Strange Day July 30th

However, other people call this the Mandela effect. 

Okay, stay with me here because this has been a strange day. Apparently for the last two years I have found a glich in the matrix on the same day. Let me explain....
First, this isn't supposed to be shameless self promotion, but it works out so I am not going to argue here. I am writing another E book that is about writing prompts. Today, I wrote a new one that goes very similar to this. It isn't done yet but keep in mind that I wrote this today while watching Bob's Burgers....


Writing Prompt:

You are a sub teacher and you got called in to teach 7th grade history. You glance at the lesson plan and are excited because you see it has to do with JFK. However, you read the suggested essay and become extremely confused. The question says, "discuss who was the better President, John or Robert Kennedy?"
You are obviously confused and ask to see one of the students books, then another, and another. According to this history book and lesson plan, JFK never was killed and lived until the age of 52 where he passed away from a heart attack. Robert served 2 terms as president. When you ask about him being assassinated, no one has any clue what you are talking about. What is going on?



The strange thing is this.... About two hous ago, I put on Youtube to watch Good Mythical Morning and had a video recommend to me about Jackie Kennedy killing JFK. What? I had to look into that! So, this video shows for some strange reason this video shows a new angle of Jackie killing JFK. Now, could this video be fake? Of course it could. It is very easy to change things to make people think that it is real. The big thing that people are questioning besides this video is how many people were actually in the car? Records say at one time, there was  4 people in the car. Now, it is being shown that there were 6 people in the car. Back in the day, the car was shown as a four seat car with no bullet proof glass. Today, this car is a 6 seat car with JFK and Jackie in the very back, the Governor and his wife in the seat in front, a bullet proof glass barrier and a driver and another secret service agent in the front. People today are swearing that there were 6 people, and not 4 in the car.




I asked my Mom what she remembered. Mom has an interesting link with JFK. The week before, he was in a parade in Minnesota. At the time my Mom was working as a nurse in a Catholic Hospital. They gave all the ladies time to go and watch the parade. Mom remarked to her fellow nurses that he shouldn't be in this parade without any protection around him because someone will shoot him. He was in a car without any protection, and even walked in some parts. A week later, he was shot and killed in Texas. Mom clearly remembers 5 people being in the car and it only seated 4 people. In back was JFK and Jackie. In front was the Governor, his wife, and the driver. There were secret service people walking and driving behind them. So....who is correct or is history changing.

Official Replica Car 

If you have ever read 1984, you know that book is become more and more real every single day. They talk about manipulation of memory and distorting history to match what Big Brother wants you to believe. Others call this situation memory issues. People hear lots of stories and don't realize that a memory isn't instant recall and a exact recording of what happened. You are removed from what happened to so your memory will not ever be exact. You may even be mixing up an event that happened with another event, or something that you have read or seen. Fair enough. I know that I have mixed up things before and it won't be the last time that my memory has failed me. I am human and I understand that I am not a computer.

However, other people call this the Mandela effect. 

The Mandela effect is how some people recall that Nelson Mandela died while in prison in the 1980's. While others knew he lived and he died much more recently in 2013. I personally recall hearing that Nelson Mandela passed away in prison and I was actually confused when I heard he was released from prison. Now, could myself and many other people be confusing one story with another. Sure. I do remember having a conversation about this with my Grandparents, however, and we all believed that he passed away while in jail. The people who believe in the Mandela effect think that being mixed up or misunderstanding this story is more than poor memory. They think that it is a glich in the matrix. They think it is history rewriting itself because of either timelines being crossed or an alternative reality.

While you may or may not believe in this effect,it ties into my very strange day. Not only did this strange JFK thing happen with me writing this prompt and seeing this Youtube Video, but Facebook also showed me that today was a strange day a year ago. Timehop showed me this status posted one year ago today:



"Random Disney movie question. Does anyone remember watching snow white and seeing the dwarfs making her a coffin? I saw this question asked in a book and the lady asking swears it was in the movie. I do too but Disney films says no. What do you remember. Disney is famous for trying to change their own past."


I remember researching this for a day or so trying to find out the answer. Now, I do understand that Disney has changed things from their original releases and when they bring them back out of the vault. I have seen "Song of the South" when I was a kid and I was so offended even though I was still pretty young. Disney had to change it to get it released again because it was so horrid. My Grandpa who watched it with me when I was a kid said he say it before and it was even worse. So, I know this could be just due to being a change Disney made. Here are some of the comments made after I posted this because I still swear I saw the coffin being made by the 7 Dwarfs.  




Person A:   I remember that. Saw it in the movie.theater when Disney re-released the movies in the 80's
Me:  I thought that too but according to the Disney spokes person everybody was mixing up the story and the movie. He said in the movie it was a bed not a coffin. But I swear it was a coffin!!!
Person B: I think theres a coffin in the book, but not one in the movie. I just you tubed it.
Me: Im so confused because I swear I remember seeing the coffin back in the 80's theatrical release. Maybe its something that was once there but has been "remastered?"
Person C: My mom has the 80's VHS, it's in there.





See, no one can agree on this. All of this recall is very strange but what is very weird to me is that I recall the time and space and the glich in the matrix the same day in the last two years. What is happening here? I am very, very confused!!!  I'm also confused as why this is highlighted while I am typing and I can't get it to stop. Anywho, I have no idea what is going on here but something strange is going on! I think the world is a big  place, and we have no clue what is the truth verses the perception of truth.  The internet is something we don't fully understand but we use it all of the time. You can use these little machines to do everything from making cat videos, to banking, to putting  information out there that you have made up. People will believe what is put in front of them if they are told over and over again that it is the truth. We don't even understand the human mind let alone how memories work. If this Mandela effect something that has some merit to it or is it something that is another false memory. I'm not sure what is correct but I can tell you that July 30th is a strange day for me. 

My Top 10 Musicals

              Just in case you didn't know, I love Broadway Musicals. I love them so much! I secretly wish that I had enough talent to write and maybe even star in my own musical. Ever since I was a small child, I was amazed and moved by any musical performance that I ever was lucky enough to see. There is nothing quite like it and I highly recommend that you go out and see whatever live musical theater that you can. Support your local theaters because trust me, it will be well worth it. Since I have not written about my deep love of musicals before, here is my top 10 personal favorite lists if you are not sure what to go to first.      
 

1. Hair:

 Hair is my all time favorite musical. I knew the music from the show before I had ever saw it or realized that the songs were from this play. I have a deep love of the "hippie counter culture" that took place in the 1960's. I'm pretty sure that I lived a past life during that time and have been told that by a multitude of different people my entire life. Hair is a snapshot of people living their lives during the height of the Vietnam war and the reality of the draft and young men dying by the thousands. There is nothing more heartbreaking than Claude singing "Flesh Failures" and hearing the words of Shakespeare being combined with sorrow and loss of life. ("Eyes look your last, Arms take you last embrace" from Romeo and Juliet.)  Even through the horrible pain and loss of their friend, the group still tries to "Let the Sunshine In" and live their lives as full as they could for the one that they lost. I was also highly impressed with the actors participation with the audience which is encouraged during this show. This is also a highly controversial and historic show with full nudity, transgender, and strong language. There is a reason this show has been banned over and over again, but there is a reason to keep coming back to this show over and over again. As my Mom likes to say, don't forget to bring your flashlight! 

2. Wicked:

I have never been so impressed with a more beautiful set in my entire life. I had no idea so much could be done with sets, lights, and how they can move actors around by defying gravity. Not only that, but this story is one of the only ones centered around how strong the female friendship could be. It also ties nicely into the world of the Wizard of Oz with lots of nods and winks to the famous show and books. The lyrics to the songs are well thought out and like the main characters, are two sides which are both beautiful and tragic at the same time. For example, there is a lyric where Glenda is singing that she couldn't be happier because she got everything she wanted, but in that moment she realizes what it costs her. There is a love story, a underdog, a popular girl, a struggle with a family, school, politics, and the complex/simplicity of the strong bonds of friendship. There is nothing more complex, and beautiful than the music that matches the very strong tone of love and friendship in this musical. 

3. Rent:

The exact opposite can be said about Rent and their sets. I have never been so impressed with what you could do with little to no sets and still maintain a very strong story. Rent takes place in the  80's during the height of the AIDS epidemic. Each one of the characters are effected by the diseases either themselves, or know someone who is struggling. The show follows a group of poor, artists who struggle with poverty and art. The most important part of this story is learning how to live with an illness that is killing them, which could be transcended to any illness. One song asks over and over if they are going to lose their dignity, and if anyone cares? Simple lines with some much behind them makes this one of the best musicals out there, reminding you that there is no day but today and to measure the moments of your life in love. 

4. Rocky Horror Show:

I'm not talking about the movie, I am talking about the musical the movie was based on. If you have seen the movie then you are familiar with the story of Janet, Brad and their crazy night at Frankenstein's place. However, there is nothing like seeing this show live because most of the time there is encouraged audience participation and interaction. The sets range from expensive to the back of  a movie theater. Every single time I go see this live, I not only meet some amazing people, but I am surprised and impressed with how different each performances are. If you are looking for a fun time, go to this show. Keep in mind this is not family friendly by any means.

4. Cabaret: 

 Sally Bowles.., once you realize that this character has been around since 1932 you tend to have more respect and awe for her. The most free spirited, clueless, and tortured artist that has ever been portrayed on stage with the style of  Bob Fosse.  The show centers around Sally, her lovers, and her life in the Cabaret. It's an ominous situation as Sally goes though her life as carefree as possible while World War 2 is going on around her. Sally is almost immune to the horror around her quite possibly not understanding the real danger which is just like what she is going through in her personal life. She creates havoc but she keeps going because she's an artist. Sally is an innocent and very likable which is wonderful because if you didn't root for her, you may despise her. That is the beauty of the parallel going on throughout this show.

5. Bye Bye Birdie:
If you aren't an Elvis fan then you probably should skip this song and dance number about singer Conrad Birdie going off to war which of course is the basis of this comedy. There are many classic moments in this classic sing a long story of teenage girls and their idol, and his manger fighting to find his own true love. If you have ever been a teenage girl, you will love this play and look back with nostalgia! This is truly a lot of fun, especially the phone scene!

6. Hairspray:
The story of Baltimore's big hair, big heart, big dancer Tracy Turnblad is based off of the great John Water's movie of the same name. For once, a big girl is at the center of the musical full of fun, dance, and purpose. This show tackles sexism, racism, and of course body issues. This show takes place in the 60's where Tracy wants to be a dancer on her favorite TV show. However, they aren't ready for a big girl, and they aren't ready to expand beyond an all white cast.. Tracy becomes an unlikely hero and helpful voice to those who are being oppressed. What a fun, and beautiful, upbeat story with many good life lessons!

7. Chicago:
Another Fosse inspired dance number following a young woman, Roxie Hart going from  wanna be famous to infamous. In Chicago, you can be anything, including a person who becomes a celebrity by killing and that's exactly what lands Roxie in the hot seat. She kills her lover and hires a lawyer to help her get off. The song and dance shows how easy guilt and innocence is bought and sold, as long as you have the charm and the look. Roxie just doesn't just have to worry about her trial, but keeping her name in the news to make sure people don't forget who she is. Her fellow jail mate is the famous singer and dancer Velma who also is playing the same spotlight game. They are surrounded by women who are accused of murder and mayhem, which is just another day in Chicago.

8. Spam A Lot
Seriously, if you don't like Monty Python or are familiar with their work, then you better prepare yourself by watching their movies! Then go see this wonderful satire!  You know the humor. You know you are going to love it! Go see this show because no one expects the Spanish Inquisition.

9. The Song of Music:
The tale of the former nun turned nanny to a family of singing Von Traps. Everyone knows these songs and they hold a very special place in my heart. Both my parents sang these songs to me when I was little. You know the story. You have most likely seen the movie, but do yourself a favor and see the stage version. It brings more to life than the screen ever will!

10. Rock of Ages:
If you ever had to choose between going to a rock show, and seeing a musical you can do both with Rock of Ages. This is literally like going to a concert! Please, do not watch that POS movie!!!!! They butchered the story and casts a whole bunch of dumb asses who can't act or sing! It is a story as old as time. Girl follows dreams of being a singer, ends up in LA as a waitress, falls in love, cheats on boy with big time singer, leaves waitress job to become a stripper, and eventually finds her way back to boy. While boy who dreams of being a rock star works at same bar, gets girl job, falls in love and puts himself in the friend zone, leaves girl behind to peruse music career, music career becomes less than he hoped, finds himself and his girl. The bar: meets people, people protect the bar, and there is lots of talk about Arby's. Seriously, this show is a lot of fun with power ballads from the 80's. This is worth seeing. Just never, ever watch that god damn movie!! 

Shameless Fundraiser for my Sister from another Mister

Shameless plug time:

Please, if you are able to, purchase this shirt to help my best friend, cousin, sister from another mister Amy Burch. She is battling cancer again for the second time in less than 3 years! I hope you follow the link!
T Shirt Fundraiser

Vendor and Craft Fundraiser

Hello everyone,

Here is a shameless ad:


 We are having a vendor and craft fundraiser on May 1st, from 1-5PM. This flyer has all of the details. I hope you can join us to support local business, and help raise money for Job's Daughters Bethel #68!

What's in a name: Part two series for Women

What is in a name? It's a question that has been asked every since we have looked at objects and people and decided that they need to be called something. We have names, titles, and adverbs to describe who and what we are. Being a female is very hard and the modern world isn't it making it any better. So many of social norms are and traditions are holding us back and keeping us down. If you are a strong women, and want to fight for gender rights you are called a few various names which are just as damaging as the struggle women have ever day. Let's take a look at names of women.

When I was very little,  I recall my Mom trying to help me learn words and how to spell. I couldn't understand the words woman and women.  Not because of the tense, but because of the word itself. I didn't understand why the word with man or men had to be included in describing us. Look at the words for this gender: female, woman, women. You can't spell us without them.  Men, man, and male are the root word. To me that was so unfair. I begged my Mom to tell me what out real word was because we certainly didn't need them to describe us. Why didn't we matter enough to be separate from men? It really hurt me and I realized from that young of an age that we are just a second thought in the eyes of the world.

 It's not just the word for a gender that is unfair. A woman has a title that tells the world if they are married or not. Women are known as  Miss if they are single, and Mrs. when they get married. There is the neutral title of Ms. but this is an often a unused and confused word Many people use it as interchangeable for both Mrs. and Miss. Men have never had a title that reveals if they are married or not. Our titles change because of marriage Something as simple as a title that is generally excepted by society shows how much we under value women. Being themselves isn't good enough. This projects prejudice even on an unconscious level. We are asked to fill out forms all of the time for various reasons including job applications and checking accounts. A woman has to determine their status by their title and men don't have to ever worry about it. They are always a Mr. and will never have to check a box or change anything to show if they are married or single.

What about your last name, ladies? That name is not your name. Your first name is most likely something one or both of your parents agreed upon. However, your last name is generally your Father's last name. Go back farther on your family tree and I'm sure you will find that generation after generation has a surname only from males. Unless your last name is made up and has no connections to your family tree, your surname is a man's name. This is something many women don't even think of but we should. When does our names matter? We go from having our Father's last name to having a husband's last name. Where is our identity? Not ever female takes her husbands last name is she decides to get married, but even if they don't change it, they still have a name that isn't their own. Even if you are in a same sex marriage and you decide to take your spouse's last name, that name is still not yours, it's a man's name. We don't matter enough to have a name of our own.

There is great deal of unfair pressure on both men and women when it comes to family names. Men get pressured to have children and pass their last name on. Especially if that family name is close to becoming obsolete. However, the girls in that same family will be encouraged to give their children the last name of the Father of the child. Women are not seen as name carriers, generally. Legally, it is easier for a child to have their Father's last name. This is why you don't normally see a woman passing on her own last name to her child. Her own child could have a hyphenated name made up of both parent's surnames. In that instance the Mother's last name is usually first, then followed by their Father's last name. Or, her child will not carry her last name at all and will only be the Father's. It is very rare to find a single mother who passed on her own last name to her child. It's even more rare to find a married women who's child has her last name only. This makes it seem as though a woman has less a right or even claim to their own child.

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This is all traditional of course and there are exceptions for almost all of these issues. However, these issues are very real and show how much a woman is valued and devalued.We have to put up with huge levels of sexism that is accepted by society every single day. We have to live in a world where we must define ourselves by our martial status yet men live without having to define themselves. We don't have our own names nor our own words that describe our gender that aren't heavily influenced by males. So tell me what is in a name, because if you are a woman, your name isn't yours.

Shamless Promotion Time

Time for some SHAMELESS promotions. I'm poor people and I want to earn extra money any way that I can in the Freelance world so these are some options.

Here are my lists of Gigs currently active on Fiver.com:


1. I will do a Tarot Card reading for relationships:

https://www.fiverr.com/ltebrinke/do-one-relationship-tarot-card-reading?arrived_from_manage_gigs=true&display_share=true



2. I will write you an awesome and creative blog:

https://www.fiverr.com/ltebrinke/write-you-an-awesome-and-creative-blog?arrived_from_manage_gigs=true&display_share=true



3. I will write what you don't want to write: (example a breakup letter)

https://www.fiverr.com/ltebrinke/write-what-you-dont-want-to-write?arrived_from_manage_gigs=true&display_share=true



4. I will promote your website or product on my blog: (this on here)
https://www.fiverr.com/ltebrinke/promote-your-website-or-product-on-my-blog?arrived_from_manage_gigs=true&display_share=true



5. I will do a Celtic Cross Tarot Card reading:
https://www.fiverr.com/ltebrinke/doing-a-tarot-card-reading?arrived_from_manage_gigs=true&display_share=true

Part one of Being a Woman series: Stop whining

I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out why women are the way that they are and I am one. I see us doing very unhealthy and abusive things to ourselves and I can't help but to want to do something to make a difference even if it's just recording my observance of our culture. I don't want to say I'm a feminist because there is so much stigma attached to that word and it's not positive. However, I feel that women are second class. I see it every single day and I have even written about this topic several times in the past. The reason I keep writing about it is because we need to take a good look at ourselves as females and really start to live different and demanding more of ourselves or this cycle will continue. Since this has become since a hot topic, I am going to write about the struggles of women in a series so I will stop accidently repeating myself and just get to the topics at hand.


 Part One: Women can't do it all so ask for help! Stop whining!


I recently read a blog about a woman who just wanted a break. She is a mother and works full time.  All she wanted was for her man to take care of everything that she did for a day so she could rest. She listed off examples of getting the children up, getting them dressed, packing their lunches, taking them to school, going to work, leaving early to go to soccer games, go home and fix dinner, wash dishes, get kids to bed and go to bed herself. That is in between her full time job, paying bills, getting groceries, and trying to be a friend and a wife. Did you see this list? That's impossible! No one woman can do it all. No one man can do it all either. We need to start realizing that we are human and we just need to do the best that we can. However, you can't neglect yourself even though it's very easy to do this.

Was I upset because she wanted her man to take care of her? Not at all because everyone needs a break once in awhile. The thing that got me upset was this woman clearly wasn't telling her husband that she wanted help. I think part of this stems from the fact that women have a need to take care of everything and not ask for help. They truly fear they will be perceived as weak. She should have taken the time she spend writing this blog and actually talk to her husband and voice her concerns. She is not only doing herself an injustice, but she is doing him one as well. The longer you take on the world and do everything yourself, the easier it is to become exhausted and resentful. There may come a day for her when she wakes up and realizes that she has raised those children herself but is a complete stranger to her husband. She had years to reach out to him and say that she needed more help but instead she whines about needing time off because she does it all.

I'm a tired of women feeling this way. This is what society has made us out to be. If we can't be a wife, mother, and juggle all their activities as well as work full time without any missteps then we aren't really women. This comes from years and years of having to try to prove ourselves as being just as good as men. Women really haven't been able to vote for very long compared to men. We still make less money and aren't represented in business or politics equally. Female athletics are looked at much differently than males. We still are seen as Mom's and nothing more. Look how we are represented in TV, magazines, movies, and advertisements. While there is nothing wrong with being a Mother, it's not the only thing that a female can be. Women are either highly sexualized or made to be matronly.

One of the biggest reasons women are second class citizens is the Bible. If you look through the Bible women are mostly portrayed as objects, evil, and of course whores. If you grew up in a religious household then you have been surrounded with stories and teachings that are showing women as nothing more than a man's helpmate. My personal feelings on this are that men wrote the Bible and women were disregarded and their roles became less and less as time went on. I feel that people who were doing the translations put their own spin on things and a lot got lost. It is sad because if you believe in the Bible then you have heard that humans were created in God's image. Females weren't made up as a second thought, they were made in God's image too which makes us just as important as a man.

We need to realize that even though we have been taught to believe we are less than men we really aren't. We need to ask for help from people in our lives instead of living in fear of being perceived as weak. I can't tell you how many times I have heard women utter the phrase I am fine when nothing could be further from the truth. Women will even go so far to neglect their own health out of fear of being seen as someone who can't do it all. People get sick, need help, and have weak moments. They need to reach out and stop staying silent. Are you married with children? Don't keep the tasks you have daily to yourself because what good are you really doing? You have a partner, use them. If you don't feel like they will help you then you have bigger problems and should probably seek help. There isn't anything wrong with getting help! Being a woman doesn't mean that you have to do it all and not complain. Being a strong women means knowing that you can't do it all and you need help. Using your voice makes you strong, not weak. If you stay on the path of never asking for help and begging for a day off because you do so much, you have no one to blame but yourself.