Wisdom from the Beatles

I first really listened to the Beatles in Jr. High.

There was a big group of people I thought were 'cool' that were majorly fixated on the Beatles. By majorly fixated, I mean these 13-15 year old guys coordinated wearing entirely black on the 8th of December in remembrance of John Lennon's death! And really that was just one of the groups of Beatles fans.
It really was amazing the level of Beatles-mania that was going on in 1992-93 in a little town junior high in Northern Utah. And yes, I was swept up in it as well, though not to the extent of some. Beatles Albums were one of my favorite Christmas requests at this time and I was able to acquire quite a collection of Beatles albums on CD.
--As a side note - while my parents never REALLY cared for the Beatles back in their heyday (my mom did think Paul was cute), my mother-in-law still thinks the Beatles are evil. : )

So yes, my interest in the Beatles was born from following the crowd like a sheep. Baaah!
Quite a few of my integral life philosophies were influenced by some of the Beatles lyrics, and based on my Beatles preferences - i.e. the earlier less drug-influenced music - they are actually a MUCH better influence than other lyrical alternatives from that time.

For example, I present to you "We Can Work It Out" from 1965:



Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friends. I have always thought that it's a crime.
We can work it out
Too often people fight, fuss, worry, hold grudges, etc etc when there are so many other things that can be done instead!
Try to see it my way. Think of what I'm saying. Think of what you're saying.
Too often people get too stuck on their own point of view. Most of the time you DO have a good point - but so does the other person! And sometimes they actually have a BETTER point. So it's worth looking into.
I have found that it is VERY beneficial to look at things from all sides, ALL the time if you can. I think it'll help you keep more centered in your life and not go too far off kilter.

Very Small Lyrics and a few links below:
We Can Work It Out

Verse #1
Try to see it my way,
Do I have to keep on talking till I can't go on?
While you see it your way,
Run the risk of knowing that our love may soon be gone.

Chorus:
We can work it out,
We can work it out.

Verse #2
Think of what you're saying.
You can get it wrong and still you think that it's all right.
Think of what I'm saying,
We can work it out and get it straight, or say good night.

Chorus:
We can work it out,
We can work it out.

Bridge:
Life is very short, and there's no time
For fussing and fighting, my friend.
I have always thought that it's a crime,
So I will ask you once again.

Verse #3
Try to see it my way,
Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong.
While you see it your way
There's a chance that we might fall apart before too long.

Chorus

Bridge

Verse #4
Try to see it my way,
Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong.
While you see it your way
There's a chance that we might fall apart before too long.

Chorus:
We can work it out,
We can work it out.

It is also of slight interest to note that my two all-time favorite bands had their first breakthroughs in this time period as well - Better Than Ezra and Toad the Wet Sprocket, although it's really my big brother's fault I started listening to them.

Post Christmas Blahs

Okay so the only BLAHs I'm talking about are the sick kinds.

Christmas was wonderful. I got lots of rest. Unfortunately I was also sick, along with pretty much the rest of my little family, which means my poor wife had to take care of ALL of us! She's amazing. Thanks for doing such a good job.

I was lucky enough to receive some really cool gifts.

• A new awesome Leather Jacket
• A new slim wallet - I keep my wallet in my front pocket, have for years and love it, this new slim one helps a ton
• Resistance Bands so I can rehabilitate my shoulder a bit with some good rotator cuff exercises
• A Multi-function Chinning Bar that is actually very cool and apparently a popular gift this year as I know a few other people who got or wanted one of these!
• A BOSU! Sweet now I can use my resistance bands and work on my core at the same time standing one-footed on this baby!

So I think she's trying to tell me I need to get rid of some of the excess bulk that has accumulated since my shoulder was hurt... :) Okay just kidding she knows I love this stuff and I'm very happy by it. (I do need to get back on track though!)

I also bought my wife some pretty cool gifts this year:

• a hot new leather jacket (she looks REALLY good in it)
• some nutritional books, which I'm sure you'll be able to read about on her blog later
• Subscriptions to Domino and Yoga Journal - I hope she enjoys these!
• The new Adele 19 cd
• A set of Pyrex dishes so she can re-heat stuff in the stove or convection/toaster oven and stop using the microwave.
• A new Canon Powershot camera that isn't as hard to lug around as our big expensive one! This one also has the bonus of video clips - so maybe more of those will be seen 'round here.

We spoil each other I think... I wish I could spoil her even more.

With our new leather jackets though... We really need some motorcycles!

So if anybody wants to donate a couple - we'd gladly take them, and I'll write a real nice review here. HA!

More Parkour

This is just too cool. I saw this video a few years ago and it is still amazing today.



Actually Russia is the perfect place for stuff like this - there are abandoned and in-construction places all over the place.

I guess that makes it more dangerous too...

Christmas and it's Wonderful Music

Christmas is only a few days away!

I can't believe how fast 2008 has gone by!

I love Christmas Music.

But, since WHEN was "Favorite Things" from Sound of Music a CHRISTMAS SONG?!?!

I just don't get it.

Parkour

Free Running and/or Parkour are two things I've always wanted to do.
Okay maybe not always since just a few years ago they didn't exist in my awareness.

In actuality this type of thing has been around for a LONG time.



Seems like lately I've just been posting a bunch of videos... which is true. I've really enjoyed finding so many good ones!

Unfortunately I didn't find them - somebody else found them for me, but still.
Go to kottke.org to see more random postings.

I actually prefer to read it in a RSS Reader like Google Reader.

Wolverine: May 1st

YES!

I'm excited for this movie.
When I was a kid Cyclops was my favorite X-Men, but since I've grown up (and am much hairier than I was as a kid...) Wolverine is my favorite.

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD


Looks good!!

Maybe I'll be Wolverine again next year for Halloween.

Probably not though - time for something new!

Beeker!

Undoubtedly the BEST Muppet ever...


He does Coldplay too!:


The chickens, on the other hand, including Camilla, are overrated.
But here they are anyway:

Validation

Saw this and thought it was very cute and appropriate for this Holiday season.

A bit long at 16 minutes...



I think we could all definitely do better at appreciating other people.

Although maybe not in such a cheesy way.

Frustration

First off let me say that comparatively - my life is GREAT.

However there are a few things I am frustrated with...

Things have been all right the past few months but something came up yesterday that reminded me something that greatly annoys me.

Corporate America is extremely frustrating in that complete IDIOTS are often paid significantly more than more intelligent, qualified individuals.

*sigh* I definitely must be doing something wrong.

On the plus side - I think my shoulder is slowly improving - and my amazing wife gave me an early Christmas present of some exercise resistance bands with which to do some conditioning and therapy-type exercises. Yay!

Hopefully I'll be able to get back to more intensive exercise soon, as I am feeling quite BLAH lately, and that's definitely not helping me keep a positive outlook on other things, such as working in corporate America!

In Honor of the Honorable Ninja

A Ninja flash movie for you to enjoy...

Fuggy Fuggy

They need to add more to this funny little site. :)

Day... of the NINJA!!!

If you don't see me today - it is for a reason.

Believe me. I am still there. Or here. Or wherever.

Watch out!
(although in reality, it won't do you any good)

The End of the Year

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and there are only 2 more paydays until Christmas!

HOLY MOLY!!

Thanksgiving was great - it was nice to have family in town and spend time with them, but I did NOT get enough rest and relaxation on those days off. Too many plans, kids, meetings, etc. etc.

I'm tired.

Worse than that it seems that I have possibly injured my acromioclavicular joint, as my right shoulder has a bit of a lump on top. Technically I should keep my arm in a sling - but I don't have time or patience for that... Ugh. Stupid arm. It hurts when I use it much in certain rotations.

This has also affected my exercising. While we've been lazy anyway, I CAN'T handle Forza, many WiiFit activities, or yoga. They just started a yoga class at work too that would have been fun to go to. :(

It's now December and I am lucky I finished a picture early last month because I haven't had much time or patience for anything lately. Time to get back to work and get one done for December!