Lockdown Challenge #4: Reality is frequently inaccurate

Thank you for a real tough one Kim.

Have you heard of the Mandela effect? It’s basically when many people believe the same inaccurate or wrong facts about an event. The name comes from the year 2010 when many people believed that Nelson Mandela had passed away in the 1980’s. Obviously not South African’s, heck some South African’s believe he is still alive (he died in 2013… just FYI)

Since 2010 we’ve had a name for widely remembered events that didn’t happen, and before 2010 there were many Mandela effects as well, we just didn’t have a name for it. When these people are then told that they had been believing wrong for x number of years, they are dumbstruck.

I wonder if these Mandela Effect people then think that Reality is Inaccurate? Many people refuse to believe that their beliefs had been wrong, which is understandable, it’s a belief. Certain life choices are made around beliefs. You watched (and were excited about) Hobbs & Shaw because you believed the Fast and the Furious franchise made quality stuff. After all, thus far they had made some pretty amazing films. You didn’t want anyone to disprove your belief, and you fought for the movie, until you watched it. The reality is that the film wasn’t that good to begin or end with, and the middle was not cooked. In your mind the reality has to be inaccurate because you so desperately wanted a spinoff to be good.

Quit blaming one another… it was bad.

Or lets take a crush, for example you have a crush on a hot piece of ass somewhere in your living/working/schooling/churching space. Naturally one’s brain pulls these asshole moves and we tend to fantasise about this person. What they are like, they are probably super smart, and funny and just loves all of the things you love. What it would be like to go on a date with them. Kiss them. Hug them. You get it. Then you muster up the courage to ask this person out onto said date. Or you bump into them at some point and start talking and all of these little hints drop that this person is simply not how you imagined or fantasised. Yet somehow your brain buffers you from these hints because it is being flooded with endorphins. All you can do is focus on not peeing yourself like an excited chihuahua and not saying LOL out loud.

Then in this example you go on a date with said person and you are still blind to the hints. A few months down the line when your brain has grown accustomed to the flood of hormones the blinkers fall off and you notice the things you missed… The way they say hashtag in front of at least one word per sentence. Hashtag annoying. You suddenly noticed they have about 17 dogs (okay only 2 but they shit like 17 dogs) and they go on these run things, by choice. They are super serious and they thought Nelson Mandela was still alive. Your brain tricked you into thinking everything is fine because your fantasy life was way better than the reality that is staring you in the face.

Because reality is frequently inaccurate.

Lockdown Challenge #3: Come together – Stay apart

Phoenix sparked me with this.

Am I the only one who feels like Dr Seuss has been writing the script for the world for the last few months? Come together by staying apart. Up is down, down is up, right is left, left is right, that kind of thing. No, not just me? Great.

ALONE!!

Anyway, I am not going to make this a COVID-19 thing, goodness knows there is enough of that going around (ahem). No, I will make this light hearted and funny.

I thought with this one I would do a “HOW TO STAY APART AND COME TOGETHER” thing.  That sounds a lot like moving whilst being stationary. It can be done and by golly I’ma tell you how.

And here goes:

• Yell to your neighbour.
  This is one works best for people who live in apartment blocks or in close proximity to other families. What you want to do is get onto your balcony or even the roof of your building and yell to your neighbour, which neighbour you ask, ANY NEIGHBOUR. Ask them whether they watched the reruns of old Rugby World Cup matches. Or do that ridiculous recipe swap thing with paper airplanes. OR… or, if you are feeling very adventurous do that string-tin telephone. You know from back in the day. I know yoh ass got some tins, you guys been stocking up for the apocalypse. Eat some beans and phone a friend.

• Do that zoom singing thing.
  You and some friends come together via Zoom (obvy) and sing something. For extra points sing something cliché like Ring-a-ring o’Roses. Wait, no that song is too short, not everyone will have a chance. Maybe something like Poor Unfortunate Souls.  It doesn’t matter that all your friends sound like 1 000 nails on a blackboard and you sound like a tired cat, sing your little hearts out.

Some lowwww notes in here. Stretch that talent.

• Make a video…
  …about EVERYTHING you are doing from what food you are making to how you fold your toilet paper. People need to see that. Believe me, their lives are less full without knowing exactly how you unclogged the shower drain using peanut butter, drain cleaner and some salt. PLEASE share all of these pearls of wisdom. Oh and don’t film these videos in landscape, or in a well lit room with ZERO naked kids in the background. No, it’s portrait all the way and some more bonus points if you can get your kid to dig in their nappy in the background and yell “It stinks”.

• Do a lockdown challenge
  *cough-cough* There’s the egg challenge, the handstand challenge, the climbing Everest on your stairs challenge. Why stop there? Bring back the ice bucket challenge and the cinnamon challenge. Shit, while you are at it, do the Harlem shake all on your own, or follow the first bullet and ask your neighbour to join. And whatever challenge you decide on, don’t forget to nominate 50 friends to join in the “fun”.

BY FAR the best one out there. Is you good, is you kay? Cos I want ta know.

I hope these tips are helpful in keeping you and your loved ones together by staying apart.

If you have any more tips, please share them in the comments below. Or just say “hi” (PLEASE SAY HI… Extrovert here)

Lockdown challenge #2: Sugar and spice and all things nice

This Lockdown Challenge is a long term thing apparently, BUT lockdown got extended sooooo I get to make up for it.

Kim gave me this spark for the challenge:

Sugar and spice and all things nice…

…and the first thing that came to mind was The Powerpuff Girls.

The show starts off with the words SUGAR, SPICE and everything nice and them some stuff about professor Utonium adding an accidental extra ingredient… CHEMICAL X (I wonder if the creator of the show was/is a Marvel Comics fan…). Thus, the Powerpuff Girls were born (I won’t carry on reciting)

Why am I writing about the PP Girls? Good question (checks notes) It’s mostly because this points to a childhood pastime… CARTOON NETWORK. Not the CN that kids have now. Oh no no, I am talking about the CN that had shows like Ed, Edd and Eddy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Dexter’s Laboratory, Cow and Chicken… those shows. Good wholesome shows.

• 

But I am also writing about the PP Girls because as a girl (I am a girl, yes) I used to want to be Buttercup so bad. She was always the rebel, the tougher one, the one who is always getting into trouble and the one who is always up for an ass whoopin. If there was ass to by whooped, Buttercup be yoh girl.

It made it difficult being blond and blue-eyed though (the only time that it was ever difficult), because as a girl you naturally want to chose the character that you look like (even if it is just 2 features, 2 of the most significant features). Bubbles had the blue and blonde… and the irritating voice and the emotions and the girliness that I just didn’t agree with.

On a different but related note, I know there are redheads in the world and I understand the demographic that Blossom is catering for, but who the heck has pink eyes? Seriously though, Blossom has pink eyes and no one is bothered by this? That’s that chemical X shit not washing out with the rinse cycle, Professor. She needs to be quarantined, that shit is contagious. Give the girl some eye drops, take her to see a doctor.

I digress, the whole sugar, spice thing did spark something other than nostalgia. What the PP Girls teaches us is, that it’s all about being sweet but being able to kick some ass too. Be spicy but help the helpless, stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. And always have that extra ingredient, that something that makes you different. (Not Arkham Asylum type different though… calm down Harley)

If that one thing that you have is that your eyes are pink, please see a doctor, get help, get an eye patch.

In closing, passing words to you are… Watch a bit of PP Girls. Be inspired to do some good. Even if it is liking, sharing and commenting on this post, you are the true hero here.