Monday, March 30, 2009
Libya’s NOC To Pre-Empt Chinese Acquisition Of Verenex
They need the oil more desperately than the Western nations to full their economic growth machine . If not stopped now we will find the oil of the future controlled by some one that can't be divided as the West try's to do with OPEC nations now . China is far stronger , more powerful , and larger than OPEC is today .
They have a standing ready made army of millions to call upon if the case should arise . They are trying to take over the world economic export markets and would have except for the last two years of poisoned toys , milk , pet food , clothing , paint , fertilizers , toothpaste, and now add rotting dry wall in the USA . And they are going about business as usual very quietly . Wake up and smell the stink people ! Stop China before it is too late .
Sunday, March 29, 2009
My Taziri, My Love
My Taziri , My Love
Sailing on high through a starry night ,
With her fleet of cloudy galleons
Is Taziri , my Queen .
Do you hear ,my lovely Queen?
The winds and the tides ,
your earthly slaves ,
Are singing now, A song in your praise .
Oh Taziri , say you"ll be mine,
Till the end of Time .
Take my heart and my hand,
They're yours to command,
Forever your Champion
I swear I will stand .
Oh Taziri, my Taziri, my Love .
By Om Taziri
March18, 2009
Tripoli , Libya
The word "Taziri" is Berber for full moon and is also a girls name .
Friday, March 27, 2009
Home Is Where The Heart Is
I was just reading Iman's blog . She was talking about her move from the States to Egypt last year , her new marriage, and her adjustments to life back in Egypt . It brought to mind things many of us have gone through when we just jump off the deep end of Life to live away from our homes .
These new places become our homes , most times slowly but surely .Take Moe and I for instance , we lived here in LIBYA off and 3 different times over 37 years . We lived in the States 3
different times as well. Here , there, and it seems sometimes , everywhere . We once tried England , but both of us are true southerners and can't take the cold , the long dark winters , and the chilly summers there . England is so beautiful though. Just not our cup of tea .
One thing I found out ... no matter where you move to , who you are , and where you are from , when you move away you will be home sick . Regardless of how much you wanted to move .Here is the trick I learned when going through this process of adjustment ...... don't go " HOME" for at least 2 years or more . Give your self time to adjust to your new home .
Every place has it's own quirks .The town just one away from where you live would be different to you , let alone a major move to a different country .You need the flavor of the new place to seep into your bones . Discover the people , the food , the weather , the smells . Let it become you .Tell your self " this is my home now ." Believe it and live it . Stop saying ... " well back home " this or that happens , or we have this or that, because now this new place is your home . Embrace it . If you do all that then you will be happy to come back " HOME" after your visit to you old home .
I see and hear of expats that are never happy no matter where they live or how much luxury they live in because they never adjust . Many don't even try to make the changes .They are happy to be miserable . I feel sorry for those people . What a wonderful chance they are throwing away .
And by they way I am not speaking of only Westerners living outside their countries , but other nationality's as well .I have seen Libyans living in the laps of luxury but totally miserable because they are not " HOME" . The constant comparison to "HOME" holds their joy back . SO , long story short , try to adjust to the new place and learn all about it from the locals point of view . One day you might wake up and realize it has become a part of you too .
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Some of This And Some of That
Back to the funeral ...... I was sitting with my sister in laws , Moe sisters , and we were talking about all sorts of things . I looked around the hugh tent we were sitting in and thinking to my self how the women looked like flowers in their colored headscarves and over coats . I said as much to my sister in laws , remarking on their beauty as a general whole in our family . They agreed . Then one thing lead to another and we were talking about the Ninja women here .Ninja is what we call these women that wear the Arabian Gulf country's style of all black coverings that cover a woman from head to toe , even their eyes many times . This style sad to say catching on everywhere here in Libya .
My sister in laws were discussing all the different times they have encountered women wearing this style of Hijab . My one sister in law said she saw a woman driving with the double veil , not just the single eye covering , but double and she couldn't imagine how that woman could see to drive if you couldn't see her eyes ! I said yes , I had my own encounter once with a woman driving that had not only the black veil covering her entire face , but also SUNGLASSES on top of her veil ! This surely constitutes a safety hazard to the other drivers on the road .
We soon moved on to other subjects , when all of the sudden the ENTIRE tent became silent ! I looked around to see what had caused this phenomenon , I mean a entire tent of women that all shut up at the same time ? No way ! WAY ! The cause ? A Ninja had walked into the tent . Everyone was silent and staring at this woman expectantly to see who she was, when she unveiled herself . She was a visitor for one of the neighboring women . She looked so out of place among the flowers , in her complete mournful black . So sad . You could tell the other women felt sorry for her too , as if they sensed her spirit being smashed out of her by having to wear those dreary clothes .
The next day I sat with some of the uncles wives . Many of these women are very educated , well almost all the women in our family are to tell the truth , but anyway .... I respect them and their achievements in the field of education .Most of them are well traveled as well . So , thinking on things I have read in blogs of Libyans , I asked them did they believe in Black Magic ? Did they believe in demons , evil , and Jinns ?Did they believe in the evil eye ? They all said with out a hint of disbelief that yes they did believe in all these things , as they were mentioned in the Quran . It was interesting to hear very well educated Libyan women talk about these things from a religious point of view , not a superstitious prospective as I normally would hear of these things .It gave me food for thought .
I posted a post from Rosebuds blog on the new postal codes system that is being put in place now through out all of Libya a few posts back . My friend called me yesterday so excited !!! She said that she had just received her postal code a few minutes before she called me .Her son told her that there were notices posted all over their area telling people that the postal workers would be by to registrar all buildings soon . The man that came to her house also told her that after they complete to postal registrations , they will start a new census too for the country . Last night when we were in downtown Tajura we saw a poster on a building saying it had been issued it's postal code .They are moving quickly to get this project done .
Some time back around town here in Tripoli , they put up new traffic lights at intersections with a light seprerate from the red , yellow , green traffic lights , that told you how many seconds you had until the light would change from red to green , or vise versa . I don't know about other drivers but this created a sort of anxiety inside of me when I would approach a light and see I had only 7 more seconds until the light changed to red .
I would think to myself is that enough time to make it throught the light or not ?Back and forth this debate would run through my mind . SO , I just stopped looking at the things .I also noticed this seem to be affecting other drivers too .They would stat through a intersection when the light turned green with out looking to see if the drivers from the other direction had stopped 1st before they went forward or turned . I am sure the car crashes increased because of these lights . Last night when we were out and about I saw that several of these lights had been taken down . I wonder why ?Well , I at least feel less anxiety driving now , lol !
I found this web sight that I thought some of you might like to look at . It is about American Arabs in America .
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
What's Going On
I have received several comments from different people saying that they have a hard time opening the blog , or posting comments . Rosebud had this to say about it ....
"There are two main reasons the posts are not getting to you. 1. When the reader pushes the, "Post Comment" button the message does not always go through with the first try. Readers: Make sure there are no red letters after you push the button. If there are red letters then try again. 2. Your spam filter is catching the posts of the readers. Check your spam filter every once in a while."
While Khadijateri says this ....
"When ever I look at your blog my pop-up blocker has to block something from ziddu.com - I think it's something that you have added to your sidebar. If you remove it it might make commenting easier. This ziddu thing it trying to install malware or a virus I think. This is one of the reasons I use a feed reader and not look at actual blogs. Unfortunately it means I don't comment very often (because of the risks of the pop-ups etc).
"There are two main reasons the posts are not getting to you. 1. When the reader pushes the, "Post Comment" button the message does not always go through with the first try. Readers: Make sure there are no red letters after you push the button. If there are red letters then try again. 2. Your spam filter is catching the posts of the readers. Check your spam filter every once in a while."
While Khadijateri says this ....
"When ever I look at your blog my pop-up blocker has to block something from ziddu.com - I think it's something that you have added to your sidebar. If you remove it it might make commenting easier. This ziddu thing it trying to install malware or a virus I think. This is one of the reasons I use a feed reader and not look at actual blogs. Unfortunately it means I don't comment very often (because of the risks of the pop-ups etc).
Just letting you know.
Ok , here is what I think , Rosebud is correct in saying that each individual needs to check their spam blocker . As for what Khadijateri has written , I have checked for the ziddu.com and couldn't find the gadget that has this attached . Sorry .If any of you know which gadget this is attached to , please let me know so I can remove it , ok ? I hope this helps any of you having difficultys commenting or opening the blog .
I have been on a hiatus of sorts this last week or so due to 2 funerals in the family. The 1st one was my brother- in- laws wife's father that passed away from a massive stroke unexpectedly . He was a older man that hadn't been ill , so that was a shock to his family . He left behind 2 wives with their own children and house holds .It is strange to imagine 2 separate funerals being held for the same man in 2 different places at the same time by 2 separate families isn't it .
I felt so sorry for their loss and also for the man himself .Because he had 2 different homes , with 2 different families, his body was taken to EACH house for one last time before burial . They carried his body all over town before he was buried . And the cost of the 2 separate funerals . WOW ! Plus the man was originally from a small coastal town outside of Tripoli , so all his relatives that came to town for his funeral were forced to go to each wife's home to pay their last respects to them and the children .So, they were going all over town too .
The second funeral was for a well love cousin .This was over the week end and up until today it continues .She had asthma and was ill with it off and on but we all knew this . Sometimes she would have to be hospitalized for treatment but never for long .On days like we had last week when it was so dusty , it was hard for her to breath. Sometimes this lead to a chest infection , which is what had happened to her last week .
She was feeling bad and having breathing difficulty's and felt the need to go see the doctor . She did and he told her she had a chest infection that needed a injection of anti biotic"s to give her immediate relief , along with a breathing treatment . She said ok , but I can't have penicillin . I am allergic to it . When the injection came she asked what the medicine was and was told it was penicillin . She told them not to give it to her because of her allergies and they told her not to worry about it . She argued with them over it but they gave it to her anyway .
She went home to her elderly mother that is a stroke victim. She cares for all her alone , along with running the house hold, and watching out for a younger brother that isn't married , who still lives at home too . She started to feel ill . Her blood pressure shot up to unbelievable high levels , while at the same time her sugar levels dropped to "0" . Her body went into shock .
She placed a call to her brother to rush home from work , which he did .She told her mother that she knew she was dieing . That she wanted to die at home , not in a hospital. She was so very sorry for having to leave her mother all alone in the world with out her to care for her any more. To please forgive her . The brother made it home at that time and rushed her to the hospital anyway, but it was too late . She passed away .
This woman was what we call here the soul and heart of the family . She was truly a kind hearted woman . She loved all children and cared for her mother with a devotion that is hard to find now a days . I don't think there is a child in the family that didn't love her .Or she them . Her leaving has left a hole in the family .The whole 1st 3 days of the funeral most everyone was in a state of shock .
People from everywhere came for her funeral . She was a teacher, so the whole school came , students and all their families too . Plus the whole tribe . Since she was a double cousin, both sides of the family was there . People were there that I hadn't seen since we moved out of our house to the Condo .
Strange to say this but it was nice to see everyone after such a long time, even in these sad circumstances . This funeral was a little different from the average funeral here in Libya .For one thing , they served sweets one afternoon . They were her favorite sweets and they wanted the people to have them in her memory .I had always said I wanted that at my funeral also . Then another thing they did was to cook some of her favorite foods , instead of the normal food they cook for funerals . That was nice too .
One other thing they did for her that I had only read about from long , long ago but had never seen in all my years here in Libya was they draped her coffin in a pink national covering that a bride might wear , since she had never married . They also made the noise that women do at weddings when a bride comes into the room . I don't know how to describe the sound but it is made by moving the tongue quickly back and forth in the mouth while making this high pitched sound .You might have heard it in a movie if you are not a Arab and don't know what I am talking about .Anyway , they did this sound when they brought her body into the house and again when they took her out to bury her , as if she was a bride . This was considered as a wedding day honor for her , because she never had the chance to marry .I thought this was much nicer than the normal screaming and yelling that is sometimes done at funerals here . As a matter of fact there wasn't that much actual crying come to think of it . More sadness and shock than any other thing .
New topic ..... I have been told that there is a new import tax on ALL IMPORTED GOODS here in Libya .It is 10% on ALL IMPORTED GOODS . That is almost every single thing you can think of from medicines , to clothing , to house hold cleaners.I am not too sure as to whom pays this tax , if it is the individual person that pays when making any purchase , or if it is a tax placed on the merchandise when it is taken out of the port ( maybe /and /or both ?), in addition to any other taxes in place already . But whatever , this will mean that things are going up in price . The cost of a pro-pain tank of cooking gas has gone up more than 2x what it was before . Along with a 20 piaster increase in the price of gasoline at the gas pumps .I don't know how large families or the poor are managing to stay afloat anymore , things are getting so expensive here . And Just wait until Ramadan comes in August , which is the time when the merchants up their prices normally annually .
Oh , I nearly forgot to tell you ..... at the funeral I was sitting with some of the uncles wives that I haven't seen in several years catching up on family news . The topic of my granddaughters in the STATES came up and what their names where .One is named Sophia and that is a Arabic name . They approved of that one . Though it was beautiful . The second granddaughter was given my middle name .
It is Gail . It is a English name and they wanted to know if she was Muslim , why wasn't her name Muslim also . I said because she was a American , born there and that was why . There isn't a letter "G" in Arabic . It is hard for most Arabs to pronounced .So , I was pronouncing it a little differently than it is really said , to make it easier for them to say . Well, one aunt sat and thought it over for a while as we sat talking .She looked at me and asked me ,doesn't your name have a meaning? At 1st , I was stumped as to what she meant , then I remembered the word "Gale" that sounds the same as my name but does mean" a strong windy storm" , like a hurricane . So , I asked her was that what she was thinking of and she said yes . She translated that to the other aunts . Well .... they loved the idea of my granddaughter being named " Osseefa ". They said she must be just like her grandmother , a real Osseefa !
Ok , here is what I think , Rosebud is correct in saying that each individual needs to check their spam blocker . As for what Khadijateri has written , I have checked for the ziddu.com and couldn't find the gadget that has this attached . Sorry .If any of you know which gadget this is attached to , please let me know so I can remove it , ok ? I hope this helps any of you having difficultys commenting or opening the blog .
I have been on a hiatus of sorts this last week or so due to 2 funerals in the family. The 1st one was my brother- in- laws wife's father that passed away from a massive stroke unexpectedly . He was a older man that hadn't been ill , so that was a shock to his family . He left behind 2 wives with their own children and house holds .It is strange to imagine 2 separate funerals being held for the same man in 2 different places at the same time by 2 separate families isn't it .
I felt so sorry for their loss and also for the man himself .Because he had 2 different homes , with 2 different families, his body was taken to EACH house for one last time before burial . They carried his body all over town before he was buried . And the cost of the 2 separate funerals . WOW ! Plus the man was originally from a small coastal town outside of Tripoli , so all his relatives that came to town for his funeral were forced to go to each wife's home to pay their last respects to them and the children .So, they were going all over town too .
The second funeral was for a well love cousin .This was over the week end and up until today it continues .She had asthma and was ill with it off and on but we all knew this . Sometimes she would have to be hospitalized for treatment but never for long .On days like we had last week when it was so dusty , it was hard for her to breath. Sometimes this lead to a chest infection , which is what had happened to her last week .
She was feeling bad and having breathing difficulty's and felt the need to go see the doctor . She did and he told her she had a chest infection that needed a injection of anti biotic"s to give her immediate relief , along with a breathing treatment . She said ok , but I can't have penicillin . I am allergic to it . When the injection came she asked what the medicine was and was told it was penicillin . She told them not to give it to her because of her allergies and they told her not to worry about it . She argued with them over it but they gave it to her anyway .
She went home to her elderly mother that is a stroke victim. She cares for all her alone , along with running the house hold, and watching out for a younger brother that isn't married , who still lives at home too . She started to feel ill . Her blood pressure shot up to unbelievable high levels , while at the same time her sugar levels dropped to "0" . Her body went into shock .
She placed a call to her brother to rush home from work , which he did .She told her mother that she knew she was dieing . That she wanted to die at home , not in a hospital. She was so very sorry for having to leave her mother all alone in the world with out her to care for her any more. To please forgive her . The brother made it home at that time and rushed her to the hospital anyway, but it was too late . She passed away .
This woman was what we call here the soul and heart of the family . She was truly a kind hearted woman . She loved all children and cared for her mother with a devotion that is hard to find now a days . I don't think there is a child in the family that didn't love her .Or she them . Her leaving has left a hole in the family .The whole 1st 3 days of the funeral most everyone was in a state of shock .
People from everywhere came for her funeral . She was a teacher, so the whole school came , students and all their families too . Plus the whole tribe . Since she was a double cousin, both sides of the family was there . People were there that I hadn't seen since we moved out of our house to the Condo .
Strange to say this but it was nice to see everyone after such a long time, even in these sad circumstances . This funeral was a little different from the average funeral here in Libya .For one thing , they served sweets one afternoon . They were her favorite sweets and they wanted the people to have them in her memory .I had always said I wanted that at my funeral also . Then another thing they did was to cook some of her favorite foods , instead of the normal food they cook for funerals . That was nice too .
One other thing they did for her that I had only read about from long , long ago but had never seen in all my years here in Libya was they draped her coffin in a pink national covering that a bride might wear , since she had never married . They also made the noise that women do at weddings when a bride comes into the room . I don't know how to describe the sound but it is made by moving the tongue quickly back and forth in the mouth while making this high pitched sound .You might have heard it in a movie if you are not a Arab and don't know what I am talking about .Anyway , they did this sound when they brought her body into the house and again when they took her out to bury her , as if she was a bride . This was considered as a wedding day honor for her , because she never had the chance to marry .I thought this was much nicer than the normal screaming and yelling that is sometimes done at funerals here . As a matter of fact there wasn't that much actual crying come to think of it . More sadness and shock than any other thing .
New topic ..... I have been told that there is a new import tax on ALL IMPORTED GOODS here in Libya .It is 10% on ALL IMPORTED GOODS . That is almost every single thing you can think of from medicines , to clothing , to house hold cleaners.I am not too sure as to whom pays this tax , if it is the individual person that pays when making any purchase , or if it is a tax placed on the merchandise when it is taken out of the port ( maybe /and /or both ?), in addition to any other taxes in place already . But whatever , this will mean that things are going up in price . The cost of a pro-pain tank of cooking gas has gone up more than 2x what it was before . Along with a 20 piaster increase in the price of gasoline at the gas pumps .I don't know how large families or the poor are managing to stay afloat anymore , things are getting so expensive here . And Just wait until Ramadan comes in August , which is the time when the merchants up their prices normally annually .
Oh , I nearly forgot to tell you ..... at the funeral I was sitting with some of the uncles wives that I haven't seen in several years catching up on family news . The topic of my granddaughters in the STATES came up and what their names where .One is named Sophia and that is a Arabic name . They approved of that one . Though it was beautiful . The second granddaughter was given my middle name .
It is Gail . It is a English name and they wanted to know if she was Muslim , why wasn't her name Muslim also . I said because she was a American , born there and that was why . There isn't a letter "G" in Arabic . It is hard for most Arabs to pronounced .So , I was pronouncing it a little differently than it is really said , to make it easier for them to say . Well, one aunt sat and thought it over for a while as we sat talking .She looked at me and asked me ,doesn't your name have a meaning? At 1st , I was stumped as to what she meant , then I remembered the word "Gale" that sounds the same as my name but does mean" a strong windy storm" , like a hurricane . So , I asked her was that what she was thinking of and she said yes . She translated that to the other aunts . Well .... they loved the idea of my granddaughter being named " Osseefa ". They said she must be just like her grandmother , a real Osseefa !
Monday, March 16, 2009
Happy St. Patrick's Day
Here is wishing you all the luck of the Irish ! Happy Saint Patrick's Day !!!!
Censorship And Mystery Of The Sea
I have been made aware by fellow blogger PH , a.k.a. Anonymous, that not all his comments go through to my email box . He has very angerly accused me of censorship of the comments which I publish . Another blogger has also mentioned his troubles in getting his comments through to me also . Sorry to any and all of you that are having this difficulty BUT ....... the censorship is not from me , ok ? I have , will , and do publish ALL COMMENTS that I receive in my email box . Even the hateful ones .
MAYBE , and I say this cautiously , it is the server that exercises it's right of censorship in some instances ? I don't know , but I DO KNOW IT IS NOT ME DOING THE CENSORING . Having said this , I am pretty sure that some one will test this out by sending something rude or nasty just to see if I will keep my word . I will. Anyway , please feel free to make a comment on anything I write about .If it comes to my In BOX , I will publish it .
So , that is out of the way , now I'll change the subject , ok ? The weather . That should be a safe topic huh ? It has been coolish these last few days .Today it was windy and cold off and on with low clouds . LOL ! I should try out to be a Weather Woman on TV , lol .
Moe and I went to sit on the beach today to eat our lunch. We watched the wind blowing the low grey clouds here and there . No one else was there , it was just us . Like the beach belonged to us and we were the only people in the world at that moment .
I noticed a little ways out to sea , a float of some sort , much like the big ones you see on commercial nets bobbing up and down in the water . As I watched it , I noticed it was moving against the current and moving quickly ,at that . I was wondering how that could happen when all of the sudden I saw a fin slice up out of the water . It was black . It was only there for a second , then it disappeared, as if I imagined it .
I looked closely at the float just in case it happened again. I wanted to confirm what I thought I had seen . Nothing happened . I told Moe to look with me and he didn't even see the float at first , then he saw the float also.
. We sat watching the float bob around in the water aimlessly for a while , when two flippers sprung up out of the water in front of us and just as quickly , disappeared back in to the sea . This continued to occur off and on for around 30 minutes , until whatever it was moved too far out to sea to be visual any longer .
I am not sure if it was a dolphin we saw , or shark , or what , but it was thrilling to watch . All the times we have sat on the beach I have wondered if something like this would ever happen , sort of like a fantasy , and it really did happen today . How about that ? I guess this will remain a mystery of the sea .
MAYBE , and I say this cautiously , it is the server that exercises it's right of censorship in some instances ? I don't know , but I DO KNOW IT IS NOT ME DOING THE CENSORING . Having said this , I am pretty sure that some one will test this out by sending something rude or nasty just to see if I will keep my word . I will. Anyway , please feel free to make a comment on anything I write about .If it comes to my In BOX , I will publish it .
So , that is out of the way , now I'll change the subject , ok ? The weather . That should be a safe topic huh ? It has been coolish these last few days .Today it was windy and cold off and on with low clouds . LOL ! I should try out to be a Weather Woman on TV , lol .
Moe and I went to sit on the beach today to eat our lunch. We watched the wind blowing the low grey clouds here and there . No one else was there , it was just us . Like the beach belonged to us and we were the only people in the world at that moment .
I noticed a little ways out to sea , a float of some sort , much like the big ones you see on commercial nets bobbing up and down in the water . As I watched it , I noticed it was moving against the current and moving quickly ,at that . I was wondering how that could happen when all of the sudden I saw a fin slice up out of the water . It was black . It was only there for a second , then it disappeared, as if I imagined it .
I looked closely at the float just in case it happened again. I wanted to confirm what I thought I had seen . Nothing happened . I told Moe to look with me and he didn't even see the float at first , then he saw the float also.
. We sat watching the float bob around in the water aimlessly for a while , when two flippers sprung up out of the water in front of us and just as quickly , disappeared back in to the sea . This continued to occur off and on for around 30 minutes , until whatever it was moved too far out to sea to be visual any longer .
I am not sure if it was a dolphin we saw , or shark , or what , but it was thrilling to watch . All the times we have sat on the beach I have wondered if something like this would ever happen , sort of like a fantasy , and it really did happen today . How about that ? I guess this will remain a mystery of the sea .
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Stairways To Heaven ?
I'm tired of the soap box so check out these stairs .They are way cool !
Would be dangerous to try these drunk !
The ideal tree house stairs huh ?
So cool and sleek .
Love the concept behind these . So much fun to play Hide and Seek .
Absolutely would break my neck on these !
Forget about it !
I wonder if it feels weird to climb these stairs ?
Every one should have one of these in their lives huh ? 
A good concept gone bad !
Art !
The best Ideal !
Do these move as you climb them ?
Saturday, March 14, 2009
And Another Thing Or 2
And another thing while I am on my soap box .......what about foreign women that marry Arabs ( but this could be any foreign man not just a Arab ) and through no fault of her own finds herself divorced from that same man ? What happens to her ? Her children ? Many times she has to leave the country where she was living and WITHOUT HER CHILDREN . She is forced to leave them behind in the care of their father or his family's care . She doesn't want to leave her children but is forced to leave them , no other choice . Or maybe she has to leave the husband and his country to keep her sanity because of abuse from the husband , but isn't allowed to take her children with her .
I witnessed this several times for myself when we lived here in the 1970's . I am sure it still continues today as well . Imagine how soul wrenching that is for a mother to do , abandon her children . It is either her sanity or her children. Which would you choose?
Then there are the children that were kidnapped from their mother's arms so to speak . That has happened a lot too . My children knew several kids that this had happened to and the children grew up being told that their mothers didn't want them , where dead , or just left them , when in actual fact they had been kidnapped by the father .
One child had been kidnapped with her little brother while the family was on holiday. The father had told the mother that they were going to Europe on vacation . They did and stayed a 5 star hotel . They had everything the hotel had to offer . After about 5 days or so the father told his wife that he was taking the kids to the zoo and why didn't she stay in the hotel and rest , enjoy the peace and quite. She did .They didn't come back to the hotel . And they didn't come back . Still she waited for them getting more and more worried about them . After a while she called the hotel manager for help in trying to track them down . Maybe they had been in accident ? When that drew blanks , she called the embassy for help . Eventually it was found out that the father had taken all the money ( leaving her with a huge bill and no money to pay it with) out of the hotel safe , and had left the country for a 3rd country with the children to be lost forever .
The father had told the kids that they were going on a little trip and mommy would be joining them later . When they got to the other country a woman met them at the airport. The kids were told that Mommy had died and this was their new mommy and they found out that they also had a new baby brother too .The father had been going to this other country off and on with out his wife knowing about it and had married a Libyan woman there and had a family with her .
It was many years later and entirely through a over heard conversation by a uncle here in Libya that the girl found out the truth of their being kidnapped and that their mother , whom they had never forgotten , was still alive and well .Long story short , they contacted their real mom and was reunited again with her in her country . That was almost 10 years later . All that time she had no news of her children .But she had never given up looking for them .
Another child had been kidnapped by his father who married an foreign woman and had a son with her.This boy had been told his mother was a prostitute and a whore and that was why he had stolen him from her . The boy grew up thinking this until...... that family moved here. The boy went to the same school as my children . They were telling me about him one day and something about it sounded familiar to me , the names .So , I asked the kids to ask what the mother's name had been and the father's name too . Was his mother this nationality ?
Come to find out , this boys mother had been a friend of mine in America . She had been terribly abused by her husband and had sought help from a woman's shelter with her child . From there she escaped back to her country where her husband found her. He almost beat her to death and then stole her son from her when he left her for dead .
I was so shocked when heard what had happened to this child . I told my children the real story so they could tell him how much his mother had loved him and had tried to protect him for harms way . For his father beat him as he grew up also . At least he knew for sure that his mother had loved him and had tried to protect him .I later heard that he found her and stayed in contact with her .
In 1993 or 1994 , I think , the Libyan government invited mothers from England that had had to give up their rights to their children either because they had to leave the kids behind when they left Libya , or they had had the children kidnapped from them, to come here as the governments guests to see their children . The mothers were housed at a sea side resort and the Libyan family's were STRONGLY encouraged to allow these women to see their children the week they were here . Many family's complied and the mother and children were reunited again . I don't know what happened after that though , whether this continued or not .I hope so .
As I said in the opening paragraph , many foreign women find out that they have been divorced without any knowledge of the divorce and no longer have a home here in Libya . Although not all women are left homeless , since a few men will support the ex wives , while allowing them to keep their children . Or if it isn't that , then the husband decides that his life would be sooo much better IF he had married a Libyan woman after all , so he does .And many times , here again, he doesn't tell his wife. If he does tell her , it is like ," what are you going to do about it "? Of course this happens to even Libyan women too .But again she has a family system in place to help her , where as the foreign woman doesn't . Now what is a woman to do in this situation ?Stay ? Leave ? Live with the hurt and humiliation ? Yes , life as foreign woman married to a Libyan is sooo easy !
I witnessed this several times for myself when we lived here in the 1970's . I am sure it still continues today as well . Imagine how soul wrenching that is for a mother to do , abandon her children . It is either her sanity or her children. Which would you choose?
Then there are the children that were kidnapped from their mother's arms so to speak . That has happened a lot too . My children knew several kids that this had happened to and the children grew up being told that their mothers didn't want them , where dead , or just left them , when in actual fact they had been kidnapped by the father .
One child had been kidnapped with her little brother while the family was on holiday. The father had told the mother that they were going to Europe on vacation . They did and stayed a 5 star hotel . They had everything the hotel had to offer . After about 5 days or so the father told his wife that he was taking the kids to the zoo and why didn't she stay in the hotel and rest , enjoy the peace and quite. She did .They didn't come back to the hotel . And they didn't come back . Still she waited for them getting more and more worried about them . After a while she called the hotel manager for help in trying to track them down . Maybe they had been in accident ? When that drew blanks , she called the embassy for help . Eventually it was found out that the father had taken all the money ( leaving her with a huge bill and no money to pay it with) out of the hotel safe , and had left the country for a 3rd country with the children to be lost forever .
The father had told the kids that they were going on a little trip and mommy would be joining them later . When they got to the other country a woman met them at the airport. The kids were told that Mommy had died and this was their new mommy and they found out that they also had a new baby brother too .The father had been going to this other country off and on with out his wife knowing about it and had married a Libyan woman there and had a family with her .
It was many years later and entirely through a over heard conversation by a uncle here in Libya that the girl found out the truth of their being kidnapped and that their mother , whom they had never forgotten , was still alive and well .Long story short , they contacted their real mom and was reunited again with her in her country . That was almost 10 years later . All that time she had no news of her children .But she had never given up looking for them .
Another child had been kidnapped by his father who married an foreign woman and had a son with her.This boy had been told his mother was a prostitute and a whore and that was why he had stolen him from her . The boy grew up thinking this until...... that family moved here. The boy went to the same school as my children . They were telling me about him one day and something about it sounded familiar to me , the names .So , I asked the kids to ask what the mother's name had been and the father's name too . Was his mother this nationality ?
Come to find out , this boys mother had been a friend of mine in America . She had been terribly abused by her husband and had sought help from a woman's shelter with her child . From there she escaped back to her country where her husband found her. He almost beat her to death and then stole her son from her when he left her for dead .
I was so shocked when heard what had happened to this child . I told my children the real story so they could tell him how much his mother had loved him and had tried to protect him for harms way . For his father beat him as he grew up also . At least he knew for sure that his mother had loved him and had tried to protect him .I later heard that he found her and stayed in contact with her .
In 1993 or 1994 , I think , the Libyan government invited mothers from England that had had to give up their rights to their children either because they had to leave the kids behind when they left Libya , or they had had the children kidnapped from them, to come here as the governments guests to see their children . The mothers were housed at a sea side resort and the Libyan family's were STRONGLY encouraged to allow these women to see their children the week they were here . Many family's complied and the mother and children were reunited again . I don't know what happened after that though , whether this continued or not .I hope so .
As I said in the opening paragraph , many foreign women find out that they have been divorced without any knowledge of the divorce and no longer have a home here in Libya . Although not all women are left homeless , since a few men will support the ex wives , while allowing them to keep their children . Or if it isn't that , then the husband decides that his life would be sooo much better IF he had married a Libyan woman after all , so he does .And many times , here again, he doesn't tell his wife. If he does tell her , it is like ," what are you going to do about it "? Of course this happens to even Libyan women too .But again she has a family system in place to help her , where as the foreign woman doesn't . Now what is a woman to do in this situation ?Stay ? Leave ? Live with the hurt and humiliation ? Yes , life as foreign woman married to a Libyan is sooo easy !
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Us Verses Them
I am constantly reading Libyan bloggers writing about how EASY my life as a foreigner married to a Libyan is here in Libya . It makes me laugh ! If it is not about how easy our lives are , then it is about how bad we foreigner women are as wives to Libyans and our children are so non Libyan . I believe this is just pure ignorance on their part . Maybe because they don't really KNOW any of us ? Or they are too prejudiced? I can't make my mind up which it is because I like to try to give people the benefit of doubt .
What I do know for a fact is this .... our lives are dam hard . Real hard , harder than you can imagine at times . We don't have our mothers and fathers to protect us when our husbands and/ or their families decide to mistreat us like a Libyan woman would . Nor do we have a safe harbor to run to when things get bad or ugly . No place or no one there for us to go to , to listen to us and our problems . No helping hand to reach out in love , like a Libyan woman does . No , we just tough it out .We stick to it . We don't run away . We stand and fight for ourselves and our children for all we are worth , in whatever manner we have to defend ourselves by .
We do this because of love . Love , yes love . We love our husbands , even when we want to kill him . We love our kids , even when they disrespect us or are ashamed of us because we aren't Libyans , because we are different .Yes that happens to some of us . Love of our adopted home , Libya and all Her crazy , strange ,beautiful, wondrous , people , places ,and things .
My hair is blond . My eyes are blue . I am tall . I am fat .I speak terrible Arabic . I don't wear the Hijab . I wear short sleeve dresses or blouses, and slacks too . I drive a car , alone , at night . I listen to loud rock and roll music . I believe it is ok to have a dog as a loving pet , not just cats , even though I have a cat . I believe my children have the right of freedom of choice as to what they want to do with their lives with out too much interference from Moe or I . I believe it is their lives to make their own mistakes as adults . I believe that Moe and I have a sometimes one sided partnership that sometimes works as compromise , lol . Sometimes .
But despite all this , I live here in Libya because this is my home . My home where I bore 3 of my 4 children . My 2 sons did the army thing or pubic work for their country .One is buried here in Libyan soil . I became a Muslim here of my own volition 13 years ago , after saying for 20 odd years I would never change my religion just to make some people happy . I did it for me .
I know of foreigner women married to Libyans that have been beaten by their husbands .Women who were locked up in a room for years without outside contact with the world , to lose their minds .Women who have been sent out to work to support lazy husbands that refuse to work . Women who had home delivers because their husbands refused them doctors care . Women who went hungry so their children would have food to eat because they were so poor . Strong , brave ,beautiful women that lived like this because of their love for their husbands and their children .
They gave up their homes , families , friends , culture ,and many times their freedoms to live here in conditions that a normal Libyan women would refuse to live in .Imagine not being allowed to speak your own mother tongue . Can you imagine that? Or having no indoor plumbing ( yes there was a time when it was like that here ) and you had to go outside behind a cactus plant , where the snakes where waiting for you .
On and On these stories come . I know that Libyans too have been mistreated this way , as well as foreigners, but they have families to help defend them . We don't . This too has happened in foreign countries to women . It isn't just here in Libya , women being mistreated . BUT..... I just wanted to let you know that not all foreign women married to Libyan men are living in the laps of luxury and if they are , the chances are they worked to make it luxurious , sacrificing much to get it that way by hard work .
So , the next time you see a foreign woman married to a Libyan , know this , her life IS NOT A BED OF ROSES AS YOU THINK IT IS . That is just a myth . What you are looking at is a woman that is loyal , strong , hardworking , sacrificing ,and willing to give everything up for her love .
What I do know for a fact is this .... our lives are dam hard . Real hard , harder than you can imagine at times . We don't have our mothers and fathers to protect us when our husbands and/ or their families decide to mistreat us like a Libyan woman would . Nor do we have a safe harbor to run to when things get bad or ugly . No place or no one there for us to go to , to listen to us and our problems . No helping hand to reach out in love , like a Libyan woman does . No , we just tough it out .We stick to it . We don't run away . We stand and fight for ourselves and our children for all we are worth , in whatever manner we have to defend ourselves by .
We do this because of love . Love , yes love . We love our husbands , even when we want to kill him . We love our kids , even when they disrespect us or are ashamed of us because we aren't Libyans , because we are different .Yes that happens to some of us . Love of our adopted home , Libya and all Her crazy , strange ,beautiful, wondrous , people , places ,and things .
My hair is blond . My eyes are blue . I am tall . I am fat .I speak terrible Arabic . I don't wear the Hijab . I wear short sleeve dresses or blouses, and slacks too . I drive a car , alone , at night . I listen to loud rock and roll music . I believe it is ok to have a dog as a loving pet , not just cats , even though I have a cat . I believe my children have the right of freedom of choice as to what they want to do with their lives with out too much interference from Moe or I . I believe it is their lives to make their own mistakes as adults . I believe that Moe and I have a sometimes one sided partnership that sometimes works as compromise , lol . Sometimes .
But despite all this , I live here in Libya because this is my home . My home where I bore 3 of my 4 children . My 2 sons did the army thing or pubic work for their country .One is buried here in Libyan soil . I became a Muslim here of my own volition 13 years ago , after saying for 20 odd years I would never change my religion just to make some people happy . I did it for me .
I know of foreigner women married to Libyans that have been beaten by their husbands .Women who were locked up in a room for years without outside contact with the world , to lose their minds .Women who have been sent out to work to support lazy husbands that refuse to work . Women who had home delivers because their husbands refused them doctors care . Women who went hungry so their children would have food to eat because they were so poor . Strong , brave ,beautiful women that lived like this because of their love for their husbands and their children .
They gave up their homes , families , friends , culture ,and many times their freedoms to live here in conditions that a normal Libyan women would refuse to live in .Imagine not being allowed to speak your own mother tongue . Can you imagine that? Or having no indoor plumbing ( yes there was a time when it was like that here ) and you had to go outside behind a cactus plant , where the snakes where waiting for you .
On and On these stories come . I know that Libyans too have been mistreated this way , as well as foreigners, but they have families to help defend them . We don't . This too has happened in foreign countries to women . It isn't just here in Libya , women being mistreated . BUT..... I just wanted to let you know that not all foreign women married to Libyan men are living in the laps of luxury and if they are , the chances are they worked to make it luxurious , sacrificing much to get it that way by hard work .
So , the next time you see a foreign woman married to a Libyan , know this , her life IS NOT A BED OF ROSES AS YOU THINK IT IS . That is just a myth . What you are looking at is a woman that is loyal , strong , hardworking , sacrificing ,and willing to give everything up for her love .
Right Or Wrong
I was just reading the news when I stumbled across this news " Libya Tortures Four Christian Converts " . at Persecution.org , International Christian Concern . This disturbed me as I know that Christians are allowed to worship here in Libya freely .... AS LONG AS THEY DON'T TRY TO EVANGELIZE any Muslims here in Libya .
It is a death sentence in the Quran for any Muslim to convert to any other religion , especially if they were born into Islam as all Libyans are here in Libya .All Libyans know this is a Islamic law and a civil Libyan law as well . I think most outsiders know this also .
Having said this , I feel that I must make it clear that not under any situation or circumstances I do condone torture of any sort , by anyone , or any nation for any reason , religious or political .
I think all parties involved in this incidence are guilty . The Outsiders for evangelizing Muslims here in Libya knowing it was a violation of the law . Making it that more likely for other law abiding Christians in Libya to fall under scrutiny by the authorities . The Libyans clearly knew what the consequences would be for them and possibly for others like them if caught .Their disregard for the safety of others is appalling for putting them in harms way . This is a terrible situation for all , making Libya look bad internationally .
It is a death sentence in the Quran for any Muslim to convert to any other religion , especially if they were born into Islam as all Libyans are here in Libya .All Libyans know this is a Islamic law and a civil Libyan law as well . I think most outsiders know this also .
Having said this , I feel that I must make it clear that not under any situation or circumstances I do condone torture of any sort , by anyone , or any nation for any reason , religious or political .
I think all parties involved in this incidence are guilty . The Outsiders for evangelizing Muslims here in Libya knowing it was a violation of the law . Making it that more likely for other law abiding Christians in Libya to fall under scrutiny by the authorities . The Libyans clearly knew what the consequences would be for them and possibly for others like them if caught .Their disregard for the safety of others is appalling for putting them in harms way . This is a terrible situation for all , making Libya look bad internationally .
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Maulid , Blogs , And The Show
I wish to thank all of you that read my blog for being a important part of it . It has now had over 10,000 visitors , one of them is YOU !
Tonight is the eve of Eid Maulud El Nabi , the celebration of the Prophet Mohamed's birthday. That means tonight is "Fire Cracker Night" here in Libya . The actual Maulud is tomorrow but tonight most families get together at the family home , normally the parents home , and have a dinner feast after prayers . Small children will be given a cheap toy that will be broken by the end of the evening , but that really doesn't matter since it is something special for the night . That will be followed by a orgy of fireworks let off by the children and / or adults for the lively evenings entertainment .
Many years this has sounded an lot like a war zone of explosions going off all around you . This year in our area it was mild compared to years past , whether from the economics of the prices of fireworks this year , or the more likely situation of a smaller majority of teenagers this year in our area . I have noticed that no matter how strained the budget , there will always be fireworks of some amount for the kids .For some families it becomes a competition as to who's children had the most fireworks . Then the parents sit around and complain how it broke the bank buying them all .
Also , in addition to the fireworks tonight , if you happen to be a newly engaged woman , you will receive a visit from the women of your intendeds family . They will make you a proud owner of a fake evergreen tree that looks suspiciously like a Christmas tree , decorations and all ! I still haven't figured out the reason for this present . No one I know can give a good explanation to me , but everyone agrees it is a MUST present for the Maulud to a new fiancee ..... along with other presents she will receive . Like a new clothing out fit ; a dress , shoes , and a purse . She will also get a gift of some jewelry too . Many times this will be a complete set of gold...... earrings ,with matching necklace , bracelet , and ring . Not too bad huh ? I myself am thinking about divorcing Moe , then becoming engaged to him next year so I can get these goodies too , since I didn't get them the 1st time around .
Tomorrow morning many families will have their traditional breakfast , which may vary from place to place , family to family . In our family it is aseeda ( a large cooked flour type dumpling ) floating in a moat of date syrup . Other families might have sphinz . They are a huge yeast dough flat pancake that has been stretched out thin in the middle and then deep fried . They are really delicious too !
Ok, here is a change of subject ..... the other morning , way before the last 4 days of hell we have had , non stop winds blasting through this part of Libya with tons of sand , either from the west , south / west , or now out of the north west freezing us , but still smothering us in sand, I saw a bird on top of the building in front of ours . It was what we call a Hud Hud . A Hoopoe bird .
This bird is mentioned in the Quran ( as a bird Solomon used to spy upon the Queen of Sheba from afar. ) . We used to have them here around us all the time but they stopped coming here when the " swimming pool " was filled in. Their food resources dried up so to speak . They are considered harbingers of good luck in Libya . I think this one must have been very special as he was so large . Larger than normal and he was looking right at me , eye ball to eye ball . Sorta spooked me out . I went to get the camera but by the time I got back he had flown away . So strange !
I'd like to mention a couple of blogs of interest that I think you would like ...... Khadijateri the intrepid explorer, has been wandering around Libya once again . See where she went this last time . Anglo- Libyan recently did something that I loved reading about so much . He has taken on the care of his young son while his wife not only left him babysitting, but she went out of town back to Libya for a family funeral ... leaving the 2 bachelors ALL ALONE , just father and son . They went on a amazing field trip . Read all about it here . Shahrazad should do a Libyan restaurant critic blog in addition to her blog . She wrote about some " HOT SPOTS" for the girls to hang out in Tripoli . She also added her description of the latest hair style fad to invade Libya . Too funny for words ! Violet and PH , two Libyan bloggers, are talking about the age old man -woman issue from their prospective points of views . I have become behind on reading many more blogs I normally keep up with . I promise to get to them all ... real soon !
This evening before the sunset , I went to lovely downtown Tagura , to the restaurant we often buy BAR BQ'ed chicken from for our evening meals . It is on the main road into Tagura and gets a lot of foot traffic of all sorts of people from every place on the face of the Earth . They are out shopping and doing who knows what else . The best part of the whole experience isn't just getting delicious chicken but rather watching the "Show " as it goes by the car . We sit waiting for the chicken in the car and watch the "Show" . The most AMAZING people walk by doing the most AMAZING things . I love the "Show"! Moe and I sit discussing the people , the world in general , and work out many problems that are all too obvious to us , while wondering why all the world leaders can't come to the same conclusions as we . LOL !
Today as I sat watching the " Show " , it made me think of Don Henley, don't ask because I really couldn't tell you right now how I got to that thought , but anyway .....
I remembered the Eagles song " Sunset Grill " . It just seemed so right for the moment . I want to share it with you . This way you can be there too .
Many years this has sounded an lot like a war zone of explosions going off all around you . This year in our area it was mild compared to years past , whether from the economics of the prices of fireworks this year , or the more likely situation of a smaller majority of teenagers this year in our area . I have noticed that no matter how strained the budget , there will always be fireworks of some amount for the kids .For some families it becomes a competition as to who's children had the most fireworks . Then the parents sit around and complain how it broke the bank buying them all .
Also , in addition to the fireworks tonight , if you happen to be a newly engaged woman , you will receive a visit from the women of your intendeds family . They will make you a proud owner of a fake evergreen tree that looks suspiciously like a Christmas tree , decorations and all ! I still haven't figured out the reason for this present . No one I know can give a good explanation to me , but everyone agrees it is a MUST present for the Maulud to a new fiancee ..... along with other presents she will receive . Like a new clothing out fit ; a dress , shoes , and a purse . She will also get a gift of some jewelry too . Many times this will be a complete set of gold...... earrings ,with matching necklace , bracelet , and ring . Not too bad huh ? I myself am thinking about divorcing Moe , then becoming engaged to him next year so I can get these goodies too , since I didn't get them the 1st time around .
This bird is mentioned in the Quran ( as a bird Solomon used to spy upon the Queen of Sheba from afar. ) . We used to have them here around us all the time but they stopped coming here when the " swimming pool " was filled in. Their food resources dried up so to speak . They are considered harbingers of good luck in Libya . I think this one must have been very special as he was so large . Larger than normal and he was looking right at me , eye ball to eye ball . Sorta spooked me out . I went to get the camera but by the time I got back he had flown away . So strange !
I'd like to mention a couple of blogs of interest that I think you would like ...... Khadijateri the intrepid explorer, has been wandering around Libya once again . See where she went this last time . Anglo- Libyan recently did something that I loved reading about so much . He has taken on the care of his young son while his wife not only left him babysitting, but she went out of town back to Libya for a family funeral ... leaving the 2 bachelors ALL ALONE , just father and son . They went on a amazing field trip . Read all about it here . Shahrazad should do a Libyan restaurant critic blog in addition to her blog . She wrote about some " HOT SPOTS" for the girls to hang out in Tripoli . She also added her description of the latest hair style fad to invade Libya . Too funny for words ! Violet and PH , two Libyan bloggers, are talking about the age old man -woman issue from their prospective points of views . I have become behind on reading many more blogs I normally keep up with . I promise to get to them all ... real soon !
This evening before the sunset , I went to lovely downtown Tagura , to the restaurant we often buy BAR BQ'ed chicken from for our evening meals . It is on the main road into Tagura and gets a lot of foot traffic of all sorts of people from every place on the face of the Earth . They are out shopping and doing who knows what else . The best part of the whole experience isn't just getting delicious chicken but rather watching the "Show " as it goes by the car . We sit waiting for the chicken in the car and watch the "Show" . The most AMAZING people walk by doing the most AMAZING things . I love the "Show"! Moe and I sit discussing the people , the world in general , and work out many problems that are all too obvious to us , while wondering why all the world leaders can't come to the same conclusions as we . LOL !
Today as I sat watching the " Show " , it made me think of Don Henley, don't ask because I really couldn't tell you right now how I got to that thought , but anyway .....
I remembered the Eagles song " Sunset Grill " . It just seemed so right for the moment . I want to share it with you . This way you can be there too .
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Just A Little Kiss
According to a article in the Live Science magazine kissing is not just kissing after all and it serves a definite purpose . Read the story below . It is a little long but VERY interesting !
Health
Saliva: Secret Ingredient in the Best Kisses
By Robin Lloyd, LiveScience Senior Edtior
posted: 13 February 2009 02:48 pm ET
CHICAGO — Go ahead. Kiss the girl. And you might make it a wet one, because scientists who are starting to understand the biochemistry of kisses say that saliva increases sex drive.
Those in the kissing-science field of philematology are finding links between kissing and the hormones that affect coupling, researchers said here today at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). And these hormones are one of the keys to our reproductive success, so there's a link to evolution and passing on our genes to the next generation.
"There is evidence that saliva has testosterone in it," said Rutgers University anthropologist Helen Fisher, and testosterone increases sex drive. "And there is evidence that men like sloppier kisses with more open mouth. That suggests they are unconsciously trying to transfer testosterone to stimulate sex drive in women."
Men also could be using the saliva transfer to assess women's fertility and estrogen cycle, but they might want to be wary of turning women off with too much slobber, she added.
More than 90 percent of human societies exchange smooches, Fisher said. And the behavior is rampant among pygmy chimpanzees and bonobos, some of our fellow primates. Foxes lick each others' faces, birds tap their bills together, elephants put their trunks into one another's mouths. Charles Darwin himself thought that kissing was a natural instinct.
One study found that 66 percent of women and 59 percent of men say that the quality of the first kiss can kill a relationship, Fisher said.
Kissing is a way of assessing our potential mates, but it's "just the tip of the iceberg," she said. "We're going to find that all kinds of chemical systems are in play in courtship that we are unaware of."
Stress and bonding hormones
Psychologist Wendy Hill at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania is hot on the trail of those chemical systems. In a 2007 study, Hill and her team found interesting differences between the hormone levels of college-aged male-female couples who had kissed and those who had just held hands and listened to music for 15 minutes in a room in a student health center. Subjects were measured for their levels of cortisol, a stress-related hormone, and oxytocin, the bonding hormone involved in social recognition, male and female orgasm, and childbirth.
Cortisol (stress) levels decreased in men and women after kissing, but only men's oxytocin levels increased, while women's decreased.
Hill thought that the setting might have been too clinical for the women to get turned on, so she tried in her latest study to up the ambience by locating the couples in a secluded room of an academic building, outfitted with a couch, flowers, jazz music and electric candles.
This time, cortisol levels were found to plummet, post-kissing, in both men and women, Hill found, but the other hormone results are still being analyzed, she told a group of reporters today at the AAAS meeting.
Nourishing origins
Some anthropologists think that kissing originated as a way for mothers to transfer pre-chewed food to their children. In some non-Western societies, so-called pre-mastication is still common. This practice could have led to romantic kissing among adults. Others theorize that kissing started out as a gesture of fusion or union of souls.
Donald Lateiner, a history and classics professor at Ohio Wesleyan University who also spoke to reporters today at AAAS, has investigated who kissed whom and why and when in ancient Athens, Rome and nearby. In his work, he looked at depictions of romantic, familial and social kissing-up in poetry and prose, public and private art, including vase paintings, sculpture and mirror cases.
Kissing is relatively infrequently represented in the art of ancient Greece and Rome, Lateiner said. "That isn't to say there isn't a lot of sex, but there isn't a lot of kissing, which is somewhat different," he added.
Kissing in antiquity served more often to relate men socially in a hierarchy than for erotic purposes, to judge by limited, damaged and biased sources, Lateiner said.
Kowtow kissing, or kissing to demonstrate deference to a social superior, was common in the Near East and became common again (along with kissing of appendages) in the later Roman Empire, Lateiner said.
"I have also found that there was an 'escalation of osculation' in the first century C.E. (A.D.)," Lateiner said. "There was also a kissing disease outbreak, what seems to be Mentagra [a pimply inflammation of the hair follicles, usually in the beard]."
Some of Lateiner's other findings in an analysis of Roman lyric poetry, epigrams and novels: "The Roman novels are slobbery."
Sunday, March 1, 2009
A Fun Quiz
I danced with a gangster because that's how I roll !
This is funny, don't spoil the fun, and keep it going............
Type out the sentence you end up with, in the subject line and forward
to your friends...also, send it back to the person that sent it to you.
Pick the month you were born:
January-------I kicked
February------I loved
March--------I karate chopped
April----------I licked
May----------I jumped on
June----------I smelled
July-----------I did the Macarena
August--------I had lunch with
September----I danced with
October-------I sang to
November-----I yelled at
December-----I ran over
Pick the day (number) you were born on:
1-------a birdbath
Type out the sentence you end up with, in the subject line and forward
to your friends...also, send it back to the person that sent it to you.
Pick the month you were born:
January-------I kicked
February------I loved
March--------I karate chopped
April----------I licked
May----------I jumped on
June----------I smelled
July-----------I did the Macarena
August--------I had lunch with
September----I danced with
October-------I sang to
November-----I yelled at
December-----I ran over
Pick the day (number) you were born on:
1-------a birdbath
2-------a monster
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a snowman
6-------a gangster
7-------my mobile phone
8-------m y dog
9-------my best friends' boyfriend
10-------my neighbor
11-------my science teacher
12-------a banana
13-------a fireman
14-------a stuffed animal
15-------a goat
16-------a pickle
17-------your mom
18-------a spoon
19------ - a surf board
20-------a baseball bat
21-------a ninja
22-------Chuck Norris
23-------a noodle
24-------a squirrel
25-------a football player
26-------my sister
27-------my brother
28-------an iPod
29-------a surfer
30-------a llama
31-------A homeless guy
Pick the color of shirt you are wearing right now:
White---------because I'm cool like that
Black---------because that's how I roll.
Pink-----------because I'm crazy.
Red-----------because the voices told me to.
Blue-----------because I'm sexy and I do what I want
Green---------because I think I need some serious help.
Purple---------because I'm AWESOME!
Gray----------because Big Bird said to and he' s my leader.
Yellow--------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange --------because my family thinks I'm stupid anyway.
Brown---------because I can..
Other----------because I'm a Ninja!
None----------because I can't control myself!
Now type out the sentence you made, in the subject line and forward to
your friends.
Don't forget to send it back to the person that sent it to you!
I can't wait to see what you get stuck with.................
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a snowman
6-------a gangster
7-------my mobile phone
8-------m y dog
9-------my best friends' boyfriend
10-------my neighbor
11-------my science teacher
12-------a banana
13-------a fireman
14-------a stuffed animal
15-------a goat
16-------a pickle
17-------your mom
18-------a spoon
19------ - a surf board
20-------a baseball bat
21-------a ninja
22-------Chuck Norris
23-------a noodle
24-------a squirrel
25-------a football player
26-------my sister
27-------my brother
28-------an iPod
29-------a surfer
30-------a llama
31-------A homeless guy
Pick the color of shirt you are wearing right now:
White---------because I'm cool like that
Black---------because that's how I roll.
Pink-----------because I'm crazy.
Red-----------because the voices told me to.
Blue-----------because I'm sexy and I do what I want
Green---------because I think I need some serious help.
Purple---------because I'm AWESOME!
Gray----------because Big Bird said to and he' s my leader.
Yellow--------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange --------because my family thinks I'm stupid anyway.
Brown---------because I can..
Other----------because I'm a Ninja!
None----------because I can't control myself!
Now type out the sentence you made, in the subject line and forward to
your friends.
Don't forget to send it back to the person that sent it to you!
I can't wait to see what you get stuck with.................
Dieting Humor
These are SO me ! Thanks to Khadijateri for sending them to me . If you have EVER had to diet , thought about dieting , or even were told to go on a diet , these are for you as well !
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