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Many Thanxs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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LIFELINE

Saturday, December 25, 2010

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Fröhliche Weihnachten
und ein gutes neues Jahr

Feliz Natal e próspero ano novo 





メリークリスマス




Շնորհավոր Ամանոր և Սուրբ Ծնունդ

E güeti Wïnâchte un e gleckichs Nej Johr



Maligayang pasko at manigong bagong taon!




Selamat hari natal dan tahun baru

शुभ क्रिसमस

नये साल की हार्दिक शुभकामनायें


Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou

Chúc mừng Giáng Sinh. Chúc mừng năm mới. 

Καλά Χριστούγεννα!

كریسمس مبارک

ਕਰਿਸਮ ਤੇ ਨਵਾੰ ਸਾਲ ਖੁਸ਼ਿਯਾੰਵਾਲਾ ਹੋਵੇ

С Рождеством Христовым

God jul och gott nytt år

༄༅།།ལོ་གསར་ལ་བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས་ཞུ།
Selamat Hari Natal
Selamat Tahun Baru

AND TO ALL THE REST OF THE WORLD!!

MESSAGE ME TO REQUEST A GREETING IN AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE!!


SHAKIRA NOS DIÓ UN MENSAJE PARA ESTA NAVIDAD!!

Hola a todos!!  Este es mi primer mensaje completemente escrito en Español.  Deseo compartir con ustedes dos mensajes de Navidad de Shakira postado por YouTube.


Es una de mis artistas favoritas!!


En Español
In English
Feliz Navidad a todos!!  Paz MT

4 MORE SEASONAL SONG FAVES: "Last Christmas" by Wham, "A Christmas Duel" by The Hives & Cyndi Lauper, and "Maybe This Christmas" by Ron Sexsmith

"Last Christmas" by WHAM!

[PA] "A Christmas Duel" by The Hives & Cyndi Lauper [PA]







a cover of "Maybe This Christmas" (originally by Ron Sexsmith)

"Silent Night" by Sinead O'Connor

IF YOU BUY THIS RECORD YOUR LIFE WILL BE BETTER PART II: MICHAEL by Michael Jackson

GO BUY OR DOWNLOAD THIS NOW!!

I am not a music critic.  I don't know how I could criticize an artist when they release their gift into the world.  My reaction to music is more visceral.

I read one review titled "All Filler, No Thriller" when I was googling to see if any critic had used the title, "ALL THRILLER, NO FILLER".  That is exactly what I feel about MICHAEL.  ALL THRILLER, NO FILLER.  I have listened to my CD more than a dozen times in my car already.  It is my hope that it will eventually sell as many digital copies as THRILLER.

My favorite song is "Best Of Joy", the sixth track on the CD.  If this had been a vinyl record, this would have been the lead track of Side B of the record. It is as though Michael were singing this song from the grave.  I have read critics who have compared a number of tracks to other Michael Jackson records and the review on Billboard.com in particular comes to mind.

Personally, I hear the bass track of "Billie Jean" in the track "Hollywood Tonight".  Is it just me?  I think the character in this song with her painted on jeans is the young Billie Jean embarking on her quest for Hollywood fame.

I am not embedding any music from this album on my post at the moment.  Be sure to check out "Best of Joy" and "Hollywood Tonight".  You can access samples on iTunes or Amazon.com.  Definitley  an IMPACT record.



SILENT NIGHT IN THE HOLLYHOOD













UNEXPECTED GIFTS: KIKI & IGGY POP

DOESN'T IT ALWAYS SEEM TO WORK OUT THAT THE UNEXPECTED GIFTS 
ARE THE BEST ONES?
















AN XMAS DEDICATION TO MJ: "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" by Sting





I have a friend MJ who I have known since the first couple of months after I moved to LA in 2001.  It is one of those friendships where you never run out of things to talk about.


The other day I woke up and one of the first things that caught my eye was an old string of Xmas lights that I had pulled out the week before.  I decorated my vintage aluminum tree with primarily red decorations this year, and I was testing my red light sets.  I had pulled several lights out of this string to replace bulbs on others.  As I am in need of paring down my possesions because I just moved to a smaller apartment, I have been looking at things I haven't used in quite awhile and questioning why I still have them.


That morning I realized that it is difficult to throw away things that have brought us joy.  I started thinking about MJ and how MJ hoards.  I have gone over to MJ's apartment on occasion to help MJ clear out the apartment.  My work has consisted of helping MJ to debox Barbie® dolls so that MJ can send them off to a storage unit.  Every time I go back to MJ's apartment however, whatever progress we made the previous time has vanished.



live in Italy


dance mix

Sting's song "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" came to mind.  That day I was thinking about the song in terms of material objects instead of people.   If you are holding on to something because it has brought you joy in the past, but never use it and it is cluttering your home, I suggest that you set it free.  It will always be accessible through memories and photos.  I decided that morning to throw away that light set.  And I was inspired to write a blog post about my friend MJ.

Last night I went over my notes with MJ and asked if it was okay for me to post these things I am writing now.  MJ consented.  I watched the video on YouTube and by the time it was over, I realized that I wanted to try to set MJ free.  Free from hoarding material possesssions.  I will not be able to take credit for MJ's pared down apartment when it happens.  MJ will have to do that for MJ.  I just hope that my suggestion here helps.


Last year for Xmas I recycled one of my old iPod nanos and gave it to MJ.  This year I didn't want to give MJ anything material.  I've been told by MJ not to get MJ the Taylor Swift doll that I wanted to give in 2008.  MJ says there are just too many dolls already in the collection.  While shopping though, I saw the Charlie Brown Christmas tree and thought it would be the perfect present.  It symbolizes that simple things are more than sufficient.  We just need to love the simple things in our lives and be content with what we have. I have felt for a long time that I should be happy with my massive music collection, but I have always wanted more music.





Yes, I myself have a problem with hoarding one thing in particular and that is music.  My collection was starting to take over my old apartment, and now that I am in a smaller apartment the problem is even more pronounced.  I am currently weighing my options and considering how I can pare down my collection.  I have been able to slow the growth of the collection considerably by acquiring digital music.  That is why I would suggest to MJ to get a computer.

MJ's been holding on to a computer that hasn't worked for years.  MJ has put off fixing it or buying a new one for one reason or another.  If I could afford to buy MJ a computer I would.  Computers are perfect for hoarders.  One can collect massive amounts of music, movies, photos, documents, etc. on a hard drive that sits right on your desk.

Overcrowding our homes brings negative energy right into the home.  Last summer I went over to MJ's to help debox dolls.  After spending a few hours doing that, we went to eat dinner.  I was already starting to feel sick before we ate, so I know it wasn't food poisoning that made me feel violently ill a bit later.  We went back to the apartment and I wasn't able to drive home. I had to lie down for about an hour and then I got up and went into the bathroom and vomited.  After that I started to feel better and well enough to drive home.

By the time I got home I felt a fervor to pare down my possessions and stayed up until nearly dawn doing just that.  There was an old stereo receiver that I haven't used for years because iTunes made that obsolete.  I have been reluctant to let go of it.  As you can imagine, it was a source of infinite joy to me.  I set it aside in my closet because I still wanted to hold on to it.

The next evening I was watching TV and I heard a crashing noise and a pained cry from IGNACIO, who came running out of the closet.  The 10-15 lb. receiver had fallen from a height of about 12 inches and fallen on his tail, pinching it between that and the floor.  This calls to mind all the times that MJ told me that people are always causing landslides in MJs apartment.  Things keep on crashing down.  Or the number of times that people have fallen trying to navigate crowded hallways, stepping on items that are on the floor.  This is the chaos and negative energy that I am talking about.  I believe that this is what caused me to fall violently ill that day.

When I was at boarding school, one of the resident faculty was talking about my messy room.  She said that a cluttered room is a sign of a cluttered mind, or even of a depressed person.  I did not agree with her at the time, but now I can see that she was right.  I believe that MJ will be much happier once MJ's apartment has the space for positive flow.

PEACE MT