zoomharp

Maybe Stef can put out the word! Start mentioning it to all those young men who call in wanting help with their life direction. Stefan! Mike! As long as y'all are saving the world, would you add this to the list please? Marshall, am I correct in my political incorrectness here? We need men for this. Yes?

Our strategy was to discuss and negotiate situations before, not during. At a quiet time, when parent-child love is in the air, you say, "Let's talk about...." And then you focus on 1) what will be ok more than what won't be ok, 2) how the child views your boundaries or the situation, 3) what you can agree on, 4) what will happen when the situation comes up and the child doesn't "hold up their end of the agreement." The message of love and mutual respect need to come through. Good luck! Book recommendation: "Kids are worth it" by Barbara Coloroso.

I hope this is ok to share here. I listened to this podcast today and could not stop thinking about all the young men who call in to the show to ask Stefan about their life direction. http://www.artofmanliness.com/2017/05/30/mike-rowe-interview/ There is a huge "skills gap" right now, with a shortage of men learning blue collar trades -- all based on the devaluation of blue collar work and the false glorification of college. There is also a lot of opportunity for young men (and women to some extent) for a solid income and a good life. This interview was so enlightening. (Being female, I didn't quite enjoy the part about biting off lamb testicles. But I have a feeling you boys will be highly entertained.)

I guess someone has now suggested that Trump fans wear a straw on their lapels, to signify "suck it up, buttercup."

A lot of my friends are into this new fad of wearing a safety pin to virtue-signal that they are "a safe space" for others to... I don't know, weep on their shoulders over Trump winning? Not hear facts they don't like? Connecting this trend to the safe spaces on university campuses, I always point out that I think it's another way to promote censorship and inhibit diversity of thought. I am not very popular when I say this! And that's without adding my opinion that the symbol really only applies to people on the left. You can call conservatives any damn thing you want - no safe space for them! I am interested to know if others are having conversations about this and how that's going.

In just the few days since I first asked for help, there is so much more evidence coming out. That "friend" seems done with me and is just posting pathetic anti Trump stuff on his wall. An observation from the trauma of the last 4+ months (I say "trauma" because as I mentioned before I am not cut out for this!): you can put forth the most convincing evidence, again and again, and when the leftists cannot refute it they will eventually come up with "But look what [Trump/Bush/anyone they dislike] did!" Didn't their mothers tell them "two wrongs don't make a right"?

Thanks for the continued support and suggestions. I have since been called a liar and unfriended by one of the people who didn't like what I was saying (not the person I quoted above). No real loss there, but I am not soldierly and stuff like this always hurts.

That was very helpful,Taraelizabeth. Thanks so much for taking the time. Here is the reply I ended up making, if anyone is interested. "I respect your intellect very much, [name], but I am flabbergasted that you don't think there is enough credible evidence. Absolutely flabbergasted. Lying repeatedly about her emails and her devices? Using Bleachbit on her server and smashing her Blackberry with a hammer? The Clinton Foundation and Haiti? The Russian Uranium deal? Bill having a secret meeting with Loretta Lynch on the tarmac while the latter is investigating his wife? Harassing Bill's rape victims to keep them quiet? I won't comment on your posts anymore if you don't want me to. I know people feel annoyed by this, and I'm sorry I've upset you. It's not my intention I assure you. Just following my conscience. Be well. "

How will that help?

My FB Friends page is a nightmare these days. I am convinced by Stef that we have to fight Hillary for the sake of civilization. But I am not good at this!! Will you help me? After being attacked for 2 FB posts last week that were questionable (Michael Moore's pro Trump speech and the Joe Biden's "lazy American women" speech, I now want to be extra careful that my replies and posts are unassailable, concise, and convincing. What link(s) would you use to combat this statement from someone who took exception to my calling Hillary corrupt and criminal? : "Corrupt and criminal? I am not a Hillary fan, I am reasonably well-read (news-wise), and I am the last person to claim that politicians don't get away with murder, but nothing I have seen has convinced me that she is corrupt or - much less - criminal, unless the bar is set extremely low. When I do, I will change my mind. But until then, I need a reasonable amount of evidence, and nobody credible has offered any. One thing that keeps most of the people who hate Clinton off my credibility list is their failure to apply the same standards to the politicians they support and/or worship (past or present)." I respectfully request only helpful suggestions rather than lectures on unfriending leftists or refraining from engagement. Those ideas might be good, but right now I'm in a firefight -- and over what? Whether Hillary is corrupt? Surely there is a quick way to shoot this down. Thank you!

I agree with Stef. We are out of time.

"PS anyone know how to show I am a donator on my profile." Send a message to Michael. [email protected] Good luck with your situation.

I just remembered a part of our homeschooling that I think was of supreme importance. It slipped my mind because it is a negation rather than a resource. Don't watch TV! TV news sucks, TV shows promote conformity and shallow values, and all the commercials are sure to put a dent in any child's IQ. Beware of PBS as well, and make sure any "educational" programs are not propaganda. We occasionally turned on weather channel, and we watched special events such as the Olympics, Rose Parade, etc. We always hit "mute" during the commercials and I told our daughter directly, "commercials make people stupid." We had "movie night" every week, but that was always dvds and videos. Watching TV regularly inhibits reading, creativity, critical thinking, and physical vitality. You will be amazed at what your children think of to do -- and enjoy! -- if the TV is not on. Good luck!

Our daughter is grown now, so hind sight is 20/20. But for what it's worth... We always went by what was the best for our child's learning style, which meant frankenstein-ing the curriculum together. I understand the appeal of a packaged curriculum. I really do, but we chose to piece it together. There is SO much out there to choose from these days. We went through three math programs (ouch- $$) that did not suit her before settling on the DVD based Math-U-See (later supplemented with Khan Academy and my husband's expertise - mathematician) and now she is an engineering student at college. We took the advice of an experienced homeschool friend and focused on reading rather than writing for her creative writing skills ("leave her writing alone until she is at least 12") and she ended up doing NaNoWriMo five years running and has completed over 10 novels. We discovered that her engineering mind loved diagrams and so we went through the entire Analytical Grammar series, which is mostly sentence diagramming with increasing complexity. I had no idea she would like that! Our science curriculum was all over the place: unit studies, library materials, field trips, documentaries, and eventually online courses for AP work (thinkwell.com is good). We joined a homeschool co-op that offered all kinds of classes, where she took Forensics, Electronics, Chemistry, and many other courses. We started French about 7 times, eventually finding Powerspeak and getting the 2 years credit she needed for highsch. graduation. When she was a Junior she fell in love with Latin and took that on her own. She loved Geography and we did all kinds of workbooks, games and actual travel. For history, we used Story of the World which, though Christian, is a fair and interesting series. That one we did in read-aloud style, from age 8 to 11 - so fun! P.E. was real instead of the forced nonsense my husband and I had to put up with in school. In our state she could have gone part time to the public school to participate in team sports, but she was always more interested in individual sports. We made sure she had opportunities to pursue any athletics she liked. She learned to ski, ride a horse, shoot an arrow, ride a bike, swim, etc. It was up to her what to pursue because we wanted her to be an adult who likes to move and play. During her high school years we did a lot of Great Courses (dvd courses), taking the whole year to go through a series. (US History, Human Health, Music Appreciation, History of Art, several others). I didn't do a lot of testing, but would write up little quizzes just to see if she was paying attention. lol Yes, she was. I worried that colleges wouldn't accept Great Courses as legit. classwork, but they did. We gave up on many, many materials that didn't suit her: General science course book (too boring), Vocabulary builder workbooks (she already knew the words, thanks to reading a lot), Spelling books (again, not needed). This is why I am glad we didn't buy a packaged curriculum. Those materials are great, I'm sure. But each child learns each topic in their own way. I saw packaged curriculum as a modified version of public school, and we wanted her not just to learn but to learn how to find your favorite methods of learning. That way, she can continue learning throughout life. I hope this is helpful and not just me rambling on and on. Overall, I recommend being as open minded and flexible as possible. Then when your child(ren) reach(es) high school age, start documenting everything and prepare the child for SAT Subject Tests (Barrons test prep books were very helpful) if they are college bound. "Teaching to the test" is not tons of fun, but takes very little time in the efficient world of homeschooling. (And we found she was basically ready without additional instruction anyway.) Those subject tests prove that you are not just giving out "mommy grades." (We did not use grades until high school btw.) Outside verification is very important to college admissions boards. Also record and document any high school level work done in 7th & 8th grades, which can be substantial for homeschoolers. For grades, I documented what my grading system was and used the grade-point-to-letter-grade system that the local university used. Her high school transcript was 10 pages long, so full of accomplishments and activities! With all the confidence I have in how we approached homeschooling, it wasn't until our daughter got into a tough and competitive university program that I really embraced that confidence. Until then, I just knew she was a smart, happy, confident person with a great personality and a kind heart. But even that alone wouldn't be a bad outcome, would it? Then when she got admitted I wanted to yell to all my negative family members and the homeschool naysayers, "now you can go f- yourselves!!" All the best to you and your family! Thanks for letting me rant and rave.

Hey Troubadour! Will do! And I buy from the UK as well. I have a harp made in Surrey (Pilgrim Harps in Godstone) And I buy about $500 in harp strings every year from Bow Brand of the UK. I must tell you, my husband and I were dancing around for joy last night (way out here on the west coast of the US). Well done!! Hang in there; the tough times that might be ahead during the break will be temporary. Think cotton prices in the USA when slavery ended. We are so happy for you, and so full of admiration for your courage!

Hi Fred Black Fox! Thank you for your welcoming words. Yes, I was "gone" for a while from the forums, raising and home-schooling an awesome child who is now in college studying engineering. Your post makes lots of sense, and I am sorry if I sounded like I was denigrating self-examination. My advice was based on my belief that our friend MAttinoto was seeking more concrete suggestions to get a relationship going, rather than to get support with personal growth and healing. Of course, I support both! But I'm worried for him because the only activity in his life that he mentions is video games. Yes, maybe there is a ton more and it's just none of our business -- I'm fine with that. lol Just trying to help. One woman's perspective. Cheers.

Let us know how it goes if you feel like it! And if I may add one more thought... You seem to be focused on how you act and on self-examination. I want to encourage you to focus equally on who you are -- not your innate personality, which is obviously very nice but all the activities and interests that make up your life: what you do at/for work, but also how you spend your downtime, such as learning a language or an instrument, taking up a sport, reading a lot of good books, volunteering at an animal shelter --or whatever! Whomever you eventually meet and fall in love with should adore you, and you her. I say "adore," because when problems arise (which they will!) no couple can respectfully and lovingly negotiate solutions unless they treasure their mate and are willing to endure huge discomfort/humility/sacrifice to preserve the relationship. As beneficial as talking and journaling may be for you personally, what does that level of self-awareness offer a potential mate? In my opinion, very little unless it goes hand in hand with a fascinating, joyful, and intellectually stimulating person. Remember James Taggart in Atlas Shrugged, and how he couldn't understand why Cherryl couldn't just love him for being him? I'm not saying you are like that at all! But you are going to be making changes (I assume) and you can move either direction on that continuum at one end of which is James Taggert, and the other end is your best self, full of value and joy and life. Thank you so much for listening. I truly hope this helps and that you feel encouraged.

You sound like a great guy! Being happily married over 25 years, I always wonder where young couples meet each other these days. I met my husband while we were both pursuing a common hobby (we played in a band together). The first thing I noticed in him was the high quality of his talent and the joy he had. Another guy in the band (creep) told me negative things about my husband before I even met him, but I saw pretty quick that it was b.s. So, do something fun and do it well! I never went on dates with men I did not know (i.e. men I met at a party or who tried to pick me up when I was at work). I even told one guy, "I don't go on dates with men I don't know," and he was so shocked. "How on earth do you ever meet anybody?" he said. I replied, "I have an active life and I meet other active people." A good woman will be attracted to the value in you first, and all that wonderful kindness you have to offer will be icing on the cake. Although there are lots more single women than men around, there are far more single liberty-minded men than women I think. At least that's my observation. I had been married 2 years before my husband succeeded (slowly, patiently, lovingly) in drawing me to libertarian thinking. (And I returned the favor by leading him to atheism.) So I guess I'm advising that you look for a good woman who adores you and isn't afraid to discuss hard topics. I hope this is helpful to you. We who love liberty need more families on board. Cheers.

I like the book recommendations. And I will add Barbara Colorosa's Kids Are Worth It. It's a very practical guide to the daily challenges of parenting - peacefully! My 19 y.o. was raised on that book and she is awesome!! Dr. Sears' The Baby Book helped us a lot too. I am a big believer in "attachment parenting" for strong, confident, smart kids. Congratulations and thank you for reproducing! lol We need more people like you.

Recently the EU imposed regulations affecting the materials used for the production of harp strings, the biggest manufacturer of which is in the UK. (Bow Brand) I doubt very much that the royalty over at the EU cared much when just about every classical harpist in the US began experiencing strings snapping right and left, unpredictably and disastrously disturbing performances. Keep in mind that 35 of a harp's 47 strings are made of (EU contaminated) gut, that those strings cost between $5 and $28 per string depending on length, that all harpists carry a full set in reserve and therefore cannot get refunds for broken EU-crap strings because they are always over 2 weeks old when they break. Moreover one's reputation and career will always be threatened if a string breaks during a concert or a wedding. The quality control is back on track for now, but the damage it has done is immense. Want to hear what it's like? This world-renowned artist offers a sound clip from her disaster during the Ginastera Harp Concerto with the Columbus Symphony: http://www.yolandaharp.com/#!No-Guts-No-Glory/hc5sh/56f55e220cf23c800ad1c7a6