Openly Eccentric - Open Thread 5/15/2016
Happy Sunday Morning. This has been one of those weird weeks, so you'll have to forgive me if I don't comment much on the politics of the week. They seem much the same as they were last week, and with the exception of the specific piece of bile the MSM wants to harp about, doesn't seem to be worth paying attention to.
One of the things I must learn is that depression is stronger than me. I keep trying to say, "Nope, don't need the medicine I know works..." mostly because of years of programming. And then I don't get out of bed or leave the house... So, instead of trying to con myself that dosage depends on how I FEEL, I need to go with the idea that if I was treating a bacterial infection this way, I'd be dead by now. Just because the medicine makes me FEEL GOOD, doesn't mean it's not good for me.
Anyhoo, on to the news...
---
Let's start with countries that are falling apart, since they seem to be a good place to learn from. Venezuela just started emergency crackdown. The government claims that the US is behind the unrest orchestrated by right wing groups. Since we won't actually have a Leftist in out own elections (IF the MSM has its way), a claim by a leftist government that a right wing revolutionary group is being stirred up or funded by the US is much more believable. But of course we NEVER do anything like that, DO WE Mrs. Clinton? I remind you you're under oath...
Here's one that I keep wanting the reporter to delve into a little bit of US context, just so I can see what's going on a little better. Apparently ISIS is attacking in Syria. Now we are in Syria, attacking the Government Forces... so we're allied with ISIS? Because we're fighting AGAINST them on the other side of the border. Perhaps a trip to the the border to find - 'am Sam's Free Gun Shack...
Much as I normally love CBC, I am sometimes reminded of the fact that they are corporate slime. Always hate it when yet another Drug warrior propaganda piece gets published but also gets rebroadcast around the world by the Media, with the same air as a religious group with a piece of toast with their prophet displayed prominently. (Usually total adulation, with a small amount who would immediately ban toast for blasphemy)
One thing I will say about Canada though. They don't ignore their homeless problem. Course the government wants them off their damn lawn, but the courts are returning a nice one fingered salute.
And is Customary on Openly Eccentric. Sunday Morning Metal... (If I was a DJ, that is TOTALLY a show I would do. You'd have ZERO competition. All that's on is the bible thumpers...)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPb6nG1E4P0][video:https://www.youtube.c...
Comments
Dammit! Don't
drug dealers ever sleep. I am so tired of them pounding on the next door at all hours--as in right now (6:18 AM here). Yes, I know...what the hell am I doing up. = )
Meanwhile, Syria is another 1984 proof as if we needed any more. It sure would have been cheaper to just drop plane loads of candy bars and sodas on all these countries and let the people die like us. That would still support corporations and would have saved us trillions (not to mention, the people wouldn't have to leave home and would have their loved ones around for a bit longer).
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Sometimes I think War Zones are an implied threat...
against our own people. Follow the rules, don't complain, and for god's sake don't revolt, or THIS will happen.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Kind of like "Don't vote for the other side cuz
they are evil." Militarized police on the home soil isn't the same as what would e found in a war zone? Have you really looked at Detroit lately? How does that not resemble a war zone? The teachers have to go on sick outs there to try to bring attention to rats and mold and crumbling floors in the classroom? The EPA is questioning the water quality there also.
Many of the people in the US are already living as if they are in a war zone, even if their buildings and infrastructure are not in a shambles. Where does all this fear come from? Our government has taught it to us, and we accepted it. That was why it has been so easy to suck us into wars abroad.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
I have been rowing that boat recently, too
A few life changes, one sad thing gone, a happy new addition, it's spring my best time so I am cured, drop the lexapro (and 2 additional meds simultaneously). Not.good. Really.not.good. Welcome home, lexapro. Maybe next year.
I am also one who goes agoraphobic when depressed. And have to test that limit daily. There is almost a physical sense of a bubble, and a relief when that breaks by moving out of that physical place. And when I am around other people, I am friendly and interactive, watching from my shoulder. It is a good feeling immediately after one-on-one interactions, except for the ones that make me angry or powerless. Then much over-thinking.
This week I get a nuclear family reunion. Our last was on the 5th anniversary of the death of one of the founding members. There, no big deal was made of the loss, all can be understood. This time, a new potential addition arrives. As matriarch, I try to be welcoming and observant and that is all. I somehow never thought of myself 30 years ago as what it would feel like now. But my interactive clan could go from three then four to five.
DMW, if you are lucky, your two electrons will increase their orbits, and maybe attract some others. Then there's us, nucleus. Still considering.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
The last couple days my mother has been trying...
To get me to talk to her again. I'm not kicking at that football again. She's of course showing favoritism to my daughter, talking about how she wants to do things for her, and how I need to get my daughter's measurements for presents...
My daughter is smart enough to see blatant favoritism (Which I didn't as a kid) so doesn't really care much. In fact, her grandmother makes her feel uncomfortable, since every time she spends time with her alone, an interrogation about how awful a dad I MUST be ensues.
My name is not Charlie Brown, thanks.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Good morning, all. My wellness expert friend tells me that
B vitamin supplements can help depression. We may need extra B's in the Krebs cycle. Get the stress kind. Also regular aerobic activity, i.e., walking, releases endorphins.
Don't consider them a substitute for medication, but an adjunct that may help their effectiveness. If at some point you feel you can do without medication, wean off gradually with very close doctor followup.
I suppose you can have an allergy to marijuana like you can have an allergy to any plant. But just because I'm allergic to grass (the regular kind) hasn't caused anyone to outlaw lawns.
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.
elenacarlena, I saw you OT in that fine Subir diary
Gosh, that was fun! And some handles not here were there. And then The Other Side. Treated with mocking kindness throughout, I thought. One of the whines was that these disapproved diaries always appeared on weekends when staff was off-duty patrol. And that poster saw no irony in that statement.
I have always bent toward people I found capable of laughing. At least laughing at the right spots. I see where historical Ys in the road of funny happen. OT a big Y appeared. And, here we are, at c99p!
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Good morning, riverlover! Thank you!
One of my big peeves with the Hillbots is they have NO sense of humor. None. Did you see the time I dived into one of their sacred diaries after ours had been violated? This was back when you could see flags. I got flagged all to pieces, but it was worth it. It was funny, but no one laughed. Of course!
I spend about half time there and half here now. The remaining Women for Bernie there (some are now solely here, some on Reddit) put up messages to the group when they see someone getting Hillbotted mercilessly, and some of us go in and throw some ratings and make a few comments to even things out a little. That's how I found out about Subir's initial diary. The followup was also an excellent one. He skewered them.
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.
Consider Zinc supplement
Zinc deficiency has become very common in the past 15 years, thanks to how our food is grown and processed (also magnesium and other minerals).
Symptoms of Zn deficiency include anhedonia = an inability to feel happy, also an altered sense of taste (dysgeusia). These are symptoms that are easily missed; either you don't notice they are there or you think they are arising from your mental state.
I would try taking 15 to 30 mg of Zn daily. It could take you a couple of weeks before you notice a difference. When my zinc levels are topped up I can't stand the taste of any processed foods -- I can really taste the chemical-ness of the artificial flavorants. Also, my antisocialness improves a lot.
I find a good multivitamin with lots of minerals helps me a lot. I had to change from taking lots of pills, i.e. individualizing my supplements, to getting as much as I could in 1 pill because swallowing all the pills gave me painful esophagitis.
TY for this, Thursday, I'm going to check it out. I take a B
supplement and Lovie put me on the multivitamin for pregnant women. She says whatever quality standards exist in the vitamin industry would be highest with that one. Makes sense to me, so I take it. I'll check the dosage of zinc in it and if it's not at the 15-30mg level, I'll add a supplement. And you're so right about the cardio., but it's difficult to do regularly :=) Have a great day,
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
You may not need the recommended dose for long
I recommended the above dose for people who are zinc deficient, or those who need extra zinc for medical issues such as healing wounds.
Zinc accumulates in the body. If you start to get a metallic taste in your mouth or get abdominal discomfort (I call it a gutrot sensation: a combination of a bit of nausea and a bit of crampy discomfort), you know you have topped up your zinc levels. I would stop the zinc for maybe a week and then resume it around half the previous dose.
I was doing a diet group with a group of women and we were doing the multivitamin and meeting weekly to discuss how things were going. It became very easy to tell where the mineral levels were at. If someone stayed off them too long, they started cheating on their diet. When they had been on them enough to get their levels to normal, they were happy and not having cravings. Too much and they got the symptoms above. It was very interesting to watch and to experience.
And I'm harping on Zn because it is a "hidden" deficiency of the modern era. I certainly agree with the recommendation to take vitamins as well.
I used to be opposed to nutritional supplements because I thought that anyone eating a reasonable balanced diet was getting everything they needed. I didn't realize that so much of what we eat is chemical flavorants and fillers disguised as food and even our fresh produce has less vitamins and minerals than years ago because of changes in farming, harvesting and transportation.
TY, Thursday, I'll follow your advice. You're right, the food
in the supermarkets are not nutritious any more. We cook from scratch, always have, but the supermarket ingredients come from leached, poisoned soil, they got added chemicals during growing and post-harvesting.
I'm glad we get to help each other find good food, good supplements, and growing advice here on c99. It's a politics+practical place :=) Where else are we gonna find that combo?! Cheers, my friend,
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
I had not thought of Zn
That's worth a try. I have Mg supplements, Ca supplements, D3, B12 (long story, I learned to IM B12 @ Dr on what was probably an over-diagnosis). At some point tested neg for D and B12 in blood. No longer.
I do not eat over-processed foods now.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Yes please try it
When you mentioned agoraphobia above, I thought Zn might help. I wouldn't call myself agoraphobic so much as agora-loathing, lol, and I am much less so when my Zn levels are topped up.
It's hard to believe that a trace element could matter
But after personally witnessing what a major element balance disruption can do (fatally), I no longer think that way.
Hello NSA (my keyboard has a very irritating lag now). I have a new novel villain. Friggin' airbags. Thanks, Amazon. Better than Styrofoam peanuts, another Tribble that can accumulate in garbage-bag amounts and more, and no one wants. At least the cellulose version could be recycled to earth.
But airbags (packing, not automotive, those of ill-repute): vehicle to disseminate toxic fumes. Alternatively, Amazon delivery of healthy air. Another crap story premise.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
That's a good idea, I take a multivitamin with all the minerals
So many of them are part of antioxidant enzymes in the body, or do other good things! Then I take extra calcium. And an antioxidant supplement with extra minerals. You almost can't have too many antioxidants!
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.
Well, if you read the story is based off...
It's a British government study to determine negative effects. The proposed solution is to of course remove Cannabis from all public and private spheres to protect the populace...
Drug warrior propaganda...
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Morning, DMW, and all. Hang in there, mate, we're all rooting
for you. The depression is stronger than us and it is a chemical imbalance and we do need the chemical balance restored. Been there, and back, and there, and back...Take the meds and soldier on, mate.
Best wishes to you and to all for today from a rainy, blustery SE Ontario,
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
Well, the fact it's Cannabis...
Makes it hard for me to square with my years of military training... (Even now, still hard to shake some of the stuff, ya know?)
Funny thing about my depression is it's "Atypical" depression. I tend to not sleep or do anything at all really. I just mark time, but don't do anything of value. I don't even play games or anything else. The instant I take my meds, I get around to doing what I am supposed to...
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
It just goes to show it's a chemical imbalance caused by the
ptsd, eh. Oh yes, there's lots of things that are ingrained now and can't ever be shook out. Here's the book that they give all the Canadian Armed Forces members who pass through the Ottawa hospital when released for ptsd. They make us read it and they check on the things in it - as close to testing as they can make it!
It's a good read, mate. The author knows his shit. He gets it like few of the docs do.
He calls it "Once Warrior, Always A Warrior" because of what you and all of us say: there are some things we cannot shake. He gives good descriptions of why we still do those things out of "battlemind" and ways to counter it. I hope you can find a copy. Our hospital gave us each a copy cause they think so highly of the book. Being hesitant about MJ is part of that. I'm following along the same curve as you, working through my problems with MJ so I can get it and take it. So I'm learning from you here.
Best wishes, brother,
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
Found a link to Gerrit's book recommendation, DMW. Noticed
that you'd been a little scarce lately. Looks like Barnes & Nobles and Amazon both carry the book.
Once a Warrior — Always a Warrior
Hope you feel better soon!
Mollie
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.--Lao Tzu
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Related to the CBC being “corporate slime”:
People are finally realizing the BBC is an establishment mouthpiece
question:
as I am not used to "read the news everywhere", I usually do the following: go to news.google.com, then go to news.google.de, may be path by at truthdig.com, glance over the recent dailykos diary list and usually just read the BNR and may be the environmental diary collections, then I go to spiegel.de, then I go to France24.com, Deutsche Welle, go to the Guardian UK site, finally come here and read the EB. (BTW I miss an open thread evening edition on the weekend, don't know where to put stuff I found and like to share here).
My overall impression is that the news coverage on all those msm sites report on the same stuff, copy off from the news wires, promote their own writers. All of them are interconnected and do not represent any more a "national news coverage" of their respective headquarter countries. I am not sure if that is correct.
But you know to read ten times more or less the same thing doesn't make a lot of sense to me. It's a nice thing, if you find authors, who watch specific political news from specific countries and write their own analysis and opinion pieces about it. And sometimes it's good to not watch the hundreds of videos people cut together to "illustrate" their pov. It can be a hazardous burden on your eyes and minds and psyche (including inducing depression).
Hence why I usually stuck with foreign sites...
Because the spin is a little different. However, it's gravitating more and more as time goes on towards the US version, with less differentiation as time goes on.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Since U.S. and Western media are so infused with “yay us,”
it can be interesting to read “yay them” media too and note the differences in perspective.
A few examples:
Press TV (“yay Iranian government”)
AMN Al-Masdar News (“yay Syrian government”)
Arutz Sheva (“yay Israeli settlers / expansionists”)
Al Manar (“yay Lebanon / Hizbollah”)
thx. for the links, I will visit them "yay, I am going places"nt
Methinks I will start shopping at Target.
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/05/angry-bible-waving-mom-screams-at-target...
Teh stoopid. It berns. So, she probably watches the Duggars religiously, listens to Rush, votes for trump, and thinks this flat earth magically appeared 6,000 years ago.
What really bothers me is that she hatched a dozen christlings who will be as ignorant and ill-informed as she.
Considering that she thinks
a display in a store reflects a love of anything other than profit indicates that she doesn't do a lot of critical thinking (threw the modifier in there just for effect). Glad to see Target is going to stick to their decision. They have taken a lot of heat over the years for other progressive ideas.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Corporate scum are appealing to a demographic...
With this move, IMHO. Much as it's nice that they're doing the right thing, if they didn't think they could make a buck doing it, they wouldn't do it.
Sorry about my cynicism, but I don't trust corps...
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Being trained to think in a bi-polar manner of lesser of
two evils, the choice would be between Target and Wal-mart, so I will take Target's greedy little offering.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
The Rigging Of The Dem Convention Begins
F__k the DWS. F__k the DNC. F__k the Dem Party.
Anyone who sticks with the Dem Party after this convention is a fool.
Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.
They really believe we will all be obedient and fall in line
When the time comes.
Funny, Teem Hillary is not just pissing off liberals. Her team is also a reflection of the candidate, untrustworthy, dishonest, craven, and not someone the general public can support.
How about the convention host committee?
https://theintercept.com/2016/05/11/lobbyists-dnc-2016-convention/
It's health insurance execs, Comcast CEOs, and fracking proponent Ed Rendell...disgusting. Proof positive I'm not a democrat! I'm afraid they are hopelessly corrupt.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Or they know something we don't
They know they have the inside track on rigging elections -- both primaries and GE -- so they really don't care if they alienate large voter blocks.
I really think that $hillary is on the same team as GWB and whoever pulled the strings for him will also pull them for her.
Yes, but stick through the convention! Or they'll say they have
no reason to work with us, we are not Democrats.
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.
Damage has been done, I guess they're thinking.
Those that see the corruption won't be convinces by any olive branches of honesty, and those who don't see it will never be convinced of corruption because it's all a lie perpetrated by the republicans.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
hi dmw, I think for the first time in my life
I show some symptoms of depression if you would measure the symptoms by not going out, staying in bed not knowing what to do next. I heard a lot about "this kind of depression" to be a biochemical imbalance of the brain that could be "fixed" by certain medication. I have to admit that I consider that pretty much bullshit. Of course, if you feel that without the medication you take, you are much worse off than with them, do take them, for heaven's sake. The final deecider of what kind of medication you take is YOU, don't let anybody manipulate you by judging for what you feel is best for you.
I find myself feeling better if I "kill time" outside my house and I work to reunite with the few people who know me since my young teenage years in real space. Whatever those attempts serve me with, bad or good, at least it exhausts me and I sleep better and feel physically more fit. Otherwise I try to find work, manual one, not working on news, not working with a computer, and not working with anything related to videos or TV broadcasts or movies, and really not having your smart phone in your pocket no matter where you go. It might be tough but in the end deliberating.
I live in a neighborhood of middle class, lower middle class working people, a mix of white, latino/hispanic immigrants, and lots of Afro-Americans. As I am retired now, I am on Medicare with Kaiser Permanente. There is a Kaiser Permanente health service climic not far away. If I visit that health clinic to see my primary care doctor, the center is crowed with Afro-Americans and Hispanic immigrants. Most of them are lower middle class, working, disabled, many elderlies, many young mothers with babies etc. As a white person I am an a rare occurrence among those patients seeking care.
But one thing is terribly clear and visible there. Almost all of the patients seeking care are heavily overweight. Those who are not, especially young women and children often look "underweight". So, whatever that is caused by (imo by the work they do and by the food they consume) it's definitely a "picture of a sickly population" whose bodies are "out of whack". It looks to me that what people eat, or can eat or can't afford to eat, is a huge problem. I would go even so far to say that people are made sick by what they have to eat.
I am convinced that one's dependency of working with computer technology, on the intertubes, coding, video editing, is cause for obesity and depression, enforced by lifestyle, we can't escape anymore. The only escape I can see for it is to huddle together in "meat space" and form real life communities that are not dependent on the technology we all are forced to use to survive these days.
Just my 2 cent worth of gold.
Hang in there.
mimi, if you are looking for something to do today
that doesn't involve staring at a screen, it looks like the folks involved with Nuit Debout, who a month ago declared today, May 15th, a day of Global Debout, are meeting somewhere in the DC area.
For background on Nuit Debout, the following Counterpunch article is good:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/05/03/what-is-the-nuit-debout/
For a map of cities around the world where Global Debout events are scheduled, check out:
https://framacarte.org/fr/map/global-debout_2420
Added on edit:
Since you're on Twitter, you might search for #GlobalDebout to find information on just what's happening and where near you.
Only connect. - E.M. Forster
oh, thanks, but I had three "dates" today, one was
supposedly for Bernie Sanders organizing in DC. No worries, I will be busy.
Outside...
among growing living things is healthy and natural for humans. I live in the woods (forest). When it all gets too much for me, I take a walk. The world doesn't change, but my attitude about it does.
We have divorced ourselves from the outside world. We evolved in the natural world, but we spend little time there. It helps to re-engage with the living planet when you're feeling bad. At least it helps me.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Ty for this wisdom, Lookout. Enjoy your day,
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
Funny thing, actually computers are getting me OUT...
of the house. My volunteering building them for the poor and charities is getting me off my ass and out into the world again.
Course, It's taking something that's normally sedentary and non-active, and turning it into a construction project and a social activity outside the home. Plus I'm learning a LOT about computers, and how to trouble shoot and do preventative maintenance.
Kinda like turning in the driver stuff for being a mechanic. Only the mechanic gets to build his own cars.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
nice to hear that, can I hire you and can you come over
to clean up the mess on my computer?
Just kidding. But glad that you do such helpful work for others. That sounds uplifting. You bet I will do something helpful too, one day, once I get outta where I am at.
Take care.
one step to go re: TOP
I GBCW'd quite a long time ago, which was ignored as chronicled here way too much. But I did stop posting there, about 16 months ago. I accidentally made a post 'cause I was still visiting and had enjoyed the Sunday Puzzle diaries. I think that was in April of last year. I quickly thought "oh...wait!", explained to pucklady and Nova why I couldn't participate and that was it.
Still, I went over there to root for the good guys, rec the good comments, flag the baddies. The last time I chose to go there was right before the New York primary. Once the results came in I knew the ^%$ was going to burst through the walls and flood the place. I haven't been there since.
Yet I still had the bookmark at the top of my "Blogs" folder. I moved it down, putting c99p at the top. A week or two later I moved the OP bookmark down to the bottom. And then yesterday I deleted it. Now I have that one step to go, if I want to go that far. I could get a blocker and make it so that I couldn't even accidentally wade in.
I might not bother.
I also deleted the link for The Rude Pundit. He's one of those "I like Bernie but of course I'll vote for Hillary and if you think she's a Republican then you're a $#%^^% %$&^er." Don't need that!
I've got links for some places that I don't go to too much but have fond feelings for. Voices on the Square, Docudharma, Firedoglake (which is something else now).
More importantly, it's raining so that means a useful chore today would be vacuuming. All I have to do is get up...I can do it! Here I go! I'm gonna...
Have not visited TOP on my new computer...
and as a result feel no great urge or hurry to go there.
That place has some seriously bad Karma and I don't want it infecting my new system.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.