Helen Zahavi's Dirty Weekend – One woman's revenge against male violence

Do you love and relish great opening lines to fiction? 

Then how about this?

"This is the story of Bella, who woke up one morning and realised she'd had enough . . . “

Fantastic, eh? This is strong, provocative fiction whose style is reminiscent of such distinctive writers and their fiction as — sadly many of whom are now either discarded or vastly under-appreciated — Gordon Lish (Peru: A Novel, Dear Mr. Capote), early Jenny Diski (Nothing Natural) and Andrea Dworkin (Mercy, Ice and Fire). (You can find links for most of these novels/novelists at the end of this article. ) In terms of its honesty to consider and portray the disturbing realities of society through the experiences of its female characters and the chameleon forms of violence perpetrated against women. Dirty Weekend, an account of 48 hours of violence against one woman, and her retributions, is by turns bizarre, poignant, powerful and empathetic.

The plot

From the outset, the story of Bella takes on the level of a fable or parable. By the opening pages, she has already been threatened with *** violence by a man who lives opposite her. He promises to pour acid on her skin. But then ‘Fate found Bella one night … and whispered in her ear. And when she woke up, she knew she’d had enough’. It is from this point that she is empowered; no longer wishing to stay persecuted and victimised by the ignorance and violence so common in so many men. She decides, with the help of a mystic, that – since men seem only to view her as a victim – she is unable to at least act even as a bystander and avoid their glare, so concludes that she has no other choice than to take action.

In a series of explicitly and clinically described episodes, Bella enacts her ideas of retribution upon one violent man after another. If these extreme scenes are powerful, it is because of the brutal honesty in the evocation of Bella’s pain and outrage, and the attitudes of the men that only wish to threaten and oppress any iota of self-regard that she may have.

Recommendation

It is an uncompromising, powerful novel, working as it does within the ugly, hypocritical shadows that our supposedly moral society casts. Occasionally clichés do spill over the overall quality of the writing, yet Zahavi’s key strength and great talent that is to be celebrated — and ridiculous to deny — is in her fluidity and razor-blade precision to evoke a dark vision; a sinister fable-like version of feminist understanding and empowerment. Unfortunately, this novel is sadly, unforgivably, out of print, but you can buy it from Amazon as a Kindle edition. However, for those without a Kindle, you should be able to borrow a copy from your local library (or through their inter-library loan system), or otherwise buy a low-cost copy from one of the online secondhand dealers, such as abebooks.com/.co.uk, alibris.com/.co.uk, or one of Amazon‘s marketplaces.

Why Pets Are Mistreated ?

**  This topic is a very sensitive topic but a very important one in our lives.  This post was going to have some photos in it, but I just couldn't post these photos of abused animals.  I hope you can understand. **

Currently in the world today, there are many ways in which people take or handle their pets. Some people still treat dogs, cats and other animals that can be considered as pets to fierce animals that can attack one if you try to play around with them. Because of this notion, they deal with them with a lot of fear since they think if animals can get an opportunity, they can bite them, harm them or infect them with diseases whose medication may not be easily found. Eventually, they end up not treating them up to the expectations of the professionals in the field of animal health.

These bad pet treatsare basically as a result of fear of the pets some of which are fierce to them that are new to them or if provoked. In addition, bad treats may also be as a result of ignorance from the owners of the pets. This is where someone has no knowledge of how the pets should be treated in terms of the food they are offered with, the kind of medicine they use both for spraying and oral medicine and the environment in which they spend most of their time. It is therefore good to seek knowledge on how to handle the pets from skilled fellows.

Common symptoms of bad treats:

In the recent past, there have been a lot of dog deaths being reported. In the year 2007, there were around 10,000 dogs' illness and deaths that were linked to the bad treats. The things that we can look at to know that the illness or disorder in a pet is as a result of bad treats include the following. Most of the symptoms reported include gastrointestinal or liver disease, and about one third were linked to kidney and urinary disease.

Apart from the above symptoms, dogs have also developed complications such as neurologic, dermatologic, and immunologic symptoms. All these are symptoms of bad treats and are very serious as they can cause death of the pets which is quite unfortunate. Basically, everyone owning a pet should seek advice from the professional officers on how to handle their pets and take keen interest on the instructions that are given so that they help in saving the generation of the dogs. In the long run, we shall have a lot of pets and can even make them a good business that really has a lot of income that one can be comfortable with.

Remedy by the FDA

The FDA is still unsure of the specific cause for the reported illnesses and deaths of the pets in the world. It is alleged that after the pets ate some toxic foods that they were not used to. This means that these foods were not up to the standards that are required for eating of the pets. Normally, FDA recalls such kinds of foods that are toxic to the health of human beings. These toxic stuffs are what we refer to as the bad treats that can cause serious illnesses and finally death to our pets.

FDA recall is a way of regulating and controlling the market by doing research about given food type of food and proving that it is not fit for pet consumption. Failure to follow the instructions from the FDA leads to bad pet treats which may obviously lead to the death of the pets.

Meet Charlie.....

He is a abused dog that was luck enough to get adopted before anything serious could happen to him.

 

I sit and wonder why people would want to hurt innocent animals.  I am a HUGE anumal lover and would never think to smash, cut, burn or etc my dogs and cats.  i just can not believe what I see.  I hope that if you see any animal abuse you make that important call and you might just save the life of that animal.

If you would like to add pictures, information, shelter names and etc in the comment area I would love it.  The more information that is out there might just help these innoncent animals from a abusive person.

 

POSH NOSH

Posh food today tends to be thought of as food that is not pre-packaged or made for convenience, but instead is fresh, seasonal, free range and organic. Salmon was once a food that was thought of as posh, but now, after the mass farming of the fish it is not deemed as decadent as it once was, the same applies to certain cuts of meat. Posh food now is all about being wholesome, on the whole. But aside from posh food for everyday folk, there are certain foods that evoke a sense of pure decadence and luxury, and only appear on the dinner plates of the rich.

Sometimes it is because of their rarity, and sometimes because of the length of time that it takes to prepare, store or mature. Here are a few of the best and how much it costs the rich connoisseur to sample the delights of the most expensive larder in the world.

Matsutake Mushrooms

The Matsutake or Maitake mushroom is rare to almost extinction, and so, this is what makes them expensive to access. This smoky spicy smelling fungus grows in Japan (as well as Korea, China, and some Scandinavian countries) and, in the past, has been successfully harvested during the autumn months.

However, more recently blight has affected the tree where the mushroom naturally flourishes. This kills the tree and so leaves little natural habitat for which the mushroom to flourish in.

Harvesting the Matsutake is relatively easy but it is yet to be farmed successfully, so sourcing it in an increasingly hostile wild environment pushes up the price up to $2000 per kilo.

Iranian Caviar

Iranian caviar also known as Almas caviar is extremely rare, and, as caviar is the most expensive food in the world by weight, it is the food solely of the rich. The only known outlet to sell this Iranian delicacy is in London, England. The Caviar House and Prunier in Picadilly sells a kilo of Almas caviar packaged in a 24 carat gold tin for £16,000, or about $25,000!

Wagyu Steak

Steak has always been presumed expensive, but factory farming methods have brought the price down dramatically. Not so the steak of the Wagyu cattle. A Wagyu steak comes from Kobe beef, which is a rare Japanese breed of cattle that are apparently fed a diet that contains beer; and are massaged daily. Although high in fat, a full Wagyu rib eye will set you back a whopping $2800 at Craftsteak in New York.

Italian White Alba Truffle

The second most expensive food by weight, the truffle is a rare delicacy and so known as the King of Fungi. Truffles are difficult to cultivate, so as they need to be sourced by pigs or dogs, this is timely, so expensive. The most expensive truffle ever weighs in 1.51 kilograms (3.3 lbs) and cost $160 406 USD, it was sold to a property tycoon from Hong Kong for his wife, who is said to love Italian White Alba Truffles.


Well I am hoping that you all liked reading this post.  Let me know if you did or if there is any information that I might have forgotten.  I am always looking to learn more facts or information.

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Deb's Food Journal Post #3 (April)

                                                                                     

I would like to welcome you to my third post in my Food Journal.  In this post I will be sharing with you some pretty awesome products from certain companies.  I personally had tested every product that I have listed in this post.  Well I had the help of my family too.  I did taste at least one from every group.  I will be sharing a great recipe that my family loves or maybe two.  I also researched for this article I wrote just for this post.  Well keep reading and you will find quite a bit of interesting reviews and information.

CHOBANI

As some of you probably of heard of this Greek yogurt, Chobani.  This product had become very popular in the supermarkets.  I personally had seen it in the stores, but never ever tried it until now.  As you can see in the picture above this yogurt has a variety of flavors.  That is the part I love because I don't like having the same flavor over and over.

About Chobani Greek yogurt:

• Only natural non-GMO ingredients
• No artificial flavors or preservatives
• 40% less sugar than regular yogurt based on USDA data*
• Made with milk from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones**
• Excellent source of protein
• Includes live & active cultures and three types of probiotics
• No modified cornstarch or high fructose corn syrup
• Gluten free
• Kosher certified
• Vegetarian friendly
• Less than 5% lactose

My personal favorite out of all the flavors is Black Cherry.  The flavor has a very cherry flavor.  The yogurt has a smooth taste with tiny pieces of cherries. That's why I love it!

Ingredients

Nonfat Yogurt (Cultured Pasteurized Nonfat Milk, Live and Active Cultures: S. Thermophilus, L. Bulgaricus, L. Acidophilus, Bifidus and L. Casei), Black Cherries, Evaporated Cane Juice, Cherry Juice Concentrate, Pectin, Locust Bean Gum, Natural Flavor.

YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW TO MAKE HASH BROWNS

Everyone who’s ever had hash brown colors knows how outstanding they are. The issue with this is that you might discover yourself seeking some even when you don’t have plenty of your time or cash to go out to a cafe or cafe that provides them. Since most dining places j*plenty of your time. So, it’s a wise decision to understand How To Create Hash Browns for yourself so that you can have them whenever you want, without having to pay a lot of cash for them. Best of all, that way you can have them exactly the way you want, and can even try out new tips on how to ensure they flavor even better than they do normally. 

Unfortunately, not everyone has the same ability in the kitchen area. Some individuals are going to discover it difficult to make much of anything while others can make the simplest of concepts into performs of an art of which others are as envious as they are grateful. So, you need to discover some guidelines on how to make hash brown colors to your own ability. If you don’t, you’re either going to be tired of the job’s convenience or confused with how complex it can be. If you have the right formula for you, though, marketing campaign answers are almost assured to be outstanding. 

So, you ought to look at a few various techniques – although they’re all going to be identical – so that you can evaluate which one is going to be the best way for you to try. Once you have a sense of which one is the best way for you to go about it, creating use of it a few periods will provide you a strong sense of what it is you’re doing. That’s an essential phase before you begin modifying factors in purchase to see if you possibly could make developments. Once you do, though, you’ll have started out up a new world of cooking efforts to help make foods amazing.

Newman’s Own

I am going to introduce you to some of the products that I got to test from Newman's Own.  If you know about Newman's then you already know that there is two different parts of this company.  Then you will already know that they have a great variety of products.

Now let me start with the ones my family and I got to test out.  Of course we all have our opinion of tastes and what we like, but you should always try it once.  Who knows you might just love it!!

These Fig Newmans are awesome!  My family loved all of the three different packages we received to try.  The Strawberry one is very tasty and the cookie is so very soft and makes the flavor of the inside stand out.

.

I have to say that I never heard of Ginger cookies until now.  I tried that one first and I have to say it was pretty darn good.  It has a whole flavor on it's own.  The other two kinds were mint and peanut butter.  Those were good too.
So if you want something new to try, then I would suggest these Ginger O's.

These are perfect for the children's snacks and school lunches.  I have to say that these Orange Chocolate Chip cookies were very different, but very tasty.  Of course I never had anything like that before and now it is a regular in our home.

These are all mini or alphabet size cookies.

These are licorices.  Yes you read it right, this is candy. They have regular and sour licorices.  Let's see they have this awesome pomogrant flavor.  I never tried that flavor in my whole life and now it's my favorite.  I personally don't like sour anything, but my son, Shawn loved them.  He said they are really sour and flavorful.
So come and try them all and then come back and let me know what ones you LOVE.

This is for all the tea drinkers.  They have this black tea and green tea flavors.  The tea bags are full with flavor and they do not rip while you are seeping it in your cup.

Well this is all of the products that I reviewed for this wonderful company.  Now I would like to give you some information about this company.  I always find it good to know about the company where you get your products from.  That is just me though.

Some Info On Newman's

In 1982, Newman’s Own started as a tiny boutique operation – parchment labels on elegant wine bottles that Paul Newman filled with his homemade salad dressing and gave to his neighbors as holiday gifts. He expected train wrecks along the way and, instead, got one astonishment followed by another.

But in these thirty years, Paul Newman and Newman’s Own Foundation have given over $450 million to thousands of charities. How to account for this massive success? We haven’t the slightest idea but one thing we do know is we’re not stopping.

Today, Newman’s Own produces over 200 individual products across 20 categories. Always great tasting, always top quality, just the way our founder, Paul Newman, insisted. We’ll always follow his vision for putting quality first.

Women's Rights

Now this is my opinion on this topic.  I have done research on this and my thoughts are throughout the post.

Today women and men right are equal in the United States of America. Not long ago, there was a great difference in the treatment of men and women. Women provided care for the children and usually remained at home. Their education was limited to learning domestic skills. There were few opportunities for women to obtain an education because only a few colleges or universities would accept a female. Women had no access to positions of power. They were not allowed to enter professions such as medicine or law. They thought they were totally dependent on men. 

For the Industrial, Revolution women were a really important role. This was the beginning of their independence, although factory conditions were very bad and their pay, were lower than men's, meant that lower-class women could become wage earners in factories. At the same time, middle and upper-class women were expected to stay at home as idle, decorative symbols of their husbands' economic success. Such conditions encouraged the feminist movement. 

With industrialization happening rapidly in Great Britain and U.S feminism was more successful. In 1848, more than 100 persons held the first women's rights convention, in Seneca Falls, New York. Led by the supporter Lucretia Mott and the feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, they demanded equal rights, including the vote and an end to the double standard. The number of working women increased virtually after the two world wars, but had low paid, female- dominated occupations, such as school teachers and clerical work. Women were not even allowed to vote until August 1920. 

In the 1960's however, changing demographic, economic and social patterns encouraged a resurgence of feminism. As working women encountered discrimination in many forms. The women's movement also questioned social institutions and moral values, basing many of its arguments on scientific studies suggesting that most supposed differences between men and women result not from biology, but from culture. 

In the early 70's active feminists organized women's rights groups, ranging from the moderate National Organization for Women, founded in 1966 and claiming about 250,000 members to smaller, more radical groups. Private and governmental efforts covered in November 1977, when the largest convention of women ever held in the U.S. met in Houston, Texas, under government sponsorship. It certified the feminist report drawn up by the presidential commission, which was intended to serve as an official guide to governmental action. 

The objectives of the women's movements included equal pay for equal work, federal support for day-care centers, recognition of lesbian rights, continued with abortion, and the focus of serious attention on the problems of rape, wife, and child beating, and discrimination against older and minority women. American women have made many gains throughout the years. 

Intro To The 4th Of July Guide

I would like to welcome you to the 4th Of July's Introduction page. 

I have to admit The 4th Of July is one of my favorite holidays.  My family goes to watch the fireworks each and every year.  Our routine is, the beach, cookout and then lay on the beach to watch the fire in the sky.  

Is 4th Of July your favorite holiday too?

This Guide when it is completed with will  include some great product reviews for this holiday, recipes, and a few articles.  So, you need to come back and check it all out.  The post will be live before The Fourth of July.

Introduction of The Mother's Day Gift Guide......

As we all know that our Mother's are the greatest part of our lives.  That is why we all love to share this day with our mothers.  Each and every person is different on how they share their day with their mothers.  I bet each and everyone has one special part that they do every year on this great day.

So, I am going to try to get you some awesome gift ideas that you can get for your Mother's.

I also with have some other little treat ideas, articles and even a poem for Mothers.

Make sure you all come back by May 1st to check out the new Mother's Day Gift Guide!

*** Dolphin Research Center ***

*** This is my initial post on the Dolphin Research Center here in Florida.  After my visit, I will come back and write my personal review on my family's trip to the destination.  It will be in a separate post.***

My family and I are planning our vacation in the Florida Keys. We're going to tap into our love for animals by bringing them to see dolphins and sea lions up close at Dolphin Research Center in Marathon! A world-renowned nonprofit marine mammal education and research facility, Dolphin Research Center welcomes families daily to learn about their animal family. Educational narrated behavior sessions take place about every half an hour and inspire kids of all ages to care more deeply for marine mammals and the environment. They also offer swims with the dolphins and other hands-on programs. We can't wait to create great family vacation memories and learn all about these amazing animals!

Dolphin Research Center features experiential education at its best. Flukes and flippers bring science and other subjects alive! In addition to individual families and homeschoolers, DRC welcomes field trips and overnight experiences for groups who are sure to have a fantastic time learning from their marine mammal enthusiasts and flippered family members. Those who can't visit in person are welcome to indulge their curiosity in a distance learning program that brings the dolphins into their classroom or home. Whether presented in person or via the internet, all curriculum is written to compliment your lesson plan and/or meet national and state standards. No matter how you incorporate dolphins into your lesson plan, you're bound to inspire conservation and conversation.

Now look at that dolphin, come on who wouldn't want to visit them.  I know my family and I will be there.  I am quite excited about this trip.  It will be amazing I already know that!  Make sure you watch for my future post on my personal review of my family's trip to see the DOLPHINS!

#93 The Tuesday 10 4/5/16

  Classes you’d love to take

Well, I am starting to join in again with the Tuesday 10 post.  I had taken a short break from doing these posts.  I had just taken on to many things at once and I was sick for a bit.  But here I am back and going strong.  I will be also doing a few other ones I missed, of course, I won't do them all, but come and check every Tuesday for the next post.

Now for the 10 classes I would love to take are:

1.  Kick Boxing

2.  Computer Programmer

3.  Croquet

4.  Painting

5.  Wood Working

6.  Gardening

I know it says 10, but you really don't need to put 10.  Those are the ones I would definitely love to take.  I actually just signed up for an online basic computer programmer.  I will be starting April 11, 2016

As far as gardening goes I had recently started gardening when I moved to Florida 5 years ago.  There are some things I would love to know how to grow, though.  I love to learn how to make some awesome herb gardens on my patio.  See I can always learn something new.  Now this is one design of a herb garden I would love to have on my patio.

Would love this one too!

So what would be some of the classes you would love to take?  Come and share them I would love to see what you are into.

*** Family Fun At Game Time In Tampa ***

** I was compensated with 3 1-hour gameplay passes, a large pizza and 3 soft drinks in return for my honest review of the visit**

The front entrance

I would like to start out by saying this was our first experience here at GameTime and it won't be our last.  We (my husband, son and I) had a blast together here at GameTime.  This truly is one place where every age can have fun.  There are tons of different games to play and I know you will find one that you won't give up.  My favorite one to play is the skee ball, my husband's is the car racing arcade game and my son's was the basketball shooting game.  We like other ones too but these were our favorite ones that we played more.

So here is a couple different pictures of the game playing floor.  It was bigger than what I originally thought or even saw when we came in.  It was very surprising and I love to be surprised.

 These are two different parts of the gaming floor.

Now here is how our day went:

As we walked in through the doors and we stopped to look around a hostess greeted us and showed us to a table.  That is where we ordered the large 1/2 pepperoni and 1/2 cheese and, of course, our drinks.  I have to say the waitress was very friendly and the service was great.  The pizza was delivered in a timely manner and let me say it was really good.  The crust was unbelievably soft and it was extra cheesy.  We all loved it.

My son waiting for his pizza!

I had recently found out that they had just done a major remodel to this site.  This includes a new beautiful Restaurant, new Sports Bar, new menu with gourmet selections, a new audiovisual experience with over 60 TV’s to watch any sporting event, new attractions and games – including Showdown and 4 lanes of Mini Bowling – updated party rooms, and more advanced systems throughout the Mega Arcade with over 120 games and simulators.  Yes, this place is that amazing.  You really need to check it out.

We each had a one-hour play pass card to use.  We were able to play most of the games on it.  Which was very good.   Most of the games give out tickets, so at the end of your visit you or your child can pick out a prize.  Of course, the prizes go by how many tickets you collected.  They have some pretty great prizes all around.

Now I would like to share with everyone my son doing the punching bag that they have in the middle of the arcade, gaming floor.  He really had fun with this.

Of course, I tried it, well let me say thank God for no video for me.  I did have to try, but it was a very sad punch. LOL

Now the other awesome thing I want to share with everyone is that they have all these different promotions that they do during the week.  That way you can pick and chose the day you want to go and have some fun. 

This right here is their motto: ‘Play More & Pay Le$$’ at GameTime with our various daily / weekly promotions – Enjoy more fun, more games & more entertainment for less money!

Now here are some of the best promotions right off the top.  

                                                                                                                                                 

 Dine N' Play!

Our DINE N’ PLAY COMBO is only $16.99 and includes your choice of a delicious item from our Dine N’ Play selections and 1 Hour of Timed Play*! Available every day in Miami, Tampa & Fort Myers.

Play Your Way Thursday

‘Play Your Way’ is available the last 5 hours of every Thursday. $10 is all it takes to enjoy 5 Hours of Timed Play*!

Hours

Fort Myers – 9:00pm – 2:00am

Miami/ Tampa – 7:00pm – 12:00am

Panama City/ Mary Esther/ Sebring – 4:00pm – 9:00pm

I would like to share some more pictures of this awesome place that you must visit.

My son playing a jurassic riding game.

On the right is the mini bowling lanes they have.  This was fun.  My husband and I bowled a game.  It was a little harder even though it was smaller.

My two men studying the punching bag before they start.  Who is going to win?

My son playing the basket ball hoop game.








Make sure you come and stop by and play some of these awesome retro arcade games.  I want to list most of them , but this is definetely not all of them.

• Play Retro Classics:
• Skeeball & Sonic Air Hockey
• Exciting Ride-Simulators:
• Indy 500, Typhoon & Deadstorm Pirates
• Arcade Fan-Favorites:
• DDR, Pac-Man & Guitar Hero
• Carnival Attractions with an Arcade Twist:
• Down the Clown & American Hi-Striker
• Enjoy Bar Favorites:
• Pool / Billiards, Darts & Red Cup Challenge

  Win Prizes on Redemption Games:

 

• Play Shooters:
• Terminator Salvation and House of the Dead
• Compete on Racers:
• Winter X Games Snocross and Fast & Furious Super Cars
• Experience Arcade Adaptations:
• Connect 4, Deal or No Deal & Wheel of Fortune
• Challenge a Friend on Sports Games:
• Sonic Basketball & NFL 2-Minute Drill
• And So Much More!MegaStacker & Giant KeyMaster

 

 Well I guess I have to end this great, fun review my family had experienced at GameTime in Tampa, Florida.  If you can't make it to Tampa there are quite a few different locations in Florida.

My husband and my son leaving GameTime.

Miami   –   Tampa   –   Panama City   –   Mary Esther   –   Sebring   –   Vero Beach