Bugs Saves the Earth

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Remember when we watched Bugs Bunny as a kid and Marvin the Martian appeared on an episode? Remember what joy Bugs and company brought to us when they came to save the day? And the best episode? Duck Dodgers in the 24 ½ Century brought about during the reboot of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century in 1979.

So now, they are doing a new reboot of Buck Rogers with George Clooney on Netflix. I don’t know about this. I loved the old comic book stories about this iconic spaceman protagonist. And when they created a series in 1979, the version was campy and didn’t do justice to the imagination of us older kids. If we wanted campy, we would just go watch Bugs Bunny. The Buck Rogers comic strip first appeared in 1929, and was created by writer Philip Nowlan and cartoonist Dick Calkins. Nowlan debuted the character of Anthony (“Buck”) Rogers in Armageddon: 2419 A.D. (1928–29), which was serialized in Amazing Stories, a magazine I subscribed to for years. It was the first magazine that popularized serious science fiction stories. And to a lay audience, the strip introduced and popularized such science-fiction paraphernalia and concepts as ray guns, robots, and rocket ships that previously had been written about only in pulp magazines. The comic strip was first titled Buck Rogers in the Year 2429 A.D. It was renamed Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and in the earliest film production (1939), it was changed to Buck Rogers.

Honestly, I think we should leave these campy reboots behind because now is the time to regale science fiction with more sincerity and respect to the genre. Now is the time to create beautiful new stories and movies based on the greats such as Poul Anderson, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Ben Bova, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Michael Flynn (he came later to the party, but I love, love, love his vision and writing). The many things we all lived through in our lifetime, as well as my parents’ lifetimes, came out as cautionary tales for the future in these writers’ books. But their stories also created a more positive outlook for our future. Their stories can be re-told now, but only if screenwriters and directors have actually read the books and interpret them how they were meant to be interpreted (Hear me Disney, Hulu, and Netflix and other streaming media!). They can be adapted in much better films if you have the right voice. We don’t need more hilarity or horror in space. We need positive experiences and outcomes that will help us know that our children might just survive off planet in the future. We want outcomes where they find a better world than what we have created for them on this planet.

I just bought and began re-reading Poul Anderson’s three-volume set of The Psychotechnic League on my Kindle app (I have the originals in paperback) because my story line for the final Caitlin Ferguson novel sparked a memory of the messages from these books. They took me in the direction I needed to go. The joy of remembering his stories brought me such clarity as to how I am ending this series. So, a little science fiction in our lives is a good thing. It sparks memories of the past and enhances choices of what we will be making in our future for survival.

My thoughts for all of you out there: Enjoy a little science fiction in your lives and contemplate the future in a unique way. (I have sooooo many more suggestions for your reading list!) Get beyond your earthly trips and seriously think about all that our kids will be able to see and enjoy in their futures.

Watch and laugh at the Marvin the Martian characters but know that the many true rocket scientists and engineers are attempting to find a way for all our children to survive off planet. Even if we don’t personally get to go, I will be there applauding the future generation!

For more entertainment featuring Marvin the Martian and Duck Dodgers, you can tune in on YouTube and see the best of the best:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT5zcmLeRLo

Merry Christmas everyone! Little Jewels says Hi to all Y’all!

Celebrate the Light You Have!

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Today is the Winter Solstice. I invite you to celebrate this day and the light you have in your life for as long as it lasts. And be grateful for the time you have left in this world, especially during these winter months.

So don’t worry about if you didn’t shine every moment in 2024. Don’t worry about what you’ve accomplished this year. Be glad that you’re alive, healthy, and can be a part of this great big universe as long as your light shines!

I want you to think about this and really try to:
Strive to be more active next year – don’t make it a New Year’s Resolution – just do it! Don’t compete with anyone, even yourself. Have lunch with a senior at least once a week (it’s fun, trust me). And bake something wonderful so your house smells good!

For 2025, I promised myself to start walking more, even if it’s just to see that morning ray of sunshine. (I invite anyone to join me in my neighborhood or theirs!) I’m also adding voice lessons on Thursday nights, and a meditation class on Saturday morning! And always there’s more wonderful books out there to read and digest, so read a little every day and then write about it so you can think about it later.

So, my advice for 2025: don’t sweat all those little nit-picking details that blow up your brain. Simply do this: work hard–yes, raise your kids–sure, spend time with those grandchildren–of course, (and grandchildren: CALL YOUR GRANDMA and be grateful she wants you to be in her life!), love and care for your spouse. But also: make a habit of doing one thing for yourself every day. Carve out that sliver of time for yourself. Happy Solstice everyone!

Keep Pushing the Limits

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I am going to learn something new every day that I am alive. I am going to vigorously try, and affect change no matter what. I am going to keep pushing the limits despite the Elon Musks of the world. Even when I am tired, and beat down, I am going to extend my heart to those in need, even if it’s just a word of encouragement or giving someone my last few dollars in my wallet. The billionaires can’t keep us little folk down if we choose to always do the right thing.

I continue to be amazed at the selfishness of our representatives in congress. Why they are so afraid of losing support from those rich folks? Why are they so afraid of future elections when they haven’t been representing us for these last few administrations? And why do those folks we try to help continue to vote for these people? It makes me sad that these government officials can’t make decisions that need to be made.

I will keep doing the right thing, supporting those in need even when they don’t understand what they have done. I will keep supporting our government and write to them when things are dismal. I will continue to support local city causes and city employees (after all, I was one of them for a long time).

I will continue to represent what is right for all of us, rich or poor. It’s the right thing to do. Will you be a part of this with me? Each day, I’ll send good thoughts out to everyone, even those who don’t understand and have waaaaayyyyy more money than me. Time will tell what will be given to us at midnight.

A little political today, I know, but it had to be said. Back to happenings tomorrow. Love and Hugs to all.

Joyful Noise!

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It’s the little things in life that we adore as we get older. These last few weeks have been both joyful and trying. It’s joyful because when we get to do something wonderful for seniors in their residences, especially those in memory care. I love that feeling! And it’s trying, because we start to feel a little older when we see these folks that we identify with when we can’t complete all the tasks that we want to do. Each day we start to worry about slowing down a little more and that we will need more care as we age. Having said this, though I would like to brag about our choir.

Our incredible senior choir comes together every Friday to practice a set of music where we go out and sing to those places that need a little cheer, especially this time of year. We belt out those oldies to bring a little Christmas cheer to those who are in facilities far from their homes and loved ones. We visit when they need us on all the holidays, but the Christmas melodies seem to have a profound impact on them. Those that can stand up and dance along with us during our performances. Those that can’t sing along and remember the times of their childhood. For a little time in our lives, we are appreciated, and they get something in return.

How does music make you remember? Our brains are an amazing thing. Studies have shown that music activates the limbic system, which controls memory and processes emotions. It also activates the hippocampus, which is associated with memory, and the amygdala, which is associated with emotional responses. It increases the blood flow to the brain regions that control emotions and releases dopamine, the natural happy drug! Music is often present during distinctive, emotional, or self-defining life events, which can make those memories easier to recall. Music therapy can be a valuable tool for helping dementia patients recall memories. 

“Deeply encoded music can also unlock flashbulb memories. We remember more vivid details about events in the past when we are exposed to music,” Andrew Budson, Ph.D., told the Washington Post in an article posted on June 13, 2023. He added that research has shown that effect is more common with music than with familiar faces or other stimuli. Budson is a professor of neurology at Boston University, and chief of cognitive and behavioral neurology for the Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience at Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System.

British neurologist Oliver Sacks (author of Awakenings) once stated: “Music evokes emotion, and emotion can bring with it memory… it brings back the feeling of life when nothing else can.” This quote shows the power of music. Like the aroma of cookies baking, a familiar song can bring us back to another time. In 1973, Robert DeNiro and Robin Williams starred in the movie adaptation, and Penny Marshall directed the movie which was Sacks memoir. It is a fantastic movie, and I encourage you to find it at watch it during the holidays.

For more information on how music can help you and all others you sing to see the following articles:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/music-can-boost-memory-and-mood

https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-blog/2019/july/dancin-to-the-music-more-than-just-exercise

I want to shout out a huge thank you to our choir director, Connie Howes, who let me join this happy and talented group. I may sing a little off key sometimes, and sway and wiggle like that funny FB post lady (who is doing her thing in her choir), but I am delighted to be a part of these amazing folks! Happy Happy everyone! Enjoy the bliss during these next few weeks!

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=439359423653199

Throwback-Love the One You Got!

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I had to re-post this as I was thinking about all our good times together these last few years. These were from the ad we put into your high school senior yearbook and your graduation. You, my wonderful boy, are special in every way and we love you so much! I hope everyone has this kind of son in their lives to cherish and nurture. I can’t believe you’ll be out of college in two years! It has been a wonderful ride. I hope you remember your old mom and come back to see me occasionally (Okay maybe more than that!)

Happy holidays to all those sons and daughters who are significant in the lives of all of you out there!

We’re Not Worthy!

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Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar once said, “We’re Not Worthy!” to Alice Cooper, their all-time heavy metal rock star idol, in their movie, Wayne’s World. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey played this Saturday Night Live couple. Their skit was about their basement-living days and their talk show and their special reverence for all the iconic musicians. These musicians also rocked my world back in the day.

Music has kept me sane all these years. When I hear a song that takes me back to my teen years, I pause a little bit and bring it all in. For example, last night I heard Linda Ronstadt’s Blue Bayou on Origins series about Leroy Jethro Gibbs. This show was about his prior NIS days before his NCIS career. It took me way back, to traveling out here in my little Toyota through the Louisiana night. My body shook recalling those vivid memories.

Those ballads as well as those heavy metal base beats reverberate through me every time that I hear them play on the radio. I don’t get the same sense of place when I hear the newer music. I have not been to the places, both mentally and physically, that people younger than me have been to. And since music moves a person mentally and physically, and your perspective as an older person is different, you must actively choose to understand the space where a younger person is right now. So, I don’t discount the current music, I just must learn to appreciate it differently. No matter what style of music, I am trying to embrace the new sounds to understand the angst and soul of the new generation.

Your body will always move to the sounds you grew up with and memories will flood back to the times and places you have been. I never lived in my parents’ basement like Wayne and Garth (because for one thing we didn’t have a basement; Hey! it was Georgia) because that wasn’t what my generation did. We had fewer choices on how to live – get married or go out and do something with ourselves out in the world…. Believe me, I broke the norm, but many of us just wanted to get away from out past and try to make the world a better place.

Parents were less understanding about you wanting to live at home back in those days. It was okay if you were an unmarried woman, but a young man was considered a deadbeat. Sad, but true. Although so many of us women couldn’t wait to get away from our mother’s choking embrace, we didn’t have as many options as men. Our parents thought they were protecting us, but so many of us felt stifled. Today, children are allowed to stay at home after college until they get on their feet. I am a fan of this understanding but only to a point. As I tell my kiddo, “Honey, I love you, but I don’t want a 30-year-old living in the basement! So, finish college and get on with your life!”

There are many things that have changed today, and you can’t just live in a tent across the country like I did in the old days. I wasn’t considered part of the homeless population and made to “move along.” Money will always be an issue, but our children must eventually figure it out and live within their means. Even if it means having lots of roommates to share the costs. They can follow in Wayne and Garth’s footsteps and have their own podcasts, just in their own basements!

So, if you have talent and can follow in those iconic musicians’ footsteps, you are indeed worthy! You will make a mark on the world. It will be a glorious sound, and I will be proud to listen and dance to the beat of your vastly different drum!

Listen to Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Jim Croce, Linda Ronstadt, Coldplay and Toploader and appreciate all the older genres of music. Learn from the past and incorporate what the future will hold for all of us.

To conclude this unusual posting, I am asking you to move with effort towards the gentle side of yourself and move to joy unfolding. Encourage yourself to be less afraid and open to change. Then take a seat. Be still and listen to others purposefully, completely and engaged.

For a fun remembrance of Wayne’s World, visit the Guardian and read this article:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/aug/17/i-once-would-have-been-embarrassed-by-my-love-for-waynes-world-but-no-longer

I Really Did Not Start It

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In her book Little Weirds Jenny Slate wanted to remind us that “No woman started it, by the way.” She also stated that “Patriarchy and Misogyny are neither the fault nor the invention of WOMEN (emphasis mine).”

Right at this moment we must remember that we, as human beings, are all wired differently. When we don’t understand each other, our communication styles are simply different, and therefore we speak and process information differently. Our reactions to each other are different if we don’t give each other a chance to come together and create a solution for the both of us as well as the world.

Sometimes we just need to slow down a little, sit in our rockers on the porch, and quiet our minds before we speak. Sometimes we must have meaningful eye contact and listen quietly to what the other person has to say. I know I am too far ahead sometimes and try to finish a sentence for someone and that is not the direction they want to go. Sometimes others do that to me. I must embrace the just breathe mantra and actively listen to what the conversation really means.

Therefore, when you see all these blowhards on the news pontificating about problems that they are going to solve next year, problems that they created, just know that we rational people, especially women, will rise up and fight back. Know that all the dreadful things haven’t happened YET. Live in the holiday moment for a little while longer.

And know that you are not alone in your thinking and understanding of the world becoming a better place despite the ancient white man roar. Know that we are in a better place today than we were one hundred years ago. Know that we are all in this together and we can overcome anything.

Know that the robots haven’t taken over yet.

Quiet your mind. Live in the moment and life will go on. The cycle will come full circle once again. Stay positive. Be kind to each other and love each other during this holiday season. Positivity out to everyone!

Christmas Collections and Traditions from the Nerd Family-This is Who We Are!

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When I finished decorating the Christmas tree today, I looked at it and said to myself, “Boy or Boy, are we the nerd family or what?” Looking over the ornaments we have collected over the years, here is what I saw:

Lots and lots of Lego ornaments (assembled lovingly by all of us over these last few years);
A Wall-e figure (that talks);
A Tardis (yeah, you know what I’m talking about); and,
Many cute, framed pictures of Kiddo (from 2-year-old karate days to pre-teen years-what a ham;
Lots of lots of Weiner Dogs-and some have on pajamas! Too funny!

And the nerd of all nerd ornaments that we have saved for many years but didn’t put on the tree this year: An entire Rubbermaid storage box of spaceships (Star Trek and Star Wars).

So now is the time to bring out all your fond memories and decorate your tree in your own nerdy way! It’s our fun family tradition where we don’t fight much and enjoy each other a little bit.

Make your own version of the 1950s classic Chex Mix in your own way and enjoy a big bowl, sitting around the tree! I love you all and hope you have a great holiday season creating your own fond memories with your children and grandchildren around you.

Classic Christmas Music, Cookies, Decorating the Tree, and Construction

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December should be the time of year where you focus on everything Christmas, right? Unfortunately, we still have projects to do and mile(stones) to go before we sleep(finish)!

Here is how I balanced it today: Contractor came in and put in both the outside doors. Having bought them almost a year ago, it was time…. Took almost all day. We had to do the cleanup, and I will have to trim and paint later. One more thing on that list.

Went to the grocery store. Not too many people at 3pm in the afternoon!

As for the Christmas, the lights on the outside are all strung and working (Thank you David!)

Today, we put on the classic Christmas music, put up the tree, and finished decorating it. Kiddo helped and it looks beautiful.

The never-ending list narrowed down to December:

Finish putting storage boxes back down (where doors were stored) to take the tree down afterwards.
Decorate all the Knick knacks on the tables and hang the stockings on the mantlepiece.
Finish baking cookies and bread.
Distribute said baked goods to family and friends.
Wrap presents.
Make dinner (and repeat every day!).
Make breakfast (and repeat every day!).
Make lunch (and repeat every day!)
Contractors coming in to fix things that the dishwasher installers broke…. (a story unto itself-heavy sigh)
Finish painting closet doors.
Senior choir concerts next two weeks. Help with setup.
Bake and prepare for the senior choir potluck on the 27th.
Get a walk and swim in sometime during the week!
Read and Write and Post.

So, I’m a little tired today. I am continuing to make lists so that eases my brain a little bit. I’m trying not to explode on loved ones. The point of this writing exercise is to let you know that you aren’t the only person who has an overwhelming list. Take one task at a time, love the moment you are in, and just remember that I am with you 100%. Take a break in the evenings. Have a good dinner and binge watch Interior Chinatown Season 1 and get as confused as we were! Thank you, Taika Waititi for being your usual self!

Laugh a little, love a little, and forgive those who dun you wrong and forget about it in your next phase of life.

Love and hugs to all y’all!

Friday the 13th-Displacement, Disenchantment, and Jack Reacher

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Today is Friday the 13th. I just read my friend’s earlier Facebook post and vigorously applauded it. Shout out to Gwen Brandenburg and here is her post:

“Happy Friday the 13th all! Prior to Christianity, Friday the 13th was the Day of the Goddess – a day to celebrate feminine power and creativity. The number 13 is associated with feminine power, as it represents the number of periods a woman has in a year. More recently, religions have taught society to shame women for their menstrual cycles, and to fear the number 13. Fortunately, we don’t need to! Wear pink today. Embrace your power, or for men, appreciate the life-giving power of women!” 💕

So, having read her post, I forgot to wear pink but know that I wanted to acknowledge to the world that we women are different, strong, and beautiful. Yes, we have things that happen to our bodies that so many men don’t want to think about. Yes, we bear their children, and they forget about that. However, no matter how much we are downtrodden and dismissed, no matter what the men think, we get back up and move onto the next task! We are all strong women, and we should shout it to the world! We know what we need to do to save the planet and all who live here:

TEACH OUR CHILDREN our life lessons!

Jenny Slate in her book Little Weirds had this to say about our mother’s teachings. Her mother knew a lot about plants and on their walks, she would always point out a flower and ask, “Do you know what it is?” And if Jenny knew they would both enjoy that they both knew. She said, “This is also one of the first ways that I perceived power in another person: …if you have it, it is powerful and excellent to pass it on. That is the act of power, showing that you know, giving it to another person, realizing that as you spread it, you get to keep it but watch it grow, and by watching other have it, you learn new things about the original thing.”  

WOW! WOW! WOW!

These past few days, I have been thinking about why some of us are feeling so overwhelmed with this new second act of our government regime. For me it’s when justice is not served to those who have failed us and committed acts of violence to women and well, really, any criminal acts, we start to lose hope in a fair system.

So, here’s my thought about all of this, how we can get by each day for a while longer: If you’ve haven’t read the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child, I encourage you to do so if only to be in a wonderful fantasy world for a little bit and maybe get some incentive to be involved. If you don’t have time to read all of them, that’s okay (there are twenty-nine of them to date). You’ll understand what I am talking about after you read the first few.

Next, watch the series (not the Tom Cruise movies) on Prime Video. The actor in the series (Season 3 coming out in February!) is incredible. His name is Alan Ritchson, and he is amazing in this roll. His character (and body) fits the description of Child’s Reacher in the books in every way. All I gotta say is: Oooooh La La! Check him out at:

https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a46663668/alan-ritchson-reacher-interview/

But what I also liked about the TV series, was the role of the talented and strong women on his team. They had mad skills, held their own, worked well together and they helped the victims. They made right what was wrong with the overall arch of the story. I want to be on that team!

So today, I ask all of you to binge watch Reacher, and be like Jack Reacher! But remember to also pay attention to what your mother taught you.

I send out good thoughts and hopeful progress to all of you out there tonight!