Ship High In Transit

This is in no way my words. I received this in an e-mail from my father-in-law. He's always sending me fun little e-mails like this. Thanks CR.

Manure: In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before commercial fertilizer's invention, so large shipments of manure were common. 

It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by- product is methane gas. As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen. 
Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM! 

 Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening. 
After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the term 'Ship High In Transit' on them, which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane. 

 Thus evolved the term ' S.H.I.T ' , (Ship High In Transport) which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day. 

 

So as far as I'm concerned, it's not really swearing.  

 

As I did research on this silly topic I discovered that there are many myths about the origin of this word, but I thought it was quite creative and wanted to share it with you. 

 

Suffice it to say, this is a load of shit. ;)

 

~Live Happy

Random Topic Tuesday on Wednesday~Habeas Corpus

Habeas Corpus (Latin for you should have the body) is the name of a legal action or writ by means of which detainees can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment. With that being said, I would like to remind you that this is not a right against unlawful arrest, but a right to be released from imprisonment after an arrest. Resisting arrest is a crime. You can only uphold Habeas Corpus after you have been detained.

To me, it always seems that guilty until proven innocent is the way it really is. If you are a suspect you are detained until you're innocence can be proven. If that's not the way it works can someone please fill me in. 

After seeing a movie last night I had a revelation about our government, so I pounded away at the computer this morning doing research on many of the ways that we Americans have had to fight against our own government for our freedoms and fundamental rights.(This is all related, just stick with me here).

Some of these wars were fought to gain our freedom and it was clear that this is what these wars were about. There was no confusion to some wars as to what we were really fighting for. Once the wars start to become unclear as to why they are being fought, it is no longer about the Americans freedom, but is then over a need to control and have power. Since we have "earned" our right to be free, our battles have been against our own government to keep our freedom and fundamental rights as American citizens. I am doing research so I can present the facts on a later post.

The American Revolutionary War allowed the United States to gain it's independence.

The Civil War between the North and South, abolished slavery and united this country as one.

World War I A war that had nothing to do with us originally and then Britian, France and Russia asked us to get involved and most Americans were against this but the government went ahead anyway.

World War II Originally Germany invaded Poland and somehow spilled onto America.

When we go into a country declaring war on them because they won't give us something that they have, is that morally right?

Let's see an example on smaller scale:
Your little sister wants something you have. You won't let her have it. And you really have no valid reason for it, except you just don't want to. Does that give the little sister the right to then go into your room and take it anyway? The little sister has justified it because she really needed it, but does that make it right?

I just don't understand how killing people will bring about positive change. (oxymoron)
It seems to me that we have many issues to resolve as a country within itself. Is it condusive to America to focus so much on what everyone else is doing?

Two movies that I recommend are American History X and Pirate Radio. When watching these movies, look at the bigger picture. Tell me what you think.

Break

I apologize for not being here. I'm taking a much needed break. I'll be back posting again next week sometime. Hope all is well with my blogger friends. ;)

The Lost Generation

Random Topic Tuesday~History of Voodoo In New Orleans

In hopes of inspiring our muses or keeping them motivated I have decided to start a Random Topic Tuesday.
I'll pick a random topic and provide information and then you can take it and run with it however you like. Maybe it could be a trait you can add to your characters, back story, a scene setting or maybe it will spark other ideas for you and your muse. Or it could just be something enjoyable and informative for you to come here and read. Bring your muse with you whether they come willingly or you have to drag them kicking and screaming. Enjoy. ;)



Vodou is religion, culture, heritage and philosophy. It is a way of life and a way of dealing with life. It is art, medicine, language, music, dance, justice, storytelling, power and ritual.

There is a long history of Voodoo dating back to Christopher Columbus. It originated in regions of Africa before the Europeans started the slave trade, but it really came to fruition when there was forced immigration of African slaves that allowed for it's development. But I'm telling you how it was brought to Louisiana.

In the research I have done, I found that Voodoo in New Orleans started in the early 1700's when the colony of Louisiana was not yet stable. A majority of slaves were brought over from Benin, West Africa and according to a census that was done, the ratio of African slaves to Europeans was more than two to one, which allowed the culture to maintain a prominent position in the slave community. They had a vast knowledge of herbs, poisons, and the ritual creation of charms and amulets. They had their religious beliefs, cultural practices and language. These all became elements of Louisiana Voodoo.

The African culture was preserved because only a few number of white settlers were allowed the ownership  of slaves. In 1807 the Embargo Act ended all slave imports to Louisiana and there were laws prohibiting separation of families. Any child under the age of fourteen was sold along with both parents.The high mortality rate of slaves created a bond and kinship with the survivors of the slave community, which resulted in a strong African culture and spirituality that thrived in French Creole culture.

Acceptance of African belief allowed them to incorporate Catholic practices into Louisiana Voodoo.
Slaves had the belief in spirits which is central to Voodoo in Louisiana. The spirits preside over matters such as family, love, justice and everyday life situations. Once French Creole replaced native African languages, the spirits were no longer called by their original African names, but by the names of Catholic Saints. Many practices from the Catholic traditions were integrated into what is known as today's New Orleans Voodoo.

Voodoo Ritual

Voodoo queens became fundamental figures to Voodoo during the 1800's in the United States. The queens conducted ceremonial meetings and ritual dances and also earned an income by allocating charms, amulets and extraordinary powders to cure ailments, grant desires, and confuse or ruin someone's enemy. 

Marie Laveau was the most noted Queen of New Orleans in the 1830's. She was known for her goodness and kind acts. She never turned anyone away who needed help for the better. She would visit the sick and heal them. She served as an oracle that guided private rituals behind her cottage on St. Ann Street of the New Orleans French Quarter. Marie was Catholic and encouraged those who sought her direction to attend Catholic Mass. She is remembered for her skill and compassion for the less fortunate.

 Portrait of Marie Laveau

Marie Laveau died June 16, 1881 on a Wednesday. Visitors go to her tomb to ask favors and leave pound cake across the street with a statue of St. Expedite who is believed to expedite the favors requested of Marie. St. Expedite symbolizes a spirit that rests between life and death. Marie's tomb has more visitors than that of Elvis Presley. She is not yet considered a Saint but there is a movement to have her canonized.

Once New Orleans became a tourist destination true Voodoo went underground during the 1830's. Hexing and sticking pins into dolls became a twisted version of Hollywood's perception that fueled people's misconstrued beliefs about the religion. At around the same time, those that wanted to thrive from these misconceptions started businesses and charging money for  fake potions, powders and Gris-gris, which a true Voodoo follower would never do. I had a hard time finding the actual origin of Gris-gris but today they are
small cloth bags containing herbs, oils, stones, small bones, hair and nails, pieces of cloth soaked with perspiration and/or other personal items gathered under the directions of a god for the protection of the owner.

 Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo

Louisiana is an orally traditional religion therefore there is no sacred book or canon to follow. It evolves and changes with time in order to adapt to it's surroundings. Louisiana Voodoo is a melange of beliefs combining elements of African, European, Indian and Roman Catholicism.

Those who follow Voodoo believe in one God and multiple inferior but powerful spirits that handle matters of daily life. The core God does not interfere with with someone's daily life or spirits that preside over daily life. These spiritual forces which are now named after Saints interject in the lives of those that believe in them. A connection can be achieved through dance, music, singing, and the use of snakes, which represents Legba, who governs the threshold of the spiritual world. This is Voodoo's main conduit to all others.

Legba Symbol

The serpent represents healing knowledge and connection between heaven and earth. The spirits of ancestors can also intervene in individual lives of followers.

Today, the main focus of Louisiana Voodoo is to serve others and influence the outcome of life events through a connection with ancestors, spirit and nature. A ritual that is held anywhere other than behind closed doors is considered disrespectful to the spirits and not a "true ritual". Voodoo is used to cure anxiety, addictions, depression, loneliness and other life crippling ailments, helping the hungry, the sick and the poor.

Well, I guess that wraps up the first Random Topic Tuesday.

Until next time

~Live Happy

/http://hereholdmymind.blogspot.com/JJ @ Here, Hold My Mind

To focus or not to focus?

Make your vision blurry.

What appears to be nothing is really something if you stop focusing so much.

While I was on my trip, I noticed something strange. As I was doing other things on this trip like keeping my heart from crashing through my chest from my own paranoia of a bear sneaking up on me while I was on the latrine, little side thoughts from the corner of my brain would get through.

Thoughts of high class hookers and rodeo riders. A man unable to stop himself from reading his fiances journal because it's sitting there on the table taunting him while he eats breakfast.

But I couldn't quite pay attention to these thoughts because I was more preoccupied with my terror for this bear that didn't exist. The thoughts and visions just kept flooding my skull.

What I realized was my muse really likes to fuck with me and likes to play while I'm not paying attention because as soon as I started to focus on these ideas that were coming, they stopped.

It's like one of those illusion pictures that you can't look directly at because you won't see the picture that is hidden in there. You have to almost cross your eyes and NOT FOCUS on the picture in order to see the picture. But once you've seen it, you can't not see it. It's there. It's clear. But you had to ignore it for it to come to you.

I guess it all kind of makes sense now. I remember before I made the decision to write, ideas were abundant. They came all the time. I saw possibility in everything I encountered. Movies, music, books, nature, conversations with people, ear hustling on other people's conversations in the Starbuck's, people watching, all of it.  I had ideas and stories. I could lay awake at night for hours playing out an entire novel in my head that I made up as I went along. This wasn't my intention, it would just happen.

Now that my intention is to write, it seems impossible to even come up with an idea for a blog post. So I will try this new method and ignore my muse. 

But I have to tell you, a strange thing happened the other day. I had jotted down the ideas that came to me while we were out in the wilderness.

Shay's best friend is a high class hooker, but she's also a professional rodeo rider. Crazy, I know. I have been racking my brain trying to figure out where I could find a rodeo show around here to watch.

Well, the family and I were going to a frisbee golf course to play and we turned the wrong way. We drove for a long time. I was looking at all the cool houses and subdivision signs because sometimes they're funny and inspire ideas. Out of nowhere there was this big white sign that said, Championship Rodeo. It gave the place, the dates and a phone number to call for more info. I couldn't believe it! We turned around so I could write the info down and then went back the right way to our frisbee golf course.

My luck is changing, I thought. And I've been writing and putting notes together since.

I lost the fisbee golf game by the way. I totally suck at throwing one of those damn disks, but we had fun.

And one more thing, just to hold myself accountable, I was thinking about doing a Random Topic Tuesday, where I pick a random topic and give all the information I found on it. I figure it might help with ideas for writing, character traits, scenes, places, etc...

What do you think about that? I could use some feedback. Honest feedback. And maybe some ideas for random topics that you'd like to see.

Until next time
~Live Happy