A Day of Fasting Preceded by Worldly Matters Written a On a Day When it Was Reluctantly Back to the Real World: A Whistling Woman, A Crowing Hen; Al Jazeera Provides Perspective and Knowledge: Norton’s Press Brings Back Bad Memories and Frustration: Stepping Aside for Biographers; Glimpses of the Morning’s Glory: Quran Quotes Condemning Christianity and Judaism

October 10, 2024

It is early morning, just past the 7:05 dawn that began my 12 hour and 1 minute voluntary fast. At the conclusion of the blog you shall see the amazing sunrise I faced from my Sohour table. It seemed to have been planned and given to me by Our Creator. There can be no other explanation. I returned to my bed, the door to the patio remaining open. Heard the sound of crowing and suddenly, inexplicable thought of a saying: “A whistling (missing word) a crowing hen always comes to some bad end.” I shall now Inshallah Google it.

All I can say is oops. This is what I found. The missing word is woman. “A whistling woman & a crowing hen are neither good for God nor men”. It is apparently an old Irish proverb and is not from the Bible at all. That women should not behave like men nor should a hen behave like a rooster. Okay, this is not bad news for me, I am unable to whistle so shall not get into any trouble with the Irish.

More research found an absolutely ridiculous article entitled: The Dignity, Beauty, and Abuse of Chickens: As Symbols and in Reality by a Karen Davis, PhD. It bases it rather shakey premise on Christianity. I will conclude this blog with quotations from the Quran, read yesterday which speaks forcefully of Christian’s belief system.

October 9, 2024

I seem to be taking a break today, so far anyway, from my Saudi Seriousness router positioned with humorous anecdotes from my daily existence. Not been paying attention to world politics. Listened to an interesting podcast or two not at all concerned with world politics, rather absorbed in the mess of the United States election. So to learn what was happening in the real world I turned to my favorite – Al Jazeera to get some perspective. I was not disappointed!

One of my very favorite Al Jazeera correspondents summarized her position in her closing paragraph. The title catching my attention: The United States is already at war: And it is very much a filling belligerent in a conflict of its own making.

But in the fog of the latest war one thing, at least, is clear: the US is already a primary belligerent.
First, the concluding paragraph of the infinitely qualified Belén Fernández.
“But in the fog of the latest war one thing, at least, is clear: the US is already a primary belligerent.”

She backs up her conclusion with verifiable facts.
“To be sure, even prior to the launch of the genocide, the US habit of flinging billions of dollars at the Israeli military on an annual basis long ago made it transparently complicit in Israeli efforts to disappear Palestine. Since October 7, the billions have only multiplied, despite Biden’s intermittent squawking about cutting off the supply of certain offensive weaponry to Israel.
In August, the Biden administration approved a $20bn weapons package to its Israeli partner in crime. And on September 26, the Reuters news agency reported Israel’s announcement that “it had secured an $8.7 billion aid package from the United States to support its ongoing military efforts and to maintain a qualitative military edge in the region”.The package was said to include “$3.5 billion for essential wartime procurement… and $5.2 billion designated for air defense systems including the Iron Dome anti-missile system, David’s Sling and an advanced laser system”.
In other words, Israel will be increasingly well-poised to “defend” itself against legitimate responses to its own actions – actions that quite literally qualify as terrorism.”

I have been recently listening to pod casts from reputable, usually conscientious, intellectual podcasters, emanating from the US, the UK and occasionally Canada. All are totally consumed in the charade called the US Presidential election, totally ignoring the impact their war mongering has on the world – as we might know it. Their blinders are firmly in place. The best way to describe what I mean is from the following quotes

“Do you know, my dear father refused a peerage because he felt it meant putting blinkers on his best newspaper”
“A man intent on action is like a horse in blinkers, he goes straight forward, seeing only the road ahead”
“Immediately over Lord Wharncliffe’s head was suspended a pair of horse’s blinkers”
All of these quotes attributed to Project Gutenberg

Although I lived in the USA for fifty years, I do not recall prior federal elections. I was living in London at the time of the Hilary Clinton/Donald Trump debacle. Decided there was no real choice, so did not bother to vote, although knew as a citizen It was possible. This time round there is a choice – Stein shall certainly get my vote. Today researched how I might vote – absentee by mail. However, informed and reliable sources say that Trump is planning to challenge all absentee voter mail ballots should he lose. He is apparently is ready, able and well prepared to do so. If I went to all that trouble thinking I would make a difference, it would be most disappointing AND moreover, keep my focus on the debacle rather than more important matters.

It is massively frustrating (and crazy making) to deal with any of this. I have enough to worry about. I am prepared for battle at this time but it is best to pick one’s enemies. My cataract surgery has been proven so successful. Nowadays the requirement is drops every four hours. My sciatica is painful but today walked across the street to the pharmacy and was able to get the necessary medication. Neither Malaysia nor Saudi Arabia requires continual doctor prescription – pharmacists have much more autonomy and have the time to be much better informed than the busy, overworked physicians in other countries. This also means there is less lobbying and chicanery by pharmaceutical companies. This indeed works! I had to wait for an hour and a half in a crowded waiting room to get a prescription from my Edmonton, Alberta. Canada physician. It was needless. .

Other frustrations loomed on the horizon. At first thought something was a godsend, ended up being more of the same. Norton’s Press promised to fulfill my publication needs – I have got books in me waiting to see the light of day. I was bombarded first with Instagram ads and then emails from Nortons Press.On the surface it seemed a solution to all my author needs. I asked, of course to see the agreement, the contract which would detail my responsibilities (payment of money) for certain delineated services to be delivered in a timely fashion. Nortons kept sending me pdfs agreements which were impossible to open, to access. Countless messages nagging messages from them saying that opening pdf agreements were never a problem with other potential clients. In frustration wrote:
Me: I cannot believe this!! I should trust my previous writing with you when I cannot even download an agreement? Then as a solution you refer to a complex site that requires downloads infiltrated by massive and irrelevant advertising??? I am taking this a a message to keep living my life rather than writing about it. Biographers exist for a reason. Hahaha I will just continue to upload what books I have on my very successful blog. Everyone can have my words on their phones. Alexis McBride
Saw the humor in it, which can be my downfall. Followed it up with this message.
Me: I see the problem. Most people do not read the agreement. Just sign on the dotted document. Understandable as most would be authors are not lawyers. Makes sense. But not to me. As I am a lawyer and an ✍️ author. Carry on as they say in the UK. 🇬🇧 Weill write about it on the blog to add humor. It is funny. 😄 Alexis McBride

What did they do/ Keep sending me a document to sign telling me what I had to pay them. This is called a contract of adhesion, by the way but there is no use telling them that. Instead this.
Me: I am not going to sign an agreement when I have not seen the contract. Alexis McBride J.D. Sent from my iPhone

This interaction with Norton’s Press confirmed my Creative Non-Fiction ‘accidental learning’ at London City University in 2013-2017. The swarm of publicists, agent, publishers serve only to sublimate the creativity of their clients, even more reprehensible their students. In other words, probably driven by envy, these parasites channel, control. This blog was begun in rebellion against such suppression. No one edits my words, discourages and absconds with my money leaving me with nothing but discouragement in return. Using the words of Patricia Cornell. Hope was my survival, Success in my revenge.

Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise. Just keep living my life, providing employment for a biographer who hopefully will not rely upon Norton’s Press. Perhaps some wanna be author reading this blog will take heed and not be seduced by Norton’s Press. Some good may come of this. I am SO blessed not to have to make a living from my writing. Not just blessed, I put the effort in – worked for the County of Marin for thirty years, earned a retirement which allows me to write with peace of mind and the energy to entertain and perhaps inspire writing this blog.

Now the promised words from the Quran, Chapter Nine, Repentance.
The Jews say, ‘Ezra is the Son of God,’ while Christians say, The Messiah is the Son of God.’ Such are their baseless utterances.. They imitate the assertions, only parroting the words of early disbelievers. May God condemn them. How can they be deluded “from the truth” They have taken their rabbis and monks as well as the Messiah, the son of Mary, as lords besides God even though they were commanded to worship just one God. There is no god ‘worthy of worship’ except Him. Glorified is He above what they associate “with Him” (Quran 9 30-31)

Christian principles were used to ‘elevate” the chicken in Davis’ The Dignity, Beauty, and Abuse of Chickens: As Symbols and in Reality. As lawyers say: “I rest my case.”

Photographs of the morning which simply cannot and do not portray the majesty of what was revealed. Sohour (predawn breakfast) was eaten from a table on the patio. The colors of dawn began to emerge. The sky surrounding was enormous, with very few clouds or color. I was startled to see a cloud directly in front of my chair. I did take two or three photos – one showing the surroundings, another focused on the cloud itself. Later in the morning, looked out on the vast expanse of water to see tiny specks of color. It kayakers in vessels of different colors. Again, sometimes photography cannot capture to is ill-equipped even in this day and age, to convey grandeur. To repeat myself: “It seemed to have been planned and given to me by Our Creator. There can be no other explanation.”