The issue should not be skin colour at all. No one can tell enough about you from just your skin colour to classify you as a person. The issue of race is based on fear of something different, unpredictable. Human beings tend to be intimidated by something we can't understand, predict, or control.

If people stopped promoting racism, it would likely go away a lot sooner. Consider why it is so important to you to keep promoting racism before you write about the colour of someone's skin - whatever colour it may be.

In our culture, we think we are so civilized and sophisticated, skin colour should mean nothing more than a feature of a specific human being - like the shape of your nose, a mole, a scar... they all add up to characteristics which create the whole. All of those are superficial. You can't actually know anyone at that level, let alone where their ancestors and heritage came from.

I'm "white" but just as Keanu is Hawaiian, Chinese, etc. I am Canadian, Austrian, German, Scottish and whatever else farther back in time. What does it matter to you or anyone else? You don't know me. Being "mixed race" is more than skin deep and should be about more than skin tone/ colour.

No one is "monoracial". To want rights based on being mixed race and then deny or begrudge the same rights to another group of people (for the very same reason!) is backwards and silly. Being white enough to pass for white is far too far down the rabbit hole. Everyone, each human being on the planet, is of mixed race.

All the complaints about racism only create more racism. Instead, stop focusing on skin colour as a way to judge a person. Brown, black, white, green... it is all mixed race. We are on this planet together whether your skin is light or dark, your hair is straight or curly,  or not there at all. Each of us decides their own identity. If you base your identity on race, that's up to you. Don't push it on others who may feel their career, hobbies, skills, strengths, etc define them more than the colour of their skin.

(This post inspired by a post about Keanu Reeves being of mixed race but passing for white and being denied his identity. See below).

As mixed race people, we must have the freedom to define our own identities. Thus, monoracial people deciding our identities for us is dangerous behavior that renders us invisible.

So, is Reeves being cast truly a case of White-washing? No. As a person of non-white heritage, Reeves being cast is not White-washing. While audiences may not read him as a person of color, that is not his fault, nor is it his responsibility to ensure that people make the correct assumptions about his identity. That is not and never will be the job of mixed race people.

Is White-washing an issue? Most definitely. Are mixed race actors to blame? Not at all.

Source: Keanu Reeves and the White-washing of Hollywood :: WINM

Stuff like this bugs me!

Why give credit to males for something like this? Any girl or woman can be into sports and enjoy things which are cool (outside, far outside, from cosmetics, beauty routines and all that so called girlie stuff).

Why do we still have that tomboy attitude when it comes to women?

It's really strange now that we are so accepting of transgenderism that we still expect women/ girls to be girly and call them something else if they're not.

Not a tomboy, just ungirly.

Source: 20 Signs Being Girly Is Not Your Thing

I have left a stone on a grave for a family member. But, for my Grandparents, we leave a fresh take out coffee (paper cup) and a cigarette, not lit. It's something they would like, if they were still here. It's not the only way we remember them. But, its how we remember the small every day things about them. Plus, its much easier to leave a coffee than so many other things. I don't want to litter, or cause extra clean up for the staff who maintain the cemetery.

I did wonder about the tradition of leaving a stone on a grave. I found a post about it, from Joy Neighbors, on her old site.

For thousands of years, people were buried in tombs or directly in the earth where they had fallen. Stones were then rolled in front of a tomb as a way of sealing it from scavengers and keeping evil spirits from escaping out into the world.

For those buried in the ground, rocks and stones were placed on top of the usually shallow grave to keep animals from digging up the body. These stacks of stones were known as cairns. Cairns can be found all over the world and vary in size from a few rocks to man-made hills.

Cairns were built not only as funeral monuments but also for ceremonies and defense. Today they are still constructed to mark trails, as seamarks, as sculpture, and as memorials.

Another reason rocks were left on the grave was based on an Eastern European folklore belief that the dead could haunt their burial place, or return to their family and cause trouble. Stones and rocks were used to prevent the deceased from rising up and escaping the body as a spirit, to torment others.

It is also a Jewish custom to place a stone or pebble on a headstone to indicate that you have visited the grave and to indicate respect for the deceased. Adding a stone was also seen as taking part in the Mitzvah of Matzevah or the ‘setting of stone.’

Today, leaving a stone of remembrance is viewed more as a way of continuing this tradition of commemoration. The more stones found at a grave, the more the deceased has been visited and remembered by others. An example would be the scene in Schindler’s List when the people that Oskar Schindler saved visit his grave and honor him by placing stones upon it.

Symbolically, the stones can indicate many things; that love and remembrance are as strong and as lasting as a rock. That as a stone lasts forever so to does love. Even a belief that the deceased is with God, since the Old Testament refers to God as a rock, as in Psalm 18:2 -- "The Lord is my rock…”

Regardless of how the custom came about, it is still an incredible way to remember and respect those who have passed on. Leaving a stone or pebble is a gesture of appreciation for the strong and lasting impression they have made on your life. Stones left by others show a long-term influence in their lives as well. What a wonderful way to leave a lasting tribute of love and honor at the grave site.

Source: A Grave Interest: Leaving Stones on Graves Joy Neighbors.

Description from the site:

I am a Tombstone Tourist: someone who loves to wander cemeteries. I find it akin to visiting a museum: an opportunity to enjoy rarely seen sculpture, intricate carvings, and amazing architecture, all in a tranquil outdoor setting. This blog is about cemetery culture, art, history, issues of death, and genealogy - subjects of current relevance. I usually find something that intrigues me and makes me want to dig deeper. Care to join me? Read on...

Found this (link below). I'm not changing anything, typos and spelling included. History makes mistakes. People shouldn't always come along and fix them.

There is this one pet that doesn't cost a lot of money or your time..... that's right. A Rock!A pet rock.

It's Great because it requires no work. You don't need your parent's permission to get one. Makes a nice paperweight. They don't drop fur or feathers all over the place and, of course, don't eat, bite or poop. and doesn't complain at all.

It's not so good because it just sits there and don't want to talk.

The best part, they don't have any requirements and come free of cost. All we have to do is look by the side of the road.

Pet Rocks are ideal for both the inexperienced pet owner and for those who are too busy to spend a lot of time on pet care.

When you have learned a little on training and maintaining them you could easily add to your pocket money by selling them to friends and relatives or your local shops.

How to select your Pet Rock

As with the selection of any pet, you will need to know exactly what you want from your pet Rock. you might want to carry around with you to keep you company and show off or, you may want a Rock to guard your house when you are not home.

So, in this case, the Guard Rock needs to be quite large and fierce looking and will need quite a large space to live in. Guard Rocks also like to sit out in the front garden watching the world go by while smaller Pet Rocks love to live on or near the computer.

After you work out the size that you want finding your new companion is not a problem anymore.

Don't make the mistake of taking the first rock that you see because each will have a different personality. Take your your time and choose the best.

Making your Pet look good

The look of your chosen pet rock would depend on the size, shape and texture to give it the best style and finish..

It will need a mouth, eyes of course, and you may also want to give it ears, a tail and legs to make it look like the pet you want to keep for a long long time.

Let your imagination flow while you decorate your Pet Rock with paint, fur, feathers or almost any other available stuff. Make it look nice.

A Guard Rock, should be of waterproof materials and glue, incase you would like to sit out in the front garden and soak in the sun together.

Once you are finished with decorating your pet, make sure you have a name for it ready at hand.

Make your pet rock listen to you.

All you need to do is.................ask them to "Sit" and that's about it.

Make it firm but deliver in a caring tone.

You should take your pet for a long walk at least once a week Unless you have a very large Guard Rock .

Avoid giving your pet rocks (as with any other animals) chocolate or sweets and cakes as it will make them sick.

Share your family of Pet rocks with others.......for a price of course!

Once you have mastered the decoration and training of Pet Rocks you may wish to make a little business of them.

Pet Rocks can be sold to friends and relatives or you can even get them sold by some of your local shops.

you can talk to pet shops, novelty shops and newsagents. if you want them in the shops.

You will find it easier to get shops to take them if you offer the Pet Rocks on a consignment basis. That is, where the shop displays them and pays you as each is sold.

via Pet rock.

There are so many unused railway tracks. I wonder how much of that could be repurposed (or still safe to use) if people began using it for personal transportation again.

After nearly 5,000 miles of railway tracks were abandoned in Mexico and Ecuador 20 years ago, communities were left isolated without easy access to the world outside. Two artists want to re-open…

Source: Funky Aluminum Hybrid Vehicle Travels on Railways to Reach Abandoned Communities | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building