Believe it!

A few days ago I had spent a lot of time on Google finding quotes which I wanted to put on my website, with, of course, a picture which I'd added to. I found one from Jesse Jackson, a pastor from the USA, who was born in 1941. This quote said "If my mind can conceive it, if my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it because I'm somebody!" This was confirmed by Wikiquote as Jesse Jackson. It was included in a speech at Andersen College in Indiana on 4 March 1979.

Trouble was, this quote was assigned by many other quote sites to someone else - Muhammad Ali! Brainy Quotes, where I often find good quotes, had assigned these words to Jackson. Goodreads also had - but then also assigned the same words to Ali. I looked in Wikiquote and couldn't find these words attributed to Ali. 

Try this. Go onto the page of Google and type this in the search: "did Jesse Jackson say If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it" and press the search button. The first page only lists 5 quote sites (including Goodreads). Then in the Google search, type "did Muhammad Ali say If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it". For Ali, in Wikiquote, this quote passage is mentioned in the "Misattributed" box, with the name of Jesse Jackson under it. Google listed, on the first page, 8 quote sites (including Goodreads) which attributed this passage to Ali!

This very much surprises me. I have no idea how many different quote sites ever check on who did say whatever they want to print. (Of course, from my previous blogs there are far too many quotes on far too many sites which are ever printed with no name!)

Don't roll your eyes at me. Just take this for real! The internet is f-a-r too big to believe it can be used for good stuff. I, personally, believe it has to change. For instance, in the past few years...

...Facebook has had so many complaints about Facebook pages which abuse children, abuse women, troll everywhere, print unreal "offers", print extremely bad videos - anything which Facebook seem too often to just ignore. I wonder, does FB's profit mean more to them than these kind of pages? 

...so many websites which publish pornography have been simply opened - and never closed down unless some government finds them. Will that sort of stopping them stop others? I really doubt it.

...advertising on any page you choose to be on - say, Facebook or similar - takes over your screen and you don't seem to be able to stop "suggestions" appearing before you move onto where you want to be. This has also happened on so many You Tube videos - with no "avoid" button on ads. Yesterday I wanted to look at a music video and got a 15 second car ad before that. That's something I couldn't click off but I wouldn't watch it, so I didn't watch the music video either.

...the "news" is very brief and doesn't give anyone a reality of whatever happened in the world that day. Too many people just don't even bother to watch "news" - unless it's of their own taste.

So many more issues. So little time to fix them. So much happens across the whole world, and most of my own time these days I just don't want to see anything. I guess I've pretty much made up my mind to live my own life, doing whatever I quietly enjoy - like quotes. I'll just forget the TV and newspapers and just roll on slowly.

Except I will still get really pissed off if quotes don't mention who said them!!!

Hang on... here it comes!!!

I think now that I can't even look at an un-named quote before I do some research. Today one appeared on the TBI Facebook page. It said "Life is all about finding people who are your kind of crazy". That sounded pretty good to me, but no name on this pic as to who they had quoted. So I went into Google and put those words in.

And I have found hundreds of image posts with no name as to who said this! LoveOfLifeQuotes.com was the first image, exactly as the one on the TBI, so I wondered if maybe TBI copied theirs. Then came ElectricFairground.com, LifeIfHappy.com, BrainTreeClothing.com, Flickr.com, 9LOLs.com, Pinterest.com, PictureQuotes.com, BeHappyMe.com, Amazon.com, SomeCards.com, MadisonParkGroup.com, and on and on and on... (no, these ones aren't linked... they're simply a list on this, my blog.)

I went through Google to see if they could tell me just who had said this. I got back as far as 2013 - on 11 June 2013 was Ron Kaisan at Ultimate Campers, there was a comment in Girl's Gone Child blog on the 29 March, and Pinterest was posted on 20 March. I couldn't find anything earlier than this, and no-one said who said it!

I don't like this!!! The person who said this quote should have been acknowledged, and if necessary they should have become famous.

All of those mentioned earlier, and all of those which appear in Google and I haven't put on here, should not just use a quote without saying 'Unknown'!!! Every quote pic on my website will always use a name that I agree with, and if a name is ever not known I will always use "Unknown". I think there's a real discrepancy from anyone who will claim they said something, when it's been posted months or years before they said it. (This happened earlier, previous blog about that...)

Just a tip to any person who talks and allows whatever they say be quoted - tell them your name!

Feeling good!

Yesterday I went to the PACE (Positive Action towards Career Engagement) event in Brisbane central where I was presented with a certificate. And I spoke. I hadn't realise that Steph and I would be the only ones talking!! After Steph spoke about our meetings which she thought went very well, I was asked how the mentoring went on for me. I told everyone how I had started in this program, I explained about my brain aneurysms and my stroke, and told them that Steph has been wonderful, giving me thoughts to think about... as long as I write them down!

I now have a certificate which I feel very proud about. Sounds weird, eh?

I have looked back into my training over so many years. In NZ I did much training in the Army (which resulted in my promotion to Corporal), a Diploma of Management, a Diploma of Business, First Aid, ISO audit, membership of the NZIM (New Zealand Institute of Management) and countless training with groups whose courses were valuable in a workplace. I still have all the certificates. In Australia I started with a Diploma of Workplace Health & Safety which I upgraded to the Graduate Diploma of WHS with 2.5 years training through CQU. I was First Aid trained, RABQSA (audit) trained and certified, QComp trained as a RRTWC (Rehabilitation and Return toWork Coordinator), trained in fire building regulations, NCSA (National Safety Council of Australia) and SIA (Safety Institute of Australia) registered, and much else. I still have all of those certificates too.

I can't do WHS any more. Long story, but it ended up with my stroke which has drawn me backwards from where I was. My history is now a record which I have to look at if I want to remember it. My working doing what I used to do is no longer my real future. The PACE program I went to has bounced me forward, and I feel very grateful to them and Steph. I can move into my own future with my head up. I know I won't be able to get another job - I'm on a DSP and I'm old (59 FPS!!!) but I'm sure you readers know what I do now.

I write.

I have written for so many years, and this is like my history and my future, and I don't need to "remember it". I have written for magazines, written stories, poems, letters, emails, blogs and posts and written through all my training as well as my own time. I have now published my first book and the second one is due very soon. And there's more...

I've done a couple of short stories this year in the "Prose" page on my website. I've joined a local author's group (I am writing a story for their latest book) and I go to their meetings every month.

My website has a "Quotes" page. Almost every day I do the artwork on the sub-pages, so I can see what's

said. I can't remember it, but I can look through it and feel good about what I have done.

I've joined the local poet's group and I've been writing more poetry this year than I had at all last year or the year before that. It mightn't make sense yet - but it will when my brain works.

Laurie Graham said "I've never minded solitude. For a writer, it's a natural condition." Perhaps now, many months after my brain surgery and stroke, I am started to feel pretty good in solitude. My advice? Love your own life if you can. Never mind any people who have upset you or dumped you. Never mind living with what they did to you. Live for yourself.

Have a great day!

Take a letter Maria...

My last blog post was 26 November. The break since then wasn't because I was depressed, it was just because I forgot about it. That, readers, is my "normal" reality. Oh dear, how sad, never mind. I'm not depressed right now.... just frustrated! But yes, I know that it can lead to my depression, so here I am, writing and hoping that I don't lose my stuff.

My lovely sister popped in for 3 days and nights last week before she flew on to NZ. We had a wonderful visit, and I didn't go to the paddling group the morning I took her to the airport. Not because I was too tired (that came later) but because I needed to think. Having her here for 3 days and nights pretty much disconnected me from Facebook pages, news articles and TV shows, people... and money. Janice paid for getting some light bulbs changed in my car (they work now!), took me into shoe stores (we didn't buy), bought dinner (lovely!) and lots of other wee things we did which I - unfortunately - have forgotten! But we talked a lot over those 3 days and nights, and I felt that I had seen someone I really needed.

And now I have a trip to NZ, paid for by my sister, between Christmas and New Year to spend with my son and partner AND my grandchildren! Yesterday I was fairly wound up knowing I had to arrange somewhere for my beautiful dog, Jordie, to be looked after whilst I was away. I tried a few of home-care places, but the only response I got would have charged me $150 - which I certainly can't afford. I have a couple of friends who have possibly suggested how they can help me - and I love them! I don't give up yet... I am certain I will find something.

I was going to feed your minds for this year. I decided that you didn't want to be involved in information about me, so I deleted what I'd typed. This is how I live with thoughts. But good stuff now...

I've just been accepted as a citizen and I would have to do the Pledge thing probably next year. Only 8 months after I applied... The other thing I'm waiting for is getting up to 7 months. I need someone to move it forward. Still, in my pre-Christmas couple of weeks I actually have some stuff going on which I haven't been involved in for far too long. Friday is the paddle team's Christmas party, on Monday I have a PACE event from where I will be "awarded" by my mentor, and next Tuesday I'm taking Jordie down to my friend's place in Logan so she will hopefully display how well she would be, and she'd be able to stay there while I'm on my way to NZ!

Right now I am very much looking forward to going to NZ, the first time in more than 2 years, and visiting my grandchildren - two of them after 4 years and two more I've never met! If I can't find anyone to look after Jordie... well, I'm sure there will be someone out there.

I should say "thank you" now!!