You're My Inspiration

It's funny at the moment I feel the need to write. I still haven't come up with an idea for a book but obviously people are enjoying , or at least looking at what I'm putting down. While I know one or two of you are checking this out from things you have said to me , I also realise that there are quite a few others following this.



Today I was coming home from work and decided on a TED talk about the New Yorker catoons by Bob Mankoff. I'd not heard of him before , but he is one of the many intelligent denizends of the USA and very funny with it too. This is the talk and it is well worth twenty minutes out of your day if you haven't already seen it.




I do find it amazing that even though I didn't know what I was going to write about this talk made me put the words down. The thing I like about it is now , this will effectively be here forever and gives both me and Bob a sort of immortality bestowing God like status on both of us so to speak, except he is the talented one.




But really thanks for reading , love hearing from you all and have a great day and night, whichever part of this world you are in.

Beautiful Tits and The Vagaries of The English Language

A friend this morning liked a Facebook Group with that name , and I immediately thought it was a clever reverse double entendre for a page with pictures of birds. Well I was right , it was a page about birds , but there was no clever reverse double entendre applied. You can find the page if you look for it on Facebook. And it got me thinking just about the vagaries and rich tapestry that is the English Languages. By the way if you search for the phrase in Google you don't get pictures like the one below!

Beautiful Tits

I read a lot , and since the times of  Chaucer , Shakespeare who both used euphenisms and double entendres in their work. English folk songs are notorious. Let me tell you "The Bonny Black Hare" is not about an over-sized rabbit, although these days the use of the word rabbit takes you right back in there so to speak! And all the classical talk of swords and sheaths , well you know what that means.

Anyway thought I'd include the Reduced Shakespeare Company's Othello Rap which starts with a mis interpretation of the word "moor",another thread in the rich fabric that is our language. It's also very funny.

Rain Is Good

It's raining again, but only to be expected at this time of year. Maybe I should have mowed the lawn yesterday , but not to worry.

I'm almost shocked at the amount of good music around , if you want new stuff there's the excellent band from Northern Ireland The Strypes who are still under 17 , while at the other end of the age spectrum Yoko Ono has a brilliant new album out . Add to that new offerings from Franz Ferdinand, Janelle Monae,  Manic Street Preachers , Bill Callahan , Elvis Costello and The Roots, and many many more the music scene seems to be thriving. And next week I am going to see Wire for the first time in my life. You can find all of these on Youtube and Amazon or just go and see them if you get a chance.

Another success is that I finally manage to export a piece I'd put together in Garageband that I'd originally meant as an accompaniment for a World Book Night montage , but forgot about it and used some random Anthony Gormley images as well as the odd skyline. But it's nothing special , it just means now I can actually use Garageband as a studio now about 15 moths after gettin all the relevant bits and pieces.

So enjoy the rain , enjoy your day and enjoy your music.

Don't Dream It's Over

Nothing deep , but woke this morning to blue skies and sunshine , and it's the weekend, how good is that. It just shows everyone had decided that summer was over and the sunshine has just returned to lift our spirits once more. For some reason the Crowded House song "Don't Dream It's Over" came to mind ,  and they are a wonderful antipodean band who I've loved ever since I first saw the Finn brothers in the wonderful Split Enz.

So today will be spent, enjoying myself taking in the sun , finding good things to enjoy and maybe taking a few photographs if the sky gets blue enough , which I am sure it will . I hope everyone has an absolutely brilliant weekend.

Oh I also need to practice a few more songs using more complex chords , which if they turn out good , I will post on Youtube. Have a wonderful day.

Fighting With My Left Hand:It's Alright Ma ... It's Only Severe Nerve Damage

...which may sound negative , but on fact it's actually very positive. The human body has a remarkable ability to just mend itself, in fact your body is continually repairing itself and you don't actually realise it. I learned that from my first brush with ITP when Juliet and Kirsty were around 4 and 2 and I was really frightened that I wouldn't see the grow up. When I was shaving and cut myself , the bleeding didn't stop , so I had to let a beard grow! Don't think the girls remember , but they were amused by it , that was around 1986.

Well I recorded me messing about on the bass, and I am trying to play some proper chords on the acoustic guitar. Electric is not an option to youtube unless I think of an instrumental to do. The thinkg is I still can't get Garageband to export a composition to iTunes, but I can record video as you can see above. The song is an extremely simple Neil Young composition "Love Is A Rose". Now this isn't about showing off or anything , it's just that a couple of months ago I couldn't hold a plate or turn a key with my left hand, now , with difficulty I can master a basic "G" chord. I've just used G,A and D and missed out the fancy bits , but I my hand is very slowly getting better.

So all in all things are improving , and the future is looking bright 

Don't Worry .. Be Happy

Just a short post today , but I'm quite surprised that I'm getting 50 views of the page and comments from unexpected sources , all positive. Hope you are all enjoying these.

There's only one song , obviously , the totally happy Bobby McFerrin number "Don't Worry, Be Happy". Well today we have rain , the weather is overcast , people are saying summer is over , but it can always be summer in your heart. The rain waters the gardens and plants which can feed is or give us something enjoyable to look at. That just reminds me of a wonderful TED talk about a guerrilla gardener in LA. I'm including it here. Watch it - it is inspirational and uplifting and may give you some ideas!!:


   

Anyway the weekend is here, and if you can bring your sunshine to others , spread the happiness, help others and feel good. Enjoy yourself and if you see me say hello !

Be Nice

The Second Coming

Last year I read a book called The Second Coming by John Niven , which posited that Jesus had to come back and win X-Factor to save the world . It's a great book, funny but with a lot of serious points to make, and worth a read by anyone.


When he came back Jesus had a simple mission statement "Be Nice":


It's easy to do that , generally you can be nice to people , smile , talk with people , offer help , accept help , give and take encouragement. It's easy to do.



There are situations which will test this, and yes they are sometimes exasperating to deal with , but by always keeping positive you will find the strength to get you through.

One thing I've found with Facebook is that I have made some fantastic friends from unexpected places and walks of life who have pointed me in good directions.

So I live my life to never regret anything , never to put off anything you can do , especially if it's talking and meeting friends and loved ones, always look for the positives - it makes life interesting and fun, and be yourself.

So please go out today and "Be Nice" , it will make you and someone elses day much, much better.