Tag Archives: movies

Darkest Before the Awakening?

February 9, 2023books, comportment, current events, essay, etiquette, grooming, opinion, relationships, respectattitude, beauty, books, devil, disrespect, etiquette, good vs evil, hate, hatred, language, lies, movies, perversion, respect, respectfulness, self-loathing, sotu, speech, the end times, the great awakening, vulgarSusan Marie Molloy

A few nights ago, I watched a performance straight out of Washington, DC that brought me to think once again about how much the world has changed.

There was, once upon a time, a world where people created beauty, and everyone saw that beauty around them, to be celebrated and enjoyed by everyone who appreciated such things. This beauty came in the form of decorated buildings, attractive fashion, respectful language, comprehensible music, well-made everyday items, and the like.

Yet lately, the world is quite the opposite. To see beauty, one must search as an archeologist on a dig.

Earlier this week, the Grammys presented a show that featured a quite plump man dressed as a devil in red, bellowing, “Unholy! Unholy!” Around him danced more red devils. Up around him flew pyrotechnics.

Last fall, Jokey the Prez read a gravely malicious speech in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, complete with red lighting on either side of him and he himself shadowed in near total darkness. His State of the Union Speech this week was steeped in lie after lie, and his twisted, creepy smiles had a luciferian charm about them.

Out in the world, I rarely see people that present themselves well. I barely see anyone with combed hair, or dressed in anything other than workout clothes or ripped up clothes.

I hear vulgar language everywhere. I hear it in passing in public. People I meet feel free to pepper in expletives with nary a second thought. Sadly, that kind of tasteless language is also prevalent in print.

This isn’t to say that there was nothing ugly about the world before these currently strange times. Yes, it was there, but the beauty, light, and respect were more prevalent then than today.

I now observe something about people that is really disconcerting: It appears that people want to be intentionally ugly – slovenly, repulsive, and foul – and thereby to blend in with the intentionally ugly world, to become one with the ugliness enveloped in the darkness of hate, self-loathing, and nihility is to become nothing themselves.

In the current fad of eschewing Our Creator, so many, many people are attempting to take on the role of God. They fall into idol worship: They medically and surgically change their sex; they attempt to control climate; they embrace abortion. They go on to celebrate sexual perversions, and they break up the family unit even further. They call names, lie to your face, and spew hatred, and if you don’t go along with them, there’s something wrong with you.

They laugh in the face of God.

I read that people believe that we are now in the End Times. Perhaps we are. And perhaps we are on our way to the next Great Awakening.

We can only hope and have faith.

As ever,

Lady Susan Marie Molloy

Gracious Holiday Living – Part III.

December 15, 2022at home, christmas, etiquette, gratitude, holidays, manners, songs, tips for gracious livingappreciation, attitude, blessings, count your blessings, gracious living, gratitude, holidays, moviesSusan Marie Molloy

As Irving Berlin wrote in his song, “Count Your Blessing (Instead of Sheep),” written for the 1954 movie, White Christmas:

When I’m worried and I can’t sleep

I count my blessings instead of sheep

And I fall asleep counting my blessings.

When my bankroll is getting small

I think of when I had none at all

And I fall asleep counting my blessings.

There is so much from which to learn, for those 43 words give much food for thought. Even I sometimes fall into the doldrums from time to time, particularly when events and people from outside the walls of The Oasis at Four Queen Palms to enter and upset the pacific atmosphere here. I know that they do not deserve that power, and for the most part, I don’t let their silly nonsense infiltrate. Yet, it isn’t a 100 per cent stoppable guarantee. Life happens; it’s how I handle the garbage that counts. With that said, I discovered a 1913 book by Fannie Dickerson Chase, Good Form and Social Ethics, which also puts forth a cornucopia of points for us that are well worth the time to ponder. Here, I will share some of what she wrote:

Do not be a slave to other people’s opinions. As I see it, don’t be a willow tree in the breeze, bending this way and that, taking other people’s opinions as your own. Don’t fall into the “your opinion is my opinion” mantra. Gosh. To me, and to others, that means you have no thoughts of your own, and we mind as well just be talking to ourselves.

Be quick to forgive. If we are still marinating in something we think another person did to us years ago, let it go, for Pete’s sake! Learn from what happened and stop wallowing in it.

Magnify your joys. The world is, and always will be, filled with grief and ordeals, but it is also filled with good and rewards. To alleviate one’s own bitterness is to remember that other people are experiencing even heavier trials and emotions.

Hear accurately and speak accurately. No one likes to hear misinformation, nor gossip.

Do not be a servant to your moods. By the same token, don’t drag others into your moodiness. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. It is not productive, nor becoming.

Do the right thing. Be honorable, keep your promises regardless of how you might feel towards the person to whom you made that promise.

Be slow to discredit another’s word or action. It is best to believe in others until you find absolute substantiation to not believe in them.

Do not be soured and worried by disappointments. Take your disappointments gracefully, for they have been given to you for a greater purpose.

Do not be thoughtless. Lapses of courtesy does not bode well.

Be truthful. If you fib your way through life, one day, people will – and they do! – eventually discover that you’ve been a fraudster.

Be sympathetic. You may not really know the true story about the other person.

These, and the many other points that are made in the book, are words to live by throughout the year. I bring this topic up now during the holiday season to point out that this time of year should be more joyful, more calming, and more twinkling than ever. Yes, the world seems to be careening towards the Dark Side more and more each day, yet we need to maintain the sanity, happiness, joy, and true good in ourselves despite the ugliness. Don’t let the Devil overtake your life.

Make your holiday season classy.

As ever,

Lady Susan Marie Molloy

✿●▬▬▬▬●✿●✿●▬▬▬▬●✿

Festivities 2022 – Part I.

December 12, 2022christmas, festivity, holidays, tips for gracious livingboat parade, christmas, christmas cards, elegant living, festivities, festivity, gracious living, holidays, lakes, movies, music, parade, singersSusan Marie Molloy

The winter holidays are a sparkling, twinkling, enchanting time of year filled with pretty panoramas and, if you are so inclined, religious observances.

Best Friend and I kicked off our holidays this month with a trip into town for the annual boat parade. The weather was pleasant enough for us to walk around the lake and enjoy the lit decorations that were strategically placed within the park. We caught a glimpse of Santa Claus in a boat ringing his jingle bells with great fervor. We thought Santa would float on over to where the tall Christmas tree was and light it with all the pomp usually afforded such celebrations. But alas! it was not to be. The hands of the clock turned to 6 o’clock, and the tree, along with other electric decorations lit up automatically. No pomp, no speeches, no carols, no gaiety. And Santa was floating on a boat somewhere on the Chain of Lakes.

Oh, and there were no hayrides as promised in the flyer that announced the boat parade. Speaking of the boat parade, that in itself was sparse. Yes, there were boats docked at the piers, some were positioned on the sandy shore, but they weren’t in the parade. All in all, there probably was a small handful of decorated boats, but the one Santa was on was the only one I spotted.

Well, that parade fizzled out.

Earlier that evening, while we were resting on a park bench, a trio of Mormon missionaries interrupted our meditation to proselytize. Best Friend handled that well, and the trio went on their merry way to menace a lady with a baby.

Best Friend and I spent some time walking the paths within the park, and since we were getting very hungry, and the on-site restaurant had a two-hour wait for a table, we left and grabbed a bite at one of our local chain restaurants. That experience wasn’t anything to write home about, but it was fuel. Afterwards, we headed home for a relaxing evening with a contemporary movie about a dog who saved Christmas. It, too, was nothing to write home about. In fact, we both decided it was sappy.

During this holiday season, we have been streaming music through the Internet. As I wrote in my essay, Looking Beneath the Surface., some of the more contemporary music and singers are something less than enjoyable in my realm. Most have that so-called “creaky voice” or “vocal fry” that is not attractive. Many singers also have that need-a-laxative voice. You know that type of voice – it’s deep in the throat, the vocal cords straining mightily to get something out, and it’s a colossal struggle. Think “All I Want for Christmas is You” croaked out by Mariah Carey. Then go from there. Guaranteed you will find that most of today’s singers have those phlegmy, gravelly, struggling voices mixed in with electronic mixing. No, thank you. Give me those smooth, velvety voices from days long gone.

At home, one of our trees is up and decorated, and underneath it, a few wrapped presents are waiting to be opened on Christmas Eve. The rest of the main house is sprinkled with glittery decorations and lights. We declined decorating the casita this year. We usually add another tree there with lights, but we decided to focus on decorating the main house instead. It’s good to mix things up sometimes and not fall into a doldrum or rut.

One of the biggest projects we have is addressing our Christmas and Hanukah cards. We might toss in a few New Year’s cards for those who don’t celebrate either of the religious holidays. We are still vacillating on including a short holiday letter, so we’ll see what we decide. There still is time before mailing the cards out, so there is no need to stress about it all.

This is a season in which to sparkle and revel in your own style.

Make your holiday season festive.

As ever,

Lady Susan Marie Molloy

✿●▬▬▬▬●✿●✿●▬▬▬▬●✿