#imnotcolorblind

You say 'white guilt' like its a bad thing. 

Don't you know the purpose of guilt is to tell you something is wrong?!

It doesn't matter that I didn't start the fire, as a responsible human being I still want to put it out so people don't get hurt. 

Merry Yule season

May I intro duce, Blog # 2

Soon there will be a A New KIND  of blog I will be working on. Every month a new historically significant person of interest will be featured.

Calluna's Corner is about story telling, real and imaginary. A New KIND  will be about actual real life people.

People who embody A New Kindness, people who have championed for human dignity, liberation, and compassion.

Throwback blog

http://tattoosandthings.blogspot.com/?m=1

I had started this blog with the intention of creating informative space for people to learn about tattooing, tattoo culture, and tattoo safety. 

I stumbled upon this page actually in the process of doing some research and I was like 'hey wait a minute I wrote that'

So this certain little blog is a part of my story I no longer have that email address and so I can't access it to pick it up again but tattooing has certainly been a subject of fascination and interest for a long time I've done several projects focusing on tattooing. I've  done research proposals on tattooing subjects as well as being tattooed myself. 

An excellent book to check out is called 'Bodies of inscription' it gives a historical look culturally and sociologically about tattooing. It's a very good read for anyone who's interested in the subject. 

Why Hierarchy Creates a Destructive Force Within the Human Psyche

Why Hierarchy Creates a Destructive Force Within the Human Psyche

For the love of change

Life is about change. Sometimes it's exciting, sometimes scary, but it happens, with dread or enthusiasm. 

The signing 'meh' of forlorn ambition. Go with it. Resist it. Aim for it. It'll happen anyway. 

Do not neglect your ability to direct the change!

We are all running out of time. 

GO! NOW! 

DO!

The public discourse allows for many different voices, and my story may not be very different from others.

 But my experience is unique on unto itself. The specific intersections of faith and health and gender and race and desire are specific unto me.

I know that there are thousands of other women who look so similar to me that you may call me by their names.

But I also know that every single one of them has a unique a story to tell.

YOU HAVE A UNIQUE STORY TO TELL.

Don't presume I will be like others who look like me.

It is my deepest desire that all of humanity would one day come together as one big family.

To cherish all people. Encourage one another, look out for one another, go!

Live as a community, now!

Reject ideas that separate us, Do!

Love your neighbors! 

Why time out?

Time out vs. spanking may be a debate for child rearing techniques, but is also a metaphorical approach to self care. 

 When one punishes them self for wrongdoing, messing up, or any other failure, real or imaginary, they inflict emotion pain on them self. That pain can motivate one to not screw up again but it can also prevent someone from exploring other solutions if they continual obsess over the failure and do not learn to let it go. In order for you to let go of  mental punishment you must spend time reflecting on what happened and imagine how it could be better. This is time out. Then from there you can make a plan how to do it differently and more successfully next time. 

How you can tell if you are punishing yourself or reflecting? 

Would you say it to someone you care about? 

There is a time and place for both, in self care and child rearing. Be patient with yourself and allow yourself to learn at your own pace. Remember, this is a journey, not a race to the finish line. It will come soon enough.

A hero by any other name

Does it really matter? The most recent marketing ploy to draw more audience members ( namely female ) into the marvel hero's fandom has caused quite the buzz, for good and ill. But does it even matter?

 Who cares if Thor is a female or male, the character is the same. There are other stories in the history of story when characters have been gender irrelevant. 

Meaning, you can tell the same story weather the character is either gender because the essence of who they are is not wrapped up in their reproductive organs.

 The effort is a clear marketing ploy because the response is coming at a time when strong women are the hottest thing at the box office. 

 Now people are opposed because the felmale Thor has too perfect and unrealistic of a body, and others are mad that they made her female at all "the downfall of society" ect.

I personally feel for them to be successful in this the writers will need to keep the values and character in tact and not make the story about what she does with her organs. 

That is the essence of good story telling, true character, not gender stereotypes. 

Weather they are successful in delivering this, we will have to wait and see.

Griots

I'm actually kinda embarrassed that I only recently learned this word.  

griot[ gree-oh, gree-oh, gree-ot ]

noun

1. a member of a hereditary caste among the peoples of western Africa whose function is to keep an oral history of the tribe or village and to entertain with stories, poems, songs, dances, etc.

Organized chaos

Or perhaps I should rather say disciplined creativity. 

One of the most important things you can do as a storyteller is to discipline yourself to keep telling stories and also to listen to stories. Stay open to exploring and learning new things.

It has been said that if you want to learn how to write, then write.

If you want to learn how to do something then do it and through practice and disciplining yourself to continue to develop that skill means doing the thing that it is that you want to get better at.

I have to laugh at myself sometimes because I have this blog and as of yet I have no followers but I'm not doing it to have followers, this blog is about me disciplining myself to keep up a blog.

As I develop my skills as a story teller & blogging about story telling it brings a focus to how I engage with the world around me. I am cognasant of messages, searching for their cultural origins, and peeling back layers in order to learn how to apply those symbols for the specified meaning. This is the aim of communication, clearity, this requires practice.

So while the world may bombard you with a plethora of messages, most of which conflicting, you may cut through the red tape jargon and know the true meaning.  

Stories we sell ourselves

When I wake in the morning I hear a voice telling me that the day is full of possibilities. Every sunrise is a promise of adventure. 

Hope in what lies ahead. 

What does your voice tell you about each new day?

If it's not something you would say to someone you care about, why would you accept that message for yourself?

Making friends...& enemies

Is it really an unavoidable truth that you make enemies on your way to success? Even if you try to treat everyone with decency and respect.

I know everyone has a different perspective and we're not always going to see everything the same way so there are going to be misunderstandings. 

The more you interact with other people the more probability for misunderstanding there will be. You can try to correct the misunderstandings but... There are some people who just are not willing to negotiate with you to come to understand different perspective. The best you can do is try to understand their perspective, you're still going to run into people who refuse to understand anything other than their own view. 

There are a plethora of stories that draw upon these misunderstandings. As story tellers show both sides and create turmoil for the audience by building on these conflicts. In the real world we need to learn how to build on understanding.

Superheroes and Disney teaching kids something good

Sometimes the stories can be utilized to teach very basic and very important lessons about morality and understanding ourselves and others.

https://www.facebook.com/SwanLadygoddess/posts/10151965417956933

You Got It!

You got the look,

You got the idea, 

You got the mad skills

.....lol

I heard a guy talking about creativity and he said 'You either have IT or you don't.'

It made me laugh to hear that. What a shame that anyone who wants to learn how to do something might believe that idea and quit trying after their first attempted is not perfect. SKILLs are learned over time and through the tenasious passionate drive that says 'I'm going to do this because this is what I love to do!'

Kids that are really good at video games, singing, running, quoting Shakespeare, memorizing baseball stats, you name it! They are good at it because they love it and stick with it. 

It's the same with professional skills. Why do you think the Beatles were so good at singing and writing songs? Or why Steve Jobs was so good at computers? They spent time doing these things because they were passionate about doing them and they became good at it because they took the time to invest in developing the skills needed to be a professional. 

Find any avenue to get involved in the craft that you are passionate about and do it! keep doing it ! and don't you dare give up!

Cinderella and the rough faced girl

https://www.cwist.com/cwists/785/preview

I just had to share. What a great exersize to learn about stories and culture.

Cultural Differences in a Popular Fairytale

Learning

If you like reading and listening to fairy tales then this is the cwist for you. In this cwist you will read two different tales of Cinderella and then use your skills of comparing and contrasting to evaluate them. If you don't have the two books, you can watch on-line versions of them.

Things You Need:

the books "Cinderella" and "The Rough-Face Girl" (or on-line versions linked in this cwist), paper, pencil

Things To Do

1

The first step in this challenge is to read or listen to the story of Cinderella. You an read the story on your own or click on the link below.

Useful resources:

• Cinderella

Useful images:

2

After you have completed the story, print out the graphic organizer linked below and complete it. For the Cinderella story, the website breaks down the elements for you. This will allow you to use this as a guide for how to find the same elements in "The Rough-Face Girl" in a later step. Remember to listen to the entire story first before filling in your organizer. Type "done!" in the box below to continue.

Useful images:

ElementsofaFairyTale.pdf

3

Next you will be reading a similar story that focuses on the Native American culture, called "The Rough-Face Girl", by Rafe Martin. If you are unable to get this book at your local bookstore or the library watch the video of the book below.

Useful images:

Useful videos:

4

After you have completed the story, print out the organizer linked below and complete it for this story. Remember to use the other organizer as your guide. On the back of your organizer make a prediction or a guess on one element of the Cinderella story you feel will be similar and one prediction on one element that will be different between the two stories you have read. Type "done!" in the box below to continue.

Useful images:

ElementsofaFairyTale.pdf

5

After you have completed your story organizer, print out a Venn Diagram at the link below. This will allow you to compare and contrast elements of the two stories. To compare means to notice the elements of the story that are similar. To contrast means to notice elements that are different. Type "done!" in the box below when you have printed your Venn Diagram.

Useful images:

VennDiagramCompareContrast.pdf

6

The Venn Diagram will allow you to take a look at the same story concept and how it can differ through different cultures in the world. Complete your Venn Diagram.

7

After you have completed your Venn Diagram. Present to a parent about what you have noticed about the two stories. Make sure you explain how the stories are similar and how the stories are different. You can use your Venn Diagram as well as your story organizers to help you explain.

  

Motivation

I think we have all had days when we just don't feel like doing....whatever it is we are supposed to be doing. I had been feeling like I was at a dead end. But guess what!?

I found other people whom have researched the topic I am trying to Blog about with you here. :D
It turns out there is even a term for it; METAHISTORY. Which according to author Hayden White is:

'a new perspective on the current debate over the nature and function of historical knowledge.'

That definition doesn't quit explain it well enough but it is helpful for me as I research to know part of the path is paved for me to explore. Another way of putting it:

'The basic assumption of metahistory states a self-evident truth: all beliefs held by human beings are encoded in stories.' ~ Copyright 2002 - 2014 by John Lash.

This is what I seek to explore; The stories society tells itself and the relationship we as a society have with those stories.

I noticed this phenomenon at an early age and like NEO in the matrix, I have been trying to find a way to show people they have a choice. By being aware of the stories and the lesson they teach or the beliefs they support you can choose to allow those stories into your beliefs and behaviors or not. 

"When people are engaged in communication they have in their minds certain social
scripts which they internalize through day-to-day interaction with other people, and
which influence their presupposition, and hence their way of communication."Hongdang Meng, Yancheng Institute of Technology 2008

So if you know the culture you grew up in is not the only perspective you can explore new perspectives and ways of doing things. You can also be less attached to weather other people think or behave like you. THIS is the social evolution that will lead to peace! When we learn to understand each other and are able to be 'cool' with the differences.

Friendship

The fine art of friendship. 

Needing of love

Understanding

Growing old

.......

From 'the fine art of friendship' by King's X

On this month of Love, I think of the love of friendship.

I love my friends, probably more than they know. Most of them don't like each other, I have to hang out with them separately. With the pressures of adulthood, I hardly see any of them at all. But the ones who seem emotionally resiliant enough to realize we all have things in our life that prevent us from hanging out like we use to, are the ones that I'm still friends with. 

I never stopped loving anyone. But I'm too old to go chasing anyone. 

I give understanding, I need understanding too. And so do you. And we all need love.

Swan Knight

I was doing some pleasure research this morning, which usually involves swans, or religion, or philosophy, or whatever and discovered a story that I am really rather surprised that I had not heard of prior to this day. The story (and of course there are several different variation to the tale) involves a character known as the Swan Knight. He was pledge to secrecy of his origins in order to do good and not be a glory seeker, as those in a position of power have a tendency of doing.

What a beautiful start to the new year. Especially now as I transition in my life, from a time of preparing to a time of action. It is my aim to act with intention to make the world a better place. With this story in mind I can do so with confidence that this mission is shared with others, and to not be distracted by temptations of the ego.

The swan in European traditions, is the symbol of mythopoesis (Myth making). So yes, I am a storyteller who has an affinity for swans. I am Swan the Myth-maker. Too egotistic? Ok, well, I'm working on it.

This is the sitting room of royalty whom was known as The Swan King, he had an affinity for the legend of the Swan Knight. The mural on the wall is from the story.

Never ending

Truth is, I don't believe any story ever ends, nor can any of us go back far enough to tell it from the beginning. But as story Tellers we have to choose where to begin and where to end.

In life we have a choice. There is always more to the story, but we get to choose, where it begins, and where it ends.

I tend to believe all love is true. No matter the circumstances, there is an element of two divine beings finding connection and experiencing something profound. It may be short lived, it may last a life time, or anything in between. 

When people obsess over weather this one person is their 'one true love' or that person, it prevents the individual from getting to know the other individual. 

 This is a sort of self story telling. We imagine what our perfect mate is like, then look for if that 'one' person matches our expectations. Sometimes this mirage image we have dreamt up prevents us from seeing the real person before us.

That love, still, is real. Everything that has been or will be, is. Or so the story goes. Our story began at the beginning of it all, but neither you nor I were there when it happened, but we are still really part of the story of it all. 

Sullage Gowan

Take from the slime the gold of wisdom, 

Gleen from the filth your tools for tomorrow. 

Sullage Gowan

A small battle cry, 

Sullage Gowan

I will not die.