Family

Beauty Was A Beast

/ Anita Marie / 1 Comment

 Once Upon A Time

When I was about 6 years old my family realized I was a little girl who was fascinated with stories about Head Hunters and Zombies and a guy named ” Burke’s Hare ” who robbed graves and sold the rotting bodies to ” Franks  Stein ” who in turn made Monsters out of them.

I guess my family were more then a little disturbed by my taste in literature so they tried to balance things out by introducing me to your more traditional fairy tales…

Like

 Cinderella

At first I liked Cinderella, but it became clear to me during story time that she needed magic to be prettier then her sisters. I was not encouraged by that as I was not exactly the cutest kid on the block and unless someone showed up with a magic wand I figured I was in trouble.

In the end I was scared of the Cinderella story, it used to give me nightmares.

However I LOVED Snow White.

She got to live in the woods and she ate a poisoned apple and lived-which made perfect sense to me as I had swallowed kerosene on a dare a year before and I had lived.

So I felt a kinship with Snow White and her weird friends who looked like trolls.

She was one lucky girl I remember thinking- her friends were monsters and carried axes and in addition she had black hair too ( which wasn’t something girls in fairy tales had unless they were bad ) so I happily saw myself in that role and asked for that story a lot.

But the Fairy Tale Character who offended me to the marrow of my little girl bones and the one character I truly learned to hate was Beauty- from Beauty and the Beast.

More then halfway through the story I did whatever it is kids do during story time to be disruptive and my Grandma tossed the book into my toy box and that was the end of that.

Or so I thought.

So why did I get so upset?

Here.

Let me count the ways.

First of all her Dad ditches her in the woods and she spends all of her time wishing he would come back-had that been my Dad there would have been serious Hell to pay if he had ever shown his face around me again…

but I digress.

The only person who is nice to Beauty is an Ugly Man who almost dies when Beauty’s  kid ditching Dad shows up and takes her back.

Now that part made me cry and it was awhile before I agreed to hear the end of the story which my Grandma was glad to tell me because I had taken to drawing pictures of Beauty being visited by ” Burkes Hare ” and I was hanging them up all over the walls in my bedroom.

Well.

I was mad, but a sport so I learned that Beauty goes back to the castle the Beast and everything around the castle comes back to life and…

Beast turns into a handsome Prince “and they lived Happily Ever After” my relieved Grandmother sang out as she finished the story.

I remember telling my Grandma ” If she had eaten a poisoned apple that would have been a  very happy ending.”

” You really think so, don’t you. “

It really wasn’t a question.

I didn’t say anything but I remember my Grandmother looked at me with those wicked green eyes of hers and winked at me. I remember she said something about not winning them all…

and I was never treated to another Fairy Tale by anybody in my family again.

….And we all lived happily ever after that.

The End.

My Hero

/ Anita Marie / 4 Comments

It was a bad day.

It was one of those I feel invisible days.

It was one of those ” if I got sucked up into an alien space ship from Mars or burst into flames I’ll bet no one would notice” kind of days.

You know.

It has been one THOSE days.

So when I come home from work in a worse then usual mood  I smell something coming from the hallway that goes into my bedroom and there I find

a bird wing

the hind quarters of something – don’t ask me what it was

a little pile of guts

And

sitting there purring his little heart out is my psycho cat

Blitzer.

He’s purring so loud his body is shaking and then he meows and climbs up my leg to my shoulder.

You know it is true…the little things that we do for each other counts for a lot.

Even if those little things attracts flies.

img_0016.jpg

Write Here

/ Anita Marie / 1 Comment

It’s new ( well to me )

it’s exciting.

There a story about this giant fish and dog and…um.

Go see it for yourself here:

Searching The South

when you’re done visit

The Struggling Writer.

He shouldn’t have to Struggle

He’s THAT good.

Enjoy.

You will.

Promise

a.m

Sue

/ Anita Marie / 5 Comments

Today I found out my brother’s ex-girlfriend died.

She had a disease called Cerebellar Ataxia but what got her was pneumonia.

Her name is Sue and she and my brother have a son named Andy.

Andy has Cerebellar Ataxia too- he’s blind and can’t walk or control his facial muscles and it’s difficult for him to talk, he takes his food through a tube. He’s in his early 20’s and never learned to drive a car, he’s never traveled or had a girlfriend he loves the TV show “Friends”.

He’s in a nursing home.

That’s Andy’s life now- that’s what he grew up to do- to end up bedridden in a nursing home.

I really hate life today.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t intend to make the most of it- I intend to enjoy making every freaking damn second of it count.

For Andy and Sue.

Roaring Through My 20’s

/ Anita Marie / 6 Comments

When I was a kid I wanted to be a Flapper.

I wanted to wear those cool clothes and have that edgy haircut and have boys coming to my house in Model T Fords-preferably painted yellow.

I wanted to hang out in Speakeasys

and smoke cigarettes from long cigarette holders and say things like ” that’s the bee’s knees alright ” when something impressed me and I wanted to say in a low sexy gravely voice that could make people blush ” Did you see Anne’s new Sheik? He’s the Cat’s Pajama’s”

Oh wait.

I do say things like ” The Bee’s Knees ” and “Cat’s Pajama’s” and when a guys are off the scale gorgeous I do think of them as Sheiks ( as in Valentino Sexy and if you don’t know who he was, Google him )

And be warned nobody can do the Charleston as good as me- well, nobody my age anyway.

So how did a Punk Rocker born in 1964 find her way back to the 1920’s and come back again as an Honorary Flapper?

Other Grandmothers take their Grand-kids to the Park and to the Beach.

My Grandma sent me on a trip to the roaring 20’s.

My Grandmother and her Sisters- who in their day weren’t just on the cutting edge of the 1920’s it sounded to me like they stood on the blade itself and jumped up and down all over it.

I grew up on their stories about the advent of extreme makeup styles and short hair for women and the music- which seemed to have a preoccupation with fruit, booze and love. 

When they would tell me about having to sneak out to change their clothes so that they could ‘ look modern’ and the lengths they went through just to wear makeup and find boyfriends and get their haircut short I would think how sweet and silly and innocent that all sounded.

One day after we traded a few wild stories that started because we had been discussing my music and motorcycle riding and new black leather jacket  ripped up jeans and black eyeshadow and  safety pin look I remember my Grandmother sort of looked over to one of her sisters and they didn’t laugh or chuckle or tell me how exciting my life sounded.

In fact, if anything they seemed a bit under-impressed.

And then my Grandmother winked and said how silly and fun and innocent it all sounded.

And looking back on it now and looking at the world my Nieces are living in and what it’s like for them now days- I’m starting to think she was was right.

What About Meredith?

/ Anita Marie / 4 Comments

I’d like you to meet Meredith.

She’s a murder victim.

This is Amanda, she’s a suspect in Meredith’s Murder:

Here in Seattle, Washington there have been enough words in defense of Amanda Knox  to pave the I-5 from one end of the state to the other.

But there have been few, if any words for Meredith.

Amanda’s family have been supported and sympathized for in the press-which something I doubt you’d see from our local journalists if Amanda had been the victim and a ” stranger ” was being held as a suspect in the King County Jail and that suspects family were asking for the same sympathetic coverage.

So I am left asking myself the question:

What about Meredith?

She was a person, she became a murder victim and the press here in Seattle has come a breath away from painting Meredith as a dark little cloud full of rain that showered itself all over the promising  life of Amanda Knox.

What happened to Meredith needs to be answered for- and until that question is answered I think ALL of the suspects in this case should stay exactly where they are.

After all, at the end of the day the suspects will get to either walk towards judgement or they will get to go home.

Meredith will not be going anywhere.

She was buried on December 14, 2007

Meredith Kercher's funeral

News Stories:

Meredith suspects remain in jail

Meredith murder case examined
By Daniel Knowles

Meredith Kercher's funeral

Miss Kercher’s sister Stephanie (right) comforts a mourner after the funeral service, in which Stephanie read a poem composed for the occasion.

In pictures: Meredith Kercher funeral

Meredith Kercher funeral

UPDATE

On December 4, 2009

Amanda Knox was found guilty of murdering Meredith and sentenced to 26 years in prison.

Are You Ready For Aloha Friday?

/ Anita Marie / 3 Comments

Visit The 50th State Radio Website and really get into the Aloha Friday Spirit!

( HERE )

Hawaiian Shirts and the Aloha Friday Tradition

Hawaiian shirts, or Aloha shirts as they are called in Hawaii, have been a part of Hawaii’s culture since they were invented back in the 1930s. Because of Hawaii’s warm weather and casual lifestyle, the formal business suit is not used as the day-to-day business attire. In 1947 city of Honolulu began encouraging people to wear Hawaiian shirts to work from June through August to beat the summer heat. Since then, aloha wear as work attire has grown from summer wear to Friday wear to everyday wear. ( More HERE )

The Coconut Wireless

Hawaiin Events Listings for Northern California and Beyond

Like:

Hula Halau
Hawaiian Bands
Hawaiian Events 

Aloha Friday Recipe: Banana Guava Pie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sliced bananas
1 1/4 cups guava nectar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons cold water
baked pie shell

Procedure
Combine guava nectar, lemon juice, sugar and salt. Bring to boil over low heat. Mix cornstarch and water to a smooth paste and stir into mixture. Stir until thickened and clear. Cool. Combine with bananas and pour into baked pie shell. Serve with whipped cream.

Aloha Friday Recipe: Mango Sweet Bread Pudding

5 loaves of Sweet bread
5 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
6 eggs
2 Tbsp Vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract
4 cups evaporated milk

Combine wet ingredients and mix well. Cut or tear bread into 1″ pieces. Combine mixture with bread. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, mix every 15 minutes.

Recipe from Chef Kelvin Ro of the Diamond Head Market and Grill

Recipes from Everything About Hawaii and Aloha (HERE)

 

Now…here it is… the town my family calls home:

Honokaa

( Pictures from Honokaa.Com)

Here’s why I chose these two pictures- the first time I ever skinned my knee bad was in front of this theatre ( I was about three ) and once my Granfather saw a ghost lady in front of the church.

( more about the theatre HERE )

The Waipio Valley.

It’s haunted and full of ghosts.

So there.

Here’s some interesting stuff about it from Hawaii Highways HERE

These nine photos cover the notoriously steep access road from the Waipio Overlook at the western end of Honokaa-Waipio Road (state route 240), down into the Waipio Valley. While the road is now paved and only about ¾ mile long, the 25% average grade (said to be up to 45% at some points), taking the road about 900 feet down to the valley floor, is steep enough to destroy brakes on the way down, and stall engines on the way up. The road is therefore restricted to 4x4s (which you’ll need anyway to navigate the unpaved roads on the valley floor), and hikers with strong legs.

 Here’s a Cool Slideshow

And for a little history about Honokaa Go HERE

Now go forth and get into the Aloha Friday Spirit!

Anita Marie

In All Of The World

/ Anita Marie / 2 Comments

This is an amazing story about a little girl who was born with two faces.

In a world that requires we all look the same and dress the same and think the same…

she is truly unique.

And beautiful.

amm

An Indian girl, born with four eyes, two noses and two mouths ...

Indian baby born with two faces doing well, say parents

by Parul GuptaSun Apr 6, 1:49 PM ET

The parents of an Indian infant girl born with two faces say that she is eating and breathing normally despite having two pairs of eyes and lips and two noses.

The baby, who is yet to be named, was born to factory worker Vinod Kumar and his wife Sushma three weeks ago in northern India and has been drawing a stream of curious observers and others who consider her a deity in this deeply religious Hindu-majority country.

“I had never seen something like this in my life so naturally I was a little scared when I first saw her,” her father said at the weekend at the family’s mud-and-brick house in Noida town, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) northeast of New Delhi.

The girl has found easy acceptance in Kumar’s large, extended family, who say they have no plans to consult doctors to check if the girl can receive treatment or corrective surgery.

“The doctor said everything is normal when she was born. So where’s the need to get medical help?” said the child’s father.

“She’s fed through one mouth and sucks her thumb with the other. We use whichever mouth is free to feed her,” the 24-year-old Kumar told AFP, adding she is eating and breathing normally.

Doctors said it was an extremely rare case, with the girl having two skulls joined together, and that separating them was out of the question.

“Since the heads are fused, separating them is not possible,” paediatrician D.K Gupta of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences told the Hindustan Times newspaper on the weekend.

But doctors said the girl should be examined thoroughly to study the possibility of complications.

“Clearly the child is in no immediate danger but it has to be checked whether the oral and nasal cavity and other passages” are functioning properly, paediatrician Gupta said.

The case comes just months after Indian doctors performed a rare, marathon surgery to remove the extra limbs of a girl born with four arms and legs.

Two-year-old Lakshmi Tatma’s case captivated the nation last year as domestic and international media focused on her complicated surgery performed in southern Bangalore city in November.

This year, Lakshmi started taking her first steps with the help of a baby walker, delighting her parents and doctors.

Lakshmi, named after the four-armed Hindu goddess of wealth, was born fused to the pelvis of a twin that had stopped developing in her mother’s womb — a condition that occurs once in 50,000 conjoined twin births.

Kumar said he had heard about Lakshmi, but did not want to change anything about his daughter’s features.

“Whatever God has given me is acceptable. What can we do about it?” he said, lifting the baby to take her away after allowing a brief glimpse of her as neighbours crowded around her cot.

“This child is very special to us,” the baby’s grandfather chimed in, gazing lovingly at the infant.

Conan

/ animar / Leave a comment

This is a true story about a dog that was shot at multiple times by a person with a massive inferiority complex, no sense of right and wrong and their bow and arrow.

The heartbreaking part of the story is that the dog died- the part of the story that will stay with me forever is that the dog was sitting at his family’s back door where he knew he’d be found by the people he loved.

I can’t help but to wonder if there is a place like that for the person who killed Conan.

I don’t think so.

The world – fit for neither human, nor beast.

Dog shot with arrow dies