Happy New Year (and Decade) 2020!!!

It's a new year and not only that, it's a new decade! 💗

I got this image off of google images, this image is Image by Annalise Batista at Pixabay.com... because I don't want to be subject to copyright, I am sharing her profile.

https://pixabay.com/users/annaliseart-7089643/

I am sorry I did not update after February of last year. I had this family emergency and it lasted longer than I thought. Then, things around the house kept going wrong and I had to help take care of that. I also could not use my laptop for 1-2 months because of a battery issue. So, after all that, I kinda lost all motivation, and then I got busy over the holidays, like I usually am.

Speaking of the holidays, I hope everyone had a great one, whichever holiday you celebrate. Maybe you don't celebrate at all, I don't know. Regardless, I hope you had a great holiday season.

Anyways, with all that said. I don't make many resolutions or goals, and I don't have many wants, but I do have a goal, and it's to volunteer. I went halfway towards that goal last year. Now, I have to go all the way. Also, I want to get closer with God by praying and reading the bible. I didn't do that very well last year. I also want to update this blog more often. The reason I didn't last year is because of the reasons I stated above. I will try to do better.

Until next time, God Bless

~ Chloe

Emojis for people with Disabilities coming soon!

So, emojis... how many people use emojis on a daily basis? I don't... okay, maybe I do, sometimes. There are some people who do, on a daily basis. There are many emojis to choose from already from a simple smiley face to... well, many things. There are many different faces. There are 'people' emojis and 'hand' emojis. There are even animals, plants, buildings, electronics, etc... There was even a movie with emojis in it!

I remember back then, the emojis would be simple, text-based emojis, like: :) or :( or <3. Now, we have so many colorful emojis to choose from. My favorite has always been the heart.

Last year, Apple made a proposal, a submission, to the Unicode Consortium. The Unicode Consortium is an organization that reviews requests for new emoji characters. In a recent article, it had been stated that they have been approved and we will be getting them in the second half of this year. Yay!

There will be 230 new emojis in this update. The characters include hearing aids, white canes, and guide dogs. This is not mentioned, but I also see a prosthetic arm and leg, wheelchairs (both electric and manual), and a person who looks like they are signing deaf. This is only a very tiny fraction of what we would see in the update.

There are other new images that are gonna be included, meaning not all of them are disability related. One of them is the “period” emoji. The emoji will look like a drop of blood. It is meant to give women a new way to talk about menstruation.

Anyways, I want to know what you think of the new emojis. I personally do not use that many emojis, I only have a select few that I do use. So, I do not have an opinion on this other than the fact that I am happy about this for those who use emojis to express themselves. 

I guess that's it for now.

Until next time, God Bless.

~ Chloe (^_^)

Sources:

(From 2018)

http://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-43526392

https://gizmodo.com/apple-proposes-first-accessibility-emoji-including-gui-1824032988

(From 2019)

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47144091

Hello...

Happy New Year!!! Wait... It's already February!? Well then...

Hello, how are you? I know, I failed last year at updating every month and I know I already missed January, but I want to try to update once a month, maybe twice or more if I have the inspiration.

Earlier this month, I got an email saying that there would be some changes. Google is ending Google+. I think this largely affects Youtube, but there are some changes that would need to happen with Blogger if you incorporated some Google+ features into your blog, that is, if you are a blogger. This is also a problem for both Youtubers and Bloggers alike if they've used Google+ to gain readers/viewers. I personally have never used Google+, but this is just information in case others have used it in some way.

This post will be a little short, but then again, this is the shortest month of the year, so... Anyways, bad joke aside, I want to know if you have a Youtube channel, whether you are a Youtuber or just someone who watches Youtube, how this change has affected you. I also want to know if you have a blog on here, on blogger, how this change has affected you. I don't think this has affected me personally. I never incorporated any Google+ features here on blogger and I never really got any readers from my account. I think I did have an account, but I never really did anything with that account. I also only watch Youtube, I am not a Youtuber nor do I plan to be one. So, it has not affected me there either. I prefer to just write. I'm a writer at heart.

Until next time, God Bless.

~ Chloe

Let's talk about Allison Mack

I wanted to talk about this because my blog is based around one of her beloved characters, Chloe Sullivan from Smallville. Well, when I first made this blog, I kinda based it around Chloe Sullivan and what she stood for, hence the reason why this blog is called Watchtower, which was her moniker in Smallville.

Months ago, I had heard about something that I thought was so crazy that it had to be a rumor. Yes, I thought it was a rumor back then. I did not want to think that a person who played my favorite character of all time would be involved in something like this. Now, I don't think it's a rumor. I think it is a shame, though, that she was into something like this.

Allison Mack is supposedly a part of a cult called NXIVM. The leader of the cult, Keith Raniere was supposedly her mentor. She was arrested along with Keith and could face 15 years to life. Allison pleaded not guilty and was released to her parents on bail for $5 million dollars. I am not gonna get into all of the details about what I know because I am not here to talk about that. I'm here to talk about Chloe Sullivan.

As you may know, and as I just mentioned above, Chloe Sullivan is a character from Smallville. She, the character, is Clark Kent's best friend through the whole series. I admired Chloe, I looked up to Chloe. It may seem silly to look up to a fictional character, but in all honesty, I had no one else to look up to when I was younger. And as you can see here, sometimes, looking up to real people can be disappointing. All I can say is, good thing I did not look up to Allison Mack as a person. I just looked up to her character. I still do. I said this on my personal Facebook, the actors/actresses are not responsible for their characters, the writers are.

I'm not completely ignorant about what happened. I do think about it sometimes. But, I also think about the times that Chloe Sullivan gave me something to hang onto. Chloe Sullivan was the reason why I kept watching Smallville, and me wanting to know what happened next for my favorite characters outweighed my own problems. It gave me a reason to live. She (Chloe) gave me a reason to live.

Chloe was (and still is) important to me. To me, Allison Mack and Chloe Sullivan are two different identities. Allison may end up being guilty, but it doesn't change who Chloe is at all. So, for those who still read this blog, I'm keeping it around, since this is based on the character, not the actual person that played the character.

Sources:

http://deadline.com/2018/04/allison-mack-arrested-sex-trafficking-smallville-actress-1202373240/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/smallville-actress-allison-mack-freed-parents-5-million-bail-n868701

Let's talk about the 'Tide-pod Challenge'

Okay, let's talk about this, because this is dangerous. First, there was the cinnamon challenge that happened in 2012, then there was the salt and ice challenge that happened in 2017, but that challenge was first done in 2012 as well. All three of these challenges were/are dangerous. They all provide a health risk and I really hope these challenges just stop one day, because this is stupid.

I'm not gonna go into details about the challenges, because I think that would be unwise. I will say this. It is harmful to your health. All three of these challenges are harmful to your health, but we are talking about the most recent one right now. The tide-pods are poisonous. So, why are teens doing this challenge? Because they apparently look like candy... What!?

Some people were seen shaking, stirring, even cooking the packets. These actions were prompted by meme images showing the packets as “forbidden fruit”. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), people have actually died from eating them and has recently renewed efforts to warn against harmful exposure to the pods.

There are serious side-effects that could most likely happen and could most likely end in death. They are: vomiting, coughing, loss of consciousness, respiratory arrest, coma, fluid in the lungs, and cardiac arrest.

It's ridiculous, this apparently started out as a joke, a prank, on the internet, but this has gone way too far. There are some concerns that children will try mimicking the teenagers and trying this challenge themselves.

This is dangerous! It's poisonous! Do not try this!

Source:

https://www.today.com/health/tide-pod-challenge-videos-trigger-warnings-against-eating-laundry-detergent-t121174

Let's talk about 'Fidget Toys'...

These 'fidget devices' (as I like to call them) were a trend last year... well, more specifically, fidget spinners were a trend last year. Every kid had to have one. There are many different types of fidget devices though. Let's go through a few of them.

Fidget spinners are meant for people with disabilities or mental illnesses who fidget. It helps keep them calm as they do what they need to do, like focus on their work in school or at work.

Fidget spinners look a bit like helicopter blades that you can hold in your hands. They come in different styles, most of them have three 'blades' if that is what they are called. I can show you a basic one here:

There is another fidget device called the fidget cube. It's a cube that has something different to fidget with on every side. I can show you what one of them looks like here. Here is a picture that shows what it looks like on every side of the cube:

Now, I personally think this is awesome for people who need it. I'm gonna be a devil's advocate here for a bit, just for a sec... I want to talk about the spinners. I can kinda imagine how some people may think that they can be distracting. The cubes would be much better, in my opinion, for school and the workplace. The problem is, schools are banning them. Well, more specifically, they're banning the spinners. I'm not sure where the schools stand with the fidget cubes though.

There are other fidget devices that are available. Here is a list of 38 types of fidget devices. The article does call them toys, but as I've mentioned before, they are not toys.

https://www.focusfied.com/fidget-toys-help-adhd-add/

I got a fidget cube ring just this past Christmas. Originally, I had said I wasn't planning on getting one, but after my counselor had suggested I get something to fidget with, my mom bought me a fidget cube ring. All the sides looks like it does on a regular fidget cube, except, it has a hole in the middle where you can put your finger through. Here is what it looks like:

It seems to be helping me a little. I'm not sure I will be using it out in public though. I mainly use it when I'm watching TV or when I'm at my computer. 

Anyways, I do hope you are able to get a fidget device if you need one and that you're able to use it whenever and wherever without any judgments.

Sources:

https://themighty.com/2017/03/why-calling-fidgets-a-trend-and-a-toy-can-be-hurtful/

https://themighty.com/2017/05/banning-fidget-toys-hurts-kids-with-disabilities/

https://themighty.com/2017/05/schools-ban-fidget-toys-autism/

http://blogs.webmd.com/webmd-interviews/2017/05/can-fidget-spinners-help-you-focus.html?ecd=soc_tw_170618_cons_blog_canfidgetspinnershelpyoufocus&linkId=100000000486830

I never got to say this but...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Yeah, Happy New Year! Happy 2018! I know we're already a few weeks in, but there was this big story (well, stories) I had to cover and well... now, we are here. I feel like I have been writing non-stop since January 5^th... I know, I've been gone for a long time. I do not know why I stopped writing for so long. I did forget how good it felt to write.

I fell back into a depression during the holidays, probably around Thanksgiving and my birthday, somewhere around there, I think. And I do know why I felt so depressed this holiday season, it's because I'm getting closer to 30 and I haven't done much with my life. I'm 27, by the way. Yeah, you may think “You still got a few years”... well, I've been living in my current location for three years and I haven't done much at all. I wanted to find my purpose. I wanted to feel needed. So, a good friend of mine suggested I try starting up this blog again. So, here I am again.

I don't “make resolutions” ever. I just end up breaking them. Instead, I make goals for myself. My goal for this month was to start my blog up again. I am off to a great start. Now, my goal is to make sure I'm writing for the whole rest of the year. My goal for next month is to start volunteering somewhere. If I get that done this month, then yay! But if I don't get it done next month, then that's okay, I still got the rest of the year.

Also, I want to get closer to God this year. If you didn't know, I am a Christian. I don't pray and read the bible everyday like I should though and I'm working on that.

I am determined to make 2018 my year!