Month: August 2018

Review of book:  My Life as a Mermaid, A Tale to be Shared, by Michelle D. Smith

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Imagine a society where everyone is treated the same.   A mermaid/merman decides what they want to be and do before birth.   Their friends are whales and dolphins.   There is no necessity for money.   Clothing is unnecessary.   Couples mate for life.

Everything is done for the society/collective’s benefit.   There is no greed or crime.

But lest you think mermaids are pushovers, small sea animals are killed but only for each meal, not for storage or mass production.

Humans are the mer peoples’ only natural predators and biggest polluters of the sea.

Michelle has written a book about a perfect community as told to her by her mermaid guide, Shahia.  I believe her book would make a great fantasy or inspirational movie.

Her book can be purchased at https://www.amazon.com/My-Life-As-Mermaid-Shared/dp/1329964780 2015

Contact:   Michelle D. Smith’s website is www.YourSpiritualGarden.com, blackrefer.com/michelle.html, and lulu.com/spotlight/MermaidLife.

Written by Rosa L. Griffin

 

Fun Facts to Know and Tell About Baltimore 

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Baltimore City is an independent city (meaning it’s not part of any county).   As such, it is the largest independent city in the U.S.

Snowballs/snowcones were invented in Baltimore during the Industrial Revolution.

The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 burned for 30 hours, during which it destroyed 1,500 buildings and leveled entire neighborhoods.  One of the reasons cited for the widespread destruction was mismatched hose couplings that impeded fire-fighting efforts.  As a result of the Great Baltimore Fire, firefighting equipment was standardized across the United States.

The first dental school in the world was founded in Baltimore in 1840.

Baltimore has more statues and monuments per capita than any other city in the U.S.

The first telegraph line in the world was established between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore in 1844.

Source:   See the rest of the article, “Fun Facts to Know and Tell About Baltimore”, in the free Baltimore Beacon, August 2018, Arts & Style, pages 22 and 25.

Public Television’s David Suchet and Poirot

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For those Agatha Christie mystery fans, I saw the “David Suchet on the Orient Express” documentary on public TV.  If you have ever seen the many tv/movie versions of her “Murder on the Orient Express”, you know that David Suchet is the consummate Hercule Poirot, her lead character. I’ve seen Albert Finney and Peter Ustinov perform as Poirot in the past, but they played their part more like comedy.  Kenneth Branagh’s recent performance as Poirot was good drama, but his mustache was so big that it was distracting as was his grey hair.   For me, David Suchet’s dramatic portrayal for Murder was the best.

David’s Poirot has the most expressive eyes I’ve ever seen. He can stop you with a look. Besides being one of the vainest characters I’ve seen (besides Sherlock Holmes), Poirot is also one of the most insightful characters ever developed.  His too-tight collars, too-tight shoes, and Belgian accent let you know just how vain his character was.  David has played Poirot for a quarter of a century in 13 series, including 50 short stories and 33 novels. (Being Poirot kokopico)  I love David Suchet’s Poirot.

Imagine yourself in the situation of knowing a man had been stabbed a dozen times in his sleep by someone.  And, you are asked to determine who killed him.  Did the punishment of the man fit the crime?  And, would you be justified in walking away knowing the man’s original crime set all of this in motion?  Get Agatha Christie’s novel or see Murder on the Orient Express in public television movie form.

Written by Rosa L. Griffin

Greed

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Just as you can lead a horse to water, but can’t make him drink…

You can lead a President to facts, but you can’t make him think.

Remember the Greek myth of King Midas who wanted gold so badly that everything that he touched turned to gold?   He couldn’t eat gold food.   He couldn’t take gold with him when he died.  After a while, all he could do was sit on his golden chair.  (King Midas-Wikipedia)

Money is not evil, but the all-out pursuit—what and how you get it—can be evil.   Who are you stepping on or killing to get it?   Money can rule your life.  Cases in point.   The contamination of the water supply in Flint, Michigan, and the nerve of the city still asking residents to pay their water bills when they can’t drink or use the water.  The lack of help for Puerto Rico by a government that doesn’t know that Puerto Rico is part of the United States (an unincorporated U.S. territory, U.S. citizenship granted 1917, though no vote in U.S. elections, Wikipedia), and the nerve of that same government demanding that any help be paid back.   The examples are ad infinitum—they go on forever.

“It’s about greed.  King Midas is just a tool used to teach us about the dangers of being greedy.  Fancy people call this kind of story a parable:  a short story with an obvious moral or life lesson.”  (https://shmoop.com)

I’m not talking about rich people.   There’s a great difference between wealth and greed, especially if the wealth was earned in a way that benefits the world.   Every greedy person who is ruining the only Earth we have will soon find that out.  Payback cometh!

Written by Rosa L. Griffin