I'm just reading The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson and there's quite a lot of disturbing stuff in there, and some worrying things about the nature of psychopaths and sociopaths . Apparently f you start noticing traits in yourself that may you suspect you may be a psychopath then you probably aren't one , but if you don't thing you could be a psychopath then the chances are that you are one. It also reckons the reason for the inequality and unfairness in society is that psychopaths are actually in a lot of high up places of power , and they get there because of their nature.
This is something we should be very worried about. We tend to give certain people a lot of leewaybecause it's "just the way they are" but I have seen some disgusting bullying behaviour in the workplace of the years that has been condoned and allowed by company management for the flimsiest of reasons, management often turning on people less likely to cause a fuss to carry the the can for the bully's behaviour.
We see it in politics today and as long as we allow it , it will continue to happen.
I suggest you grab a copy of the book , and then try and find something positive to focus on , because it's the weekend and you should really be enjoying yourself, I certainly will be.
There's only one song that will do for this post and it's Elvis Costello's take on the country and western classic "Psycho" written by Leon Payne after he saw Hitchcock's film "Psycho".
It's nice to actually get up on time and have time to make a cup of tea without having to rush out the door to get to work. This is what I intended to do yesterday , but the alarm was running an hour late. I'm listening to Radio 6 and about to run out the door after finishing my tea.
Tonight Wales play Portugal , a big match for both teams , but Wales do have the most expensive player in the world in Gareth Bale , and he can deliver , ad he has a team round him that can do it's job so don't be surprised to see Wales in the Final though all the money will go on Portugal.
Anyway enjoy your Wednesday , it's half way through the week and the sun is shining and "Everything Counts" by Depeche Mode is on the radio , but I will choose The Referees Alphabet by Half Man Half Biscuit as today's music.
This was originally going to be called "Time" but about half an hour the phrase "Beach Canaries" came in to my head, it's probably the name of a band and if it isn't it should be.
Anyway what this was basically about was that recently I seem to keep not having enough time to do the things I want to do. I do get them done but often times seems to run away. Maybe it's a sign of getting older. When you are six and you get six weeks summer holiday that's a week for every year of your life , it's like nearly forever, now six weeks comes and goes just like that. Actual time still last the same length ... I think.
There's a science fiction story called "The Eighty Minute Hour" by Brian Aldiss in which the concept is that the controllers slow down the clocks when you are at work and speed them up when you are not. Would you know? And how often have you looked at the clock at work and almost believed that it's stopped or going backwards.
Some morning when I go to work I am sure I leave at 7:30 but still get through the door at 8 for what should be a fifteen minute door to door excursion. Late buses , traffic jams , and forgetfulness also contribute.
The biggest benefit from leaving my previous job was the 60 hours a month traveling time I got back, and because of that I now commit myself to doing a lot more, seeing people , watching films , going to gigs , I've actually joined a band . So really I am filling up my time. I never sit and think , where is the time going and don't have an answer. I know where it's going , and I am enjoying it.
I love any excuse to talk and meet friends , and share fun times , and that makes life very enjoyable.
I will get a handle o this , and was going to write this this morning but ......
Last week my alarm clock woke me with piercing electronic screeching. I shut the thing down and it had reset itself to factory settings. I reset it all and the following day it did the same so , it was binned. I've spent a week with no alarm , until this morning. I got the new alarm, set and it went off at quarter to six this morning. I showered and went to get dressed and noticed the clocks and watched were reading 7:15 . Had I really spent 90 minutes getting washed and showered? NO , I had set the clock and hour slow , so getting out to work was a bit of a rush.
Anyway that;'s just some thoughts about time and maybe a good song to have would be Buena Vista Social Club and Coldplay's Clocks from Rhythms Del Mundo.
After the shock of the EU Referendum we're still here, we just have to put in more effort to make things right. Throughout my life I've been called thick and stupid by people who don't have the ability to comprehend what I say. Michael Gove stated that people were sick of experts and the some of the electorate agreed with him, there are a lot of Red Top Readers out there. Professor Brian Cox says this is a way back to the Stone Age , check his article here. Who'd have thought I would be taking my lead from D:Ream's keyboard player.! Things Can Get Better.
A few people who voted leave stated their reasons for voting leave were "Too Many Immigrants" , "Too Many (Unspecified) Laws" and the Leave Campaigners immediately denied responsibility for the claims or promises that they made. It's like buying a 2.8 litre Mercedes and then finding out there are bike pedals under the bonnet and the seats are plastic and the music system is am 8 Track.. Caveat Emptor.
But we are still here and there is a lot to be hopeful about. Look to your friends and the people about you. The people you can hug , the people you can share fun with. This post may be a a bit me-centric and Newcastle-Centric but I believe that we can come out of this smiling. A lot of things are wrong but I know so many positive people who work together to make things better , that I do believe that we will overcome the culture of selfishness that has been endemic since the Thatcher / Reagan era. Since then I have seen a lot of good , a lot of people helping others , a lot of great charity work, though I am looking forward to a time when we don't need charity. I don't know how that will happen, but I am sure it will.
So start now , be there for those that need you and want you , smile at people , find something that makes YOU happy and share that with others. I am feeling positive and a positive attitude makes good things happen . Smile , Be Happy , and Share .
Have a Wonderful week. I am sorry that this post is a meandering mess but really , Things WILL get better. I've chosen The Rumour's Emotional Traffic as he song ... well you know why.
Well we are out of the EU. An old guy yesterday said it was a beautiful day because we were out of the EU and he was free , free as a bird. Some people said they didn't realise their Leave Vote would actually count... that's how voting works!
I probably feel even worse that when the Tories got their majority, but like all advertising campaigns the Leavers hit more voters than the Stayers. While the margin was narrow for such important decision , that was basically the criteria and we have to abide with it. Somebody said Democracy was where you always go with the majority decision until it's not the result you want.
Lots of people are asking for a second referendum but what they are really asking for is for the result to go their , like Dumbledore in Harry Potter awarding Harry's team extra points so they beat Slytherin. It ain't going to happen and it shouldn't happen
I just hope the country realises what it has done done and turfs this Government out at the first opportunity.
I know this is not my normal sort of post , but I hope we can steer ourselves away from the cliff that we are heading towards with the country drifting further to the right.
Father's Day is one of those made up things to con you out of money in the form of cards meals and presents... but ... we can always turn these things to OUR advantage , which effectively me and my wonderful daughters did.
We did lunch in Bar Loco on Friday which was a first for them and is now a definite favourite with them as well. If it hadn't been for Fathers Day we may not have met up this soon but it provided the impetus and we met and talked and had a great time. Lots of smiles and hugs and I got a copy of the excellent new Dexy's album that is playing as I write this. So all in all a great day.
My Dad with Me at Morecambe Long Long Ago
The weekend has been relaxing with lots of catch up TV.
Today I have phone my dad three times but not got in touch , although he'll get his card and presents
eventually.
These days are maybe commercially and cynically motivated , but we always have the option to make them out own and make something good out of them.
Also this week this post on Spoongig here got some major hits which made me happy.
I hope you had a great day today whichever side of the fence that you were on, I hope you are rested for the coming week , which will no doubt be excellent, well it will be for for me
Smiling makes you feel better . You may feel you have nothing to smile about , but do it and something good has happened. You smiled. And That's good , so you can smile again. A smile causes the release of the same endorphins as a bar of chocolate, without the calories.
At work there are three people who ALWAYS have a smile on their faces , they raise my spirits and I'm sure they raise others spirits. I also know that these people have not had the easiest of times but they have found happiness and spread it around , making others happy.
If you smile people tend to smile back and then you raise each others spirits and they day gets better. Whatever you are doing gets easier, you get inspired , you work better and you just do better.
There are those who don't return smiles and you cannot force people
to be happy, but the more people who do smile , well they can spread it to the ones who don't think they can smile.
