When Religion Oversteps its Boundaries

                                                              

 

I saw this clip on Facebook the other day and copied it for this post. I strongly believe in a loving Creator. I feel that I am what I am today because of GOD. I also know that mixing religion and government is a bad idea no matter what religion we belong to.

                                                            

Religion is a good thing if the purpose of our religion is to love GOD and thank him for his good works by taking care of the gifts he’s given to us. As his creation, we are obligated to care for each other; friend and foe, alike. As stewards, we are obligated to keep the land and sea in the same pristine condition it was given to us. There are ways to be technological advanced and still work with nature. Believe me when I say it is possible. There are electric cars and even an electric hippie Volkswagen van that I’m dying to get.

                                                          

Religion is a bad thing when it demoralizes a person because of color, sexual identity, origin of birth, or looks. Religion is a bad thing: when used as a weapon to push a political agenda; when it treats women as property; when it’s used to control or isolate a group of people; when it’s used to start wars for personal gain; when it’s used as a cash cow to reap in tithings and not pay taxes.

                                                                

 

The Republican Candidates have over the last eight years used the subject of abortion, Planned Parenthood, women’s rights, immigration, and voters rights as a means of controlling people by claiming they are speaking for GOD. They do not. None of us can speak for GOD. And please, don’t try to shove the Bible into my face. I’ve read it many times and I’m positive Jesus never said any of the things people claim he said. The one thing he did say: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” The translation clearly means separation of church and state.                            

 

Right now, there are men in Congress who are using religion to take a needed medical service away from women. They want to defund Planned Parenthood. They say they are against abortion, but these very men have no qualms about sending our young men and women to die in wars they’ve started because of greed and of course that black gold called oil. If you’re against abortion, then you should also be against the death penalty and war. Retroactive abortion is the sending of our brave young men and women to their deaths to fight a war for  the pleasure of greedy old men.

                                                            

                         

I’ve discovered that not belonging to a particular church or religion is refreshing. I don’t need to hate people just because they’re sinners. I don’t have to judge people who think differently than I do. I don’t have to ostracize someone because they are poor, or gay, or like purple hair dye. As long as you live by the laws of the state, pay your taxes, don’t pollute my drinking water or kill honey bees with your toxic shit, I go by the principle: Live and Let Live. If you’re a child abuser or pedophile, all bets are off. Hide, because I will hurt you.

I think we need to remind our Congressmen that they work for all of the citizens of these United States. They are our employees. We are a diversified country with many religions, many colors, and many nationalities. Religion should be practiced in the churches or in your home. Do not force your narrow minded religious beliefs down my throat or make laws that affect a specific gender.

                                                           

You do not own my body. I do not own yours. Don’t force your beliefs down my throat and not pay your fair share of taxes. You want a say in government; put your money where your mouth is.

If we don’t change our ways, we are heading towards a Taliban reality where the powerful few distort the teachings of a loving and forgiving GOD.  

Zodiac Signs, How Trustworthy Are They?

                                                                

My father was a psychic but he refused to admit it. He was well aware of my maternal grandmother’s and my mother’s abilities as well as mine and my sisters. He respected and believed what we saw and heard. His only condition to a house full of sensitive people: Don’t say anything in front of the customers who shopped at our little grocery store in South Philly.

                                                                   

 

The reason I’ve always thought my father a psychic was because of his ability to profile a person as soon as he laid eyes on them. It was uncanny how many times he was dead on with his evaluation of a person. Fred would often say, “That man must be born in January, because... or that woman acts like a Sagittarius, because...

By the time, I was in high school, I began to understand that Fred was the master of the Zodiac. When a person walked into the store, or if we were out shopping for stock, Fred would point out certain things about a person: how they spoke, laughed, walked, etc. and then he would tell me what sign he thought they were under. Sometimes, he'd start a conversation with the person, then Fred would subtly bring up the question, “When’s your birthday?”

                                                               

This question would often bring out a puzzled expression on the face of the person my father was scrutinizing. After the unsuspecting specimen walked away, my father would turn to me and say, “I hit his sign on the nose.” He did, always.

My father would have made an excellent F.B.I. agent or Judge. Was Fred correct about people living up to their signs or, was he just spewing a lot of mumbo jumbo with no scientific proof?

                                                             

 

I think, after watching people’s actions over time, I’ve begun to see that my father was right on target, but that's because he knew people and knew everything about each Zodiac Sign. My father was an avid reader and studied books on human nature. When you check out your Zodiac Sign, do you only look for the good traits, or do you check out everything: the good, the bad and, the ugly?

I am a Sagittarius and so was Fred. Here are our zodiac good traits: Ninth sign of the zodiac chart; ruling planet is Jupiter; human and half animal; marked with both human and animal instincts; spiritual by nature; incurable optimists; highly active: restless: kind hearted; seekers of truth; leaders. We are the fire sign.

Sagittarius people have just as many faults: Restless; inflexible over-confident; unemotional...That last one, I have a problem with because I take on everyone’s emotions, living or dead. I do think that knowing a person's sign helps immensely when do psychic readings.

                                 

 

What is your sign?

 

Steampunk Granny Interviews The Talented Zack Viola

                                                             

                                                                                                                        

On August 9^th I was at Mary Campbell’s Jersey Shore Comic Book Show to sell my Roof Oasis Series: Roof Oasis and Saving Solanda. The young man at the table next to me is an artist and I really liked his work. I had an idea from another event I was at and asked Zack if he could do drawings for a few of the characters in books one and two.

                                                               

I wanted to make baseball cards of six important characters that included their stats. He asked me to e-mail him a description of the characters. I did. What he’s accomplished was nothing short of miraculous. Zack Viola is a wizard and he’s brought my characters to life. It was fun to see how another person would see my characters. I was so happy with his work and, even more so after my husband, Dan Gilbert, made up the baseball cards.

                                                                

Granny: Welcome Zack! Tell my readers a little bit about yourself and what sparked you to do what you do?
Zack Viola: Hi, first let me introduce myself. I’m Zack Viola and I’m currently nineteen years old and I’m based in New Jersey. I’m not sure exactly what got me started in drawing. I’ve always liked drawings. I loved art and liked to draw during my free time. It just started out as sketches and doodles, but eventually, I figured out that people do make money off of it, which is always a good thing.

Mainly though what got me into commercial art is video games. I’m a huge gamer and an avid gamer.

Granny: What games do you play?

Zack Viola: My favorite right now is Metal Gear Series that has been around since 1987 and the whole thing had everything, not only with just art which look beautiful, but it also had a deep story that got me to realize that games could be a legitimate medium for storytelling. I love storytelling, too. I like games like Borderlands and the Halo series. I love sci-fi, which is something that drew me to this project, which was fantastic.

Granny: That makes me happy that you enjoyed doing this project for me.

Zack Viola: It was a lot of fun.

Granny: Good, because when book three comes out, I’ll have more characters for you to do.
                                                                 

Zack Viola: That’s fantastic. Another thing that I also love is character creation because I would see these game characters and they’d have the armor, clothing and the weapons and that’s what really got me into character design and creation, which was another reason that I really liked this project. I had free run with it. I could do certain things, of course I needed your guidance and approval, but I didn’t have a tight leash. I had a lot of space to run around.

Granny: Well I’m certainly pleased with the pictures and like the direction you took, especially with the weapons and Judgment. You portrayed him perfectly.
                                                               

Zack Viola: Thank you. I didn’t really have a clear picture on what I was going to do, then I saw this mask and I’m thinking, hmmm. It didn’t really have any distinguishing features, just one of those blank face masks, like in a Halloween store and I thought maybe that can be Judgment’s face. I’ve drawn angels in the past and every single one of them, I made look different. This was something I really hadn’t done before; a floating mask concept. I’ve done fire with angels before. It’s something I usually do, but I’ve never had a floating face, which I thought would be fun to experiment with.

Granny: I liked how it came out and, I was thinking in the third book, you can switch how he looks because of the floating mask.

Zack Viola: Yes, he can have different masks. He can have one that reflects more of the dragon. I think you did say he turns into a dragon at one point.

Granny: Right. He’s cursed into a dragon form.

Zack Viola: Then you can have an angel mask, a demon mask, or he could even have the blank face mask.
                                                             

Granny: You’re going to school this semester, right?

Zack Viola: This will be my second year at the Kubert School in Dover, New Jersey. The Kubert School is a lot of fun, but it’s a lot of work. They have a high dropout rate and a small student body. I think this year, our entire student body totals to about one hundred students.

Granny: With only a hundred students, do you get more one-on-one from the instructors?

Zack Viola: Yes.

Granny: What type of school is Kubert?

Zack Viola: With just a little background, I can tell you. Joe Kubert was a really big name in comics during the ’60’s and ’70’s. He did things like Sgt. Rock and he made Hawk Man and so he wanted to establish this school so that other students would have an easier way of getting into the comic business. Unfortunately, Joe Kubert has since passed, but he left an incredible legacy. One of the original teachers is still teaching. His name is Hy Eisman and he does Popeye Comics.
                                                          

Granny: Popeye! Oh my goodness.

Zack Viola: Yes and when he’s not doing that, he teaches lettering, which is a dying art, but we’re still trying to keep it strong. He also teaches humor and caricature.

Granny: What are you taking up, right now?

Zack Viola: The entire school has a fixed curriculum and everyone learns the same thing, and they teach on all facets, which means I’m not only learning penciling, but inking and coloring...even painting this year. Each year, the curriculum is different but for each year, everyone follows the same curriculum.

Granny: That’s good, and especially, because you have a small student body. They’re keeping everyone on the same page.

Zack Viola: Yes and not only do you learn this as a class, but you can also get insights from other students and maybe older students that have done the same thing. It’s really helpful.

Granny: When you’re done with the school, where do you see yourself going?

Zack Viola: I’m hoping I can get into the video game industry. Maybe start out with a small time company at first, but eventually, I would like to be an Art Director and create and direct my own games.

Granny: Your heart is still with the gaming industry.

Zack Viola: Yes, but that won’t stop me from being another commercial artist, which allows me to do whatever I want, like work with you or with billboards and advertising. They teach you all that stuff there.
                                                           

Granny: Do you ever work with Anime drawings?

Zack Viola: I haven’t done much Anime or Manga drawing. It hasn’t been a huge feature of mine, but I would be lying if I said that it didn’t influence me in any way.

Granny: The reason I asked was because of the comic books. Is Anime still holding leverage over comic books?

Zack Viola: Oh yes, in Japan, Anime and Manga is this huge part of their culture, and actually, a lot of the techniques that are dead here in America are still very active in Japan. I definitely respect them.

Granny: My eldest granddaughter went to Japan for Manga classes to help with her fashion designs, which was Japanese Lolita and, it’s so interesting how the two forms of art complemented each other. Zack, do you have any ideas on who you want to work for after you graduate? How do you get your foot into the door? I know it’s not easy.

Zach Viola: Breaking in can be one of the hardest things you will do for your art career. Right now, I’m not going to be too picky with who I work for. I don’t have that kind of power yet, but definitely when I get older, I would love to work with Ubisoft and other great companies, and maybe, even movie directors who get into video gaming, which makes for a pretty interesting concept.

Granny: You could even work for independent movie directors and I happen to know one, so I’ll keep your name in front of him if he’s looking for someone with your talents. I have one more question, Zack. Which one of my characters was the hardest to draw?
                                                                   

Zack Viola: I think the hardest might have been Lucy. Female characters are always a little bit harder for me to draw than males. Putting Lucy in profile definitely helped.

Granny: She’s a soldier who was part of The Leader’s military and, like I mentioned to you, Lucy reminded me of Sigourney Weaver. I really like how you drew her. You made her image that of a strong woman. In the series, she is not weak.

Zack Viola: I always liked the strong female character. It’s definitely an interesting character that is unfortunately few and far between.

Granny: We can change that with these books. Who was the easiest to draw?
                                                              

Zack Viola: Razhep because I’d already had the concept before I’d given you the sample card. I just had to refine it and make it larger, and so that might have been the easiest. Michael was also pretty easy. I actually did Michael before I did Lucy, which is where I got the jacket from

Granny: I want to thank you, Zack, for doing such a wonderful job on my character baseball cards and, for all my readers who would love to use your services, they can find you, here.

Smudging and Why We Do It

                                                        

                                                              

The first time I heard about smudging was when I worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. I was the manager of the Changing Exhibit Hall at the time and we were featuring the Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide traveling exhibit in our exhibit hall. This exhibit told the story from the point of the Native tribes that Lewis and Clark met and, many times, depended on when they were commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to go on this tour of discovery.

Out of all the exhibits that I took part in as manager of the exhibit, The Lewis and Clark Exhibit was my favorite.  While I was working in this special exhibit many representatives from the Plains Tribes visited and I learned so very much from them.

Smudging is a powerful cleansing technique of the Native American people, but the burning of herbs for emotional and spiritual cleansing was also practiced among many religions. It’s funny that it took me so long to connect that the Catholic priests using burning incense to cleanse the church during special holidays, was no different than what we do with smudging. While the church uses Frankincense and myrrh to chase away demons, the most common herbs used for smudging are Sage and sweetgrass.

Intentions

Everything has an energy field around it, including us. When we pick up negative energy that can cause us to become ill in spirit, mind and body, smudging helps to displace this unwanted negativity and restore our aura to a pristine boundary around us. Smudging can be used to cleanse people, places, and objects.
                                                        

Set your intentions before you begin to smudge. Smudging is an ancient sacred ceremony which should be done with the proper mindset and protection. Smudging is using the power of the sacred plants to restore balance. You must believe in the ceremony and its results. Sage drives away negative energies while sweetgrass attracts positive energy.

Smudging

Using a clay pot, shell or flat rock, light the dry herbs with a match and allow it to burn for a few moments. Using a large feather (I use a hawk’s feather and a large seashell) fan the flames out. It is the smoke that we will use.
                                                               

You might want to open windows to allow the negativity to depart. While you smudge, you walk around each room in a clockwise fashion, fanning the smoke into all the corners While do the smudging of the room, you should be praying for our Creator to keep you safe as you send the negativity towards the heavens where they will be consumed and turned into positive energy.
                                                             

When smudging a person, you want to follow the course of the Chakra. We are attempting to draw universal light into the body. Locate the point of origin of a person’s aura field. Each person is different. You need to feel their energy field. Fan the burning herbs towards each chakra, back and front of the body and from head to toe.
                                                             

Benefits

When we remember that all life is connected throughout the Universe, when we remember that we are part of nature; not above it, when we realize that there are negative entities; human and demonic, when we remember to hold tightly to the LIGHT, then and only then will we become enlightened and cleansed. I’ve included a site that sells Native American Smudging Supplies: http://www.horsekeeping.com/smudging/smudge-kits/smudge-kits.htm

and the site for the Lewis and Clark Exploration: Across the Divide: http://www.mohistory.org/node/223
 

Steampunk Granny Reviews The Arrival

                                                        

 

Yes, my little zombie snacks, it was another night of night being able to unwind enough to fall asleep. My youngest grandson, Nathan had spent a few days with me over the Labor Day weekend. We had a meeting with Chris Eilenstine, the director of Shadows of the Forest. Nathan has a bit part in the film in which I am also one of the writers...neat, right? We met two of the main stars that day Mac Lowery and Brandon Allentoff. It was a lot of fun, but a long day, and hence, the reason we were up late and caught this film.

 

The 1996 science fiction film, directed by David Twohy and starring Charlie Sheen, Ron Silver, Lindsay Crouse, Teri Polo and Richard Schiff is an alien encounter film that deals with global climate change. No, it’s not about the Republican and Tea Party politicians who are constantly denying man’s direct effects on the world around us...but it could be why they are denying that there is a problem. They might be aliens.

Plot

Charlie Sheen plays Zane Zaminsky, a radio astronomer working for SETI, discovers evidence of intelligent alien life forms. The signal is coming from a star that is 14 light years from Earth. When he reports this to his boss (Ron Silver) he doesn’t believe him. It isn’t long before Zane is fired. He gets a job installing television satellite dishes and creates his own version of a SETI array.                                           

                                                            
Zane isn’t the only one noticing that the planet is going through some major warming. A climatologist, Ilana Green (Lindsay Crouse) finds a poppy field in the middle of the Arctic. Zane and Ilana figure out that someone is purposely melting the polar ice and it might have to do with the radio signals that Zane has been intercepting

Conclusion

I love Ron Silver in just about any show that he is in, but Charlie Sheen’s performance was a bit flat. The film was positively received when it came out and it could be because the special effects and the storyline were impressive.

                                                             

                                                     

Look, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know our planet is in big trouble. We don’t have to be scientists either to see with our own eyes what we’re doing to our planet. Sea levels are rising, temperatures are rising, which affects our crops, oceans are warming which will eventually kill the fish, we’re experiencing more extreme weather conditions, rising temperatures could contribute to the spread of diseases, loss of livestock and crops. I think for a science fiction film, The Arrival, covered most of this, which was impressive to me as a concerned citizen of this planet.

                                                       

                                                    

In the film, the aliens had taken over most positions of power, which helped them to deny that there was anything wrong with the melting ice caps and, since our own politicians keep denying climate change, I’ve been wondering if maybe Congress has been taken over by aliens. What do you think?

                                                        
Watch The Arrival. I think you’ll like it in spite of Charlie Sheen.

 

 

 

The Pirate's Chest

                                                         

 

The other day while I was doing major housecleaning, my husband asked me why I was still keeping my youngest grandchild's treasure chest in the guest room. It took me a few moments to reply. Why was I keeping the old wooden chest when my youngest of nine grandchildren was almost in high school?

“It’s not time, yet,” I replied.

“What about the basement and the shed? Don’t you want to give those toys away?” Dan asked.

“It’s not time,” I repeated. Dan shrugged, then walked into the other room. After thirty-five years of marriage, the poor man knows when not to push the envelope.

                                                            
Why was I keeping the Native American walking stick that my husband had made for each of the grandsons? Why was I keeping their toy swords and bow and arrows in the shed out in the yard? And why in heaven’s name did I keep one of Nathan’s disposable (clean) diapers in my car many, many years after he’d been potty trained?

                                                       
Was I a hoarder; a toy lady (something like a cat lady)? Okay, the diaper is weird, but something keeps me from tossing the twelve year old pamper in the trash. Maybe I am a hoarder.

I decided to open the treasure chest that belonged to Nathan. The blankets that drape over the chest are authentic Native American blankets that were given to me by my mother and, the hat was from the Lewis and Clark Traveling Exhibit. I was the manager of the Changing Hall when this historical gem visited the Academy of Natural Sciences. It was a gift from my staff.

                                                              
Inside the chest are all kinds of stones, shells, two smaller chests, and a few books. I remember helping Nathan find the items for his chest. Whenever the boys, Nathan and his two older brothers, slept over my house, Nathan would immediately head for his treasure chest. Whenever we went on a hiking trip, Nathan took a little bit of nature home with him and placed it inside the chest. I put my foot down when he wanted to put worms inside the treasure chest.

I guess I could move the walking stick and treasure chest to the basement with the other toys, but a memory popped into my head. A few weeks ago, Nathan slept over my house. While he was there, the little girl from across the street came to visit. She is six years old, about the age Nathan was when we found the old wooden chest at a yard sale. I’ve been babysitting her since she was three months old. She has a crush on Nathan.

Nathan pulled out the old pirate’s chest and he and Isabella spent the whole afternoon going through all the stuff that Nathan had collected. The two of them spread the contents on my kitchen floor as I prepared dinner.

“Grandmom, do you remember this?” Nathan asked on and off, holding a shell or a stone up for me to see.

                                                         
As for the toys in the basement and in the shed, this past Christmas Eve when all the grandchildren were over for our big party, all of them from the oldest (27) to the youngest (13) were playing with the toys and laughing their heads off. The boys, one a U.S Marine, were outside shooting the toy bow and arrows and chasing each other with the swords. All of them, now young ladies and young men, laughing like they did when they were so very young.
                                                                

 

As I was placing Nathan’s treasures into the Pirate chest, my husband walked back into the room and said, “I guess you can keep this stuff for our great grandkids.”

“Yes, I think I will,” I replied, but after he left the room, I finally knew who I was keeping all the toys for. They were for me. The toys were my three dimensional photo album of my grandbabies; my time machine to the past.

I closed the chest and called Nathan on his cell phone. When he answered, I said, “The weather will be getting cooler, soon. Want to go hiking and look for treasure.” We have a date!