Rose Gardens

Lynn, you put it better than I ever could: 

I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.
Along with the sunshine, 
There's gotta be a little rain sometimes.

When you take, you gotta give, so live and let live, 

Or let go.

I beg your pardon,

I never promised you a rose garden.

I could promise you things like big diamond rings,

But you don't find roses growin' on stalks of clover.

So you better think it over.

Well, if sweet-talkin' you could make it come true,

I would give you the world right now on a silver platter,

But what would it matter?

So smile for a while and let's be jolly:

Love shouldn't be so melancholy.

Come along and share the good times while we can.

I beg your pardon,

I never promised you a rose garden.

Along with the sunshine, 

There's gotta be a little rain sometimes.

I beg your pardon,

I never promised you a rose garden.

I could sing you a tune or promise you the moon,

But if that's what it takes to hold you,

I'd just as soon let you go, but there's one thing I want you to know.

You better look before you leap, still waters run deep,

And there won't always be someone there to pull you out,

And you know what I'm talkin' about.

So smile for a while and let's be jolly:

Love shouldn't be so melancholy.

Come along and share the good times while we can.

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the original song:
ROSE GARDEN by LYNN ANDERSON

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fast forward a few decades to Shad's cover:

ROSE GARDEN by  http://www.shadk.com/

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 the original video (one of my all time favorites), directed by Spike Jonze http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spike_Jonze:

DROP by THE PHARCYDE

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I hope you enjoyed this train of thought, this Shad sandwich, this rambling rose...

Adversity, my new friend.

Thoughts being forged from the hell of quitting smoking:

- sympathy and support are two of the greatest things a human can give or receive.

- empathy is a myth. If you haven't experienced it yourself, sshhh...

- your romantic partner is NOT your therapist. They WILL mistake your fears for complaints. 

- nicotine is a powerful drug. This is NOT a psychosomatic experience, it's chemical warfare!

- everyone limps through life on their own personalized crutches.

- adversity breeds success, unique ability, invention, creativity, power! and much, much more. It sparks ideas and flexes muscles. Michael Jordan was cut from the basketball team in his sophomore year, Joni Mitchell had polio as a child, so did my man Arthur C. Clarke, so did this guy:                                                                                      

Bboy Junior + one weak little leg.
One weak little leg + lust for (life+music+dance) + practice = one massive upper body.        

One massive upper body +  a slightly altered centre of gravity = FRESH NEW STYLE!

Adversity gives birth to story... no one wants to hear about the awesome guy who had it awesome his whole life. 

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Today, Kipling's poem reads like a list of personal failures, but I still find it motivating.

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you

But make allowance for their doubting too,

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,

If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much,

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!

–Rudyard Kipling

National Parks of Canada

13 Parks

39 Musicians 

13 Film Makers

http://www.nationalparksproject.ca/

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Here's a few photos I've taken over the years of this great, big, beautiful country:

Ontario

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Ontario

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Ontario

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Saskatchewan

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Quebec

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Quebec

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 Quebec

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Quebec
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 Alberta

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Alberta

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One of my favorite musicians/lyricists (www.shadk.com) will be showcased this Saturday (March 26) @ 8 pm on Discovery World.

Warning! If you want to stay mad or sad, you best run away.

My incredible family withstanding, the best relationship I've ever had is with my cigarettes (first 10 years - Benson and Hedges Ultra-Light Menthols, last 5 years - Belmont Milds). They've been through everything with me. They will be missed, but it's time for them to go...
Needless to say, I'm a wreck. Let's watch a couple uplifting videos.

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Georgia Anne Muldrow, Run Away 

"I feel like I'm running, not away

But to take off and fly

Using this life as a runway."

I, too, was born to be a heard song.

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Jamie Lidell, Another Day

(another way)

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To quote a co-worker, "Quitting smoking is a %#@*ing war. There will be so many different battles, and some you will probably lose, but you have to keep on fighting!" 

If anyone out there has advice or needs support, please contact me... 

Photos: Two Dogs and a Van

Fun with editing! Featuring two great dogs and a van. (photo mods by me, van mods by Grandpa V. sometime in the late 70's)

Me and Howie

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Howie

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Howie's Insides

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 Dream Team

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 Buffy, Queen Goof

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 Waiting

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 Playing in the Snow.
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 Hunting in the Snow.

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Each One, Teach One

I love the idea of tackling almost certain failure; knowing you're going to suck at something, but doing it anyway. I also love the idea of mashing unlikely skill sets together.

Two great MJ's get together and teach each other their craft - humbly, amusedly making fools of themselves in the process. So good!

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Also, I'm sure Michael Jackson would have wanted me to mention:

loving and respecting one another

the power of teaching and practice

*rip*

Inflatable Bag Monsters!

What is art? 
What a garish, impossibly obtuse question.

Here's my opinion. (for today at least)
Art is something that conjures up the past, makes the present magical, or illuminates future ideas. 

Joshua Allen Harris manages to do all three of these things with his Inflatable Bag Monsters. Enjoy!

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Keep Shining

International Women's Day

My thanks to Shad for showing respect:

Three and a half minutes of nonsexualized ladies makes for a lovely video. If Shad were the norm, if women respected themselves as much as he does, oh! what a powerful people we would be.

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Thank you, www.pedter.com, for seeing the world through human eyes first, and gender second. It is a pleasure to work with you.

Honouring Our Women, photo by Peter Onys
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Mother of the Revolution. She endured genital mutilation as a child, and went on to become a medical doctor, psychiatrist, revolutionary author, political prisoner, and champion of equality. Now in her eighties, she has been an integral part of the recent political uprising in Egypt.

Nawal El-Saadawi. Hero, rebel, fighter.

Here's a great article/interview from the Spectator:

http://www.spectator.co.uk/essays/6684838/mother-of-the-revolution.thtml

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Mamas, show this to your daughters:

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let not my romance be too serious

The blogger bandwagon didn't pick me up until just recently. Had I been around for Valentine's Day, my post would've gone up something like this:

LOVE is a big, tough, essential thing. Romantic love is LOVE's idea of a fantastical, fun, side project.

T-Pain best illustrates my point in what is one of my all time favorite music videos. (no joke). Such whimsy... a twinkly-sounding, star-dusted circus ride:

Roots Manuva spends much of his time with the weight of the world on his mind. His lyrics often discuss rage, violence, drug abuse, politics, equality... heavy stuff. Then he'll flip the script and make you laugh! and that's why I like him. Two thoughts on the video: 1) I think the couch shots are pretty incongruous...    2) wedding dress/pantsuit!? so freakin awesome.

You got me up.

A beautiful little video. Since I was talking about 'getting up, getting out' yesterday, I will ask Jamie Lidell to lengthen the string of thought. He's right - cats know how to get a day started.

music to motivate

If you've ever  suffered from depression, you can attest to how much energy it takes. In fact, the hardest part of breaking out of a funk is getting off your a**. Literally.

Here are two songs that have been instrumental in getting me on my feet time and time again:

First, an oldie! Outkast, Git Up Git Out (featuring Goodie Mob). 

"you need to git up, git out, and git something

don't let the days of your life pass by.

you need to git up, git out, and git something

don't spend all your time trying to get high.

you need to git up, git out, and git something

how will you make it if you never even try?

you need to git up, git out, and git something

'cause you and I got to do for you and I."

I feel strongly reprimanded, yet strangely, positively motivated. 

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Next, a new favorite of mine. Musinah, Construction.

The quote at the beginning of the video reads, "Individual ideas, like breaths, are waiting to be drawn from unlimited supply." Now that's motivation for a freak!

 Muhsinah does not reprimand, she sets the bar. She is comfort, encouragement and inspiration to get out there and get er done.

I hope this helps the next time y'all need help getting up...

What does it take to satiate?

As a human, my appetite mirrors and exceeds whatever is readily available for my consumption. I pass through life - mouth open - munching noisily on the conveniences of the day, marching to a lavish, exclusive, first-world beat. Here is a soldier in a battle against such oblivion:

What does it take to satiate? Well, satellites in space, for one.
Being grateful is great, being aware of what you have to be grateful for is better.

On my plate for mental feasting today:
1) The instant gratification I expect/demand/insist on from my food, comforts, environment, and those around me.
    a) *note to self* wikipedia electricity
2) What I take for granted.
    a) learn to take note of the people and things I consume everyday in my blind quest for satiation.

I will now spend my day trying to catch myself in the act of oversight!