If you had an extra $243,000 would you buy Hitler’s phone?

 

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after an edit of my manuscript. I’m sending it off to a beta reader/editor so cross your fingers for me. I hope she likes it. This is a good story. I’m excited about it. Squeee! But, enough about that.

I’m back today to express my horror over this article. Someone paid $243,000 for Hitler’s phone. Don’t believe me? Check out the Huffington Post’s article on it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hitler-phone-auction_us_58ab36c2e4b0f077b3ecd032

I find this perplexing. I know it’s historical memorabilia but I wouldn’t want it sitting in my house. I’d worry Hitler’s spirit would be lurking in that phone, and what if it rings. Do you answer it? Who’d be on the other end? Himmler? Mengele?

That would definitely freak me out. I don’t want to talk to either one of them.

Look at it. It’s a Rotary Phone for Christ’s Sakes. It can’t even take selfies. Jeez!

I sure wouldn’t spend $243,000 for a phone either. Even if it was Hitler’s. I just think that’s weird. I can think of so many other things I’d have to have other than Hitler’s phone. Heck, I bet $243,000 would buy food, clothes, and even shelter for some homeless people.

I mean, seriously, get your priorities straight.

Just some random thoughts going through my head as I write this blog post. I’m interested in World War II. I cannot fathom how Hitler was able to command men to murder so many Jews. I’ve done a little research and I found some interesting facts about him. Did you know his father was half Jewish and Hitler hated him because he was cruel and abusive?

I can certainly understand his hatred of his father, but to believe it was the fact that he was half-Jewish was the cause of the abuse is irrational. I would think at some point he must’ve realized what he was doing was wrong. But he didn’t. He actually believed he was doing the right thing and so many people followed him. That’s what I find scary.

I’ve been reading quite a few WWII stories. Right now I’m reading “The Zookeeper’s Wife.” It’s well written and very factual about the portrayal of life in Poland during the war.

My all-time favorite WWII stories are “All the Light We Cannot See” and “The Book Thief.” I bet you’re wondering how I started out this post about Hitler’s phone and ended up talking about books. That’s just how I roll. 😉 It’s one of the amazing talents I have. 🙂

 

So tell me, if you had $243,000 burning a hole in your pocket, would you buy Hitler’s phone or would you spend it on something else? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

 

American Greed

 

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you. I’m back and I’m here to talk about the world we live in today. After reading the book “Detroit: An American Autopsy,” I was upset. The level of corruption in this story was heartbreaking especially when you see the innocent lives that have been lost because of it.

I’m sad because the men in power put their own greed above the lives of these people. That in a nutshell is what’s wrong with our world today. This feeling that there isn’t enough. We have to have more. Where did this come from?

I know it’s a competitive streak. We all want to be the best, but what determines the best? What magical standards are we trying to achieve? The thing is we’re all as unique as snowflakes. Let’s celebrate that. If we were all comfortable in our own skins we wouldn’t feel the need to keep up with the Jones. We’d be too busy wallowing in our happiness to care what they were doing.

Photo via VisualHunt

          That’s why we as humans must become internally oriented. We must decide what makes us happy and work toward those goals and allow everyone else the same freedom. We’ll be so busy making ourselves happy we won’t have time to see what our neighbors are doing. If we let go of judging other people and they in turn let go of judging us, we’ll have a happier society.

I know what you’re thinking. Sure that takes care of the neighborhood when times are golden, but what about when times are tough?  Like they are now. That’s a good question and I’m here to tell you that we need to make a major shift in our society. We see what’s happening in cities like Detroit and Flint. We see how corruption destroyed people during the housing bubble, we see how the market is manipulated on Wall Street. We even see how the Catholic Church covered up abuse in their hierarchy, but we don’t do anything about it.  When I think about all those priests who abused kids in their parishes and got caught. It makes me sick. It makes me even more nauseous when I think about how the church covered up the abuse. They moved these priests around. Not one priest went to jail. Not one. We should’ve been marching at the steps of Rome over that one.

 

Photo credit: Greg Hayter via VisualHunt / CC BY

          It appears to me, there are two sets of laws in our country. The people in power can break the law and no one goes to jail.  The average Joe pulls one of their stunts and it’s a totally different story. It’s in the papers and on the news.  This has to change. There’s one set of laws for all of us. All of us. And it’s simple. If you break the law, you are held accountable. There are no excuses.  How do you feel about that? Leave a comment. I’d love to read how you feel!

To learn more about some of the points I brought up in this post click the links below:

My Thoughts on the Movie Spotlight: Corruption in the Catholic Church

My Thoughts on the Big Short

My Thoughts on Money Monster

Staring at the Moon: A Slice of Life Post

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today with another Slice of Life Post. Last week when I was leaving work, I glanced up at the sky and saw a full moon shining bright.

Photo via Visual hunt

Just seeing that glowing orb in the sky calmed my frayed nerves. I’ve been working toward a self-imposed deadline and that moon was just what I needed to see to relax. You see, I wanted to complete my latest work in progress by the end of the month, and I’m happy to say I completed the rough draft. Now I’m going through and doing a quick edit before I send it off to my beta reader. I’m very excited about this story, and I can’t wait to hear what she has to say, but I digress.

I was talking about how seeing the moon calmed me. Our universe is amazing and whenever I see it in action, so to speak, I’m humbled. The elements and minerals that make up our bodies also swirl among the heavens. We are bits and pieces of exploding stars. I just think that’s incredible.

Photo credit: NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center via Visualhunt / CC BY-NC

 

Isn’t it amazing that the earth is just the right distance from the sun so we can thrive on it? If it were any closer, it’d be too hot and we’d sizzle on the surface. There’s only one planet in the solar system that can sustain life for our species so we’ve got to take care of it.

Photo credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video via Visual Hunt / CC BY

I also think it’s amazing that when cells divide whether they’re in a plant, or animal, or in a human they all make the same pattern. Isn’t that mind boggling? It just shows how connected everything is. That’s how close we are. These are the thoughts that go through my head when I look at the moon or the stars at night.

How about you? What goes through your mind when you’re alone and staring at the stars? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!

If you’d like to read other Slice of Life Posts click here.

Detroit: An American Autopsy: A Review

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you. I’m back today and I’m excited to say that I’ve finished my story, except for the epilogue. I’m excited about this one. I think it’s my best work so far.

I’ve also been reading. Writing and reading seem to go hand in hand, don’t they? I stepped out of my comfort zone and picked a book that was recommended to me.  It’s non-fiction and it’s titled: “Detroit An American Autopsy” written by Charlie LeDuff.

It’s the true story about the rise and fall of one of the largest cities in the United States. It is the story of a corrupt political system and the fleecing of the American people and it’s happening in cities all across the country. This story is what’s wrong with America. The cover and blurb are below:

 

An explosive exposé of America’s lost prosperity—from Pulitzer Prize­–winning journalist Charlie LeDuff

 

Back in his broken hometown, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie LeDuff searches the ruins of Detroit for clues to his family’s troubled past. Having led us on the way up, Detroit now seems to be leading us on the way down. Once the richest city in America, Detroit is now the nation’s poorest. Once the vanguard of America’s machine age—mass-production, blue-collar jobs, and automobiles—Detroit is now America’s capital for unemployment, illiteracy, dropouts, and foreclosures. With the steel-eyed reportage that has become his trademark, and the righteous indignation only a native son possesses, LeDuff sets out to uncover what destroyed his city. He beats on the doors of union bosses and homeless squatters, powerful businessmen and struggling homeowners and the ordinary people holding the city together by sheer determination. Detroit: An American Autopsy is an unbelievable story of a hard town in a rough time filled with some of the strangest and strongest people our country has to offer.

Charlie LeDuff’s story exposes the greed and corruption behind not only our political system but our judicial system as well. It’s time the American people stepped up to the plate and did something about it because this is happening in cities all across our country. This story is an eye-opening read and I recommend it to anyone who wants to know the truth behind Detroit’s downfall.

The Impact of Social Media: A Slice of Life Post

 

 

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you. I’m back with another Slice of Life Post after a brief hiatus. We’ve been so busy with the kids and getting our basement put together I had to take a break. I’ve also been writing. My story is coming together and I’m feeling pretty good about it. I’m hoping to finish it in the next couple of weeks. (crosses fingers).

Anyway, it’s good to be back today. I’ve been thinking about social media and how it has impacted my life. One of the ways it has had a positive impact is I’ve been able to reconnect with old friends I’d lost touch with. These reconnections have been incredible. We’ve gotten together and gone down memory lane, renewing old bonds and strengthening our friendship. I think our friendships change as we grow and some friends stay with us and some don’t.

Photo via Visual Hunt

          Another way social media has had a positive impact is I’ve been able to make contacts that help me with my writing. Research has just become that much easier. Social media has opened doors for everyone. Because of social media we can chat with our favorite celebrities and build relationships with people who can help us in our career, and maybe we can help someone else in their career. We’ve never had the ability to reach out and be this close to someone famous like this before. It’s kind of mind boggling when you think about it.

Photo via VisualHunt

          There are some negatives to social media as well. There are trolls out there who enjoy creating dissension. If you happen to run into one of these people it can make your experience with that platform unpleasant.

There’s also the situation where someone can stalk you via social media. I’ve had friends who’ve experienced this. These stalkers try to create a rift between the person they’re stalking and some of their more loyal followers. It’s not as dangerous as real life stalking, but it is disconcerting.

I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up the fact bullying happens on social media as well. It’s unfortunate, but true. Especially these days with all the political division among people, things can get out of hand fairly quickly.

Photo credit: Lisa monster via Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND

          Social media is an awesome tool for reconnecting and staying in touch, but like everything else it has a dark side too. We need to teach our children about this dark side and prepare them for it. We must teach them to choose their words wisely and teach them about the power our words have. They can be uplifting or they can be demoralizing. We get to choose.

Thanks to the Two Writing Teachers for organizing Slice of Life! To read other Slicers posts click here.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post! How do you think social media has impacted your life? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!

You May be Addicted to Writing If…

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you today. I’m back and I’ve been diligently working on my WIP. It’s really shaping up and I’m very excited about how it’s turning out. So stay tuned. Positive things are happening! 😉

 

Today I’d like to make a confession to you. I’ve finally had to admit it to myself. I am obsessed with writing. When I’m not writing, I’m thinking about it, trying to make my story better or I’m researching for my story. It’s that bad.

Since I’ve become aware of my addiction, because let’s face it, it is. I’ve taken steps to manage it, because we never really cure ourselves do we? But I thought I’d list the signs for you, just in case you might be struggling with this addiction, but you’re not quite sure. Maybe living in the land of denial? I lived there for a while. It was great. 🙂

 

1. You may be addicted to writing if your house looks like a tornado hit it. All. The. Time.

Photo credit: woodleywonderworks via Visualhunt / CC BY

2. You may be addicted to writing if your hair hasn’t been styled in months.

Photo credit: Jenn Durfey via Visualhunt / CC BY

3. You may be addicted to writing if you barricade yourself in your writing hovel, ignoring your family’s cries for food and clean clothes.

 

4. You may be addicted to writing if you can write your name in the dust that’s gathered on your living room furniture and shelves.

Photo via VisualHunt

5. You may be addicted to writing if you take your laptop with you on your child’s playdates.

 

6. You may be addicted to writing if you take your laptop into the bathroom with you because you’re in the middle of a really good scene.

 

7. You may be addicted to writing if you’re deathly pale in the summer because you’d rather write than spend time in the sun.

Photo credit: SLR Jester via Visualhunt / CC BY

8. You may be addicted to writing if you give up food, alcohol, and showering because it takes too much time away from your work.

Photo via VisualHunt.com

9. You may be addicted to writing, if you’d rather do that than go out and get a better paying job.

Photo via Visualhunt.com

10. You may be addicted to writing if your family doesn’t remember what you look like because your face is always behind a computer screen.

 

These are all signs that you are addicted to your passion. There are steps to remedy the situation, but the first step is admitting you have an addiction. This step is always the hardest. Just ask me, I know. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post today. Do you have a writing addiction? How has it affected your life? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!