Category: Arts & Entertainment

Zitkala-Sa: An American Indian Voice

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Zitkala-Sa: An American Indian Voice

The legacy of Zitkala-Sa lives on as one of the most influential Native American activists of the 20th century. She left an influential theory of Indian resistance and a crucial model for reform. It was the activism of Zitkala-Sa that made possible crucial changes to education, health care, and legal standing for Native American people and the preservation of Indian culture.

Life Story: Zitkala-Sa - Women & the American StoryZitkala-Sa’s Literary Work

“Much of Zitkala-Sa’s work is characterized by its transitional nature: tensions between tradition and assimilation, between literature and politics. These tensions are most notable in her autobiographical works. In her well-known “American Indian Stories”, for example, she both expresses a literary account of her life and delivers a political message. The narrative expresses her tension between wanting to follow the traditions of the Yankton Dakota while being excited about learning to read and write, and being tempted by assimilation. This tension has been described as generating much of the dynamism of her work.” Wikipedia

Zitkala-Sa: An American Indian Voice

By D. S. Mitchell

Who was Zitkala-Sa?

Zitkala-Sa was an American Indian woman who was an influential voice for indigenous people. Red Bird was a writer, editor, translator, composer, musician, educator, and political activist.  She struggled with her cultural identity and took that struggle to the written page. She also wrote books about traditional Native American myths and stories. Her writings were well-known  to a white English-speaking readership. She is considered among one of the most influential Native Americans of the twentieth century.

Red Bird

Zitkala-Sa was born February 22, 1876 on the Yankton Dakota Reservation in South Dakota. Zitkala-Sa means “Red Bird”.  She was later given the missionary name of Gertrude Simmons.  Ellen Simmons, a Yankton Dakota woman whose Dakota name was Thate Ivohiwin (Every Wind or Reaches for the Wind) was her mother. Her father was a German-American man who left the family when Zitkala-Sa was very young. Gertrude later married Raymond Bonnin and is often known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin.

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You Might Be a Woman of a Certain Age

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HUMOR: You Might Be a Woman of a Certain Age

Humor: A Woman of a certain age

HUMOR:

You Might Be a Woman of a Certain Age…

By Anna Hessel

Barbie Blast From The Past

Well, ladies, I’ve been thinking a lot about women of a certain age.  What if we had Barbies to represent our generation:

  • Woman of a Certain Age Barbie – comes with a portable fan, itsy-bitsy tweezers, wrinkle cream, fashionable bifocals, AARP card, and a Dream Condo in a senior high rise. Pull a string and she has a hot flash.  This Barbie sports a few gray hairs in her blond tresses, maybe some stretch marks, fine lines, plastic cellulite (perhaps includes a tiny loofah and CQ-10 cream?), and her tatas are a bit lower.  Silver Fox Ken with grey at the temples and a middle-age crisis convertible, sold separately…
  • Botox Barbie – nothing’s different, her expression is still frozen…
  • Direct Marketing Maven Barbie – comes with BB cream samples and a pink Cadillac…
  • Journalist Barbie – comes with a tiny newspaper, folded to her favorite writer (I wonder who that would be?)…
You Might Be a Woman of a Certain Age…

All this talk of dolls brings thoughts of youthful memories from back in the day…

  • If you can remember crisp brown plaid dresses with Peter Pan collars and decorative buttons, purchased specifically for the first day of classes, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you can remember black patent Mary Janes, complete with white lace trim socks, and the blisters that accompanied them, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you went back to school sporting a summer tan from laying out in the backyard, courtesy of baby oil mixed with iodine, sipping a Tab in a webbed lounge chair beside a boom box, hair highlighted by Sun In, featuring oversize Foster Grants, and a wicker tote bag filled with a splash bottle of Jean Nate, a strawberry-flavored Bonnie Bell Lip Smacker, and a striped beach towel (mine was pink and white), you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you faced the first day of high school attired in Sergio Valente jeans and a ruffled blouse, resplendent with Great Lash mascara, Candie’s clogs, and a mood ring, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you put away your white shoes and purses after Labor Day, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you own a Wonder Bra and wonder what to do with it, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you have ever thrown a Wonder Bra at Englebert Humperdinck or Tom Jones, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you can remember the television going off late at night to the playing of our national anthem, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you ever ironed your hair with a small appliance made for clothes, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you ever used a Maybelline Kissing Potion rollerball, bubble gum flavor, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you call your nail tech a manicurist, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you ever used Jolene bleach, shaved your legs with a Flicker, or wore pantyhose from an egg, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you ever did a basic set with pink sponge curlers, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you know what Dippity Do did, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you ever wore strawberry or lemon perfume, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you ever wore a wide-legged jumpsuit with a puka shell necklace and platform shoes, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you own an original lava lamp and beaded curtain, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you know what Mr. Whipple squeezed, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you know that Charlie is a fragrance by Revlon, not just a faceless gentleman from a popular TV show about three angels, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you know who the Tidy Bowl Man is, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you are of the opinion that Spanx is just another name for a girdle, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you know who “Marsha Marsha Marsha” is, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you think regenerative hydration therapy serum is just a fancy name for a face cream, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you buy every wrinkle cream promising results in a week and you still look the same, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you know who Bobby Sherman is, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you look forward to commercials featuring Tom Selleck and Joe Namath, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If your favorite TV shows have commercials for Medicare Advantage plans and you can remember when the episodes first aired, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you fall asleep during those commercials, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you call the paramedics and expect Bobby Sherman, Randy Mantooth, and Kevin Tighe to show up, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you think Rick Springfield, Henry Winkler, Billy Dee Williams, Danny Glover, Anson Williams, Billy Dean, Barry Williams, John Stamos, Erik Estrada, Patrick Stuart, Jeff Foxworthy, and President Biden are still sexy, you may be a woman of a certain age (and have excellent taste in real men)…
  • If your dream car is a Mercury Cougar or you just are a cougar, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If your idea of a wild Saturday night is a “Golden Girls” marathon, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  • If you know who Bobby Sherman is, you might be a woman of a certain age… (Did I already say this?)
  • If you need those designer Depends while reading this, you might be a woman of a certain age… (and I did my job right…)

Ladies of a certain age, we may forget where we left our car keys or grocery list, our eyebrows might be over-tweezed, our bottoms may be a bit lower, but we will always have unique style…

*I’d like to say a special thank you to my favorite comedian Jeff Foxworthy, who was the inspiration for this article.

https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2020/09/13/humor-abolishing-age-appropriate-attire/

 

 

Women And Professional Sports

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Women And Professional Sports

OPINION: The Long Game

LPGA

Women And Professional Sports

OPINION: The Long Game

By Trevor K. McNeil and D. S. Mitchell

Professional Women Athletes

The idea of women’s professional sports is not new. For people of my generation and younger, the 1996 founding of the Women’s National Basketball Association was a long time ago. The WNBA is just one of a number of attempts at starting women’s professional sports leagues.

Big Disgrace

The world-wide lack of sustainable women’s pro baseball, hockey and soccer is an on-going and unaccountable disgrace. Particularly considering how well amateur teams have been shown to do, especially in hockey at the Olympics. An injustice underscored when former Canadian Women’s Hockey Team captain Hayley Wickenheiser went to play pro hockey in Finland, where the hockey federation voted unanimously to allow women to play for the existing men’s teams. This of course then raises questions of equal opportunity on an unequal playing field.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct

One of the major obstacles to the success of women’s teams are issues around publicity and sponsorship, at least partly based on the idea that there is a lack of interest in women’s athletics. There is without a doubt a shortage of attention given to women’s pro athletes. Star’s attract viewers. The media doesn’t make stars but it draws attention to them. Perhaps a priority should be to demand the media give the gals equal coverage.

A League of Their Own

One of the first professional women’s athletics leagues was the All-American Girl’s Professional Baseball League. Founded in 1943, when a baseball hungry nation cried out for satisfaction during the final years of WWII, the AAGPBL did surprisingly well. There were the usual cries of foul from arch conservatives, particularly at the beginning, but the league ended up lasting for 11 years from 1943 to 1954, drawing in up to 500,000 fans per season during its final years. Even after ‘the boys’ came home from the war.

Do It Yourself

A women’s professional association that not only survived but thrives to this  day is the LPGA. Founded in 1950, it is the oldest continuing American women’s professional sports association. Boasting champions such as Kathy Whitworth. The Texas native who won 88 titles over an over 40 year a career, from 1960 to her retirement in 2005. A tradition carried on by the likes of Lexi Thompson who at the age of 25 has already won 14 American and International golf championships.

In Her Court

Similarly, there have been strong women competitors in tennis for decades. The 1924 Olympics in Paris a prime example. A fact which finally calumniated in the formation of the Women’s Tennis Association in 1973. It gave a visible platform for the likes of  Martina Navratilova to compete on a professional level, destroying all competition put in her way, as well as being one of the first to play mixed-doubles against men. There have been controversies of course. One notable fact is that male winners got more prize money than female winners at the same event. Something that immediately changed once the governing body was challenged.

Going Backwards

In some ways it seems like we are going backwards. The current resistance and outright patronizing attitude shown toward women’s athletics is indicative of a distinctly retrograde attitude. There have always been idiots, just like there have always been politicians and lawyers, yet things seem to be getting worse. The objections, counter-arguments, and crude jokes, about women’s sports now, sadly reminiscent of those at the beginning of the AAGPBL in 1943. I truly hope we are better than this.

Third Wave

There is the erroneous idea that increased attention on women’s athletics and the push for more recognition is the result of feminist activism. While feminist ideals have certainly helped to push the idea along many other factors are at play. For one there is a major social and cultural reticence in terms of women’s sports. In the good old USA, being a Tomboy is okay until you are fourteen, but after that it is a time to drop the games of childhood and get ready to raise the next generation.  There is none of that pressure on the guys. It is okay for men to play for money until they die.  It’s time that the girls should be allowed to play for big money too.

 

David Shadrick “Ooops!”

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David Shadrick “Ooops!”

Here we are again,  Dave Shadrick is shaking the shit and throwing it out at the world. Lawsuits against Rudy, Fox News and an assortment of other Trump water carriers have been filed. Defamation can be costly. Enjoy here on www.calamitypolitics.com and on YouTube.

 

Benefits Of Working From Home

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There are numerous financial benefits from working from home

Benefits Of Remote Work

D. S. Mitchell

Pandemic Adjustments

The vision of going to work has changed for many of us during the COVID-19 pandemic. Working from home may continue for many workers as we move out of the pandemic and back to normalcy. A Harvard Business School study reported that more than one third of the companies surveyed believed that post-pandemic work environment will include an increase in remote work.

Savings Coming

The shift to at-home work can have long term positive financial advantages. Such possible benefits could include such things as:

  1. Reduced transportation costs. Over even a short time you can spend a lot of money commuting back and forth to the work place. The average commuter typically spends $2,000 to $5,000 annually. This includes gas, car maintenance, public transportation costs and other related costs according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
  2. Lower insurance premiums. Auto insurance premiums are partially based on miles driven. If you no longer travel from home to work and back again you should potentially save money.
  3. Lower lunch costs. Eating at restaurants, or visiting coffee shops while at work can add up fast. It is easy to imagine saving $50 to $100 per week by working from home.
  4. Lower clothing costs. I’m not suggesting you work in your skivvies but there are definitely ways to relax your wardrobe when working from home. Not to mention reducing laundry and dry cleaning expenses.
  5. Lower child care costs. Child care costs can be high. Working from home should reduce those expenses dramatically.
  6. Increased time. Working from home can save hours of time spent on the bus, train, subway or in your car. Spend it recklessly or wisely it’s your choice, but working from home should give you more of it.

It is not hard to imagine saving as much as $5,000 each year by working from home. If this new phenomenon becomes the norm you should think about saving or investing this potential windfall.  Edward Jones suggests two possibilities to make the most of this extra money. One, build an emergency fund containing at least one year of emergency cash. Two, an IRA or a similar employer-sponsored plan could provide an approximate $97,000 ($2,500) to $200,000 ($5,000) after 20 years at 6% interest.

https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2019/10/16/energy-saving-tips-that-cost-nothing/

 

HUMOR: Valentine’s Day

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Valentine’s Day Humor

Valentine's Day is a day to celebrate love

Valentine’s Day Humor

By Anna Hessel

The Wonder Years

The cold days of February bring thoughts of one of my favorite holidays, Valentine’s Day.  Some of my fondest memories involve Valentine’s fun.  We all remember when we were growing up getting those tiny Valentines in their little white envelopes placed in a big wooden box on the teacher’s desk.  Each year my miniature Valentines had a different theme: puppies, kittens, Barbie, and of course, princess.  My earliest Valentine’s memory is my kindergarten campaign to provide trousers for that little guy with the bow and arrow, since it was cold outside.   Those timeless teddy bears with pink and red bows, and heart-shaped boxes of candy covered in ruffles, bring back many teenage memories.

Flying Hearts ACA

Of course, I have a few specific Valentine’s memories: one in particular was actually after Valentine’s Day: I snatched up all the clearance conversation Sweetheart candies as I had just won the Miss American Sweetheart Pageant, and decided tossing boxes of stale Sweethearts during summer parades was a classy thing to do – this idea was short-lived, however, thanks to that guy on the corner with the sunglasses on his head.  I’m still amazed at how far a pair of shades can travel when they come in contact with an airborne box of conversation hearts.

Gourmet Jewelry

My favorite Valentine’s memory was when my husband and I were found by an adorable black terrier in our condo parking lot on a particularly cold Valentine’s Day.  We named him Cupid, and he was a part of our family for over 17 years.  In more recent times, Valentine’s Day has been celebrated by my spouse’s penchant for hiding expensive jewelry in food.  My first diamond cocktail ring arrived in a dish of carrots because it was a “1 carat” ring.  My engagement ring was presented, much to the delight of the charming waitress at Red Lobster, in a plate of mussels – my husband’s theory was since pearls come in oysters, diamonds can come in mussels.

Ladyfingers

Another diamond ring embedded in Tiramisu (ladyfingers…) appeared at our favorite Italian restaurant.  A sapphire ring came atop a cupcake; my diamond and sapphire wedding set was encased in a miniature pink gumball machine.  Hmm, I wonder what I’ll find topping our heart-shaped pizza this year (hint, hint…).  Fortunately, I never broke a tooth on or ingested any of these gifts so I don’t have any trips to the emergency room stories to share.

Can He Take a Hint?

Now if your significant other isn’t a foodie romantic, and you don’t receive bracelets or earrings in side dishes or desserts, then perhaps a few well-placed hints will get you the goodies you desire this Valentine’s Day.  If you do seek something sparkly, put a jewelry catalog in his toolbox.  Or if you’re like me, a gift certificate for a mani-pedi is a perfect present – I suggest placing a flyer from your favorite salon in his sock drawer.

Don’t Forget The TV Remote

If a romantic dinner is on your wish list, wrap coupons from a favorite place to dine out around a six-pack of beer and secure it with a pink ribbon.  My personal favorite hint, sure to work every time, is to tape a business card from the local flower shop on the TV remote control – he’ll never miss that.  No matter how you end up celebrating, may your Valentine’s Day be blessed with style…

HUMOR: 25 Reasons To Smile

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take a minute and enjoy 25 reasons to smile

HUMOR: 25 Reasons To Smile

By D.S. Mitchell

Back At the Computer

I am back at the computer making my second post to my Calamity Politics blog, today.  Before I started this blog, I worried that I wouldn’t have enough to scream about, but I’m finding that I could probably do half a dozen posts a day related to the misinformation flooding the ether.  But I thought, before I start my rant on the collapse of Western Civilization I should deliver something positive and uplifting.

So, dear hearts here are twenty-five things to make you smile:

  1. Touching toes in the sand
  2. Sunsets over water
  3. Wraparound sunglasses
  4. The Science channel
  5. Kite flying contests
  6. The Muppets
  7. Astronauts
  8. Blowing the wrapper off the straw
  9. Winning at Monopoly
  10. A dog’s cold nose on your hand
  11. Barhopping
  12. Old jeans that fit just right
  13. Your lover’s voice
  14. The clatter of skis being loaded
  15. The rumble of a train as it passes
  16. Walking in the rain
  17. The imagination of a six year old
  18. Margaritas at midnight
  19. Finishing the Sunday crossword without cheating
  20. A morning walk
  21. The smell of a new car
  22. Roller skating
  23. Your First grade teacher
  24. A sexy book
  25. Daddy’s smile

I know this Saturday distraction did little to take your mind off the continuing implosion of the Republican Party. My Lord, a large share of these folks sound totally crazy, out-and-out bigots, or radicalized MAGA’s. These people seized the capitol. They were incited for months by Donald Trump in his attempt to overturn an election he knew he had lost.  We watched it on television.  Convict the traitorous SOB. Sorry. I wanted to forget politics for a few minutes.

 

Black Sabbath “Paranoid”

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Black Sabbath “Paranoid”

Black Sabbath “Paranoid”

Black Sabbath was a rock group formed in 1968 in Birmingham, England.  They distinguished themselves through occult themes with horror-inspired lyrics and tuned-down guitars. Ozzy Osbourne was the vocalist with Tony Iommi lead guitar, Bill Ward drummer, and Geezer Butler as bassist.

Black Sabbath were the pioneers of heavy metal music. The band defined the genre with such hits as Black Sabbath  (1970), Paranoid (1970) and (1971) Master of Reality. Black Sabbath had multiple line-up changes after vocalist Osbourne’s departed in 1979. Tony Iommi was the only constant member throughout its history.  Calamity takes full responsibility for today’s Jukebox Choice of the Day, Ozzy singing “Paranoid”. Enjoy. DSM

https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2019/04/11/xenophobia-fear-of-others-different-shade-paranoid/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OPINION: Jonathan Pie Says Goodbye

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OPINION: Jonathan Pie Says Goodbye 

HUMOR:  Jonathan Pie Says Goodbye To Donald Trump

T.K. McNeil suggested this great Goodbye rant from YouTube by Jonathan Pie. Jonathan says everything I have ever thought about Donald Trump, plus some I never thought of. One hell of a rant. It is the best goodbye, good riddance speech you will ever hear. Check out Jonathan’s YouTube channel and subscribe. Enjoy. DSM