Nation United, that is what we need to remember as we honor those who lost their lives that day. We need to remember those who rushed to their aid, those who were quick to respond to the needs of the loved ones and  the love that we felt as a country that night, the love we felt for each other. I remember that love, I remember how so many prejudices just fell away and we all united together that day.  That is my tribute to September 11, 2001.

    God Bless our great nation and may He comfort those who were touched personally by this great tragedy those many years ago.