It's the beginning of the weekend, I still have this never-ending cold and I really just wanna get get this party started.

It's been a longish week.

It was this time last week that I got an email from someone that I haven't heard from in ages. It started a chain reaction of emails all over the place. It was exciting and it was nice to hear from so many people...

There was an earthquake in the UK and thankfully I've heard from all of the people that I know are there. I am still awaiting word from one more person however she may not even be there at this time. So, I've got my fingers crossed. Thanks to Ms. MM and Mrs. SW for answering in such a timely fashion.

Unfortunately, I haven't got much of interesting to say today. I've got 3 hours and counting until the work day ends and hopefully, my energy levels will be a bit higher... Damned never-ending cold... Do you think Limahl would write a song about it?

Speaking of music, I came across the article in the Guardian Online entitled 'I long for that sober connection' in which Moby comes clean about "the drugs, the liquor, the sex parties and his true love - rave music". It was actually quite insightful and interesting for me. Being of the older generation myself, it inspires me in a very creative sense. It makes me feel hopeful even at the age of 44.

I suppose that there's still hope for me yet!

Have a great weekend everyone!

It seems that I'm a little caught up with the subject of depression but I just finished reading an article from the Guardian online that is entitled the "Upsides of Being Down".

In this excerpt, psychiatrist Paul Keedwell argues that "Focusing on depression in a purely clinical way is preventing us understanding our susceptibility to it and ignores the good it can bring". I found it an interesting perspective.

It got me to thinking a bit though. I think that in today's world, we have this "instant gratification" mentality and thus, instead of creating things with our own hands, we just go out and buy it. We don't have to make things anymore because we can just purchase this happiness at any shop.

As well, technology has made life more convenient for humanity. However, now that we have this new lifestyle we no longer have the sense of accomplishment we used to experience because we don't have to work as hard. I know that if I'm not being creative that my sense of self-worth diminishes and if I leave it for too long, it would not be unusual for me to become depressed. I always feel better when I'm contributing to something. In my mind, things like Facebook help to disconnect people from the rest of the world. The so-called "Friends" that I would have aren't people that I share my life with. They are more status symbols of acquaintance and are not necessarily people that care about me (or me them) - instead they are ingredients of competition to prove that I have more friends than others.

So, I suppose there really is an upside to feeling down. Read the article and let me know what you think...

Have you ever put a message in a bottle, sealed it and set it afloat on the ocean hoping that someone would find it? Well, I came upon a story in the Reykjavik Grapevine online about a friendship that started because of one such "message in a bottle". An Icelandic boy found the bottle that had been dropped into the Atlantic Ocean by a Canadian.

I just thought that these bottles just drifted out and sunk. It turns out that sometimes they actually do reach across borders...

Are antidepressant medications really that effective? A Reuters article tells of a study that doubts the effectiveness of some antidepressants. It suggests that they are only really helpful for those with serious depression. Apparently those with only mild depression should avoid the medication...

I've taken at least one of these drugs for depression at one time or another in my life and I don't really think that I should have. I vomitted for several weeks at the start and while I did feel better afterward, I can attest that I had the same effect on my well-being if I managed to get enough sleep. So, I question my physician's diagnosis because I was actually able to achieve the same results without the medication.

And, while I know I'm not able to diagnose others and I am sure that there are those out there that really need this medication, I also know that my journey of self-discovery was even more effective than being dosed up with pills that were supposed to make me happier. Instead, I just felt numb and not able to experience the barrage of emotions that I was used to.

Another article on Prozac specifically in the Guardian online says something similar to the first link.

You'll have to decide for yourself. I hope that you will find the article as interesting as I did.

The boys are coming to town! The boys are coming to town!

Colin & Justin will be here at the local home show in early March! I'll be marking it on my calendar because I'm going to win the contest to have brunch with them!

I'll just have to remember to wear my sparkly Shu Uemura eye shadow...

It appears that where there's a flame, there's also smoke... as long as there's a fire extinguisher...

I love this type of story. As an anti-smoker myself, I can identify with this guy (although I'm not sure I could date someone who smokes), who used a fire extinguisher to put out his girlfriend's cigarette. Apparently, the woman refused to heed his requests not to smoke in his apartment so he took out the fire extinguisher and covered the entire apartment. It even looks like he actually managed to put the cigarette out after all.

It also appears that after that flame was extinguished, so was the one that was their relationship...

I was wondering when this was going to happen. It was inevitable that Fidel Castro would step down and it appears that today is that day.

So much for me going there and meeting him while he was still in his presidency... I wonder if he's actually died...

At the end of the last millenium, I ventured to the UK to take up some lovely folk from Wales on an unforgetable offer that they made to come stay with them. We met on the train going across Canada and have kept in touch ever since. While staying in their fair town, I ventured to a place that I had wanted to see for a while. That place was the Centre for Alternative Technology and it dealt with sustainable living methods.

I ventured to this place in winter so it was quite empty at the time but I remember being impressed at how simple it was to live more sustainably. Today, in an email, one of those same friends who introduced me to North Wales, sent a story about a biomass generator that they have set up that has an efficiency of 80%. From what I understand, this generator uses woodchips to create power.

In traditional power generation, the heat is wasted, released into the atmosphere via cooling systems. With a CHP system, that energy is used to heat water, which is then used for hot water supply, or for heating buildings through radiators or under floor heating.

I've attached the link to the story here.

I'd also like to thank David for passing it on. I'm going to add the link to the Centre to my sidebar. And, if you ever get to North Wales, you should check out the CAT...it's just outside of Machynlleth.

Musical evolution

"Yes and no," she says. "I think I am a very Icelandic person in every way. But,then again, I think my position as an Icelander was to go out and meet people. I also think that, with globalisation and everything, being from one country and having that particular one sound of whatever your nation represents ... is not true. There's no such thing any more."

Her music, she continues, is more cosmopolitan in approach. "To be in the moment, to be a 2008 person, it's more of an international affair, especially sonically. You hear the radio in a taxi, and go to an Indian restaurant and hear Indian music. You're hearing everything. I think you can still be from where you are, and be truthful about that, but you
are still a person of the world."

This is an excerpt of an article written after a conversation with Bjork on The Australian.

I have to agree with what Bjork has said here. After all, we can be affected by music wherever we go and I believe that these influences play a huge part in the creation of any kind of sonic art. We are naturally affected by what goes on around us - either positively or negatively.

I find it a little ironic that I found this article today. I've been thinking a lot about music lately and the fact is that there is nothing truly original about music because it has existed throughout history. Still, it evolves and become a fresh version of what has happened up until now.

And that, I find really fascinating...

Not exactly the brightest bulb in the socket? That's for sure.

I suppose that this is another contender for the Darwin Awards... If this person didn't survive, that is...

Did you know that when you post pictures to Facebook, that you lose legal right to say where those images go? It appears that one of the factors of agreeing to be on the popular site is that the "owner" can reproduce and sell your images in any way they see fit. I'm guessing it's pretty much the same with any of these sites, including blogs. I'll have to do some more checking myself on this.

I found this out in a course I was taking yesterday on Photoshop Elements. The instructor was mentioning this in the class and I was surprised. I expect it's the same on any of these sites... perhaps even blogger. Out of curiosity, I'll be doing some checking myself.

Before I go, I have to share a comment made creator of Facebook upon being asked questions about this "ownership" of photos issue. He said something like "I don't think anyone out there is naive enough to think they can get anything for free"...

Hmmm. Capitalism at it's best!