Man on the Moon

This is a long story so buckle up and strap in (if anybody ever actually lands here-ha ha). My neighbors stopped me last night when I was walking our dog and invited me to join in a convo with 3 other couples. One neighbor started right away with, "Do you believe that a man has really been to the moon?" I hesitatingly (because of previous experience expressing my true thoughts) answered, "I kind of DON'T believe that we've really put anybody on the moon" and she got excited because that's what her husband has recently concluded. He got excited and said, "Have you been watching the Tik Tok videos on that, too?" I joked around and said, "No. Is that where YOU get all your reliable information?" and like the special individual I am, that kind of killed that line of convo. I didn't mean it condescendingly. I meant to add some light-heartedness to a serious topic that I actually really love-mmm, conspiracy theories! Yummy! However, my execution can always use a whole lot of work.

I was overthinking about all of this, like I do. I started wondering when it was exactly that I started believing they did not really put a man on the moon and I couldn't pinpoint it but every time I hear the R.E.M. song Man on the Moon, I kind of think-ha ha, this song is clever but never did an analysis on it. Well, today was the day. I looked up the lyrics, did quick research on every topic within the song-Mott thh Hoople, Andy Kaufman, his wrestling gig and relationship with Fred Blassie and their movie, the Egyptian asp (snake), which is rumored to be the method Cleopatra used to kill herself, etc. I looked up all the things. I knew the first two chorus lines-If you believe they put a man on the moon...If you believe there's nothing up their sleeve...but I didn't even realize the chorus ends with "Then nothing is cool" so they are drawing a line in the sand for people that just believe at face value. There are so many other nods to pop culture, Elvis, people faking their own deaths, even the line, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" is based on Kurt Cobain's use of the word "yeah." I was reading R.E.M.'s comments about the song and how Mike Mills had said about Kaufman, "He's the perfect ghost to lead you through this tour of questioning things. Did the moon landing really happen? Is Elvis really dead? He was kind of an ephemeral figure at that point so he was the perfect guy to tie all this stuff together..."

I've mentioned before that I like to read things but stay for the comments. On https://www.songfacts.com/lyrics/rem/man-on-the-moon, the first comment is this story (edited to shorten slightly): Michellemiller from Buda, Texas wrote-"I was confused about truth and lies at the very beginning of Covid...My cousin visited for the first time ever and we talked about how coincidences are not coincidental at all. She went home the following day. Next day my husband and I chat for a moment as he was making his way to work about Jim Carrey and his role as Andy Kaufman in the Movie man on the Moon. Shortly after he leaves. I begin going through my books on a bookshelf and from my first Bible falls a movie ticket. It’s the stub for the movie Man on the Moon when I saw it in theaters in 1999. On the back I wrote the three people I went to see it with and the town which was Plainview, Texas. One of the names was my cousin who had just visited. I called to tell her about the coincidence..As I told her about it I shared the part that we watched it together when I visited her in Plainview. She was shocked because when she got home the night before from our visit she watched a movie with her kids, she was telling them about Jim Carrey and decided to watch Man on the Moon because she vaguely remembered enjoying it. She said she was trying to remember who she saw it with and I call her the very next day with the answer, literally pre planned 21 years earlier by no coincidence. The next day was my sons 16th birthday so with Covid in full effect we were limited to options for celebration so he decided we would order burgers from fudruckers. As we sat in the parking lot waiting for our burgers to be cooked I told him about this crazy Man on the Moon story. He was also shocked. After the story the food was ready so I went inside to pay while he added his fixings to his burger. There was music playing inside but I didn’t notice until we exited into the strange silence of Covid and no one being in public that the song on the speakers kept playing in my subconscious after we exited. It was REMs Man on the Moon. We went back inside to verify it, and in fact it was that song...One more thing, one of the first microbiologist to buck the narrative of Covid saying it’s a hoax and only real because we choosing gullibility to believe it is real claimed it has never been proven or seen under a microscope and contradicts every scientific fact regarding viruses prior to its inception. Well his name is Dr. Andy Kaufman. Dr. Kaufman is also a psychologist that clearly recognizes the manipulation being played out on a gullible world over trusting and lacking curiosity for truth. Another funny non coincidence is that Dr. Andy Kaufman’s theory is called Operation MoonShot." I looked this up and sure enough, Dr. Andrew Kaufman can be all verified with Operation Moonshot.

This is not a post taking a stand on anything. It's just a post about an interesting experience and learning journey. Also, the song to me means to question things. Don't just believe anything at face value or on the news or on social media. Look into it for yourself and a little doubt along the way is not a bad thing. Never stop asking questions! Also, did they really put a man on the moon? What do you think?

Various thoughts

I was reading the book The Parasitic Mind, which I found mediocre overall but there were a few golden nuggets to glean. These are some of my notes from it: *Pg. 96..."an increase in the extent to which one's immune system has been compromised by illness over a given time period, the more likely one is to prefer spicy foods." Basically, if somebody has struggled with immunity, they may like spicy foods more and the spices offer an antimicrobial protection against foodborne pathogens. This is an interesting idea I hope to spend more time on in the future. The book goes on to say that opposing viewpoints are like an immune system. Opposition builds strength...society is having their immunity stripped. *Pg. 100...Universities..."Today the minimization of hurt feelings among preferred groups is fundamentally more important...than the pursuit of truth. The creation of safe spaces supersedes free speech and intellectual enrichment." This is the idea that if any thoughts or beliefs are put out there that could even be interpreted as hurting anybody else's feelings, they should be abandoned to protect a safe space. Without wading through the good, the bad, and the ugly, truth becomes trickier to find and recognize. *"murder of the truth" There was a study of rape done with a presupposed outcome in mind that suggested a kind of racism. During the study, no rape occurred. That should have been great news but instead the conclusion was drawn that thse men hate these women even too much to rape them...this distorts the truth and twists a narrative into place. Also along the lines of racism, it was written, "Being kind and tolerant is a form of racism in the eco-system of the university campus." These are just ideas I've been introduced to and I want to dive in deeper when I have a chance. *Martin Luther King Jr. said, "A time comes when silence is betrayal." I think we have to know when to stand up for something. Also, MLK Jr. was a powerful example of always standing for justice with peace and love. We don't have to use hate to take a powerful stand. You can make a greater impact with love and non-violent approaches.

More substitution considerations

So I did something at work this week that I have not done in 7 years...I used the faculty restroom. I've just been holding it in all these years because I don't like to use restrooms away from home and I already feel uncomfortable in random schools all the time. It was glorious. I had been drinking plenty of water and even though I went several times at home before I had to leave, I had to go at school, too. I grew more uncomfortable as the day went on. On my lunch break, I went for it. I only had one class left after that but it was remarkable how much more comfortable I felt. I could stand or sit or walk around. However, I had two more days of working at the same school so I've proceeded to stop drinking any water because I sure don't want to do that again.

I've been subbing for the same teacher all week. Today's assignment in all classes was for everybody to pair up and have a documented mini debate about women's suffrage. One person had to be for it and one person had to be against it, both using arguments from this time period. From an educational standpoint, this was a fantastic assignment! I saw students immediately engage and behavior problems disappeared.

I did a little research of my own and was shocked to find out that Massachusetts was the first state that tried to pass a measure to allow women to vote and 200 women came out to protest-it never passed. I have always pictured men protesting women voters but much of the early opposition came more from women, at least publicly. For the downside, this assignment posed some ethical questions as the day went on. One reflective student seemed frustrated all during class and said to another student, "This is a dumb assignment. It just pits the boys and girls against each other. No girl today will say women shouldn't vote and no guys are going to bend over backwards to defend women's rights."

I heard other comments such as, "This is just a way to divide us more" and in a few classes, I kept hearing VERY sexist remarks. It was in groups of guys and they'd support and encourage each other. Girls glared or whispered to their girl friends that they hope he never has a wife or daughters but were not very loud about their disgust. I mediated as best I could and found myself saying that I hope a lot of what I was hearing was for the sake of the assignment and would not be a part of life outside of the classroom today.

There were people who broke the molds. There were a few boys during the day that DID battle for women's rights to vote and they were vocal and sometimes challenged some of the sexist remarks that were said. Some girls did take the side against women voting and I heard a lot of different reasons, including, "I don't even care about any of this. I wouldn't put a lot of energy into changing it one way or another." People are certainly entitled to feel that way, men or women. This is just a situation that makes me question where the balance lies. It was an assignment that helped people engage more but was what they were learning helpful? Should there be assignments that focus on gender or do those just divide us more? I'm not sure what the answers are.

The flaws of Darwin

I read the book Groupthink by Christopher Booker. I didn't agree with everything in it but the more I thought about his ideas and my experiences, many of his writings were more accurate than I first wanted to recognize.

He's clearly against organized religion and I belong to one but groupthink does affect our religion, even if that doesn't interfere wholly with the tenets of belief. Groupthink does contribute problems even to religion. It contributes problems to educational institutions as well, no matter how great the ideals one might be founded on are.

One of my favorite parts of the book deals with Darwin's theory of evolution. Darwin himself suggested there were four problems with his theory that could cause him to concede he was wrong. They were: 1. The absence of 'intermediate forms' (Darwin found no fossils that show transitional stages of one form of life evolving into another. Darwin hoped if more fossils were found, this could be laid to rest but this hasn't completely happened, although there are some scientific communities that suggest there ARE more transitional fossils. Different groups are defining transitional fossils with variations that make it hard to draw definite conclusions).

2. Evolutionary leaps or the appearance of complex organs (These are organs in which all the parts must work interdependently for them to function efficiently. Again, Darwin hoped with more fossil discoveries, this could be addressed but it's still questionable if it really has been.),

3. The compound eye as a particular example (Darwin said that "to suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances..could have been formed by natural selection seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree." Darwin thought that he just didn't understand natural selection well enough to explain this.)

and 4. The Cambrian explosion (Darwin can't explain, especially through the gradual process of evolution, how there are only 3 simple animal phyla pre-Cambrian times and then at least 26 animal phyla during the Cambrian period but in the half a billion years since, only 4 more animal phyla have been added. Where did all of the new phyla come from and how did they evolve into the complexities of creatures on the earth? Darwin thought there would be more fossils deeper in the earth that could later explain this but it hasn't happened.).

In spite of these flaws, which I have never heard of being discussed in school, people have embraced this theory of evolution so strongly that anybody who disagrees or even asks questions is discredited by the scientific community. In 1993, a group of scientists got together in California (including Dean Kenyon). They had all concluded through their own studies that natural selection could not explain many things about our world. There is evidence of information of a logical structure or some form of intelligence contributing to much of what was occurring. This was considered the early part of 'intelligent design.' It was not relgious. It was entirely science-based. In 1996 the biochemist Michael Behe used the phrase 'irreducible complexity and published supporting information in the book Darwin's Black Box.

This included scientific arguments for intelligent design and some US newspapers gave positive reviews but many others were dismissive and claimed 'intelligent design' was just trying to smuggle in a religious explanation for evolution, although no religious ideas or views were suggested in the book. At this point Darwinians lumped intelligent design ideas in with 'creationism', grouped up with the ACLU to sue to keep this from public schools. The judge said this was a way to teach disguised religion and it should never be taught in schools. The ironic conclusion to these events is that by banning the scientific ideas of intelligent design, calling them religious in nature when they were strictly scientific, now those studying evolution must only come to believe it by taking giant leaps of faith

because that theory as it stood contained huge holes and gaps that could not be explained.

The Theatre Kids

I didn't get involved at all with theatre when I was in school. Sometimes the kids involved were labeled weird or dramatic. None of that really bothered me and I never teased anybody in theatre. It's more that it was just kind of a foreign thing to me. There was nothing that led me in that direction. As an adult, I kind of see the theatre kids with fresh eyes and think that I would have fit in there. It is a warm, welcoming, inviting place for all, free of judgment and bursting with creativity. I substituted a theatre class on Thursday and just want to say that it was AMAZING (emphasis on the zing)!!!

I keep thinking back to all the little things of the day. Each class had different improv exercises they worked on. The last class was doing half-life and a character emerged, Cleveland the Cow. "I'm Cleveland the Cow..." As we rotated through different exercises-onion, freeze, interpreter, hitchhiker and machine, Cleveland the Cow kept having a front and center roll. A plot began to develop. Carter the Caterpillar came on the scene and the two of them had a budding but school-appropriate romance brewing. The students were getting very creative with both the ways they incorporated Cleveland and Carter as well as the unfolding of a story of these creatures. When the student in charge for the day was exasperated about the overuse of Cleveland the Cow, students adapted and started saying, they were calling from Cleveland (in interpreter) or going to Cleveland in hitchhiker. As time went on, the students came up with a plan. First of all they would dress up like their teacher for his return next week. Also, they would refer to Cleveland and Carter but they would act like it's a popular show on TV and they would bring it up and talk about it a lot to see if the teacher catches on and how he responds. They panicked and asked if I was going to be able to keep the secret. Creative students were thinking of constructive and healthy ways to have fun and I had a blooming opportunity to destroy everything...but how does that reward healthy creativity? I thought they had a brilliant plan that endeared me to those students. I wish I could be a fly on the wall in that class on Monday. I would love to see everything unfold. If this is how one day in theatre goes, what would a whole year there look like?

Passion Project Community

I remembered something I had wanted to write about. Last year during an hour & a half long drive in the car, my kids started asking each other this: if you were in charge of creating a world or community, how would you do it? What would the rules be? What would the living arrangements be? What would the consequences be if somebody didn't follow the rules? How would you rehabilitate people with problems? They covered a variety of ideas with this. As somebody would present their ideas, the other kids would ask for more information about certain aspects or reveal how the plan might not go as smoothly as you would think. Based on this, we heard plans get revised and more solutions were considered. Each of our kids had some ideas that were different and some that were the same. It got pretty interesting and I felt like it was a proud mom moment. I LOVED hearing my kids have this discussion unprovoked in the back of the car!

Eventually, my daughter asked me my thoughts on this and I had recently come across beautiful ideas in the book The Cleansing of America by W. Cleon Skousen. Some of the ideas are based on the Founding Fathers, particularly Thomas Jefferson's views. Basically, the first thing is to take inventory of the people. How many families are there? Anybody married is a family. If you're an adult but not yet married, you would be considered part of your parents' family until marriage. (Of course this is where I branch off a litle. I'm okay with adults being counted as part of the parents' family but would also advocate some space and independence for them. Maybe they live on the same property but in their own structure, etc. Putting them together would be for support purposes but they should also be aptly considered viable and independent to the extent they desire.) Figure out how to get good leadership in place. The example here is that every 10 adults pick somebody to represent them. Every 50 adults pick somebody to represent them. Every 100 adults, pick somebody to represent them. Out of 600,000 adults (such as in Moses' time and according to what's understood about this system then), there would be 78,000 representatives. 1 rep per 10= 60,000, 1 rep per 50=12,000 more, 1 rep per 100=6,000 more for a total of 78,000 reps. That really helps represent everybody's true interest. Divide people into communities of 100 adults and allow them as much opportunity as possible to self-govern. Public lands get divided so that every adult has their own adequate and equal space. Each of these communities would develop their own schools, their own militia, their own justice situation, their own welfare program, their own roads, their own police, their own jury selection system, their own town hall and elections. When there is a close-knit group like this and somebody in the community starts to struggle, a lot of care and effort will be put into helping that person. It becomes a situation where everybody is really looking out for everybody else. Thomas Jefferson's version of this is called a ward republic.

Idealistically, this is a beautiful proposal. As you dive in, it gets more complicated. How do you keep this system in place, particularly as communities have children that turn into adults and grow? Do you let the community of 100 turn into whatever it ends up as when everybody there grows up or do you constantly re-figure the communities to max out at 100? There are pros and cons to both ideas. What if people don't comply with the system of representation? What if communities start to compete and/or corrupt themselves or others? This, is of course, the problem with every idea that seems good as an ideal but it seems flawed when put into practice. However, this is the basic idea for a possible way to set up a community that includes local control, good representation, and neighbors really looking out for each other.

Now shift to this week. My daughter and I were out and we got into a discussion about ideal communities again. I brought up the idea of a place where the community let everybody in society pursue what they're passionate about for a year when they turn 20 and supports them. Give everybody reasonable resources to pursue their passion and see how much it would change society. A passion project is a piece of work or an endeavor that someone gets involved in because they love it or feel it is very good and important, not in order to make money. It demonstrates your initiative, creativity, determination, and personal values and interests. It should be something that would inspire and excite you. Some examples include starting a non-profit charity, small business, or blog, building an online community around an issue, doing independent research, writing a book, or making a film. Because of the idea that something is created and it revolves around what matters to somebody, it's likely to contribute to the building up of a society in tangible and intangible ways.

My daughter talked to me about the two ideas that she'd be torn between (making a docu-series that covers social issues she's concerned about or creating a tiny house community that offers up solutions for the current housing crisis). We talked through lots of details and then another idea hit me. What if you could also do another year of pursuing a passion when you turn 50? Sometimes when you're 20, there's a lot about life you don't know about. By 50, you might have learned about things you never even knew existed when you're 20 so you should get another chance to pursue something then. This would keep people's vitality, too, at an age often associated with burnout. Plus, I think many 50 year-olds could do things that would really affect the community for good and this goodness would help the community embrace an older part of society more and realize their value. This is all just ideals, not real day-to-day life but it was fun to think about and fun to talk about.

Little Tidbits

These are some of the things on my mind these days: 1)I'M SURPRISED I HAVE ANY FRIENDS...I try my best to be a kind and friendly person and yet there are times when I see myself in ways that I think others might see me and I'm surprised I have any friends.

Last Friday night, we met up with a bunch of friends from the neighborhood for a somewhat spontaneous get-together. The text had said there might be some volleyball, some card games, some board games. I've never gone to this particular kind of thing before so I interpreted it as you could play volleyball or you could play other things. We showed up and everybody was just playing volleyball and pressuring us to play. My son & hubbie were happy to play. They did great. I DON'T play volleyball. I've tried again and again. I have years of attempts. I played on a church team as a youth. I played in elementary, middle school, and high school (not on the school team, just playing regularly as an activity to do). I played a little after getting married. I have practiced with my boys in the last few years and I would still do that a little because it's meaningful to them but by this point in time, I don't dislike volleyball because I haven't tried enough. I dislike it because I genuinely dislike it and I've had enough experience to know.

I said, "Oh, I'm here to be a cheerleader" and tried to say no graciously. Some neighbors accepted that and went about their way but some were VERY pressuring. As I overthought this later (which I'm great at by the way), I realized that over the years, this isn't the first thing I've hesitated to participate in with some of these neighbors. There are some games I have offered to observe instead of play over the years at their homes or on campouts and things like that. I feel like I do willingly participate in most things but there are several games that came to my mind that I have hesitated to engage in. I can see how that could seem annoying to them. How do I still have any friends? I realized the root of it though. My family used to play games growing up and we were all expected to play. Most of us were happy to do it. However, if we didn't play in a way that was acceptable to my dad, he would yell at us, berate us, and sometimes throw things. It was scary and it didn't feel good. I think deep down, I do have a little bit of performance anxiety when it comes to playing games with people. I don't feel good enough at volleyball to want to reveal my weaknesses to the neighbors so I just don't want to play around them. Other games that I hesitate with are things that I feel afraid I won't be able to pick up or that I will do something humiliating during and I'm afraid of how people will react. This is a new epiphany for me so I don't know if this can get better or not but I can finally begin to understand why I hesitate. Most people have only played games for fun and even though I'm sure everybody has experienced things going awry, I hope most people have had a little less trauma from making mistakes at games. ************************************************************************************************ Next topic: I just finished the thesis for my master's degree and it's 42,827 words. What I've learned doing it is exponentially more, although wording all the things I've learned is hard to do. I love learning so deeply. I admit this has become an obsession for me and I don't yet know if it's a healthy obsession.

********************************************************************************* Finally, I had many things I wanted to write about but now that I'm sitting here doing it, the thoughts are gone for the most part. I guess this is it for today. It feels good to say I'm out of words for now.