Positive?

Being a Neuro Linguistic Programming Practitioner, I appreciated this one from guy-sports.com

A linguistics professor was lecturing his class one day.

'In English', he said, 'A double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative.'

A loud voice from the back of the room piped up, 'Yeah, right!'

image from Amazon.co.uk

Tomato Wisdom | THG's Blog

From my friend, Tracy's blog

Three tomatoes are walking down the road. A mummy tomato, daddy tomato and a baby tomato. Baby tomato falls behind so daddy tomato huffs and puffs and calls ketch-up to baby tomato... (Source: 'Pulp Fiction')

That’s Cool?

 

Cool videos

boomclips.com

Minding Fear

“I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear”

~ Rosa Parks

source brainyquote.com and bbc.co.uk

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005)

African American civil rights activist - referred to as "the first lady of civil rights" by the U.S. Congress.

In 1955 Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white woman, as ordered by the driver, James Blake.

Although she was not the first African American woman to refuse to give up her seat, her action sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and became an important symbol of the modern Civil Rights Movement, in the U.S.

She became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation and organized and collaborated with civil rights leaders, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. - She was party to his rise in the civil rights movement.

She later received many honours including the Congressional Gold Medal and a following her death, in 2005, a statue was placed in Washington DC

source wikipedia

Ian Dury - Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll

I recently watched a biography of Ian Dury and it all came flooding back:
……. Ian Dury, Chaz Jankel, The Blockheads.

Born Ian Robins Dury on 12 May 1942 in Harrow, he contracted Polio as a child and was classed as disabled and yet in 1981 , the International Year of Disabled Persons, Dury showed his disdain in his song “Spasticus Autisticus”. He thought it was patronising and unhelpful
He died at the age of 57 on 27th March, 2000.
He was a surprising and highly individual man having a musical style of his own somewhere between Rock and Roll, Punk, New Wave, Funk, Jazz, Good Old Cockney and all including his own unique poetry – usually adult.
Later in life he was a member of  the Royal Shakespeare Company – such was the depth of his talent
Chaz Jankel’s song ‘Ai No Corrida’  was covered by Quincy Jones, who had a smash hit with it. You can gather from this the talent. Chaz Jankels’s sister Annabel Jankel was the creator of ‘m-m-m-m  Max Headroom’

I came across Dury watching a Simulcast on BBC 2 television with BBC Radio 1. Television sound was Monaural but with Radio 1 producing Stereophonic sound. This was the time of his superb album “New Boot and Panties” – not for the faint hearted!!
1. Wake up and Make Love With Me (Dury/Jankel) - 4:21
2. Sweet Gene Vincent (Dury/Jankel) - 3:32
3. I'm Partial to Your Abracadabra (Dury/Jankel) - 3:12
4. My Old Man (Dury/Nugent) - 3:38
5. Billericay Dickie (Dury/Nugent) - 4:15
6. Clevor Trever (Dury/Jankel) - 4:53
7. Is I Was With a Woman (Dury/Jankel) - 3:23
8. Blockheads (Dury/Jankel) - 3:30
9. Plaistow Patricia (Dury/Nugent) - 4:12
10. Blackmail Man (Dury/Nugent) - 2:14
11. Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll [#] (Dury/Jankel) - 3:12
12. Razzle in My Pocket [#] (Dury/Jankel) - 2:55
13. You're More Than Fair [#] (Dury/Hardy) - 2:58
14. England's Glory [live/#] (Dury/Melvin) - 3:27
15. What a Waste! [#] (Dury/Gallagher/Turnbull/Watt-Roy/Charles/Melvin) - 3:26
This album contained tracks like “Billericay Dicky” about  the explicit love life of  Billericay Dicky. …. # Had a love affair with Nina in the back of my Cortina (Ford) ….#
and yet despite all this he and the Blockheads had extraordinary talent and produced extraordinary lyrics:

“Einstein can't be classed as witless.
He claimed atoms were the littlest
When you did a bit of splittin'-ness
Frightened everybody ****less”

~ from There ain't half been some clever ***tards

Wonderfull stuff!
(very naughty but nice)

source AyPee, clashmusic.com,  wikipedia.org .iandury.co.uk, amazon.co.uk

Driving Confucius | Quotescoop.com

Shamelessly taken from inspirational-quotes-short-funny-stuff.com

Confucius say: Man who run in front of car get tired

Confucius say: Man who run behind car get exhausted

Confucius say: Man who drive like hell, bound to get there!

Confucius say: Man who get hit by car, get that run down feeling

sources chinadigitaltimes.net and Quotescoop.com

Valentines Day

It’s Valentine's Day and I cannot believe that I have never blogged about Valentines Day.

Isn’t this the day when you pluck up courage to send a subtle suggestion to a someone you fancy but haven’t had the courage to tell them directly

BUT

for some unknown reason you have to be anonymous?

So I thought you should have guess what I was going to say and who wrote this post.

Happy Valentines Day!

image baskug.blogspot.com

After tomato wisdom there is the joke… | THG's Blog

From my friend, Tracy's blog

Three tomatoes are walking down the road. A mummy tomato, daddy tomato and a baby tomato. Baby tomato falls behind so daddy tomato huffs and puffs and calls ketch-up to baby tomato... (Source: 'Pulp Fiction')

Universal decisions

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen” 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
American philosopher, lecturer, poet, and essayist

source quotescoop.com

Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) is best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement. He expressed the philosophy of Transcendentalism in his 1836 essay, Nature.
Emerson was considered one of the great lecturers of his time. He had enthusiasm and respected his audience
In 1837, he gave a speech entitled The American Scholar, considered by  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. to be America’s “Intellectual Declaration of Independence”. He was seen as a champion of individualism and expressed his thinking through dozens of essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the U.S.
Most of his important essays started life as lectures.  His first two collections of essays – Essays: First Series , were published in 1841 and Essays: Second Series in 1844.

source wikipedia

Kodachrome | When I look back

Mashable carried an article on 30th December, 2010 reporting that Kodachrome had been discontinued by it’s manufacturers Kodak.

No surprise really as Digital cameras are so dominant!

BUT, for me it reminded of a time in 1973, when I spent a weekend, with my wife, decorating a house that we had bought ready to move into, in the September.

We had taken a break, gone to town and I found a Compact Cassette of Paul Simon’s "There Goes Rhymin' Simon" which I duly purchased and played for the rest of the weekend.

The first track was Kodachrome and the lyrics unforgettable:

When I think back
on all the crap I learned in high school,
it's a wonder I can think at all
and though my lack of edu---cation
hasn't hurt me none
I can read the writing on the wall

Kodachrome:
They give us those nice bright colours.
They give us the greens of summers.
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah.
I got a Nikon camera.
I love to take a photograph,
so mama don't take my Kodachrome away

If you took all the girls I knew
when I was single
and brought them all together for one night.
I know they'd never match
my sweet imagination
and everything looks worse in black and white.

Kodachrome:
They give us those nice bright colours,
they give us the greens of summers
makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah.
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away

Words & music by Paul Simon

Kodachrome was introduced by Kodak in 1935 and was the first commercially successful colour film and my choice over the years that I used film.

When I look back ……….. fondly!

sources Mashable, Wikipedia and You Tube

A young farm couple

This joke was first published at flixya.com on June 21st, 2007

A young farm couple, Homer and Daisy, got married and just couldn't seem to get enough lovin'.
In the morning, before Homer left the house for the fields, they made love. When Homer came back from the fields, they made love. After supper, they made love. And again at bedtime, they made love.

The problem was their nooner: it took Homer a half hour to travel home and another half hour to return to the fields and he just wasn't getting enough work done.

Finally Homer asked the town doctor what to do. "Homer," said the doctor, "just take your rifle out to the fields with you and when you're in the mood, fire off a shot into the air. That will be Daisy's signal to come out to you. Then you won't lose any field time."

They tried Doc's advice and it worked well for a while until one day when Homer came back to the doctor's office. "What's wrong?" asked the Doc. "Didn't my idea work?" "Oh, it worked good," said Homer. "Whenever I was in the mood, I fired off a shot like you said and Daisy'd come runnin'. We'd find a secluded place, make love, and then she'd go back home agin."

"Good, Homer. So what's the problem?" asked the Doc. "Ah mighta trained her too good.

I ain't seen her since huntin' season started!"

source flixya.com and theclashblog.com

 

Night Wear

“What do I wear in bed? Why, Chanel No.5,
of course!”

~ Marilyn Monroe

I wear Issey Miyake myself!

Invictus | Unbeaten

Articles, Films, Poetry."Invictus" Latin for "unbeaten" is the name of a poem, written by British poet William Henley, in 1875 whilst in recovering hospital after having his foot amputated because of the tuberculosis he had suffered.

The poem figures in the 2009 film  Invictus , directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman, as Nelson Mandela.

During his incarceration, Mandela had used the poem to motivate himself and fellow prisoners and in the film, he gifts a handwritten copy to François Pienaar, the “Springboks” captain - The Springboks go on to win the Rugby World Cup, in 1995.

The poem  was also used in the film Casablanca, in 1942 and in Kings Row, in 1945.

 

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Whatever words you use to provide drive to your life, just get that you are here, now and that here and now, you are unbeaten

Stay Great BE Awesome

sources imdb.com and wikipedia.org

Groundhog Day 2nd February 2011

According to Wikipedia:

“Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United

LiveJournal Tags: Articles,Groundhog Day

States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a Groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter will soon end. If on the other hand, it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly "see its shadow" and retreat back into its burrow, and winter will continue for six more weeks. ^”

read more at http://en.wikipedia.org

The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and Groundhog Day is well known because of the 1993 film  Groundhog Day, set in Punxsutawney and featuring “Punxsutawney Phil”, a Groundhog who lives there.

There is also a “History of Groundhog Day at life123.com/holidays

 

 

Sources Wikipedia, Life123 and IMDB

META presents The Best of Bandler Amsterdam 2011

Receive a free copy of “How to live a happy life” when you attend the main event – Enter  ‘AP2011’ in  ‘your comments’  box when you book.

Matrix Essential Training Alliance (META)

promoting Dr. Richard Bandler & John La Valle in the UK
& now Europe for over a decade

“Doing Happiness”

New technologies for Human Excellence
Fri 13th May to Sun 15th May 2011
 NH Grand Krasnapolsky Hotel, Amsterdam

Based on his new book, Dr. Richard Bandler, co-founder of NLP, and co-trainer John La Valle take you through an exciting process whereby you learn to stop trying to be happy and start with doing
happiness …  More info
Book Now!

 

“An Evening with Dr. Richard Bandler”

Tuesday 10th May 2011
De Meervaart, Amsterdam

This evening is a unique opportunity to experience the genius of Dr Richard Bandler, the man who created the technologies of human happiness, NLP, DHE and NHR. Experience how he creates states of pleasure and bliss quickly and easily, through laughter and fun … More info
Book Now!

 

Dr RICHARD BANDLER, Co-founder of NLP and creator of DHE(tm) and NHR(tm), has always been and remains at the very forefront of new technologies.
For the past thirty years, Richard has dedicated himself to developing new ideas tools, techniques and models for the advancement of human evolution. His genius as a trainer is world renowned.

Thousands of people provide testimony to his ability to help them to live their lives with greater happiness and freedom.
He teaches with humour and joy and continues to care enough to share his newest discoveries with us.

JOHN LA VALLE is the president of the Society of NLP and co-trains with Richard around the world. He is an international trainer and consultant, Advanced Master Trainer of NLP. He has been training people the Business world for the past 17 years. Few people in Europe have had the opportunity to train with John, he is a world leader in his field and fantastic to work with.

Together John and Richard work magic. To learn from the best come with us to the source.
We believe that John and Richard provide the best training programmes anywhere in the world right now

KATE BENSON founded META in 1999. Kate is the International Director of Education  for the Society of NLP and a Licenced Master Trainer of NLP. She works closely with Dr Richard Bandler promoting his work.
Kate is a nationally recognised trainer in the Education Sector. As a Director of Matrix she is responsible for developing and delivering a wide range of courses focusing on communications, interpersonal skills and support for students and staff.

"Kate Benson is an expert in applying NLP in the education sector. She is thoroughly organised, highly skilled and the love for what she teaches comes across in her presentations. I guarantee you will have a thoroughly enjoyable experience." ~ Richard Bandler

John Barry dies - Diamonds are forever

Fond memories of a great composer

Amplify’d from www.walesonline.co.uk

Dame Shirley Bassey leads tributes to Bond composer John Barry Western Mail Feb 1 2011 5Share Add a comment Recommend (3) DAME Shirley Bassey last night led tributes to the Oscar-winning composer John Barry, who has died at the age of 77. Barry, who grew up in York, wrote scores for films including The Ipcress File, Zulu and Midnight Cowboy but is best known for his long association with the James Bond films. Last night, Dame Shirley, who lent her voice to some of his most famous compositions, said: “I was very sad to hear of the death of my old friend John Barry, who was responsible for me singing the Bond songs Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever and Moonraker. He most recently wrote a song for my latest CD The Performance – it was a beautiful ballad, Our Time Is Now. “The world has lost a most gifted man. My thoughts and my prayers are with his family.” Lyricist Don Black, who co-wrote songs including Born Free and Diamonds Are Forever with Barry, said success never changed him and hailed him as “a wonderful talent”. Sir Tim Rice, who collaborated with Barry on the theme to the 1983 Bond film Octopussy, said he was “a magnificent figure”. Barry was born into a showbusiness family – his mother played the piano and his father owned a string of cinemas. He credited his early days helping out in the family business as the inspiration for his love of the cinema. He was made an OBE and was awarded a Bafta fellowship in 2005 in recognition of his work. Barry’s arrangement of Monty Norman’s James Bond theme made his name and he wrote songs for many of the suave spy’s adventures. His style, complete with lush strings and grand orchestral movements, was instantly recognisable and influenced stars including Robbie Williams, whose 1998 number one hit Millennium was inspired by the theme to You Only Live Twice. Black said: “I think I knew him as well as anyone in the world. We were best friends for a long time, since the early Sixties. “The thing about John that I will always remember was he never changed. “He was very much the Yorkshireman whether he was in Beverly Hills or Manhattan. “He lived in Oyster Bay, New York, for 30 or 40 years but you would never know it. There was no trace of America about him, he brought York to New York. “He had a wonderful talent and gave me my start with Thunderball. When he played you a melody it was like an unveiling. You didn’t question it because you knew he had been up all night working on it and getting it right.” Fellow composer David Arnold, who took over Bond music duties from Barry, said he had “an extraordinary gift”. Read more at www.walesonline.co.uk

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/dTsaew