Make Up Lesson

When I'm next off on my travels I've got a make up lesson booked.
It's something I've wanted to do for a while,but never really had the chance.
You can only go so far watching videos off the net and reading. It's probably the first of a few. I have got a few decades catching up to do. The picture is my latest effort. Some might say I'd be better sticking to a Kenny of Southpark look as I described in an earlier post.
Hopefully everything goes to plan

Life, Death and Religion (plus anything else)

I comment on my last post from Carolyn Ann who I discovered when I looked at her blog is an atheist. Somewhere along the line I always knew I was going to set my stall out when it came to that particular subject.
I've always had a problem with organised religion from since I started school. It just didn't make sense. I was one of those kids who always had questions. Just before I started school there was a friend of the family who was an atheist. I remember asking him why he didn't believe in God. I can't remember what he said, but I remember my mother being told that he shouldn't be allowed to talk to me as he was evil for not believing in God. I thought he was great because he didn't fob me off when I asked about anything. My mother ignored them because she had known him since she was a kid and still talks about him fondly to this day.
I guess for most of my life I believed there was a God, but I rejected any organised religion.
I'm not that well educated. I went off to work at 16, but I do read a lot and I've seen people in horrendous situations around the world.
I've been through the mill a bit myself, but not nearly as bad as some people. The worst was when I lost my second wife, the love of my life. Her passing still hurts today. I never dressed up for about 2 years. I actually thought it had disappeared completely. When it came back it seemed different. She knew all about my dressing by the way.
Anyway in the past couple of years I've come to the conclusion that this God being does not exist. The fact is you've got this all powerful being who if you don't worship him you'll be punished. It's seems he'll get quite upset at a few things.In his defence we don't have anything actually written down by him, just accounts and interpretations of his will given to us by other humans. We have no proof that he really exists so that's where faith comes in. I'm sorry I can't have faith in something that I have no idea if it exists.
Organised religion itself is what really causes me a problem. I saw a film called The Corporation, about how public companies operate. It made the point that if a corporation was a living being it would classed as a psychopath. It comes first regardless, and has no conscience about how it makes profit. The film explains it really well, better than I can. That's why we have regulators and laws governing them.
Organised religions seem similar to corporations if left to their own devices the result can be loads of people ending up dead like we've seen throughout history and even now, if you don't conform to their view. Thankfully in most countries religion like every thing else has to respect the laws of the state. It can be a problem when religion makes the law. First casualty is usually freedom of expression.
In my view organised religion is about control and making money.
I'm not an atheist, I just don't know what happens after we die. It would be nice to think we do go on and I don't have a problem with religious people as long as they don't tell me how I should think.
All I do know is that I try to live my life without hurting anyone, and try to be the best person I can.

Learning Curve Pt 2 - The Truth Explodes

In part one of this my intention was to write about my trip south, which I did but it focused mainly on the moron who tried to intimidate me. The night itself I really enjoyed with Kate, Diana and Sandi who doesn't get much chance to get out.
I had managed to go flying over a table in my hotel room and bounce my head with a severe crack of the wall.
After that mishap I met Diana in the hotel lobby and we went to the car park where we were meeting Sandi.
This got a bit strange. It felt like Diana and myself were in a spy movie or cop film on a stakeout. Diana's car was on the second level overlooking the street. She didn't have a mobile number for Sandi just her car make and registration plate number.
While we were trying to spot Sandi's car I saw Kate walking past behind us.
Sandi turned up soon after, so off we went to AXM then Eden for a meal.
We then went to the Manchester Concord meet upstairs at the Rembrandt and onto Axm Late, which to be honest I wasn't really impressed with, but it was a quiet night.
Kate and Sandi had to go home so Diana and myself went to Naps.
We both did a lot of Dancing which I love. We also discussed a few things about being trans. I told her about the first time I ever went out dressed up, if you could call it that.
I actually went out dressed up when I was 14. Diana is the first person I've ever told about it. What I did was get a skirt, tights, blouse and a pair of low heeled shoes that I could just squeeze my feet into. To hide behind a snorkel parka when zipped up nobody could see my face. Think a trans version of Kenny out of Southpark.
I remember it was early evening and the light was fading and it was raining a bit.
I got changed quickly behind a garage and went off for a walk. The few people I did pass didn't seem to take much notice although my heart was pounding. A van did stop to and the driver asked me for directions. I mumbled something and walked on quickly. That was enough, I found somewhere to get out of the shoes and skirt. Jeans and trainers on and I went home. I must admit it was a real rush but also very scary and I never did it again. Guess I've always been a bit stupid.
Well we discussed a few other things which I thought about on the way home. The night came to an end and I've told about what happened then.
The trip home included a landslide and a flood and took 9 hours longer than usual to get home. Which gave me a lot of time to think.
I put a link to a song. I thought it apt as Jimmy Page played with Leona Lewis at the closing ceremony of the Olympics today. This one is about things going wrong and the truth explodes if that makes any sense. It's recorded in a market in Marrakech.
(takes about 30 seconds for the song to start properly)

YouTube - The Truth Explodes - Jimmy Page & Robert Plant