Sometimes, I feel that our world is being flushed down the drain.

 

A Golden Toilet - a perfect metaphor for what the Orange Snowflake is doing with America.  If one supports the snowflake, one might be reminded of the riches the man has achieved.  If one is among the opposition, one is reminded of the excess, cruelty and evil the man represents.  A recent google lookup provided the following result when queried about the Guggenheim, an art request by the snowflake, and the museum's response:

The Request:

In 2017, the White House requested to borrow a Vincent van Gogh painting, "Landscape with Snow," from the Guggenheim Museum for the private living quarters of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

Museum curator Nancy Spector responded that the painting was unable to be loaned, citing that the painting was part of the museum's Thannhauser Collection, which has strict rules against travel. 

The Offer:

As a counter-offer, Spector suggested a long-term loan of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's work titled "America".

"America" is a fully functional toilet made of solid 18-karat gold.
This piece had been on display at the Guggenheim, where visitors were invited to use it.
The artist offered the toilet to the White House "for a long-term loan". 

Interpretation and Reaction:

The Guggenheim's offer was seen as a satirical commentary, poking fun at the excesses of affluence and the art market.
    
Some viewed the offer as a "sick burn" and a form of protest against the Trump administration.
The exchange became a widely reported news story and sparked debate about art, politics, and social commentary. 

I feel that this was a perfect response, and more appropriate today than it was several years ago, as the snowflake seems to be trying to flush America down the proverbial toilet.  Without his history of bad governance, he is known for vulgarity and bad taste.  Can anyone mention anything about him or his actions that is subtle?  I doubt it.

As I write this, the G7 summit has started, and he has been proven to be an embarrassment there as well. I feel that it is only time that the GOP will be forced (for its survival) to push him out of power. But it will take a larger than life gaffe for this to happen.  And the signs are there.  At the G7 conference opening, he pushed to have Russia readmitted to the former G8.  (Russia was kicked out of the group after its invasion of Ukraine in 2024.)  Would any sane political leader advocate that while Russia still occupies Ukrainian soil?  I doubt it.  Sooner or later, the snowflake's lunacy may force the GOP to confront its biggest problem - the Orange Snowflake. Right now, it will not survive without its cult leader.  And I can't wait for that day.

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But enough of that stuff.

Today, I woke up with absolutely no energy to do more than go to the bathroom, then back to bed.  It wasn't until I made myself some lunch and had a few drinks (non-alcoholic, of course) to quench my thirst did my energy level rise enough to stay out of bed for the rest of the day.

Through the course of the day, I received two packages - both delivered to the  entryway to my group of 6 apartments, and not to my door as in the delivery instructions.  This is a minor annoyance, as I had to get dressed to go to retrieve them, but not enough to complain about.  (Most people leave their residences at least once per day, so they'd see their packages upon returning home.) 

The package from Lands End contained an exercise dress that could double as a simple "Little Black Dress".  To me, it was worth the gamble to buy it, as I saw it on RQS looking more like something a woman would wear to a restaurant than on the tennis court - a truly "one and done" dress for more than one setting. 

 

The package from Target contained a Blazer Dress that I don't see me wearing until the cooler weather comes around.  And even then, I plan to pair it with black leggings, so that my legs aren't as exposed as they are on the woman in the photo above.  Who knows, once I get a lot of travel out of my system, I might want to return to the workforce again.

Now, I have to find ways to reenter the social world, so that I can make use of all of my wardrobe.  

Some thoughts on Independence Day

 

Today, I'm posting an entry which is meant to be current on the day my readers see it.  Too bad that I have to write something like this.

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This year, I'm no longer sure if I can still say that I'm proud to be an American.  Our screwed up electoral system allowed a bombastic, dictatorial, grifting third rate TV personality to become president.   I can only imagine what the cadets at West Point were thinking when our so-called president gave the commencement address, given their honor code:

"A Cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do."

What would you think in their position?  They are obligated to obey orders.  But in the back of their minds, some must be wondering what happened to the German soldiers who defended themselves by saying:

"Ordnung ist Ordnung" 

 

or, in English,

"Orders are Orders" 

That is, orders must be followed, no matter what.

Given that our president is trying to provoke people in California (using ICE raids to round up illegal aliens) to use violence so that he could declare martial law,  the resistance is holding firm - and GROWING!  Our president uses cruelty to achieve his ends, and has given Carte Blanche to his masked criminal enforcers (usually without judicial warrant) to snatch people off the streets of America.  The time to resist these criminal actors is now!

Two hundred and forty nine years ago, our forefathers said that they were fed up with having a king whose government didn't care about the needs of America.  I hope that the same sentiment is still held by enough people so that we can prevent another "king" from destroying our republic.

Years ago, someone asked Ben Franklin what kind of government do we have?  He replied, saying:

"A republic, if you can keep it." 

 Hopefully, we will be able keep it.....

 

In my heart, I can't understand ignorance.

 

In my heart, I can't understand ignorance.  Maybe it's that I have a desire to understand as much as I can?  Who knows?  But as I write this, MAGA is denying that the Orange Snowflake's birthday parade was hardly attended, while 11 million people attended No Kings protests across the nation.

One of my Facebook friends, a TG person who doesn't want to acknowledge the truth that only photographs can show, is caught up in the false narrative that there weren't that many people attending the protests.  But then, she hasn't seen the "Gender Correction" letter being sent out for passport renewals.

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Ignorance is either a lack of opportunity to see an objective truth, or a choice to ignore an objective truth.  If one sees the objective truth and recognizes it as such, then the person is rational.  Choosing to ignore an objective truth is something else.  I'm not sure of what to call this.  Yet, who defines "Objective Truth?"  Years ago, broadcast TV had something known as the "Fairness Doctrine."  Sadly, Ronald Reagan killed that off, and along with it died objective news casting. Today, people pick their "news" sources based on their prejudices, and never hear opposing points of view that would test their views of reality.

Sadly, news organizations without a Fairness Doctrine will slant the news to serve the wishes of their owners.  All too often people on both sides of the political divide claim that the other side is reporting falsehoods. This has resulted in the political divide we have today - to such an extent that rational people should be thinking: Should we split up the United States along its political divides and limit the harm done to people on both sides of the divide?  Or, should we put guardrails on the 1st amendment to the constitution, and somehow make all organizations claiming to report the news report it objectively.

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I have a transgender acquaintance who still yearns for some of the conveniences of her biologically male past, such as being able to pee standing up.  Another transgender acquaintance I met through a (former?) reader of this blog is obviously TG.  That shouldn't be a problem, but this person moved to the back woods of Upstate NY and was rejected by her conservative church.  They both have the same flaw - they think that their (political) tribal membership card will continue to be accepted after transition.  I'm reminded of the Jews who supported Hitler, thinking that he'd take care of ALL who supported him.  Yes, they were taken care of, but not in the way they thought.

The above two people are choosing to be ignorant.  I expect that reality will soon hit them in the face.  It's a shame, as us aware people understand the consequences of the actions of people like those two, and we hate the upcoming suffering that their type is causing to happen.  As for me, I will try to get out of the way and report what is going on objectively as long as I can.
 

I paid off my last cruise for 2025 (a short post)

 

I will be taking a cruise on the Queen Mary 2 later this year.  It's not the route that I wanted to take on my first cruise on this ship.  But it will be a route that I am very familiar with and know how to plan for it.  Given that I will need to travel as Mario due to America's current political situation, I will take advantage of the fact that I should not be hassled for my gender presentation when in the Caribbean.

RQS and I booked this cruise a few weeks ago, and she's almost paid up.  I figured that I'd pay things off, and make it a little easier for her to take care of her upcoming bills.  As for me, I figured that I should withdraw some more money from one bank account, as the money in savings is earning virtually nothing. Since I will be away soon, it's nice to know that all my bills have been paid for this month.

My large suitcase has been moved into a place where I can start packing it, and I am planning on bringing it to RQS's place over the weekend.   One problem - TCL wants me to stop by, and I have no excuses left not to do so.  It'll take me time to pack 7-days of clothing, and still be able to have a suitcase ready to bring down over the weekend.  I don't want to do it on Monday, as I'll have to fight to get a parking spot.  Yet, I have to figure out how to fit everything in - and that includes going to church on Sunday.

This is going to be one busy weekend coming up! 

Preparing for my upcoming cruise while thinking of battles of the past. (A short post with a long title.)

 

As I write this, I'm taking care of preparations for my upcoming cruise.  Although our ship will be visiting the above ports, it will not be in the order we were supposed to go when we last booked a 10-day cruise with all of these ports.

When we originally planned to take this cruise, I intended to go as Marian, as I never had problems with people on either side of the Canadian border.  This time is something else.  Now that the Orange Snowflake is in power, I want to be as invisible as possible to anyone loyal to his criminal regime.  That means that I'll have to travel as Mario.  AARGH!

- - - - - -

One thing I can say is that I'm glad that I didn't legally transition as of yet.  Reports I'm getting from social media are that transgenders are getting notices from the Federal Government that their gender markers have been "Corrected" when they get their new passports.  Now, they have Federal and State issued IDs that no longer match.  How cruel can one be to minorities?

The other night, I watched "Good Night, and Good Luck" on CNN.  The bravery of Edward R. Murrow should inspire today's media leaders.  Instead, they all capitulate, forgetting the lessons of the past. Too bad we don't have enough people like him to stand up to bullies that are in charge of the levers of government.  

Lots of little stuff, but nothing of major importance.

 

This was "one of those days."  No, it was not a disastrous day.  Instead, it was a day where everything was a little bit off, and led me not to accomplish much.

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I may have mentioned that my apartment's super was coming over today to work on the bathtub water faucets.   To do this, I had to be up early, so that I could be ready anytime he was to come.  This meant that I would be dressing as Mario today, as I would be able to take care of some errands that required the presence of me in boy mode.

Once dressed, I put two loads of laundry into the wash, and then took care of errands.  Between the time I put clothes into the wash and then the dryer, I picked up some lunch.  Once the clothes were in the dryer, I deposited $440 in checks and took out $140 in cash to pay my super for his time and materials.  Laundry was done by 1 pm, so I had the time to sit and relax in the apartment until the super came.

This would be the first time I payed loose attention to the work my super was doing in the bathroom.  An hour later, I had learned a couple of things about bathroom plumbing, as well as having a plumbing fixture that should last a few years.  The super only asked for $50 to cover the parts he bought.  But I slipped him an extra $50 to help compensate him for his effort (even though it was done on co-op time).

Now that I had a working faucet again, I could rest.  Then TCL (The Cat Lady, as I call her) called just before I was about to take a short nap.  While on the phone, I found that I got an email from NYS Office of Unclaimed Funds - we need 2 more documents before they can send us any money.  That's OK with me, but I don't have access to certain things, and I forwarded the email to my brother for his opinion.

- - - - - -

Thankfully, the weather will be cooler tomorrow, and I will feel better about going outside - if it doesn't rain.... 

It's getting a little too warm for me to visit the city as Marian

 

The above map of New York City shows the density of Age 65+ residents in each borough.  And as an older transwoman, I figure that I should "act my age" and visit the NYC outpost of SeniorPlanet.Org for a 1 hour class on website building.  I didn't expect much, but it was a good excuse to visit the city and see an Off-Broadway play afterwards.

- - - - - -

The day started with the drip in my bathtub's hot water faucet becoming a steady stream of hot water.  This is something I couldn't fix on my own, and would need the help of our apartment complex's super whether or not a plumber needed to be called.  So, after I got dressed and on my way to NYC, I called our super and he agreed to come over sometime tomorrow.

Now that I got the process of fixing the leak started, it was time to pick up a sandwich that I could have for lunch before going into the city.  Because of this stop, I might have missed the train I wanted to take.  But I did catch a train that, with connections would bring me to NYC's in-person Senior Planet site at exactly 3 pm, including subway connections and walking.

When I arrived at Senior Planet, I wasn't sure of what to expect, save that the class would be a very light overview of website building.  And yet, I was surprised to find how little people of my generation understand about the internet and how things work.  So, I'm glad that places like Senior Planet exist, if only to provide technical scaffolding for those who didn't grow up around technology, as I did.  Since the lady at the entrance asked me to stop by her desk on my way out, I did so - and became a member.  We chatted for a minute (woman to woman) and she found my humor entertaining.  Now, if I go there again, it will be as Marian - as I want to live as much as my life as possible as a woman.  But I digress....

Next, it was off to Greenwich Village to eat.  After trying to find the Stonewall Historic site, I gave up after walking further than I wanted along Christopher Street.  (My back was bothering me, it was warm, and I had only a limited time to eat and travel to the theater.)  So, I walked back to the Ghandi Cafe for a "quick" dinner.  Although I ordered my old standbys, Samosas, Lamb Sagwala, and Onion Naan, I wasn't happy with today's meal.  I think that part of my reaction was predicated by the restaurant having its front window open and relying on ceiling fans to keep people cool.  This wasn't good enough for me, as I polished off at least a quart of water and a glass of Lassi to stay hydrated.  If anything, I'd bet that my taste buds were affected by my body's reaction to the warm weather.

Around 6:20, I was off to catch a train going uptown, and arrived at the theater with 15 minutes to spare before the show began.  I had good tickets for The Imaginary Invalid, an adaptation of Molière's classic comedy about love, greed, doctors, and deception.  One problem, my body's reaction to heat had me semi-conscious throughout the show, and I missed many of the jokes.  (I may go back and see this play again before it closes, weather and money permitting.)  But what jokes I did catch were funny, and actually got me to laugh (a rarity).

At 8:30, I was headed back to Grand Central and made it there with 10 minutes to catch the next train back to Croton. When I got off the train, I tripped on the platform and almost fell down.  But I was able to keep my balance and step onto the platform without harming my self.  Getting into the elevator, two ladies of my generation and I chatted for a second in the elevator.  When I came down the steps leading to the cab stand and parking lot, one of those ladies made sure to wait for me to come down the stairs - as if I were a typical woman traveling alone late at night.  It's nice to know that most people seem to be seeing me as a large, but overweight woman.