Giorgio Fan 255

[giorgiofan255]

I always found it amazing when Ronnie Milsap danced on his piano. 

[giorgiofan255]

My Weaning From Walmart

I used to go to Walmart for everything. Groceries, laundry soap, even shoes.

My one main reason was I lived in  a small town and had no options other than that and Dollar General. Walmart was cheaper on groceries than the grocery store.   Then I moved, and I use Walmart very little.

I did not stop using the store for the same reason others stopped, namely, the over saturation and destruction of mom and pop businesses, or the national debt. I stopped because I can find the same products elsewhere for cheaper. The retail giant is  no longer the cheapest on everything like they used to be, and since they no longer do price matching, there really isn’t a reason NOT to use other stores.

I’m a single lady on Social Security.  I need to get the best deal for my dollar. I have found that things I need can be gotten cheaper at other stores.

When I moved, I had been told to try Save A Lot for groceries. I had sticker shock. Not because things were high, but because the prices were lower than where I came from. I filled my cart with twice as many  groceries and for the same money.   And since there are dollar stores on every corner these days, I have discovered that all the stuff I need can be gotten cheaper there. I don’t see paying $2.38 for a gallon bleach when I can get it for a dollar.

Do not get me wrong, I do not personally dislike Walmart. I still go there for a few specific items. I still buy movies there. (Especially since they have a $5 DVD and a $7.88 Blu Ray bin.) I still buy books there, since they are cheaper than cover price and there isn’t a book store here.  (And honestly I don’t always want to wait on the mail to bring me things I order from Amazon.)  I still buy my cylinders of cooking  propane because no other store I have seen sells it. I still buy my bird food there since there is no pet store and the dollar stores don’t carry it. My son is addicted to a specific flavor of ramen noodles you can only find at Walmart, and I am addicted to the baker’s dozen glazed donuts. I have also noticed they are the only ones to carry certain brands of shampoo, so I sometimes can’t avoid shopping at Walmart, considering that it’s still the most convenient place to get the afore mentioned items.

Ultimately, I would not stop shopping at Walmart.  The people who work there truly appreciate my business. But so do the competitors who struggle to stay afloat.  Again, that’s not my reason for cutting back.  My main reason is I am on a budget and I don’t feel they are the cheapest store to use anymore.

[giorgiofan255]

This is kind of old news but I thought I would blog about him anyway. (Again not my photo. t came from online.) 

In Alabama, there has been a yellow pigment  Northern cardinal spotted.  I think he’s quite gorgeous.

[sapphirerose818]

grow and bloom like our boy Finn

[giorgiofan255]

On Facebook there has been a viral video of one of the butt ugliest goats ever. It looks like a goat cross bred with an American buffalo, or maybe something from “Dune” or “Star Wars” movies.

The creature in the viral video is a Damascus goat, and it’s a middle-eastern breed bred for its milk.  And the uglier the goat, the more beautiful they are.

Oddly enough, I want one. 

Apparently the kids look normal but as they get older, they develop a severe underbite which is desirable in this breed. The males usually have their ears cropped and styled. 

[giorgiofan255]

The above photo is not mine.  I found it on Google, because I have recently become interested in train graffiti.  (I like this one because it’s Finn and Jake.)

Over the past summer I moved from a place that didn’t have trains, to some place that does.  So I never gave graffiti on trains much thought.

There is a whole subculture out there dedicated to it, called benching.

Next time I am in town and a train comes through, I am going to try to take photos of some of the more interesting train art I see. 

It is nice to actually see. Many of these artists are quite talented, and these murals move all over the place. My own personal challenge will be seeing if I ever see the same train cars twice.

I always wonder who painted these, and where. So, it’s a new thing for me.

[giorgiofan255]

Some Writing Projects

About a year ago, I got a story published in a book called “For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never Worn” by Hache L. Jones, Kensington Gore publishing. My story is called “The Yard Sale”, about a concentration camp survivor who made baby shoes from the discarded shoes of others for his unborn son.  It is a work of flash fiction where writers were asked to come up with a short  story, poem, or essay describing why a pair of brand new baby shoes might become for sale and unworn. The book came out last year and is on Amazon.

Also for Kensington Gore, I had five stories published in “Hammered Horror Presents The Twelve Days of Christmas.”  It too is on Amazon. Both books will support the Make A Wish Foundation chapter in the UK. 

An upcoming piece will be about aging.  I have submitted two stories so far.  The book will come out later this year maybe?  It’s called “Through the Ages”.  It too will have all royalties go to charity, and I believe this one will benefit a senior organization in the UK.  Don’t quote me on it but I think Kensington Gore will be publishing that one too.

I myself am American, so all these flash fiction projects are from a British publication company, which is how come they are benefitting British charities.

My husband (actually my ex if you want to be technical but I currently live with him for financial reasons) gets mad when I do these flash fiction projects. He doesn’t see the point. He thinks I should get the money.  But he’s a dick anyway, who is obsessed with money. I don’t want to get famous, but feel the more of these I get involved with, the better chances I will get of having paid writing and blogging jobs in the future. I do it for me. I am also looking into self-publishing some stuff.

Ideally the right way to do it is getting a literary agent, but I can’t afford that.

[giorgiofan255]

My Love Hate Relationship With Facebook

If I didn’t use Facebook for storing my photos and videos online, I would probably leave it.  I have certainly slacked off from using it as much as I did.

I have several reasons for staying, and that’s to keep in contact with the flash fiction groups and projects I am actively engaged in, to see photos of my nephew that I live too far away from to see his growth and progress in person, I stay in touch with Facebook only friends, and it’s my preferred method of contact with my one son, since I hate talking on the phone.

The downside is that I am getting tired of politics and poor shaming. Honestly if you’re a Trump supporter, that puts you on extremely thin ice with me. Let it be known that I didn’t like Hillary either. But I try to stay away from that stuff entirely. It disappoints me though when I see “good” friends and even family agree with a policy that, if initiated, would hurt me, and people like me. I see members of my own church agree with things that go against the teachings of Christ that we sit and talk about in Sunday school every week. And it shows in their Facebook posts.  I want to ask them if they truly feel that way sometimes, but really don’t know how to ask.  It baffles me further to see a post from someone supporting a policy that I know would hurt their very own family in a bad way.  Do they really understand what they are supporting?  I don’t know.  Do I want to know?

I am also going to offend many of you. I HATE Snapchat.   I think peoples’ obsession with turning themselves and their kids into things like fawns and nerdy looking characters with big teeth is creepy as fuck! I get it, it’s supposed to give anonymity, but in all honesty I think if you care about privacy, just keep your pictures off the internet to begin with.

I’m going to offend again: I’m sick of seeing these posts that say “I want you to read this to the end”...that’s a sure guarantee I’m not going to read it at all.  I mute people who post this.

Scam and spam bots are about to drive me nuts. I noticed I haven't gotten as many as I did, but if I get a friend request from a “man” who has no friends other than women in bikinis, and then who messages me with “hi” it’s a sure fire way to get ignored.  I also get tired of people telling me they saw my name on a list for a government grant I didn’t apply for. This the same government that doesn’t want me to eat or get good health care.

 I’d like to visit a web page, fan page, or fun site without getting a messenger ad sent to me five times a day if I like a post.

Things that make me facepalm:  survivors of any given shooting or traumatic event being “crisis actors”, fake news allegations, chemtrails, anti vaxxers, flat earthers, and vegans in serious need of protein. (No offense to those who truly act decent.  I am meaning the ones who eat a vegan diet then starve their dog because they won’t feed it meat.) Animal abuse posts.  

But lastly, I would love to be able to post a status without one of the following:

*unsolicited advice

*repeats of unsolicited advice from everyone else who posted a comment

*comments and suggestions that have nothing to do with the post, a clear indicator that they did not read.

*comments indicating that not only did they not read, they also missed my point entirely.

*being scolded.  News flash: I’m a fucking adult. I have children who are adults now. I have grandchildren. I don’t need to hear from the peanut gallery about how I am going to die a horrible death if I eat or drink  a certain thing, splurged on something despite being poor, ate at a fast food place, or went to the casino. I am not three years old.  I do not need to be scolded.

*insults to my intelligence.

*Facebook medical degrees.  EG: if I say I have a sore knee from a fall, there is always going to be one person at least who will diagnose me with some foreign disease and be quick to recommend pot and coconut oil.

*shares of personal statuses that mention that I went to the store.  Why are you sharing that?

*being scolded about posting spoilers for “The Walking Dead”.  It’s not MY problem you are a fan but won’t pay for cable or satellite. It’s always been a rule in all TWD groups I am in,  that it’s not a spoiler if it’s been aired, and they recommend avoiding the pages and chat groups until everyone has seen it.  So if you don’t want to see TWD spoilers, then you just avoid me.

*someone starting a religious or political argument in my comments section. The other day, I posted a eulogy about Stephen Hawking and all night long, people were worried about his salvation because he was an atheist. Seriously why the fuck do you really care if he went to Heaven or not?  That’s his business not mine. It’s  my job to worry about my own salvation, not his or the salvation of the millions of other atheists and non-Christians who croak every day.

I think this pretty much sums it up.   

[pr1nceshawn]

Poultry Shaming.

[adventuretimetrivia]

Okay, I’m going to explain some things about the reveal in Billy’s Bucket List. Don’t read on if you don’t want to know.

Read More

[giorgiofan255]

Ask me a question

ask.fm/giorgiofan255

[st4rb3ing-deactivated20150825]

okay, i’m going to rant for a second.

ancient astronaut theory/ancient aliens. i really hope people realize, first of all, that EVERYTHING THEY EVER SAY ARE ONLY THEORIES. while they believe it, they aren’t necessarily claiming that it’s the truth. they BELIEVE it based upon the EVIDENCE they...

[giorgiofan255]

Vent Blog: Family. You Can't Live With 'Em, You Can't Kill 'Em

I have this one aunt (my mother's sister) who for reasons I cannot explain, always feels a need to be hateful, rude, and condescending to everyone, me especially.  

She flat out does not like me and I don't know why.  I have never done anything to this woman.  She came to visit several times when I was a kid and I thought she was fun and I adored her.  I'd get upset after she'd go back home after a visit.  

But she's become increasingly judgmental of me in recent years.  She and another aunt (now deceased) came to visit in 2009, and she would constantly talk down to me, and it did not escape my son's notice.  He asked her "why do you hate my mom?"   She was taken aback by his question but her response was "I don't hate your mom, I hate her ways."  

I am not sure what ways she is referring to, since she didn't even know me.  She had not seen or spoken to me in person since I was twelve years old. My mom never said anything negative about me to her that I know of.  Just general generic stuff: that I took the kids to school, or that she took me to get groceries, and stuff along those lines.  

There is nothing wrong with my life.  Seriously there isn't.  I don't go out drinking, partying, or doing drugs.  I am usually here when my son left at home from school.  I have my hobbies and interests that I do.  Of late, my main focus has been on knitting, and doing online surveys for a bit of extra money.  Oh and writing.  I like to write.   I am active in church and next week I am going to attempt to teach a group of our young tween and teen girls how to crochet.  

As my mom was dying I increasingly tried to just tolerate her, so as to not upset my mom,who was upset enough that she had terminal cancer that came on suddenly.  So I ignored this woman's cutting remarks.  

I do remember my mom's stories of how she would constantly irritate her as children, and be that way to her too.  Even when my mom moved to Oklahoma and had a family, this woman was always pressuring my mom to move back there, and always trying to tell her how to run her life, so guess that's just how she is.  

I recently got a letter from her, lambasting me for posting on Facebook about money making opportunities, and of all things, she publicly told me I was obsessed with money.  

OK I don't have a lot of money.  I have to scrimp and save, coupon, recycle, and carefully budget to keep the bills paid and food in everyone's bellies.  I also got stuck with my mom's funeral bill.  My brother makes more money than I do, and won't help.  Some of the paid surveys I do will auto post to my Timeline, and say how much I made.  I get a bonus if my friends click on the links and join the sites too.  So I guess that was a misunderstood thing with her.  

But I do manage to keep my bills paid, and literally have NO income to do it.  I do what I have to do, because nobody else will help.  They are quick to dish out the criticism for how I'm living though.  

Of all things she brought up, "you should have thought of all of this before you went to England."  Uh, yeah, I went to England in 2009 and I did not pay for it.  I actually COULD afford the trip at the time I went, but that time it was paid for by a production company of an independent film a friend of mine was working on.  He didn't want to go by himself and  took me along as a PA.  I went out and got his things so he would not have to go out in public too much.  

She expects him to pay for everything, and everytime I post about how I saved money and share deals (so my other friends on there can  know where to get deals also) she holds that over my head.   I might add that she can afford stuff better than anyone else in the family, so she picks on me for being poor I think.  

I just can't do anything right with this aunt.  She expects me to stay in touch with her but every time I do, she always says something in an attempt to insult me, such as when she asked me what I got for Christmas and one of the things I had received was a new dress for church.  Her response was "good, now you can throw away the rags you always wear."  

WTF?  I do not now, nor have I ever worn rags.  I have a collection of t-shirts (most of them are Duck Dynasty, Adventure Time, Star Trek, wrestling, Big Bang Theory, or other TV show themed topics) that I wear everyday, and I usually wear them with shorts, culottes, or sweat pants around the house.  So there is nothing wrong with what I wear.  I am always working out in my yard and around the house, so there's no sense in dressing like I'm going to an executive job or church when I am puttering around in the yard and garden.  

Hey lady, I do not exist to please you.  And I do not have to justify my actions to you either.  

[loukessler]

Aliens took my sister.

[rhamphotheca]

Tanagers and Cardinals

We have many brightly-colored bird species, but few can compete with the North American tanagers. Molecular studies and other new research suggests the genus Piranga, including this Western Tanager (P. ludoviciana), are actually part of the cardinal Family (Cardinalidae), and not the tanager Family (Thraupidae) where they were originally placed.

The relationship is supported by their plumage: Piranga species are extensively red, orange or yellow - colors defined by carotinoid pigments - which is rarely seen in true tanagers but very common in the cardinal family. Despite the bright colors, they can often be hard to see as they spend much of their time high in the woodland canopy foraging on insects. Western Tanagers are a major consumer of the forestry crop pest Western Spruce Budworm (Choristoneura occidentalis).

Photo by Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife

(via: Peterson Field Guides)

[giorgiofan255]

Hi! You liked the picture I posted awhile back of Giorgio in his hat, smoking a cigar. I just wanted to say my name is Beth too. : p

Cool beans.  Awesome pic. :)

[seventy-five-percent-water]

Gymnosomata, commonly known as Sea Angels. An apt name- the sea angels are the ethereal, translucent, fluttering angels of the sea. 

In hard scientific terms, they’re small swimming sea slugs, but we’ll pass over that for now and just admire how delicately beautiful these wonderful creatures are.