Daily Tao / 15 - Time

TIME

The river, surging course,
Uninterrupted current.
Headwater, channel, mouth.
Can they be divided?

Each day, we all face a peculiar problem. We must validate our past, face our present, plan for the future.

Those who believe that life was better in the "old days" sometimes are blind to the reality of the present; those who live only for the present frequently have little regard for either precedent or consequence; and those who live only for some deferred reward often strain themselves with too much denial. Thinking of past, present, and future is a useful conceptual technique, but ultimately they must be appropriately balanced and joined.

We must understand how the past affects us, we should keep the present full of rich and satisfying experiences, and we should devote some energy each day to building for the future. Just as a river can be said to have parts that cannot be clearly divided, so too should we consider the whole of our time when deciding how to spend our live

Daily Tao / 15 - Time

TIME

The river, surging course,
Uninterrupted current.
Headwater, channel, mouth.
Can they be divided?

Each day, we all face a peculiar problem. We must validate our past, face our present, plan for the future.

Those who believe that life was better in the "old days" sometimes are blind to the reality of the present; those who live only for the present frequently have little regard for either precedent or consequence; and those who live only for some deferred reward often strain themselves with too much denial. Thinking of past, present, and future is a useful conceptual technique, but ultimately they must be appropriately balanced and joined.

We must understand how the past affects us, we should keep the present full of rich and satisfying experiences, and we should devote some energy each day to building for the future. Just as a river can be said to have parts that cannot be clearly divided, so too should we consider the whole of our time when deciding how to spend our live

Daily Tao / 14 - Positioning

POSITIONING

Heron stands in the blue estuary,
Solitary, white, unmoving for hours.
A fish! Quick avian darting;
The prey captured.

People always ask how to follow Tao. It is as easy and natural as the heron standing in the water. The bird moves when it must; it does not move when stillness is appropriate.

The secret of its serenity is a type of vigilance, a contemplative state. The heron is not in mere dumbness or sleep. It knows a lucid stillness. It stands unmoving in the flow of the water. It gazes unperturbed and is aware. When Tao brings it something that it needs, it seizes the opportunity without hesitation or deliberation. Then it goes back to its quiescence without disturbing itself or its surroundings. Unless it found the right position in the water's flow and remained patient, it would not have succeeded.

Actions in life can be reduced to two factors : positioning and timing. If we are not in the right place at the right time, we cannot possibly take advantage of what life has to offer us. Almost anything is appropriate if an action is in accord with the time and the place. But we must be vigilant and prepared. Even if the time and the place are right, we can still miss our chance if we do not notice the moment, if we act inadequately, or if we hamper ourselves with doubts and second thoughts. When life presents an opportunity, we must be ready to seize it without hesitation or inhibition. Position is useless without awareness. If we have both, we make no mistakes.

Daily Tao / 13 - Absorption

ABSORPTION

 

Crimson light through pine shadows.
Setting sun settling into the ocean.
Night follows the setting sun,
Day follows the fleeing moon.

All too often, we tend to think of absorption as a static thing : Water is absorbed into a sponge, and there it stays. But true absorption is a total involvement in the evolution of life without hesitation or contradiction. In nature there is no alienation. Everything belongs.

Only human beings hold ourselves aloof from this process. We have our civilization, our personal plans, our own petty emotions. We divorce ourselves from process, even as we yearn for love, companionship, understanding, and communion. We constantly defeat ourselves by questioning, asserting ourselves at the wrong times, or letting hatred and pride cloud our perceptions. Our alienation is self-generated.

In the meantime, all of nature continues its constant flow. We need to let ourselves go, enter freely into the process of nature, and become absorbed in it. If we integrate ourselves with that process, we will find success. Then the sequence of things will be as evident as the coming of the sun and the moon, and everything will be as it should be.

 

Daily Tao / 12 - Shaping

SHAPING

Potter at the wheel.
From centering to finished pot,
Form increases as options decrease;
Softness goes to hardness.

When a potter begins to throw a pot, she picks up a lump of clay, shapes it into a rough sphere, and throws it onto the spinning potter's wheel. It may land off-center, and she must carefully begin to shape it until it is a smooth cylinder. Then she works the clay, stretching and compressing it as it turns. First it is a tower, then it is like a squat mushroom. Only after bringing it up and down several times does she slowly squeeze the revolving clay until its walls rise from the wheel. She cannot go on too long, for the clay will begin to "tire" and then sag. She gives it the form she imagines, then sets it aside. The next day, the clay will be leather hard, and she can turn it over to shape the foot. Some decoration may be scratched into the surface. Eventually, the bowl will be fired, and then the only options are the colors applied to it; its shape cannot be changed.

This is how we shape all the situations in our lives. We must give them rough shape and then throw them down into the center of our lives. We must stretch and compress, testing the nature of things. As we shape the situation, we must be aware of what form we want things to take. The closer something comes to completion, the harder and more definite it becomes. Our options become fewer, until the full impact of our creation is all that there is. Beauty or ugliness, utility or failure comes from the process of shaping.

Daily Tao / 11 - Healing

HEALING

 

Fire cools.
Water seeks its own level.

No matter how extreme a situation is, it will change. It cannot continue forever. Thus, a great forest fire is always destined to burn itself out; a turbulent sea will become calmer. Natural events balance themselves out by seeking their opposites, and this process of balance is at the heart of all healing.

This process takes time. If an event is not great, the balancing required is slight. If it is momentous, then it may take days, years, even lifetimes for things to return to an even keel. Actually, without these slight imbalances, there could be no movement in life. It is being off balance that keeps life changing. Total centering, total balance would only be stasis. All life is continual destruction and healing, over and over again.

That is why, even in the midst of an extreme situation, the wise are patient. Whether the situation is illness, calamity, or their own anger, they know that healing will follow upheaval.

 

Daily Tao / 10 - Disaster

DISASTER

 

Mute black night,
Sudden fire.
Destruction.

Disaster strikes at its own time. It is so overwhelming that we can do nothing other than accept it. It alters the course of our days, our work, our very thinking. Although it is tempting to resent disaster, there is not much use in doing so. We cannot say that a disaster had malice toward us, though it might have been deadly, and it's hard to say that it has "wrecked" our plans : In one stroke it changes the very basis of the day.

Disaster is natural. It is not the curse of the gods, it is not punishment. Disaster results from the interplay of forces : the earthquake from pressures in the earth, the hurricane from wind and rain, even the accidental fire from a spark. We rush to ask "Why?" in the wake of a great disaster, but we should not let superstition interfere with dispassionate acceptance. There is no god visiting down destruction.

Disasters may well change us deeply, but they will pass. We must keep to our deeper convictions and remember our goals. Whether we remain ash or become the phoenix is up to us.

 

Daily Tao / 9 - Optimism

 

OPTIMISM

Clearing blue sky,
A promise in bare branches.
In winter, there are sunny days.
In adulthood, childhood can return.

In winter, all things appear dead or dormant. The rain and snow seem incessant, the nights long. Then one day, the sky clears to a brilliant blue. The air warms. A mist rises from the earth and the perfume of water, clay, and moss drifts through the air. Gardeners are seen preparing new stock, though they are only bare branches and a gray root ball. The people are optimistic : They know that there will be an end to the cold.

In adulthood, we often see responsibilities as something dreadful. Why should we dig the ground when the weather is disagreeable? We see activities only as obligations, and we strain against our fate. But there is a joy to working in harmony with the proper time. When we do things at just the right occasion and those efforts bear fruit later, the gratification is tremendous.

There was an old man who began an orchard upon his retirement. Everyone laughed at him. Why plant trees? They told him that he would never live to see a mature crop. Undaunted, he planted anyway, and he has seen them blossom and has eaten their fruit. We all need that type of optimism. That is the innocence and hope of childhood.

 

 

Oh, the Places You'll Go !

Being a big Dr. Seuss geek, i flipped out when a friend posted this on Facebook yesterday.  It's immedately become my favorite thing in the world.

Putting the surreal words of Theodor Geisel to the uber-surreal images of burning man ???

Brilliant !! 

 

 

Daily Tao / 8 - Work

WORK

The woodcutter
Works in all seasons.
Splitting wood is both
Action and inaction.

Even when it is snowy, the woodcutter must split wood. Unless he does, he and his family will not stay warm, and those who depend upon him will not survive. But the woodcutter does not work simply on a piecemeal basis. He labors in concert with the seasons : He worked hard to store wood prior to the first cold so that he would have the luxury of merely splitting kindling now. His work seems slight in one season, because he was industrious in the previous one.

When he splits wood, he must place the log on the block and raise his axe. But he must strike the wood with the grain, and he must let the axe fall with its own weight. If he tries to chop across the grain, his effort would be wasted. If he tries to add strength to the swing of the axe, there would be no gain.

Like the woodcutter, we can all benefit from working according to seasonal circumstances. Whether it is the time or the method, true labor is half initiative and half knowing how to let things proceed on their own.

Retro Saturday -

The B-52's are of by all-time favorite bands.  I still try to see them everytime they come through Denver.  And Whammy! is still my favorite album. 

This was the song that ignigted my love ....

 

Daily Tao / 7 - Forbearance

FORBEARANCE

Arctic breath coils the mountain,
Rattling the forests' bones.
Raindrops cling to branches :
Jewelled adornment flung to earth.

Trees in winter lose their leaves. Some trees may even fall during storms, but most stand patiently and bear their fortune. They endure rain, snow, wind, and cold. They bear the adornment of glycerin raindrops, glimmering icicles, or crowns of snow without care. They are not concerned when such lustrous splendor is dashed to the ground. They stand, and they wait, the power of their growth apparently dormant. But inside, a burgeoning is building imperceptibly.

Theirs is the forbearance of being true to their inner natures. It is with this power that they withstand both the vicissitudes and adornment of life, for neither bad fortune nor good fortune will alter what they are. We should be the same way. We may have great fortune or bad, but we should patiently bear both. No matter what, we must always be true to our inner selves.

Ruminations on a Holiday ...

Now with the trifecta of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years over and as the stores stock up on Valentines Day goodies, it's time to take a look back at the past holiday season...

A good thing about being kinda of "meh" this Christmas and only (barely) getting the tree up : not having to take down the outside lights this year & having the HOA send you a nasty letter because you forgot a string ...

It olny took me an hour to get the house back into pre-holiday shape...

With no party invites , we got to spend a quiet New Years at home avoiding the crowds and the DUI's...

New Years resolutions are being kept simple this year : 

1) Learn to tie a bow tie

2) Get to the gym

3) Eat better 

4) Avoid the gym like the plague this week until the "resolution people" give up in desparation of not looking like a magazine cover-model after a whole week of working out  ...   

... that last one is kinda snarky , but when you usually workout at 11pm and still have to wait for machines whilst a group of pe.ople sit on them and text ... well , it's a nice time to take a week off !

5) Try to get better at blogging :  I've started my Daily Tao postings again, it's a nice way for me to start my day.

I really need to get a little more personal in my postings -  I read other blogs and feel that I don't really let people in to my life.

6) Learn how to do HDR photography ( and in turn take more pictures ) ... I really wish I could take a class or two but with my work schedule, it's almost impossible.

7) Wish everyone a very Safe & Happy New Year !

 

 

 

Daily Tao / 5 - Sound

 

SOUND

 

Wind in the cave :
Movement in stillness.
Power in silence.

In a cave, all outer sounds are smothered by rock and earth, but this makes the sounds of one's own heartbeat and breath audible. In the same way, contemplative stillness turns us away from everyday clamor but allows us to hear the subtle in our own lives.

When listening not with the ear but with the spirit, one can perceive the subtle sound. By entering into that sound, we enter into supreme purity. That is why so many religious traditions pray, sing, or chant as a prelude to silence. They understand that the repetition and absorption of sound leads to sacredness itself.

The deepest sound is silence. This may seem paradoxical only if we regard silence as an absence of life and vibration. But for a meditator, silence is sound unified with all of its opposites. It is both sound and soundlessness, and it is in this confluence that the power of meditation emerges.

 

Daily Tao / 4 - Reflection

 

REFLECTION

 

Moon above water.
Sit in solitude.

If waters are placid, the moon will be mirrored perfectly. If we still ourselves, we can mirror the divine perfectly. But if we engage solely in the frenetic activities of our daily involvements, if we seek to impose our own schemes on the natural order, and if we allow ourselves to become absorbed in self-centered views, the surface of our waters becomes turbulent. Then we cannot be receptive to Tao.

There is no effort that we can make to still ourselves. True stillness comes naturally from moments of solitude where we allow our minds to settle. Just as water seeks its own level, the mind will gravitate toward the holy. Muddy water will become clear if allowed to stand undisturbed, and so too will the mind become clear if it is allowed to be still.

Neither the water nor the moon make any effort to achieve a reflection. In the same way, meditation will be natural and immediate.

 

Daily Tao / 3 - Devotion

DEVOTION

Make the crooked straight,
Make the straight to flow.
Gather water, fire, and light.
Bring the world to a single point.

If we have devotion -- total faith and commitment to our spiritual path -- our determination will naturally build momentum. Fewer and fewer obstructions will come before us. Our path becomes like a crooked one made straight. No matter what tries to keep us from our purpose, we will not be deterred.

Proper devotion lies not simply in a headlong course. It also requires fortitude. Our bodies, our hearts, and our spirits must be totally concentrated upon what we want. Only by uniting all our inner elements can we have full devotion.

If we see our path clearly and our personalities are completely unified, then there is no distinction between the outer world and the inner one. Nothing is faraway anymore, nothing is not open to us. That is why it is said that the world is like a single point : So strong is devotion that there is nothing that is not a part of it.

Daily Tao / 2 - Ablution

ABLUTION

Washing at dawn:
Rinse away dreams.
Protect the gods within,
And clarify the inner spirit.

Purification starts all practice. First comes cleansing of the body -- not to deny the body, but so that it is refined. Once cleansed, it can help us sense the divine.

Rinsing away dreams is a way of saying that we must not only dispel the illusions and anxieties of our sleeping moments but those of our waking ones as well. All life is a dream, not because it isn't there, but because we all project different meanings upon it. We must cleanse away this habit.

While cleansing, we naturally look within. It is believed that there are 36,000 gods and goddesses in the body. If we continually eat bad foods, intoxicate ourselves, allow filth to accumulate anywhere outside or inside of ourselves, then these gods abandon us in disgust.

Yet our concerns must ultimately go beyond these deities in the temples of our bodies to the universal One. After we clear away the obscuring layers of dirt, bodily problems, and delusions, we must be prepared even to clear away the gods themselves so that we can reach the inner One.

Tao - Beginning

BEGINNING

This is the moment of embarking.
All auspicious signs are in place.

In the beginning, all things are hopeful. We prepare ourselves to start anew. Though we may be intent on the magnificent journey ahead, all things are contained in this first moment : our optimism, our faith, our resolution, our innocence.

In order to start, we must make a decision. This decision is a commitment to daily self-cultivation. We must make a strong connection to our inner selves. Outside matters are superfluous. Alone and naked, we negotiate all of life's travails. Therefore, we alone must make something of ourselves, transforming ourselves into the instruments for experiencing the deepest spiritual essence of life.

Once we make our decision, all things will come to us. Auspicious signs are not a superstition, but a confirmation. They are a response. It is said that if one chooses to pray to a rock with enough devotion, even that rock will come alive. In the same way, once we choose to commit ourselves to spiritual practice, even the mountains and valleys will reverberate to the sound of our purpose.

Retro Saturday ( Holiday version ) 3.0

well , only if last year is considered retro - I just really love Annie Lennox & this version of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen off of her 2010 Christmas album A Christmas Cornucopia ...

 

Retro Saturday ( Holiday Version ) 2.0

Sherman , set WABAC machine .....

For this post , I 'm going waaaay back to the late 60's / early 70's. Or as I like to call it, my childhood.

    Christmas was always a magical time for me ( in my mind ) . I loved everything about it. The tree, the lights, seeing Santa on almost every corner. I loved going with my parents to pick out the tree from one of the lots that would spring up around Denver. Then I'd get to help my Dad saw off the bottom of the trunk ( always making sure that it was as level as we could get it so it would stand up straight ). Filling up the stand with water, then watching my Dad string up the lights. That was his job, no one else could do it. Just like it was Mom's job to put the tinsel on the tree after all the decorating was done. That was a job that was much too important to relegate to a 7year old.

I'm sure some of you remember tinsel. The stuff we had was heavy lead-laden foil that Mom would put on strand by strand and then take off again after Christmas, making sure to keep it nice and neat for the following year. It was a Christmas staple in most homes up through the early 70's, when they banned all lead-based products ( poisonous you know ) and went to flimsy mylar-type stuff.  Mom hated it. 

Well every year after we got the tree, my Dad would go to the Firestone tire store & the Goodyear tire store. Because , you see, every year you could  pick up a free album of Christmas songs by popular artists. People like Julie Andrews , the Morman Tabernacle Choir, Percy Faith.  It makes you laugh now but this was one of the highlights during the holidays. Then we'd get to listen to the albums on our coffin sized stereo hi-fi system as we decorated.

One song that's always stuck with me to this day was a little-known song by Bing Crosby.  Not actually a Christmas Carol , but it had the sleigh bells for backround rythm and a bouncy melody, and I think ( in my 7 year old mind ) it gave me an idealized version of what Christmas/Winter would/should be ...

Anyhow - I've always loved Bing Crosby, I watch Holiday Inn & White Christmas every year instead of that sappy thing with Jimmy Stewart.

So for my retro Saturday - Bing Crosby & The White World of Winter ....

01_The_White_World_Of_Winter.mp3 Listen on Posterous

La Fée Verte ...

 

Last night I had the pleasure of introducing my roommates to Absinthe . It was fun to watch their expression as the water dripped down onto the the sugar then into the shot of Absinthe, turning the light green/yellow Absinthe to a milky green ( the technical term is la louche ). 

It was also fun to watch them go from " that tiny shot of booze mixed with water can't be that bad " to being kicked back on the sofa saying it was one of the best "mellows" that they'd had in a long time...

 ...  aahhh , la fée verte strikes again. Two more souls now firmly in her grasp .

 

 

One step forward ...

After months of procrastination I finally got my butt back to the gym. Everything was going great, my weights were decent, I felt teriffic.

There was a bounce in my step as I started my "back" day. Dumbbell rows completed I walked over to the squat rack to start barbell rows. 

Two sets in everything was hunky-dory, I grabbed two 10 pound plates , slid them onto the bar, got in position. Hands on the bar I lifted it off the rack and the next thing I knew I was on the ground, sharp pain shooting through my body.  

I guess I must've twisted just enough getting the bar off the rack that my lower back decided it wasn't having any of it. I spent the next two days in bed taking percocet and trying to stretch out muscles. 

I'm mobile now ( although I remind myself of my grandfather - and my father on his really bad days). My Dr. said it'll take a bit to heal, so no weights for a couple of weeks, but I can work on my cardio until then. So I guess the treadmill will be my new best friend !

The Onion Week in Review -

For those of you that missed the major storiesof the past week : 

 

 

Report: Nobody's Heard From David Blaine In A While, Somebody Should Probably Check If He Died In One Of Those Things 

Retro Saturday ( holiday version )

yeah - i've been lazy ....

Back to Retro Saturday - 

One of the first holiday cd's I remember buying was A Very Special Christmas. I thought it was "cool" that all of these modern artists would put their own twist on pretty staid Christmas standards. 

I've always had a particular fond spot for Madonna's "Santa Baby", I've thought that she she delivered a fun cross of Eartha Kitt/Betty Boop ....

 

Student arrested for burping, lawsuit claims -

via cbsnews.com

The lawsuit alleges the boy was transported to the juvenile center without his parents being notified. It also says he was denied his due process rights because he was suspended for the rest of that school year without "providing him an explanation of the evidence the school claimed to have against him." He was not allowed to call witnesses or defend himself against the burping allegation.

The boy was never charged. He scored a - 2 on a scale of 1 to 10 according to a risk assessment given by the jail staff, 10 being extremely dangerous.

Untitled

Movember ...

yeah - I've been gone for a while , but that's a subject for another post later .....

It's now Movember, that time of the year to focus on men's health. Specifically prostrate cancer. Grow a moustache, get donations, raise awareness : 

I'll be posting my (first) attempt to grow a 'mo & would appricate any donations that y'all can spare - http://mobro.co/ScootrMonkey

 

 

 

MOVEMBER – THE MONTH FOR MEN’S HEALTH

 

Author: Movember, Date: October 27th

Moustache Season is finally upon us and just in time for Mo Bros everywhere to get their annual health check up. Lets face the facts, most men are known to be more indifferent towards their health, and studies suggest that 24% of men are less likely to go to the doctor compared to women. Maintaining a good diet, smart lifestyle choices, and getting regular medical check-ups and screening tests can dramatically influence your health. Regardless of age or background, stay on top of your health by following these very important steps: 

HAVE AN ANNUAL PHYSICAL
Find a doctor and make a yearly appointment each Movember for a general health check.  Getting annual checkups, preventative screening tests, and immunizations are among the most important things you can do to stay healthy. By regularly visiting your doctor, you can greatly minimize your risk level for a number of conditions, from high blood pressure to diabetes to cancer. What better way could there be to celebrate Movember than calling your doctor to schedule a check-up?

KNOW YOUR FAMILY HEALTH HISTORY
Start a discussion with your relatives about health issues that have affected your family. Men with a family history of prostate cancer are twice as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, so know your family history.

DON’T SMOKE! 
If you do smoke, stop! Compared to non-smokers, men who smoke are about 23 times more likely to develop lung cancer.  Smoking causes about 90% of lung cancer death in men.

BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE
If you are not already doing some form of exercise, start small and work up to a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week. If you're already there, set your sights on 60-minute days. 

EAT A HEART HEALTHY DIET 
Fill up with fruits, vegetables, whole grains; include lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts; and eat foods low in saturated fats, trans-fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

STAY AT A HEALTHY WEIGHT
Balance calories from foods and beverages with calories you burn off by physical activities. Over two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese! The USDA and leading cancer researchers suggest that we all fill up on vegetables, fruit, and whole grains, and choose lean proteins like fish and legumes over fatty ones like red meat. Evidence suggests that about a third of the 571,950 cancer deaths expected to occur will be related to obesity, physical inactivity, poor nutrition and thus could be prevented.

MANAGE YOUR STRESS
Stress, particularly long-term stress, can be the factor in the onset or worsening of ill health. Managing your stress is essential to your health & well being should be practiced daily.

DRINK ALCOHOL IN MODERATION
Alcohol can be part of a healthy balanced diet, but only if it’s in moderation, which means no more than a few, drinks a day. A standard drink is one 12-ounce bottle of beer or wine cooler, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits. Alcohol consumption is ok, but should be kept to no more than two drinks per day for men, and one for women.

 

hmmm ... eat or play ???

Taken at Fraggle Rock

So cute ...

via afterelton.com

'nuff said ...

Remembering Bandit ...

p197.mov Watch on Posterous

my first attempt at a video ... saying goodbye to a friend :

Oh, Mickey you're so pretty ...

Retro Saturday

After the sadness of the last two days,  I decided that I would put up something fun for today's video :

Mickey 

 

 

enjoy !

Bandit ...

R.I.P.

2003-2011 

We'll miss you goofball ....

 

03_Chasing_Cars.m4a Listen on Posterous

 

it's amazing how such a small soul can leave such a big hole ...

You know, you're a real UP person ...

Another Retro Staurday - 

One of the most seminal albums for me, and for a lot of kids growing up in the 80's , was New Order's Substance. This was one album that was a must in your collection if you wanted to be "hip" or "cool" .... 

I can remember the cute sales guy Jimmy at Peaches telling me why I had to own this .....  you remember Peaches ??  

I even had a couple of thier record crates  - 

Well - New Order was another big step in my musical upbringing, True Faith , Blue Monday & this song : 

 

New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle by aquanote

 

... another one one bites the dust

... another one one bites the dust

I'd Like to Teach ...

With over 15k+ of songs on my old gigantic gen 2 iPod it's easy for me to forget what songs I actually have in my music library  sometimes. Yesterday was one of those days.

I put the iPod on shuffle to see what the universe wanted me to listen to and set out for work. Driving up 6th Ave. a song came on that literally made me pull over and stop the car. It wasn't a classic rock song or 80's synth band that got this viseral reaction out of me, but a one-hit wonder by a group from the late 60's called The Hillside Singers that made me stare at my radio flabergasted trying to remember when I'd actually acquired the album.

Now I realize that most of you won't recognize the group, but I can pretty much guarantee that everyone has heard this song before -

02_I'd_Like_to_Teach_the_World_to_Sing_(In_Perfect_Harmony).m4a Listen on Posterous

cheesy??  yes.  fluff??  definately.  incredibly catchy??  for sure - a product of it's time and generation ...

oh and the commercial ..... 

 

Long Hot Summer ...

Retro Saturday - 

The Style Council. My favorite band from the '80s. 

 

... breathe deep, the gathering gloom ...

Robb's One-Word-Movie-Review

eeeeewwwwwwwwwwww !!!!!!!!

Ska ...

Retro Saturday - 

I got my love of Ska from being introduced to The Specials in late junior high. The reggae/r&b mash up really made an impression on my developing musical tastes. From The Specials I would go on to Madness , The English Beat, Selector and UB40. Then to Then Maytals , Justin Hinds & the Dominoes and then into reggae with Jimmy Cliff , etc. 

and this is the song that started it all :

 

it's Friday and I'm ...

cleaning , again ....

I guess I can blame my parents for this. Growing up, every Saturday was cleaning day. Mom took the kitchen and bathrooms, Dad took the vacuum, duster and directed us kids on what else needed done.  Pretty much everything was put on hold for about 3 hours until Mom was satisfied that house was presentable.

That's why when I look at my house I usually see this : 

when I know that, if I ever had the unexpected call that company was on the way, I could probably present a sparkling clean house in under 30 minutes. When asked to explain my (almost)obeseeion with a clean house, all I have to do is take my friends and drop by Mom's place. One look around and they immediately undersand.  Every surface sparkles, not a speck of dirt on the carpet, and it's a house you still feel like you could lounge in for hours.  Not a hermetically- sealed museum display, but a home....

and about that maid ??

... I'd probably clean before they came.  Can't have strangers seeing a dirty house ...

Robb's One Word Movie Review ...

Brilliant !!

How I interpret my beverage options on an airplane - The Oatmeal

via theoatmeal.com

basically true , although you can substitute a Bloody Mary ... I never drink those unless i'm on a plane

Pay no mind to what they say ...

Retro Saturday - 

I believe that this was the first song I ever heard/watched on FMTv. Made popular by The GoGo's, I still prefer this darker version from the Specials offshoot Fun Boy Three to the more sun/sand/color upbeat version.

The lyrics don't really go with the "California" vibe ...

 

Six Weeks ...

Well - I heard the first of the Cicadas today , my grandmother always said that meant six weeks until the first frost. So ... mid September ???

I Love Lucy ...

 

Happy (early) Birthday to one of my favortie comediennes,  Lucille Ball who would be 100 tomorrow August 6th ...

 

Sexy Nerd ...

I *heart* Jonny McGovern ...

 

y'all should really listen to his podcast too !

 

 

 

Summer Reading ...

     One thing that I try to do more of every year is read. I basically grew up in  library ( grandmother was a small-town librarian ) and I was reading Stephen King by the time I was 10.  But over the years it's gotten more and more difficult for me to just sit down and read. You almost have to make time for it like going to the gym or walking the dogs.

     Now,  with my iPad,  I have many books with me where ever I go so no more excuses!

I can now cross off another book from my extended summer reading list : World War Z by Max Brooks.  Not a new book by any stretch of the imagination, but one that has been on my reading list for at least 3 years.

from Publisher's Weekly : Brooks, the author of the determinedly straight-faced parody The Zombie Survival Guide (2003), returns in all seriousness to the zombie theme for his second outing, a future history in the style of Theodore Judson's Fitzpatrick's War. Brooks tells the story of the world's desperate battle against the zombie threat with a series of first-person accounts "as told to the author" by various characters around the world. A Chinese doctor encounters one of the earliest zombie cases at a time when the Chinese government is ruthlessly suppressing any information about the outbreak that will soon spread across the globe. The tale then follows the outbreak via testimony of smugglers, intelligence officials, military personnel and many others who struggle to defeat the zombie menace. Despite its implausible premise and choppy delivery, the novel is surprisingly hard to put down. The subtle, and not so subtle, jabs at various contemporary politicians and policies are an added bonus. (Sept.) 

 

... as a bonus - it's going to be movie starring Brad Pitt. It'll be interesting to see how they translate this to the screen ...

Sure Thing Mr. S ...

4 guys , 5 dogs, 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths & me on the only " regular schedule ..... 

I need a Rosie