Just for Fun: Negotiating With Cats

Negotiating With Cats

Lessons in Diplomacy & Passive Resistance

Starring Cosmo

Breed: Maine Coon Domestic Cat Age: ~18 months Weighs: ~17 pounds (and still growing) Resides in: Chattanooga, Tennessee Aspirations: To Have His Way Diplomatically Status: Single Male Hobbies: Sleeping, Sunning, Exploring, Eating, Communing With Nature & Sleeping More Friends: Everyone (with possible exception of small human children and crabby old cats)

Negotiating With Cats – starring Cosmo                                                                                   By Nancy J. Bell
	After being shoo’d away from the laptop on several occasions, Cosmo began to exert his passive resistance protest to promote his likely chances of getting close to the computer. In his sleep, next to the computer, as he began to purr and move slowly, to apparently stretch, he happened to let just his feet move onto the keyboard. I stopped typing to take a photo, when the story continued.
Finding no resistance to his "subtle imposition of space proximity change," he moved a little more of himself onto the computer keyboard.  Still feigning sleep, he continued to relax,   as his paws were gently moved over again so I could type.
	Stretching again, he re-exerts his claim on the one corner as he returned his paws to the keyboard. He is still apparently asleep.

Cosmo is purring in his apparent sleep and he now works his third and fourth paw closer to laying on the keyboard.
	Somewhere in his sleep, he changes course to now claim the vicinity of the mouse, as well as the keyboard. Still, apparently asleep.
The Jig is up when the compunction to “groom” over-rode his strategy to appear asleep in his computer take-over.

	As soon as he finished his quick groom, he immediately fell into a complete slumber, but only after reasserting his subtle re-takeover of the computer. He didn’t even peek when I laughed at him for pretending sleep.
Gently, I moved his feet back off the keyboard and he appeared to be nonplussed about the whole thing. Still sleeping comfortably.
	Not to be deterred, he exerts a simple testing of the waters again (so soon?) using only one paw this time. Breathing softly, still apparently “sleeping.”

When I gently removed the one paw, he lifted his head and was still giving me “the look” by the time I took his picture again.
	Laying down again, with his back to the computer, he tries a new strategy. Sweeping his tale back and forth across the keyboard, without actually landing. He is showing initial signs of being annoyed.
Moments after closing his eyes again, he stretches out his paw and brought his tail to rest where it had just swept. “If you sweep it you can have it” mentality reigning. He is now apparently fast asleep again.

Cosmo  didn’t get a real vote in the matter, so I removed him once again. Before I could get the camera back, he fidgeted in his sleep and moved back to his comfortable position. Unobtrusive as he may have believed this subtle resettling on part of the computer may have been, we were still at odds.
	The next time I moved him off the keyboard, he apparently wanted to renew our friendship by moving, this time, onto me. His paw very gently came to rest on my wrist and as he could find no reason for me rejecting his gesture of friendship, he began again, to purr softly in his sleep.
In a selfless gesture, for a cat, he settled on a compromise. He would be near the keyboard but stopped stretching onto it while I type this. See? Cats CAN be reasonable!

Coming Soon! After getting a glimpse at his own stardom, Negotiation Agreement With Cosmo Quickly Breaks Down!

Fight for Freedom

   It starts as a feeling

   That something's not right

   Then walks in your mind

   While you're up late at night.

   The problems are many,

   The solvers too few,

   So the work that needs doing

   Starts pointing at you.

   You ask, "Who am I

   Who can bring about change?

   I've my own things to do

   And this world is so strange..."

   Then you think of the faces

   And hurdles you'll greet

   As you work to solve problems--

   All the hate you will meet.

   And you just have to wonder

   If it's worth all the pains,

   When by closing your eyes

   You won't see freedom's stains.

   But you know you can't do it

   There is no way at all

   'Cause once you have seen them

   You've heard Justice call.

   The song starts out softly

   And travels so slow...

   But along come the others

   And soon you will know

   That many are willing

   To work through the day

   And lift up their voices

   When FREEDOM's held sway

   There can be no more silence

   When hate comes to stand

   In the midst of a people

   Who share the same land.

   Come together to heal!

   And grow strong in what's true!

   Join the voices of others

   Who love justice, too.

   Hate can't breed us out

   And it can't hold us down

   And it won't stop the voices

   That rise from the ground

   'Cause the land still remembers

   All my brothers who bled

   To fight for our freedom--

   The struggle's not dead.

   When you first have the feeling

   That something's not right,

   Don't just look away,

   Take courage and fight!

   'Cause the hangman keeps coming

   To cloud what is true

   If you don't fight for freedom,,

   Who'll fight to save YOU?

   Teach your children to love,

   Help the poor not to drown

   In the sea of oppression

   That keeps people down.

   Keep freedom alive

   And continue the Call

   'Til the day we say truly

   "There is Justice for ALL."

--N.J. Bell

----------------------------

The AWESOME story, The Hangman, by Maurice Ogden, inspired me as a child (see link below). In the Civil Rights era of the 70's, we were watching this film on reel-to reel-projectors, but the truth of it still stands. They say that freedom is renewed by the blood of patriots, but it also renews by the breath and deeds of free people. Don't give up the fight!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZSS3yxpnFU

About the Author: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/nancy-bell/30/231/855

I Am Me

I Am Me.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men & women do nothing, say nothing, work towards nothing more than their own self-aggrandizement, or the stubborn maintenance of opinions already formed by someone else and absorbed without consideration! Hatred will always take advantage of the righteous person’s silence in the face of oppression, suppression and abuse.

The Age of Enlightenment has degenerated into an Age of Catastrophic Distraction; I do not expect the same clarity of thought in common discourse that once was common among those passionate about philosophy, history, politics, religion and the free exchange of ideas, or the social-well being of all, including our vulnerable populations.

I prefer to envision America in its idyllic state, the "more perfect union" towards which we endeavor as a nation to achieve, since our own formation as a collection of colonies seeking freedom to live uncontrolled by others, able to rise to the pinnacles of our own “higher angels” within, and being generous in our thoughts, words and deeds, towards brotherly love.

The ability to civilly disagree is supposed to be the height of our value as a self-governing nation! The barbaric, the vulgar and the ignorant have never concerned themselves with such matters as the concepts of abstract ideas, ideals or goals towards which to strive. The purposeful deconstruction of our educational systems, the twisting of facts on a wide-scale, and even the dumbing-down of our means of entertainment exemplify dangerous trends to a free people. 

I observe that as a nation, we have become fat, lazy and apathetic to all that we once held dear as a nation (at least in theory) and the results have been disastrous. Invisible faces behind corporations have more rights than living, breathing, human beings. We watch the decimation of our land, trees, soil, water, skies as well as wild life, domesticated creatures, and natural balance. We have allowed our families to be splintered by systems that oppress the poor, contaminate our food, over-prescribe medications we don't even need and watch our returning soldiers become homeless faster than any other group in the rapidly expanding numbers of homeless in America, one of the richest countries on earth. 

We justify the killing of children when we let their murderers not only go free, but elevate them to an image of hero, as was the case with the racist killer George Zimmerman. Trayvon Martin’s murder was not the only crime committed, but defense of his crime by others, including the Florida court system, FOXX News, CNN, Rush Limbaugh and among our elected officials. The story of Who Killed Cock Robin becomes Who allowed the Death of Trayvon Martin?, or ALL the Trayvon Martins still being killed or wounded by hate, in the 21 century. It is the culmination of many failures as a people. It is a sad indictment for the state of affairs for a self-governing nation. 

My vocation includes active work as a Public Health educator, my expertise is in exploring the social factors contributing to public health issues, including poverty, gender, age, race, and socio-economic variables. I am an advocate of freedom, equality, and the protection of all vulnerable populations. I actively fight against discrimination, bigotry, and racism. I defend the rights of children, animals, the environment and those who are unable to speak for themselves, here AND abroad, including the children of Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq, the Congo, South Africa and many other areas where they suffer needlessly.

I am a writer and a teacher, a missionary and a Spiritual being. I do not preach, so much as teach. I accept accountability for the feathers I ruffle because it is never done through malice, but rather, in an effort to shake loose the complacency towards unnecessary suffering, and the refusal to be aware, even when our own freedoms depend upon our informed choice. It is intended to gut comfortableness, and strip off the false smiling masks of the bloated corporations that really have control of America, placing elected officials in their private pockets behind closed doors meetings and through the transfer of assets into private accounts when domestic programs are cut and the weapons manufacturers, chemical makers, and food producers, banks who control housing, and churches that bleed their followers become grotesquely rich in the face of suffering they cause.

The manner in which I speak, and the subject matter about which I chose to express opinion, are mine alone to decide, based on knowledge, faith and a dedication to helping others in their efforts to maintain and improve their lives through the alleviation of INJUSTICE, HATE, EXPLOITATION and BLINDNESS. These are my choices to make and I make no apologies for what I have worked hard to understand, nor my choice to be passionate about my undertakings, including teaching, advocacy and preaching the TRUTH. Make no mistake, my radical views are a part of me; they always have been and they always will be.

I created this blogsite as a way to turn anger into action, and to create a path for others to follow in the petitioning of our grievances as part of We, the People, Politics. 

When you see something wrong, do you speak, or do you walk away from others in need? If the former, I provide petitions and a forum for intelligent discussion. If the latter, all I may do is see you become a part of the apathetic throng that continues to rush into the midst of a comfortable distraction, as part of the Age of Catastrophic Distraction we have created for ourselves in our attempts at self-governance. For those who back away from challenges because they are controversial, I forgive you your lack of strength, conviction, or empathy. But I do expect you to let me do my job of agitating the complacent, restoring peace, and eliminating unnecessary suffering.

When I first began this discussion, it was in response to being thrown out of a discussion by the “unofficial” University of Phoenix Alumni group discussion on LinkedIN when I posted the NAACP Petition for Trayvon Martin. It has become more than that since then, but where it ends up, no one can yet tell. RACISM IS ALIVE AND WELL and I reject its tenets, philosophies, practices and EVILS.

I ask for people of conscience to work for peace in your hearts, your families, communities, the nation, and the world by acting and speaking to protect the vulnerable, especially the children; never give up the faith or the fight to be FREE, to expect JUSTICE, or to extend AWARENESS to combat HATE. 

That is why I created Agitation in Motion: We, the People, Politics. If we do not speak for ourselves, and for others, who will? And if no one will, how will it change? There must be change because we are FAR from perfection as a country, as a World Power, and as Enlightened Citizens. I love America BECAUSE it is still a WORK IN PROGRESS! We have not yet become truly born to the freedoms we espouse. Turn your anger into action. Contribute your actions to the catalyst of change. WE are just the next generation to pick up the fight. 

Pluralistically Yours,

Rev. Nancy J. Bell, Ph.D.

About the Author: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/nancy-bell/30/231/855

A Rose is a Rose, But What About Dandelions?

A Rose is a Rose, but What About Dandlions?

I love life and I love the balance and beauty of nature. Zooming in to see the intricate details of subtle beauty, as well as the panoramic vistas of the natural world. My introductory "Make-It project" will be a simple dandelion, in its moment of peak bloom. An oft over-looked simple beauty, dandelions were the first flowers I gathered for my mother and the first flowers my children gathered for me, so it has it's own special sentimentality for me.
Often mistaken as a weed, this flower also formed a source of food among the Italian family members I grew up around, as we cooked the new tender greens as a vegetable, or in a salad. We connect through its staple as a spring food among the peasant ancestry from which my famly descended. We connect to our roots through this simple and amazing flower.

To pick dandelions for consumption, we always chose new greens from "undistrubed" areas of the yard or fields. Before the greens get flowers, they are tender and although slightly bitter, become much tougher and more bitter once they have a flower stalk, so we don't use them like that. Steam them (as greens, until tender) and brown some garlic in oil and toss the cooked greens with the oil and add some salt. (the salt takes away the bitterness, but don't overdo it). In a salad, it tasts less bitter than endive. Sharing food ideas helps people to connect the world round, even when the food is discovered right under your own noses!

P.S. I don't know if any of you have ever played these games, but we had games for our dandelions, too. First, there is the "Santa Claus" flower that it becomes, and making a wish before you blow it goes into the wind and it is your hopes that the wishes will come back fulfilled. Second there was the game of putting the dandelion flower under someone's chin and if you see yellow strongly reflected, it was proof that you like butter! Third, if you hold the stem, and snap the flower off with your thumb, the saying that went with it was "Mommy had a baby and her had popped off." It may seem macabre, but no moreso than Ring Around the Rosie (originally: Ring Around the Rosary, a child's game to understand the number of deaths related to the Black Plague).

About the Author: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/nancy-bell/30/231/855