Dança comigo?

Four weeks from now, dearest denizens, carnaval will be in full swing, so start stretching those hips! And hamstrings. Glutes, calves, your back and neck... We've talked about this; you'll get a full-body workout, all in the name of good fun and great music.

Four weeks from now, sweetie darlings, I'll have switched winter for summer. No carnaval in Salvador without Ivete these days, so let's pay her a visit at Farol da Barra, the Barra Lighthouse, not far from where we used to live, and join the warm-up party. Let's go! 🥁

 

Cheer up, the worst is yet to come!

TGIF, sweetie darlings, how is everyone holding up in this grave new world of ours? Yes, I'm referring to him, and that one nation under Don, and the Lord of the Flies guys. (I'll explain in a bit.) No man should have that much power. At least you shouldn't give it to someone so self-serving, so undeserving. His mob-boss-like antics work against him, though. Overreaching and/or going all-out un-American will backfire. But first he'll have to double down on the lies to keep people eating his bullshit like it's chocolate mousse. That'll just make everything worse; the lying, the gaslighting, the total demonization of anyone working and speaking against them. Insulating their base is what they need to keep doing, and that'll just make everything worse; the confrontation, the hatred, the vitriol.

And now we're headed to an even more fact-free Facebook, and possibly both the platform previously known as Twitter and currently known as Shitter and TikTok falling into the greasy palms of a Lord of the Flies. (I'll explain in a bit.) That'll just make everything worse; the bot armies and other propaganda machines, the trolling and harassment, the disinformation and miscellaneous calculated distractions. Millions upon millions follow these liars on social media. That's their reality, but you don't have to defer to it or be colonized by it, you can reject it, always. Tens of millions voted for him, tens of millions didn't. Remember that. He got elected on lies, fears, gaslighting and disinformation, but he'll have to govern in the real world where we shouldn't inflate his influence or give him more power than he actually has; reach and clout works both ways.

So just do your own thing, keep living in the real world where hundreds upon hundreds of millions don't share those views or worldview, don't believe the lies being told or approve the policies being introduced. Reject the reality and future they offer, if it's not to your liking, and substitute your own. Go in search of safer and saner communities, alternative social media platforms and ways of communicating. Focus on productive groups and forums that are interested in more than barking and snarling and foaming at the mouth like rabid dogs; and right-wing rabies is all the rage, on X in particular. Don't validate them by participating. Going on those platforms expecting civility is like going to a rodeo expecting to see dressage.

If you insist on staying on, think of the trolls and extremists as deer flies: a nuisance for sure, but in the grand scheme of things, on a global scale, just a bunch of angry buzzing. Loud and abundant if all you are counting or looking for is flies, but easy enough to shield yourself against. Don't worry too much about having to deal with him, with them, those platforms, all of it. Turn the thought around: They will have to deal with us, and we are legion, after all.

Dogs, horses, flies...good god, woman, these are people, fellow humans! Yes, they are, aren't they, adults who should know better than to trust someone who has already shown them, repeatedly, who he is and what he stands for, so please do not plead ignorance when he betrays you. The algorithms made you do it? They try, and you should know better than to trust something that has already shown you, repeatedly, what it is and what it does, so please do not plead ignorance when it makes you angry, leaves you feeling agitated even while you're offline, or you end up radicalized in some way. You are not obligated to participate. There's no law that says you must. It's your life, your precious time, a competition for your attention, certainly, but you still get to choose where you direct it and how you conduct yourself, online and off.

Hold the line, Maria Ressa would say. Do not obey in advance, Timothy Snyder would say. Strength in numbers is on our side, I say. It doesn't have to be this way.

On the twelfth day of Christmas real life gave to me

Twelve baubles shining,
Eleventh hour cleaning,
Ten feet of cords,
Nine kind words,
Eight people calling,
Seven hours cooking,
Six hours baking,
Five different playlists,
Four aperós,
Three fir wreaths,
Two paramedics,
And a smile from baby D!

Happy Lovember Solstice 💝

The year is winding down and we are gearing up for Christmas here in the land of elves, gnomes and goblins, forest spirits and fairies. And Santa.

It won't be fancy, it will be cozy. It won't be a silent night, I'm sure it will be an absolute circus, and I am very much looking forward to it; and saying farewell to 2024. So many deaths in the family. And then baby D came along to remind us that life goes on.

I hope your year has included light, dearest denizens. I hope you've been the perfect mix of naughty and nice. And if you are wondering whether you accomplished anything this year, let me leave you with this:

If you've done a kindness, or spoken for the silenced, if you've helped someone, anyone, or worked for the common good, if you've nurtured nature, or been a peacemaker, not only have you had a good year, you have lived a good life.

Happy holidays, sweetie darlings. 💋

There is a light that never goes out

And in Life's noisiest hour,
There whispers still the ceaseless Love of Thee,
The heart's Self-solace and soliloquy.

From The Presence Of Love by Samuel Taylor Coleridge