A Crash Course in Creativity - Tina Seelig - TEDxStanford

London Times Obituary

"Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies
(don't spend more than you can earn)

and reliable strategies
(adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;

- I Know My Rights
- I Want It Now
- Someone Else Is To Blame
- I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone."

2012 Opening Ceremony of the 30th Olympiad in London

I smiled a lot during the 3.5 hours of the show. Having been inside the Olympic Stadium in Athens, as a Greek volunteer for the Olympic Opening & Closing Ceremonies in 2004, and having lived and studied in the UK for 5 years, it gives me a uniquely objective perspective (in my humble opinion) to recognize human passion.

Maybe the London show wasn't the tightest televisual creation, or the best choreographed show, or the most magnificent spectacle (it's rather hard to match the awesomeness of Beijing, the emotional depth of Athens, the beauty of Barcelona and the touching sensitivity of Moscow, as they are my all-time favourite ones); London's ceremony however was humorous, passionate, generous and innocent like the British people (my friends) I have met and come to love over the years.

Britons in all their faults (nobody's perfect) have genuinely touched the world in more ways than one and offered so much to culture and the Earth's civilisation (as well as have taken from it in sinister ways), so with this ceremony, one can't help but be reminded that there is no perfection in human nature or utmost accomplishment, rather there exists only a passionate intention that is all that matters in the end.

And last but not least, beyond the always-moving Olympic Hymn, the emotional & amazing torch protocol it is the parade of Nations more than anything else that is usually my favourite part of any ceremony. It's the people who struggled, sacrificed, trained hard and gave up so much to get to the Olympics, the athletes themselves that are the highlight of each show.

Their excitement, childlike joy (a lot of them are children), their happy faces and endless energy as they enter the stadium is what gives me the biggest smiles. Those demigods of sport are so humble, that even when the crowd cheers them in the stadium and all around the world, they are STILL taking photos of the audience, thrilled to be there and not believing all this hoopla is about them. This is about them and they are having the most fun!

You gotta love it, with every fibre of your body.

I know I do.

Spider Climax

Perfection

One of the greatest steps in my evolutionary progress (& process) has been the realization that I am indeed NOT the centre of the universe (yeah, I know... Imagine that!).

This has reminded me many a time to check myself. In fact, I check myself almost every time I get the urge to speak highly of my person, self-congratulate my achievements, re-confirm my earlier predictions of the future as a wise post-event sooth-Sayer, or generally attempt to position myself in the centre of attention, even when the issue at hand was NEVER about me in the first place.  Alas! The checking comes almost always AFTER the fact.

Now, I DO understand that human beings have an urgent & permanent survival tendency to do EXACTLY that, and it IS a constant struggle (much like my daily war against JUDGEMENT) so I try not to beat myself down for forgetting to check myself BEFORE I sound like a complete douche-bag.

Which basically means I often fail to resist that same urge (despite my multiple esoteric-alarm warnings), and I sadly succumb to the vanity fault of blowing my own trumpet. Or I simply tend to believe I am always right (which I am, but that is neither here, nor there).

These silent (or occasionally loud) delusions of grandeur are thankfully tempered with the help of an acute after-sense of how ridiculous I sound/become, and so all my subsequent conscious attempts at self-deprecating humour, utter silliness & self-sarcasm (completely making fun of myself AND being able to take it from others), is my only redeeming quality. I can only hope my “Douche:Silly” ratio can dramatically change over time in favour of silliness and not the opposite. One can dream, non?

Having said that, I find it highly amusing whenever I see people around me being utterly oblivious to the same thing happening to them, and I’m often surprised at the extent of their self-gloating that tends to increase over time, rather than the opposite. Can people BE more blissfully ignorant? *said in my best Chandler Bing accent*


These people, having once started describing how magnificent they are, will NEVER stop offering more and more details about their supernatural perfection or their magical ability to predict, persevere, overcome and “win” against all odds & IN THE FACE of the entire universe (dead set against them, naturally). Doesn't matter if you have asked them about it or not. They will often volunteer example-after-example of their “battles” against mediocrity or other humans’ stupidity, which are only in fact mere ideological battles on principle, against anyone else who even tries to have an opinion opposite to their own. How DARE we not realize they are the keepers of universal wisdom?!

They are the same people who –being filled themselves with endless negative energy towards everyone else - refuse to register their own volatility & hostility in judging everyone else, and indeed carry on congratulating themselves for being so fucking awesome, and manage to sound patronizing even while merely breathing. Quite a feat, I must say.

The only time they barely start moderating their self-proclaimed divinity is when my eyes begin to glaze over and silence starts to creep into my voice.  What’s the point of being amazing, if your audience exits the show, right?

I TRY not to judge, and certainly never attempt to enlighten them. It’s pointless and hopeless. Let it be, I say. Let THEM be. And may everyone else let ME be too. We are all on our own path and we all have our own demons to fight.

I’m certainly not perfect myself (as this text hopefully demonstrates..), so I claim no ability or compulsion to change anyone else when I repeatedly fail at improving myself.  I am not here to live up to anyone else’s standards or expectations and I remind myself constantly that no-one else is here on this earth to live up to mine.

Thank God for that.

That is, assuming I can thank Myself without running the risk of sounding Self-congratulatory.

Ahem.

Green Card Lottery 2013

So what if Green Card Lottery wasn't fruitful for me this year?

It only just means that my life will have to take me down a different path.

A path other than gambling :-)

♥

Hitchcock's Definition of Happiness

To KONY or NOT to KONY?

Is KONY 2012 a FRAUD?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCv1GybEUxc

Another MUST SEE for a different perspective!
http://i.imgur.com/K3mgn.jpg

Stop Kony 2012

http://vimeo.com/37119711

KONY 2012 is a film and campaign by Invisible Children (www.invisiblechildren.com) that aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice.

Since 1987, Joseph Kony has abducted more than 30,000 children in Central Africa and forced them to be child soldiers in his Lord’s Resistance Army. The KONY 2012 campaign employs film, social media, street art, and face-to-face interaction to make the case that the arrest of Joseph Kony this year is one thing we can all agree on.

A Symbol Of A Day

Maybe Valentine's Day is consuming-based & a faulty interpretation of Love, but it's one more symbol for something pure and true. 

And I'd rather have a slightly misguided symbol for the true life-force of the universe than say something like guns or money or power... 

Use this day as a reminder that the most powerful force in the universe is Love.  

And afterwards try to practice that all 365 days of the year. 

See then the world slowly become a better place :-)

A Modest Proposal - By Stephen Fry

I just read a wonderful piece of compassionate writing. Written by the wonderful Stephen Fry. 

 It almost made me cry. 

Read this if you are Greek, like Greece, have ever visited Greece or plan to do so in the future, have Greek friends/ relatives/ lovers/ business partners or are simply curious about what Greece has ever given the world. In our time of struggle, kind words of encouragement such as this fine English gentleman's, mean a lot. 

There is hope, as long as there are people who hope. 

I will never lose hope. 

 Here it is:

A Modest Proposal

By Stephen Fry

Jonny McGovern - Dickmatized

One of the funniest music videos I've ever seen :-)

I cried watching this.

 

I am not scared of ghosts or monsters or aliens. I'm scared (and ashamed) of what humans do/say to other humans. I often feel we are the worst species on this planet. But most of the time, I hope we are truly capable for the very best too.

Maybe someday soon there will be less people hurting like Jonah is right now out there. If only we can all remember to try and be better people, things might change. It takes one word at time. One day at a time. And it's a constant struggle to be a good human being.

A better human being, encompassed by Love.

Jonah, you are NOT alone.

No-one truly is, though we often feel like we are.

We all have each-other.