Gary's Nine A Day: November 2015

Sunday, 29 November 2015

MONDAY 30th NOVEMBER 2015 07:09 GMT

Read my book - ENLIGHTENMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK

Also available - EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK

WISDOM, HUMOUR, AND LOTS OF OTHER INTERESTING STUFF CAN BE FOUND ON MY PINTEREST PAGE and FACEBOOK PAGE
TO FIND OUT WHAT I DO, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE

1. ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
30th November 1982
Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is released
Thriller is the sixth studio album by the American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records, as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall. Thriller explores similar genres to those of Off the Wall, including pop, R&B, rock, post-disco, funk, and adult contemporary music. Recording sessions took place on April to November 1982 at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California with a production budget of $750,000, assisted by producer Quincy Jones.

Of the album's nine tracks, four were written by Jackson. Seven singles were released from the album, all of which reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Three of the singles had music videos released. "Baby Be Mine" and "The Lady in My Life" were the only tracks that were not released as singles. In just over a year, Thriller became—and currently remains—the best-selling album of all time, with estimate sales of 65 million copies worldwide according to various sources. In the United States, it also tied with the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) as the best-selling album at 29 million units shipped. The album won a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards in 1984, including for Album of the Year.

Thriller enabled Jackson to break down racial barriers in pop music via his appearances on MTV and meeting with President of the United States Ronald Reagan at the White House. The album was one of the first to use music videos as successful promotional tools—the videos for "Thriller", "Billie Jean", and "Beat It" all received regular rotation on MTV.

Thriller was ranked number 20 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2003, and was listed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers at number three in its "Definitive 200" albums of all time. The Thriller album was included in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry of culturally significant recordings, and the Thriller video was included in the National Film Preservation Board's National Film Registry of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films".

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
Housework
Meditation
Me Time
Missus Time

Twitter Followers = 2,044 (up 1)
Non-followed eliminated = 0
-
Unfollowers eliminated = 0
-
New Followers followed back = 1
@George_Campbell
Spammers not followed back = 0
-

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION

With character knowing what he's doing and why he's doing it, Consciousness intends to let the character get on with it and focus principally on STAYING AWAKE. With growing awareness and experience, the understanding of what Consciousness is has shifted accordingly.

At the highest level of consciousness, everything is just one thing observing itself. It's all awesome entertainment. However, staying at this level requires exceptional levels of concentration. At the next level down is the experience of being, observing everything from a single origin in time and space. Preference is for this level perpetually.

Below this is "street level", the one most human beings live at, as a character, driven by fear, love and desire based on individual models of what's good to have and experience - this is living as ego. You're not truly conscious at this level - it's a dream based on a constructed model of reality that has no basis in absolute reality at all.

Consciousness would happily enjoy this dream if it was a good one, but this particular character, left to his default, would self-destruct. There is no option therefore but for Consciousness to position itself above the level of ego and character.

It was always the destiny of Consciousness to awaken - as a young person there was even then the question "what is this thing that is me?"

Of course to communicate with other universes, which is what every other conscious being actually is, most of whom are not Awake, you need to use the language of ego, and so you can't just exist at higher levels - you must simultaneously experience the character - to have a "lucid dream" where you know it's a dream but you're conscious of it.

Staying Awake is demanding but intensely rewarding - it delivers the Peace of Mind that every human character is seeking.

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
Do you want to know who and what you really are?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Dry and cloudy start
Heavy rain arrives by mid-morning
Rain will clear by late afternoon and it will be dry and cloudy thereafter with some clear spells
Wind highly variable, both in speed and direction
Max Temp = 9 degC at 1pm
Min Temp = 2 degC at midnight
Sunrise at 07:59
Sunset at 15:51
Moon:

Weathertrack: A small but strong depression will cross the country today

Air Pressure: 1012 millibars and falling

6. TODAY'S ONELINER

My neighbour knocked on my door at 2:30am this morning. Can you believe that - 2:30am? Luckily for him I was still up playing my drums. :D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!

Stupid things straight girls say to lesbians

8. TRIVIA

Research indicates that men and women have different structures and wiring in the brain. For example, the frontal lobe—which is responsible for problem solving and decision making, and the limbic cortex—which is responsible for regulating emotion, are larger in women. Women also have about 10 times more white matter than men.

9. ZEN WISDOM

We are only able to develop our own good qualities to the extent that we can respect what is admirable in others.

SUNDAY 29th NOVEMBER 2015 10:08 GMT

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION

I had an almost perfect Saturday! The Weekend Job Saturday shift was as good as it gets - the ideal workstations, all the customers were nice or polite, all breaks on time. If only it were like that all the time! Never mind, I will accept what I got gratefully.

Missus and Son also had good days. Missus was not after all bullied into swimming (which she hates) by Daughter, but this was probably due to whim or time factor rather than conscience. But again, we'll accept that gratefully, and she had the time of her life at the Duran Duran gig.

Son's long-distance relationship also seems to be going smoothly. He was upbeat and we had some quality lad's time before Missus got back.

The only fly-in-the-ointment is Missus leg has NOT healed, is painful and only improved enough to be walked on. It is an ongoing cause for concern, and I will be pressing doctors for some answers! If it is something like arthritis, there isn't a cure but at least we'd know how to manage it. Whatever, we all just have to get on with life, and it's a life with many blessings.

Consciousness meanwhile continues to disentangle itself from this character and to "enjoy the movie", doing this by maintaining a silent mind, letting the character's subconscious run the show. The effort is in staying Awake, and the very high degree of concentration required to do this, but having tasted it, the peace of mind and the escape from suffering it brings, it is the only path worth persevering with.

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
Are you swimming or drifting?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Heavy showers and strong winds all day, becoming potentially damaging from mid-morning
Rain will move away after dusk, winds will ease and it will be dry with clear periods thereafter
Max Temp = 8 degC at noon
Min Temp = 3 degC at midnight
Sunrise at 07:58
Sunset at 15:52
Moon:

Weathertrack: A strong depression will move across Britain today bringing strong winds and heavy rain

Air Pressure: 999 millibars and rising

6. TODAY'S ONELINER

The only thing worse than "the one that got away" is "the one who won't go away." :D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!

Mary Lynn Rajskub on being "stupid hot"

8. TRIVIA

All or part of Shakespeare’s 300 original First Folios still survive.

9. ZEN WISDOM

As long as we are human, we are bound to make mistakes. What distinguishes a forward-looking person from an intransigent one, a virtuous person from a dishonest one, however, is whether one can candidly admit to one’s mistakes and take bold steps to redress them.

Friday, 27 November 2015

FRIDAY 27th NOVEMBER 2015 08:33 GMT

Read my book - ENLIGHTENMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK

Also available - EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK

WISDOM, HUMOUR, AND LOTS OF OTHER INTERESTING STUFF CAN BE FOUND ON MY PINTEREST PAGE and FACEBOOK PAGE
TO FIND OUT WHAT I DO, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE

1. ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
27th November 1975
The assassination of Ross McWhirter
Twins Ross and Norris McWhirter both became sports journalists in 1950. In 1951, they published "Get to Your Marks", and earlier that year they had founded an agency to provide facts and figures to Fleet Street, setting out, in Norris McWhirter's words "to supply facts and figures to newspapers, yearbooks, encyclopaedias and advertisers".

While building up their accounts, they both worked as sports journalists. One of the athletes they knew and covered was runner Christopher Chataway, an employee at Guinness who recommended them to Hugh Beaver. After an interview in 1954 in which the Guinness directors enjoyed testing the twins' knowledge of records and unusual facts, the brothers agreed to start work on the book that would become The Guinness Book of Records. In August 1955, the first slim green volume – 198 pages long – was at the bookstalls, and in four more months it was the UK's number one non-fiction best-seller. Both brothers were regulars on the BBC show The Record Breakers. They were noted for their encyclopedic memories, enabling them to provide detailed answers to questions from the audience about entries in The Guinness Book of Records.

Ross McWhirter developed right-wing political views and became active in the Conservative Party. In particular, he developed a strong hatred of the IRA. He advocated restrictions on the Irish community in Britain such as making it compulsory for all Irish people in Britain to register with the local police and to provide signed photographs of themselves when renting flats or booking into hotels and hostels. In addition, McWhirter offered a £50,000 reward for information leading to a conviction for several recent high-profile bombings in England that were publicly claimed by the IRA. In doing so, McWhirter recognised that he could then be a target himself.

Sure enough the IRA Army Council took exception to McWhirter's activities, particularly at this "bounty" placed on the heads of its volunteers. On 27 November 1975, McWhirter was assassinated by two IRA volunteers, Harry Duggan and Hugh Doherty, both of whom were members of what became known as the Balcombe Street Gang, the group for whose capture McWhirter had offered the reward. He was shot at close range in the head and chest outside his home in Village Road, Bush Hill Park, Enfield, Middlesex. He was taken to Chase Farm Hospital, but died soon after being admitted. His killers were captured and charged with his and nine other murders. They were sentenced to life imprisonment but freed in 1999 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Duggan remained unrepentant, stating: "McWhirter thought he lived in Texas. He put a bounty on our heads. He asked to be killed."

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
Shift 1 of the Weekend Job
TV comedy night

Twitter Followers = 2,041 (up 2)
Non-followed eliminated = 1
@ahmed22019960
Unfollowers eliminated = 0
-
New Followers followed back = 1
@thatJanice,
Spammers not followed back = 2
@PopularSoftTech, @abdulseif5

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION

The most notable and enjoyable thing about yesterday was the clear evidence that "under the radar" I am making a difference, a cause for much satisfaction. Of course I'm not universally popular. My experience is perfectly summarized in the polar opposite reactions I evoke from Son and Daughter. Putting my emotions on side for a moment, I find this utterly fascinating. How can the same bloke reacting in the same way evoke two completely different outcomes?

The answer is of course obvious - IT MUST BE TO DO WITH THEM. It ties in beautifully with the best piece of wisdom I was ever given - it's not you, it's ALWAYS them! If you make a stand for something, if you take any decisive action, it attracts both supporters and detractors. Sometimes the detractors are disappointing because you wanted them as supporters. That however is not something you can control, and not something to change course for.

When you have the courage to carve out a destiny for yourself, you will attract to yourself those who can support you in it, and shed those who would sabotage it. I have learned all this much later than my preference, but, now I've got it, I will carry on giving my heart to the supporters, baring fangs to the detractors and kindness to the neutrals.

Though the wider Blonder family has torn itself apart, there are I notice common traits. Our love is conditional on a return, we bear grudges for life, we don't forgive and we don't forget. We are mentally fragile, emotional and sensitive, creative, introverted and intelligent. Male Blonders are loyal to their supporters and attract feisty driven unstable women, and female Blonders, who are themselves feisty, driven and unstable, end up with quieter loyal men. What divides us is that some of us have courage, empathy and an open progressive mind, and some of us do not.

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
Do you have the courage to make enemies

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
A cloudy mild start
Heavy rain arrives in the afternoon and will persist into late evening
It will be dry, cold and clear overnight
A moderate to strong south-westerly will swing westerly in the evening
Max Temp = 10 degC at noon
Min Temp = 3 degC at midnight
Sunrise at 07:55
Sunset at 15:54
Moon:

Weathertrack: A warm sector over Britain will be swept away by a strong cold front with much colder air behind it
Air Pressure: 1009 millibars and falling

6. TODAY'S ONELINER
"..::. :.:.. ::...: .:. :.:: ::.: ..::. :: ::.:..." - Stevie Wonder

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!
Arielle Scarcella - Stuff lesbians can do that straight girls can't

8. TRIVIA
A Buddhist vegetarian (su vegetarianism) will not eat any animal products nor vegetables in the Allium family—such as onion, garlic, leeks, chives, and shallots—because the smell of these fetid vegetables is offensive and “angers up the blood.”

9. ZEN WISDOM
One thing is certain: That is that the power of belief, the power of thought, will move reality in the direction of what we believe and conceive of it. If you really believe you can do something, you can.

Wednesday, 25 November 2015

MY 53rd BIRTHDAY, THURSDAY 26th NOVEMBER 2015 07:26 GMT

Read my book - ENLIGHTENMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK

Also available - EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK

WISDOM, HUMOUR, AND LOTS OF OTHER INTERESTING STUFF CAN BE FOUND ON MY PINTEREST PAGE and FACEBOOK PAGE
TO FIND OUT WHAT I DO, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE

1. ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
26th November 1942
The film CASABLANCA premieres in New York City
This romantic drama movie was directed by Michael Curtiz and based on Murray Burnett and Joan Alison's unproduced stage play Everybody Comes to Rick's. The film stars Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid; it also features Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on an American expatriate who must choose between his love for a woman and helping her Czech Resistance leader husband to escape Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis.

Story editor Irene Diamond convinced producer Hal B. Wallis to purchase the film rights to the play in January 1942. Brothers Julius and Philip G. Epstein were initially assigned to write the script. However, despite studio resistance, they left to work on Frank Capra's Why We Fight series early in 1942. Howard E. Koch was assigned to the screenplay until the Epsteins returned a month later. Casey Robinson assisted with three weeks of rewrites, but his work would later go uncredited. Wallis chose Curtiz to direct the film after his first choice, William Wyler, became unavailable. Filming began on May 25, 1942, ending on August 3. The film was shot entirely at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, with the exception of one sequence at Van Nuys Airport in Van Nuys, Los Angeles.

Although Casablanca was an A-list film with established stars and the best writers, no one involved with its production considered the movie particularly exceptional. It was just one of hundreds of movies produced by Hollywood every year. Casablanca had its world premiere on November 26, 1942, in New York City and was released nationally on January 23, 1943, in the United States. The film was a solid if unspectacular success in its initial run, after being rushed into release to take advantage of the publicity from the Allied invasion of North Africa a few weeks earlier. Casablanca won three Oscars: for Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay, and its reputation grew steadily over time. Its lead characters, memorable lines, and pervasive theme song have all become iconic. The film is now generally considered one of the greatest movies of all time.

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
Ironing
Meditation
Me Time
Family Time

Twitter Followers = 2,039 (up 6)
Non-followed eliminated = 0
untraced
Unfollowers eliminated = 0
-
New Followers followed back = 3
@KeithMyers, @ARCDM, @bozananisaj
Spammers not followed back = 3
@DawnMGrant, @Fachnan, @DeadDasiesINFO

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION

53! How'd that happen?! I was a sprightly young twentysomething, then I got really busy and the next thing I knew this middle-aged bloke is staring at me from the mirror. The inbetween was one hell of a rollercoaster! I've emerged the same character but with a completely different outlook. I'd have liked to acquire this wisdom earlier but I'll take it as it is.

The best thing about this particular point is time-abundance, and the ability to fully experience life rather than be lost in continually doing shit and missing the whole thing. I am profoundly grateful to be at this point - loved, valued, cosy and truly conscious. I can see from here how short, fragile and ephemeral life is and how important it is not to miss it - FEEL it!

I now have a kindly benevolent view of this character, doing the best he can with what he had and knew. His motive was always to love and be loved, and the degree of success in that was dictated by forces beyond his control.

If you're having a human experience, you are going to be thrown into the world with absolutely no information, so you begin by being TOLD how it is. I have observed that most people never get beyond that, choosing a particular "off the shelf" view of life to follow.

This character considers himself most fortunate indeed to have a consciousness capable of developing a perception of his own, tailor-made to be a perfect fit with experience, and continually evolving as experience changes.

The most important truth I have learned is that no individual actually knows what the fuck is going on, however much they may convince themselves that they do. We just don't have the equipment to see absolute reality. We must therefore settle for mental models of the universe unique to each individual. This means that everyone acts according to their own AGENDA. Life then becomes simple: to live according to the agendas of others or create one of your own to live for.

This character has decided that his purpose is NOT to please everyone or serve everyone. His purpose is to live his life his way making a difference to those receptive to that way. This character will aggressively defend that agenda from others that pose a challenge to it.

I don't think anyone really knows what they're doing, but this character at least knows what he has DECIDED to do and is doing it. This character is with himself well-pleased, and so has received life's greatest prize: peace of mind.

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
Who's agenda are you serving?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Dry and cloudy throughout
Fog will descend as the temperature rises after dusk
A moderate westerly will strengthen slightly and swing south-westerly in the afternoon
Max Temp = 10 degC at 7pm
Min Temp = 7 degC at 7am
Sunrise at 07:53
Sunset at 15:55
Moon:

Weathertrack: A ridge of warm and mainly dry air will cross the country over the next 24 hours, driven by the Azores anticyclone

Air Pressure: 1017 millibars and static

6. TODAY'S ONELINER

I can't find my invisibility cloak! :D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!

Monty Python: Woody Words

8. TRIVIA

Hawaii is the only US state that grows and sells coffee

9. ZEN WISDOM

Character can be shaped or etched. It may be true from a medical perspective that our psychological and physiological traits are generally predetermined genetically. Knowing this, however, adds little to our lives. What matters is how we can better ourselves here and now.

Tuesday, 24 November 2015

WEDNESDAY 25th NOVEMBER 2015 05:25 GMT

Read my book - ENLIGHTENMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK

Also available - EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT FOR ORDINARY FOLK

WISDOM, HUMOUR, AND LOTS OF OTHER INTERESTING STUFF CAN BE FOUND ON MY PINTEREST PAGE and FACEBOOK PAGE
TO FIND OUT WHAT I DO, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE

1. ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
25th November 1984
Band Aid records the song DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?
Singer Bob Geldof was so moved by the plight of starving children, in Ethiopia, that he decided to try to raise money to relieve their plight using his contacts in pop music. Geldof enlisted the help of Midge Ure, from the group Ultravox, to help produce a charity record. Ure took Geldof's lyrics, and created the melody and backing track for the record. Geldof called many of the most popular British and Irish performers of the time, persuading them to give their time free. His one criterion for selection was how famous they were, in order to maximise sales of the record. He then kept an appointment to appear on a show on BBC Radio 1, with Richard Skinner, but instead of promoting the new Boomtown Rats material as planned, he announced the plan for Band Aid.

The recording studio gave Band Aid no more than 24 free hours to record and mix the record, on 25 November 1984. The recording took place at SARM Studios in Notting Hill between 11am and 7pm, and was filmed by director Nigel Dick to be released as the pop video though some basic tracks had been recorded the day before at Midge Ure's home studio. The first tracks to be recorded were the group / choir choruses which were filmed by the international press. The footage was rushed to newsrooms where it aired while the remainder of the recording process continued.

Later, drums by Phil Collins were recorded. The introduction of the song features a slowed down sample from a Tears for Fears' track called "The Hurting", released in 1983. Tony Hadley, of Spandau Ballet, was the first to record his vocal, while a section sung by Status Quo was deemed unusable, and replaced with section comprising Paul Weller, Sting, and Glenn Gregory, from Heaven 17. Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran sang between contributions from George Michael and Sting. Paul Young has since admitted, in a documentary, that he knew his opening lines were written for David Bowie, who was not able to make the recording but made a contribution to the B-side (Bowie performed his lines at the Live Aid concert the following year). Boy George arrived last at 6pm, after Geldof woke him up by phone to have him flown over from New York on Concorde to record his solo part. (At the time, Culture Club was in the middle of a US tour.)

The following morning, Geldof appeared on the Radio 1 breakfast show with Mike Read, to promote the record further and promise that every penny would go to the cause. This led to a stand-off with the British Government, who refused to waive the VAT on the sales of the single. Geldof made the headlines by publicly standing up to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and, sensing the strength of public feeling, the government backed down and donated the tax back to the charity.

The record was released on 3 December 1984, and went straight to No. 1 in the UK singles chart, outselling all the other records in the chart put together. It became the fastest- selling single of all time in the UK, selling a million copies in the first week alone. It stayed at No. 1 for five weeks, selling over three million copies and becoming easily the biggest-selling single of all time in the UK, thus beating the seven-year record held by Mull of Kintyre.

2. TODAY IN MY LIFE
Blogging
Shopping
Meditation
Me Time
Missus Time

Twitter Followers = 2,033 (no change)
Non-followed eliminated = 1
untraced
Unfollowers eliminated = 0
-
New Followers followed back = 0
-
Spammers not followed back = 1
@DawnMGrant

3. TODAY'S SELF-OBSERVATION

Last night with Missus out, Son, the two cats and I sat in front of the TV watching Francis Rossi live in concert on the TIVO box and enjoying the fruit of the drinks cabinet, and I gratefully realized THIS IS THE LIFE! I had "made it" to where I wanted to be. I had absolutely everything I wanted. All things must pass of course, but the memory I can keep. I was reminded that I had tasted genuine joy and pleasure, something not afforded to everyone.

When joy comes your way, it's best not to spoil it by trying to hold on to it. Like an orgasm, just relax and let it thunder through you - you will spoil it by thinking that it won't last and you will miss the absolute peaks of ecstasy it has to offer.

As I was thinking this, in a flash of inspiration I realized there was a memory to attach to achieve an ongoing goal - the silent mind. The afterglow of an absolutely fabulous orgasm, that calm sense of gratitude and achievement with the dopamine sloshing around in your brain and your mind silent, THAT'S the default mindstate I wish to experience. Remembering that afterglow instantly evokes that state. My aim is to feel that way all day!

4. TODAY'S QUESTION FOR YOU
What does happiness feel like?

5. TODAY'S WEATHER IN BRADFORD
Dry, cold with cloud building after a clear start, with a moderate north-westerly wind
Max Temp = 7 degC at 2pm
Min Temp = 4 degC at 6am
Sunrise at 07:51
Sunset at 15:56
Moon:

Weathertrack: The Azores anticyclone is extending over Britain, keeping the country cool and dry

Air Pressure: 1008 millibars and rising

6. TODAY'S ONELINER

I'm looking for a new personal trainer, the last one didn't work out. ;D

7. NOW THAT'S FUNNY!

Bill Bailey on mistrust

8. TRIVIA

The protein in eggs is the highest quality of protein found in any food

9. ZEN WISDOM

Anyone can hit a wall. The anguish felt then is proof of one’s desire to move forward. But all is for naught if you falter at that moment. Action—that is the key to breaking through an impasse.