Tag Archives: humour

Saturday Surprise — On Sunday!!!

Posted on by under animals, Humour, music, Saturday Surprise

Okay, I was trying to come up with some elaborate and convoluted reason that Saturday Surprise is happening on Sunday, one day late.  But, while I have got an imagination, it seemed to fail me here, so I am going to come clean and admit that on Friday night, as I was writing my post for Saturday morning, I completely forgot what day of the week it was.  I worked along on my post about the meeting between East and West, popped it into Word Press, proofread, fixed the pictures, scheduled it for 3:00 a.m., then went to bed, where I fell almost immediately asleep with a book on my stomach and a bottle of water in my hand.  I awakened on Saturday morning at about 7:00 a.m., and my very first thought was “Oh crap … it’s Saturday morning!!!”  Well, not much to be done at that point, so I decided to make it a Sunday morning Saturday Surprise.  Please forgive my strangeness, forgetfulness, and all my other ‘ness-es’, for it has been a strange few weeks and I am still a bit boggled.

I recently discovered a website, Tedium, that has some fun things from time to time, and when I was cruising through there yesterday evening in search of something humorous, I came across a piece about ‘sniglets’.  You all know what a sniglet is, right?  I use them all the time.  The official definition is a word that isn’t in the dictionary, but should be.  You are dying to know, of course, where the sniglet got its start, right?

Do you guys remember the HBO program, Not Necessarily The News in the 1980s?  It featured sketches, parody news items, commercial parodies, and humorous bits made from overdubbing or editing actual news footage. It was based on the British series, Not the Nine O’Clock News, and was where Conan O’Brien first got his start.  One segment by comedian Rich Hall, was called ‘Sniglets’ and quickly became one of the most popular segments of the show.  Here’s a clip …

Sniglets became so popular, in fact, that merchandise included a board game, a word-a-day calendar, mugs imprinted with especially popular sniglets, a syndicated daily comic panel, and six sniglets books, three of which were New York Times best-sellers.  You can find them on Amazon, by the way.  Here are a few of my favourites …

  • Snackmosphere: the pocket of air found inside snack and/or potato chip bags.
  • Flopcorn: the unpopped kernels left in a bag of microwave popcorn.
  • Napjerk: a sudden convulsion of the body just before falling asleep.
  • Expresshole: A person that brings more than 20 items to the express lane in the store.
  • Anticiparcellate: Waiting until the mailman is several houses down the street before picking up the mail, so as not to appear too anxious.
  • Arachnidiot: A person, who, having wandered into an “invisible” spider web begins gyrating and flailing about wildly.
  • Carperpetuation: The act, when vacuuming, of running over a string or a piece of lint at least a dozen times, reaching over and picking it up. I do this one ALL the time!!!

(Hey Herb — now you have a word for Tom!)

You can find a list of more sniglets on Google.

Miss Goose sent me this one yesterday afternoon from Bored Panda  .  The headline reads

89-Year-Old Japanese Grandma Discovers Photography, Can’t Stop Taking Hilarious Self-Portraits Now

“Most people think that technology is for young people, but nobody told Kimiko Nishimoto that. She’s an 89-year-old Japanese grandma who’s been snapping and editing her own pictures for the last 17 years, and as you can see below, her style is certainly unique!

She didn’t get into photography until she was 72 years old. Her son was teaching a beginner’s course and so she decided to enroll, unaware that she was about to awake a passion and a talent she never even knew she had. She instantly fell in love with photography and set about snapping various quirky and comical self-portraits. She had her first solo exhibition ten years later, at a local museum in her home town of Kumamoto, and now she’s about to have her work exhibited at Tokyo’s Epson epsite imaging gallery.” 

I love these pictures and think you will too!  So much better than sitting home watching Duck Dynasty, eh?

This is just wrong…. isn’t it better to hang wet grandmas by their feet?

Just one last thing before you go get started on your Saturday Sunday funday … what would Saturday Surprise be without at least one cute animal picture?

Mama and Baby

Cute Sloth

Cute Monkey

 

 

 

Okay folks … I hope I made up for missing yesterday and that you can find it in your hearts to forgive me!  Now go have a wonderful weekend … what’s left of it!

NO POLITICS MONDAY!!!!

Posted on by under Humour, Random

Good Monday to all!  I don’t know about you, but personally, I am suffering a case of “political overload” at the moment, after Saturday’s primaries and caucuses, Sunday’s debate, and all the Trumpola thrown in my face for the last several days/weeks/months. Mondays are tough enough without adding angst to the equation. So, I decided today I would find other, more fun and interesting things to write about before returning to wading through the muck on the morrow.  Here are a few brief blurbs I ran across in my journeys through the netherworld.

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The Guinness World Record book is famous for some of its oddball categories.  Bet you didn’t know there is even one for the loudest burp!  That record was broken by an Australian man who says it was the fulfillment of his lifelong dream. (The Week, 2016)  How loud was his burp?  110.6 decibels or louder than a motorcycle or power saw from three feet away.  “It’s been a bit of a goal from when I was a kid,” he says.  He credits his success to regular training sessions with carbonated drinks, including beer. There are also categories for the loudest female burp and for loudest fart.  Okay … well, um … moving along now …

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A 16-year-old kid teaching a group of 70+ seniors to take selfies?  Well, it seems like an idea that just might catch on!  How many of us over a certain age have to ask our kids or grandkids to help us with our phones, computers and other 21st century devices?  Back in the day (I’m not saying which day), I could rebuild a computer, but these days, I cannot even make the DVD player display closed captioning without the assistance of my granddaughter.  A young man, Christian Magnuson, volunteered to help out at a retirement home (I like this kid already!), where he noticed that most of the residents had smartphones, but they were at a loss as to how to do much more than turn them on.  I can relate … until recently I couldn’t figure out how to make a call on mine though I could text like a pro!  Anyway, Christian, age 16, started teaching a weekly class to teach the seniors such things as taking pictures (including selfies), changing ringtones, texting, and what all those little icons mean.  He is also teaching them about something called “Siri” … whatever the heck that is!  I think I am the one who needs his classes.  Two thumbs up to this young man!  (Bahrampour, 2016)

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R.I.P. Nancy Reagan.  While I frequently disagreed with Ronald Reagan’s policies and ideology, Nancy Reagan was a gracious First Lady.  She brought to the White House a sense of style, but, more importantly, graciousness, a gentleness, warmth, and charm.

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Two brothers in Florida both won the lottery on the same day, but with separate tickets!  What are the odds, you ask?  The two brothers, James and Bob Stocklas, had been vacationing in Florida when, as they were heading back to their home in Pennsylvania, they each bought a lottery ticket.  Their winnings?  Well, James won $291 million while Bob won a whopping $7.  But never fear … James plans to share.  “We’ve been laughing a lot about it, he doesn’t need to worry about nothing,” James told the New York Daily News. “Family’s family. He’s not going to worry about anything.” (Moran, 2016)

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butterfly and bee

Of butterflies and bees … one is in decline, but the other is making a comeback.  First, the good news:  the Monarch Butterfly population has more than tripled this year, after multiple years of decline.  Credit goes to a joint effort between Mexico, the U.S. and Canada for planting more milkweed plants, and cracking down on illegal logging.  Now the really bad news:  the honeybee population, which has been decreasing since at least 2006, has decreased by some 70% in Iowa, the Dakotas, Montana and Minnesota, and by 50% in California. There seems to be no single cause, but a complicity of climate changes, pesticide and fungicide over-use, genetically altered crops and other man-made causes.  This is critical because “no other single animal species plays a more significant role in producing the fruits and vegetables that we humans commonly take for granted yet require near daily to stay alive”. http://www.globalresearch.ca/death-and-extinction-of-the-bees/5375684.  Albert Einstein once prophetically remarked, “Mankind will not survive the honeybees’ disappearance for more than five years.”  Many efforts are underway to achieve a solution to this problem … let us hope it works!

Filosofa Says a Huge “THANK YOU!”

Posted on by under Personal

Last week, I was in a bit of a quandary, as I wondered if perhaps my posts were becoming too dark, to depressing, and readers might prefer that I try to lighten up a bit.  So I put out a post asking for suggestions, opinions, anything to help me ‘take the pulse’ so to speak, of those who honour me by reading my blog.

I want to take a moment to tell you all that I am humbled beyond belief by the outpouring of positive comments.  Since I posted that on Saturday, I have received so much support … some of your comments brought tears to my eyes (the good kind) and others made me grin ear-to-ear.  Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I gave much thought to the direction of my blog.  When I first started writing this blog, I was writing primarily book reviews and started the blog as an additional venue for my reviews.  I am not really sure how it evolved into what it is today … it seems to have a mind of its own and just found this path!  When I decided to expand from book reviews and the occasional pithy mind-wandering post, my goal was to write about social injustices around the globe.  And I have done some of that … I was seeking my niche, I think.  And then came June 2015, when a man whom I have always found to be disgusting threw his hat in the ring for the 2016 presidential race.  At first, I wrote about him because I saw his candidacy as a joke, so I mocked and wrote satirical pieces.  Then it became obvious that he was being taken seriously, and my writing began taking on a new life … a darker course.  And here we are today, nearly two years later.

A combination of my own soul-searching and the wonderful comments I received have convinced me that I am on the path I need and want to be on, for now anyway.  It is not really a matter of whether I want to change the things I write about or my tone … it is a matter of I cannot.  I am what I am, for better or for worse, and right now there is so much wrong that I cannot even cover it all in two posts a day.  I think that, in part, my writing about it is rather a vent, an outlet, that keeps me from imploding with frustration over the things I see and hear every day.  Certainly I hope that somewhere along the line, I am able to remove the blinders from those who think the current state of affairs is okay.  I have been called a cockeyed optimist, and perhaps I am, for I continue to believe that if those of us with good consciences, good values, keep on fighting this fight, eventually the rest of the nation will “wake up and smell the coffee”.  So that is why I do what I do.

To those who, from time to time may find my topics a bit too much … I hope you will still pop in on Monday mornings, and I do hereby solemnly swear that I will continue to keep politics out of Monday mornings and do my level best to see everybody off to work with a smile on their face!

smileysmiley

 

 

 

 

 

During the past year-and-a-half I, like probably many of you, have lost a number of friends due to my political views and my unwillingness to compromise my values.  But for quite some time I have felt that I gained new friends through my blog.  Today I know that is true … I have many new friends and I am deeply grateful for each and every one of you!  Thank you again for your support, kind words, and for sticking with me.  Hugs to all!

A Message For Filosofa’s Readers And Friends

Posted on by under Personal, Social commentary

Dear Friends …

In recent days, I have received some feedback about some of my posts that has given me pause. I take all feedback seriously, and these have left me in a quandary.  I value all who read my blog, and those who have said my writing is becoming too dark, are long-time, loyal readers whom I consider friends, and I do not want to lose them as either readers or friends.

However, the entire purpose of my blog is to speak out against the things I see as social injustice, threats against our nation, and humanitarian issues both in the U.S. and around the globe.  If I did not write about those things, then I could not write, as those are the things that matter to me.  I simply cannot write about relationships, cooking, or fashion, and I have no small children at home whose antics I can share.  I absolutely cannot write either poetry or fiction, as the results come out flatter than a piece of cardboard. I write about politics and global issues … it is who I am and what I do.  I do write my Monday Morning Politic-free posts once a week, usually on Sunday evening, and while I have a lot of fun with those, they are also a struggle, as I am usually thinking about some issue that I really need to be researching and writing about.

I have lived in this country all my life, was raised on both the East and West coasts, by extremely liberal parents, during the Civil Rights era, so my interest in politics and humanitarian issues dates back to around age four, nearest I can figure.  I do remember the 1956 presidential election between Dwight Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson … I sat on the floor and kept track of the results with marbles (yes, those same marbles I recently lost!).  Even though I have always cared deeply about issues such as I write about, I spent my adult life busy with a career as an accountant, raising three children, one severely disabled, driving a school bus, serving as an advocate on the local school board, and earning various degrees … all of which left little time to pursue creative efforts or use my voice to support my interests and beliefs.  It is only since I retired from the corporate world that I have been able to do this, and I find it to be both rewarding and, at times, stressful.

On the flip side, I do understand the grievances of some readers.  Many live outside the U.S., and I’m sure are getting tired of hearing and reading of the darkness that is descending here, when they have their own worries at home.  Others tell me my posts just add too much stress to their already stressful lives.  I hear you all and am trying to figure out what to do about it …

confused-3So, you can see my quandary … I absolutely do not want to disappoint my reader-friends, but I feel compelled to keep on taking a stand and making my voice heard.  My friend Herb frequently tells me that I over-think things … he is probably right … but that is also part of who I am. I can see that I must try to lighten up a bit, perhaps write more about that which takes place in other parts of the world as well, and perhaps try to inject more good news (when I can find it) into my posts.  But there is much going on in this nation and around the world that is deeply disturbing and I cannot remain silent on those issues, because I foresee some very real dangers on the horizon.

So, I am asking you, dear friends, to help me out a bit with my quandary.  Let me know what you like and don’t like about my posts, give me some suggestions for improving this blog and making it one that you look forward to reading, one that you learn from, and one that makes you think but not too hard!  And please, stick with me here … I value you all, love reading your comments, and think of you as friends.

BREAKING NEWS: Donald Trump’s Health Records Revealed!

Posted on by under Humour, Re-blogs

Today I did not wish to write about da trumpeter. Today I did not wish to write about politics at all. Today I did not wish to write about Erdogan or Putin. Today I wanted to write something light-hearted, humorous. Today I was brain-dead and could not think of anything funny or humorous. I trolled all the usual news outlets … nothing seemed funny. I even went to The Onion. Nothing seemed funny. So, I sighed a deep, mournful sigh and decided I would not write a blog post for this evening. Then I started reading a few of the blogs I follow and … I heard a strange sound. What was that noise? There it was again … a raspy sort of gurgle … coming from somewhere just below my head … AHA!!! It was a chuckle! As I continued to read, the chuckle became a bubbling laugh and before I knew it I was choking on my coffee! And so, today I will not write something funny … instead I am sharing this hilarious post from fellow-blogger zag102! I know you will enjoy it … please drop zag a comment and let him know how you liked it! I shall return with more of … whatever … tomorrow, assuming my brain returns to a functional state. ENJOY!

The Takaho Post

Donald Trump Doctor’s Report

The following is an unaltered leak of Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s most recent health evaluation. The information has been transposed unaltered. Personal information like social security numbers and anything regarding the source or physician have been removed as none of that information is relevant to the public

Here are the shocking details of Donald Trump’s health report:

  • Basic Information

Patient: Donald Jinglebell Trump

Age: 70

Height: 6’2″

Weight: Patient refused to get on the scale. Claims to be 175 lbs and able to swim faster than Michael Phelps. Insists “everybody says so.” Both are unlikely.

Insurance Provider: Trump Foundation? (Look into that, not aware)

View original post 908 more words

Escaped Chimpanzee Prompts Wild Chase Through Japanese City — TIME

Posted on by under Humour, Random

When Cha Cha the chimpanzee made a break for it, it took Sendai, Japan police and Yagiyama Zoological Park staff two hours to track him down. Cha Cha proved his evasion abilities when he escaped not only from his own area, but from the entire zoo — and then led authorities on a wild chimp chase through a residential area. Eventually, his followers sedated him with a tranquilizer gun after he climbed a telephone pole and went onto the wires, ABC News reports.

The director of the park was very apologetic to residents who may have been disturbed by the containment efforts. There is an investigation underway into just how Cha Cha got out of the park.

via Escaped Chimpanzee Prompts Wild Chase Through Japanese City — TIME

Monday … Again? Sigh.

Posted on by under Politic-Free Mondays, Random

I committed some time ago to keep Mondays free of politics and the social issues that are my usual topics of choice.  Why?  Because, first of all it was requested by my friend, Linda, and second of all, Mondays are difficult days for some (most), so why should I add to the gloom?  However, this Monday it is a struggle. I trolled for several hours in search of good news, happy things, and this is the result. So I apologize in advance for this rather disjointed post that is somewhat lacking teeth, lacking depth, and lacking any sense of cohesion.

  • Sanitation Workers Save Kittens From Trash, Get Dubbed ‘Sexiest Dudes Ever’
    • Sanitation workers in Florida are being celebrated as heroes after rescuing four kittens they found trapped inside a tied plastic bag while processing garbage. The workers at Florida’s Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority uncovered the four 4- to 5-week-old furballs last week.kittens-1 kittensThe Justin Bartlett Animal Rescue took the kittens in and said they were starving and suffering from parasites. They were taken from their mother too early and are being bottle-fed for the time being, a rescue center employee told The Huffington Post on Sunday. Fortunately, the kittens are expected to make a full recovery and should be available for adoption within a month.

      Since the kittens have gone from trash to treasure, they’ve been named after gemstones. The three male kittens are named Garnet, Jet and Topaz, and the female kitten is named Ruby. A Facebook user provided the adorable names. (Golgowski, Huffington Post, 10 April 2016)

 

  • Bank Robbers Wrap Up Head-To-Toe In Aluminum Foil For Heist
    • Bank robbers in southern Brazil donned a highly unusual disguise for a heist. The duo covered themselves from head to toe in aluminum foil for the early Saturday morning raid on the Banco de Brasil branch in Praia Grande. Police said the two believed their improvised outfits would beat the bank’s alarm system and stop it from sounding. Astonishingly, the robbers’ plan appeared to work. But, as their cloaks didn’t allow Harry Potter-style invisibility, the hapless pair was still captured by the bank’s surveillance cameras. bankrobberSecurity staff working at Banco do Brasil’s regional HQ in Florianopolis alerted police, and an armed response unit arrived on the scene. The duo fled empty-handed, leaving behind blowtorches and other implements they were using to try and break into a safe. One comment to this story read: ‘Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man  .. That he didn’t, didn’t already have’. For those who may not remember, this is a line in a song entitled Tin Man by the group America in 1974.  (Moran, Huffington Post, 11 April 2016)

 

  • Chinese Doctor With No Legs Makes Her Village House Calls Using 2 Stools
    • An inspiring 37-year-old doctor has been getting from place to place using only wooden stools in place of legs. Li Juhong’s legs had to be amputated after a car accident in 1983 when she was only four– but instead of feeling despair over the loss, Li was motivated to become a doctor. After acquiring her medical degree in 2000, Li set up a village clinic in Chongqing, China. Since then she has been the caretaker of all 1,000 residents, using two stools instead of feet to get around. Her husband, Xing, offers to transport her to patients too sick to leave the house by carrying her on his back. With his assistance, she has handled over 6,000 cases in the region. In her 15-year career, the resilient doctor has worn out over 24 stools. Now that is a dedicated doc!chinese doc

 

 

 

 

 

So, that was all the good news I could find that was interesting.  Tomorrow … some trumpitts (Trump snippets).  ‘Til then … keep one thing in mind:

Respect

Erdo-how, Erdo-where, Erdoğun

Posted on by under Global Issues, Humour, Social commentary

U.S. politics is sometimes funny, sometimes maddening, almost always pathetic. However, lest we think we have a monopoly on funny, ridiculous political stories, this one is even funnier, in a sad sort of way, than anything we have seen here lately. What makes it particularly funny is the aftermath.  Of course, that is easy for me to say, since it took place halfway around the globe, but still, I think you will get a kick out of it.

In Germany, there is a political satire show called extra 3, which has been around on German network NDR since 1976, some forty years.  It is obviously a popular program.  Last month, 17 March, to be exact, the program presented a satirical music video titled “Erdowie, Erdowo, Erdoğan”. The song was a spoof, adapted from a German pop song. I’m certain it loses something in the translation, but here are the lyrics translated into English:

  • He’s living in grand style,
  • Big Boss from Bosporus.
  • (“A showy construction with a thousand rooms,
  • built without permit in a nature reserve”)
  • Press freedom gives him a swollen neck
  • That’s why he needs all those scarves
  • (Erdogan talking with a hoarse voice)
  • When a journalist writes an article
  • Erdoğan dislikes
  • He’ll be in jail by the next day and the
  • Newspaper’s editorial office gets closed down
  • He doesn’t think twice
  • And rides through the night
  • With tear gas and water cannons
  • Be nice to him,
  • Since he’s holding all the cards,
  • Erdo-how, Erdo-where, Erdoğun
  • The time is ripe
  • For his great Ottoman empire,
  • Erdo-how, Erdo-where, Erdoğun
  • Equal rights for women
  • Means they are beaten up equally
  • (“Istanbul police has dispersed an
  • International Women’s Day demonstration by force.”)
  • If the election results don’t suite his face
  • He’ll shake them into place
  • (I like to move it, move it)
  • He loathes the Kurds
  • And would much rather bomb them,
  • Than his brothers in faith over at ISIL.
  • Hand him over your money
  • He’ll built you a refugee tent
  • Erdo-how, Erdo-where, Erdoğun
  • His country is ripe
  • For EU-membership
  • He doensn’t give a shit about democracy
  • Erdoğan says “Hi and goodbye”
  • And rides off into the sunset. 

To get the full effect, you should really watch the video, which has had more than 4 million hits … it is available with English subtitles here.

A brief bit of backstory:

Limited Freedom of the Press – Erdoğan, the president of Turkey, is cracking down on journalists who offend him. His renewed ambitions to install an authoritarian presidential system in Turkey make it appear that he might further restrict freedom of the press and open a path for a dictatorship. When Erdoğan was first elected Prime Minister, in 2003, many hoped that he would serve as a democratic model for the rest of the Islamic world. Turkish voters have refused to give him the blank check he desired, and last year turned down his effort to rewrite the Constitution to give himself vast new powers.  Since becoming President, Erdoğan has made a further turn toward dictatorship, crushing the remnants of a free press. In December, 2014, Turkish police arrested the editor of Zaman, the country’s largest newspaper, which had not only been a critic of Erdoğan but also written extensively about the corruption that pervades his government and family. The editor, Ekrem Dumanlı, was accused of trying to mount a coup d’état. Earlier this month, the government seized Zaman and began printing pro-government articles. More than 1,800 cases have been opened against people accused of insulting Erdogan since he came to office in 2014, under a previously seldom-used law against insulting the president. Those who have gone on trial include celebrities, journalists and even schoolchildren. He is also cracking down on other groups such as women’s rights advocates and Kurds.

Refugee Crisis – While Turkey was the first country to receive Syrian refugees some four years ago, Erdoğan’s motives were not necessarily humanitarian. He was hoping to convince NATO to take action against Syria’s al Assad, but when that did not play as Erdoğan hoped, he began funding Daesh in their fight against al Assad.  Erdoğan believed that the larger the number of displaced Syrians, the better his chances of convincing the international community of the need to enforce a no-fly zone across northern Syria, where the refugees could ostensibly be settled. Turkish authorities made it difficult for refugees, now numbering close to 2 million, to leave for third countries. As their numbers in Turkey reached a critical mass, NATO member states would be more likely to act, Erdoğan had hoped. His plans backfired, however, NATO did not act as he had hoped and Daesh was not successful in unseating al Assad.

So, given that condensed bit of history, as you can imagine, Erdoğan was not happy with the song and video blatantly mocking him!  In fact, from all accounts he was furious!  Erdoğan summoned German ambassador Martin Erdmann over the song, asking the German government to intervene and delete the video. Instead, the ambassador reminded Erdoğan that Germany is a nation with freedom of speech and freedom of press rights. Although the press in Germany does not enjoy as high a degree of freedom as in the U.S. and Canada and the press must follow some standards, political speech, including criticism of the government, is allowed. Representatives of the German government declined to intervene, and extra 3 followed up with English- and Turkish-subtitled versions of the video and republished a number of earlier videos criticizing the Turkish government! Erdoğan’s overreaction to a satirical video produced an outcry by the German public with representatives of all German parties criticizing the situation of lack of press freedom in Turkey.

At the same time, Erdoğan is seeking membership for Turkey in the European Union (EU). There are arguments both for and against, but that is a whole separate post. A spokesperson for the EU said he “does not appreciate” Turkey’s decision to call in the ambassador because of a satirical song, and “believes this moves Turkey further from the EU rather than closer to us.”  The EU has been hesitant in admitting Turkey as a member.  Wouldn’t it be something if Erdoğan, by throwing his little temper tantrum, closed the door on those negotiations?

erdogan

Either you extinguish this video, or I’ll extinguish the internet!

Your Morning Chuckle … Maybe … Or Not …

Posted on by under Humour

I promised a few weeks ago to try to achieve some balance, whatever that is, in this blog by adding the occasional humorous piece in among the muckraking that is my norm.  So, for your morning reading pleasure to accompany that first cup of java, here is one that should bring you either a chuckle or at the very least, a WTF!  Here are two headlines I snagged yesterday, both from the Washington Post, which has been sorely lacking in humour of late.

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Egyptian military says it sentenced a 4-year-old to life in prison by mistake

Apparently the Egyptian military decided, two years after the fact, to round up some 100+ dissidents who were involved in riots in that country in 2014.  Among those wanted was a 16-year-old named Ahmed Mansour Qurani Sharara.  Instead, 4-year-old Ahmed Mansour Qurani Ali was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for four counts of murder and eight counts of attempted murder.  WHOA … that was one busy baby!  I can see how this could happen.  I mean, first off, Sharara sounds and looks almost exactly like Ali, especially to some poor, harried clerk who has 115 of these damned things to process before lunch. In fairness, I have seen quite a bit of Arabic writing in recent years, and it all looks alike to me. The parents of the child secured an attorney who promptly provided the boy’s birth certificate and other documentation proving that he was only a year old at the time of the riots, but to no immediate avail, as the information was not passed along to the judge, thus the child was convicted.  This is an example of what has happened to the Egyptian justice system since the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in 2013 … civilians are often tried in military courts, apparently without even being seen by the judge.  Anybody want to complain about the justice system in the United States now?

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Turkish man sues wife for insulting President Erdogan

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been the president of Turkey since 2014, and was the Turkish Prime Minister for eleven years prior to becoming president.  Apparently it is not a good idea to criticize him, even in the privacy of one’s own home.  Under his leadership, Turkey has seen a significant rise in child poverty and worker’s deaths.  Officially, Turkey has a Parliamentary Democracy, however his government has been beset by scandal, with journalists and politicians labeling him a dictator.  In October, a 15-year-old boy was arrested outside an internet cafe for allegedly “insulting” the President. Less than a month later, two people were detained for posting “insults and curses” directed at Erdogan on social media.  Anyway, cut to the chase … a Turkish truck driver known only as “Ali D.” is suing his own wife for cursing at Erdogan when the President spoke on television.  “I kept on warning her. I said: why are you doing this? Our president is a good person and did good things for Turkey.”

“Record it and lodge a complaint,” Ali’s wife defiantly told her husband.

So that’s just what Ali did. He filed a libel suit and she, understandably, filed for divorce!  And the moral of this story is … She who laughs last, laughs best!

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I apologize for the brevity of this post, but humour seems to not be my strong suit these days (obviously) … I wonder why.  The headlines struck me as funny, though.  Anyway, we now return you to your morning Joe.  Have a great day and keep safe out there, my friends!

Filosofa on Writing …

Posted on by under Personal, Random

A writer decides what he or she will write.  A writer may write for his own personal satisfaction without regard to the opinions of others.  Others may go to the opposite extreme and write, not from the heart, but what they believe will earn them the most money.  Neither is “right” or “wrong”, only the writer can decide what works for him, a choice between personal satisfaction or “fame and fortune”.  The choice is rarely cut and dried, rarely 100% either one or the other.  Instead, a writer generally compromises just as most of us do in every aspect of our lives.  The writer who writes mainly for his own satisfaction, who writes with a passion, who writes about those things he most cares about, feels most strongly about, is likely the best writer of all.  However, that writer may find no market for his work in his lifetime.  Geoffrey Chaucer, Emily Dickenson, Franz Kafka, Sylvia Plath, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Zora Neal Hurston, and even Stieg Larsson (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) all had their major works published posthumously and fame was denied them during their lifetimes.  A good writer must be true to himself, but sometimes a writer also questions why he is speaking if his voice is never heard.

For years, decades really, I wanted to be a writer.  Oh how I wished I could be a writer, but I:  a) did not think I was good enough, and b) did not have time.  Nonetheless, the thought was never far from my mind.  One day from out of the blue, a thought came into my head, a thought with a voice as loud as a clap of thunder.  “The only thing stopping you from being a writer is the fact that you don’t write anything!!!  A writer WRITES!!!”  It was what I call a “lightbulb moment, but no, I didn’t immediately sit down and start writing.  Nonetheless the voice, that simple, single sentence, kept coming back, over and over, and eventually I came to realize that “I do not have time” was nothing more than an excuse because I was afraid of the “I do not think I am good enough”, afraid of finding out that I was just another “wannabe”.  And maybe that’s all true, but finally I am trying to find out.  I write, as some who know me will confirm, just as I speak … off the cuff.  If I think it, I say it, whether with my mouth or my fingertips.  Does it work?  I still have no answer for that, but a few people do read my blog, some say they like my style, so I think there may be some potential.  Yes, it is only a blog (though I am concurrently at work on other projects) and there are millions of blogs out there far more popular than mine, but it is still writing.  I am a writer.

Where am I going with all this?  Well, one thing I have noticed when I review my daily stats is that the posts that seem to gain the most attention are those that are more humorous, more light-hearted.  Then today I received a few comments from friends and followers saying they really liked my post of February 9th, Random Tidbits, and requesting that I do more of this (read “less political commentary”).  My passions are history and global relations, and socio-political theory, hence my strong interest in the current political climate and also social issues around the globe.  I believe that a writer is at his best when writing with a passion, and that can only happen if he is writing about those things that truly inspire him.  On the other hand, I enjoy making people laugh and after all, as I mentioned before, what is the point of writing if nobody wants to read what you write?  So, that said, I am going to try some re-structuring of this blog in order to accommodate both my own passions and also those of my readers.  In the coming weeks, I plan to attempt to write at least two or three less serious pieces.  The rest will follow more serious topics that I hope give pause for thought, such as environmental issues, social injustices, and, naturally, the political climate.  I can only know what works and what doesn’t if you, my loyal readers, let me know.  To that end, I am asking you to speak to me … leave comments if you love or hate a post.  You will not hurt my feelings … I post almost daily on the online versions of Washington Post, CNN, Politico and Foreign Policy, and trust me, in those venues I have received every insult known to mankind!  So no, you will not hurt my feelings, but you will help me to better “find my niche”, though I will nonetheless continue to write about that which inspires me.  It is who I am and it is what I do.

Thank you to all who take the time to read my posts.  In today’s world, time is our most valuable commodity and I truly appreciate each one of you who are willing to give a few minutes of your time to let me share a few of mine with you.  And a special thanks to those who comment, either here on WordPress, on Twitter or on Facebook.  I try to respond to all comments, but I am only human and occasionally miss one, so please forgive my oversight.  I hope you will bear with me as I try to shift my focus slightly in order to make this a more enjoyable blog for us all!