Writing Romance for the Skeptic

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by Elisabeth Wong

Okay, I guess it’s confession time: I’m a love skeptic.

To a certain extent. And if you were wondering, yeah, that confession was for my own sake too. I don’t know that I’ve acknowledged this trait in myself before – not because I’m ashamed of being a skeptic, but because romance in general is a big no-no for me. Horrified gasp! Yes, I’m one of those people! I’m that girl whose parents wouldn’t allow her to date in high school; that one girl who (what?) hasn’t owned up to having a crush on a guy for like eleven years now.

Okay, it was eleven until like last summer, but in my defense, I was tired. (Completely and 100% relevant.)

via Writing Romance for the Skeptic

Song Lyric Sunday | “Ball of Confusion” – Temptations

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Song Lyric Sunday was created by Helen Vahdati from This Thing Called Life One Word at a Time. For complete rules or to join in the fun, click here.

The theme for Song Lyric Sunday this week is “Earth”. 

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My mind gravitated to the people of earth more-so than the planet itself, and of course, the state of the people.

There isn’t a corner of the planet not mired in some travesty–war, corruption, racism and discrimination, famine and hunger, poverty, classism, ageism, sexism, violence and abuse.

We all search for Utopia to live in peace without realizing Utopia isn’t a place, but a state of mind.

Our mass confusion makes the planet a ball of confusion.

The Temptations took the psychedelic-soul inspired Ball of Confusion to number two on the R & B charts and number three on Billboard’s Hot 100, and is ranked by Billboard as song number twenty-four for 1970. But the song is probably best remembered by today’s audiences as being sung by Whoopie Goldberg and the Nuns in Sister Act II.

Penned by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, the political themes of Ball of Confusion speak of the ills of society in the late 60s. Read the lyrics carefully–they could be written about 2018.

Enjoy this live performance from 1970. It’s bittersweet for diehard Temptations fans as we just lost Dennis Edwards two weeks ago at the age of 74.

Check out my Song Lyric Sunday post on FeliciaDenise.com.

Disclaimer: I have no copyrights to the song and/or video and/or hyperlinks to songs and/or videos and/or gifs above. No copyright infringement intended.

Ball of Confusion

(That’s What the World is Today)

by The Temptations

Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong

 

People movin’ out, people movin’ in.
Why, because of the color of their skin.
Run, run, run, but you sho’ can’t hide
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Vote for me and I’ll set you free
Rap on, brother, rap on.
Well, the only person talkin’ ’bout love thy brother is the preacher
And it seems nobody’s interested in learning but the teacher
Segregation, determination, demonstration, integration, aggravation,
humiliation, obligation to our nation
Ball Of Confusion that’s what the world is today (yeah, yeah)
The sale of pills is at an all time high
young folks walkin’ ’round with their heads in the sky
Cities aflame in the summer time, and oh the beat goes on
Eve of destruction, tax deduction,
City inspectors, bill collectors,
Evolution, revolution, gun control, the sound of soul,
Shootin’ rockets to the moon, kids growin’ up too soon
Politicians say more taxes will solve ev’rything, and the band played on.
Round and round and around we go, where the world’s headed nobody knows.
Great googa mooga, can’t you hear me talkin’ to you, just a
Ball of Confusion that’s what the world is today. (yeah, yeah)
Fear in the air, tension ev’rywhere
Unemployment rising fast, the Beatle’s new record’s a gas,
and the only safe place to live is on an Indian reservation,
and the band played on
Eve of destruction, tax deduction,
City inspectors, bill collectors, mod clothes in demand,
population out of hand, suicide too many bills, hippies movin’ to the hills
People all over the world are shouting end the war and the band played on.
Round and round and around we go, where the world’s headed nobody knows.
Great googa mooga, can’t you hear me talkin’ to you, just a
Ball of Confusion that’s what the world is today
Let me hear you, let me hear you, let me hear you
Ball Of Confusion that’s what the world is today

Fibromyalgia and Muscle Twitching

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Our muscles are at the core of fibromyalgia issues, and because of that, our muscles are where we are going to notice the majority of our issues. Controlling our fibromyalgia is based on a lot of factors, but many of them are related to the muscles that are most affected by the disease.

Muscle twitching is one of the most common symptoms of fibromyalgia, and it’s important to deal with it quickly. In this article, we’re going to look at why muscle twitching is such a common issue with fibromyalgia, and how you can cope with it in a manner that allows you to continue to live your life.

Why Does Muscle Twitching Happen with Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a disorder where our body is constantly in pain. At this point in time, there isn’t really a single known cause of the disorder, and because of that, it’s often hard to treat. Many times, professionals are just dealing with the symptoms and trying to make it as simple as possible for the person suffering from the disorder to live a normal life – or as normal as they possibly can.

Muscle twitching is just one of many symptoms that may end up occurring in people who are suffering from fibromyalgia. What is a muscle twitch? In short, it’s when the nerves in your body (usually in muscles) start to work without you telling them to.

They shoot off signals and move without you prompting them to. Many people know about the twitch in their eyelids or in their fingers, but they can be a lot worse in those with fibromyalgia. But why do they happen?

There are a number of emotional reasons that we can end up with muscle twitches. Stress and anxiety are probably the two biggest reasons. Many people who suffer from fibromyalgia will deal with one or both of these problems at some point.

Under these conditions, our bodies will start to be tense and they won’t act as they should, thus making it difficult for us to control what is going on with our bodies. We may tremble or twitch, even though we didn’t tell our body to do any of those things.

Anxiety will often make people tremble or twitch, even if they can’t sense the mental part of their anxiety, their body may still react with twitches and trembles. Either way, it can be a bit disconcerting.

Another reason is that of an injury or because of tension in the muscle itself. Injuries can make it so that the nerves don’t fire as they should, and tension makes it so that your nerves may be strained or pinched.

In either of those cases, it’s likely that our bodies will shake and/or twitch, and we won’t really be able to do much about it. It can be scary and sometimes cause frustration, but it’s quite common and not something that you necessarily have to be afraid of if it happens to you or a loved one who deals with fibromyalgia.

How Can We Deal with and/or Prevent Muscle Twitching?

As with anything else, we can deal with muscle twitching (and in some cases, we can even prevent it). Your specialist is the only one who can actually give you a full plan as to how you want to go about it, but here are some suggestions that you can use in order to help prevent and/or deal with muscle twitching that is related to fibromyalgia.

It sounds simple, but staying active can actually play a huge role in preventing muscle twitches as a result of fibromyalgia. If you are exercising (which, even though it can be difficult with fibromyalgia pain, you want to try and do at least semi-regularly), then you are stretching your muscles and making them less tense. Even just doing stretches around the house can really help limber you up.

It will also make it easier for you to move around. Remember – some movement is better than no movement at all, so even a little bit can end up helping you feel a lot better and can help to reduce the spasms and twitching of your muscles. Go and take a walk around the block, or just use the muscle that is causing you the issues – sometimes, just using the muscle is enough to help it work correctly and to turn off the “misfiring” that is going on in your body.

Even if you have fibromyalgia, some muscle twitches could be signs of bigger problems in your body. There are a few reasons that you may want to call a professional and get help if you’re having a muscle twitch that is out of the ordinary.

If you can’t move a part of your body because of the twitch, if you start to feel dizzy or sick, and/or you are in so much pain that moving your body (or at least, the area that is affected) is out of the question. In those cases, you will want to go to the hospital and get treated – there could be some bigger issues going on.

If the twitching is severe and making it difficult to function, your doctor may end up prescribing medications for you. Some of them are muscle relaxers, others are anti-spasmodic medications. It depends on what your doctor believes is causing the muscle twitching in the first place. They may also send you to a physical therapist and/or give you electrical therapy, depending on where the spasm is located and if the technologies and/or techniques have been proven to help your specific area of issue.

Muscle twitching is, unfortunately, a common truth that many people who suffer from fibromyalgia have to deal with. It’s important that we’re not only aware of this issue, but also that we can take care of it when it comes up. If muscle twitching has become an issue for you, talk to your specialist. They can help you with more suggestions and give you a treatment plan that actually addresses the twitching and its severity.

 

 

The preceding article is from FibromyalgiaTreating.com and is posted here for sharing purposes only. No copyright infringement intended. For additional information, please visit their website or consult your physician.

“Julie of the Wolves” by Jean Craighead George

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Julie of the Wolves

by Jean Craighead George, John Schoenherr (Illustrator)

Genre: Children, Teen & YA/Geography & Culture/Wolves/Native American

1.99 at time of posting!

Jean Craighead George’s Newbery Medal–winning classic about an Eskimo girl lost on the Alaskan tundra now features bonus content. This edition, perfect for classroom or home use, includes John Schoenherr’s original scratchboard illustrations throughout, as well as extra materials such as an introduction written by Jean Craighead George’s children, the author’s Newbery acceptance speech, selections from her field notebooks, a discussion guide, and a further reading guide.

Julie of the Wolves is a staple in the canon of children’s literature and the first in the Julie trilogy. The survival theme makes it a good pick for readers of other wilderness stories such as My Side of the Mountain, Hatchet, or Island of the Blue Dolphins.

To her small Eskimo village, she is known as Miyax; to her friend in San Francisco, she is Julie. When her life in the village becomes dangerous, Miyax runs away, only to find herself lost in the Alaskan wilderness.

Miyax tries to survive by copying the ways of a pack of wolves and soon grows to love her new wolf family. Life in the wilderness is a struggle, but when she finds her way back to civilization, Miyax is torn between her old and new lives. Is she Miyax of the Eskimos—or Julie of the wolves?

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“The Undead Pool (The Hollows Book 12)” by Kim Harrison

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The Undead Pool (The Hollows Book 12)

by Kim Harrison

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy/Romance

1.99 at time of posting!

Supernatural superhero Rachel Morgan must counter a strange magic that could spell civil war for the Hollows in this sexy and bewitching urban fantasy adventure in acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison’s Hollows series.

Witch and day-walking demon Rachel Morgan has managed to save the demonic ever after from shrinking, but at a high cost. Now, strange magic is attacking Cincinnati and the Hollows, causing spells to backfire or go horribly wrong, and the truce between the races, between Inderlander and human, is shattering. Rachel must stop this dark necromancy before the undead vampire masters who keep the rest of the undead under control are lost and all-out supernatural war breaks out.

Rachel knows of only weapon to ensure the peace: ancient elven wild magic, which carries its own perils. And no one know better than Rachel that no good deed goes unpunished . . .

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“Rosetta, Rosetta, Sit By Me!” by Linda Walvoord

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Rosetta, Rosetta, Sit By Me!

by Linda Walvoord

Genre: Children’s Books/African-American/Difficult Discussions/Racism & Prejudice

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Frederick Douglass’s daughter tells her own story of segregation and triumph.

“Rosetta, Rosetta, Sit by me!” That’s what the white girls at Miss Tracy’s Female Seminary yell when Rosetta, Frederick Douglass’s nine-year-old daughter, shows up on the first day of school. But things don’t turn out the way she expects. Not only does she have to study in a classroom all by herself, but she’s also kept apart at recess. Told in Rosetta’s voice, and illustrated throughout, this remarkable chapter book includes a biographical endnote; a time line; reproductions of a letter from Rosetta to her father and Frederick Douglass’s newspaper, the North Star; and source notes.

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