sean808080's ohmbase

The quest for good news

There's too much focus on bad news. I'm making a commitment to myself to begin looking for good news every day. I'm going to look for more things that make me smile.Why this focus? I was listening to the radio recently and it was reported that the levels of stress among young people today tested at the same levels that people with mental health illnesses just a few decades ago.This is not a new finding. A quick survey finds this link that describes something similar.Why? Have you turned on the news lately?I haven't.. Why not? Because it's all bad. The economy, famine, disease, unemployment, and terrorism make up the top 10 most reported topics.In my quest to find things that are smileworthy instead of cringeworthy, here's Chita Rivera kicking up her heels with the best of the best in dancers back in the 1970's.You have to admire this clip for it's sheer camp.

How do you release stress? (sheerbalance.com)
Relax Already: Make a "Me" Date (fitsugar.com)

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Posted 4 months ago

Slaying the clutter demons-it's never over!

As someone who is a bit of a neat freak, I fight daily against the demons of clutter. It probably roots back to my childhood when my parents moved us so often that we didn't bother unpacking things from boxes.I remember the stress of waking up and seeing boxes towering over me. Of course they didn't tower but that's what the stress does. It makes small things seem larger and insurmountable.In my adulthood, I've learned to appreciate simplicity and space. Living spaces to me are only relaxing if they are relatively free of clutter and stuff that doesn't belong somewhere else. I'm keen on visual noise and things staring at me screaming "MOVE ME TO MY RIGHTFUL PLACE!"It's never easy though. You have to fight daily against the demons of clutter. It goes in stages. Here is a rundown of what you'll encounter:

See a huge mess and realize you have a problem
Deal with said problem but before you're done the problem has gotten larger!
Come up with organization system and places for everything
Realize your hiding places are overflowing and just storing junk
Empty out your hiding places and find yourself back at #1.

Something about our way of life really enables clutter to build up and take over our lives and living spaces. I look at clutter as the cholesterol of our lives. It clogs up our homes and minds and prevents us from doing what we really should be doing if we had freedom from stuff.We all struggle with this. Some of us are at step #1 above and some of us are at step #3. Nonetheless it's a daily battle like any other disease.

Where are you in the battle of clutter? Do tell...

Hat tip: 8 ways to kill clutter

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Posted 4 months ago

Newscasters signing off for good.

What a sad thing...

Newscasters that have been on-air for decades are being let go as part of cost-cutting measures that are affecting us all in one way or another.

These are the people that stayed on air during crises after crises and talked us down from a state of fear back to reality.

These voices of reason and comforting faces reported from their anchor desks day after day to give us consistency and a feeling of normalcy as the world around us seem to twist further and further into chaos.

The world is changing quickly and not necessarily for the better.

Hat tip:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/business/media/01anchor.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

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Posted 4 months ago

Stop the presses...I finally post a mandolin video.

Some folks were asking here and there whether I'd posted any video of my mandolin playing. Well after spending all of Sunday moving things around our family room, I decided to crank up the old photobooth and capture some rough noodling on the mandolin.

The first part of this is the first tune I learned to play called Red Haired Boy. My version is very simple but it comes easily to me as it's the tune that I know inside and out. The second part is just some messing around with a simple blues progression I have picked up from a Mandolin Blues book I have been meaning to work through.

Hope it doesn't hurt your ears too much!

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Posted 4 months ago

This is how we roll by Leslie and the LYs

So retro, so camp, and so delicious.

Enjoy

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Posted 4 months ago

Some beautifully played music for you...

While this lovely music is welcome anytime, it's especially nice
considering today is Thanksgiving for those of us that celebrate it.

Enjoy yours and this..

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Posted 4 months ago

Jewelry advert with a side American Sign Language

As a child of deaf adults [coda], I have to say that while most commercials make me break out in hives, this one made me smile a bit. Here a gift giving hearing gentleman gives his weak sign language skills a try as he presents the special lady in her life, who happens to be deaf, with a gift of jewelry.