Hangover, Hangover, Hangover …

This is where Psy, internationally famous for ‘Gangnam Style’, and Snoop Dogg, famous for his ‘Doggystyle’ album in 1993 which sold a million copies in the first week, come together to describe and show a state that many of us have experienced first hand.

There has been criticism that Snoop betrayed his original musical  rapper roots, but as he adopted the name Snoop Lion to fit his re-invented style as a Rastafarian Reggae artist, I doubt that he feels the same way as his original fan base.

The story goes that Psy contacted Snoop Dogg, asked if he wanted to co-make a song, Snoop asked for the title, and on hearing it immediately said YES. The song was put together across the Internet and Pacific Ocean, each artist recording in their own countries and then merging both parts.

Even for an old timer like me, the video version of the song is fun to watch, and the two stars obviously had fun making it.

As it says in the song, ‘nothin left to say’, except for maybe ENJOY..

As per any video, there may be scenes which you feel are unnecessary and/or unwarranted, but I would suggest that you remove your ‘party-pooper’ hat, sit back and watch the fun..

Tempus fugit..

Fifteen days from now, I will be 61 years old and still not as wise as maybe I should be. SIXTY ONE, dammit.. wah!!

I had a bucket list but can’t remember where I put the bucket. I am so crippled up at times, getting to the front door is an excursion in itself. I am more tolerant than I used to be, but nobody gets to see me so I can show them. The only fun in getting old is that I can get away with behaving oddly, but I am too self-conscious to do that.

Nine days from now is the real high spot. I will know if I have been awarded MVP status again by Microsoft. It used to be fun because we were sent a gift, not always a really useful item, but a gift nonetheless, and I have kept most of them. However, it is the award that counts most. It is good to be recognised as having a useful purpose in life, especially an old stooge like me.. :-)

Two days from now, it will be Christmas day, a day for kids everywhere, but kids are not just for Christmas. Remember that, and also remember what Christmas is all about. Love is what you do for somebody throughout the years, not what you buy them at Christmas.

Wherever you are, whoever you are, there is a festival around this time of year. Try to make the most of it even if you feel like dirt. You will get more out of it if you think about others before yourself.

Psy does it again..

You can’t keep a good man down. Psy is the Korean entertainer who brought us ‘Gangnam Style’, and he has a new release called ‘Gentleman’.

Gangnam Style was about Seoul yuppies from the Gangnam area of the city, and it showed oddities like women keeping fit by walking backwards. This might not be common around the world, but in Seoul, they do it.

Anyway, the beat and tune were memorable, and the response from audiences around the world was HUGE.

So, now we have ‘Gentleman’, a former Seoul yuppie who has now made it and feels like he rules/owns the world. His actions throughout the video fall below ‘Gentlemanly’, but it is all fun, a great beat, and another easy to remember tune.

The ‘live’ performances are not 100% live, and to be honest, anybody would be hard pressed to sing while moving about as Psy does on stage. But who cares? The audience has a great time, know the words and the ‘chorus’ bits from the release of the tune prior to the video and live performance, and everybody has huge fun and go home happy.

See for yourself.. and remember that it is all done in fun..

Ray Manzarek.. February 12, 1939 - May 20, 2013

The photo shows, from the left, Robbie Krieger, Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, and John Densmore. Collectively, they were known as ‘The Doors’ and this shot of them appeared on the ‘Waiting For The Sun’ album.

 

Ray played keyboards, often doing the ‘bass’ parts, and did some vocals too.

Do I remember where I was the first time that I heard ‘Break on Through’? You bet the hell I do, as I remember where I was when I heard all of the other stuff that the Doors ever did.

In my opinion, they were the greatest band ever, and I still listen to Doors tracks now.

Life in the 60’s would not have been the same, so ‘thank you’ Ray, Jim, Robbie, John, and may Ray and Jim rest in peace together..

Formula 1.. An expensive reality show?

Did you watch the Malaysian Grand Prix today?

Sebastian Vettel won the race even though he was given orders not to challenge his team mate, Mark Webber, for the lead. 

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, placed third in the race, admits that his team mate, Nico Rosberg, should have been allowed to pass and take third place.

Hamilton in the post race interview told how he turned down his car to save fuel, but Nico Rosberg was told on the car radio during the race that Hamilton had also been ‘turned’ down too.

So, do drivers turn their own car down or is it done from the pit wall? If it can be done from the pit wall, why wasn’t Vettel’s car turned down to prevent him passing Webber?

Incidentally, this is not the first time that Hamilton has had his car turned down. He complained during one of the races last year.

It wasn’t too many years ago when the championship looked like it was going to be taken by Felipe Massa, and it would have been had Timo Glock not inexplicably stopped before the finish flag. This event pushed Lewis Hamilton up the finishing order just enough that he could ‘pip’ Massa on points won.

Ferrari completely lost the plot during 2005/6 re reliability and knowing how to run a pit crew team to the point where Ferrnando Alonso and the Renault team won two years in a row. At the Italian Grand Prix of 2006, Michael Schumacher announced that he was retiring. I don’t think to this day that the decision was his. Many didn’t like the fact that Schumi kept on winning, so were the Ferrari team problems of 2005/6 a set up to get rid of him? Constantly changing the rules hadn’t done any good.

Strangely, the next year,2007, with Kimi Raikonnen at the wheel, Ferrari remembered what Formula 1 was all about and won again.

Schumi was always in trouble for using devious tactics like overtaking, blocking etc. Ayrton Senna. claimed by many to be the greatest driver of all time, did this to the point of almost being lethal. Why were Senna’s tactics ok but Schumi’s weren’t?

I used to like watching Formula 1. Now I just watch the start to see how many cars crash out on the first corner. The ‘telemetry’ thing where car performance can be altered from the pit wall has taken more away from racing than ever traction control did.

I want Kimi Raikonnen to win, but will Formula 1 politics allow it? Who knows?

Some advice.. well, maybe a warning..

There is nothing wrong in hoping that tomorrow will be better. Just don’t sit around for all of today doing it..

The end of the world never came..

December 21, 2012 was, allegedly the last day of the Mayan calendar. We were told that the end of the world was nigh, but the end of Dec 21, 20120 heralded in a new era called Dec 22, 2012.

As always, a fair few high profile stars came to their end this year. Also twenty kids aged between 6 and 7 in the Sandy Hook school, Newtown, Connecticut. The NRA saw it as collateral damage. I will never understand the views of the NRA and its members. They all need psychological assistance in my opinion.

The Bushmaster AR-15 became the most famous semi-auto rifle because it was the weapon of choice for two mass shooters and a nutcase who took out two firemen in Rochester, NY.

The USA is about to step off the ‘fiscal cliff’. Pardon me for thinking that the USA had been sliding into inequity for some while. Obama tries to do his best for ALL US citizens, while Republicans do what they can to stop him.

Corruption in high places is nothing new. Four city mayors across Canada could be worse. There are eleven major cities! Banking in Europe has been found to be every bit as corrupt as it is in the USA. Surprise surprise. This is what happens when you entrust others with your money. They call it ‘human nature’.

Why isn’t corruption higher in Canada? Is it because nobody has long enough to escape before winter sets in? There is corruption in Canada, but at a lower level except for Montreal. That city has its own code.

The Middle East still has problems, Syria in particular. The Russians worry about who might replace Assad. So does everybody else, but is that a reason to stand by and do nothing to help the people? The Arab Spring has produced mixed results in other countries, mainly bad mixed in with very bad.

The West still hasn’t caught on that it is dictatorships which keep the countries unified. It may not suit us, but many less people die. The other side is that the people live very poorly whatever they try to achieve. It is not easy to see an answer, and never has been.

The London Olympics was a huge success, and despite claims by the US that security there would be a joke, it wasn’t. In the end, all they could say was “Who is Ray Davies?”.

Queen Elizabeth did a great job of standing on a boat in less than perfect conditions for hours, watching the largest British flotilla since the Armada slowly drift by. What a star that lady is. For his efforts, the Duke ended up in hospital. The man is ninety years old. I would not have done what he did, nor could I have done it.

Piers Morgan, having upset the Brits for a long time, has now upset the wannabe Wild Bills of the USA. That’s almost half of the population, and he may be looking for safe passage to Argentina fairly soon. If I had any advice for him, I would suggest that he does not start calling the Falklands by Argentina’s preferred name.

Documents relating the Falklands War have been released recently, and we find out that Her Majesty’s Government had grave doubts about whether Britain could re-take them from Argentina. While Reagan openly told the world that US involvement would only go as far as letting the Brits use Ascension Island, there were secret talks suggesting greater involvement by the US. I am pleased that there wasn’t. Americans can be insufferable as it is. Fortunately, and with few resources left, the Brits scared the Argentinian force enough that they finally surrendered.  Yay for the Brits.

On a happy note, a South Korean entertainer known as Psy has broken YouTube records by being the most watched video ever, surpassing the one billion mark. There have been many parodies made around the world, but this is the original, the one and only Psy..

Amazing stuff

It’s almost time to close down on 2012. Now you know how to make an entrance into 2013, Psy style..

No way for kids to start life..

I refer not only to the kids who watched, saw what happened in front of the them yesterday at the Sandy Hook school, Newtown Connecticut, but to ALL kids everywhere who suffer because the people who have control over their lives are too stupid, too selfish, too greedy to care.

I am sorry but I can’t imagine what it must be like to hear rapid gunfire approaching. I simply can’t imagine what it must be like to be lead through where dead school friends are laid out on the floor.

I can’t imagine these scenarios because I never had to face them. Where I grew up, there was no right to bear arms. In the UK, there is no civilian right to carry a handgun, concealed or open. Since Hungerford, a civilian is not allowed to own a working handgun or an assault rifle.

There is no place in a civilised society for people to carry guns.

I can’t imagine what it is like to go hungry, to be ill or infirm without the hope of medical care, to have no parents to protect me and teach me how to survive.

It would be bad enough to have to go through any of the above at my age, but to put a small child through any of the above is mindless, selfish, stupid BEYOND belief.

What I can tell you is that I am glad that I lived in a gun free society, or as gun free as a society can be. I am glad that I never had to grow up fearing everything that moved.

Lest you should forget..

.. in the run up to the season of ‘goodwill to all’.. 

Calling other people ‘ugly’ doesn’t make you any prettier..

Give these up and be happy..

Here is a list of 15 things which, if you give up on them, will make your life a lot easier and much, much happier. We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering – and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be stress free and happy – we cling on to them. Not anymore. Starting today we will give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we will embrace change. Ready? Here we go:

1. Give up your need to always be right. There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” Wayne Dyer. What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big?

2. Give up your need for control. Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, coworkers, or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much better will that make you feel.

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.” Lao Tzu

3. Give up on blame. Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility for your life.

4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk. Oh my. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are better than that.

“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” Eckhart Tolle

5. Give up your limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place. Spread your wings and fly!

“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” Elly Roselle

6. Give up complaining. Give up your constant need to complain about those many, many, many things – people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

7. Give up the luxury of criticism. Give up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different than you. We are all different, yet we are all the same. We all want to be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want to be understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all.

8. Give up your need to impress others. Stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. It doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you take of all your masks, the moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.

9. Give up your resistance to change. Change is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Follow your bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it.
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell

10. Give up labels. Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open. “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer

11. Give up on your fears. Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.
“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

12. Give up your excuses. Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses – excuses that 99.9% of the time are not even real.

13. Give up the past. I know, I know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening, but you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now.

14. Give up attachment. This is a concept that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to tell you that it was for me too, (it still is) but it’s not something impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to do with one another, attachment comes from a place of fear, while love… well, real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words.

15. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations. Way too many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need….and eventually they forget about themselves. You have one life – this one right now – you must live it, own it, and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your path.

A footnote. These are NOT my words, but I support them wholeheartedly. Feel free to pass them on..