December 2011 Opinions

Anyone who would evict a 103 year old woman should go to Hell with gasoline drawers. Kudos to the sherrif's who refused to do it. Common sense and empathy prevailed.

Herman Cain needs to go home to his wife, try to save his marriage, and be quiet.

There should be no statute of limitations to report or solve a rape.

My HubPages Article Profile

Where I write other articles
http://carolyn2008.hubpages.com/_2xqq6mr86s3p/

A Pearl of Wisdom

If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, maybe you should take better care of YOUR grass - unknown

Companies Should Have a Paid Pet Bereavement Policy

http://carolyn2008.hubpages.com/_2xqq6mr86s3p/hub/Companies-Should-Have-a-Paid-Pet-Bereavement-Policy?done

Same Blog, Different Name

I have added a blog at http://www.carolynscommentaries.blogspot.com/.  Please be encouraged to stay here and sign up at my other blog as well.

I also have a blog titled, "The Tuxedo Chronicles" about my cat, Tuxedo at http://www.carolyn-gibson.blogspot.com/. Feel free to follow the exciting stories of Tuxedo. 

August is National Peach Month

http://carolyn2008.hubpages.com/_2xqq6mr86s3p/hub/August-is-National-Peach-Month

Ten Steps to an Irresistable Blog

10 Steps To Writing Irresistible Content That Everyone Wants To Share

I read this and think there are good suggestions to blog writing.

National Air Conditioning Appreciation Days - July 3 to August 15

http://carolyn2008.hubpages.com/_2xqq6mr86s3p/hub/National-Air-Conditioning-Appreciation-Days-July-3-to-August-15

Property Management Information

I have a web site that addresses issues by homeowners, real estate investors, landlords and property managers. Good web sites, books, articles and suggestions for the best ways to take care of rental income property. Go to http://www.synergyprofessionals.com/

How to Make People Uncomfortable - A Guest Blog

How to Make People Uncomfortable

Rihanna Needs to Check Herself

Is it me, or is Rihanna wearing less and less over the past four months? She is almost naked these days. And, her suggestive dancing wearing almost nothing is beginning to have me concerned about her.

I used to say that she reminds me of a stripper without a pole. Yet she did me proud when she actually slid up and down a stripper pole at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards. She was on one side, and Britney Spears was poling up and down the other. Her clothing and body movements when she sings her songs leave very little to the imagination. No one except Minister Louis Farrakhan has taken note of it.

Rihanna started in the business at age sixteen, two years after her parents divorced. She was spirited away from her home in Barbados to live with record producer Evan Rogers in Connecticut, someone neither she nor her parents really knew from Adam.

Whoever discovered her must have seen dollar signs in her. If she has a self-esteem problem, I think she needs to get a grip on it. No one is going to say wardrobe malfunction, because there’s one out there about to happen.

Rihanna shows far more than what Janet Jackson did. She leaves almost nothing to the imagination. Is this where the music industry is going, with half naked women prancing around pole dancing to music? Even Myley Cyrus actually did a pole dance in barely there shorts singing about America.

It seems like just like rap artists singing worse and worse about the n-word and bitches and ho’s, the industry is going to let Rihanna show everything, camel toe and all. Until one day, her costume just falls off her body. Then depending upon which channel she’s on, there will either be an outrage, or smirks behind her back. Because after all, it seems like no one really cares about her reputation. Even herself.

Tina Turner never wore such scanty clothing. But she did leave enough for the imagination to take over. Rihanna just puts it out there.

No one can dispute her ability to sell records. Rihanna has recorded only 5 albums, but sold over 15 million albums and 45 million singles worldwide. She has achieved nine number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 since first appearing on the chart on June 11, 2005, which is the most by any artist during that time span. As of March 18, 2011, Rihanna has sold approximately 6 million album units and over 28 million digital singles in the US.

The more clothes she takes off, the less she becomes a legitimate singer. How can one hear what she is singing when you are mesmerized by her clothes and body. Will something fall off? When? Lord, I hope something tears or fall off. We wait for what hasn’t happened yet. Maybe this is why she is so popular. We are waiting for the day her clothes just fall around her ankles, then it will all be out there, including her 13 tattoos.

Does Rihanna really feel good about herself? What does she think when she is asked to wear less and less and perform more like a whore on stage? She acts like she doesn’t care about herself. She looks the same in every video and performance. Dead eyes, I don’t care attitude, I’m just here for the check.

She is only 23 years old as of February 2011. I don’t know where her mother is. Her father clearly doesn’t care about her. What plagues me is that every time I see her, whether on stage, in a video, on the red carpet, I feel sorry for her. I hope that one day she will wake up and realize that she is being used by the music industry to sell CDs.

Gilbert Gottfried - Know Your Audience!

 Stage Act and Client Work Should Have Stayed Separate

Did comedian Gilbert Gottfried remember or even know that his insurance client Aflac serves a lot of Japanese companies? Or, could he just not resist the urge to make his jokes more?

After nine years working for Aflac, Gottfried was fired for making several jokes about the earthquake on his Twitter account. He quickly removed them and apologized, but the damage had been done. When you insult the largest client your client serves, an apology doesn’t always work.

Diarrhea of the microphone or in this case Twitter account cost Gottfried some very lucrative income. A job he had for over nine years.

He claims Aflac knew what kind of comedian he is – he writes tasteless jokes. He is known for telling lewd and insensitive jokes. Fine, but he crossed the line when he made jokes too soon about one of the most devastating catastrophes in over 30 years for that country.

They replaced him faster than he could say “Aflac!”

Outwardly, he doesn’t appear to be upset over it as he hawks his latest book. He did take offense that the media called his Twitter entries “comments” and “remarks” instead of jokes. He feels that was the major difference. Still, he has learned as many other entertainers have learned, what he says or does on stage should never translate as acceptable for his clients’ reputation.  

What the Heck...

Happy Mother's Day!

This year we're going to experience four unusual dates. 1/1/11, 1/11/11,
11/1/11, 11/11/11 and that's not all.  Take the last two digits of the year
in which you were born now add the age you will be this year, and the result
will be 111 for everyone! 

This is the year of Money...!!!  This year July will have 5 Fridays, 5
Saturdays and 5 Sundays, October will have 5 Saturdays, 5 Sundays and 5
Mondays.  This happens only every 823 years.  These particular years are
known as 'Moneybags'.  The proverb goes that if you send this to eight good
friends money will appear in the next four days as is explained in Chinese
feng-shui.  Those who don't continue the chain won't receive.  

Don't feel the need to do this. It's interesting information though.....

Twinkie the Cat

My cat has just brought me a mouse – her toy mouse. She does this every morning the moment I open my eyes. She wants me to play ‘fetch’, so she pushes the mouse closer and closer to my face until I give in. She doesn’t care that I have to get ready for work. Her persistence though, achieves the result she bullied me into doing. I throw the mouse off the bed so she can fetch it and bring it back to me. I know, only dogs know how to play fetch. Twinkie is different.

They say that cats are aloof, but I haven’t found this to be true of Twinkie  (not her real name to protect her identity!).  She is very affectionate and likes me to hold her in my arms while she sleeps. She especially likes me to kiss her head while I cuddle her. I believe she sees me as a surrogate mother.

She has more than 7 toys and mice around the apartment. Guess which one is her favorite? The one she has chewed and ripped almost to death. I had to tie up the shreds of material on the core to keep it functional. I don’t what I will do when she’s chewed and ripped it apart and beyond what I can fix. Hopefully she’ll move on to another mouse.

Twinkie has some typical cat mannerisms. She likes to put her foot in her water bowl to make waves before she drinks from it. She religiously follows me from room to room. Once I settle down in a room say, the kitchen to cook, she will lie down and watch me.

No matter what I am doing, especially if I am on my computer, she will demand her “Twinkie Time”. She wants me to play with her when I am busy. I kind of think she’s jealous of the attention and focus I have on my computer. So, she just walks across my computer keyboard. Sometimes she’ll sit on it. I always get angry until I realize that she only wants about 15 minutes of my time until she gets bored or wants to take a nap elsewhere in the house. I love her – so what else can I do?

An Open Letter to R&B Artist Chris Brown

The act is so tired. Once again, singer Chris Brown, you lose it. You tore up the Good Morning America dressing room, threw a chair and broke a window and basically had a temper tantrum after your interview with Robin Roberts.

Roberts asked you a few questions about the Rihanna incident. Mind you, you had given her permission to ask a few of those questions in advance. Although you tried to focus on your new CD, Robin continued to ask about the 2 year old incident. Once the interview was over, you stormed in your dressing room, screamed at the top of your lungs, and broke a window on the 43^rd floor with a chair.

Security was called, but not before you ripped off your shirt, left the building, and didn’t return for your second song. While leaving the building, you allegedly stared down a producer, up in his face, until others had to get between the two of you. The news spread faster than a California forest fire.

You are on probation for five years. I don’t think that was on your mind. You can’t seem to be able to control your temper and violent outbursts. You made a good point, though about the interview. Charlie Sheen gets away with doing whatever he wants and is called a bad boy. Everything you do is looked at through a microscope.

Well, Chris, you aren’t Charlie Sheen and you don’t have Charlie Sheen clout and money. When you make as much money as Charlie Sheen does for his studio, you will be able to get away with some things, too. Charlie pays publicists and lawyers to help him and do damage control when he does something stupid. Clearly you do not. Here are a few suggestions you need to think about for your future:

1. Grow up already. You are not 14 years old; you are a grown man. Stop acting like a spoiled brat. No one will focus on your music when watching you act like a crazy person is so much more entertaining;

2. Get a new manager. The one you have is failing you big time;

3. Get a new publicist. If you do not have one, hire the best firm in the entertainment business. Someone needs to help you respond to tough questions in a responsible manner;

3. Get a good lawyer that will cover your back when you act crazy, like tear up a dressing room, break windows, and walk down the street with no shirt on;

5. Nobody likes an angry Black man. Nobody will pay an angry Black man who destroys property. Go back to anger management classes, or begin therapy;

6. Stop with the tattoos. You look like you’ve been to prison. Even 50 Cent removed his tattoos so he could do acting jobs;

7. Talk to some entertainers that can give you support and some perspective about improving your career;

8. Leave your clothes on. Walking down the street after ripping off your shirt and sending naked pictures of yourself over the Internet are not classy things to do;

9. Your clean cut image is history due to your behavior. You are still spiraling out of control. People now call you a thug. This is why you need a new manager. You seem to be out there on your own with no direction;

10. Stay off Twitter for a while. You tend to speak without thinking first. Once it goes on the Net, it’s out there forever;

11. It’s called Show Business, Chris. If you can’t sell records because of your personal life, you will no longer be an asset to your record label. Get it together before it’s too late, or your next album will be called, “Former Artist’s Meltdown Exit”.

The Japan Earthquake - A Wake-Up Call

I turned on my TV today to watch an endless number of reality shows. I tell myself that it’s research for my novels, but we all know the truth. Like soap operas did before, Maury, Judge Lynn Toler, Judge Mathis, and even Oprah keep us hypnotized every day with what is going on with other people. We laugh and shake our heads at the novelty and shameless way people behave on national TV.

What I saw was a tsunami raging through Japan and laying waste everywhere. I watched the throes of a devastating earthquake and tsunami disasters. High-rise buildings swaying back and forth like trees in the wind. Cars, boats and houses were flying through the streets and fields by the force of the tsunami waves of water. People sleeping and huddled packed together on the streets, afraid to go inside from fear of after shocks.

We all knew that an earthquake was imminent. All of the Channel 2 and PBS and Discovery documentaries told us so. Still, seeing it in front of you is different. I felt an inner terror as I watched something more powerful than us throw water and debris around more than three countries.

It put my life into perspective. Charlie Sheen’s antics aren’t so amusing anymore. I don’t care who wins American idol anymore. I don’t remember who won the Oscars. While we are focusing on ‘winning’, Japan Hawaii and the West Coast are losing. People have real lives at stake, and we need to watch that and figure out our place in the world. What is more frightening is the fact that it can and will happen again, someone on this planet.

I hug my cat, and I'm grateful that I'm alive. I feel real fear as I put everything in perspective. The truth is it doesn’t always happen to the other guy.

Go See Your Doctor!

I have been working on a revenue producing web site called www.answerspay.com. Subscribers ask questions and contributors answer them for a piece of the revenue raised by the quality of the questions and answers. This is a relatively new web site, established in February, and still has its kinks.

What I have noticed is that there are a lot of questions about aches and pains and whether or not they should see a doctor. The questions go the gamut from mild headaches to anxiety attacks to moles changing color.

Everyone should have a doctor. Whether at a hospital, a health clinic, or private practitioner, the older you get the more you need a doctor. If there are significant or persistent changes to or on your body, you should see a doctor. If you are in severe pain, see a doctor.

I know health care costs are through the roof. Still, a visit to a doctor early could save a big problem later. By the way, if you have the flu or a hacking cough, stay home from work and see your doctor. I was in a Walgreens and saw one of the clerks stocking products sneeze all over the boxes in an aisle. I immediately left the store, grossed out. I didn’t want her germs on something I could perhaps take that she had sneezed on in another aisle.

If in doubt, don’t self-diagnose your problem. See a doctor or please stay home from work until you are well.

Relationship Pain and Acceptance

Cheating makes a relationship miserable. Two people who are both unhappy is a horrible situation. Two unhappy people who live together is hell.

Being on the receiving end of a cheater is a nightmare. The pain feels as if it will never end. When you are betrayed, it is because your partner made a decision not to be committed to you. He or she just doesn’t tell you about it. It's why the pain of a broken relationship hurts so much once the cheating comes out. It’s a betrayal of commitment, trust, and honesty.

Some of the inspiration for my poems and prose on my web site www.carolynscorner.com reflect what I see on television shows like Cheaters, and celebrity judge and divorce shows. No one is immune to life’s romantic challenges. Some of it I have lived. Today’s parade of serial celebrity cheaters has provoked a lot of debate. When we feel betrayed or treated poorly, we have a right to be bitter.

I have been a bitter woman at times. Today, as age moves on, I find I am no longer a bitter woman, but a wiser one. No need to keep harping on the spilled milk bottles of life. I can finally see that with acceptance, I can and will achieve inner peace.                                                                                                           3/9/11

Valentine's Day No Longer Has Power Over Me

For the first time in many years, I am celebrating Valentine's Day without a feeling of angst, frustration, anger or devastation. Maybe it's because of my age, but the day will come and go without ceremony. I feel free from the outside influences, which dictate that this day is a celebration for couples only. Not true. It is also for those who can love themselves without someone else validating you. I don't need Valentine's Day for validation. I am my own Queen of Love. And, it feels good.

Long Lost Candy

Candy from the 1950's to 1980's at http://www.hometownfavorites.com/

Jelly Beans   http://www.jellybelly.com/