Believe It or Not

1. What is a calibre?
This is when a person ends their diet and they are liberated from counting calories.

2. What is citrus?
These are immigrants that got their Green Cards and became citizens are us.

3. What is phlebotomy?
The study of leaches.

4. What is pumpernickel?
She wanted a dime, but I only gave her a nickel.

5. What is meant by nimbus?
This is a slow, foolish, or silly person.

6. What is a sea monkey?
Something that refuses to be flushed down a toilet.

7. What is an ambassador?
This is a guy with a really large butt that can no longer fit through a door.

8. What is a flywheel?
This is the rear wheel on a garbage truck.

9. What is a catacomb?
An inappropriate photo that was taken on the beach.

10. What is flamboyant?
This is a fried lamb that floats.

Written for Di’s Fibbing Friday.

Lady Titicaca

Image generated by Bing AI

While public opinion varies, society generally subjects sex workers to deep-seated stigma, moral judgment, and social marginalization rather than universal, active hatred.  In May 1984, the City of Vancouver filed a major injunction to ban sex workers from the West End, using community policing groups to publicize their names.  This event eventually became a catalyst for local activism.  In 2001, a group of sex workers marched through the streets of Venice holding bright red umbrellas, and this became the global symbol for sex workers’ rights, and annual “” trace their historical resistance back to this pivotal 1984 crackdown.  Millions of people regularly consume mainstream adult content like pornography, yet societal disrespect toward the actual workers remains high.  Society holds a double standard toward sex workers as they are discriminated against and prosecuted as criminals, while they remain in high demand for a massive, multi-billion-dollar industry for adult media.

Red Umbrella Marches are annual events in many cities around the world, though they do not take place on a single, unified global date.  Alice was looking forward to this year’s Red Umbrella March, to show her defiance against what she deemed as unfair and unconstitutional prostitution laws, and a violation of her personal liberty.  Alice picked out a red parasol that matched her red boa and bustier, and she knew most of the 100 people that were going to march in this protest.  Alice always hated her birthday because it marks a visible passage of time, but it also represented the day when her childhood sexual abuse began.  No one believed her when she told her story about what happened and she feels that this past abuse did limit her career options and increase her vulnerability to entering the sex trade, as she was called a slut and she figured that since she could not shake her reputation, she might as well make money from it.  Alice usually took her birthday off to be away from everyone, but this year’s Red Umbrella March was on her birthday and that was important to her.

Her childhood abuse came from her teacher who kept her after school because she was chewing gum in class.  Alice never dreamed that she would be betrayed by an authority figure while they were completely alone together after hours.  He told her that she had to organize the supply closet for her punishment, and while she was doing this, he started sharing personal details about his own life, his financial problems, and his loneliness.  She wanted to finish her punishment and go so she could be with her friends, but he was watching everything she did standing right behind her, lingering longer than necessary, and leaning over her shoulder.  He crossed the line when he gave her a pat on the back and left his hand lingering on her shoulder, as that made her feel uncomfortable.  The classroom was entirely too quiet, save for the ticking clock and the heavy silence between them.  She grabbed a textbook in the supply closet and told him to step back and not stand so close to her.  He stepped closer to her and asked her what was wrong, which was a big mistake.  Instinct took over, and she turned around and hurled a heavy book straight at his face.  The solid corner of the spine caught him squarely across the mouth with a sharp, sickening crack.  Her teacher stumbled backward, gripping his jaw as the book thudded heavily onto the linoleum floor.  Blood was gushing out of his mouth and his bloody tooth landed next to Allice, so she picked it up and ran out of the class.

Alice kept the tooth in a small velvet box as physical evidence of the event.  Alice went by the working name of Lady Titicaca because she thought that had an exotic sound and Lake Titicaca is known as the birthplace of the world.  She was not so happy that caca was also known as excrement, but she remembered that the Aztecs had a deity called Tlazolteotl who was known as the goddess of excrement, and she was able to transform physical waste, moral sin, and decay into life-giving agricultural fertility and spiritual purification.  She was a sin eater absorbing human guilt, trauma, and bad deeds when people confessed, cleansing them and granting a fresh start, and in her line of work Lady Titicaca came across many people that needed a fresh start.  The Aztecs used human waste as an essential fertilizer for their crops, viewing rot and waste as the direct source of new life and food.  Alice was also fond of the Titicaca grebe, a flightless water-diving bird found in Peru and Bolivia as it is a very charming and endearing bird with sweet habits that many people find adorable.  The Titicaca grebe represented her inability to move past the lifestyle that she was trapped into, and it became a symbol of her own helplessness.  The Titicaca grebe is listed as an endangered species and it faces ongoing threats, just like she does in her work, so she has a lot of empathy for them.

These five things kept popping up in her dreams (a red umbrella, a missing tooth, 1984, a woman who hates birthdays and a bird that cannot fly) haunting her every night.  She knew that they had to be connected to something, but she had no clue what that was.  While she was marching in the parade, she noticed a man missing his front tooth who looked a lot like her molesting teacher from her past and she realized that these five things were all part of her life, and she solved the mystery of how and why they were all tied together.  Marching with her friends on her birthday helped her to uncover the secret that she was trying to discover.

Written for the Great Minds Think’s Friday Challenge, which is hosted by Rohini and Sarah and this week we were asked to make a story out of five different clues.

Barefoot and Pregnant

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, it was said that a woman’s place is in the home, doing chores, and having babies and it was imperative that they were not allowed to wear shoes so they could not run away from their man.  It seems shameful that this sexist, misogynist, discriminatory policy was instituted by men here on Earth to exert their male superiority and dominance because they felt they were entitled to tell women what to do, and this led to the patriarchal structure.  Human societies transitioned from egalitarian hunter-gatherer groups to agrarian communities around 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.  Settling down meant acquiring land and resources that required physical defense, often putting physically stronger males in control of security.  Property began being passed down the male line, which gradually reduced female autonomy and established patriarchal norms.  Men historically held greater economic and social power, creating structural advantages that normalized traditional roles of male dominance and female submissiveness.  Laws, religious traditions, and social expectations over centuries formalized these hierarchies, making male authority the default standard in many cultures.  A rigid division of labor relegated women to unpaid domestic and reproductive tasks such as child-rearing and maintaining the household, with men dominating public spheres, warfare, and paid labor, this economic dependence further solidified male authority.

Classical Greek philosopher Aristotle described women as inferior, providing ideological justification for male dominance.  Major world religions often positioned women as subordinate, reinforcing gender hierarchy.  Medieval and early modern interpretations continued to portray women as morally or intellectually weaker.  Cultural narratives tied women to domestic roles and men to public authority, making inequality appear natural.  During the rise of early agrarian societies, patriarchal systems were tied to property, inheritance, and control over women’s labor and reproduction, and they also restricted women’s rights in marriage, property, and citizenship.  The rise of private property drove men to control household production and lineage, and to ensure that land and assets passed strictly to male heirs, this required strict monitoring of female fidelity and sexuality.  Early farming communities did not instantly fence off individual plots of land, but agricultural surpluses naturally created private land ownership.  The Manishtushu Obelisk carved around 2270–2255 BC has an inscription about the king purchasing property.  Institutionalized patriarchy is evident in early legal structures like the Code of Hammurabi written around 1754 BC, classified male headship, restricted female occupations, and severely penalized challenges to male authority.

There is no single cause for the imbalance of power where women were being viewed as subordinate to men, but when you are a minority it is very difficult to gain control.  Dominating groups create the foundational rules that naturally restrict the upward mobility of minority groups.  Having wealth and assets are necessary ingredients to influence change, and they are critical for getting your message across.  Eventually women got tired of being paid less and being told that they had smaller brains and their broader hips made them ideal candidates to bear and raise children.  In the 1970s, the women’s movement decided to challenge male dominance in all its forms by targeting systemic inequalities across law, culture, the workplace, and personal relationships, because they were tired of being devalued and considered inferior.  The oppression of women needs to end, but globally they earn roughly 16% to 30% less than men and perform over three-quarters of unpaid domestic work.  1 in 3 women face physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes.  Women hold only about 10% of top government leadership roles globally, and over half of countries lack consent-based definitions of rape.  Women still don’t have control over their own bodies, as male lawmakers have made abortion illegal, and things seem to be getting worse since June 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the federal constitutional right to an abortion.

Written for Reena’s Xploration Challenge #450 where today she gave us two images to ponder, and I chose the one on the left which is shown above.

Habitually High on Marijuana

I’m a space cowboy the first human born outside of Earth.  I am a cowboy that has lived my whole life in space, bet you weren’t ready for that.  Since the moment I first realized that cowboys were cool, all I ever wanted was to be a cowboy.  I wear boots and a western hat, but I have never seen a real cow or rode on a horse.  I have ridden on the mechanical bull bucking machine in this bar many times, which is a lot like being a real rodeo cowboy and I did quite well, if I have to say so myself.  I broke the time record, and the bartender gave me free drinks for the rest of the night.  I practice lassoing working on my wrist coordination, rhythm, and timing to release the loop at the exact moment where the natural momentum of the spinning rope carries it forward toward the target, but while traveling through space in microgravity, spinning a rope causes my entire body to rotate in the opposite direction.

Written for Thursday Inspiration new and improved hosted by Fandango where he gave us the AI generated picture above to write a story about.

Gang Rape is Contemptuous

Research comparing multiple-offender (gang) rape and single-offender (individual) rape indicates that gang rape victims often experience more severe trauma outcomes.  Gang rape is considered to be a heinous crime, as it represents a severe violation of human dignity, bodily autonomy, and fundamental human rights.  Gang rape is a violent, criminal act where a person is forced to have sex against their will by two or more people.  This is classified as a non-consensual sexual assault.  When I was in High School, I learned that many students were involved in gang bangs, and this one girl was known for pulling a train and her brothers made money from the guys that lined up in the queue.  The term gang bang is used for a group sexual encounter where one person has sex with multiple partners, usually sequentially or simultaneously, with the explicit consent of all participants.  It is a form of consensual group sex or an orgy.  All of these instances involved a lone girl and a group of guys, and these situations never worked out good for the girl, as after the guys had their way with her, she was called a slut.  I don’t know what made these girls do this, but I have to think they regretted what they did later.  Scientists and sexologists say that almost everything about human sex is “normal” because biological and behavioral research reveals an enormous range of natural diversity rather than a single rigid standard, thus as long as sexual activities involve informed, ongoing consent between adults and do not cross into abuse or coercion, sexology treats the vast array of consenting human expression as a healthy part of the human experience.

I read that most straight men don’t like being involved in gangbangs, and this was never my thing, but the guys that did do this bragged about it like they were heroes.  Acquaintance rape happens in a dating relationship, and this is commonly known as “date rape.”  This involves unwanted sexual contact forced through physical violence, threats, intimidation, or coercion, including when a person is unable to give consent due to the influence of alcohol or drugs.  Consent is an active, voluntary, and ongoing agreement to engage in sexual activity, and it is the fundamental boundary that separates consensual sex from sexual assault or rape.  An individual who is incapacitated by alcohol or drugs cannot legally or ethically give consent to sexual activity.  This brings us to what I have been watching on the News where New York state prosecutors reopened a case of alleged gang rape at Cornell University that took place in 2024.  The plaintiff, identifying as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit against Cornell University, several Chi Phi fraternity organizations, seven current and former students, several sorority organizations, the former president of Cornell’s Chi Phi chapter, a local bar and several unnamed individuals.

On Oct. 19, 2024, the night of the alleged drugging and sexual assault, the plaintiff admits that she consumed hard liquor at an event even though she was underage and she became intoxicated.  She “stumbled alone” to Chi Phi National’s Xi chapter’s fraternity house, where a fraternity member allegedly proposed having a threesome with him and another fraternity brother.  The lawsuit contends she was “incapable of consenting,” when the two guys pressured her to snort a white, powdery substance claimed to be ketamine and supplied her with marijuana and a liquor believed to be high-proof rum.  She claims that they each had sex with her without her consent.  Then allegedly one of the rapists allegedly encouraged fraternity brothers to join him, sending a message about “free pussy” upstairs to a Snapchat group.  I have never been in a fraternity, as I went to a commuter college and I did that at nights while I was working, so I don’t have a clue how this works, except from what I saw in the movie Animal House.

Written for FOWC with Fandango – Contemptuous.

Enchanted Forest

The woman hiker is wearing an olive jacket, dark pants, a backpack, and tall boots and while she is walking along a forest dirt trail she meets up with a small group of deer (two adults and a fawn), a red fox, a raccoon, two bunny rabbits and four forest songbirds are flying above them.  This gathering of different wild animals was most likely created by an AI image generator, as the very tiny deer appear to be much too small to be real, and this is primarily due to a lack of consistent scale and proportions with artificial intelligence struggling to find asymmetrical balance.  In the United States, I am used to seeing white tailed deer, which people recognize as Bambi, but there are other species that are smaller, however these deer do look like miniature white tailed deer, and they should have been drawn bigger than how they appear.  The adult deer are barely larger than the fox and roughly the same height as the woman’s hip despite her standing closer to the camera.

In the wild, a predator like a red fox, a prey species like rabbits, a protective mother deer, and a human would not walk calmly together in a tight cluster, but in an enchanted forest, anything is possible.  An enchanted forest is a place of deep magic, transformation, and mystery that is filled with mystical phenomena.  Travelers can encounter talking plants, glowing flora, hidden portals, and sudden transformations that bend the rules of reality.  The woods serve home to creatures like fairies, elves, dragons, witches, and giants.  These liminal spaces act as both a dangerous unknown where curses and monsters dwell, and a sanctuary or testing ground for heroes on a quest.  Magical woods often act as a mirror, reflecting the inner reality, fears, or desires of the person walking through them.

Written for Simply 6 Minutes hosted by Christine Bialczak.

Blue Wave

Image generated by ChatGPT

She watched him and smiled as he looked at his phone, turned pale, and quickly left the room.  The text on his phone said there was a Democratic sweep of both congressional chambers in the 2026 midterms.  This was like winning the lottery for him, because it would grant Democrats full control over investigations, judicial blocks, and allow potential impeachment proceedings.  Having a Democratic majority in both the House and Senate would allow Democrats to chair every congressional committee, where they could issue subpoenas and launch high-profile investigations.  A Democratic Senate could refuse to confirm judicial and executive appointments.  The Democrats ran on a campaign of making life more affordable for the American citizens and now they will have to act on making reforms.  Since Congress controls federal funding, and the House and Senate majorities can block or claw back appropriations, restrict how money is spent, or refuse to pass new funding bills for mass deportation programs.  A majority allows Democrats to launch congressional investigations, subpoena DHS and ICE officials, and hold public hearings on agency conduct.  Lawmakers could pass statutory guardrails, such as the proposed “Alex Pretti Act” aiming to eliminate qualified immunity for federal immigration agents, though enactment would still face a potential presidential veto.

The president also holds veto power on the tariffs that he initiated, but Democrats would be able to frustrate and constrain the administration’s agenda.  They could scrutinize or block funding for specific trade enforcement or implementation programs.  Many items that they are looking to change will probably go nowhere, as Republicans want higher defense spending, while Democrats want to reverse cuts to Medicaid in the administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill.  Given the increasingly confrontational nature of fiscal negotiations in recent years, neither side may be willing to concede much ground, so nothing will likely be done to lower the US federal debt which is now above $40 trillion.  The war in Iran would probably continue until we get a new president that isn’t, so pig headed.  The Democrats would have significant power to block, investigate, and challenge President Trump’s White House ballroom and triumphal arch projects.  He wanted real change and although things will be improving now what he is really looking for is a future Democratic president and a Democratic majority in Congress so they could pass legislation or direct federal agencies to remove Donald Trump’s name from federal property, buildings, or honors, provided they have the legal authority over those assets.

Written for Fandango’s Story Starter #266.

Nationwide Sensation

The maneki-neko, or Japanese “beckoning cat”, originated as a clay figurine in Tokyo (then called Edo) during the late Edo period (1603–1868).  A famous legend from Tokyo’s Gōtoku-ji Temple tells of a starving monk who shared his food with his pet cat.  During a sudden storm, a wealthy feudal lord named Ii Naotaka took shelter near the temple and saw the cat waving him inside.  Lightning struck the tree the lord had just left, saving his life.  Grateful, he became the temple’s patron.  Today, the temple attracts tourists from all over Japan and the world.  Another Edo lore credits an impoverished elderly woman in 1852 who had to abandon her cat.  The cat appeared in her dream and told her to make dolls in its image.  She crafted clay Imado ware figurines made from local terra-cotta, and sold them at the shrine gates, and escaped poverty.  Renowned artist Hiroshige Utagawa drew these cats in an 1852 woodblock print, the oldest known record of the fortune cat.

The beckoning cat is also known as lucky cat or welcome cat, and it is internationally recognizable with its raised paw that symbolizes wealth, good fortune, and welcoming customers worldwide into businesses.  These statues are often placed near entrances or cash registers to bring success.  Since the original beckoning cats wore a collar with a small bell around their necks to bring good luck.  The population of domesticated cats was relatively small at this time, some cats were kept on leashes to keep them close, rather than letting them run wild.  As Japan’s economy grew and shifted during later periods, the focus of the talisman turned more toward material wealth.  The neck bells were eventually replaced or supplemented by a paw holding a koban (a large oval gold coin from the Edo period) to symbolize financial fortune.  The cat came to represent material rather than emotional happiness.  In the 1950s, the cat’s head became as big as the body and eyes became widely opened.  Meowth is a Pokémon character inspired by the Japanese beckoning cat, and it features a prominent gold coin embedded right in its forehead.  Although there are no restrictions on the kind of cat that can be represented with the maneki-neko statue, the calico Japanese Bobtail is the most traditionally accurate and common breed.

A beckoning cat with both paws raised symbolizes protection, happiness, and an all-around invitation for both wealth and good relationships for a home or business.  It is a double blessing, combining the power of both single-paw gestures, beckoning financial wealth (right paw) and welcoming customers, friends, or family (left paw).  It is frequently viewed as a powerful guardian amulet that shields a household or a business space from negative energy.  In some traditional Japanese folklore, raising both paws is humorously interpreted as “surrendering”, “throwing up one’s hands”, or being overly greedy (“asking for too much” luck at once).

Written for Melissa’s Flash Fiction Challenge #396.

Captivating Focal Points

The specific pose that this model chose tilting her chin down against her chest while looking upward at the camera with her eyes is known as “The Look”, and it was made famous by actress Lauren Bacall, who originally did it to stop her trembling from nerves, but it became iconic because it creates an instantly magnetic, enigmatic, and intense look.  During her screen tests for her 1944 debut film To Have and Have Not, a 19-year-old Bacall was so nervous that her head and hands trembled.  Tucking her chin down against her chest helped steady her head and stop the shaking on camera.  Director Howard Hawks saw that the pose created a powerful, sultry, and magnetic expression, and Warner Bros. officially turned it into her signature trademark.  Lauren Bacall developed her “chin down, eyes up” signature look as a deliberate technique she practiced sharpening her jawline, intensify her gaze, and create the cool, controlled persona that made her un-forgettable on screen.

Looking up through the brow line naturally makes the eyes appear larger and more focused.  Tilting the head downward makes a neutral face look more dominant and aggressive because it creates an optical illusion that mimics a frowning facial expression.  Psychological studies on portrait framing show that tilting the head downward tricks the brain into seeing the brow line more pronounced, slightly V-shaped angle, making the subject seem more dominate.  From a technical photography perspective, tipping the chin down and away from the camera serves to sharpen the jawline, elongate the neck, and catch shadow lines more dramatically under the cheekbones.  The tilt of the head, the line of the jaw, and the curve of the arm create dynamic diagonal lines.  Diagonal lines are naturally more engaging to the human eye than flat, horizontal lines.  By turning her eyes sharply up and to the right, the model breaks the symmetry of a standard headshot, forcing the viewer’s eyes to follow her gaze and wonder what has captured her attention just outside the frame, or maybe this is just a quick glance across a crowded bar where Fandango or Nancy will write a noir story about, which they are both very good at.

The light comes strongly from one side, leaving the other half of the face and hair partially in deep shadow, and this was probably used to create a sense of depth and mystery.  The striking difference between the bright skin tones and the pure black of the turtleneck sweater makes the subject’s face stand out immediately.  Having her hand placed below her neck frames the lower half of her face, drawing closer attention to her facial expression, which could be described as guarded, contemplative, and intensely focused, because she isn’t smiling.  Her expression carries a quiet gravity that feels deeply personal rather than performative.  The sharp focus of the camera on her eyes depicting the crisp definition of her eyebrows creates a strong, direct connection with the viewer.  The way her hair is tucked behind her right ear allows the viewer to focus on her ear piercings.  This cluster of small, bright metal piercings adds a modern, detailed texture that breaks up the smooth gradients of the skin and hair.

Written for Sadje at Keep It Alive What Do You See #360.

Something’s Out There

Nena is the stage name of German singer Gabriele Susanne Kerner and the name of the popular 1980s pop-rock band she fronted.  The group achieved massive international fame in 1983 with their anti-war protest song ‘99 Luftballons’ and its English version, ‘99 Red Balloons’, which went to #1 on the UK Singles Chart and went to #2 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100.  This song was released on a 1984 compilation album which was composed of tracks released on their two previous albums, and the English-language version that they made for this song did not chart in the US.  Nena was formed in 1981 in West Berlin, when vocalist Gabriele Susanne Kerner, and her drummer boyfriend Rolf Brendel.  They moved there because their previous band’s (The Stripes who performed in English) record label, CBS, offered Nena (Spanish nickname for “little girl”) a new recording contract under the condition that she relocate to Berlin and start making music with German lyrics.  There they assembled the other members of the band, adding and keyboardist Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, guitarist Carlo Karges and bassist Jürgen Dehmel to complete the lineup.  The band wrote all of their songs themselves, and every member contributed to the songwriting pool, typically working in pairs.  Carlo Karges wrote the lyrics for this, and Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen composed the synth-heavy music.

While at a June 1982 concert by the Rolling Stones in West Berlin, Carlo Karges noticed that balloons were being released.  He watched them move toward the horizon, shifting and changing shapes like strange spacecraft, while thinking about what might happen if they floated over the Berlin Wall to East Berlin.  I didn’t include the German lyrics for this song, although I have only heard it sung in German, so this song was always difficult for me to understand.  In the song, Nena and the listener buy 99 red balloons in a shop and let them go, for fun.  These balloons show up on military radar as unidentified objects and both sides scramble planes and go to full alert to counteract a perceived nuclear attack, when it was just a bunch of harmless balloons.  I know about the Cold War, but this song relates the dreams of the German people that were lost after World War II.  The 99 balloons represent the many dreams each person had.  At the end of the song, Nena just wants to prove that the German people did have dreams by finding just one balloon.  She does find this one balloon, a dream, and lets it go.

You and I in a little toy shop
Buy a bag of balloons with the money we’ve got
Set them free at the break of dawn
‘Til one by one they were gone
Back at base bugs in the software
Flash the message: “something’s out there!”
Floating in the summer sky
Ninety-nine red balloons go by

Ninety-nine red balloons
Floating in the summer sky
Panic bells, it’s red alert
There’s something here from somewhere else
The war machine springs to life
Opens up one eager eye
Focusing it on the sky

Where ninety-nine red balloons go by
Ninety-nine Decision Street
Ninety-nine ministers meet
To worry, worry, super scurry
Call the troops out in a hurry
This is what we’ve waited for
This is it, boys, this is war
The president is on the line
As ninety-nine red balloons go by

Ninety-nine knights of the air
Ride super high-tech jet fighters
Everyone’s a Super Hero
Everyone’s a Captain Kirk
With orders to identify
To clarify and classify
Scramble in the summer sky
Ninety-nine red balloons go by

As ninety-nine red balloons go by
Ninety-nine dreams I have had
In every one a red balloon
It’s all over and I’m standing pretty
In this dust that was a city
If I could find a souvenir
Just to prove the world was here
And here is a red balloon
I think of you, and let it go

Written for Song Lyric Sunday where the theme is to find a song that relates to civil rights, oppression, protest, revolution or social change.