Monday, September 26, 2011

Intermission

I am too tired to blog so I give you a musical break instead.

This is Mauro Scocco, my favorite Swedish singer/songwriter, next to Bara Jonson (the Swedish SecondLife celebrity musician and my buddy).

Mauro has for a long time been the singer I always return to when I am happy or sad. Well, to be totally truthful, whatever mood I am in actually - except angry.

The title of the song means "I Miss Us". Please enjoy!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Pneumonia

I hate this awful sneaky disease thoroughly.

It sneaks up on people as a common cold and then when they least expect it slowly, slowly and step by step it makes them weaker by taking away their appetite and making them ever so tired.

Mostly no clear signs appear until the afflicted have it full blown inside their lungs. Then the fevers come, followed by the pains and the shallow breathing and an overwhelming fatigue.

My mother is 80 years old, but is still a strong willed lady with an extremely  clear mind. She will beat this. She has to, I refuse to lose another loved one to this killer!

Thank you science for antibiotics and painkillers and medical doctors who at least catch it in it´s later form.

When I left her this evening she was sitting up in her bed to have dinner. Her color had changed from that awful pale to a glow on her cheeks and she was more alert and awake although still very tired. I will keep my hopes up, mother is strong. Mother is strong willed.

UPDATE 9/26
My mother was today moved from the emergency care unit to a regular ward. She is of course still on intravenous antibiotics and oxygen and is very tired but has gotten some of her fighting spirit back.

After the move to the new ward my mother shares a room with a Bosnian woman who hardly speaks any Swedish, and my mothers Bosnian is absolutely non-existent. The woman is very friendly and chats away the whole time in Bosnian with some Swedish words thrown in. I had great difficulty in understanding anything she said but we nodded and smiled at one and other.

My mother whispered to me that she didn't understand why the woman continued talking to her when it must be obvious that she cannot understand her at all. She then silently confided to me that she actually turns her hearing aid off to get some peace and quiet.

The doctors say they are hopeful that this will go well, but I have heard that before and am not relying on it until she is back home with my father again.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Is Bock A God?

God is - at least in monotheistic religions - usually defined as a power (for lack of a better word) that is infallible  omnipresent, omnipotent (and therefore also omniscient) and perfectly good.

It is sometimes rather strange - and at times amusing - to read about myself on other blogs or in comments, where people seem to believe that I am all-powerful and all-knowing or the incarnation of goodness in the world. If they don´t think it themselves they imply that I do so myself.

I would like to address these allegations.

At the header of "Bock in SecondLife" there has since it´s creation always been these words (either in Swedish or in English): "Wherein this avatars fates, adventures and experiences in, his thoughts and feelings about and also his reactions to his first and second life are depicted with written messages, images and other visual tools."

  • I have never assumed to be all-knowing or infallible. 
  • I have never deluded myself with the notion that I know everything that is going on in any of my worlds, whether in deed or in word. 
  • I have never assumed to know what anyone does or says to anyone else in private chats, IMs or in e-mails. 
  • I have never pretended to be able to see into the hearts and minds of men, women or avatars. 
  • I do not assume the role of judge and jury, even if I am a lawyer and sometimes throw in my legal opinions.

What I always have tried to do, however, is to honestly share my admittedly very subjective and personal points of views on things I experience, observe, read or witness in any other way. I also avoid relying on second hand information.

I have also repeatedly stressed and disclosed the fact that I am a fallible human with moods, likes and dislikes and weaknesses that can distort my clarity of vision.

I admit I sometimes make snap judgments and could use a kinder or politer way of communicating with my readers, but I firmly believe in being outspoken and honest and I expect others to be so too.

Now you tell me, am I - or do I pretend to be - a God or a man? Leave your answer in the poll and any explanations for your vote are welcome in the comments!

Bullying IS Violence


(via Joe.My.God.)

...if you feel this message is directed at you, it most likely is!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

The Car For Me

So why am I showing you a white Volvo V50 car you wonder? Well, the last few days I have had one of these parked outside my workplace in a very prominent position, impossible to miss.

As we all know Volvo´s are safe, strong, comfortable, sturdy, reliable and not the flashy kind of cars. It´s the car for the wise family father who wants to keep his family safe on long road trips or in bustling city traffic.

This particular car however has the Swedish registration plates "ARS ***". The car is well cared for and shines where it stands, whether it is raining or sunny.

I am not a man with religious convictions, neither do I believe in ghosts or new age mumbo jumbo but I have still come to believe that this is Ars himself showing me that he is with me, or rather I choose to interpret it like that.

He knows me well my man, and knows I need his presence in any way possible. This way works for me, I am getting better just by seeing the there every morning.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Learning (More) English

"The curmudgeon" - Photography by Jill Greenberg
I stumbled over a word I had never encountered before in a comment on Joe.My.God. today.

Curmudgeon, cur·mudg·eon [ker-muhj-uhn]
noun
a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous person.

It is going to be my new favorite word for a while, so some of you better get used to it because I will probably use it all the time.

"Millimina dear, what the fuck happened? You are such a curmudgeon today!"

"Put a sock in it, PetGirl, you are being a f***king curmudgeon!"

"Apmel, buddy, go jump in the lake and simmer down. you are such a curmudgeon!"

"Loo, were you born a curmudgeon or did someone drop you on your head early in life?"

"Don´t be a curmudgeon, Ziggy, it doesn't make you look better!"

PayPal Update - Drops 4 Hate Groups

Many SecondLife residents use the excellent services of PayPal to securely transfer money in to or out of SecondLife. 

In a post a few days ago I urged you to join in a petition to ask PayPal to stop serving ten anti-LGBT hate groups; Tell PayPal: Stop supporting hate groups.

PayPal has now stopped it´s service to four of the ten groups, but let´s keep up the pressure until they drop all ten

If you haven't done so earlier please go to the post I link to above for all the necessary information and the link to the site with the petition.

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Ten Extremist Sites Served by PayPal

Abiding Truth Ministries (International) Extremist group that makes the outrageous claim that “the Nazi Party was entirely controlled by militaristic homosexuals.”

New Generation Ministries (Latvia/International) Extremist church based in Latvia with branches in 15 different countries. The church's members have been tied to the homophobic murder of Satendar Singh. In one video, at an anti-LGBT rally, church leader Alexy Ledyaev says, “homosexuals are not happy or spiritual people, because they were molested and abused in their childhoods, but that does not give them the right to abuse and rape others!”

Noua Dreaptă (Romania/Balkans) Ultra-nationalist group that has been linked to organizing demonstrations and planning violent attacks on Pride celebrations in Romania and Moldova. 

Truth in Action Ministries (formally Coral Ridge) (United States) Extremist church that spreads anti-LGBT lies such as “bible-believing Christians would quickly find themselves unwelcome in Barney Frank’s new pansexual, cross-dressing military.” 


Dove World Outreach Ministries (United States) Infamous "Burn the Quran" hate church whose pastor preaches that “homosexuality makes God throw up.” 


Julio Severo's Last Days Watchman Site (US/Brazil) Brazilian anti-LGBT leader and writer/ideologue who fled Brazil after LGBT activists brought a lawsuit against him for incitement of hatred. Julio regularly repeats the lie that 10% of gay people are pedophiles, and goes further to say that most gay men “drink urine, swallow feces and experience rectal traumas on a regular basis”, while they are “drunk, stoned or in orgies.” 


Faithful Word Baptist Church (United States) This church's Pastor Steven L. Anderson has described gays as “sodomites” who “recruit through rape” and “recruit through molestation.”

Family Research Institute (United States) Known for saying that gay people are predatory and diseased perverts who victimize children.

Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (United States) This group claims homosexuality is a “lethal behavior addiction,” a “dangerous” practice that is “neither normal nor benign.”

American Society for the Defense of Tradition Family and Property (International) International Catholic extremist group originating in Brazil and with active branches in Argentina and the United States. They are known for organizing homophobic rallies all over the United States and buying advertising asking people to “join the Crusade” of “conscientious resistance” to “the homosexual ‘moral revolution.’”