Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now

Not that I am complaining... :)
but having worked nearly every day for the last few weeks, I say:
* it's fun, but tiring
* makes time fly
* is no good for a blogger...

Add it up with the fact that I moved again (this time hopefully for a bit of a longer period then last), plus the usual daily stuff which unfortunately has to be done, it's not really surprising that there wasn't much left for writing....

But, as I said, I am not complaining.... it's just that my brain seems not to function that well, making it kind of hard to decide what to do in my spare free time, so...

(here's to Joss),

Tell me what we're gonna do now....

Love Stoned

To be honest, I actually don't care what the majority of people think about a certain artist, singer, actor, whatever. Then why do I often have the feeling that I have to apologize when I mention one regarding something I really like?

To me, the result of what this specific person/persons produce, is mostly what counts. It can be touching, striking, triggering, uplifting; why let it be influenced by, lets say, the looks of somebody? Or the opinion (whether it's true or not) of someone else?

An example is Justin Timberlake. I am not even going to mention what "others" think about him. Some of his songs are catching, this is one of them. And that's what it's all about.

J

Slippery

You ever have that feeling? That time is slipping away?

Quite often I think time is slipping away; generally, life goes its own way, mine always seems to be in the fast lane anyway. But time spent behind the PC goes even faster, don't you think? Before you know it, cyber-time-slipping slapped you in the face and yet again, you realise the day has progressed quicker than you wanted it to.

During one of these cyber-time-slipping moments I stumbled upon this site,
Sunday Scribblings; what a great idea they offer (check it out for yourself, if you want). So here's my scribbling about the topic of this week.... Slippery....

And when I was thinking about this subject, Talking Heads came up in my mind. Slippery People, remember? And as I am always looking for "the story behind...." I found a very good explanation on this site (of which a short quote, but you can read the rest of it via the link):

It’s a song about severe psychological disorder…it’s a song about a man who has difficulty feeling comfortable in even the most typical daily situations, but so what? Many Talking Heads songs fit that description…
-
The song opens as he taunts himself…as his mind reminds him of a hazy failure past…Fallin’ on your face? You must be havin’ fun…, and then it segues directly into a tense plea for self-control…Walk lightly indeed. He’s considering taking some sort of action…against himself? Against somebody else? Someone specific? The next person who starts a conversation he can’t finish? Put away that gun, he says, bargaining for control over himself…This part is simple.

The man can’t even take a bath without being tormented by personal demons and the fear that he will one day drift so far from reality that nobody will be able to reach him…Cool down…stop acting crazy…they’re gonna’ leave…and we’ll be on our own…

If you’re not careful, he might even convince you he’s alright, that the Lord don’t mind, and those slippery people will be more than happy to see you through.

Well, there's not much more to add here, right? Enough talking about it, enjoy the musical scribbling...

J

Idealist

A few days ago, on my way to town, I was listening to the radio (what's new?) and heard Gangsta's Paradise again. I love it, it first of all reminds me of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five with The Message, a rap song out of my younger years (duh...), of which I knew the full lyrics (yes, really!) and used to sing it so many times that it drove my mum crazy. Secondly, I love it's stimulating you to think about life for some people these days. I'm lucky enough not to live in a massive city, with loads of unemployment, poverty, drug problems, etc. The song's about (kids) growing up and living in places like that, and how it effects their chances in life.

Along with the song, came "Dangerous Minds" (probably the other way around, whatever). A great movie about this teacher who tries to do her job at a school in a similar neighbourhood as described above. It's a true story. Of course, it's a movie and therefore less realistic than it actually was, but still, it is good. And the main character is played by Michelle Pfeiffer, an actress I highly appreciate.

Anyway, via Wiki I eventually ended up checking out a site, owned by the person behind this role of Michelle, and it was an interesting read. But most interesting of all, I was yet again hit by the fact that when I surf the Net searching for several sources of info (without the intention to search for a specific item, I mean), I end up with sites that are actually about my hot topics in life. This time it was ADHD. (Which is a very hot topic in my life, whether I like it or not, as I am driven by it. Literally).

Reading one of the articles about several "disorders" and temperament, I came across the link to do this online test, and hey, guess what... :

this is me...

Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self -- always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.

Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals. Conflict and confrontation upset them because they seem to put up angry barriers between people. Idealists dream of creating harmonious, even caring personal relations, and they have a unique talent for helping people get along with each other and work together for the good of all. Such interpersonal harmony might be a romantic ideal, but then Idealists are incurable romantics who prefer to focus on what might be, rather than what is. The real, practical world is only a starting place for Idealists; they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood. This idea of a mystical or spiritual dimension to life, the "not visible" or the "not yet" that can only be known through intuition or by a leap of faith, is far more important to Idealists than the world of material things.

Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest, or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the very soul of kindness. Particularly in their personal relationships, Idealists are without question filled with love and good will. They believe in giving of themselves to help others; they cherish a few warm, sensitive friendships; they strive for a special rapport with their children; and in marriage they wish to find a "soul mate," someone with whom they can bond emotionally and spiritually, sharing their deepest feelings and their complex inner worlds.

Idealists are rare, making up between 20 and 25 percent of the population. But their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers.

Maybe for some a lot of blah blah, and maybe it is, but I found it rather amusing. Apart from my own personal fun and interest, I couldn't help linking this to Michelle Pfeiffer who seems to be a real Idealist to me. Quite a lot of the films / movies she's done are not about the most regular or usual topics, and even if they were, she played her roles so outstanding, that 'usual' becomes 'unusual'. Generally, films with Michelle are good ones.

Coming back to "Dangerous Minds" and the idealistic touch on the story: even though the real version of it is slightly different, the message is quite clear.
If only there were more people who have such a passion for what really means something to them, and use their passions, believes and hopes for a 'better world' and go for it... would we then end up living in paradise, but without 'gangsta's'?

J

Smooth

Smooth... there is something about the word alone that makes it so, well .... smooth really. There are lots of words you could use to try to describe it, like soft, sensual, but nothing gives me the same little sensational feeling when I hear this specific word. Weird maybe, but whatever.

One of my favorite songs of Santana is Smooth, which gives a sexy dimension to the word itself, don't you think? Some women go for chocolate, some for diamonds and pearls, and me? Just give me something smooth...

J

Back to basic

Spending days now without Internet access available whenever I want, makes me realise how much influence it has on daily life. Thank God I didn't have to go 'cold turkey', as now and again I can nick someone's computer for a while but still, it feels like going back to basic life. You know, the days when you read the newspaper early in the morning, instead of Google News... when you were waiting for a letter to be delivered by mail, p-mail that is, postman-mail instead of e-mail. That kind of business...

Hopefully in a few weeks time I'll be fully online again. There's nothing wrong with basic but no internet is horrible. The words "Back to basic" reminded me of one of Amy Winehouse's songs, a great one... back to black.
J

The Sweet Escape

Gwen Stefani is one of those women who really impresses me. I admire the way she stands up and performs. Just gotta love her songs... a sweet escape from the common....
J

The fun (sometimes) of being an outsider

Right. You are the big birdie and the rest of the world is represented by the small ones, ok?
;-)

J

Attention, attention!

About 40 min's ago or so, I signed in to my blog account to write a new post. Usually, before I get to that, I check out some of my fav sites/blogs (see list of them somewhere in the sidebar).

This time, I didn't get far. I got stuck at Flea's blog and that was it. And, like I said, it's 40 min's (or so) later. Now I am a bit of a Flea-fan (huge actually, but I don't want to give any of you the impression that I'm getting a bonus out of this or something), which means:

• I check her blog very often,
  
• which also means that when there's a new post, it doesn't normally take 40 min's (or so) to read it (unless she's doing her "months of email-catching up"-round).
• none of that this time, her post was somewhat of a confession...
• and that means: good news!
  

Apparently a few members of our beloved blogging society have had a baby! The delivery went very well and the name of this newborn is

~ OFFSPRUNG ~

Check it out, isn't it a beauty?

J

Why don't you like me??!

Can't believe I didn't post this one before... from the moment I first heard it, it has given me the shivers; it is just so good. Not to mention Mika himself, I mean, look at him. I'm sure he had other reasons but it's fairly obvious to me why he named the song 'Grace Kelly' instead of something like 'Why don't you like me', which is one of the repetitive lines in the lyrics.
'Cause, hey, I like him! Find it hard to believe that there's someone who wouldn't like him, to be honest.

Which is rubbish of course. Everybody has at least one (or more) person in daily life who doesn't like him/her. And don't we all know somebody whom we don't particularly like? It's natural, normal and ok. What isn't ok is that some of us (me, for example...) go out of our way to try to be liked. Even when we should know better. Even though we know it doesn't work like that.

Nobody really wants to beg around, just for the "Ah, great! They like me!" - feeling. It actually means that they dislike the real person you are, but if you adjust, reshape and compromise yourself a bit (or more) here and there, you might just have a chance that they do like you. And that is rubbish too.

These people are not worth it. No matter how much you like them, you cannot change the way they look at you. The only thing you can do, is to be yourself. And that you're damn proud of who you are too. Easier said than done, but if worse comes to worst, you can always try to be like Mika.

J

Do I attract you?
Do I repulse you with my queasy smile?
Am I too dirty?
Am I too flirty?
Do I like what you like?

I could be wholesome
I could be loathsome
I guess I'm a little bit shy
Why don't you like me?
Why don't you like me without making me try?

I try to be like Grace Kelly
But all her looks were too sad
So I try a little Freddie
I've gone identity mad!

No Good

Ever had the feeling that people think you're not up to much? You don't fit their standards? No matter what you do, it is never satisfying or good enough to make them happy, or at least acceptive.

Most of my life I've been juggling with this, trying my hardest to please everyone around me, whether it was in private matters or work related. What an idiot I was... it's an impossible task. But most of all, I had seem to forgotten one person specifically: and that was myself.

Although pleasing yourself can be translated in different ways of behaviour, most of us know, deep down, how important it is and how you can please yourself without ignoring the ones who deserve to be pleased as well. I truly think that you fail miserably to make someone else happy, if you don't take care of yourself. In the end, you end up being depressed and feeling down most of the time. Assuming the ones around you, do like / love /care for you, it seems pretty difficult for me to make someone happy when you are thinking rubbish of yourself.

I am changing recently, even though it's damn hard. One thing is dealing with compliments. Instead of immediately turning them down, I try to believe them and tell myself to be proud. Funnily enough, this time seems to be "perfect" for practising. I don't think I've ever been in a tougher situation like this before, and people are telling me things that I would have considered as complete and utter bullshit before.

Apparently, I look good (well, a lot better compared to what I looked like over the last few years). I know what I want and work hard to be able to reach my goals (to be honest, knowing what I want is still a bit of an unstable fact to me, but the rough lines are there and hopefully I can soon set up the final plan). Time is short this morning, so no more examples but it is just to give an idea.

But one thing's for sure: think good of yourself. Believe in and have trust in yourself. Once you've got that going, you can be good for someone else.

A bit of sarcasme can't do much harm though, that's why I fell for Amy Winehouse's song... Once in a while you'll find yourself in a situation where you think:

-You Know I'm No Good-

J

Tell Me 'Bout It

If you wanna get in the mood, this will most probably do!

J

How about that for a quicky!

There's a lot to say about Elton, mostly positive stuff if it's up to me, but even if you aren't really into his music, this vid must impress you (I assume). Bloody clever, funny and creative song writing. And I thought I was quick, sometimes far too quick with words...

J

Old and boring? Forget it!

Now this is a cracker! And as I am nearly old and sometimes lazy, I'll quote Oskpeturs writing (from YouTube):

The oldest and greatest rock band in the world - meet The Zimmers and their amazing cover of The Who's "My Generation".
Lead singer Alf is 90 - it's quite something when he sings "I hope I die before I get old". And he's not the oldest - there are 99 and 100-year-olds in the band!
The Zimmers will feature in a BBC TV documentary being aired in May 2007. Documentary-maker Tim Samuels has been all over Britain recruiting isolated and lonely old people - those who can't leave their flats or who are stuck in rubbish care homes.
The finale of the show is this group of lonely old people coming together to stick it back to the society that's cast them aside - by forming a rock troupe and trying to storm into the pop charts.
Some massive names from the pop world have thrown their weight behind The Zimmers... The song is produced by Mike Hedges (U2, Dido, Cure), the video shot by Geoff Wonfor (Band Aid, Beatles Anthology), and it was recorded in the legendary Beatles studio 2 at Abbey Road.
Look out for the single being released from May 21 - with proceeds going to a good cause.
And check out more photos and info at:

www.myspace.com/thezimmersband

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the video, although it leaves me with mixed feelings... it's ab fab seeing those "old people" have such fun, even being naughty (the end bit is classic!). But at the same time it's quite sad that this is what they have to do to get a bit of attention... makes me want to sing along with Alf - I hope I die before I get old

So I hope everyone is going to be naughty too (again/as usual), and use this link to
copy&paste / publish / tag / post / and what have you
to create as many referrals so even the Google-people get nervous.

I mean, wouldn't it be great if this one hits the pop charts all over the world??!! They deserve it!
J

If only

We women, or at least a lot of us, love/need complaining about the lack of understanding by men, or at least by most of them, especially when it comes down to PMS. And as that PMS-business hits us, women, every month again and again, we'd like to have the right to complain about PMS itself and the lack of understanding for this by men too. And yes, over and over again.

Unfortunately this complaining doesn't really help, does it. And we all know why. Because the lack of understanding is not the only lack they have. Instead of discussing all their other lacks, disabilities and what have you, I am pleased to announce that there's hope for us (and for them as well, even though they don't realise it yet). Finally we can help them, without any hassle, to understand our PMS.

Now, let's wait until the other 999 types of this miracle remedy come on the market too.
Gosh... doesn't the future look bright for us...!

Way to go, Monthly Man!

Yesterday

It was one of those days I wished I could skip. Just to be able to close your eyes, hide under the covers, fall in a deep, deep sleep and wake again the next morning. But of course, c'est non possible, so instead I tried to ignore those little bastards inside me, telling me to break down and cry. In the end I went out, I just couldn't hang around here and get my thoughts straight at the same time.

Ended up in town, bought myself a book about Buddhism, had coffee on a pub terrace, visited some friends and joined them for dinner (as I can't resist dear Motek's Tabbouleh Salad). Afterwards we were terribly lazy on the sofa, the peace and quiet felt gorgeous and we had a few nearly silent giggles (for a change).

I had to go home at some point, so after a while I did. As I drove back I heard this song on the radio, another (new) version of Coldplay's Clocks. A great one with a Cuban twist (by Rhythms del mundo). And I even managed to get a smile on my face.

Hasta la vista, baby...
J

"Have you seen the light?"

My youngest son has had this obsessional admiration for cars since he was about 1 yr old. Anything on 4 wheels was, and still is, holy. Two would do as well, as long as it had a motor attached to it. But his all time favorites are the ones with flashing lights and noisy sirens: police cars, fire engines, ambulances, etc. It's not really surprising that, now 7 yrs old, his most beloved film is The Blues Brothers.

I mean, if you were him, what more could you wish for? It's full of cars (and macho men, highly appreciated by him as well). Scene after scene there are police cars chasing Jake & Elwood, and the best are the ones of course where the lot of them crash into each other.

BB has always been a great movie, one you could watch often without getting bored. But it's even better when sprog nr. 2 is sitting there watching it next to you. All the famous lines, he knows by heart. It's extremely funny when, after seeing one of the police cars end up upside down, he says: "They broke my watch!". Or, when two cops make this enormous free fall in their car, they look at each other in disbelief and this adorable child of mine jumps up and says: "I've always loved you..." Perfectly timed as well. Hilarious.

Before he goes to sleep, he lately has created this habit of watching a bit of BB in bed. So there we are, lying next to each other, having a real good BB-time. The only things that are missing are black hats and sunglasses.

I don't mind this habit. It could be worse, you know. I'd rather have to watch this, then Pokémon or Action Man. But when it comes to choosing a favorite scene, I'd go for the one in the Triple Rock Baptist Church. It's with loads of people singing and dancing to this great performance of James Brown. But the best is when Jake's going loose and my son screams:

"Have you seen the light?!"

(And all I have to do is look at him and get blinded by it).

J

Jake: The band... The band!
Reverend: Do you see the Light?
Jake: The band!
Reverend: Do you see the Light?
Elwood: What light?
Reverend: Have you seen the Light?
Jake: Yes, yes!

Finally I found it ! (The Bongo Song)

Now and again, when I'm driving, this song is played on the radio. Heaven knows why, but it makes me behave like a 16 yr old. Well, maybe not exactly but certainly not like the average "coming up to - 40". It forces me (yep, I can't help it) to turn on the volume far too high and, as I'm still driving, move my body to the beat as good as I can (remember I'm behind the steering wheel).

And as Tom Stoppard says: "I think age is a very high price to pay for maturity", I sometimes just like to stick my head in the sand, and refuse to mature.

Must look pretty weird though; I don't really care whether or not people stare at me when I drive past (hard to ignore me, I always have the window open), but if even my boys, when on the back seat, hide their faces out of embarrassment and shout at me to stop acting like an idiot (according to them of course, this is so "NOT cool"!), they must have a point.

But hey, the volume is on max so I can't hear them (ha ha).

Anyway, I finally found out who's music this is, and YouTube was as willing as always to provide me with the video clip. My "advice" for these occasional moments: no matter your age, act like an idiot, it's just SO COOL...

J