Liebster Award

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This award comes from Mental Mama, who, in classy fashion, offered it up to anyone. I haven’t done one of these in a while (a Liebster award that was challenging, as opposed to any award post.) and I think she posed some excellent questions, so here I am.

1. What is your favorite breakfast?

Bagels with lox, cream cheese, onion, and cucumber. Do not knock this until you’ve tried it. Always choose Nova Lox if you’re first starting out.

2. When you need to cheer yourself up, what music do you go for?

I always listen to music on shuffle and I have eclectic taste, so I am not genre specific. It’s rarely about cheering myself up, but there are plenty of songs that make me smile or feel good.

3. What is your favorite family tradition?

Friday and Sunday dinners. They’re not set in stone, but when they come together, they make me happy. I am the matriarch of my line, so I take great pride in cooking for friends and family and seeing their faces as they enjoy what I have prepared. I am always open to requests, but each person has a favorite, or five. 🙂

4. What should your headstone read?

It will be in Hebrew, English, Latin, Russian, and entirely personal between myself and my children. That’s how it should be.

5. What is your middle name?

Begins with an M, ends with an E, and means “Star Of The Sea”, in homage to my Grandfather.

6. Where did you go on your favorite vacation?

I don’t think I’ve had the ultimate favorite yet. Thus far, they have all been memorable though.

7. How do you like your eggs prepared?

Scrambled in olive oil with garlic, onion, kosher salt, a good amount of peppercorn medley, dill, cayenne, mozzarella cheese & baby bella mushrooms. Thus far, I am the only person that can nail this particular combination without ruining it and screwing up the taste ratio.

8. What is your personal mission statement?

Question everything, be honest, be fearless, and don’t ever worry about being liked.

9. Do you feel as though you are a grown up yet?

I’m pretty sure I was born one.

10. What is the most unusual thing you’ve ever done to or with your hair?

I’ve done all of the colors that one would consider “natural”. I like being blonde, for some reason it is one of the longest lasting shades for me. I find all shades of red to be the most work at maintaining. I am an espresso brunette (naturally, and at this very moment), which is a step away from black, which would be way too Goth for me because of how fair-skinned I am (I contemplated it, my stylist refused to let me do it.), but is still in the brown family. I am working myself up to dark blue highlights, or even a lighter shade of blue, or maybe even purple. I’ve tried this out with some Manic Panic clip-ins and I think they look pretty fucking cool. I have yet to decide if I am officially “too old” for this, or not. I don’t think anything I’ve done to my hair, outside of playing with the color, would be considered unusual. I’ve experimented. It’s a creative outlet for me.

11. What kind of chocolate do you prefer?

Dark chocolate with orange and cayenne pepper. I also LOVE Grand Marnier dark chocolate truffles. Yes, there is a pattern here. LOL.

Now I have to nominate some people. I am generally in the habit of nominating the same people over and over again, so this time I am going to try to choose 5 people that are new to me, as in, new this year, not necessarily new bloggers. Also, any of my friends (you all know who you are, because I can only think of 5.) are more than willing to accept this and answer the questions, because I feel all of you deserve it.

For the nominees, post the award on your blog and on a post with your answers. Thank you for playing along and for having blogs I now get to enjoy.  

#1- Of Curious Minds

#2- A.D. Martin

#3- Pagan Connection

#4- Things That Go Bump In My Mind

#5- Taking The Mask Off

 

Ah yes, questions for my nominees…

1) What is your favorite fruit?

2) Why have you chosen to blog?

3) What is your favorite genre in which to read?

4) What is your favorite social media platform?

5) Hometown?

6) Are you drinking enough water each day?

7) Your favorite sound is?

8) What are some of your favorite smells?

9) Do you have specific life rules that you follow to the letter?

10) Do you have a green thumb?

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Sunshine Blogger Award

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I received this award from a few people, whose names escape me, so I will simple say THANK YOU for awarding me. Both were e-mailed to me, as far as I remember, but I’m just doing the one even though the awards are displayed.

The Rules for The Sunshine Blogger Award are as follows:

  • Display the Award on your Blog. (All awards for this blog can be found in the About Lisa section.)
  • Announce your win with a post.
  • Present 10 deserving Bloggers with the Award – “who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere.”
  • Link your list of bloggers in this post and let them know they are being awarded.
  • Write 10 interesting things about yourself.

10 interesting things about me: 

1. Spain is allowing my family (and millions of others) to return and is granting us citizenship for dispelling us back in the 1400’s. I have to admit, I’m considering it. I wonder how many other countries will do the same (Yay Portugal!). Citizenship in more than one or two countries, to me, is a great thing.

2. I find absolutely NOTHING flattering about people copying me in any way, shape, or form. Be original.

3. You will pretty much never see me without nail polish on.

4. I type obscenely fast and virtually error free.

5. I believe in the power of prayer.

6. Even though I’ve been a writer for over 20 years, I fully intended to become an NYPD detective in the hopes that I would eventually get to work for the FBI. It’s interesting sometimes how things work out.

7. If you said something behind my back, don’t, for a single second, think I don’t know you did it.

8. Some people avoid confrontation like the plague, I’m the exact opposite.

9. I like and respect the person I have become.

10. I have never gambled.

I now Award 10 bloggers

1. findingmyinnercourage.wordpress.com

2. FishOfGold.net

3. Sassandbalderdash.com

4. Jodi Ambrose’s Blog

5. ltclifeonhigh.wordpress.com

6. tuppershare.wordpress.com

7. fairytaleepidemic.wordpress.com (Deal with it Britt!)

8. bipolarmomlife.com

9. meganhasocd.com

10. myspokenheart.wordpress.com

Introducing Myself…

For starters: Thank you for letting everyone know I would be here from time to time, Li. 

For everyone reading this, my name is Stefanie and I will be assisting on this blog. Lisa is my oldest, dearest, and most treasured friend. I’ve worked with her and assisted on so many different things that this feels like coming home, so to speak. I already know it will be fun to share my perspective. 🙂

Normally I would introduce myself, as if we were meeting in person, and tell you some things about me, but I don’t yet feel that comfortable, what with the harassment Lisa and many other bloggers have written about. Suffice it to say, I am a freelance photographer. I was born and raised in Hawaii, have been with my husband for 17 years, we have a young daughter, we have two cats, and we currently live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Like Lisa, I am also a proud Scorpio (November 8th).

I have been privileged enough to work with Lisa as both friend and colleague since the early 90’s, but we’ve known each other longer than that. She & I worked closely together for many years when she worked for a professional athlete, who is so unimportant, I have decided that he can, and should, remain nameless. Maybe if he had treated her better, had been respectful of her hard work, had been kind, courteous, or a decent human being, I’d feel him worthy of mention. I do not. I hope to hell I never cross paths with him again. I don’t want to have to explain to my mother why I was bailed out of jail for beating the hell out of someone who was once a family friend. Sadly, that’s way too good for him.

This platform of Lisa’s is amazing, and as unique as she is. I am really proud of her for “taking the plunge” and being herself here. To see her working so hard on her own self-promotion is a beautiful thing. The books she is in the process of writing are incredible, entertaining, thoroughly researched, and thought-provoking. I love how she has taken old mythology and altered it to suit her needs, and put an entirely new spin on things, I love the dialogue, the characters, the pop culture references, and her ever-present wit. I hope that prior to publication, you will all visit the blogs for each of the books and allow yourselves to become immersed in chapter releases and excerpts.

What will I be doing here? Filling in, sharing my perspective on different subjects, and doing whatever I can to assist where, and when, needed. Rome was not built in a day, and no matter what some people may think, the very best books are not written in 30 minutes. Quality, genius, greatness, it all takes a significant amount of time. Based on what I have read, it is all well worth the wait.

Lisa has asked me to share some of my photography here, and I will do my level best. I normally do very specific types of photographs, but have recently decided to embark on nature stills with the eventual goal being a gallery showing of some sort. If I do not share my personal photos, I will, at the very least, share photos that speak to me, photos I think you, the reader, will enjoy.

I encourage you to interact with me, to leave comments, and introduce yourself in kind. My contact info will be added to the About section soon. I have heard about a handful of you from Lisa by name, but beyond that, I don’t know anyone here. Lets get to know each other and do a little reinventing on this platform.

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday.

~Stef

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“Introducing Myself” is copyright © 2014 by Stefanie Adams-McNamara & MysticRaven. ALL RIGHTS RESERVE

Bringing In Additional Talent

I wanted to let everyone know, in advance, that I am adding some additional talent to this blog. Under the blogger handle “fawkestears” will be one of my best friends, Stefanie. She & I have worked together on various projects, on and off, for over 20 years.

Whenever I am unable, for whatever reason, to blog, she will try to be here in my stead. I am also hoping she will add her photographic spin to things, as she is a talented freelance photographer.

Please, when she posts, treat her as warmly as you have all treated me.

Thanking you all,

Li

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“Why Haven’t You Been Blogging As Much?”…

The other day a friend asked me “Why haven’t you been blogging as much? You’re not writing.” Keen observation. Actually, I am writing. I am a writer, we don’t just stop writing. I’ve got over 200 pages that shows I am writing, really. However, I have not felt like posting a whole lot on my blog this month in terms of written material. Why, you might ask? Because, having been raised with manners, I do know when to keep my mouth shut.

What’s bothering me? The hypocrisy of so much, and so many. The lies, the false friends, and a plethora of other bullshit that just rubs me the wrong way, to the point where what I have to say isn’t very nice.

The pain in which I endure on a daily basis has gutted me. I can only fight one battle at a time and my health is taking priority right now, so if my lack of writing has offended someone, sue me.

If I were to say anything, it would be that I have had it up to my eyeballs with the nonsense, with people misinterpreting clear, concise definitions of what I say, and turning it into something ugly when it is not. I am tired of back-handed comments and compliments. I am truly angry with the lack of comprehension amongst people who are supposed to be my friends, yet seem to be on some sort of “save the world” mission. No one needs false friends. No one intelligent, any way. Please stop insulting my intelligence with your false affection and concern. I’d prefer it if you just ignored me completely as opposed to all the bullshit. I don’t need my ass kissed, I don’t need smoke blown up my ass, and I don’t need anything or anyone who is not completely genuine.

Moreover, it really is ok to disagree with me on any given topic. Agreeing is not mandatory, and there is no need to try and relate to me by making it sound like we’re similar. It’s really, truly all right if we are not. I don’t expect anyone to be me, or be like me. The world would be very odd if everyone had the exact same thoughts, feelings, and actions. In fact, at times, it would be quite dangerous.

Also, unless I have solicited advice, I don’t need passive-aggressive comments about anything. I find them so incredibly rude, especially when I see them on my friend’s pages. They might be nice people, but I will tell you to go to hell. Plain and simple.

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In general, I’m sick of the negativity, so I’ve taken some time to cleanse myself of it. I don’t know exactly how much more time I will need, but I hope that no one will see my blog and assume I am not present. I am most certainly present here on an almost daily basis in one form or another, but when it comes to my own written word, I’m just not feeling it right now. I do have a list of subjects I will be presenting in the future, but right now, I need some time to focus on my health. I hope those that do actually care about me will be able to understand and respect that. There are a few that I know care, but I cannot speak for everyone and in truth, I don’t expect people to care about someone they don’t know well enough to be investing much into beyond reading and commenting.

Wishing you all Spring Showers for May Flowers!

Hiding Behind A Computer…WordPress Harassment & What I Plan On Doing About It

Author’s Note: I was not going to finish this up until a month or so ago when additional news made it’s way to my ears. It pissed me off beyond words, and this is the result. If you’re generally offended by me, I strongly suggest leaving the page right now. For everyone else, please proceed.

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Hiding Behind A Computer…Wordpress Harassment & What I Plan On Doing About It

Several months ago a former friend accused me, a Jewish woman, of being a part of Kashrut slaughter of animals “in the streets”. For the uninformed, Jews do not slaughter animals in the streets. In fact, we’re incredibly civilized in regard to animal slaughter on a whole. We have laws we follow to the letter, providing we aren’t vegetarians or vegans, and as I have established in several other blog posts, I will never be a vegetarian or a vegan. I’m all about healthy balance. I love animals, yes, but I am not an extremist. I don’t have to make changes I don’t believe in, in order to make other people feel better about themselves.

Kosher slaughter entails very specific things. My Rabbi and my brother actually know a lot more about it than I do, and I do not want to nauseate anyone with the gory details. Suffice it to say, YES, I do believe it is more humane. NO, Jews do not “torture animals because we believe it makes meat taste better”. There may be in-fighting, disrespect, and discord amongst our own religious sects (I have most of them in my family, and there is definitive in-fighting. Try being told you’re “not Jewish enough” a few times, then tell me we’re all good to one another.), but our religion is not one for viciousness and evil, nor animal cruelty. For the record, she claimed Muslims do it too. I informed her how very wrong she is, and explained the laws both religions adhere to. Alas, truth often falls on deaf ears. However, since this former friend accused me and all Jews of “slaughtering animals in the street” (Thanks B, you’re a peach!), I decided I’m going to slaughter a pig today. Rabbi Stern, I love you, I respect you, it’s after sundown in Israel, and I’m wearing heavy duty metaphorical gloves.

I’m not sure when it happened, but it has been a slow progression for quite some time as the Internet has continued it’s seemingly never-ending expansion. However, I find this particular situation so distasteful that I have been writing this in my head for a few months. For me, the best work comes with time. I like to have all the facts, and I like to be clear. Gathering the facts was easy, but the why of it all is still a real mystery to me.

During that time period when I first began writing this, people continued to approach me about ONE “man”. Coincidence? I think not. I already had my suspicions, everyone else just helped reinforce it with additional proof that I was right. By the way, I use the term “man” so loosely I hope he can strangle himself with it. I’m happy to provide him with the rope he will need.

Certain types of people are way too comfortable on the Internet. I don’t know why hiding behind a computer gives anyone the right to say things they wouldn’t say to someone’s face. We’re not talking about private thoughts, but things that are completely and utterly inappropriate, as well as out of line, disrespectful, rude… Lord, the list just goes on and on. I don’t give a rat’s ass if you’re drunk or sober: Don’t use anything as an excuse to be an asshole. Unless, of course, you ARE an asshole, and in that case, get the hell off the Internet and crawl into a hole with the rats where you belong, because not everyone here is scum.

Case in point: There is a snake charmer among us here on WordPress, trying to pass himself off as a decent human being. Every time I hear that, I have a hard time keeping a straight face. Who the hell knows what he’s like in his daily life, but on the Internet? He’s got some seriously questionable morals.

It’s not just the things he says and does, but the outrageous lies he tells, and the fact that his actions are vile, not to mention disrespectful, defamatory, outlandish, insane, and, in most parts of North America, would get his self-absorbed, self-important, psychotic ass into a lot of fucking trouble. He deserves to be repeatedly kicked in the nuts by women wearing spiked heels. If he is ever within 200 miles of me, he had better run. He fancies himself a real hard ass. I could not be any more unimpressed than I already am.

We each have our own blogs, which is 100% OUR domain. We can control what we post, what we discuss and share, and what gets said to us, as well as to our readers. Unfortunately, when someone starts blogging about you on their blog, in a completely defamatory manner, and they are hiding behind a “good guy” facade, not to mention an enormous lie, what recourse does a person have? Short of suing them or teaching them an evil lesson, we’re not left with a lot of options. Especially if they go under the guise of not naming names. Proof would be hard at that point, but there are other things that can be done, and should be done to protect bloggers within the community.

The person I am talking about surrounds himself with a harem of sycophants (Trust me, that is me being incredibly polite.), all of whom ply him with sympathy, thus making him feel he is superior to the rest of us. It’s vomit-worthy. He’s so full of shit, I have no idea how oxygen travels through his body. Maybe it doesn’t. It would certainly explain one thing, but it by no means explains it all. A little research clues you in on the fact that, they too, are also full of crap. Maybe not all of them, but most. It’s a scary little world, let me tell ya.

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The women he has said inappropriate things to, myself included, is not a small number. In the past few months, many have come to me and brought him up as the perpetrator of one thing or another. If there was something I could do, aside from writing this, I would. This takes me back to my heyday, where I’d simply say “I’ve got a 9mm and a shovel, and no one would miss him.” That woman is deeply imbedded in who I am. In an instant, I return to the person that kicked down doors, kicked anyone’s ass that required a kicking, and always took note of names.

Several of the harassed parties have gone to WordPress and asked them to do something about this person, and they have refused. If that’s how they want to play it, fine. I am doing something about it. I am forming a petition so that no woman has to deal with sexual harassment on a WordPress blog ever again. Men can SAY they’re being “sexually harassed” on this site, but I have found that to be a complete and utter LIE.

If you’re married, don’t engage women in “on-line flings” and then claim you’re the innocent bystander. That is such bullshit, and you know it. Putting a stop to something is as simple as saying “I am happily married and I am not going to speak to you anymore.”, and actually NOT speaking to that person ever again. If you’re a woman engaging in an “on-line fling”, especially if you know the other person is married, take a good, long look at what you’re doing before you pretend to be the innocent party. Sending men nude photos of yourself and engaging in cyber-sex is still sex, especially if you’re cheating on a sleeping spouse or partner. If you’re both single, do what you will, but don’t come crying to other people when your “fling” inevitably ends, or worse, goes public on the Internet. Keep in mind that you don’t KNOW the other person. It’s just words on a computer screen. Discussions are simply discussions, unless it’s emotional cheating on at least one side. There is a difference. Thoughts that go unverbalized do not count as cheating, period, but when a person says certain things to you and you are speechless, I honesty can’t say for sure if you’re encouraging it or not. Unless you started it, my theory is, no. However, telling a person “I am not comfortable with where this has gone.” and ending all further contact does not make you a bad person, or anything else, regardless of how the other person chooses to spin the tale afterward.

None of us truly honest ladies deserve to be Internet stalked by a person we have put in their place, nor should we continue to be annoyed or made to feel like we have somehow done something wrong simply by lending a kind ear, as opposed to the outlandish story that was told in place of the truth. There actually is a lot of kindness here, but no one has the right to abuse that kindness.

The petition I am drawing up is calling for WordPress to offer a block feature, or a block button, for individuals that we do not want to read or comment on our work. Whichever they are willing to provide us with, we will gladly accept. This should be a standard option (I am willing to pay $10 a year for this as a feature, if it cannot be provided for free. I think that’s a fair price.), and we are the ones that get to activate it based on a person’s comments and behavior, and it gets triggered based on the ISP address of each harassing S.O.B., because when they log-on, they cannot read or comment on our work. Even if they aren’t logged on, their ISP address is blocked. If they do not interact with us, we can’t use it. If they belittle us, insult us, and insult our readers, then yes, we have immediate recourse to use it and shield ourselves from such a person, whomever they may be. If a person has to be blocked from your blog, that’s pretty fucking sad, but it’s also necessary. Many of us have to consider our safety above all else. I have heard others talk about a need for this, and I am in complete agreement with them. We should all feel comfortable and safe here because it is ours, not someone else’s. No one has the right to step into your world, insult you and be disrespectful, nor should they be able to criticize and accuse you of things that are 100% untrue. People in glass houses should not throw stones, and since I was recently blogged about, let it be known that I’ve got bigger, heavier bricks and I’m happy to throw them back. One of my Uncles’ was a former pitcher: I don’t throw like a girl.

The person I am talking about is, by far and large, not the worst offender on here, that goes to someone else who was recently taken down by one woman speaking up and speaking out. http://calamityrae.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/outing-eric-robillard-le-clown-the-magnificent-the-predator-with-the-red-nose/ Bravo to her. I do not know her, but I support her 100%. A lot of others came out of the woodwork after she spoke out, and basically, he was completely run off.

Unfortunately, the snake charmer is no better, and that is why I am writing this. This little pig needs to be slaughtered and I am here, knife poised, ready to do the job. Keep fucking with me little piggy, keep attacking my friends, keep pretending you’re a good person, keep blogging about us and claiming things that are not true. There is no excuse big enough that you can use to combat all the things you have done to so many different people because we’ve all got similar stories. I am NEVER surprised when someone else comes to me and your name is mentioned. You think you have friends, but people TRUST ME. THAT is friendship, you piece of shit. When you violate a person’s trust, you deserve to be publicly castrated. Be advised that anyone that comes to me privately and asks who I am writing about will be told precisely who I am talking about, and you will lose more little lambs from your flock.

Just because someone disagrees with you, is polite, but firm, and doesn’t kiss your ass does not mean you need to blog about them in a negative connotation. Not everyone is going to fall for your shit, and from what I have gathered in terms of intel, you are losing the battle. You’ve messed with people I care about, but your biggest mistake was messing with me. I am NOT a nice person when you push me, I do NOT eat bullshit politely with a knife and fork, and I do not take kindly to outright disrespect and blatant lies. You pretend to be this nice, kind, caring person, but all you want is followers to agree with you. You have crossed lines with me that no sane person would ever dare cross, and whether you realize it or not, you have completely and utterly disrespected the family you claim to love so much with your lies and deceit.

Take care of yourself and those within your own home, and stop worrying about people you do not know and will never know. None of us have any interest whatsoever in such a lower life form.

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You targeted several friends of mine and tried to cut them down. Guess what? You’re the talentless one here, and you are the one who whines, complains, bitches, and uses other methods of attention-seeking behavior to try to garner sympathy and support because you cannot stand to be rejected or ignored. It’s called Narcissistic Behavior. I am also positive you suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder, and I strongly suggest you seek treatment for it. Being subjected to your nonsense is a clear-cut method to losing every last ounce of one’s brain cells. Be gone, before someone drops a fucking house on you. And truly, that would be a vast improvement.

I have absolutely no idea who died and make you some kind of “blogger of the world”, but on top of being talentless, you have absolutely no right to go around insulting other bloggers, especially female bloggers, and telling them they’re not good enough to be bloggers (Did someone make you royalty? NO. Did anyone make you a decent writer? FUCK NO. You can barely spell. Try taking a course on proper spelling and grammar, not to mention punctuation.), nor do you have ANY right to go around hitting on women, and then claiming that’s not what you did. There is proof to the contrary, so what lie are you going to tell to attempt to cover that up? My recommendation? Run and hide like a certain Clown that was publicly outed, and rightly so.

I had no interactions with Eric (Le Clown) whatsoever, but my intuition always prickled whenever his name came up. I was never surprised whenever someone was telling me something negative about him. He’s gone, and for some reason you now think you can step into his predatory shoes? You’re utterly disgusting. For nearly a year you were playing yourself off as a nice person to me, and then you made the grave mistake of outing yourself as something completely different. Not once, not twice, not three times, not even four times, but a grand total of five times. I kept it to myself, and slowly, but surely people started coming to me to warn me and inform me of exactly what you are, and what your game is. Not once was I shocked or surprised. Even better, everyone has proof, including me. You can try and call one person a liar, but a group of us? NO. And before you do try it, I say GO FUCK YOURSELF.

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I do not know what your exact problem is (I have ideas, but I am a lady, after all.), but you need to learn how to treat women. If you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, then you absolutely don’t do it on the Internet. Who the hell raised you, a pack of rabid hyenas? Maybe you weren’t hugged enough as a child, maybe your mother didn’t raise you right, maybe you had an absentee, fucked up father, but whatever the problem was in your formative years, you, yourself are responsible for what becomes of you after age 18. Yeah, that’s right. We cannot blame our parents for every single fucking thing that happens to us in our lives, not unless we are 100% living under their thumbs, and even then, remove yourself from the situation, get into therapy, and take control of your own life.

I strongly suggest you grow a pair of big boy balls and get over yourself. I also recommend a full psychiatric evaluation to make sure you don’t have multiple personalities because I can attest to the fact that you did not start off as some twisted psychopath, but you have certainly become one. I actually liked the first personality, but whoever you are now is truly worthless beyond words, and an embarrassment to the world at large. Maybe you already know that and that’s why you behave the way you do, however, none of it is an excuse.

If you have anything to say to me, I suggest you do so directly. If I don’t respond, it’s probably because you don’t deserve more from me than silence, and a broken jaw. You don’t just owe me an apology, you owe a lot of people an apology. I, personally, am not willing to accept it. If you say anything even slightly veiled about me on your blog, or about any of my friends, you will be hearing from my attorney. Keep your absurd stupidity to the already mentally incapacitated people you share it with. I wish them luck, because Lord, do they need it.

WordPress, you’ll be hearing from me about my ideas after I further consult with my group about precisely what it is we’d like in order to protect ourselves from assholes like the one I had to write about today. I will be formally filing a complaint with you about him, and I hope that if others do the same, you will boot him off this site for good. He does not belong here amongst the good people that aren’t harming anyone, that are, in fact, producing some fantastic material and deserve to be awarded and rewarded for their efforts.

There is something seriously wrong with this “person”. I hope he gets the help he needs, and that’s honestly about as kind as I will ever get again in regard to this pseudo-monster.

To those that are involved in this crap, I’m sorry for that. None of you deserve it. Thank you for trusting me with this situation, and allowing me to handle it to the best of my ability. Thank you for knowing that what was being said was lies, and for knowing exactly who to trust in matters such as this. We are united, and no snake charming mother fucker is going to come between that. I will turn him into a barrel of monkeys before I let that happen.

Anyone that wants/needs to come forward, I am sure you have my contact information. Do not hesitate to let me know what happened so that I can further the case with WordPress. Anything we can all do will help make this the place it once was, and should still be. There are enough predators in this world and on the Internet, they do NOT need to be here.

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The opinions and concerns expressed in this post are copyright © 2014 by Lisa Marino. The humor expressed is simply me being me. If you don’t like what I’ve said, please don’t read it. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

If you’re going to reblog this, make sure my copyright notice is attached. Grazie!

The Blogiversary

The Blogiversary

*Oxford English Dictionary, Merriam Webster, here’s a new word for you!*

Yesterday I quietly celebrated the day I had some kind of mental breakdown and created this blog. I’m kidding about the mental breakdown, but I honestly have NO idea what possessed me.

I know the list on my publishing mandate was getting to me, I’ve talked about this many times over the course of this year. Never give a Scorpio woman a lists of Dos, and really, don’t EVER tell HER what to do. She’ll be incredibly liable to tell you what to do, with a slew of choice words mixed into her phraseology.

I’m a writer, I write what I want, when I want, and I say exactly what I’m thinking. I’ve had people refuse to edit my work because they didn’t feel qualified to touch it. GOOD, you’re NOT. Thanks ever so much for clearing that up!

I remember signing up for this blog, publishing my first post, and then saying “Now what?!” I continued to post, really not expecting anything. Quickly, I started acquiring likes, followers, and in this past year I have made friends that I hope I will have for a very long time, if not a lifetime.

I named my blog, “…..And The Moon Sees All” because it is a very personal, private kind of statement for me. It also helps that it is unique. I only recently discovered how unique the name actually is when it was the first site to appear on a Google search. You can Google my name and you will find everyone else named Lisa Marino. Literally, everyone, but me. However, when you type in the name of this blog, you just get me. I have to say, I like that a lot.

Unique blog name aside, I generally don’t start a lot of sentences with “And”, mainly because I’m a Word Nazi. That’s why the blog looks like it’s the end of a sentence. It is, to some extent. A typo, a misspelled or missed word, and you will see me physically and, on occasion, visibly cringe, as if a snake just went up the back of my shirt. When I see it on someone else’s blog, I want to fix it. It drives me insane. I am definitely obsessive compulsive in this sense, and I always have been. When I find a mistake in something I wrote ten years ago, it drives me up the wall. It could be something as simple as a missing word or a missing comma, but it will drive me to fix it immediately. Hey, I never claimed to be normal, don’t expect it.

A year (and a day) into this blog has me thinking about how it all began for me as a writer, and why. I think about all the spelling tests I aced without fail. I think of the absolute BEST English teacher I ever had, Mrs. Hughes, who not only thought I was a top student, possibly the top student of all the English classes she taught, but also the fact that she believed in my ability to carry the written word further. I remember showing her midrange stages of my writing accomplishments and being able to nail scores of recommendation letters when I graduated because word got out, and everyone was so blown away by just the midrange stage of what I could do. They had yet to see me truly shine, but they all knew I would.

I had professors fail me when I was a journalism major because apparently my creative writing was “too honest.” I cannot imagine saying that to someone, but I can imagine recommending them for a different class to help push them in the right direction. I didn’t choose that particular class, it was a prerequisite. I had one professor make it sound like I was going to destroy his entire writing class, simply because I would not adhere to HIS style of how the written word should be. Hey, it’s your style buddy, not mine. I honestly don’t think anyone else in that class WAS writing, but I’m not dwelling on it because he also told me that I had no talent and would NEVER write. He was oh so wrong.

When I decided that I was no longer going to focus on journalism, it was mainly due to some health setbacks. I knew I would continue to accomplish other things, as I always have, and I knew I would continue to write, but I didn’t have a clear view of the path. I did, however, have faith that whatever I was meant to do, I’d be put on the right path and do the work. I have never asked for the work to be done for me.

Health wise, Fibromyalgia is a demon you never quite conquer. It is parasitic in its nature to take hold and feed off of your life force. It makes me angry, knowing how much it has slowed me down and exactly how much it has stripped me of. I battle it every single day. There will forever be good and bad days. I no longer self-abuse (I said abuse, not self-harm. Self-abuse, for me, is more mental than anything else.) when I cannot do something. I no longer berate myself when I cannot get out of bed. I no longer force myself to do things that will leave me laying in bed for weeks at a time in pain. I’ve had to let go and realize that I may physically be limited a lot of the time, but my voice and the core of who I am have remained the same. If anything, I’ve probably just gained a fresher perspective.

What has changed for me since this blog went live? I’ve changed, in some wonderful ways. Instead of writing without an awful lot of feedback, I get feedback on an almost daily basis, and quickly. When I write something great, people leave me comments or send me e-mails, and as a writer, I feel supported. No one is sitting in judgement of me here. I thank all of you for that, because I’m not judging any of you either.

Yes, I’ve come across a handful of people who shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near humans, computers, social media, animals, humans, and did I mention humans? They should have their hands removed and their mouths sutured shut, and they should be locked away from civilization because they’re making anyone with a truly serious mental illness look 1 million percent sane. Spewing hatred is incredibly unattractive, I don’t allow that here, and I don’t allow that in any aspect of my life. Spewing hatred toward women and a religious group differing from your own is fucking disgusting. I’ve had a few comments come my way that were incredibly uncalled for and completely unprovoked. However, I’ve had support from various people in many instances and the uncivilized have been cast out. I have had exactly ONE person take offense to something I said, and my hand to God, I was not anywhere in the vicinity of offensive. I was downright nice and friendly, which for me is HUGE. I answered a question with detailed, informative honesty. I was insulted and berated for it, simply because this person disagreed with me. If you don’t have anything nice to say to a person, don’t say anything at all. A simple “Thank you for reading my blog/post.” is sufficient. Don’t ask a person to elaborate on something you yourself are not knowledgeable about and then act like they’ve committed some kind of crime by answering you. If I want to offend you, believe me, I possess all the necessary tools to do so. I can go from zero to bitch in less than half a second, but I choose not to be a vicious tart here. I choose to keep this space as positive as humanly possible, and supportive. I’m not competing with anyone here for niceness, or “best blog”, or ANYTHING. I compete with myself as a writer, but there will always be better writers than I, of writers who simply have a different perspective, and that is 100% what life is all about.

We all have our personal space on the blogosphere, and if you come into mine, be respectful. If I leave a comment on your blog, you can bet it’s not going to be a hate-filled, mean rant. I will either agree, disagree, laugh with you, cry with you, or relate to you. I might even have some advice, if that’s what you happen to be seeking. I have a lot on my “life plate”, and I don’t suffer fools, assholes, or the ignorant.

To the friends I’ve made here, who make my days so much brighter with comments, e-mails, private messages, phone calls, and texts: THANK YOU. You’re all seeing me exactly as I am and that makes me feel so good inside. There is a great sense of community here and for that, I am supremely grateful.

Taking into account that this particular gesture still leaves me speechless, I have to say, it’s been a good year here. I look forward to many more.

http://fairytaleepidemic.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/22-and-the-moon-sees-all/

Thank you for all being here and supporting me as an artist. Yes, even writers are artists. 🙂

Sisterhood Of The World Bloggers Award

sisterhood-of-world-blogger-award1

Much to my surprise I received this award from Shaun last week. Ironic, isn’t it, when a man gives a woman an award for Sisterhood on the blogosphere, but I accept it nonetheless and I’m passing this on to my sisterhood here on WordPress. You need not do anything, but accept it and place the banner on your blog. Simple enough, right? If it comes up for another round, maybe we’ll do something more with it, but for now, it’s about sharing and showing support for one another, as all good women should do.

I’m not going with a number count here, just the women I communicate with and am friendly with in one capacity or a larger capacity thanks to blogging. There is a great Sisterhood here amongst so many of us, and I just have to pass this on to those that have become my friends or those that I relate to in some way and respect. For some, it’s all three and they know who they are. So, without further adieu:

Fairytale Epidemic

Finding My Inner Courage

Knocked Over By A Feather

The War In My Brain

Tuppershare

Fish Of Gold

Mental Mama

High, High, Higher

Jodi Ambrose

Gentle Stitches

Lucy’s Football

Not Taken, Not Available

This is probably an incomplete list, but if I missed you this time around, I’ll get you next time.

Hugs & Stuff…..Li

I’m Moving

This blog will remain in tact, but I am beginning to move a great deal of my writing, both published and unpublished work, over to a new blog that I was finally able to score after trying for a long time (someone else had the site when I initially tried to get it.). I do hope some of you will join me there, as I’d appreciate the company and the input. 🙂

I will also be showcasing other bloggers on the new blog as often as I can in order to pass along my respect, appreciation, and admiration for their strength, encouragement, inspirational stories and messages, and their kind support. Anyone that wants to submit something or that may have an idea need only contact me.

I look forward to sharing this new journey!

http://lisamarinoauthor.wordpress.com/

Sunshine Award

sunshine-award

Thank you to Shaun @ http://prayingforoneday.wordpress.com for this award. I swear, no one else is thinking about me when it comes to awards. (I’m sort of kidding, but I’ve gotta give a man his props.)

The rules of this award are the following:

1) Use the logo above in the post.

2) Link to whoever nominated you.

3) Write ten pieces of information about yourself.

4) Nominate ten fellow bloggers “who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere.”

5) Leave a comment on the nominees’ blogs to tell them of the award.

Ten pieces of information about myself:

1. I know more about forensics than I will ever let on.

2. It drives me utterly insane when a person can’t spell or makes basic errors when writing, myself included. We all possess the Spell Check option, do we not? Some people really need to use it. I’m a total word Nazi.

3. It makes me ill when a book is far more phenomenal than its movie counterpart. This is generally the case due to time restrictions, but I’d much rather watch a well made movie in 4+ hours (or broken into two parts, like Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows) than a bad one in an hour and twenty minutes.

4. I’m an October Scorpio. Most people assume we’re all evil, manipulative, and jealous. I am none of the above, which is a benefit of severe self-awareness.

5. One of the most difficult things for me to do is ask for help.

6. I’m really proud of the person I’ve become. I’ve worked hard to be someone I can look in the mirror and respect. I think it’s an incredibly important thing in life to achieve.

7. If I lose respect for you, that’s a big problem. Once you break it, you’re forever on thin ice.

8. I wouldn’t wish Fibromyalgia on my worst enemy, whomever he or she may be.

9. After swearing up and down that I’d never touch or try sushi, I finally did in the last week or so. I have a new favorite type of food! I even went back for seconds.

10. Setting aside the fact that I’m a writer at heart, at the core of who I am, I’m also a frustrated jewelry designer and make-up artist. Those are my secondary creative outlets.

I now nominate 10 people:

1. Knocked Over By A Feather

2. Not Taken, Not Available

3. Welcome To The Fish Bowl

4. My Spoken Heart

5. Finding My Inner Courage

6. High, High, Higher…

7. Pocket Money Polishes

8. I Didn’t Have My Glasses On

9. Fairytale Epidemic

10. Bipolar BarbieQ

I hope you can all accept. I chose each person for their unique approach at blogging, which I respect. There’s room here for all of us. Be kind, be safe.

You don’t have to do the whole list to accept the award, as I know many of you are exhausted from them.