Thanksgiving Edition Of Life Magazine From November 24, 1892

Today I am going to take you all way back to the year 1892 for this blog entry. Here is the cover of the Thanksgiving Edition of Life Magazine from November 24, 1892. Quite nice and fitting since this year's Thanksgiving falls on November 24 as well.



I only took a photograph of the cover because the stories inside are a bit gloomy.

Drifter Transforming Action Figure From The M.A.R.S. Converters Toy Line

This is my third review for a MARS Converters transformable action figure. The toy's name is Drifter. He transforms into a blue car. I bought this at Walgreens in March and I finally found time to do a review here in November. It was half off - only $4.99!! The figure is pretty cool, but the arms do not stay in ... they will fall off during play. It is great for display and for play. Drifter stands on his own with no problems. I like it. The company that released it is Hap-P-Kid/Cybotronix.

As some of you know, I always film the M.A.R.S. Converters experience and here is my latest video showing the step-by-step process: taking the figure out of the box and transforming it ...



Photographs of the toy ...

Facebook Blocked Me From Posting Due To My Support For Aliaa Elmahdy While They Allow A Group That Calls For Her Death To Remain Online And Active

I joined a facebook group that promotes the rights of women in the Arab World. As I scrolled down its "Wall", I noticed a link for a blog promoting a very unique campaign where people could stand in solidarity with Aliaa Magda Elmahdy [the Arab-Egyptian Woman whom I recently blogged about (http://michaeltheresearcher.blogspot.com/2011/11/i-support-aliaa-magda-elmahdy.html)]. To participate, a person would take the naked photograph of Aliaa and superimpose her (or his!!) face over Aliaa's face. The superimposed jpeg would then be part of a montage. I thought it was a great idea and I was very interested in participating. I e-mailed my photograph to the blogger (Note: at the time of this blog post, it was not posted on the blog) and shortly after decided to make the nude photograph (her body with my face!) as my default picture on facebook.

Here is the photo [censored (believe me, I do not want to censor this)]:


I had the nude photo as my default for a number of hours with no problems. The next time I logged in (Sunday morning at around 1:00 AM), facebook informed me that they deleted the photo because it violated the website's "Statement of Rights and Responsibilities". I initially uploaded the photo to a folder and then made it my default and that copy of the photo was still in that folder. I was fine with that and planned on quietly keeping the photo in the folder. I had no intention of making it my default again.

Screen shot of facebook's message to me (again, censored):


I logged out and went to sleep. I woke up around 11:30 AM and logged back in. I received another message from facebook - this time the website informed me that I had been blocked from posting content for 24 hours since it was my second offense.

Observe:


I thought that since facebook was in a deleting mood, I would check on a group that was calling for the death of Miss Elmahdy. I had seen it the night before and wanted to see if it was still online and active. Sure enough, it was.

Screen shot of the very despicable, evil group (you will note the noose by her):


Translation of the group's title from translate.google.com (online translators are far from perfect, but you can certainly get the gist of it):


They deleted my photo because it violated their "Statement of Rights and Responsibilities", but they continue to allow the group calling for Aliaa's death to remain online. Per facebook, calling for someone's death ain't as bad as a naked photo (which is a 100% social/political statement). Priorities, huh?

I am not forever banned (being blocked from posting is the same as being banned) ... I should be back on facebook after 6:00 PM tomorrow (Monday). I will continue to monitor the situation concerning Aliaa.

UPDATE (November 20, 2011, just after 7:15 PM Eastern Time): Facebook finally deleted that atrocious group from their website ... after they dealt with the more pressing matter of my personal page of course.

I Support Aliaa Magda Elmahdy

An Egyptian-Arab female feminist activist posted a nude photograph of herself on her blog as a way to express herself with full freedom in the spirit of the Arab Spring. She is speaking out against "a society of violence, racism, sexism, sexual harassment and hypocrisy" (aka Egypt). What makes this even more noteworthy is the fact that she is using her real name - Aliaa Magda Elmahdy.

This is her blog: http://arebelsdiary.blogspot.com

Here is an Iranian Freedom website covering the topic (I first heard about Aliaa through this source): http://www.iran-free.org/archives/5595/

As some of you know, I frequently speak out against women who pose for Playboy, but this case is different. Given the circumstances, I support this woman 100%. The glass ceiling must be broken and when the glass ceiling is broken, it can never be broken again. The glass ceiling has been broken. It has happened ... Aliaa posed nude and all of us should acknowledge it in a greater context and reflect on it.

I have looked at her photo a number of times and although, like everyone else, I see a woman's brazen nakedness, to me, what I am really seeing in that nudity is the physical embodiment of true freedom and the physical manifestation of self-determination. I see the intent and I see it in the context of a repressive and an oppressive Egyptian society. Very incredible and very moving. Much like the Iranian Protesters did in 2009, this brave woman Aliaa Magda Elmahdy has put the concept of Freedom into a new perspective for me here in America.

To Miss Aliaa Magda Elmahdy ... What you did was very incredible. You have my respect. To me, it is not the naked body - it is the intent behind the photograph. You are the quintessential Freedom Fighter of our time. You have my total support and I will continue to spread the word.

In this video, I give my statement of support for Aliaa:

234th Anniversary Of The Siege Of Fort Mifflin Reenactment Held In Philadelphia, PA On November 13, 2011

On November 13, 2011, Fort Mifflin once again held its annual Siege Of Fort Mifflin Revolutionary War Reenactment. The actual Battle took place 234 years ago. This blog entry features many photographs and a video of the event.









































































The Living Historians lined up after the Battle ...




















Here is a wreath showing this as being the 234th Anniversary:


I picked up this really cool mouse pad in the gift shop at the Fort. I am using it right now!


Here are two videos of the Reenactment [I tried (for days) to upload one nine-minute, thirty-nine-second video to youtube, but the website would not allow it so I had to split the footage into two parts] ...