No B Side

As an observer of all things going on around me, it appears that the media has lost the fact there there is a B side to all that is going on in the world right now. 

Let me clarify. "B Side" is a music industry term that originates from when record labels release 45s. One song on each side. and A side (Which was supposed to be the hit song) and a B side which featured another song on the album that was good but not being considered as an A side single.  So, you played the A side song and the B side may NEVER get heard. 

Funny thing, though, sometimes people want to know what's on the B side. And occasionally, a B side song is a hit.  Maybe a DJ at a radio station played it by mistake. It's happened many time in the course of music history. Google "B SIDE HITS" and you will be surprised at what songs charted that were never supposed to be hits.  
Now, in the world of CDs and MP3, and streaming services, the B side is not a factor anymore and we now hear the Chart Cut and it's all we ever hear. (Listen to XM radio and tell me what the repeat rotation is) I was a radio DJ for many years. My luck was that they never made me follow the national rotation, and I was allowed to play what I wanted.  So, I mixed it up a lot and played songs that you didn't hear a lot, but everyone remembered. The songs you don't hear anymore."

I have a point to all this. Really.  It has to do with the news media. 

We are in a time of great division. It is not the first time, and it will not be the last time.  I don't choose sides, I observe what I perceive to be only A Side information.  All the media seems to thrive on is the anger and the negative energy that is spewed forth by people who don't or won't accept the current world and political situation. 
You see riots, and angry mobs, celebs who think they have the voice and ear of the people. And it's only so because the news media shoves it into your face and surrounds you with this hate and anger. All for ratings.  Bear with me. If  you are watching the news and there is rioting in the streets, and cars being set on fire, and you switch to the other news channel and see some warm and fuzzy story about happy people doing good things, do you shake your head and go back to the riots and anger because it's "more interesting?"  It's like listening to the first 10 seconds of a B side single and deciding that the A side song is better because that's what the record company has chosen to give you. It's what the networks chose to broadcast because they know that you will watch. 

I want to see the B side to all this hate and discontent. Show me the good. There is good in everything. It's the Yin and the Yang. You can not have one without the other.  Problem is, we are only looking at the Yang. We need a little more Yin I think.

I used to counsel teens. At the beginning of a group session, which I KNEW was going to be all about bitching about their parents and their life, as teens are prone to, I would go around the room and tell them to give me a HAPPY before we started. It had to be thought out . Not "I'm happy to be here...or I'm happy the 49ers won the Superbowl. (It was a long time ago) It had to be a genuine, happy feeling. It was hard for them. They were so programmed to be negative that it was beyond them to think that they had anything at all going for them. But.. they managed in the end to come up with something thought provoking. 

We have a higher power of some sort watching over us. I believe that.  Sometimes we just need to turn off the constant A side and flip to the B side and see what is there. It might be a better song. 

Have a great day.

Election is over, let's talk FOOD!

Election is over! (YAY) and we have a President Trump.  Cheer if you like, Swear if you're pissed.  Let's talk about Thanksgiving Dinner.

This year, we are doing T-day a week or so earlier with relatives coming to town.  As I am on the low carb / very little sugar diet, Holidays are going to be a bit different for me this year. First off, I have to stay away from the thing I wait all year for. My Martinelli's sparkling Cranberry/Apple juice. LOADED with sugars. 

My inspiration is that I have dropped 23 pounds in about 6 weeks by doing nothing more than cutting out 90% of carbs and sugars.  I DO feel better, and losing the weight has made it easier to RUN away from all those no no foods that tend to make me rounder. 

I still allow myself a little dark chocolate every day and some carbs.  But I have leaned that I do not have to eat the WHOLE loaf of french bread or the entire 1/4 pound chocolate bar.  

So, for Thanksgiving this year it's non hormone fed turkey, cornbread stuffing, (Half a serving for me) Green Beans and a bit of cranberry. Easy on the gravy as it FAT FAT FAT, and and some organic mashed potato (half my usual amount).

To drink, I have gone to Club Soda and lime. Refreshing and bubbly.

Where people get slammed dieting during the holidays, is, of course, candies and cakes and pies and ice cream, and of course alcohol.  (The 5 Holiday food groups).  My weakness being the baked goods. I don't drink, so I don't pour on the sugar there.  (Alcohol turns to sugar the minute it passes your teeth). I have given up doing the score card...you know,  If I don't have this, I can have this...does not work, because you have no willpower.  That is the key. Step away from the table.  Here is my challenge. Today, I weigh 223.7 pounds (from about 246 6 weeks ago). My goal through the holidays is not so much to lose a whole lot more, (That would be nice, but it's a lot of pressure) but to maintain where I am and not gain. I will occasionally end a blog with today's weight. But I will not make blogs here  about what I am eating...what a bore. Join me in the challenge. What the hell? 

Here is something my wife told me that has helped a lot. Your divine beings watching over you take you literally when you say stuff. Being your spiritual guardians, they try to help you. So if you say "I have lost XX pounds on this diet," they will find the weight you lost and give it back to you. Instead, think of it as Releasing the weight instead of losing it.  A simple mind thing, but hey, it works. 

Please become a follower.  Thanks! Have a great day!

I Think (Part 2)

I THINK

What consumes your mind controls your life.

You should stop looking for happiness in the exact place you lost it

It's scary what a smile can hide.

The smarter you get, the less you speak.

The secret of having it all is believing that you already do.

You can still be a good person with a kind heart and still say "no".

You have two ears and one mouth for a reason.

Silence is an answer too.

Falling down is an accident. Staying down is a choice.

When nothing goes right, turn left.

Creativity is intelligence having fun.

Nothing haunts us like what we did NOT say.

The past is a place of reference, not a place of residence. 

Have a Great Day

The Eskimo

So, A guy walks into a bar in Anchorage, Alaska.  He sits down and orders a Beer.  To his right is a sad looking man drowning his sorrows.  To his left is a preacher. (Don't ask me why there is a preacher sitting at the bar...just roll with it). He chuckles a bit and says to the preacher, "I don't believe in your God."  Unfazed, the preacher smiles and asks why?

The guy tell him a story...

"I was flying across the Tundra in a small plane, and we had to force a landing in the middle of nowhere. The pilot was ejected and died.  I was stuck in the middle of a vast land. It was at least 4 or 5 day walk to anywhere that I knew of, and I had no food or water after using up whatever snacks and stuff there was on the plane. After sitting there for 2 days I figured I would pray to God to rescue me.  I walked all day praying and praying, but nothing. No answer to my prayer...So I am convinced that your God does not exist."

The preacher smiled a bit, and said, "Surely you must believe. You are here, and alive and able to tell me this story."

The man scoffed a bit and said, "Naw, out of nowhere some Eskimo showed up and rescued me."

Never overlook your eskimos.  They are everywhere.  You just have to be aware of them. And all you have to do is ask. You are surrounded by beings of light. It's up to you to recognize them.

1st world problems (Part 1)

I was at the store the other day, and I heard a customer complaining to the manager that they had run out of her favorite flavor of vitamine enriched, super duper, mineral enhanced, pure reverse osmosis, power, smart God know what else WATER.  And she was PISSED about this.  The manager was polite, and reminded her that there were dozens of different bottled waters on the shelf, and perhaps until they could get her brand in, that she might choose a different flavor.  She came unhinged and told him, (Get ready now) "No, that won't do. That is the only water I can drink."  (UH, it's water...ok?) Now granted. Not all bottled water is created equal, and I am a bit of a water snob. I like Fiji, and Voss.  But you know what? I will drink it all, even from the tap if I am thirsty. And I won't throw a fit.  There are people in the world that would give anything to have clean bottled water, and it does not matter what the label says.  First World Problem.

Oh, here is another first world problem.  I sell cars. Once in a while, I get a parent in buying a first car for their kid.  The only thing the kid needs to do is shut up and drive the car that Mom and Dad are buying for them.  Many of them have a budget that I try to maintain for them.  Some of the objections I get from the kids..."I don't like the color, it looks like a grandma car, it's too old, the stereo sucks, my friend has one of these and I don't want to drive the same car she drives. I want a third row to carry all my friends in..." and my PERSONAL favorite...."I cant drive a car without power windows..." Can't? Holy crap, kid. Take the bus and save your parent's the money.  1st world problem.

Problem getting your hands on the new iphone? (1st world problem)
Your manicurist is on vacation? (1st world problem)

You live in Jamaica and just lost everything to the worst hurricane ever to hit the island? No food, no Water? No doctors?  Well you get it.

3rd world problems affect lives.  1st world problem affect our comfort zone.  They are annoying, they are petty, and most of the time, they are not problems.  Go hang out in Haiti of a village in Africa. Good luck finding your mani-pedi there.

More to come