A Very Very Basic Explanation About the BRICS

This is a reminder in this hectic world. Nothing stays the same, nor does anything last forever. 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the US dollar is in serious trouble, and if you have not already noticed, we are in very turbulent times. 

More and more nations are moving towards abandoning the dollar as their sole currency to do global trade and business. Thus we see the expansion of the BRICS nations. 

If you have not heard of BRICS, it is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, which are the founding members. 

The BRICS nations, which now include more than just the above-mentioned are emerging economies. China is already the number two economy and the factory of the world, which makes products for everywhere and everyone. Many other countries are waiting in the wings to join Club Brics. 

The BRICS is now a geopolitical bloc that has been built more on cooperation and non-interference as opposed to the US-NATO nations which are heavily built on global militaristic interference and dominance. 

BRICS is the competition, and the US and other Western countries are concerned about this threat to their hegemony and how the BRICS are quietly chipping away at US dollar primacy. 

But why am I bringing up geopolitical blocs to you, a regular person?  I am because they will and are affecting your pocketbook and bank accounts. It has already started. There are going to be more and more geopolitical hurricanes and tornadoes in the future. 

You must be prepared if at all possible for the tidal wave of economic instability and change that is moving like a flood with moderate speed. 

To do as much as possible for such change it is wise to try and save as much as you can.

Develop financial discipline and knowledge.

Life is unpredictable, and one cannot always be totally prepared for tough times, but having knowledge and doing the best one can in preparation is better than doing nothing.

BRICS will not be going anywhere, so get ready.

A Slice of Life Film Short of An African American Family 71 Years Ago

I often think how would it have been if life had turned out differently for me, my people, and just all of humanity. I think these things especially now.  What if things could have been better or just stayed simpler?  What if my people had kept their own culture and not integrated fully into the society's system?  Would we still have traditional families?  Would we have less crime?  Would we have better morals and self respect?  Would we be more dependent on God instead of on material things and seeking status and the approval of others?  

I happened upon this film Palmour Street (1949) A Black Family in Gainesville, Georgia. (link to film)  Gainesville is a pretty town north of where I live.  It is called the poultry capital of the world, and even has a monument to a chicken (link).  Palmour Street was produced in my hometown, Athens, Georgia, so here are connections my history in this film.  My grandparents were of the same generation of the couple in this little drama and slice of life.  I can even see remnants of things I witnessed and did in my childhood, such as the games the kids played or my mother tucking me into bed and kissing me good night.  

My mother and I watched Palmour Street together, and when my dad can spare some time from his television I would like him to watch it too.  I'm sure it will bring back fond memories to him as well. He's very much a person who lives and breathes the past.  He has a tremendous nostalgic streak, whereas my mom and I are more accepting of the way life is, allowing it to flow forward to its end.  

Palmour Street is an important artifact.  In a society like America that is built on progress that mows down everything in its path without any strong regard for the consequences, this simple little film of a bygone era should be seen by every American and anyone curious about how African American life used to be. 

I also recommend the channel "reelblack" that this film is posted on.  There are other great and forgotten gems of black life, Hollywood, and TV movies on there.. 

A brief comment connected to my previous blogpost:  I did successfully resize my book to standard trade paperback size.  I am very proud of myself.  One friend has read my book and given it 3 stars on Goodreads.  I'm grateful it's not just one or two stars which is an indication my writing isn't a total loss. My book Gratitude: A Trio of Stories remains free and can be downloaded from Lulu.  Go to the thumbnail on the right hand side of this page to get the pdf. If you're on Goodreads, please leave a review about it or leave comments about it on here or on Twitter @AfricasDaughter.  If you don't have a lot of time star rating is enough.  I appreciate the feedback, good or bad.  I am also working on my second book which is a collection of poetry. 

My Ebook is Now in Paperback

I was able to go to the next step in self-publishing my first book. Two weeks ago I formatted the paperback version of my book Gratitude: A Trio of Stories and then sent it off.  The book came back looking quite nice as you can see in the photo, but I didn't understand about the sizing, and so my book came out about the size of a coloring book, 11 inches by 8 and a half.  

I was pleased and excited with my first attempt, but my happiness was not complete since I thought the book would be the size of a trade paperback. Not one to give up easily, and before I drowned my self in editing and proofreading my next book, I decided to try to resize Gratitude smaller. I did the alteration last Sunday afternoon, and once again sent off for another copy of my book.  When I checked the mail tracker yesterday, my book had arrived in my state.  By the middle of next week, no later than the end, I should have received it if the US Postal Service doesn't lose it.  In the last few years the mail service in this country isn't what it once was, a very reliable and efficient branch of the government.  I am hoping there won't be any mishap, and that I will be pleased with my finished product.  

Unfortunately, I decided not to market the paperback version of my book. I only plan to have copies made for myself and family, but you can download Gratitude: A Trio of Stories free when you click on the image of the book on the right side of this page.  

My First Book Is Finally Self Published

I can be an incredibly slow slowpoke.  When I was a college student I developed the really bad habit of procrastinating, and I haven't been able to fully shake this tendency to this day.  I am getting better though.  

I have finally completed my first book via self publishing.  I love books, words, and stories, and it has been my dream to write books for decades, but procrastination and a lack of confidence delayed me even when I had friends, a local author, and professors encourage me to write.  The best advice I ever got on the topic of writing was from a friend from Iran who was my trainer in a teaching method program that one of my bosses in Turkey sent me to in Istanbul.  My trainer was a compassionate and sensitive person and became my friend.  When I told him about a blog I was keeping at the time, he later told me to write to not become famous, but write because I like to and feel that I must.  His father was a journalist, so he must have known about the importance of writing, how it can be beautiful if a person is doing it for the right reasons.  I finally grew into his advice.  I decided to write for me even if no one else read it.  I just wanted to see if I was able to write a short book and publish it on my own, so that I could have full rights over my creation.  

My book Gratitude: A Trio of Stories can be read in one or two sittings.  These stories have lingered around on three different laptops and in paper form on my desk for such a period that I am too embarrassed to say for how long.  I even planned that if I failed in my attempt to publish my work through a self publishing platform, I would just create a website and post my work in serial form. It was a long stretch of work, going step by step, trying to stick to the guidelines, but I was finally able to complete everything on Lulu in PDF.  My next book that I already have in the makings, I hope to put in EPUB format.  The next feat for me is to learn how to convert my book of stories over to paperback so I can have a hard-copy in my hands.  Wish me luck.  

I decided months ago that I would give my first book away for free. To get to the sales page just click on the thumbnail of my book, Gratitude: A Trio of Stories on the right hand side of this page.  My first book is 100% free. Please don't hesitate to give me your impressions.  Actually two of the stories I would love to expand into novels, and I'm also thinking about doing more trios of stories as a continuing series. For me, this will require a lot of discipline which I am creeping toward. 
  
Since I am sort of a hostage of these times like millions, I decided that what could be a better period than now to get my dream job done, and with stubborn determination try to complete my book. I did it.  I feel that my next work may not take as long since I am excited and confident that I can now meet all the requirements of formatting my own book. I'm no longer hesitant.  I'm eager.  

Up next for me is a book of poetry; God willing.  The poems are all written in a notebook and need to be edited.  I also started the first beginnings of a novel last year.  I'm champing at the bit now, ready to go. I want to see if I can do it again in a different way.

So!  I guess I can now call myself, besides an EFL teacher, an independent author.  I finally got the job I wanted done for ME.  I challenged myself and met my own challenge. 

This Blog is Still Active

Hello Friends.
I saw at the close of last year that I have two followers at such an early date in the life of this blog.  That was quite a surprise.

As you can see I haven't blogged since October.  When I started this blog I had planned to post once a week on a regular basis.  Then I had to make a decision.  Do I want to attempt to be a professional blogger and try to grow this blog and perhaps in the future try to garner some revenue through it, or do I go on with my original plan involving writing and teaching and post occasionally?  I decided to go on with my original plan.  When one has multiple interests it is very easy to be sidetracked and distracted.

My original plan was for this blog to be the home of my own independently published books.  I have written two short books of stories and poetry that are not yet published.  At this time I am near the final stage of what I hope is the last time I have to edit one of them.  I cannot predict the date of publication, but I hope in several months.  I am also preparing to start an online English language tutoring and TOEFL exam preparation business which I prepare to call a service.  With it I am very close to launching it online.  I have the website and the Facebook page completed, but knowing how I am, I may continue to tweak the website a bit more this week before I try to gather more exposure for it.

I cannot make any promises as to the frequency that I may write blog posts, but I will occasionally.  I am hoping that Hinterlands will be a place where I can promote my self published books and even artwork that I am also in the process of planning.  So please check back here from time to time.

Hinterlands blog is not dead.

An Ancient Remedy I Use

I am fascinated by traditional remedies and medicine. Medical care of today has roots in old treatments and cures. Cures are of the past. When was the last time you heard about a cure for any disease? The concern lies with the carousel of ongoing treatment, because medical care in the United States is for profit. The profession/business of healthcare would collapse if too many cures were discovered. Especially in a society like the United States where the latest money-making trend is valued, the average person is not concerned with the old or the ancient unless somehow they get their hands on some artifact or antique that they can make money from.  

Despite the boast by American leaders that America has the best healthcare system in the world, it's certainly the most overpriced and hard to access in certain parts of the country. Americans are some of the most unhealthy people on earth due to the erroneous ways we have been taught to live and think. The top diseases are all lifestyle and stress-related, hypertension, cancer, major depression, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.  

When I first traveled to Turkey one of the first things I noticed was the rarity of overweight and obese people.  Unlike here, I could be in the country for weeks and months and not see a single fat person, whereas at home when I go out, I will always see someone who is very overweight. Here stateside, I also have to deal with weight issues. Yet each time I went to Turkey to teach, in about three months my weight became perfect, and I would feel like a new person.  

Turkey is among a number of nations where GMO seeds and products are banned, unlike here in the states where  most everything we ingest has been tampered with and polluted with toxins without any mandate for honest labeling.  GMO products could also be a cause of why the cancer rate is so high. 

The Turks often have only one day off from work, yet they know how to be social and relax, an art that we here in the states have lost. Living next to each other, and we may have never had a conversation with our neighbor.  At each language institute where I taught in Turkey, classes would be in session for 50 minutes with a ten-minute break to smoke, get a snack, and drink tea. I would always go to the canteen to sit down and talk to my students or colleagues. 

I have respect for countries that haven't totally succumbed to false identities and know how to mix tradition with the modern, unlike here in the states where most citizens have false identities and know nothing previous to 243 years ago, which was the nation's founding, and not even that event is known and understood very accurately.  My history didn't begin 243 years ago or 175 years ago, which is as far as I can trace back on my mother's side of the family. White, black, and hyphened American means nothing. What are our origins and original ethnicities?  Outside of trying to sustain ourselves by worshiping the false gods of money and materialism, having no knowledge outside what the TV tells us, who are we?  Where did we come from, and where are we going?  Why are we being taught during this postmodern period, that it's progressive to set low and self-destructive standards for ourselves?  Why are we and our leadership so mentally, spiritually, and physically sick, and stubbornly dishonest with ourselves? 

I will talk about a substance as proof that the ancient is important. Two plants that I love are the olive tree and the rose. I saw my first olive grove in Greece in 2003.  From the olive tree, I get olive oil for cooking, for use in a mixture I make to cover my salads, and to take care of my hair and skin. From the rose I get rosewater.  Here I am not speaking of the standard rose we are familiar with in America, but the damask rose or Rosa Damascena which is a Middle Eastern rose hybrid.  

Rosewater which is produced from the cultivation of the Rosa Damascena is not available in stores where I live. I encountered it first in the Turkish confection or sweet called lokum or Turkish Delight.  Lokum comes in several flavors.  The two I like best are  pistachio and rose.  Lokum was brought on the scene in Ottoman Turkey during the 1700s, but it may have an earlier origin. The first time I saw rose-flavored lokum was behind the window of a sweet shop in Istanbul, and until then I didn't know that roses or any flower could be used in food or drink. 

America is a heavily controlled society, and one means of control is to leave people ignorant of facts and valuable knowledge. Here rosewater is advertised only as a cosmetic for the skin, and this is likely because the pharmaceutical industry lobbies (bribes) the government to keep out the competition and high levels of medicinal knowledge so they can maintain their overpriced grip on society.  American pharmaceuticals are the most expensive in the world. The "kings and queens of democracy" keep this country and all its sectors functioning as monopolies and not as a democracy.  There is little fairness and truth.

Rosewater is marketed as a cosmetic for external and not internal health, whereas in societies in the East, people used it for medicinal benefits centuries ago. The same has been done to turpentine.  Some in my parents' generation were given turpentine when they were children to improve their health. Today it is marketed as paint and varnish thinner and is contaminated with all kinds of impurities. "Big pharma" as some call it, wants an unhealthy public so they can keep on making money. Government, big food, big pharma, the media, the banks all labor hand in hand to maintain a sickly, ignorant, and weak public.  

About two years ago I was telling my private student who lives in Turkey about a bottle of rosewater I had purchased at a pharmacy the last time I was in her country.  I bought the bottle as a kind of souvenir, and I still have it. It has been four years since I bought it, so the scent is mostly gone, but I keep it for good memories of the pharmacy where I would go to regularly and talk to, in my limited Turkish, the friendly owner and pharmacists. I asked my student if it was safe for cooking, and she told me I would need organic rosewater since the one I have has some castor oil added to it. 

Later I looked for organic rosewater on Amazon where I continue to buy antique olive soap made by the Dalan soap company in Turkey. I searched and found 100% pure organic rosewater from Morocco. 

For several years, I suffered from asthma brought on by allergies, stress, and the climate here in the south. Whenever I would go to Turkey my asthma would taper off. I did a web search about home remedies for asthma a few years ago and saw a short article that implied that rosewater might alleviate some allergies and asthma. I ordered a bottle of organic rosewater, and when I had an attack I put a few drops in a glass of water, stirred it in, and drank it. The result was it worked just as well or better than my $80 to $100 inhaler and my menthol cough drops.  

In the past, I've bought a liquid herbal remedy with ginseng from an herbal remedy and vitamin shop, but it cost close to $30 before tax. The organic Moroccan rosewater is 4 ounces. I only have to buy it twice a year, and it comes at a little less than $10 before tax. 

I rarely have asthma attacks anymore. I also took my mother's advice, and I take a chewable vitamin C tablet daily at breakfast. The use of rosewater and having a calmer and more accepting perception of life have stopped my asthmatic problem.  

One of the reasons we are so lost in America and the West, next to the loss of a deep and knowledgeable understanding of religious faith, is because we have lost connection to what true culture is, and we don't know and value history, our ancient roots, or real medical care. This ancient connection has been severed by profit, false identity, blind patriotism, and the focus on the self as master and god leaving us fractured from who we are as natural men and women. 


Below I have added what I hope are interesting and informative links. 

Pharmacological Effects of Rosa Damascena 

Rosa Damascena As Holy Ancient Herb With Novel Applications

How The World's Best Rose Water Is Made

Coffee With Cardamom and Rose Water

The Roses of Constantinople

Travel and Little Known Travel Vloggers and The Beauty They Bring

Often the little known, the better quality of the work.  

When I have free-time besides reading, YouTube is where I spend a good deal of my online time. Travel vlogger channels are some of my favorite spots. I prefer video bloggers who do not go to the standard, prescribed places that tourists are advised to go to, but they travel to some of the most beautiful, ancient, and war affected nations in the world.  Americans are taught to be afraid of such places, resulting in us being left in a cultural, historical, and social vacuum which results in our missing out on so much about the outside world and other cultures. 

About two years previous to the Syrian War which began in 2011, a friend of mine toured there.  He had been a trainer in a program that my then boss sent me to in Istanbul.  The language school where I had been hired at that time used a special teaching method, so everyday for one week another teacher and I were driven to Istanbul, and that is where I came to be in the class where my future friend was the instructor.  He was Iranian and something of a nomad.  I am not a very outgoing person, so it was a great surprise when he reached out to me and showed that he was a calm, compassionate, and highly intelligent man.  

Eventually we lost touch, but prior to the friendship going

silent, he traveled to Syria two years or so before the war broke out.  He emailed me a couple of photos of the ancient city of Palmyra. Since I love history, he wanted to send me a photo of himself in Palmyra. Just a few years later, ISIS captured the area, damaged, looted, and destroyed portions of that ancient metropolis. When I learned what happened I felt a mixture of sadness and nostalgia. Wherever my friend was I wondered what feelings he might be experiencing since he had visited that site just a few years before.  He had encouraged me to visit Syria because he believed I would love it there.  My hope had been that whenever I taught in Turkey again, I could take a bus and travel to Syria.  My friend told me that I would really enjoy the country because of the similarities in culture and kindness of the Syrian people. He wrote that the Turks are nice, but the Syrians are even nicer. I wondered if it was possible to be kinder than Turkish people I've met. The wonderful experiences I've had in Turkey teaching and being a foreigner could fill a book which someday I would love to write. 

More so than Damascus or anywhere else in the country, my dream was to someday travel to Maaloula, an ancient Syrian town which is a holdover from ancient times.  It is one of the few places on earth where the locals still speak Aramaic which was Jesus Christs' native tongue.  Aramaic is a Semitic ancestral language to ancient Hebrew and to Arabic. There are only a few thousand people left who speak Aramaic, and Maaloula is like a time capsule, an ancient relic where even the children speak the language.  

I still would love to visit Syria someday.

I sometimes joke that I am the educated poor, but I love my job and wouldn't drop it and change over to anything else. My only regret is that I didn't find my calling earlier in life. When I was a young person, teaching English as a foreign language was not so common as it is now.  After I finished graduate school the main road to get on for education graduates was just to the public and private schools and colleges and universities here in the states. Changing over to EFL (English as a foreign language) slowly brought me to a new way of life and a new way of thinking.  Over time living and teaching abroad changed me into a less anxious, more confident, and thankful person. The silly little meaningless things that some Americans clutter their brains with aren't important to me.  Living and teaching abroad gradually changed me into more of a minimalist. I learned to accept life as it is, and I try to do my best and be a good example for other people if anyone cares to notice. I don't worry like I was prone to for years, and I don't allow myself to be submerged in the madness of competition and envy.  

Because it is so expensive for me to travel outside the US unless I get a teaching position in say a place like the Emirates or Saudi Arabia where employers would likely pay for my plane ticket, I just can't travel at this time.  Also my father is old, has multiple ailments and is disabled. Fortunately, my mother who is also old has good health. I must stick around in the states to be here for them since I am now basically the head of the house, making decisions and helping my parents with important information which they need and can't access because they lack any knowledge of tech.  

Since I am stuck here, I use YouTube as my means of travel to such places as Lotofen Island in Norway, Senegal, Baghdad, Vietnam, and other places I am so interested in. I also travel by reading in translation the works of authors from around the world. I'm close to a decade of being TV free, since I haven't watched television since 2011.  With books the topics are endless.  Reading requires that you exercise your brain in a small degree even if what you read is low level New York Times Bestseller material. On average I'm always reading four or more books at once.  

I am always happy to see when people decide to leave ignorance behind and explore this world during this one life we have. I don't mean superficial travel to garner attention and envy from others, but serious travel for learning, growth, and to start scrubbing away all the incorrect thinking our society and the people around us have imposed on us. Yes, there are dangers in some places but there is also the reward of rolling out of and away from the false security blanket. It is wonderful that some vloggers are going to countries with immensely rich and complex histories and  cultures and mingling with the regular people who have the same basic needs as us. 

As an adherent of the Christian faith who has studied and enjoys church history, I see Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia all as Bible lands. The apostles, prophets and the saints walked in some of these places. These are lands where the religion took root and flourished, so these places are the spiritual homelands here on earth of all Christians.The Bible lands should not be limited to and recognized as only Israel (Palestine).  All of these nations are highly important countries in the history of humanity. 

Eva Zu Beck is a world traveler who was over here in the states a few weeks ago traveling by train.  Afterwards she went to Syria and visited Damascus, Maaloula, and Aleppo.  Both Maaloula and East Aleppo were occupied by various terrorist groups but were later freed by the Syrian Arab Army and their allies. I don't want my blog to be political, but I must say that it is highly curious that the terrorist groups such as ISIS occupied, looted and damaged or destroyed the oldest parts of cities like Aleppo and Mosul in Iraq.There are certain countries and groups who would love for history to be erased so those countries they don't like cannot have revenue for tourism, and also so overtime people lose their true identities since we live in a time when people are being lured into false and toxic identities particularly here in the Western nations. Click here to go to Eva's tour of Aleppo.

Kento is a Japanese vlogger who loves Middle Eastern culture.  He has been to Syria as well, and he went to Iraq two years ago. Click here for his impassioned anti-war plea that he made in his hotel room in Iraq.  It starts at 4:21 and also click CC for English subtitles. 

Iran is another country I would be very excited to visit. I could be wrong, but I sense there may not be a war between the United States and Iran even though the leadership of this country wants a war that they planned years ago.  It's ridiculous that the US has continued its' ongoing drama and feud with The Islamic Republic of Iran since I was 18. I am now 57. Conflict resolution and negotiation are signs of civilized governance. This country is overextended already, being that it's in seven wars at the moment, most of which are undeclared and unknown to the average American.  The guy here is American and a little silly and childish, but his content as a food travel blogger is very good. I have to praise him for his courage to get out of the box and check out Iran for himself. 

This young woman who is far more classy and who journeyed to Iran also has a wonderful message starting at 20:20.  

There are many other YouTube vloggers who are traveling around the world on roads less traveled by Americans. 

Check out the video here not by a traveler but by a native of Senegal to show the beauty of his country.  Senegal is a country in West Africa.  

In their own way with an audience no where as large as they would have in mainstream media, these young people are doing humanity a service in a small but important way.  Being against warfare, I applaud them, and I am pleased to see a few more people are not accepting the same tired and vicious narratives about our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world.