Lions For Lambs

We recently watched a DVD of Lions For Lambs, a movie with such big names in the cast it should have been unbeatable. Redford, Streep, Cruise - any name alone enough to carry a film to greatness, although together not enough to pull this film off.

The story of the film was good too, soldiers and war and politics and reporters and apathetic college kids, all elements which could have made a riveting film. The individual performances were good too - but the movie never allowed all of the fine pieces (actors and storyline) to shine. What could have been a blockbuster fizzled due to pussy-footing and pansying around.

I guess the makers of the movie were afraid to call a pig a pig. They were trying to say that the government made very huge mistakes in recent war efforts, without ever criticising the governement. The movie was trying to open eyes so that we wouldn't continue to make mistakes, and would make better choices in the future. But it never really took the stand and came right out and said it. The movie tried to make the case that the media is part of the problem, without ever coming out and saying it.

Were they afraid of offending anyone? This could have been so much better a movie, and won awards, and had the chance to make a difference.

On a more interesting note though, the title comes from a quote attributed to a German General during WWI. Wikipedia says:

The name of the film is derived from a remark made by a German officer during World War I, comparing British soldiers' bravery with the calculated criminality of their commanders. While several reviewers in the UK have criticized the film for misquoting the commonly used phrase of "lions led by donkeys", in an article on the origin of the title, The Times wrote without attribution:
One such composition included the observation, 'Nowhere have I seen such Lions led by such Lambs.' While the exact provenance of this quotation has been lost to history, most experts agree it was written during the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest clashes in modern warfare. While some military archivists credit the author as an anonymous infantryman, others argue that the source was none other than General Max von Gallwitz, Supreme Commander of the German forces. In either case, it is generally accepted to be a derivation of Alexander the Great’s proclamation, 'I am never afraid of an army of Lions led into battle by a Lamb. I fear more the army of Lambs who have a Lion to lead them.

I was much more intrigued by the accepted origin of the quote from Alexander the Great. What a good point, an army of lambs led by a lion is much more effective than an army of lions led by a lamb. Imagine the VietNam conflict or the current situation in the mid-east if we had an army of lambs led by a Lion. Both outcomes would have been markedly different.

This film could have been a box office smash, an artistic smash in terms of awards, and it could have made a difference in the political world. By trying to tip-toe around things a get the point across in a subtle way the makers of the film managed to be a flop at the box office, a flop in the awards, and a flop in the real world.

Sometimes you have to stand up for what you believe and call a pig a pig.

..

The Power Of Affirmations

At the end of each Monday Motivating Moment, we include an affirmation for the week. Some of our readers have reported using them with great success. Other readers indicate that they read them only once. So what is the deal with affirmations, and how can they be successfully used?

Affirmations are positive statements that, when read and spoken repeatedly, can be very powerful mind and life changers. If you think about it, we all use affirmations, affirming a certain condition, mindset, or situation in our lives.

Most often these affirmations are negative and may include some statements as, "I am not very... smart, athletic, successful, likeable, thin, healthy, etc. I will never be... successful, happy, prosperous, etc."

.

Take a moment to reflect upon the statements you repeatedly make about yourself, silently or out loud. Are the statements negative? How do you see your life and does it reflect an underlying belief pattern supported by any negative affirmations? Do you want to change your life and your mindset? If so, affirmations are powerful tools to do just that. So how do you create and use these tools?

1 The statement should be positive, in the present tense, and short. "I am happy, prosperous and successful in all aspects of my life." "I am at my right and perfect weight." "I love to exercise."

2 Repeat the affirmations throughout your day. It is especially helpful to post them where you can see them during the day.

3 Imagine what your life would look and be like as you make your affirmations. Remember, what you see is what you get.

4 Believing the affirmations will bring about quicker results, but sometimes you must repeat the affirmations until you begin to believe them (just as you did when you used negative statements). Act as if the affirmation is already true and watch as it become so.

5 Be persistent in the use of your affirmations. The more serious that you are about making the changes, the more likely you are to use the affirmations. Some affirmations bring about quick results and others require use on a daily basis for weeks or months.

Affirmation for the Week:

"I am a happy, healthy, successful person. I am firm in my beliefs and create the life that I want through positive statements and beliefs.”

Have an affirming week!

Mary Rau-Foster

.

Catching My Breath

Life has been insanely busy lately - makes it hard to Blog!

Last week was dear son's birthday, and while he only invited 7 friends over to celebrate, it seemed much more like 70! There is something very large and demanding about 7 young men, around the 17 yr old age. They were large and loud competing at video games on their own Lan network, even larger and louder while trying to outdo one another at the weight bench followed by arm wrestling, and even louder lined up in the backyard with a variety of air-soft rifles, pistols, and shotguns taking target practice. But all that was nothing compared to just how loud and large and demanding they were when it came to food. I severely underestimated the amount of food I needed - not to mention beverages!

And when did birthday celebrations become 3 day affairs?? I swear - I can still sense the excess testosterone in the house!

Then it was off to Olive Garden for dinner with dear friends, fellow submissive women. And really, it's always such a wonderful time with them. I love a wide diversity of people in my life, but there is something relaxing about getting together with other people who think like I do, and "get" me!

Prior to son's birthday W/we celebrated with a dear friend as her daughter turned 21. Such a fun party, great company, food, (they didn't run out!) and a fabulous pool to swim in! I hope it didn't take them as long to recover from the celebration as it's taken me!

Don't get me wrong - son is an only child, and I didn't intend to only have an only child, so I love a houseful of kids! And his friends are great kids too. Perhaps this house is slightly smaller than 7 boys requires, or I'm a little older, or they're a bit hungrier, or I'm not sure what, lol.

I had time to recover though, and less than a week later W/we're celebrating Master's birthday. I volunteered to take His birthday spanking for Him - it's a sacrifice, but He's worth it. ;)

So in less than a week I've baked 2 cakes and provided what seems like a ton of junk food. I think I need to eat a salad! Maybe some broccoli too...

Of course there are still other things going on, more mundane things, and it's just been a little too much, and took away my blogging time!

But I haven't gone anywhere. I'm still here. And in fact, have been trying to transfer some of my older blog entries from a different site over to here. ~k~ told me how to use the Options feature to actually post the entry on the day it was originally posted - so that's wonderful! The only tie up to the whole thing is the other site - it operates sooooooooooo slowly, that it really takes a lot of patience and down time waiting for every page to load up. I guess I'll look at it as a positive exercise for me.

.

Keep On Singing!

Most of us are lucky enough to have special friends in our lives - people who brighten our spirits and lift us up, people who help us become the best vision of who we want to be. I'm fortunate to have friends like that too.

Of course, when lifes path gets rocky (as it always does) sometimes even the most inspiring of friends needs help seeing the light. This is when you want to be able to give something back, and help smooth the path.

Christina Aguilera says it very well in her song "Keep on Singin' My Song":

I believe they can take anything from me

But they can't succeed in taking my inner peace

They can say all they wanna say about me

But I'm gonna carry on

Keep on singing my song

Dearest, keep on singing your song - no worries about "them"! Just be well, be happy, and dwell in love.

.

The Bathtub Test

During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director, "How do you determine whether or not a patient should be institutionalized."

"Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub."

"Oh, I understand," said the visitor. "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup."

"No." said the Director, "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"

.

Why Wait?

He said I was in my early forties
with a lot of life before me
when a moment came that stopped me on a dime
and I spent most of the next days
looking at the x-rays
Talking bout the options
and talking bout sweet time
I asked him when it sank in
that this might really be the real end
how's it hit you when you get that kinda news
man what'd you do

and he said
I went sky diving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named fumanchu
and I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter
and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying
and he said someday I hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying.

He said I was finally the husband
that most the time I wasn't
and I became a friend a friend would like to have
and all of a sudden going fishin
wasn't such an imposition
and I went three times that year I lost my dad
well I finally read the good book
and I took a good long hard look
at what I'd do if I could do it all again

and then
I went sky diving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named fumanchu
and I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter
and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying
and he said someday I hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying.

Like tomorrow was a gift and you got eternity to think about
what'd you do with it what did you do with it
what did I do with it
what would I do with it?

Sky diving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named fumanchu
and then I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter
and I watched an eagle as it was flying
and he said someday I hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying.
To live like you were dying
To live like you were dying
To live like you were dying
To live like you were dying

(Tim McGraw, Live Like You Were Dying)

Graduation!

Exciting times around here lately!

Last Saturday we received some long-awaited mail from the State - O/our son has graduated from High School - a year early! His Diploma arrived along with his scores and rankings - in the subject he thought he wouldn't do as well in (writing) he was average. In the others he did quite well - one subject he was actually in the 99th percentile of all test takers, 95th, 88th, and 84th for the remaining subjects.

Of course I KNEW he would pass with flying colors, he's just that smart. But you know also, there's always that little voice in the back of your head - the little doubting Thomas. So there was great happiness when we finally got the proof in our hands.

So much to do now - there must be a celebration you know. :)

I am so proud of this child/man. My baby - I swear it wasn't long ago when he was newborn. And so very bright. He's been through a lot in his 16 years, and yet he is so grounded and down to earth. I am so blessed.

.