Tag: rants

Choose your words

My writing break includes coloring and eating. I could have been cute and said coloring and crudités, since that word is all over the news, but I’d be wrong.

Why? This is accurately called my brunch plate. Brunch is a late morning meal eaten instead of breakfast and lunch. It’s often how I create my first meal of the day, because I have to take some medications on an empty stomach, and some with food, but all of them in the morning. It’s a balancing act, and I’m sure many people can relate.

What this plate is not:

No. 1–An hors d’oeuvre plate, also called an appetizer or starter, which is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d’oeuvres are served cold; others, hot. Hors d’oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the meal, or they may be served before seating, such as at a reception or cocktail party. (Since this is my meal, not an appetizer, it does not fit this definition.)

No.2–A charcuterie board, which is derived from a French term for a branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products, such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, galantines, ballotines, pâtés, and confit, primarily from pork. (I have no meat on this plate.)

No. 3–Crudités, which are French appetizers consisting of sliced or whole raw vegetables typically dipped in a vinaigrette or other dipping sauce. Examples of crudités include celery sticks, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, bell pepper strips, broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, baby corn, and asparagus spears. (I have only celery and a dip related to this definition; the other foods do not qualify.)

These definitions were modified from Wikipedia. Any search engine can help prevent incorrect word choices. You may think I’m being patronizing about this, but I think people who don’t use words correctly are mentally lazy. I’ve been mentally lazy, too. It’s nothing to boast about.

This is one of my favorite ways to eat any meal: small portions of whatever I put on the plate. Usually, I choose from a variety of fruits and vegetables, along with a grain (for example, crackers, toast points, cheese straws, or certain kinds of chips) and a protein (like cheese, peanut butter, or hard-boiled eggs). I usually just name this plate by the time of the meal; thus, this could be my brunch, lunch, dinner, or supper, as applicable.

I’m not even getting into the inconsistency of how “dinner” and “supper” are used in my home region. I’m just going to sit at the table and enjoy the food. =)

Coping skills

I’m filtering social media and its comments very rigidly these days.


Took the small Georgie Woolridge Animals coloring book from my Coping Skills Box and colored a red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas). I learned the red-eyed tree frog isn’t poisonous, and I definitely relaxed while I was adding color to him.

We had at least a couple of rainy nights during the week, and on one of them, Tim sent a video to Jim and me of the frogs who were singing outside in response to a much-needed shower. When Half Acre Wood also got good rain, Lynne said the birds were dancing and singing among the wet tree limbs.

To recap, not poisonous: red-eyed tree frog

Poisonous: hate, ableism, prejudice, cynicism, dishonesty, sexism, hunger, jealousy, oppression, cruelty, bigotry, bullying, poverty, greed, violence, heterosexism, apathy, racism, injustice, classism, homelessness, fear-mongering, ageism

How I try to eliminate poison from my mental and emotional diet: education, creation, and action as I’m able

Photo Friday, No. 810

Current Photo Friday theme: Broken

It’s hot as blazes in Houston. I’ve had to take my website private while I repair damage done to it by malicious jerks. Around 7000 corrupt posts covering 18 years. Terra cotta pottery isn’t the only thing broken around here. Technology and its villains have made me feel a bit broken, too.

Broken pottery can be used in the bottom of other plants to give them better drainage. With time and work, I’ll be useful again, too.

Tarot Etc. Thursday No. 22

Last week I featured the 15 Tarot decks I have. Here are the rest of the decks or similar items I’ve located throughout Houndstooth Hall.

I’ve featured four Oracle decks. If you Google the difference between Oracle and Tarot cards, you’ll find a wealth of information (some of it contradictory–good luck!). My decks are:


Celtic Astrology Oracle Cards


The Illustrated Crystallary Oracle Cards


The Urban Crow Oracle


Messages From Your Animal Spirit Guides Oracle Deck

In addition to my Tarot and Oracle decks, here are other items I have on my shelves. Like these, that I should use MORE OFTEN.


Mindfulness On the Go (2014) is a small book by Jan Chozen Bays with twenty-five mindfulness practices that can be done anywhere. These are meant to get a person into the habit of cultivating “the gratitude and insight that come from paying attention with body, heart, and mind to life’s many small moments” (from the back cover of the book).

The Relax Deck (2000), designed by Henry Quiroga, with illustrations by Katarzyna Klein and Hannah Firmin, includes fifty cards with images on one side, text on the other side, all meant to help the user relax. Here is a sample card:

I think this is one of my favorite decks I’ve ever bought for just making me BE STILL AND BE for a while. It’s very refreshing. Not only does it provide inspirational exercises, but it even shows you how you can use the cards in a game with others. I haven’t done that. Yet.


I also have this box of Mindfulness Cards: Simple Practices for Everyday Life (2018), from Rohan Gunatillake. Again, this is a deck I should use more often. Here are the categories:

And some samples from “Curiosity and Joy”:

Here are some of the other resources I’ve shared on here before.


John Nagiecki’s Animal Spirit Knowledge Cards (2007), beautifully illustrated by Susan Seddon Boulet.

Karma Cards (1991), created by Monte Farber.


Rachelle Charman’s Chakra Reading Cards (2016).


My collection of Rune Stones, that includes The Book of Runes (1984) by Ralph H. Blum.

WHEW! I think that’s everything. As I was compiling this post, I found a few more things that might be of interest to you. They reminded me of the importance of mindfulness, gratitude, and the kindness of friends.


This came from a woman I worked with in 1997. Someone very special in her life was LGBTQ, and I’m not sure if she’d shared that at work with more than a few friends. One day, she overheard my quick, sharp response to someone who made a homophobic remark. You never know who’s listening and how your support might uplift someone who needs it. In return, this little book she gave me has many reminders that I recorded of kind things done for me. They’re a pleasure to read and remember all these years later. I need to start writing in this book again.

I want to reiterate this because of other people’s stories I’ve read or heard lately. BE A FUCKING ALLY FOR MARGINALIZED PEOPLE AND USE YOUR VOICE. You don’t have to yell like I just did. Just please don’t miss an opportunity to speak for those who might not be in a position to speak for themselves.


I was confused when I saw this tiny book tucked away on a shelf, because if you’ve read here for any length of time, you know I’m always quick to say that I don’t put a lot of stock in fortune telling. When I looked inside, I remembered how lively LiveJournal once was for many of us. I knew Todd from there, but once people stopped using LJ, and I stopped using Facebook, I lost touch with many of those folks. Thank goodness he inscribed this book when he sent it, since I’d forgotten how it came to me at Christmas 2008. I hope Todd is doing well.


Likewise, you may have read or heard me say I’m not into spell casting. I’ve seen this go wrong for people who don’t know what they’re doing and are trying to control other people’s behavior instead of working on themselves (did I say that in Church Lady’s voice?). However, the title clearly specifies that it’s a GOOD spell book, and once I read the inscription from our friend Steve V, I realize the fun he had in giving it to me (“Jimmy” is his pet name for our mutual friend James). Steve V is an activist and advocate in Houston’s HIV/AIDS community, and he and James are two of the best people who’ve ever come into my life. Grateful for them always.

Did you make it all the way to the end? I’m thinking that this post marks the end of Thursday’s Tarot Etc. posts. However, I want to transition it to Thursday Thoughts, leaving it wide open for anything you might want to discuss, ask about, or if you want me to look into any of these decks for a specific date or animal or card or crystal or mindfulness/meditation exercise or whatever. You know I read all my comments on every post, so if something strikes you, drop a comment anywhere and let me know anything you might want me to talk about on a Thursday. If you want your interest or question to be anonymous, email becky@beckycochrane.com. If you hit “tarot” in that tags list on the right, you can find past posts of specific decks or similar items. Thursdays, YOU get to choose the content.

they wanted to go to school

Here are the names and details of those who died in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24 at the Robb Elementary School shooting.

  1. Alexandria Aniyah Rubio, 10
  2. Alithia Ramirez, 10
  3. Amerie Jo Garza, 10
  4. Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10
  5. Eliahana Cruz Torres, 10
  6. Eliana “Ellie” Garcia, 9
  7. Jackie Cazares, 10
  8. Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10
  9. Jayce Luevanos, 10
  10. Jose Flores, 10
  11. Layla Salazar, 10
  12. Makenna Lee Elrod, 10
  13. Maite Rodriguez, 10
  14. Miranda Mathis, 11
  15. Nevaeh Bravo, 10
  16. Rojelio Torres, 10
  17. Tess Marie Mata, 10
  18. Uziyah Garcia, 8
  19. Xavier Lopez, 10
  20. Eva Mireles, 44, teacher
  21. Irma Garcia, teacher, 46

I follow Annie Lennox on Instagram and she posted observations from Gloria Steinem dating back to 1999 which address gun culture in the U.S. While other countries might share some of these characteristics, they don’t have the abundance of and ease of access to guns that we have in this country.

Jotting some thoughts of my own here:

“Mental illness” is a simplistic answer and ignores the truth that many, many people live with mental and emotional illnesses and never massacre people or inflict bodily harm on others. Please do not stigmatize people who struggle with mental illness.

Automatic weapons of the type that can kill so many so quickly are not hunting weapons. They are not for protection. They are meant to kill humans efficiently in mass numbers. I grew up with hunters and soldiers all around me. None that I ever knew had these kinds of weapons in their homes. They are battlefield weapons. They, and large capacity magazines, began increasing in sales to non-military and non-law enforcement personnel in the mid to late 1990s.

School shootings ONLY (death totals do not include the shooters, and the injured are not listed here):

COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL, April 1999, 13 dead
RED LAKE HIGH SCHOOL, March 2005, 9 dead
WEST NICKEL MINES AMISH SCHOOL, October 2006, 5 dead
VIRGINIA TECH, April 2007, 32 dead
NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, February 2008, 5 dead
OIKOS UNIVERSITY, April 2012, 7 dead
SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, December 2012, 27 dead
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA, May 2014, 6 dead (includes both gun and stabbing victims)
MARYSVILLE-PILCHUCK HIGH SCHOOL, October 2014, 4 dead
MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL, February 2018, 17 dead
UMPQUA COMMUNITY COLLEGE, October 2015, 9 dead
SANTA FE HIGH SCHOOL, May 2018, 10 dead
OXFORD HIGH SCHOOL, November 2021, 4 dead
ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, May 2022, 21 dead

they wanted to buy groceries

I just don’t have it in me anymore. Nineteen children and two adults at a school in Uvalde, Texas. We don’t yet know their names.

So here are the names and details of the ten people killed in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York on May 14:

Roberta A. Drury of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 32
Margus D. Morrison of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 52
Andre Mackneil of Auburn, N.Y. – age 53
Aaron Salter of Lockport, N.Y. – age 55
Geraldine Talley of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 62
Celestine Chaney of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 65
Heyward Patterson of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 67
Katherine Massey of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 72
Pearl Young of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 77
Ruth Whitfield of Buffalo, N.Y. – age 86

Saturday Scraps

It’s been a strange week, one of those filled with good things and not-okay things. It’s as good a time as any to clean out things I’ve saved on my phone. For whoever needs them, in whatever way, some Saturday scraps for your consideration.

Like this one that I can use to console myself during insomnia.

Maybe I could count whales?

This is so true:


Continue reading “Saturday Scraps”

Just Jack

Me and Jack just want to stare into space and are not feeling the posting vibe today. ALTHOUGH, let me note, today is Rhonda’s birthday, and we hope to be celebrating it this weekend. It’s also Star Wars day, which is always fun on social media, especially animals dressed as characters from the films. Those are fun and good things.

On the flip side, the date is a somber one for me. We lost a friend to AIDS on May 4 in 1995, and for most of my life, the date has meant the shootings at Kent State in 1970. There’s a 1981 made-for-TV-movie about the incident based on the book by James Michener which I read back then. It was depressing and maddening. The movie was filmed near the town(s) where I lived in Alabama, and someone we knew was in it. I’ve seen it only once before, so I watched a copy on YouTube tonight that’s poor quality for some of the sound and some of the night scenes.

That incident was a perfect storm, and I feel like over the decades, we’ve seen too many of those. It makes me sad when I read people on social media from around the world who say they’re afraid to visit the U.S. anymore. Some countries issue travel advisories to their citizens about coming here because of gun violence, and travelers are warned:

The small-town girl who tried to process Kent State in 1970 could never have predicted this is where we’d be now.

Science!

The Barbie You Can Be Anything Science Teacher comes with accessories including a globe, laptop, books, clipboard, beakers, safety glasses, and a microscope. Why a globe? Maybe she’s teaching students the science of tracking pandemics. The science of climate change. The areas of the world where science is the best effort humans can make to eradicate poverty, disease, and hunger.

Yesterday, I read the comment of a doctor who suggested to a patient that his symptoms warranted a Covid test. The patient pulled off his mask and coughed on her. She said she had over $98,000 invested in her education and career, and she is finished. I can’t blame her. When your patients are willing to take horse dewormer and other unproven “cures” and “treatments,” inject, inhale, drink, and lather on Clorox and other harmful substances, and drink their own urine–or camel urine–to prove they’ve “done my own research” and “will not be forced” to take a vaccination that is demonstrably saving lives even for those who get a breakthrough case of a virus… Well, they’d rather spread one lie after another, take their chances on breathing their last breaths in pain hooked up to medical equipment developed by the science and medicine they don’t trust, leave behind their children and grandchildren and parents and sisters and brothers and the hobbies they love and the jobs they do well and their churches than believe that science can save them, and they are indifferent to infecting anyone else, including the people trying to keep them from getting sick or losing their lives.

No science in the world can cure willful ignorance. But that science can still inspire research and solutions and students and explorers who want to effect a positive difference in the world–to me, that seems infinitely greater and nobler than blind faith in the architects of lies and the charlatans touting false fixes.