Then pick up a copy of this book:

Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain

"When you are inspired by some great
purpose, some extraordinary project,
all your thoughts break their bonds;
Your mind transcends limitations,
your consciousness expands in every direction,
and you find yourself in a new, great
and wonderful world.
Dormant forces, faculties and talents
become alive, and you discover yourself
to be a greater person by far
than you ever dreamed
yourself to be."

- Patanjali
(C. First to third century B.C.)

These are pictures I took today of a bird which I believe is a male Northern Cardinal in my backyard.

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

I have been putting cat food out for some neighborhood cats. Last week I saw a strange animal eating the food, and a helpful person here suggested it may be an opposum. Well I saw it again last night and I think it is likely an opposum as was suiggested. I live in Queens, NY, and I have never seen this kind of animal before. I wonder where it came from.

Opposum 2

Weird looking animal

Opposum 1

Cheap Trick - Surrender

Youtube - Video

Once in awhile, a song comes along that is great in so many ways. Music, lyrics, message. This is one of them.

Youtube - Video

This is a great little movie about a Lifeguard (Sam Elliott) who is getting older but still is working as a lifeguard instead of getting a regular career. It resonates with anyone who ever got heavy into the beach scene and considered, even for a moment, spending most of their life on the beach. For many years I spent summers at Jones Beach and knew that feeling.

In the early to mid 90s I was a member of Prodigy, before the internet was readily available. The most activity on Prodigy was on their message boards. There was a movie board and I got into a discussion of this movie with some people. I said how much I liked it. Then one day I got an email from a guy, who was the producer of the movie and he thanked me for my comments. If you really like the beach, good looking guys and girls, this movie is a gem:

Youtube - Video

This is a list of some of America's scariest highways. I have driven on 2 of them, the Pacific Coast Highway in California, and U.S. 1 to Key West. The Pacific Coast Highway is not really scary, just a lot of curves along the Pacific Ocean. A very beautiful drive. I do agree that U.S. 1 to Key West, Florida is scary, as it is a thin 2 lane highway for over a hundred miles to Key West, and it is like driving on a small patch of road over the water.

Another scary road is "Alligator Alley" from Fort Lauderdale on the east coast of Florida to Naples on the west coast of Florida. It is another 2 lane highway, except there is literally nothing along the road, or any places to stop or turn for about 100 miles as it goes right through the Everglades. It takes a bit of nerve to get on it knowing that you can't stop for about 100 miles.

Here is the link to the story:
http://www.forbes.com/2010/05/18/americas-scariest-highways-lifestyle-travel-cars-road-trip_slide_12.html

It's not the way that you say it
When you do those things to me.
It's more the way that you mean it
When you tell me what will be.

And when you stop and think about it
You won't believe it's true.
That all the love you've been giving
Has all been meant for you.

I'm looking for someone to change my life.
I'm looking for a miracle in my life.
And if you could see what it's done to me
To lose the the love I knew
Could safely lead me through.

Between the silence of the mountains
And the crashing of the sea
There lies a land I once lived in
And she's waiting there for me.

But in the grey of the morning
My mind becomes confused
Between the dead and the sleeping
And the road that I must choose.

I'm looking for someone to change my life.
I'm looking for a miracle in my life.
And if you could see what it's done to me
To lose the the love I knew
Could safely lead me to
The land that I once knew.
To learn as we grow old
The secrets of our souls.

Youtube - Video

Shane:

Youtube - Video

"Form a mental picture of yourself as you want to be, and at the greatest height your imagination can picture. Dwell upon this for some little time, holding the thought: "This is what I really am; it is a picture of my own perfect and advancing to completion. I will contemplate the facts of social, political, and industrial life only from this high viewpoint. Behold, it is all very good. I will see all human beings, all my acquaintances, friends, neighbors, and the members of my own household in the same way. They are all good. Nothing is wrong with the universe; nothing can be wrong but my own personal attitude, and henceforth I keep that right. My whole trust is in God."

- Wallace D. Wattles, The Science of Being Great

My friend Claudia was a young musician in 1984 who was the best friend of another young musician in 1984, Patty Smyth who made this classic mid 80s rocker with her band Scandal.

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For He Himself has said,
"I will never leave you nor forsake you."

So we may boldly say:
"The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?"

Einstein on the Beach - Counting Crows

Youtube - Video

I am happy to see that this video of my old friend Claudia's song now has almost 1500 views on youtube in the month since I gave it to the guy who uploaded it. I still find it really cool that I got to become a friend and confidant of someone who made a somewhat historical dance/electronic/protohouse record. I didn't know at first that the girl I was kissing had made a record I used to hear on the radio. And this was a video that MTV banned for being too sexy!

Dominatrix - The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight (Remastered)

Youtube - Video

"Nothing was ever in any man that is not in you; no man ever had more spiritual or mental power than you can attain, or did greater things than you can accomplish. You can become what you want to be."

I have been feeding some of the cats in my neighborhood. Last night I looked out my door and saw a strange animal at the bowl of cat food. I have no idea what kind of animal this was. I live in Queens, New York and there are not many wild animals here, mainly squirrels. This animal was about 10 inches long, with a long head, chubby body and light colored. I looked at some pictures of animals like beavers and moles and it wasn't one of them. The head looked a bit like an anteater but I don't think they are native in my area.

I recommend falling in love, at least once, with a crazy girl. And I mean crazy in a good way. Nothing makes for a thrilling ride than falling in love with someone who is a little nuts, a little dangerous, a little dishonest, a little unpredictable, but very sexy, very pretty, and very loving. When you fall for someone like that you have to take the whole package. I had that with my GF Beatrice. And BTW she looks just like Katy Perry does in this video, and she kisses exactly like Katy does on this video as pictured here and around 2:12:

Youtube - Video

Last year, Verizon billed me for a fraudulent charge by some scam outfit that said I had joined some internet service. That practice is known as cramming. When I called Verizon over it, they gave me a hard time and refused to remove the charge and insisted that I had to get a refund from the company that charged it. I was furious and wrote to the Chairman/CEO of Verizon. I didn't get a reply but shortly after, Verizon gave me credit for the charge. Now today in the Verizon bill is a notice that their new policy is that they will *automatically* credit any cramming charges when they are notified. I am not taking credit for this change but I am sure my letter had some influence over this decision.

My friend Claudia was a musician and I posted her recording before on this blog. She used to work with Andy Warhol and knew Lou Reed from that time, and even attended AA with him (I don't know why some musicians get so involved with substance abuse). Here is a version of Sweet Jane with Metallica at the 2009 Rock and Roll HOF:

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Once when I was about 19, I was driving home at night from college and this song came on the radio. It was an old song that I had heard before, but in that moment, and for the first time, this song struck me as deeply spiritual. I was not jaded at that age, and was probably thinking about what is the meaning of life. In that one moment that I heard this song play, it was a once in a lifetime transcendent experience.

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I haven't heard this song for a long time. It is wimpy but it was good to hear it again:

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Chicago - Look Away

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I didn't realize until recently that the wonderful Taylor Swift was the female voice on these 2 songs:

Half of My Heart - John Mayer

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Two is Better Than One - Boys Like Girls

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I first thought this bird was a pigeon based on its shape and how it moves. But I think it is a mourning dove which I guess is part of the pigeon family.

Mourning Dove on garage roof:

Dove facing left:

Dove facing right:

I have been feeding the birds in my yard. This one showed up which I haven't seen before and don't know what kind it is. I had to use the zoom to get these pictures.

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

The hardest part is when you're in it.

Youtube - Video

This is one of the great Western movies starring Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne. This is a great song by Gene Pitney which for some reason never actually was in the movie. As for who actually shot Liberty Valance, this video shows who if you watch closely.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - Gene Pitney

Youtube - Video

I am always looking for a good picture. I was sitting in my backyard today and the sun was shining just over the trees so I put my hand up reaching for the sun and took this picture. Then a few minutes later, clouds or some trails in the sky formed to create an "X" in the sky...like saying this is the spot. This wonderful sight made me think of the song Hands to Heaven by Breathe.

May 15, 2010

The sky a few minutes later

Hands to Heaven - Breathe

Youtube - Video

This song came out in 1969 shortly after the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. I took these pictures at the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington Cemetery.

Abraham, Martin and John - Dion

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Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln Memorial

John F. Kennedy

Eternal Flame

Bobby Kennedy

Robert Kennedy's grave

A late 80s classic:

Youtube - Video

you can relate to this song:

Youtube - Video

One of my favorite quotes is the famous line spoken by Napoleon Hill in Think & Grow Rich: "What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve." Sounds good doesn't it? When our minds accept that something is true, a belief, then our mind sets in motion any and all events to make that our reality. Whatever beliefs, thoughts, and ideas that your mind becomes familiar with, or is conditioned to, must become a part of you and that is who you become.

But how do we get our minds to conceive and believe, and ultimately achieve, the things we want? The mind is like having our own personal little computer - it just tosses out results based on the instructions we give it. When we want different results, we must give our minds new instructions to follow. Some call it self-suggestion, others call it auto-suggestion, others call it subliminal messaging, but I like the term reframing. Reframing is when you continuously introduce new ideas and thoughts into your mind until they become a dominant belief.

The amount of time it takes to reframe new beliefs into your mind will depend on how consistently you introduce new thoughts versus the amount of time you spend thinking about your current beliefs. Imagine a cup of dirty water (your current beliefs). If you begin to add clean water (new thoughts) to the cup, eventually you will end up with a cup of clean water (new beliefs). It also depends on the amount of beliefs you have in your mind that need to be reframed. Replacing a cup of dirty water takes less time that replacing something the size of a bathtub, or a swimming pool.

Beliefs are really nothing more than thoughts - ideas that we think are true. The truth is that beliefs are not facts, they are only thoughts. Sure they may look like facts because our outer world has been arranged to match our beliefs. We can choose to think and believe whatever we want. The more we think a new thought, the more it becomes a belief. Once these new beliefs have become a part of our subconscious, then our world must change to match our new beliefs. "What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve."

Alexander Graham Bell knew that if he held the concept of the telephone in his mind, the ideas, people and resources to make it a reality would come to him. Rhonda Byrne (creator of The Secret) knew that if she held a vision of perfect eyesight in her mind that her subconscious mind would make that a reality. And it took only 3 days! And I know that if you make the choice to have a new belief, your world will change to make that a reality. Sounds good doesn't it?

Author's Bio
Karen Walker is an internationally recognized speaker, author, mentor and coach, specializing in the teaching how the Law Of Attraction (LOA) co-created with the subconscious mind. For more information visit: Activate Abundance

Last Saturday, New York Mets announcer Keith Hernandez took a nap between innings while on the air:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/ModernTube-Keith-Hernandez-falls-asleep-during-?urn=mlb,239932

QuizBot: [QUESTION] In 1957, Jerry Lewis brought to the screen what famous George Baker comic-strip/comic-book character? (Genre: TV & Cinema, points: 3)
sam!!: sad sack
QuizBot: Sad Sack is the correct answer 3 points for sam!! (131).
DevonCream: wd
sam!!: ty
Quadro: sad
[AnnaBanana left the room]
QuizBot: Ending the game...
QuizBot: Rankings:
QuizBot: 1. sam!! (131) 2. devoncream (59) 3. quadro (21) 4. aman (10)
QuizBot: 5. kazz83 (8) 6. bizzer! (8) 7. gangstaa (7) 8. arcticus (3)
QuizBot: 9. konaman (2) 10. seaturtle (2) 11. baybreeze (1)
sam!!: gg all
martin2010: absent minded professor
Quadro: wd sam!!
Bizzer!: congrats sam!!
DevonCream: wd sam!! the champ
Gangstaa: wd all
Quadro: wd DevonCream
Bizzer!: wd everyone!
sam!!: ty Quadro Bizzer! DevonCream woo
martin2010: wd sam!!
lickalotapuss: 131
lickalotapuss: lol
DevonCream: ty
Quadro: wd everyone

I was a bit shy with my first girlfriend:

Me and my first girlfriend

OK, that is not really me but that is a bit like how I acted. :)

Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
Chasing after you
I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you

Forgetting all I'm lacking
Completely incomplete
I'll take your invitation
You take all of me now...

Youtube - Video

Nothin' On You - B.o.B. feat. Bruno Mars

Youtube - Video

But by the grace of God
I am what I am,
and His grace toward me
was not in vain;
but I labored more abundantly
than they all,
yet not I,
but the grace of God
which was with me.

The "Halley's Comet" song:

Youtube - Video

Here is a picture I took of a San Francisco cable car, and then the song Cable Car (Over My Head) by The Fray.

San Francisco cable car

The Fray - Over My Head (Cable Car)

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I know now that true love is forever. It doesn't depend on how long you are with a person. Some true love can be from a short relationship as well as one that last a lifetime. But love itself never dies.

This is a follow-up to the story I told of a girl who unexpectedly one day asked if I loved her. We weren't in a romantic relationship at the time but I said yes. I purposely haven't mentioned her by name, but that doesn't really matter. She saw what I needed and I guess it was love though I didn't realize it at the time. She taught me how to kiss. She loved to kiss. She would give rapid fire kisses as well as slow ones. She used to kiss my eyes. I thought what the heck is this but wow was it good. I thought I didn't deserve this but readily accepted it.

Then a few short months later, this girl abruptly moved away. I don't know all the reasons but things happen for a reason. New people came into my life but I never forgot her. Then about 2 years later, we ended up together by chance in a place we hadn't been before. She fell into my arms like she had years before. I knew then that years and separation do not end or even reduce love. Then a magical thing happened. I was holding her and this song came on the radio, and we just started singing it to each other:

I'm, I'm so in love with you
Whatever you want to do
Is alright with me
'Cause you make me feel, so brand new

Al Green-Lets Stay Together

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Here is the autograph of the billionaire former CEO of Ebay, Meg Whitman, who signed this book at the Borders store in the World Trade Center in 1999.

Meg Whitman autograph

Actually I really did. The Apollo 11 command module went to the moon and the actual spacecraft is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. It is on display covered by a clear plastic, but you can walk up to it and touch it. Pretty cool. Here is a picture I took of it:

Apollo 11 Command Module

I have counted 14 plus Washington D.C. thus far for me. This is the list and whether I drove or flew there:

California (by airplane)
Connecticut (by car)
Delaware (by car)
Florida (by airplane)
Hawaii (by airplane, duh!)
Illinois (by airplane)
Maryland (by car)
Massachusetts (by car)
New Jersey (by car)
New York (my home state)
Pennsylvania (by car)
Rhode Island (by car)
Texas (by airplane)
Virginia (by car)
Washington, D.C. (by car and airplane)

I like going to the beach. These are some pictures I took in Santa Monica, California, in the greater Los Angeles area. It was in the month of October which is why the beaches are empty.

This is the famous Santa Monica Pier, which was a block from my hotel:

Santa Monica Pier

Here are a couple of pictures of the gorgeous beach at Santa Monica:

Santa Monica Beach 1

Santa Monica Beach 2

And when I think of California beaches, I always think of the Beach Boys:

The Beach Boys - Don't Worry Baby

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My parents had this song on an LP and sometimes I just had to play it on my stereo with the volume turned up high. I may have done my own version of the Carlton dance. :)

Tom Jones - It's Not Unusual

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One more of the cat I am feeding.

Don't make a face at the camera

We believe that we are hurt when we don't receive love. But that is not what hurts us. Our pain comes when we do not give love. We were born to love. You might say that we are divinely created love machines. We function most powerfully when we are giving love. The world has led us to believe that our well-being is dependent on other people loving us. But this is the kind of upside-down thinking that has caused so many of our problems. The truth is that our well-being is dependent on our giving love. It is not about what comes back; it is about what goes out!

- Alan Cohen

This is a song that demands to be played at full volume.

Tubes - Talk to Ya Later

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"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."

Kiss Me Goodbye - Petula Clark

Petula Clark - Kiss Me Goodbye (1968)

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