462- Addiction & traumas : Why I gave up alcomahol (long ago)

I used one of my photos and edited in artistically, as I don't wish to trigger anyone with a photo pertaining directly to the topic at hand

As it's been over 4 years since entry 338 and 6 since entry 130, I'm sure you'd have forgotten that I had explained that part of my life in my father's religious cult included being given drugs as part of 'coming closer to god' claims he had, and which were actually part of his tools in maintaining control and grip of his followers, including me. 

I recall that for a time, I had withdrawal symptoms and know therefore that in the course of his giving these to me, I had developed an addiction, which luckily for me, is far gone and part of my distant past.

461- Patriarchal apologies

Note on image: I used a copyright free image, copied and reversed, added my text of examples in black, and title in red. 

Note on content : in some passages, I take a sarcastic speech, but I don't personally believe in the phrases. I'm an intersectional feminist and lgbtqia+ included (trans women are women, there are more than two genders and more than one sexuality), but I showcase patriarchy in this entry. 

It is, by no means, exhaustive in examples. 

Hereafter, a medium, 1,632 word long, entry ensues, with a TW section at the bottom. 

In today's (15 August 2022) Mae's stream, an important feminist topic arose as to why women tend to apologize more than men, and for everything - including things they're not even remotely responsible for. 

460 - American Decay : A poem

 

Image : one of my own photos, taken during hiking. Edited for today's topic, shown in a poem form. Added a faint, twisted representation of the flag 

Trigger warnings due to content : suggestive material, anti-religion, anti-guns, critic of usa overturning roe vs wade

I was inspired to compose the text, mixing some Babylon 5's 1st season intro (you can read it here) and some Lord of the Rings reference (the One ring to rule them all...) 

Addendum : after my wife read the poem and told me her thoughts, I want to specify that I purposefully composed it with discordance, in view of the topic. I may revisit and alter order of phrases for closer , more apparent rhymes ; In that eventuality, I'd also uniformize my language and not mix two styles, but for now, this is the current version, with its mess and variations. 

Medium entry with 602 words (poem itself) + 156 with adaptation examples in the bottom. 

459- Qui Vive - A poem

 

Yesterday, I wrote another mental health related poem, this time about GAD and panic attacks.

The image is my own, artistically edited. Here goes.

Edit 5/05/2023 : a title is added :

458 - X-Strologer

As often, I merely added the text on a copyright free image, 

and this entry's another long one 2,317 words 13,720 characters

The time has arrived to disclose to you, readers, that after several years of growing disinterest into a very popular topic, I have totally quit on... astrology. 

457 - posttrrauma and entertainment

Image : copyright free pngs, I edited into this montage.

Entry length bellow is : 1,931 words 11,221 characters

Today, I want to discuss a topic I seldom see others publish : the impact of trauma on our entertainment choices - be it for tv shows and movies, to music, games and other types.

456 - Living in a religious cult 6 - Gender edition

When I posted my first living in a religious cult entry, back in October 2017, I didn't anticipate the amount of extra content I'd add to what became a triple blog series, along those for the BITE model and its examples in my own experiences, which I'd called Being Bitten. Although I knew that I could never be fully exhaustive on the topic, I truly didn't imagine that 55 months later I'd add a sixth part to the initial series that started it all!

I will remind you that as often, multiple trigger warnings apply in this entry (abuse, domestic violence, religious trauma), and that after the page break, you'll have another 1789 words to read.

455 - Determination and despair - A poem

Note on the entry's image : I found a copyright free image of a parasite (a mosquito), I added it's sad eye and 3 tears, as well as all the rest (eyes, cage and text), using Paint, Gimp, and my graphic tablet (yes, that's totally new). 

I recommend reading this entry on a proper screen, not that it's as long as others, but so you can see better the page layout as I intended, designed to show the rhymes. 

Hereafter, 630 words will follow, once you click the page separation.

454- The Un-Women's History MonthS

Note on the image : i used a creative commons images, altered its colors/hue, reduced contrast and blurred/smudged words and objects, to further illustrate my subject. 

Brace yourselves for 1,356 words / 8,200 characters entry below, with a few trigger warnings, due to the topic at hand. Evidently, I couldn't discuss everything in details, just to brush over important examples. 

453 - Another Step in my Atheism - precisions

[I used 2 copyright free images, merged and added my title.]

[Braces yourselves for a long (2,173 words, 13,154 characters) and controversial entry... get your cuppa... and start]

From previous entries, either about my upbringing in a religious cult or subsequent entries about being an atheist, you know quite a lot about me, either directly from all of the relevant entries, or indirectly. Today, I want to bring further precisions, both to you, and to myself.