All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Comforting Thought: Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

Content Catnip


You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miled through the desert, repenting,

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clear blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

Mary Oliver



Quote extracted from: Mary Oliver – New and Selected Poems

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I Am Woman, Hear Me Rant!

Filosofa's Word

When the U.S. Constitution was written in 1787, women did not have the right to vote, they did not have the right to divorce their husband, and they did not have the right to own property.  We now have all three of those rights and more, but they were hard-earned, fought for over the course of centuries!  It was more than a century after the Constitution was ratified before women finally began getting the right to vote in some states (from 1890-1919), but 21 states only granted women the right to vote after passage of the 19th amendment in 1920.

I could go on and on about the uphill battle women have had to fight for the past two-and-a-half centuries, and how today the courts are chipping furiously away at our rights with the overturning of Roe v Wade and strict abortion bans being put into effect in many…

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On Dads, Maths…and a Jamaican beauty queen

Petchary's Blog

When this press release from the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) dropped into my inbox, it immediately resonated with me on a couple of levels. By the way, the JCDC is very busy at the moment organising competitions in each of our fourteen parishes for Jamaica’s Festival Queen. I am personally not a fan of beauty pageants; but this annual competition is (thankfully) not about the commercialised over-blown hairdo, high heel and bikini parades. None of the competitors talk about “World Peace,” either. The prizes to be won include “Most Active in her Community” and “Most Culturally Aware.” It is more about character than vital statistics.

The six contestants for Jamaica's Miss Trelawny Festival Queen 2023 line up with last year's Queen. The annual contest will end on Emancipation Day, August 1.
The six contestants for the Miss Trelawny Festival Queen looking lovely, with last year’s Queen, Tramaine Campbell, in the centre.

I loved this article from JCDC, about Trelawny’s newly-crowned Queen, because it reminded me of my own schooldays struggling with Mathematics – and of…

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♫ So Far Away ♫ (Redux)

Filosofa's Word

A few nights ago, blogging friend Ali sent me a link to an audio podcast all about Carole King and her famous album, Tapestry!  Well naturally that put me in the mood to play some of her music here.  If you’re interested in listening to the aforementioned podcast, you can find it here … it’s only 13 minutes, but well worth listening to!  Meanwhile, let’s listen to a little So Far Away!


Carole King scored another hit with this single, where she bemoans the fact that she and the man she loves can’t be together, and mentions that people in general were becoming more disconnected from each other. It was the fourth single from her famous Tapestry album, which sold over 11 million copies. King wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the album, ushering in the singer/songwriter genre.

Lou Adler, who produced Tapestry and owned Carole King’s record…

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The pernicious elite obsession with RFK Jr.

Every year, vaccines save millions of lives. Polio, which used to cripple and kill thousands of children in the United States, has been eliminated thanks to widespread vaccination. Diphtheria, which used to be the most common cause of childhood death in the United States, is exceedingly rare. Other serious illnesses, including measles, whooping cough, and tetanus, are no longer a pervasive threat. Overall there are more than 25 vaccines that can safely “prevent diseases, protect health throughout the lifespan, and help to prevent and mitigate outbreaks.”

But Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent the last two decades of his professional life using discredited, manipulated, and cherry-picked evidence to argue that life-saving vaccines are dangerous.

Source: The pernicious elite obsession with RFK Jr.