It is amazing how somethings never change. Tales of cunning, greed and even politics somehow seem as ageless of tales of heroism.
This is one I’ve found, which has the virtue of being miraculously well done in spite of it’s age. Before CGI or modern film techniques, The Tale of the Fox look many years to create. It’s been uploaded in 6 parts onto Youtube, complete with subtitles as it’s originally in French. Most of it, you can figure out without any words at all.
The fox is a con artist and all suffer under his tricks. What’s more, they suffer because he knows their weaknesses and plays off them. The lion is King (of course) and must figure out what to do about this trickster who is causing such a ruckus. His solution left me slack jawed with shock.
So watch the videos and see if you can figure out what will become of the fox. What will the king do? Who will best him?
In the end, I felt blindsided by a commentary of how politics work, whether in a company or a government.
Beware your weakness…for the fox will prey on it, even if you are a Lion or a King.
The Tale of the Fox – Wladyslaw Starewicz (1930) was uploaded by MissBillieDove
Here we go again, this time with schools not only ignoring bullying but worse, punishing the bullied. Once again, the target is a BRONY.
Fortunately, this My Little Pony fanboy spoke up rather than ending up seriously injured. But the schools response was appalling. “Leave the My Little Pony backpack at home” was the gist of the response.
Excuse me? All the other kids can choose their own backpack character but Grayson Bruce can’t? If you pick a ‘girly’ them you are asking to be bullied? More than one commenter on the numerous articles and posts says this is like telling a girl she was asking to be raped. I agree. In the same way, girls are bullied for liking boy stuff, and toy companies and retailers show they are complicit by marketing only to one or the other. Contrary to popular belief, their are girl heroes in Star Wars (Ahsoka, Padme, Leia) and Marvel Avengers related movies (Black Widow, Pepper Potts, Peggy Carter) and My Little Pony has boy ponies and other boy heroes (Spike the dragon, Big McIntosh – Applejack’s brother, Shining Armor – Twilight Sparkle’s brother, Flash Sentry, Dr Hooves – now become a sort of My Little Pony ‘Dr. Who’ mix) That’s not a solution. That’s a cowardly dodge!
If boys have any advantage at all it’s that the Brony community is highly supportive. I don’t recall that from all the other fandoms, where sometimes boys act like girls are an intrusion. I’ve not seen girls getting defensive about the girls liking My Little Pony. Then again, with the invention of the internet, it’s easier to get in touch with and find other fans.
But what we really need is for the other fans in that specific area to stand up for each other, no matter what the fandom. Because together, they will outnumber the bullies. And different fandoms should put aside their rivalries to defend each other’s choices. For instance, Star Trek and Star Wars fans may be rivals, but they have something in common: a passion for something, and the moral of many of these fandoms include respect for others. Courage to stand up to bullies is part of that respect. Whether you love My Little Pony or Transformers or Sophia the First or Voltron, it should’t matter whether you are a boy or girl. What matters is you are a fan. And you are special, no matter who you are!
Support For Grayson! by CARTOONFANATIC3 on deviantART
All the heartbreak and anguish of people suffering made me do it. All over the failure of political leaders. I do not blame either party. I, for one, blame parties in general. Both groups in deadlock, refusing to yield until the little people cry in pain. Party labels stick people in a box. The agenda must be this or that because of the label.
People don’t fit in a box. they live and breathe with their own hopes and dreams. Sometimes the dream is greed. Sometimes its misguided. Even people who want the best don’t agree.
I hate politics. To me, every political campaign is like listening to the worst behaved children yelling ‘he hit me’, ‘he broke my doll’, ‘he broke Mrs so and sos window, don’t trust him!’
This is our choice for leadership? It’s mind boggling. Its horrifying. And I don’t believe any of them at this point, even when they claim to have the same beliefs I do.
Speaking of same beliefs, I’ll admit freely I have doubts that the government even belongs in some areas. Where do they get off closing ‘public’ parks? Don’t those belong to ‘the public’? And for politicians not to take their messages is pure cowardice. They know people are upset. They just don’t want to hear it.
In reality things like health care and other issues should never have needed to go so far. The fact that something needs federal regulation means its broken on a lower level.
For instance on a somewhat less ‘hot’ note: The tennessee walker shows were so rife with corruption the feds stepped in.
Tennessee walking horses and the protection against ‘soring’ – a practice of putting painful chemicals on their legs to make them step higher in shows were so prevalent, it required federal intervention. How pathetic, that as many horse lovers as are out there, the horse industry couldn’t regulate itself. No, in spite of many chances, greed won out and the horses kept suffering.
Which means greed won on a lower level. But what happens when the greed has infiltrated so high up the feds themselves are involved? Then everyone suffers. Who is left to regulate?
So, I express my own discontent in my usual fashion: with my art. Not a new bear, but newly used with different background and text.
Well, here it is. The summation of much of the world’s woes, as once again, revealed through the horse world. The fox guarding the chickens. The corrupt judge sitting over his son’s trial. The blind man driving the automobile (no offense to the blind intended, the way technology is headed, it’s only a matter of time).
The first is that the BLM went back on it’s word and went ahead with a mustang roundup they’d promised and sworn was cancelled. Color me shocked. A branch of the government, lie to it’s citizens? Of course they would. What bothers me is that no other branch of the government seems interested in holding them accountable. You have perjury and animal cruelty in one fell swoop, yet no one ever arrests them. What does it say about our government, that it is no longer being held accountable to it’s citizens for such misuse of funds and power?
The second is this bit of news of the confusion over slaughterhouses. Now the Native nations – and for the moment, I won’t try and sort out which ones – are apparently divided, with some in favor of it. Some still believe the horse is sacred and are firmly opposed. But the others claim ‘overpopulation’ and ‘overgrazing’ and insist that slaughter would solve their problems.
I can’t help note that if so, they should be trying to get the slaughter plant, with its associated environmental hazards on their own reservation land. Apparently they don’t mind foisting it off on someone else. They don’t seem to be vying for the jobs associated, they just want the horses gone.
I don’t claim to know what the ratio of horses to other livestock is on the Native reservations is, or whether they have a problem. I do know slaughter isn’t the answer. But it’s a sad thing to think that people some of whom have been called ‘people of the horse’, and for some of them, still think it sacred, would consider this an acceptable solution. What is it about today’s society that people are so ignorant and determined to remain so in the name of greed and convenience?
Third, is the trial of the Tennessee Walking Horse trainer. Now what makes me shake my head at this is on the Ethics committee of the Tennessee Walking Horse Trainer’s Association. Ethics. Oh, really, ethics. The man thought nothing of soring and intentionally injuring these animals for a ribbon, prize money, or trophy. I can’t imagine why anyone would reward anyone for cruelty. But the idea of the man being on an ethics committee!! It’s incomprehensible. Talk about the blind leading the blind!
It’s no secret to horse lover’s that horses make excellent therapists.
They have some of the essential skills built right in. To name a few:
They are excellent listeners.
They speak only with body language, which encourages awareness.
The movement of the horse helps the rider, particularly those who have physical difficulties. It stimulates the movement of the rider’s muscles.
These natural traits make a horse an ideal creature for helping the disabled, or those wounded physically or emotionally wounded. Learning to guide and ride the horse gives confidence. The rider has muscles that may otherwise not be stimulated working, and helps overcome atrophy, and or improve balance. They influence posture, for heads up and heels down isn’t just an old proverb. A horse isn’t truly or primarily controlled by reins, but by body shifts and leg pressure. So the posture matters.
Then there are the psychological benefits. Autistic children, people with various social challenges, and the just abused find that the gentle communication of the horse may be just what they need. The horse is totally nonjudgmental. Those who find trouble talking and sharing difficulties with a councilor may find talking to a horse a lot easier. Even the autistic have been known to respond to horse therapy, perhaps because in a way, the horse and they speak a similar ‘body language’. That is, for instance, people with autism may be very shy and have trouble staring people in the eye and be wary of new people. This is similar to horses behavior as ‘prey’ animals.
Some horses – miniature horses – are even being trained as seeing eye horses. Yes, that’s right, seeing eye horses. The virtue of horses aside from dogs is that, for one thing, someone may be allergic to dogs.
Riding a horse requires ‘in the moment’ awareness. This is an automatic relief from those burdened with worries, cares or fears. The ride of the horse itself requires there attention. And there is something in the brisk rhythm of the walk or the power of the canter that seems to clear the body and mind of stress and obstacles, leaving a clean tired feeling and giving room for the energy to face the challenges of life.
Not just any horse can be a therapy horse. It’s temperament that matters the most. They may be any shape and size, from that miniature ‘seeing eye’ horse to the big draft horse that carries that big rider with PTSD. They may be no special breed at all. But they are special: they heal hearts and lives.
I Love Pony Power Kids T-shirtAspergers Dare 2 Think Different Winged Horse Shirt Aspergers is a mild form of autism.
Okay, I’ll admit it. There is something that can make us easy going teddy bears mad.
We love being cuddled no matter how much you squash us, no matter how many times the kid drops us in the mud. We’ll forgive you leaving us on the park bench or the restaurant and rushing back all in a panic. We’ve forgive having pulled ears, losing an eye and all assorted injury that comes with being a teddy bear. And I, for one, adore reports of teddy’s bringing out the good in humans by encouraging them to seek out and find folks separated from their teddy bears. (Social Media Helps Teddy Return Home)
But doing some things to a teddy bear that should be illegal – and is, in a way.
One: smuggling nasty stuff inside us. Drugs and guns hurt people and we do notappreciate being carriers for the greed and violence involved.
Two: Using us as spy gadgets or bait for evil purpose. By that I mean anything other than as nanny cam bears, meant to protect the young.
It is our considered opinion….we, meaning all the teddies of this family….that there should be legal punishment for this. I know that the whole illegal gun/drug and invasion of privacy can be brought up on charges. But it is our belief that these people who would abuse a teddy in such a way that it causes the teddy to harm others should be legally restricted from owning or handling a teddy for a length of time.
You heard me. NO cuddling for the creep. The only thing us teddies want is to cuddle and comfort people. The worst thing you can do is deny us and cause people to fear the teddy bear. I sometimes dream of the teddies who will never know love, because they are now locked in an evidence warehouse somewhere due to the crime of a human. And there they shall likely stay unless destroyed.
It is very unfair. It’ s awful. And yes it’s really happening, saw it on the news feeds.
Girl finds gun in teddy bear Christmas gift.
Man arrested for carrying meth filled teddy bear.
Girl finds spy cam hidden in her teddy bears.
Repeated reports of drugs in teddy bears!
UGH. No teddy bear should be associated with such things. It degrades the whole image of teddy bear. What child, so abused, can ever look at a teddy the same? What police officer will not expect to have to tear the poor, terrified teddy apart and find drugs? Our primary reason for being is love and comfort, not hidden evil secrets!
So stand with me in protest, teddies of the world! SAY NO to TEDDY BEAR ABUSE!
Frivolous. Dictionary definition: carefree and not serious. It’s antonym is considered: serious or important.
Today, I came to the ironic realization the other day that ‘frivolity’ is actually extremely important. And this is how it came about:
I was scrolling through teddy bear images, just to brighten a gray day. And I came upon the headline about the Boyd’s Bear store in Pennsylvania closing. More people out of work and darn it, I’ll never get to visit. But it was the comments that really drew my eye.
There were comments calling teddy bears and teddy bear stores frivolous. The attitude was that teddy bears were a waste of time. After all, they are a toy or collector item. They usually just sit and look cute. This got me to thinking. Are they ‘pointless’ in today’s society? And suddenly I was indignant. I thought of people jumping up and down in war paint at football games. I thought about those same people turning up their nose at those of us who are science fiction and fantasy fans and convention. I thought of people who hunt for sport. And what about people who chase a little white ball around a golf course as a hobby. I suddenly wondered who is one person to claim another’s hobby is frivolous.
In this modern world we fret about war, about gun control and paying the bills. We may have a roof over our heads and food, but that doesn’t mean we have all we need. True, we have more than many. But we have a spiritual and emotional needs too. And all that stress takes it’s tole on our well being, on our emotions and even our physical health. Without frivolity, without laughter and smiles, we would self destruct.
Nearly all hobbies have one thing in common: the ability to get us to relax. Most have another feature as well, they improve our skills in some area. Maybe it’s hand and eye coordination, or creativity, problem solving or physical education. But they are all ‘play’ for the one who loves to do them.
I can’t imagine that anything that keeps us from self destructing, calms our tattered, overworked nerves and keeps us healthy is truly unimportant. So I’ll keep my teddy bears, thank you. And when I can’t buy, I’ll look and draw. Because it relaxes me. And that is anything but frivolous.
![Teddy in the Lillies](http://<a href="http://s1177.beta.photobucket.com/user/WildHorseFantasy/media/bearlilies_zps13cead14.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x354/WildHorseFantasy/bearlilies_zps13cead14.jpg" border="0" alt="Teddy Bear in the Lilies with Scripture"/></a>)