Thursday 12/28 was Good Riddance Day in NYC. It was sponsored by SHRED IT. A recycling company. With New Years approaching it is time to look around your house, apartment, room AND life and lighten your load.
Dig through your wallet or purse and find that relic receipt from August and recycle it.
In your life there are things that you must also get rid of. Bad thoughts or unhappy feelings need to be left behind.
Start 2018 FRESH and with a good positive outlook.
WESTON – In a startling development for the Rock n Roll community, world famous Rolling Stones guitarist and songwriter Keith Richards was found alive on Wednesday. Crew members said they found his animated body sitting beside an amp, picking at a guitar and murmuring some incomprehensible melody. Shocked but elated, the roadies took Richards back to the dressing rooms and covered his old broken body with designer scarves and skull rings.
“It’s astounding” said longtime Rolling Stones roadie Steve Kruger, “to find him in this state is…well, it’s unexpected to say the least.” Richards, the grizzly-faced guitarist long thought to be the most likely person on the planet to next kick the bucket, was noodling on a 5-string fender when he was found miraculously still conscious. “At first I thought it was some 200-year old giant turtle that crawled in here, or a wrinkly sack of potatoes with somebody inside,” recalled Kruger. “But no! There he was, strumming away on a few opening chords to ‘Start Me Up.’ What I was seeing looked awful, but unmistakable. When I realized it was Keith, I thought it might be one of those holograms like they created for Michael Jackson and 2Pac at Bonnaroo music fest a few years back. But then I touched him and he screamed ‘what the hell do you want!?’, and I knew.”
Figuring that they might as well use him, the Stones management has decided to continue taking him on the road. “People still want to see him perform,” said Kruger. “And they’ll pay good money to see their favorite corpse up onstage, especially if he’s moving around and kind of sort of acting like it’s all still fresh and sexy. So now it’s kind of like we’re touring with some old museum piece, or your grandma’s music box, handed down from generation to generation, still spitting out a tune,” said Kruger. “And I’ll tell ya, Keith still makes a good noise.”
I published this series a few years back and I want to edit and repost it. I am not proud to say that this time of year I struggle with a little bit of depression. I have a GREAT life and an amazing family so it just makes me angry when I feel this way. Writing is a way for me to work through it. I miss friends and family from my youth. I miss my kids when they were little and excited by Christmas. At this writing we are are together in Colorado where my daughter lives. We plan on doing some skiing and just hanging out as a family.
In April, on my other blog Vacilando, I posted 30 days of peace. It was at a time when I think we, as a country, needed to focus on peace.
Now, 7 months later, let’s focus on HOPE. From now until the New Year I will (hopefully) be giving you a reason to be hopeful and to share that hope. Because with out HOPE, what’s the point?
As a 53 year old, I have faith in our next generation. I was texting with my son last night and told him that I have more faith in his generation than my own. They are largely engaged, environmentally conscious and see that they can change the world. They still have HOPE in their eyes and their hope gives me hope.
This holiday season these young consumers want to give—and to give back. Speaking to my children I’ve learned they plan to spend more than they did last year on gifts for family and friends. My son said he and his girlfriend plan on giving to a charity and volunteering as their gift to each other. I found statistics for their generation and learned that a substantial majority plans to donate to a favorite cause or to spend time volunteering. Retailers will get in the spirit, too: nearly 75 percent say they will make charitable contributions to celebrate the season. And the good cheer doesn’t end there. Giving back inspires more giving back. Consumers prefer to buy from retailers who translate their values into action, whether it’s in the form of cash donations, commitments to sustainable practices, or community involvement, and many shoppers say they will actually spend more with these brands. It’s clear that giving back is good for business.
This is exciting news and a happy blurring of the lines between what we care about and how and what we buy and sell. Companies can engage consumers with their brands and products by demonstrating a clear sense of social purpose. Consumers have the opportunity to choose companies or products that support the causes they champion. At a time when consumers are increasingly demanding not only great products but companies with values that match their own, the holiday season is an ideal time to bring humanity to buying and selling.
While shoppers of all ages say they will open their hearts and their wallets this year for causes that matter to them, we can expect to see some generational differences. It’s the most digital time of the year, more millennial parents than consumers overall plan to make donations to their favorite charities. And millennials (young, college-educated, upwardly mobile), will increase the size of their charitable donations this year by a larger amount than shoppers in other age groups. But younger consumers won’t be far behind when it comes to spending to support causes they believe in. Gen Z shoppers (ages 16-20) are both brand loyal and loyal to brands that show social impact through their actions.
Younger millennials and members of Gen Z, perhaps because they have grown up in the era of B (benefit) Corporations, for example, when they buy a pair of shoes a pair goes to a child in need, and they expect business to be a force for good.
Make a difference this year by shopping local, shopping with a conscience, giving back to the community. Can’t think of what to get that weird cousin on your dad’s side? Make a donation in their name. Buy them a membership to a historical theater or museum.
I found this article. Great songs. Some of my personal favorites and some I have to go and find.
The 20 Coolest Christmas Songs For An Alternative Yule
So this is Christmas? As we’re knee-deep in Yuletide adverts, Slade’s ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ and Wizzard’s ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday’ are on heavy rotation. Fine if that’s your thing, but it may not satisfy those keen to celebrate a hipper festive season with more ostensibly cool Christmas songs.
Don’t get us wrong here. This isn’t a Scrooge-like attempt to knock the traditions any more than it’s intended to denigrate festive greats such as ‘White Christmas’ or ‘Winter Wonderland’. Yet, if Christmas is meant for one and all, then we feel it’s also fair to offer a gift to the more adventurous music fan. If you like a hearty slice of credibility to accompany your glass of festive cheer, here’s our selection of 20 cool Christmas songs, compiled just for you.
Weezer: ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas’ (2008)
A short, sharp and faithful pop-punk take on the popular festive staple from the 2008 Christmas With Weezer EP. The record’s six tracks were originally recorded for Apple’s iOS video game of the same name.
The Smashing Pumpkins: ‘Christmastime’ (1997)
Recorded during the sessions for the band’s fourth album, Adore, but released on one of A&M’s star-studded charity compilations, A Very Special Christmas 3 – the third in a series of releases home to many cool Christmas songs.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts: Little Drummer Boy
No Doubt: ‘Oi To The World’ (1997)
Infectious, skinhead-style ska salute to Christmas. Originally the B-side to ‘Happy Now?’ from the Diamond-selling Tragic Kingdom.
Eels: ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Cool This Christmas’ (1998)
Another gem tucked away on a B-side. In this case, the flip to ‘Cancer For The Cure’ from Eels’ acclaimed sophomore album, Electro-Shock Blues.
Amy Winehouse: ‘I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus’ (2004)
Amy Winehouse’s earthy, bossa nova-style version of Jimmy Boyd’s 1952 Billboard chart-topper was recorded live for a BBC Radio 2 Christmas Day special, The Gospel According To Christmas.
The Killers: ‘Don’t Shoot Me Santa’ (2011)
Collecting The Killers’ annual Xmas singles from 2006 to 2011, the digitally-released (Red) Christmas EP – featuring this track – was a charity record with the proceeds going to the anti-AIDS Product Red campaign headed by Bono and US activist Bobby Shriver.
Queen: ‘A Winter’s Tale’ (1995)
A dreamy, psychedelic beauty of a song recorded at the very end of Queen’s career with Freddie Mercury. It appears on the posthumous 1995 album, Made In Heaven.
David Bowie And Bing Crosby: ‘Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy’ (1982)
Described by the The Washington Post as “one of the most successful duets in Christmas music history”, Bowie and Bing’s transcendent version of this stellar Christmas song is actually a cover of a track first recorded by The Sound Of Music-inspiring Trapp Family Singers in 1951.
Beck: ‘The Little Drum Machine Boy’ (1997)
The self-proclaimed “holiday robot funk” of Beck’s seven-minute ‘Little Drum Machine Boy’ appeared six months after his landmark Odelay album, on Geffen’s Just Say Noël compilation. It’s got freaky Roland 808 drum beats, sleigh bells and cowbells, and it’s quite brilliant.
Tom Petty: ‘Christmas All Over Again’ (1992)
Rousing, widescreen anthem with a Jeff Lynne co-production credit and a touch of Phil Spector. It was included on another of A&M’s double-Platinum Christmas collections, A Very Special Christmas 2.
Lady Gaga: ‘Christmas Tree’ (2008)
A digital download-only festive rarity which liberally samples the classic Christmas song ‘Deck The Halls’. It cracked the Top 30 of Billboard’s Holiday Songs Chart, despite the lyrics’ sexual innuendos.
Blink-182: ‘I Won’t Be Home For Christmas’ (2001)
Originally recorded and issued as a radio promo in 1997, but only officially released as a single in 2001. It remains the Californian skate-punk stars’ sole Canadian No.1.
Bon Jovi: ‘Please Come Home For Christmas’ (1992)
Jon Bon Jovi’s emotive cover of Charles Brown’s 1960 Billboard chart-topper was originally another stand-out on A&M’s A Very Special Christmas 2 in 1992. Issued as a single in 1994 (under the Bon Jovi banner), it went Top 10 in the UK and Ireland.
Snoop Dogg: ‘Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto’ (1996)
Featuring a sample from Isaac Hayes’ ‘Do Your Thing’, Snoop’s festive treat appeared on a Death Row Records charity compilation, Christmas On Death Row.
Rev Run and many others Santa Baby mix
The Kinks: ‘Father Christmas’ (1977)
From The Kinks’ underrated Misfits comes this hard-hitting, socially-aware rocker, wherein Ray Davies threatens to duff up the big man with the white beard unless he “gives my Daddy a job ’cause he needs one/He’s got lots of mouths to feed”.
Pearl Jam: ‘Let Me Sleep (Christmas Time)’ (1991)
Early – and extremely collectible – Pearl Jam single, later recorded live for the 2011 compilation album Pearl Jam 20.
The Pogues (Featuring Kirsty MacColl): ‘Fairytale Of New York’ (1987)
Aside from Bowie and Bing, the only mainstream hit on the list, but it more than earns its place among these cool Christmas songs. It’s impossible to imagine the holidays without ‘Fairytale Of New York’, which was, bizarrely, recorded on a sweltering summer’s day in August ’87.
Low: ‘Just Like Christmas’ (1999)
Usually known for funereally slow alt.pop, Minnesota trio Low released the glorious Christmas EP in 1999 as “a gift to fans”. It’s transcendent and opens with this blissful bout of unashamedly pure, sleigh-bell-assisted pop.
Dropkick Murphy’s The seasons upon us
Fountains of Wayne. Valley Winter Song
Today marks an anniversary of one of the worst days in America. The day a man with a gun walked into a school and killed 20 Children and 6 Adults at Sandyhook Elementary School in Newtown, Ct.
I cried that day and the world cried with us. What happened next was an embarrassment. What happened next was, nothing…. Nothing happened. We as a country failed to pass a common sense gun law. We didn’t do a thing.
We, as a country, seem to love our guns more than our children. For you Gun nuts who think the country would be better if there were more guns. FUCK YOU. Stop reading. Go away. You are hopeless. You are a sheep who is being lead by the NRA and what you read about on your right wing conspiracy blogs. If you are so tough, you should stand up and say, “Enough!” we no longer live in the wild west. So I say again, Fuck you. You don’t have to look these parents in the eye when you see them at a gymnastics meet.
I have raised my children in a world where school lockdowns have become common. Where another school shooting, drive by shooting, shootings in churches, movie theaters, and playgrounds have become common place.
You know who I have hope for? The next generation. Their voting patterns show that they want REAL change. They do not want to raise their children in a world where politicians and right wing media can deny science. Where the president elect can make up facts and deny the truth.
This is NOT a Clinton/ Trump thing for me (I supported Sanders in the primary). I look and see that the 18-24 years olds largely did not vote for the climate change denying, NRA and KKK supported pussy grabber.
So yeah, I have more HOPE for the next generation.
I had a different plan for what I was going to write this morning. Then I started thinking about my friends and family who are no longer with us. The pain will always be there. Is it odd to find comfort in the pain? It is how I remember them.
I went to see my niece in a play the other day. It breaks my heart to see her and her brother because they look SO much like their dad who passed away.
My friend Jeff who just lost his mother asked, “How do you continue on when the person who built your heart is gone?”
There are no simple answers. Life is comedy and tragedy. The minute you are born you spend the rest of your time on earth either living or dying. I believe in the Butterfly Effect. Your parents gave you more than life. They taught you lessons. Your job was to continue and teach those around you. As a parent there are three things that I wanted to teach my children. The “3 R’s”
We want our children to respect others and to be respected.
We want our children to be reliable. To be that person that others turn to and can count on.
We want our children to be resilient. To bounce back. I want my children to be a super ball. As children we remember the awe, how can this little ball store so much energy to bounce so high? 
That is what I want from my children and, my friends, that is what your parents would want from you. Today, tomorrow, this month. BOUNCE. Bounce so high you touch the stars. Bounce so high others look at you in awe and wonder, “how can someone store so much energy they can go so high?”
That is the most important lesson. That lesson, I hope, will give you hope and hope to those around you.
I love you both and hope that you can bounce.
What is dying?
I am standing on the seashore.
A ship sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean.
She is an object and I stand watching her
Till at last she fades from the horizon,
And someone at my side says, “She is gone!” Gone where?
Gone from my sight, that is all;
She is just as large in the masts, hull and spars as she was when I saw her,
And just as able to bear her load of living freight to its destination.
The diminished size and total loss of sight is in me, not in her;
And just at the moment when someone at my side says, “She is gone”,
There are others who are watching her coming,
And other voices take up a glad shout,
“There she comes” – and that is dying.
I am a bit of a Star Wars Fan and I am REALLY looking forward to the new movie although it will need to wait for me to return from Italy. The commercial from last year was based on HOPE.
Without hope- there is nothing.
Obi Wan isn’t the ONLY hope. We are the human race. We are in this together.
The commercialism of holidays is something we’ve been hearing about for decades.
Greg Lake, who passed away yesterday, penned the song with Peter Sinfield, “I believe in Father Christmas” in the mid 70’s. Although it is often categorised as a Christmas song, this was not Lake’s intention. He said that he wrote the song in protest at the commercialisation of Christmas.
They said there’ll be snow at Christmas
They said there’ll be peace on Earth
But instead it just kept on raining
A veil of tears for the Virgin birth
I remember one Christmas morning
A winters light and a distant choir
And the peal of a bell and that Christmas Tree smell
And their eyes full of tinsel and fireThey sold me a dream of Christmas
They sold me a Silent Night
And they told me a fairy story
‘Till I believed in the Israelite
And I believed in Father Christmas
And I looked TO the sky with excited eyes
‘Till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn
And I saw him and through his disguiseI wish you a hopeful Christmas
I wish you a brave New Year
All anguish pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear
They said there’ll be snow at Christmas
They said there’ll be peace on Earth
Hallelujah Noel be it Heaven or Hell
The Christmas we get we deserve
I want to believe that everyone (except for advertising executives while at work) want to get away from the commercialization. They want this time of year to be about Peace and Hope. That may be why there are a few commercials every year that are released to actually make you feel good.
You are destined to see this in a later post because it is based on an actual event.
Sometimes you just have to make the best of the situation you are in
A reminder to slowdown and spend sometime with your family
And (in my opinion) the best commercial for 2017- MOZ the Monster
Tony Retrosi 