*Tranquility and serenity are beautiful words and a beautiful state of mind.
*A broken heart from love or death can inspire great writing. But that seems a consolation prize.
*In sport, we often see players telling umpires (referees) how to umpire. It’d be hilarious to see umpires tell players how to play.
*Many naive voters are ignorant of the damage done by sociopathic politicians. They simply refuse to believe that a politician could be a pathological liar, and yet politics is the perfect occupation for a power obsessed sociopath. Up to 5% of people are sociopaths but the figure is much higher for politicians.
*The many sociopaths in politics and the corporate world think the rest of us are chumps and basically laugh at us.
*Arm a hillbilly in the Yoonarded States where ar can vote for the local village idiot so ar can have a hundred guns in mar house to protect me from squirrels.
*The United Nations keeps renewing its call for all nations to ban capital punishment because scientific advances prove many innocent people have been executed. But avid supporters of capital punishment in America say executions save taxpayers a fortune in prison costs, and anyway there are always winners and losers.
*There are constant outcries over outrageous salaries for corporate bosses, and the widening massive income gap between the rich and working class. But business groups say the cost of penthouses and private jets has sky-rocketed, and executives are struggling to make ends meet.
*Some future events can be predicted with certainty – such as mass shootings in the United States of Guns. The killers will be angry young white men, probably allowed illegal access to guns by not very bright parents. Yet again there will be calls for tougher gun control laws. Yet again the gun lobby – which gifts millions of dollars to politicians – will say laws are too tough, and children and mentally ill people often find it difficult to buy a gun.
*It’s exciting to have a purple patch. And it’s exciting to think there could be another one at any time.
*The great thing about getting older is the head tends to prevail over the heart.
*To quote the famous American philosopher George W. Bush: A crisis is like being stuck up a tree without a paddle.
*To quote the famous American philosopher George W. Bush: A good leader never throws out the garbage with the bathwater.
*The U.S. gun lobby says if there are more mass shootings then so be it. It’s the price that has to be paid because it’s the constitutional right of all Americans to have a gun to protect themselves, even against name calling by horrible kids at school.
*We all have special spaces that can help inspire our creativity.
*Ignore nitpickers. When I showed my late mother one of my new paintings she said (bless her): “…………………………………………. It’s very bright!”.
*Ignore nitpickers. 100 of the world’s leading art critics could name me as the worst painter they’ve ever seen and I would still be proud of my, er, abstract impressionist landscapes.
*When life’s pieces fall into place at an older age it’s natural to think “If only I’d known all this 10 or 20 years ago”. Obviously our personal evolution doesn’t work like this but who knows, maybe one day humans can pop a pill to speed up the process!
*What if. My cottage is filled with Vivaldi’s music and my paintings, but what if I fall in love again and she hates Vivaldi and isn’t, um, keen on my paintings? Meanwhile children of all ages are being sold for sex at this very minute all around the world.
*Judging book covers. Jimi Hendrix epitomised sex drugs and rock and roll, yet he was writing feminist lyrics before Germaine Greer’s momentous 1970 book “The Female Eunuch”.
*My former wife was mocked in Australia for her Kiwi accent and now I get mocked in New Zealand. Collective karma?
*Racists are easy to ignore because they are sour, unpleasant people anyway. It’s as if they suck lemons all day.
*The death of our second parent is possibly even more devastating because that’s it – a decades-long era of dependability and devotion is over. Some of our spirit’s light goes out.
*Watching sunrise and sunset is so humbling it’s liberating.
*Human ambition seems trifling compared with Mother Nature’s grandeur and importance.
*When you see politicians questioned, their answers are premeditated robotic repetition. It’s like watching transcendental meditation.
*I’ve learnt it’s best not to have expectations (it’s kind of arrogant) but if people enjoy reading this book/website, thank you, I’m grateful. I enjoy writing/reading it, so at least there’s one of us!
*Dingaling Bling. The grotesque outcome of an extraordinary process that takes Mother Nature millions of years.
*Ordinary people are often required by politicians to undergo drug tests to try to ensure a safe workplace. Politicians should be required to undergo a psychiatric test to try to ensure a safe world.
*Politicians should be required to be wired to a lie detector whenever they speak in public, including parliament.
*Is Mother Nature giving with one hand and taking away with the other? Carbon produces diamonds that dazzle us, and air pollution that’s destroying us.
(Alternate sentence) Carbon produces diamonds that exhilarate us, and air pollution that’s exterminating us.
*Governments often declare a state of emergency for man-made crises. This ambulance at the bottom of the cliff begs the question: are governments too incompetently inhumane to prevent man-made crises in the first place?
*Dear Mr Trump, thank you for not starting a nuclear war. We in New Zealand would like to make you an honorary knight. Although to be honest, knighthoods here are a dime a dozen.
*Daydreaming is a fun, creative activity.
*A favourite daydream. Waking up next to an Italian or French woman and listening to her gorgeous accent as she says “Good morning darling, did you sleep well?”. And me replying in a terrible Cockney accent “Not bloody likely!”.
*Global Warming sceptics say scientists should produce much more evidence that there’s a problem, and while they’re at it much more evidence that the sun rises in the east.
*It’s empowering to defy various temptations like intolerance, frustration, and impatience. But pubic hairs in the shower goad me.
*Many people are so disillusioned with politics they don’t have a party they like enough to vote for. Instead, they work out the best way to vote against the party they don’t like. Well done politicians, he said, somewhat insincerely.
*Then and now. Once – if I woke up at 2am – I would lie awake worried about being tired at work. Now I lie awake listening to Vivaldi, not worried about anything. Old age isn’t all bad.
*I’m not a soothsayer but it seems governments will foolishly continue to favour the elite. History has shown time and again that when a tipping point is reached, revolutions (sometimes bloody) can occur.
*In court, when someone is found guilty after pleading not guilty, should they be automatically convicted of perjury?
*The old sayings “Don’t look back” and “Water under the bridge” are among my favourites. All our lives we do our best to make the right decision at the time. Looking back to learn from mistakes is sensible. Looking back and moaning “If only I’d done that instead” is like berating yourself for not picking the winning lottery numbers!
*Many people want more women in parliament. Me too. But first I want no sociopaths in parliament.
*Hairstyling is obviously an art form. It’s a shame many people want their hair to look like some celebrity’s. Sheep! We need more non-conformists. My hairdresser’s brief is: imagine I’ve just stuck a finger in a power point.
*Business, the advertising industry, and the media can squeal their denials, but TV ads briefly showing lengthy terms and conditions in tiny print requiring binoculars to read, are devious.
*Ditto TV ads showing big price reductions (e.g. 50%) in large print, but preceded by “up to” in tiny print.
*A 2017 international study of 27 countries found inequality is worsening, and the rich are doing whatever it takes to get a lot richer. Governments should stop this rubbish and govern for all, not just the elites who have far too much influence on politicians.
*Some artists are like ghost stars, still shining their brilliant light on us long after their deaths. We all have our favourites. Mine are Van Gogh, J.M.W. Turner, Vivaldi, and Jimi Hendrix. Anyone who reads about Vincent (and reads his letters) is sure to be touched by this intense, radical, passionate, generous, and beautiful man.
*Many of us are deeply concerned about growing inequality, Global Warming, children being sold for sex, and so on. Why aren’t the mainstream media concerned? They are missing in action. Oh, that’s right. Most of them are owned by morally bankrupt bankers.
*Why do multi millionaires/billionaires want more and more money? It’s because they have an addiction, a sickness, like an alcoholic. Rational, sane people need to stop governments pandering to hustlers.
*Governments have been warned of Global Warming for decades, so if millions of people end up dying would that be a crime against humanity? Mind you, if the entire world population of 7 billion dies there won’t be any fingers left to point.
*If there is a Global Warming doomsday, planet Earth will still be here.
*If eco-apathetic politicians keep winning elections at least the minority voters are doing their best, and shouldn’t lose sleep over majority voters choosing to behave like lemmings.
*For centuries some of the greatest minds have had to fight against the tide of human stupidity. Two of the greats – astronomers Copernicus and Galileo – were vilified by the Catholic Church. I think of the Jack Nicholson line “You can’t handle the truth!”.
*Bird watching is fun. My favourites are wood pigeons. These dear little super swoopers are entertainers as they ascend, stall, and then dive and glide. Another delightful gift from Mother Nature, for free.
*Media loudmouths make it easy to ignore them. These rich right wing extremists are so idiotic, so embarrassing, you almost feel sorry for them. One particularly obnoxious buffoon in New Zealand has a top-rating radio show with 13% of the audience, which means 87% don’t listen to his loony-right rants.
*Reality television. It’s fascinating how a group of banal, boring, inane, chewing the fatuous, pretentious, self absorbed, nasty, narcissistic, windbag, layabout lunch junkies genuinely think their lives are exciting and envied. Although to be fair, there are much worse ways to make a buck.
*Pluses and minuses. Being single gives you the open road to thought, but you lament the winter spoon.
*Global Warming poo-poohers can’t believe they can still con the compliant media into using the innocuous, spin doctor-created slogan Climate Change.
*I have a 10 acre block (land valuation $119,000) in cutting edge New Zealand that I’ve subdivided into 7 and 3 acres, at a cost of $30,000. Some people will think that red tape cost is insanely excessive. But I feel it’s my civic duty to help fund tax cuts for Hollywood, multinational corporations, and local millionaires with their ironically-named “trusts”.
*There must be an election coming up. There’s a new outbreak of fearmongering.
*People say “I couldn’t live without my smart phone”. Would they actually curl up and die? I couldn’t live without air. I’m not sure if they are smart phones, but they are certainly smart phone companies.
*Indifference to approval by others is a blessing.
*I do what I can to help dear old Mother Nature, although it seems I have brown fingers.
*Parents and children have their ups and downs, but it was only after my mother died that I realised she never once raised her voice at me. When they are gone there are no more downs, but no more ups either.
*Ultimate hypocrisy: U.S. president Richard Nixon in 1969 pompously telling the astronauts who had just landed on the moon that their triumph meant peace on Earth, as American bombs were raining down on Vietnam.
*I heard a highly paid New Zealand government official actually say “This is one of the economic levers we have”. This is one of the economic nincompoops we have who’s given us the worst child poverty, youth suicide, and housing affordability in the western world.
*A square peg. There’s no internet at my country cottage, no mobile phone, no pay TV, and no mainstream news media, and when I go out once a week for supplies and my radio “expressionist art” goodness gracious me I enjoy returning from the outside world.
*Yes, money is important. But economy starts with eco.
*Talented people of every age will always be slandered by stupid, jealous people with fragile egos. A common accusation is arrogance. It happened to Vivaldi. The Tall Poppy Syndrome has been around for a long time.
*It’s amazing that a little dachshund who died in 2006 after being a companion for 15 years is still in my heart and never been replaced. Mind you, a 2017 study found (somehow) that some people grieve more for their pets than human loved ones.
*I have some sympathy for politicians. Quite a few will be sociopaths who can’t help their behaviour because they were born with that mental disorder.
*People who think this book/website is anti American leftwing drivel are dullards. Pigeonholers. They resort to simplistic labels because they are intellectually barren. This book/website is anti greedies, warmongers, eco vandals etc. These manifestations of evil are anti millions of ordinary, decent, thinking people who are revolted by infantile he says/she says leftwing/rightwing gibberish. This book/website is anti the money addicted plutocrats who have hijacked the U.S. and other governments. Whenever we happen to see these parasites they always look miserable, which is nice.
*Tough times are awful but at least they give us a priceless comparison when the good times arrive, making us ohhh so grateful. And determined to continue the new era. I think of the Jimi Hendrix lyrics “First rays of the new rising sun”.
*Journalism teaches you persistence. Most people accept the first rejection when in dispute with companies or government agencies. That’s a mistake. They expect people to give up after one attempt. Make it clear you are not going away. Ask if there’s an appeal process, or tell them you are going to the small claims court. In my experience it’s only a small fee and lawyers are not allowed.
*As you get older the fog of deceit clears and it’s easier to spot bullshit. E.g. when listening to politicians keep an ear out for the phrase “We’ll do all we can”. Normal people understandably presume this is a promise. However it’s pollywaffle code for “We’ll make a token effort but don’t hold your breath”.
*If you think I’m talking out of my you-know-what when linking political and corporate leaders with sociopaths, Google the 2006 book “Snakes in suits: when psychopaths go to work”. Make sure you are sitting down.
*SOB. Save our bees. Mother Nature’s workaholic miracle makers give us beauty and colour, and all they ask for is safe board and lodging.
*Ignore negative nitpicking knockers. The legendary Beatles/Decca Records howler should give hope to all dreamers.
*When I was young I was accused by a loved one of being neurotic. Years later when reading about my favourite artists it was obvious they were, um, eccentric. They inspired me to brush aside sling and arrows, sometimes with thoughts like “Who are you, the behaviour police?”.
*You’d think that people who become Prime Ministers and Presidents are quite special, with all sorts of admirable qualities. Yet when their time is up they are mostly thought of as mediocre, self interested, forgettable underachievers.
*We are obsessed with handing out trophies. There must be millions of award ceremonies great and small each year around the world. One of the silliest was in Britain where a man was made a “Lord” after spending years running around in circles quite quickly. What happens to trophies when the recipients die?
*Dog Eat Dog. Or DED for short. Human survival depends on unconditional global unity.
*Parliament’s Question Time should be renamed Completely Ignore The Question Time. Or even better – Incredibly Infantile Pointscoring Time. Then taxpayers could recoup the cost of parliament by selling the show to TV’s Comedy Channel.
*All political parties attract super-confident alpha-personality types to be candidates, but parties with hardline capitalist ideologies are a perfect fit for ruthless, cynical sociopaths.
*The breathtaking vastness of the universe is incomprehensible, let alone its origin. I’m happy to simply treasure our fleeting gift of life.
*The theme song for Global Warming: “Here comes the sun”.
*Media loudmouth know-it-alls who clearly don’t know-it-all but simply parrot views that reinforce their bigotry are hardly a threat to democracy. Unless of course the number of dimwits who agree with their gibberish increases to the majority of voters!
*Apathy. Bob Dylan seemed optimistic in the 1960s: “How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see?”. Pink Floyd seemed pessimistic by the 1980s: “I have become comfortably numb”.
*The good news about cynics is: although they are clever, they are not overly intelligent. The bad news about cynics is: they lust after positions of power.
*Famous American philosopher George W. Bush is disappointed his eagerly awaited book “My wit and wiseness” has been postponed for the 28th time. Again, the publisher won’t say why.
*There’s good selfish. It’s vital for our sanity.
*Being gullible isn’t a crime, but exploiting the gullible is.
*Bullying. Why be bothered when people who are basically strangers don’t like us? You couldn’t possible like them anyway.
*Anti-marijuana laws have been so mindnumbingly dumb for so long there has to be something else going on. Something fishy. Mind you, marijuana isn’t nicknamed “dope” for nothing.
*Melodramatic media. I’ve conducted many experiments and for the life of me I’ve never been able to hear a pin drop.
*The world’s major awards can be laughable. Some Nobel Peace Prize decisions have been shameful. Archaic pompous knighthoods are obviously silly. The Grammy awards are a shocker when you see the long list of great musicians who’ve missed out and the plonkers who’ve won (sometimes frequently). And TV’s Emmy awards. “Frasier” a multiple winner ahead of “Seinfeld”? That’s a Junior Mac versus a roast dinner.