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Janet Devlin vs. Janet Devlin

07 Monday Sep 2020

Posted by Paul Kiser in Arts, Book Review, Entertainment, habits, Health, Lessons of Life, Life, Mental Health, Passionate People, Public Image, review, Women, Writing

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2011, 2020, album, artist, Book, Book review, Confessional, cutting, Depression, Janet Devlin, Mental Health, Music, music industry, My Confessional, pop, review, singer, singing, songs, The X Factor

Album and Book REVIEW:  Confessional [album] and My Confessional [book] by Janet Devlin

The Case For and Against Janet Devlin

Your Honor, if it pleases the court, I would like to prove that Janet Devlin is highly intelligent and that she deliberately and systematically has used her intelligence to attack and humiliate Janet Devlin to cause both mental and physical harm.

Someone who produces both an album, titled Confessional and a corresponding book, titled My Confessional, as Ms. Devlin has done, is not of below-average nor even average intelligence. The feat itself proves my contention of higher than average intelligence, brilliant creativity, and an artistic skillset that exceeds the capabilities of most humans. 

In 2011, Ms. Devlin, at the age of 16, gained worldwide fame with a viral performance of Elton John’s, Your Song on Britain’s The X Factor television show. The official video of this performance has over 40 million views. Again, proof of her outstanding intelligence and abilities.

I contend that Ms. Devlin has used her intelligence against Janet. I contend that Ms. Devlin knows that Janet is so intelligent and talented that she perceives almost limitless possibilities and that Ms. Devlin has deceived Janet into believing that if she does not succeed at everything she might see as a possibility, then she has failed.

Further, Ms. Devlin has relentlessly humiliated and shamed Janet by degrading her, forcing her into addictive coping behaviors, and instilling a belief in failure.

The Evidence

Ms. Devlin has admitted to her acts against Janet. In her album, Ms. Devlin admits her sins against Janet. In her book, Janet details the acts that Ms. Devlin convinced her to do to herself.

Of the twelve songs in the album, almost all expose, in raw emotion, the savage cruelty beset upon a child and then a woman by Ms. Devlin. Her mind driven into depression by the belief of failure. In this album alone there is ample proof that Ms. Devlin has tortured Janet for most of her life.

In the twelve chapters of the book, Ms. Devlin writes of using self-doubt to cripple the efforts of Janet to the point that she took to seclusion and alcohol to cope with her feelings of inadequacy. One only has to listen to the music and read the words to know the truth.

The Defense For Janet Devlin

Your Honor, as I represent both the Plaintiff and the Defendant, I must admit that Ms. Devlin admits to her behavior. She has confessed in both word and song to her crimes. She, in fact, has used both the album and book to not only reveal the truth to all that will listen, but she has also gone so far as to bring awareness of how a highly intelligent and talented person can be lost in depression and self-abuse.

Though her actions are reprehensible, the final act of exposing the truth to the world may have a greater impact on Janet and anyone who faces the emotional and physical trauma caused by depression and addiction.

For this reason, I ask that the court grant a reconciliation between Ms. Devlin and Janet on the condition that any further acts of abuse, humiliation, or shame be dealt with quickly and severely. The Prosecution and Defense rest…so that we may listen to the album again. 

Review – Album:  Confessional, Book:  My Confessional

Release: 5 June 2020 Album:  Insomnia Music, Book by Omnibus Press 

Album Category:  Pop, some Gaelic influences

The raw truth of Janet Devlin’s life is disturbing; however, the album, Confessional, that lyrically exposes her internal battle is not a collection of morose songs. The listener might not realize that some songs deal with dark subjects of depression, self-harm, and addiction. This makes the album more than just a confessional, but a highly crafted artistic canvas of emotion and music.

The album begins with an anthem that announces the scope and purpose of the music collection. With one exception, the tracks lyrically stay true to the theme of the anthem. The exception is Big Wide World that is almost a giddy emotional outburst from the rest of the album. Musically, songs such as Cinema Screen, Away With The Fairies, and Holy Water, have an upbeat feel, while other songs carry a softer and/or somber tone. This gives the album a balanced feel that combats the serious, and sometimes disturbing, lyrics of many of the songs. 

Book Category:  Autobiography  [Book Format: Hardcover]

The twelve chapters of the book share the title and order of the songs on the album; however, this is not a “why-I-wrote-this-song” book. Each chapter seems to loosely relate to the album but not in a way that is overt. Ms. Devlin uses prose to tell the story of her life in the book and uses lyrical poetry and music on the album to give an emotional feel to that story. 

The blending of the album and book creates a deep connection to the hidden life of someone betrayed and shredded by a twisted reflection of herself. The book doesn’t allow the reader to be a casual participant. The experiences of depression, cutting, anorexia, isolation all are exposed, but not as the evil afflictions that we think of them. Ms. Devlin becomes the Siren that takes the reader into dangerous waters of mental oddities and self-destruction and gives us a glimpse of how our brains can twist self-harm into a release from self-loathing.

There is no clear explanation for the cause of the type of behavior that Ms. Devlin has lived with since she was a child; however, it is not just a reaction to external trauma, nor an issue of a ‘defective’ brain. What Ms. Devlin accomplishes with the blending of the album and book is an inside view of how a highly intelligent person can be mired in a world of self-loathing and addiction…and perhaps a map of how to get out of that world.   

BOOK:
Informative  ★★★★★
Relevancy  ★★★★★
Readability  ★★★★★
Visuals  ★★★☆☆

May 21, 2011 Rapture Prediction Demonstrates Weakness of ‘Having Faith’

18 Wednesday May 2011

Posted by Paul Kiser in Ethics, Lessons of Life

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2011, Armageddon, Christian, end of the world, Faith, May 21, Rapture

USA PDT [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype: 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Christ is coming this Saturday…look pious.

This Saturday (May 21, 2011) is the date of Rapture according to a California Christian church that I won’t dignify by identifying. As a former Christian who has studied the Bible from beginning to end, I am amazed by Christians who seem to lust after predictions of Armageddon, especially those who claim to know when the actual date of Rapture or the end of the world. There are few things that scream, “I’m a fake Christian!” more than someone who is obsessed with the end of the world.

Real Christians know that their owner’s manual for life, the Bible, clearly states that no human can predict the end of the world (Matthew 24:36,) so a ‘Christian’ who states they know that the end is coming this Saturday is claiming they have knowledge which equals that of their God, which is supposed to be heresy. That doesn’t stop people from doing it. Some of the end-of-the-world predictions according to Wikipedia:

  • By March 21, 1844 – William Miller
  • October 22, 1844 – William Miller’s revised prediction. Miller’s followers began the Seventh-Day Adventist Church after his predictions failed.
  • 1914 – Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • 1918 – Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • 1925 – Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • 1942 – Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • 1981 – Chuck Smith
  • 1988 – Edgar C. Whisenant
  • 1989 – Edgar Whisenant
  • 1992 – Edgar Whisenant
  • October 28, 1992 – Mission for the Coming Days
  • 1993 – Multiple groups who predicted the seven-year ‘Time of Tribulation’ to start in 1993 and end in 2000
  • June 4, 1994 – John Hinkle
  • September 6, 1994 – Harold Camping
  • 1995 – Edgar Whisenant
  • 2000 – Multiple groups
  • May 21, 2011 – Harold Camping

These predictions have caused believers of the mythology to ‘check out’ of the real world and in some cases kill themselves before or after the date. The latest prediction has caused at least one couple to sell everything and move to Florida…I could make guesses about why Florida was their end-of-the-world destination, but I don’t want to offend Floridians who will still be around on Sunday.

These predictions by church leaders illustrate the an inherent problem with mythology, which is the lack of boundaries on ‘having faith.’ Anyone can say anything and insist that it is true because they ‘have faith.’ ‘Faith’ allows people to ignore common sense and often, even the Bible, in their pursuit of teachings that they personally favor and can’t  justify. ‘Faith’ allows people to impose their hate and judgement on other people when the Bible clearly states that their God is to be the only judge over other people.

All of us have faith in something and faith, by itself, is not bad. I can respect anyone who has ‘faith’ providing their ‘faith’ is self-contained, but in the past three decades, ‘faith’ has become cry of racists and misogynists who use it to convince governments to pass laws that reflect their desire to inflict their beliefs on others.  ‘Faith’ is a dangerous concept in civil society where majority-rule is supposed to be guided by common sense, reason, and respect for all.

May 21, 2011 is only significant in showing us the folly of blind faith.

2011 Dates of Historical Note

31 Friday Dec 2010

Posted by Paul Kiser in History

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2011, Birthdays, historical events, John F. Kennedy, Meg Ryan, Space, USS Pennsylvania, Vietnam War

by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Article first published as
2011 Dates of Historical Note
on Technorati

Historical milestones coming in 2011:

JANUARY

15th – Wikipedia’s 10-year anniversary

17th – 50 years ago President Dwight Eisenhower warned America of the growing “military-industrial complex”

18th – 100 years ago the first plane landed on a ship (USS Pennsylvania)

1st plane landing on a ship

31st – 40 years ago Apollo 14 launched on a mission to land on the moon
and 50 years ago Ham, the Chimp, was launched into space.

FEBRUARY

1st – 50 years ago America tested its first ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile)

9th – 50th anniversary of The Beatles first performance (The Cavern Club, Great Britain)

The Beatles at the Cavern Club

14th – 5th anniversary of YouTube (and Valentine’s Day)

15th – 50 years ago the entire US Skating Team was killed in a plane crash


1961 US Skating Team killed in plane crash

MARCH

1st – 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps

3rd – actress Jean Harlow was born 100 years ago

6th – actor and President Ronald Reagan was born 100 years ago

8th – the first International Women’s Day was 100 years ago

23rd – 10th anniversary of the Mir space station re-entering Earth’s atmosphere

26th – playwright Tennessee Williams was born 100 years ago

APRIL

1st – singer Susan Boyle was born 50 years ago

3rd – actor Eddie Murphy was born 50 years ago

12th – 30 years ago STS-1 (Space Shuttle Columbia) launched on maiden voyage, the first manned mission in almost 6 years
and 50 years ago Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space

The Space Shuttle launches from the Kennedy Space Center

17th – 50th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba

21st – Judgement Day, according to the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles television series

23rd – comedian and actor George Lopez was born 50 years ago

28th – 10 years ago Dennis Tito becomes first space tourist

MAY

5th – 50th anniversary of 1st American in space (Alan Shepard)

6th – actor and activist George Clooney was born 50 years ago

13th – basketball star and actor Dennis Rodman was born 50 years ago
and actor Gary Cooper died 50 years ago

14th – 50 years ago the Freedom Riders bus is firebombed and occupants are beaten by Segregationists in Alabama

15th – the birth of modern genetics occurred 50 years ago

17th – singer Enya was born 50 years ago

John F. Kennedy announces plan to Congress

25th – 50 years ago President John F. Kennedy announces a commitment to land a man on the moon within a decade to a joint session of  Congress

27th – actor Vincent Price was born 100 years ago

29th – singer Melissa Etheridge was born 50 years ago

30th – The first Indianapolis 500 race was held 100 years ago

31st – Hull of the Titanic launched in Belfast 100 years ago (Sinks April 12, 1912)

JUNE

9th – actor and activist Michael J. Fox was born 50 years ago

11th – Oklahoma City Federal Building bomber Timothy McVeigh was executed 10 years ago

14th – singer Boy George was born 50 years ago

22nd – 100 years ago King George V was coronated

25th – 50 years ago Iraqi President Abdul Karim Kassem announces his plan to annex Kuwait

27th – 50 years ago British troops are sent to Kuwait to secure it from annexation by Iraq

JULY

1st – the late Princess Diana was born 50 years ago

2nd – writer Ernest Hemingway died 50 years ago

Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire

10th – Neptune completes its first orbit since it was discovered in 1846

16th – dancer, actor, and artist Ginger Rogers was born 100 years ago

17th – baseball legend Ty Cobb died 50 years ago

26th – 40 years ago Apollo 15 was launched on a mission to land on the Moon

AUGUST

6th – 20 year anniversary of the World Wide Web (Internet)
and 100 years ago Lucille Ball was born

13th – 50 years ago East Germany began building the Berlin Wall

21st – 100 years ago the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre and not the crime was not discovered until the next day

SEPTEMBER

6th – 10 years ago the Justice Department gives up its attempt to break up Microsoft

11th – 10 years ago four planes are hijacked by 19 men (most Saudi Arabian citizens) and crash two planes into the World Trade Center towers, one into the Pentagon, and one is brought down in a field in Pennsylvania by the passengers

18th – 10 years ago Anthrax-laced letter attacks began, ultimately killing five people and infecting 17

25th – Heather Locklear was born 50 years ago

and the 100 year anniversary of the groundbreaking ceremony for Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts

30th – 100 years ago Austin, Pennsylvania is wiped out by a dam break

OCTOBER

7th – 10 years ago the United States invades Afghanistan in retaliation for the September 11th attacks

18th – 50 years ago West Side Story (film) was released

19th – 50 years ago the Arab League relieves Great Britain of the security of Kuwait and British troop go home

26th – 10 years ago President George W. Bush signs the Patriot Act into law

27th – 50 years ago Soviet and American tanks began a standoff in Berlin that brought the two countries to the brink of war

30th – 50 years ago today the USSR detonated the largest human caused explosion (a 58 ton nuclear bomb)

NOVEMBER

3rd – Chevrolet entered the auto market 100 years ago

5th – 100 years ago the first transcontinental flight was completed from Sheepshead Bay, New York to Pasadena, California (49 days)
and Roy Rogers was born

9th – 50 years ago Neil Armstrong, who would be the 1st man on the Moon less than eight years later, set a world speed record in the X-15

10th – 50 years ago Joseph Heller’s book Catch-22 was published

11th – 11/11/11 11:11:11 AM

13th – 10 years ago President George W. Bush authorizes military tribunals for foreign citizens accused of terrorist involvement

18th – 50 years ago President John F. Kennedy sends 18,000 advisors to Vietnam

19th – Meg Ryan was born 50 years ago

22nd – Mariel Hemingway was born 50 years ago

DECEMBER

2nd – 10 years ago Enron files for bankruptcy
and 50 years ago Fidel Castro announces that Cuba will be a Socialist country

11th – 50 years ago the Vietnam War officially begins

12th – 100 years ago the capital of India is moved from Calcutta to New Delhi

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Rotary Related

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Other Pages of This Blog

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