Category: Distractions

55 Things To Smile About

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55 Things To Smile About

D. S. Mitchell

Neighborly Invitation

It’s Easter Sunday. So far, very quiet around here. My neighbor stopped by and invited me to come over for fresh caught BBQ’d Halibut steaks. I’m vegetarian, so not too excited about the prospect. After she invited me, she laughed and said, “I always forget you only eat plants. Come over anyway, I think we can find something for you to eat!”

“It’s okay, I feel like writing,” I volunteered, declining the invitation to mercury poisoning. Only, joking. I don’t want to be sued for causing a down turn in the fishing industry.

Activism

It’s Easter, so I think I will up the ante on my regular Sunday posting of Reasons to Smile. Sometimes, as I write my posts for Calamity Politics, I feel frustrated, and wonder if all my angst will translate into political benefit for a Progressive/Liberal agenda. As a political activist, I hope that my topics are interesting and are helpful in developing voter awareness, citizen participation, and policy implementation. I am confident that with a revved up base, it is possible to move the government to blue. In other wards, I am hoping that my little political blog will help shape a few ideas.

A Hardening Line

The U.S. political world has become radicalized. Right, versus Left. Left, versus right. There has ceased to be a middle ground. I am part of that division between policy systems. I have always considered myself a moderate with liberal leanings. Under the new nomenclature I have been forced severely to the left, mainly because the right has moved so far right, that I have no other choice. The severity of the right push, has caused a hardening of my ideology, and that of many other citizens, as well.

Trump Derangement Syndrome

Fareed Zakaria, warned viewers this morning to avoid developing, “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” I think he made an interesting point, and I will actually address “Trump Derangement Syndrome” in another blog post. Until then, here are

55 Things To Smile About:

1.) Muscle cars 2.) Identical twins 3.) Beach fires 4.) Secret language of kids 5.) The NBA 6.) House boating, Lake Shasta 7.) Digging Night Crawlers 8.) Easter egg hunts 9.) Bird houses 10.) Shelling peanuts 11.) Mom’s Lemon Meringue pie 12.) A quiet corner 13.) Pendleton plaid 14.) Short people 15.) Homemade onion rings 16.) Eric Clapton 17.) Glass blowing 18.) Auctions 19.) Gift cards 20.) Death Valley in the Spring 21.) Qi (Chi) 22.) Kids in sandboxes 23.) Frosty windows 24.) Steens Mountain 25.) Stereo earphones 26.) Off-season rates 27.) Soap bubbles 28.) Wind-up toys 29.) Roller rinks 30.) Bread pudding 31.) An extra sharp pencil 32.) Full length mirror 33.) Daffy Duck 34.) Aria’s parrot, Sky 35.) The Simpson’s 36.) Ice sculptures 37.) Astronomy 38.) Costco samples 39.) The World Series 40.) Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey, Ca 41.) Clearance sales 42.) Gummy bears 43.) Cummerbunds 44.) Country Stores 45.) Confetti 46.) Chandeliers 47.) Montana 48.) Food trucks 49.) Short skis 50.) Funny T-shirt comments 51.) Primroses 52.) Prom dresses 53.) Thrift stores 54.) Waterfront houses 55.) Bubble gum

Okay, friends keep smiling, I need to open the door again to let Lily in.

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30 Things To Make You Smile

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30 Things To Make You Smile

D. S. Mitchell

Thank you, for visiting Calamity Politics, where we normally feed our reader’s the unadulterated red meat of liberal political news. But today, I am having one of my, “not today,” moments.

Ha, ha. I changed my usual Sunday offering of “25 Things To Smile About” to “30 Things To Smile About” for this Sunday only. So, many awful things have happened this week that I thought we could all use an extra couple of reasons to smile. Happy political blogging. Thanks again, for visiting Calamity Politics, we hope you find topics of interest and enough Trump jokes to keep you laughing all week-end.

1.) Parades
2.) Cannon Beach, Seaside, and Astoria, Oregon
3.) Fresh baked Molasses cookies
4.) Music boxes
5.) Being on time.
6.) Deep sea fishing
7.) Introverts Anonymous

8.) Old time rock ‘n roll
9.) Big trees
10.) Being appreciated
11.) Hand embroidered 501’s
12.) Penguins, walking
13.) Herb gardens
14.) Chess

15.) Having my taxes finished by April 15th
16.) Double Caramel Mocha espresso
17.) Canoes
18.) David Bowie
19.) The journey
20.) Oven fries
21.) Summer Solstice
22.) A plan
23.) The beach, after Memorial Day
24.) Rock walls
25.) Tile roofs
26.) High School
27.) Portland’s Old Town
28.) Food, Views and Piano at The Bridgewater Bistro, Astoria, Oregon

29.) Plate of chips & dip
30.) The quiet, before the storm

That’s it.

Enjoy the rest of your week-end.

Join the Resistance

Dar

25 Smile Makers

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25 Smile Makers

D. S. Mitchell

I’m Calamity and I am Calamity News and Politics. Calamity Politics is a progressive political blog that addresses the daily news headlines and political events. During the week I try to stay on task and comment and analyze the events I see.  But today is Sunday, and it’s the day I take to reflect on all my blessings. I also like to find no less than 25 things that are worth smiling about. Here we go.

1.) Naming a star after a friend 2.) Watching a dragonfly float on the breeze
3.) Tending my inner child 4.) Stepping into the warmth of a therapy pool
5.) Days at the lake house 6.) Old Faithful Geyser 7.) Postcards 8.) Flowers on the table 9.) Beach side cabins 10.) Orchid filled greenhouses 11.) Shelves of home canned veggies 11.) A new bike 12.) Old friends 13.) Black T and jeans
14.) The rolling wheat fields of Eastern Oregon 15.) The smell of Jasmine
16.) Standing up for myself in an uncomfortable situation 17.) Tootsie Roll Pops
18.) The majesty of space and time 19.) Burned toast with chunks of unmelted butter 20.) Weathered barns on country roads 21.) Rugged coastal cliffs
22.) Elephants 23.) March Madness 24.) Saving a house from demolition
25.) Flower laden window boxes

Here’s More

Well that was fun, and just because I have time here’s ten more things to smile about: 26.) My pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution 27.) Chilled shrimp salad
28.) Sun burned noses 29.) Freshly waxed hardwood floors 30.) French doors
31.) Time to play 32.) The smell of fresh-cut grass 33.) Ivy climbing brick walls
34.) White gym shorts 35.) Fern gardens, among ancient pines

I’m sure the upcoming days will cause many hours of frustration, but just remember, you decide how you are going to feel, react and take part in life. We must always make time to smile. Or, better yet, just laugh.

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QUOTES ON COURAGE

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Quotes On Courage

D. S. Mitchell

As part of my job at Calamity Politics I get to do research. Research can be lots of fun. This week, I decided to look up courage. I am beginning to believe that we are going to need strength and courage to see this political battle to it’s satisfactory progressive conclusion.

People say some pretty inspiring things.  Here’s a brief collection of some pretty smart comments by some pretty smart people.

1,) “Courage leads starward, fear toward death,” Seneca

2.)”Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen,” Winston Churchill

3.)”Courage conquers all things,”  Ovid

4.) “The strongest, most generous and proudest of all virtues is courage,” Michel De Montaigne

I’m inspired. How about you? If you are even a little inspired, do something to fight this administration. Be brave. Be courageous. Write a letter, make a phone call, march in that anti-Trump protest.

Join the Resistance

Dar

25 More Things to Make You Smile

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25 More Things To Make You Smile

D. S. Mitchell

Sunday Is Play Day

It’s not that the news stops on Sunday, but Sundays are my private, quiet, centering myself days. I reserve Sunday to nap, snack, read, think, and remember the good times.  I also take a few minutes on Sunday to write a list of the things that make me smile. Here are 25 reasons that I wrote down this morning that make me smile.

1.) Being a vegetarian, nobody had to kill an animal to feed me 2.) Homemade soup 3.) Loving wherever I am 4.) Standing tall, like Mom told me to 5.) Cookie dough 6.) Dancing in the dark 7.) Sock puppets 8.) Sci-fi novels 9.) Autumn  leaves 10.)Things that come easy 11.) Yellowstone 12.) Potato soup and cheese bread 13,) Christmas in Palm Springs 14.) Sailing 15.) Art Walks 16.) Silence 17.) Electric pencil sharpeners 18.) Neil Young 19.) Bringing left overs home for the dog  20.) Clematis growing on a porch  21.) White picket fences 22.) WWE ringside  23.) My mother’s smile  24.) High desert country 25.) Suspenders

Calamity News and Politics, is known for its examination, analysis and comment on the news headlines and the U.S. political scene. I will be back with all that tomorrow. Today I think we should lean back, take a breath and smile.

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Thinking Aloud

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Thinking Aloud

D. S. Mitchell

Thinking Aloud

I’ve been going to the pool most of the Winter, for my hour of morning exercise. During the good weather, as much as we get here on the Oregon coast, I try to walk 3-4 miles each day. But, once November rolls in, the thought of walking four miles in a down pour is a real turn off. As it is now, some days are nice, and I walk, while others are nasty, and I go to the community pool in Seaside. None of this matters except that I do very little on Sunday, except play on the internet and write for Calamity Politics.

Sunday Afternoon Thoughts

Mom Said

My Mom used to say, “People will dismiss facts, ignore science, and argue the unarguable;  if it’s in the interest of their pocketbook.” I thought for years that she had come up with that on her own, but then one day I saw the quote attributed to New York Yankee catcher, Yogi Berra. Whoever the source I think it is particularly astute.

Start Writing

If you haven’t written a letter to your Mayor, your local newspaper Editor,  your State Legislators, or one of your Federal Legislators, you should do it immediately.  It is a great way to get what’s bothering you off your chest.   The Letter to the Editor is especially rewarding because you can present your beef to the community and garner a few minutes in the spotlight.

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Another 25 Things to Smile About

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Another 25 Things To Smile About

D. S. Mitchell

Calamity Politics, my favorite political blog by the way, is getting off to a slow start this morning. I have been enveloped by a fog of ‘do nothingness’. Honest to God, some days I wake up ready to take on the world, and by 0800 I’ve convinced myself I need a day off, or at least a very long break.

It has been another bad week for Trump and his associates. Allegations, scandals, lies, and political calamities of all magnitude. There is so much crap flying I can’t write fast enough, or research deep enough, to address each of them to the degree they deserve.  So, here’s something for the weekend to remind us all that it is easier to smile than frown.

1.) Emeralds and diamonds
2.) Fresh donuts
3.) Saturday matinees
4.) Clean socks
5.) Puppies
6.) Kittens
7.) My birthday
8.) Dancing
9.) Fly fishing

10.) Sunny days
11.) BBQ’s
12.) The Beatles
13.) Yoga
14.) Baseball
15.) Lightening
16.) Teddy bears
17.) Portland, Oregon
18.) Mom’s Apple Cake
19.) Whale watching
20.) People watching
21.) Pool walking
22.) First in line
23.) Reclaim something old
24.) Shooting stars

25.) Funny T shirts

Join me tomorrow when I will return to the insanity of the United States government in the era of Donald J. Trump.

Join the Resistance

Dar

Absurdity

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Absurdity

D. S. Mitchell

No, Not Today

It’s another rainy day at the beach. I know it sounds like a long season of re-runs. So I’ve got time to play a game. All I need to do, to get a break at Calamity Politics, is shut off the work switch. Silly, but I’m not in the mood to be serious today. I was going to write an in-depth, thought-provoking, political post on Kim Jung Un and the burgeoning North Korean threat. However, I’ve changed my mind.

Rules Of The Game

Here are the rules of today’s game. I will open a dictionary. From the two open pages, keeping the words in sequential order I will write a story. The story of course will center on a well-known politician and his family.  I challenge you to do it. It is harder than it sounds.

So, here we go. The dictionary I will be using is, Everyday America English Dictionary, Edited by Ricard A. Spears, et al.  NTC (National Textbook Company) 1987.  Pages 130-131.

Daddy Knows Best

Donald Trump dropped his  fountain pen on the desk, and asked, “What’s for dinner tonight?”

“Some form of fowl that Donald Jr, bagged when he was on safari in Texas,” Ivanka answered.

“You are a fox,” Big Daddy Trump gushed, leering suggestively.

“Stop it, Daddy.”

Do you know what fraction of the federal budget is being spent on Jr.’s security detail?  Some woman reporter asked me today, and I had no idea.  Do you know?”

“Oh, Daddy, don’t worry about such stuff.  Just stamp it TOP SECRET,  and if that ‘fake news’ lady asks again, you just tell her it’s, classified.”

“Of course, of course. You’re right, sweetie.  I have more power in my twitter finger than ANYONE else in the world!  Especially some ‘fake news’ reporter.”

“We should have that finger insured.  What if there’s a fracture?  It would be a disaster,” she said, bobbing her head in confirmation.

“Careful, Daddy, that bowl is very old and very fragile.  Michelle Obama called it historic. She said something about Dolley Madison.

“Historic?” Trump repeated, simultaneously tossing the object skyward and catching it with his left hand.

“Daddy, please, stop juggling it. Stop it.”

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Another 25 Reasons To Smile

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Another 25 Reasons To Smile

By D. S. Mitchell

Take A Break

I’m finding the U.S. political scene, rather irritating, at the moment. It is obviously time for Calamity to take a brief time out, and throw the political crap out the window. Well, for a few minutes, anyway. So, for a couple of minutes I want to focus on something a bit more pleasant. When things look bleak, I find it important to consciously think about what makes me happy. To count my blessings. There are so many small things in life we take for granted, but it is often those small things that make life worth living. Making a list of those things always brings a smile to my face.  Here are the ones I came up with for today:

1.) A friend’s smiling face 2.) Chocolate 3.) Crystal goblets  4.) My dog, Lily  5.) Flannel sheets 6.) New shoes 7.) The smell of fresh coffee 8.) Spring flowers 9.) Ducks on the pond 10.) Clean windows 11.) Images from the Hubble telescope 12.)  A Foot massage 13.) Slow dancing 14.) Hide-n-Seek  15.) Old diary entries
16.) The Internet 17.) Winter storms 18.) Finding my cell phone 19.) Old movies
20.) Persian rugs 21.) Mom’s mac & cheese 22.) Bingo 23.) Summer dresses
24.) Milk and warm cookies 25.) Betty White

Please take a few minutes to hug those close to you, and write your own list of happy thoughts.

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25 New Things To Smile About

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25 New Things To Smile About

D. S. Mitchell

Step Back

Frequently, we need to step back and think of the positive things in our life.  It keeps things in prospective. Writing and researching for Calamity News and Politics is good for my psychological well-being. My psychological well-being is in top form. What better release could I have than a political blog. It let’s me let  off emotional steam. However, my blood pressure I fear, on some days is off the charts. I read somewhere in the past that it takes more energy to frown than smile. It would make sense, but I have no idea if it is proven science.  What I do know is that the current U.S. political scene is causing me to rage and scream. I am going to take a breath and urge you to do the same. I am going to smile and I want you to smile too.

Offered Smiles

See if any of these images bring a smile to your face, that will make me happy:

1.) Sunday edition N.Y. Times,  2.) Old family photos, 3.) Jelly beans, 4.) Running on the beach, 5.) Old issues of Mother Earth News, 6.) Finding something you thought you lost, 7.) Goodwill ‘treasures’, 8.) The feel of cashmere, 9.) Misty mornings, 10.) Yard sales, 11.) Comfortable shoes, 12.) First dates, 13.) Cuddling in front of a fire, 14.) A few bad habits, 15.) Bubble gum 16.) butterflies 17.) Pay day, 18.) Discover your passion, 19.) Start a blog, 20.) Take a walk 21.) Complete a task, 22.) Share a hug, 23.) Fresh flowers on the table. 24.) Hop scotch, 25.) A good night kiss.

Have a wonderful Sunday.  I’ll try not to post again until Monday, but I can’t promise.  There is a hell of a lot happening, and some of it literally sets my hair on fire. Remember to smile it is easier than frowning.

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