Monthly Archives: March 2018

#20 Something, #Beliefs, #History, #Religion, Ireland, Reading, Travel

Irish History & Folklore

I’m not Irish but I find several things about Ireland to be fascinating. In no particular order:

1. Leprechauns. Who was the first Leprechaun? What is their purpose?

2. The saying: “‘Tis the Luck o’ the IRISH”.  Does that mean bad luck or good luck? How did this saying get started?

3.  St. Patrick getting rid of all the snakes in Ireland. Was there really a St. Patrick? And, did he? Were there ever snakes in Ireland to begin with?

4.   4-Leaf Clovers.  Why are they Lucky? How did that get started?

5. Why so many things having to do with Luck? And how did the Pot-of-Gold-at-the-end-of-the-Rainbow get started? That’s Irish, too. Isn’t it?

6. What does it mean if someone is “Black-irish?  I don’t know.

7. Who were the Picts? Who were the first people to inhabit Ireland–and where did they come from?

8. Is there a language, native to Ireland, that is older than Gaelic?

9. Why does Ireland have all this Legend? Folklore?, etc., yet England is nearby and doesn’t appear to have near as much of this?  I find it interesting.

#Ireland #IrishHistory #Legends #Folklore

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#Movies, #StarWars

What went wrong with Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

By now, you’ve already seen it: Star Wars, “The Last Jedi”. After I saw it, I felt it was a letdown. Here’s why:

1. SNOKE—He gets killed.  Seriously? When fans had oodles of questions about him? He was portrayed differently, too. Before the Last Jedi, he was Dark, Mysterious, talked a bit slow. Suddenly, in the Last Jedi, he’s about 3 times more outgoing, far less mysterious and much more like a sarcastic, arrogant butt-head. But then he gets killed. Go figure.  Unless this is somehow setting things up for a super-showdown later between Rey and Kylo Ren, it seemed like a waste.

2. The Asian Lady and Finn. What is this all about, anyway? What is the point? Frankly, why are they even in the movie? To me they seem like “filler” characters who really don’t need to be there. But it gets worse—-

3. That “lady captain or commander” of the Starship. Was she a blonde? I can’t even remember her name, but she seemed utterly clueless about strategy or fighting/battle tactics and all she had was a 10-story Ego to go with her title. I wondered if she were secretly working for the dark side for part of the movie.

4. With Snoke gone, how will Kylo Ren advance in the Dark side of the Force? Rey, still has “the old Ancient books” on her ship, right? So she could get more knowledge from those.

5. We STILL haven’t found out who Rey’s parents are.

6. We still haven’t found out who created the first order and why.

7. We still don’t know how Maz Kanata got posession of Luke’s old Lightsaber.

8. We still don’t know who Maz Kanata is.

After all that, it appears that the slate has been wiped clean for the next movie to take-off and begin a whole new direction/chapter but—-it’s hard to imagine if or how it could be as good or recapture-the-old-glory of previous Star Wars.  Will Luke or Yoda ever help out, as Force-ghosts, in future battles? Unknown.

#Advice, #Happiness, #Life, #Retirement, #SelfHelp

What will you do with your time after you retire?

What makes you happy? How do you like to spend your free time? And what do you think that will be when you are 70?

Some people live very simple lives. Some others thrive on nearly constant activity and being productive. Both of these can be overdone. Simplicity might degenerate into a rut of monotony. Being productive can become an inability to relax.

Here’s a wild thought: Lets assume there really is some sort of Afterlife or Heaven.
In Heaven, people don’t get sick. At least I’ve never heard anyone say that we do. And I’ve never heard anyone be worried about getting a house in the Afterlife. Think of what this means. It means that even if you had a Prestige career-position here on earth as a Doctor, it won’t matter there, as people no longer get sick. If you were a brilliant construction worker or engineer and built a posh 30-story building or 2 story 4bedroom house, or designed a bridge, it won’t matter, cuz people don’t need a house or to have one designed or built. So what matters once you are there?

It might be said that here, is different than there, and so things that may not matter there, will matter here anyway. Ok. So lets keep it here and ask ourselves: Alright, your career here on earth is over and now—-you are Retired. Life is simpler.  Or, is it?  What will matter then? How will you spend your time? What will be fun? What will be important? Why?

When you were a senior in high school, chances are hardly anyone cared that you were very good at drawing with crayons in the 7th grade. By the time you were in your 3rd year of college, no one cares that you did well enough in sports to get a Letterman’s jacket in 11th grade. By the time you are 40, most people will be in a different job and won’t care about the one they had at 23. By the time you are 68, who will care that you were once in Management or the Administration? So then—

Will you, be able to adjust to a Simpler Life? How will you enjoy your time? What will be important? What will make you happy? And if you are 45 or 50 now, why aren’t you already enjoying those things? What is preventing you? The clock is ticking and we are all getting older. It can be insightful, and fun, to think about.