A ready kit is a good thing to have in case of nearly any emergency. Floods, fires, and earthquakes are often not what kill people. It’s lack of preparedness. If you happen to survive a major calamity, wouldn’t it be sad to die of starvation afterward? To die of an infected scrape on your knee would be the ultimate insult to hardiness. Just a few items could be all it takes to ensure your survival—after you’ve already survived the catastrophe.
Although the above is dramatic, there is some truth in it. Often, the emergency is less than catastrophic, so the chances of survival are much greater. Even if the emergency situation is not so wide-spread and disastrous, having a kit can make life much more bearable until things transition back to normal.
How to make a Ready Kit:
Sustainable Food and Water (usually canned food and bottled water)
Here’s a holiday which is not celebrated around the world, though it could be. Martin Luther King is not only about himself and his own, but committed to freedom for everyone everywhere.
“The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice,…” ~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
He is genuinely concerned for the welfare of the world, as you may have noticed from the quote above, in which he says “world” instead of any number of other things. He didn’t say “neighborhood” or “nation”. He said “world”.
His influence for the decent treatment of mankind doesn’t end at the borders of the U.S.A. It could, and does, easily extend to other countries, other continents. From Canada to Chile. From Liberia to Siberia. From the hottest parts of Australia to the coldest parts of Austria, Martin Luther King’s voice is heard, and his ideas are known. All we have to do is reiterate his peaceful message.
That brings me to my second point of this article: His message cannot be confined to one day. The whole reason I’m sending this article out on the Tuesday after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day (or, if you’re in Australia, the Wednesday after) is to point out that his message of peace cannot be confined in borders of time any more than it can be confined behind physical barriers.
There are those in this world who love to deny peace. There are those who live in greed, and when they see peace they immediately wish to destroy it.
“We have guided missiles and misguided men.” ~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Peace is peace, man. No one can change peace. All they can do is put it off for a while. No amount of grasping for monetary gain through warfare can put off peace indefinitely. Peace will win in the end.
Along with those products which were unknowingly titled in such a way as to distance potential purchasers, there are products which are given names translating to something utterly bizarre in certain languages. Bite The Wax Tadpole is a famous example. The product it came from is not worth mentioning anyway, but even less so since the translated name is so much more fun to say than the original.
One strange name for a product which could seem strange, innocent, or even disgusting, depending on how you view it is Green Piles, a Japanese name for a lawn fertilizer.
Another one from Japan is a brand of beef jerky which they decided to name Homo Sausage. Just another name that could be seen in a variety of ways. Strange? Innocent? Disgusting? Would you buy it?
From Sweden, there’s Krapp, a special brand of toilet paper that believes in true advertising.
Again from Sweden, there’s Plopp, which is a chocolate bar. This name might make you think of something other than what the product really is.
And would you buy an orangeade type drink if it was called Pipi? You can find it in Yugoslavia. (See the image at the start of this article.)
In Czechoslovakia you could buy detergent named Polio. Not really. The Czechs were brilliant in getting rid of the disease polio because they administered the vaccine via sugar cubes and had a campaign endorsing soaps and detergents to further hygiene practices in their citizens. Their country was extremely successful in battling the disease, and the name Polio associated with detergent is a sort of urban legend.
Zit is a Greek lemon lime drink. No kidding. They make it with real natural ingredients. Sounds good to me.
There are good, better, and best cat names, just like there are all of those categories of dog names. The thing about cats though, is that calling them is a rare thing. Some pet-lovers are super devoted to their cats and so they do actually go outside and call. Letting the cat know it is dinner time is a definite sign of devotion. Most people I know who have cats either leave the food where the cat can get it when it’s ready, or they keep the cat inside the majority of the time. Not one of those options makes calling the cat by name necessary. At least, not loudly or publicly. I have also known one family who had a house full of God only knows how many cats. It was difficult to even walk past their house because it smelled viciously of cat egesta. That kind of person probably doesn’t even know how many cats are in their house, so how could they possibly have names for all of them? Thankfully, not all cat lovers are cat hoarders.
Naming cats is obviously different than naming dogs. With dogs, the owner is often raising his or her voice, then throwing something like a bone or a ball. With cats, the owner is often cooing the cat’s name softly, then petting it gently like it was a toy or a soft sweater.
So, for cats, the object is to give your feline friend a name that is clever and rolls smoothly off the tongue in a whisper. Some name like Killer. No, I’m just kidding about that one. But who am I to stop you? If you want to name your kitten Killer, it’s your prerogative.
Seriously though, cats need names like Boots, Socks, Tigger, Tiger, Patches, or Sly.
Other good names might include Whiskers, Hobbes, or Morris.
A lot of French names sound good for cats: Esmee, Elodie, Dijon, Gigi, Pepe, Genevieve, Michel, even Pierre.
Funny names shouldn’t be dismissed. Try Floofy, Boujee, Laser Eyes, Droog, Misfit, Horse Face, and Roadkill for some fun conversations around your neighbors—and of course, fantastically boosted self-esteem for your cat—as if a cat’s self-esteem would be determined by anything but the cat’s own will.
If you’re not familiar with my movie rating system, here’s a brief explanation: more complex than a thumbs-up/thumbs down system and more specific than an undefined star rating, my system rates seven factors of a story, assigning one star for each entertaining element.
Drawing power 1
Interest factor 1
Offensive factor 1
Range of emotion 1
Character factor 1
Style 0
Length 1
In Tron: Ares, there were great performances by Jodie Turner-Smith, Gillian Anderson, Jared Leto, Jeff Bridges, Evan Peters, and Greta Lee, to name a few. There was only one character who seemed annoying, but he had endearing moments.
The storyline had the draw to pull me in and there were enough plot elements to keep the movie interesting for me. Even though the trailer made the plot look dull and lifeless, it was not.
Style gets a zero, not because there was no style in the movie. It had great amounts of style. The music though was only mediocre. Especially since the movie tries to idolize one of the worst songs ever written, and that is “Just Can’t Get Enough” by Depeche Mode. That song, by the way, has one of the most ironic titles of a song as well, because, as anyone who has ever been forced to listen to it can testify, after the fourth reiteration of the title, which happens to also be every verse and chorus, you will be screaming angrily that you’ve had ENOUGH.
Offensive factor gets a star point because there really wasn’t anything offensive in the movie. Parents could watch the movie first to see if they agree. If you’re a more loose-control style of parent, you could just let your kid watch this without worries.
Despite being about artificial intelligence, the movie, and even the characters playing the AI, had great emotional range.
The length was fit for an Alfred Hitchcock viewing. Not too long on time, not too short on time. 1 hour, 59 minutes.
End result: Tron Ares gets 6 out of 7 stars.
By the way, the basic plot is that there is an AI created to be a soldier–Ares (played by Jared Leto). His purpose is questionable, and since he is built to learn, he begins questioning his purpose. His form is also, like a soldier, expendable. Perhaps because he is expendable, he is also temporary. Being temporary gets in the way of helping others, so a pursuit ensues for the bad side and the good side alike to recover a “permanence code”. The visuals are wonderful. For anyone wishing to escape for a while into a digital realm, this could be a beneficial diversion.
Xenosthesia.com 