A Day at Niagara is Refreshing

We started early and arrived in Niagara's St David's Chocolate Factory. They make their own and it is tasty. I spoke to a tour guide who caters to small parties attempting to convince me to move there. However, I shared my dream of waking up and having a walk along the falls each morning. Next we went for a pairing which I have shared a photo with you at Niagara On the Lake's Chateau Des Charmes www.chateaudescarmes.com I loved the cheese and bought both displayed. I enjoyed the first glass of wine you see and so bought a bottle of that as well as another small bottle, a 2016 unoaked Chardonnay. The chocolate is made by a local woman who designs beautifully and provides them with all the chocolate they need. Our Host was a charming retired CEO Executive who lives in Old Town and works there to meet and interact with people. He provided us with a history of the manor. It was very elegant and I loved it. Next we went to the Mandarin for lunch. As you know I like the Mandarin and hadn't returned since my old professor died. We had spent endless hours of discussions and debates without needing an encampment. I am glad he doesn't have to see what is going on at the University of Toronto now. Next we went to the Casino where I wasted the 35.00 they provided and then went to soak my eyes of my beloved Falls. One of the people I was with mentioned how relaxing it was to leave Toronto. Another who had lived in Niagara misses it and wants to return. Me- well you know I plan to move there when Mr Attitude decides to go to heaven. Anyhow, Niagara Falls, I love you and I am looking forward to moving there eventually. Back to the city. Last night they cut some poor soul's throat and of course he died. Friday night before heading off to Niagara I woke up to the sounds of gunshots. I counted 10. Apparently they were shooting cars on Westmount. They also killed a woman on my street, closer to Eglinton. Yup, as one woman said, it is a different environment at Niagara and I for one, want more of that!

Social-media break has huge impact on young women’s body image: York U study April 30, 2024 - I attended the Scholar's Hub.

Psychology prof says online exposure to idealized images creates ‘infinite’ opportunities for comparison TORONTO, May 01, 2024 – There’s a large and growing body of evidence pointing to potentially negative impacts of social media on mental health, from its addictive nature to disruptions in sleep patterns to effects on body image. Now, a new study coming out of York University’s Faculty of Health found young women who took a social media break for as little as one week had a significant boost in self-esteem and body image – particularly those most vulnerable to thin-ideal internalization. Headshot of Professor Jennifer Mills Professor Jennifer Mills “The statistician inside me was excited – we don't often see effect sizes this large in my area of psychology research because human behaviour is complicated and there's lots of variability,” says Psychology Professor Jennifer Mills, co-author of the paper. “We hope this study can be used to help protect young people and influence social media companies to give users more agency in how they interact with these platforms.” The paper, out this week in the journal Body Image, is thought to be the first to look specifically at social-media breaks and body image. Mills, whose lab has been on the forefront of this kind of research, collaborated on the paper with graduate researcher Lindsay Samson and undergraduate Olivia Smith, both students at York. They expected that there might be recruitment challenges, but it turns out there was enthusiasm for taking a social media pause among the 66 first-year female undergraduates who participated. Half were instructed to continue their social media as per usual, while the other half were given instructions to refrain from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok and other social media use for one week. They conducted baseline surveys before the experiment, and tested the participants again after the week was over. “There's natural variability in how people feel about their bodies and about themselves in general, so we took that into account statistically, and even after that there were still significant differences between the groups after one week,” says Mills, who is also the director of clinical training for the graduate psychology program. The differences in the social media landscape are remarkable compared to when Mills started researching eating disorders and the effects of media, like magazines aimed at women. “Back then, you could only spend so many minutes or hours looking at fashion and beauty magazines and they only came out once a month. There was a finite amount of content that you would be exposed to. With social media it's infinite. It's always new and novel, which triggers our brain's reward system that makes us want more and more of something.” Mills says the improvements found in this study might be explained both by women spending far less time engaging in behaviours known to have a detrimental effect, such as comparisons with others, but they may have also replaced social media with healthier behaviours. “If we're spending more time in real life, socializing with friends, getting sleep, getting outdoors, getting exercise, there could be secondary behaviours that fill the void left by social media. Future research will try to disentangle that.” There is a video that was sent via facebook but I can't seem to post it and it won't be available on utube yet. I have it on Facebook so feel free to see it there. Friday I shall be attending a full day workshop regarding "Appliction of Somatic Interventions in Clinical Practice: Attachment, Trauma, Neurobiology and the body. I shall let you know if anything can apply to you for general interest.

Amazon Mexico is selling Hey Guy Buy Me without my authority

I was selling my books on Amazon but due to problems, I have stopped which didn't until I actually spoke to a representative from Canada Amazon and the USA. I found the USA more helpful. No one claimed responsibilty for Mexico. USA tried to communicate with them. I should let you know that when I first published Hey Guy Buy Me, I shipped about 100 books to Amazon. When I decided not to sell on Amazon any longer, I requested my books back. I was asked if I would offer them to charity. I refused. Then they mysteriously vanished. I took the loss. However, now Mexico is selling Hey Guy Buy Me and of course they offer no English dialogue for me to argue. They are also charging me $43.40 a month. So I have cancelled any further payment with Amazon, period. Certainly do not ever pay $100.00 for a $9.95 book. If you ever have doubts of any of my books or ebooks out there, don't hesitate to contact me. At the moment, I am selling my books, myself, through my own website. Unless, I receive royalties, this will continue. Good talk.

Holocaust Remembrance Day - Memories from my book - For Love of Country Military Policewoman www.silvaredigonda.ca

During one break I went to visit a concentration camp in France. The countryside was beautiful and wooden buildings neatly marked the rows of the hills. Everything was so manicured. I went into the buildings, saw the ovens, saw the showers where the people were killed and the contrast of the beauty of nature and the cruelty of humanity was too much to bear. In one of the buildings, after looking at the shrunken heads and souvenirs from the torture of Jews, tears flowed down my cheeks. I did not cry, but the tears kept coming, and I leaned against the wall horrified at what I was seeing. I would visit one more concentration camp in Germany, Dachau. I remember looking at a black and white photograph of a young beautiful man, a Jew, hanging dead by a rope. They had drained his body of oxygen. I stared at that beautiful face that death could not tarnish, and felt sadness for this man. He would have been so easy to love. I explored the grounds. I saw where people were tortured, where they slept, and the black and white pictures depicted their emaciated bodies. There was hopelessness on their faces. I stopped at a wall which still had blood stains from the people who had been shot against it. Another building had a shrine in honour of two women British Officers who had died bravely in the concentration camp. Why had I never heard about the women who served and died as soldiers? I did not cry or tear up this time. I had hardened, I suppose, during the time of my tour. One thing I was sure of: although I knew that I could kill, I would never, under any circumstances, torture. I was in the military because I believed in peace, because I believed that people and countries need to be protected by those who could do this. Anyone who had anything to do with this should pay the price with their own lives or spend the rest of their days in jail no matter how long it would take to track them. Excerpt From: Silva Redigonda. “For love of country : military policewoman. www.silvaredigonda.ca

I got sick. Don't worry, I shall live.

It was bound to happen. I have interacted with so many people and attended so many functions, that oops, my body said that is enough and so I have shut down. I am stuffed but thankfully no fever. I didn't quit in my dreams though. I had a dream that I was having so much fun. Good thing my body didn't have to go through it. I was flying all over the place in the country. It was the wind propelling some gadget I was wearing which actually doesn't exist. Initially, when I tried flying, I purposely started from a dangerous path, I had to fly or sink in some quick moving cold stream and the other side was forest. That surely motivated me to soar. Once I got the hang of it, I had lots of fun, flying around all over the place, coming down for a while to socialize along a row of meeting places and then off I went and returned, having a great time. I wasn't the only one flying, so we had to be careful not to get too close to each other. I am not going to anaylize this, just enjoying it. Saturday I did go and sell my books at the Legion and I had lots of fun and enjoyed some conversations as I was selling my books. I am glad to see that people still enjoy buying Hey Guy Buy Me and when one woman bought one, a male told her that it was a book for men. She pointed humbly to her husband. I love it. I also had to tell children that I could not sell them my books and one 13 year old, the eldest of her group which the younger ones insisted she was old enought - wasn't. It did have me think though. Do I really have to write a kid's book so I don't have to consistently get them mad or sad? Another approached me about being bullied in school and so she now studies school on line. She said that teachers, knew and did nothing, and that really get's me mad. Yes, I can get mad. See me in the morning without my coffee. If you check out my face book, you will see a photo of me in the morning. I am in the shape of a doggie. I do not accept "friends", unless I actually know the person, but most of my pages are shared to the public. I do this mainly for security reasons. I had no idea when I went on facebook, that I would connect with so many people I have worked with in the past or friends I have had since childhood. My next appearance will be with the Writer's of Canada at the Motive Mystery and Crime Festival 2024, at the Toronto's Harbourfront Centre, from 1100 to 7pm, Saturday 8 Jun 24. Hopefully I will see you there. Come and say hello if you are in Toronto or want to come to Toronto. Word on the Street has moved to Queens Park, but I have always loved being on the waterfront. Anyhow, I know I have much more to share about the Men's Conference so please be patient if that is your interest. NOw I have to do some more resting but I would rather be flying. What do you think?

For Love of Country - Military Police Woman

We met up with the other teams and I carried my cot away from where the others were gathered. I could hear their laughter. You can see a long way in the desert, but I felt that in the dark, away from the others I could hear anyone approaching them that shouldn’t be. I slept with my weapon under my pillow, ready for the unexpected. Nothing happened and the next morning I awoke to the sun. Everyone else was still asleep. I got ready for another day. There is something very beautiful about sunrise in the desert, nothing in sight but sand and sky. When we returned to our own camp, one of the American Military Police told me that some of the American wives complained to him about how I dressed. They thought I revealed too much with my military t- shirt and pants. “What is wrong with these people?” I asked. “We are in the desert, it is hot and I am wearing a military t-shirt and pants. What am I supposed to wear?” I was tired of women, who were not military and not Canadian, complaining. “They are just jealous.” He smiled. I was dressed appropriately so there was nothing further said. I suppose the American Military Police took care of that business. Excerpt From: Silva Redigonda. “For love of country : military policewoman.” www.silvaredigonda.ca

A friendly reminder that I will be selling my books tomorrow at Weston and Eglinton, Legion 31

I have been moved from the corner to Table 21, in the Main Hall. Hope to see you soon.