The Introverted Detective

 If I said I had a family-friendly movie to bring to a family gathering, what do you picture? While I'm sure you don't expect me to bring Game of Thrones or Fifty Shades of Grey  to the party, you definitely don't expect me to bring a 1930s short film showing black stereotypes in a blatantly offensive way. My point is this; it all depends on the year you are currently living in.  Courtesy of weareunheard.com Some films and cartoons age poorly as the culture changes. Most of us cringe at old media showing racial and gender stereotypes that no longer fit the culture we have been raised in. Fun for the whole family thirty years ago is different from what it is in 2023. Let's talk about the family-friendly rating and how it has changed.  First, we all need to know what "family-friendly" is defined as. Law Insider says this: "Family Friendly with respect to any Entertainment Property, Consumer Product or other Content, means that such Entertainment Property, ...

 I feel like social media is not being used in the way it was intended, much like every invention in the long history of inventions. Today I revisit what it was for, as well as what we shouldn't be doing with it.  Photo courtesy of dlpa.com.au It was not intended as a way to attack people, harass people, stalk people, turn a country against itself, manipulate someone, or otherwise harm people emotionally. Yet, we can see proof of all this happening in our social media. Let's think about that for a beat. Pause and reflect on what we have recently used our social media to do.  The intention was to connect with others and make it easier to communicate, all while sharing cute photos of animals and sharing about our lives. Connection with others was the original intention of social media. It has become entertainment, too, but depending on the entertainment form that isn't all bad. Hamsters, dad jokes, games, and other innocent forms of fun are not bad things. Jokes that harm o...

Have you ever thought "I'd like to sell my homemade (insert item here) someday"? You may find it a little harder than you thought, but it isn't impossible to do. What you have to understand about it is this; it takes consistency to make it a business and takes work to make an object worth buying (unless you are an adorable child).  Courtesy of Chicago Tribune So, you want to sell your handmade whatever for extra money. Before you rush into making ten million handmade whatever and expect major sales, you first need a vendor's license to go to craft fairs. You also need to take into account that there is sales tax to turn in at one point in the year, another thing to keep track of based on county and state. My dad does this as a side business, as a carpenter who makes toys, cabinets, and doll furniture. It paid for some of my wedding and the rental of his tux, as well as giving an extra boost to the family finances. Is it worth it? Absolutely, but depending on what ...

 It is done, ladies and gentlemen! I released a book on Amazon after a year or so of editing and lots of pre-planning for promoting it. Today is a glorious day.  Courtesy of Cathy Baker Many of you have been following the saga of my getting ready to publish this novel. It is called "Wrenville" and will be linked at the end of this blog and on my website (which is linked to this blog website). Share this blog everywhere. Share the post that goes with it everywhere. Tell the world! I need your help, loyal blog readers.  Do you want the plot? Here it is (without giving you spoilers). A private investigator named Jack Thomas moves into a small town in Illinois after he stumbles upon a complicated case. He thinks he's safe in this small town of Wrenville, but the case he ran from follows him here. From there you can check out the book itself. You aren't getting more than the teaser.  This blog post is going to be super short. I have been editing and writing this for so lo...

 I did it before and I'll do it again for kicks. Flower meanings are back because I have gotten into darker topics and need lighter ones. I'd like to dedicate this to Mom, because this was a good idea that I can pull out of my hat whenever I need a lighter topic of discussion. Thanks Mom!  Watercolor carnations courtesy of Pinterest Gerbera, Carnations, and Peony are my focuses today. I'll go in just that order in this post. I picked 3 common flowers that get put in bouquets because almost everyone will know what they are. Gerbera Gerbera Daisy is found native to South Africa. The victorian meaning is happiness. Egyptian meaning is like it, but slightly different. They said it meant closeness to nature and devotion to the sun. Celts said it lessened sorrows and stress. If someone gives a gift covered in these it might be suspected they are hiding something. Mostly the meaning comes to the innocent happiness of children. These are playful and celebratory flowers that give en...

 As some of you know, I am releasing a suspense novel in January of 2023 - that's this month! I am ecstatic to inform you that I have created a website that links directly to my blog and social media accounts.  Above you see the synopsis (with no spoilers) of the novel I'm releasing this month. It is titled Wrenville and takes place in a small town in Illinois. A private investigator named Jack Thomas is running from a previous case, only to have it catch up to him. Want more information? You'll have to buy the book when it comes out (or get it from the library if I can get it into the Stark county or Carroll county library system).  The news this week isn't the actual release, since I am clearly teasing you with the vague plot line, but rather the creation of my website. I have it prepared for the release of my novel, Wrenville , and I will keep it updated on any projects I'm currently working on, including the editing of the next novel or novella I will be releasi...

 I was recently told that TikTok collects invasive data, but can we talk about how much data other apps also take? Truthfully every social media takes data from your devices and your own devices learn what you like and don't like. Let's talk about what data gets sent out from your device every time you log in.  Courtesy of versedtech.org So, I did in fact join TikTok to promote my future book, but one comment that sounded unlikely had me looking up if the Chinese stole TikTok data. There were articles about it, yet we all still sit on our social media platforms that also take our data. Really, we should be wary of all social media by that standard. The cold, hard reality is that we were made more for face-to-face contact than for online communication (although some of us prefer written messaging).  Why am I on social media after knowing it isn't entirely healthy? You're reading the reason. I couldn't do this without my social media. I couldn't promote my future ...