Thursday, October 14

Aye yai yai...




Looks like Hermione is all grown up!

Tuesday, October 12

I got my divider swash back, yay.

I uploaded it to my Picasa account and changed the template HTML to grab it directly from there. No more Photobucket complaints in the future.

Elf Girl by Dashinvaine

Years.




Time is too slow for those who wait,
too swift for those who fear,
too long for those who grieve,
too short for those who rejoice.
But for those who love — time is eternity.

~ Henry Van Dyke ~


Morrissey, "Jack The Ripper"




Oh, you look so tired
Mouth slack and wide
Ill-housed and ill-advised
Your face is as mean
As your life has been

Crash into my arms
I want you
You don't agree
But you don't refuse
I know you

And I know a place
Where no one is likely to pass
Oh, and you don't care if it's late
And you don't care if you're lost

And oh, you look so tired
But tonight you presume too much
Too much, too much
And if it's the last thing I ever do
I'm gonna get you

Crash into my arms
I want you
You don't agree
But you don't refuse
I know you

And no one knows a thing about my life
I can come and go as I please
And if I want to, I can stay
Oh, or if I want to, I can leave
Nobody knows me
Nobody knows me
Nobody knows me
Nobody knows me


Monday, October 11

Morrissey - My Life is a Succession of People Saying Goodbye



One of his more luscious B-sides. I'll bet a collection of his obscure B-sides would beat his pop-oriented A-sides hands down. Well, in my opinion anyway. Which is the only one which really counts on my blog.

Sunday, October 10

Happy Binary Day everyone.

Today is 10/10/10, or 101010.

Which is binary for our decimal number 42.

Which just so happens to be the answer to life.

Google it if you don't believe me!

=)

Saturday, October 9

Down at the petting zoo...


Don't be fooled!
The goats bite.


One of Morrissey's best videos in quite awhile, IMO...



The video is what I'm talking about, mind you. He's had some rubbish videos in recent years, maybe because he doesn't regard the music video as much of an art form. He's said as much in many interviews. He thinks it's too subservient to the needs of the music (time constraints and all that) - though of course he loves film. And presumably film/music projects like Björk or Sigur Rós have done, where it's all of a piece, though I haven't heard him comment on that sort of thing per se.

The song is nice too though, I quite like it. It was a "B" side from a couple years ago that he was fond of playing live... It's the slightly edgier Moz sound (you can tell he lived a decade in Los Angeles), which is nice to hear now and then. I know I nearly always lean toward the weepy ones... What can I say but "save me..."

Thursday, October 7

Purple Flowers, by unknown.

Jo Hamilton, "Alive, Alive" - Thanks again to Rachel!



The song was played and recorded live, believe it or not, with Jo using an AirPiano to make the sounds! Crazy.

More Hawley... "Coles Corner"

National Geographic animal quizzes.



On National Geographic's website there are some short quizzes about common animals. You can find them HERE.

Here's how I did on the ones I took. Not bad, not great.

Cats: 9/10
Backyard Bird: 8/10
Big Cats: 9/10
Dogs: 6/10
Endangered Animals: 7/10
Lions: 9/10
Monkeys: 8/10
Sea Turtles: 8/10
Tigers: 8/8

How will you do? You can report your scores but don't have to. It's just for fun.

Dead Can Dance, "Yulunga"



Dead Can Dance - "Song of the Stars" (fan-made video)



Vocals by Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard in English and Algonquin.

Wednesday, October 6

Richard Hawley, "For Your Lover, Give Some Time" — a great big Thank You! to Rachel for introducing me to his music.

I found this on the web. It's interesting.

The 12 Best Things About Being Mentally Ill

It’s an odd title I know. What can possibly be good about mental illness? Well, nothing when you’re in the depths of despair. But there can be great benefits from having an illness, including a mental illness. These are the ones I’ve found in my life.
Slow.
I’ve slowed down a lot. I stopped wearing a watch a couple of years ago and haven’t missed it once. If someone asks me the time I take a guess, and I’m always within 10 or 15 minutes of the correct answer. If I’m 10 or 15 minutes late for the doctor, it doesn’t matter. He works to the same system anyway.
No.
I’ve learned how to say no. If you are good at something, like work, then people will ask you to do more. It builds up over time. I’ve learnt to say no. I can’t. I’m mentally ill. Sorry.
Simple.
I don’t worry about what I’m going to wear. I don’t have to keep track of my clothes cycle for work. I don’t care what I’m going to eat for dinner, whether I need a bigger television, if I can buy a half-decent car or what people think of my extra 30 pounds of insulation. If I didn’t have depression these things would still consume me.
Thanks.
It’s been tricky but I’ve learned to be thankful for what I have, not what I don’t have. It keeps things in the right perspective.
Time.
I now spend more time on things that are important to me. Example – I have great relationships with my kids. Time with them is invaluable. Unfortunately most Dads don’t spend more than a few minutes a day giving their kids undivided attention. Depression is a good wake-up call.
Perspective.
I’ve developed a much bigger picture of things and learned to keep the small things in perspective. This has been necessary because of depression.
Health.
I take my physical health much more seriously than I used to because of my illness. If I can just get exercise to fall into place!
Marriage.
My marriage is far stronger today than it would ever have been if I didn’t have bipolar. I read recently that 90% of marriages with one partner having bipolar end in divorce. If that statistic is even close to right then it is truly tragic. My wife had plenty of reasons to leave me for years, but she stayed true to her vows even though she didn’t understand what was wrong with me. (I write that with a touch of trepidation. I know that many don’t have good support and I can’t imagine how hard it is.)
Friends.
I’ve always been very open about having a mental illness, and I’ve actually never felt the stigma. When I converted to Christianity about 15 years ago I lost half my good friends who had a problem with it. Since I’ve been telling people that I have bipolar I’ve gained at least the same number of friends. Go figure!
Others.
The best thing about having any illness must be the ability to empathize and help others.
Speak.
I was once very guarded with what I said, often checking myself from saying anything that could offend or impact someone’s view of me. I’ve really lightened up and feel liberated. I’m rarely inappropriate, but if I am, as far as I can tell nobody really cares. (“Mmmm, James is a bit up today.”)
Character.
In the Bible, in Romans 5:3-4 it says:
“we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Concern.
Being engaged with the world is good. I think a lot more deeply about things like inequality, poverty, the environment and mental illness. Unfortunately being more concerned means I feel more let down by those in power who continually fail us.
Laugh.
Life is absurd. My life is absurd. I’ve learned to laugh more at both.
Service.
We have friends who always have a very, very messy house. 3 young girls, great imaginations, a lot of dress-up clothes, craft, renovations, and you know the rest. They frequently invite other families over for lunches and dinners, and have long joked that it’s a service to the parents, to make them feel better about the state of their own houses.
Then I found this in another blog:
“When you’re mentally ill you are constantly doing social work just by existing. I realize that often, when you’re crazy you actually need social services for yourself, but just by talking about yourself to people who aren’t feeling that great about themselves, you are able to instantly make them feel glad they aren’t you. That’s a great service to offer.”
Finally.
I took part in a pilot educational program a few years ago for people with bipolar. It was spread over 6 weeks for 3 or 4 hours a week. Before then I had never met anyone with bipolar, so it was strange getting to know 20 other people with the same illness. Strange because they were all very normal people!
On one night a guest speaker talked about her bipolar illness, describing some of the joys and benefits that she’d experienced. At the end of the talk she said that given her life again she would have bipolar again. A couple of people were very offended. For the rest of us it gave food for thought. I’ve been chewing on that one ever since.


If you find this interesting too, check out these links to various parts of the site. You won't regret it!


http://www.findingoptimism.com/
http://www.findingoptimism.com/blog/depression/how-to-support-someone-with-depression/
http://www.findingoptimism.com/blog/relationships/snap-out-of-it/


Thank you for taking the time to read this, or at least look it over.

Note.

The annoying "Upgrade to Pro today" message ought to be gone soon. It's the little swooshy page dividers that are causing the problem. The host of that graphic is not paying their bill with Photobucket. At least I know the problem now, and it should be fixable by simply transferring the graphic to my Picasa account. The original swash was "copylefted" and designated as free for use on noncommercial sites, which mine is. But the account hosting it is not being reliably paid for by the owner of it (or is running into a traffic overflow issue - he's running out of bandwidth before his three months are up, for example). I suppose the best way to do anything is by oneself. Isn't it always that way? *Sigh* I'll transfer it over to my own photo/graphics host as soon as I get a bit of time. Should be very easy... Thanks for putting up with it in the meantime.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, "Brompton Oratory"




Brompton Oratory

Up those stone steps I climb
Hail this joyful day's return
Into its great shadowed vault I go
Hail the Pentecostal morn

The reading is from Luke 24
Where Christ returns to his loved ones
I look at the stone apostles
Think that it's alright for some

And I wish that I was made of stone
So that I would not have to see
A beauty impossible to define
A beauty impossible to believe

A beauty impossible to endure
The blood imparted in little sips
The smell of you still on my hands
As I bring the cup up to my lips

And no God up in the sky
And no devil beneath the sea
Could do the job that you did, baby
Of bringing me to my knees

Outside I sit on the stone steps
With nothing much to do
Forlorn and exhausted, baby
By the absence of you

Music: Enigma, "I Love You, I'll Kill You" ; Video: Clips from "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (sorry for the low resolution).

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