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Archive for April, 2009|Monthly archive page

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Facebook and Dulwich

In Dulwich OnView, new content on April 8, 2009 at 8:27 am

I recently reviewed my facebook profile and decided to cull a few of the groups I’m in. Do I still need to be in the group Every time your misplace an apostrophe, God kills another kitten?

I’m also a member of a few facebook groups linked to the local Dulwich area. It got me thinking about what else might be out there. There’s some strange stuff in the world of the Internet, and some of it is closer to home than you think.

Read my musings, and some of the funnier groups in my local area, on Dulwich OnView.

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Some Dylan quotes

In happiness on April 7, 2009 at 11:14 am

Further to Bob Dylan’s favourite songs on the theme of happiness, here are a few of my favourite things he said during his most recent show:

Can’t promise I’m gonna make you happy, but I’ll do my darndest

Everyone you know can make you happy. Some do it by arriving and some do it by leaving.

Richard Gere once told me something the Dalai Lama once said: ‘If you want others to be happy, practise compassion. If you want to be happy, practise compassion.’

Some people have to get high to make other people happy.

When talking about feng shui and its importance in a happy home: Los Angeles zoo spent $4500 to a feng shui expert to make three monkeys from China feel more at home. I don’t think it was the feng shui that made them feel happy. I think the monkeys just liked the fact that they can make zoo keepers spend $4500 on them.

Some people like to sweat in the hot sun. Some like to lie in the shade in a hammock. Who’s to judge which is better?

According to research, do you know what makes people happy? Money, religion, friends and marriage. How much did they spend on this research? I could’ve told them that. And people who earn over $80,000 are happier than people who earn less than that. Do you know who’s really happy? The guy who got paid to do this research.

Also, Gretchen Rubin – who blogs about happiness – found a really nice quote from Bob Dylan in his memoir Chronicle.

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Bob Dylan’s theme time radio hour

In happiness on April 6, 2009 at 10:07 am

The latest edition of Bob Dylan’s radio show (05 April 2009) was on the theme of happiness. He played an hour of tracks, each linked to happiness somehow, interspersed with his grizzly, philosophical musings about why he likes each song. He played:

Feelin’ high and happy Hot Lips Page

Love and Happiness Al Green

Then I’ll Be Happy Jimmy Heap and the Melody Makers

Happy Home Elmore James

Happy Days are Here Again originally from the movie Chasing Rainbows (recorded on Black Tuesday, 1929)

Happy Rolling Stones

Get Happy Al Green

Happy Plastics Family – advertising jingle for du Pont

I Wanna Be Happy Ella Fitzgerald

Happy Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins

You Made Me So Very Happy Blood, Sweat and Tears

The Happy Cowboy The Sons of the Pioneers

Everybody’s Happy Nowadays Buzzcocks

Smile Judy Garland (originally written by Charlie Chaplin)

Happy Trails Dale Evans

You can listen to it on the BBC 6 Music website until Sunday evening, when the next episode comes out.

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What makes Bob Dylan happy?

In happiness on April 3, 2009 at 7:20 am

Each week on BBC 6 Music Bob Dylan plays tracks for one hour based around a theme. This week’s show (05 April ’09) is on the theme of happiness. I wonder what he’ll play.

Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Hour is on BBC 6 Music on Sunday night (Monday morning) midnight-1am. Listen to the show on digital radio in the UK or online, or listen again after the event if you’re not usually up at midnight on a Sunday.

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I’m a writer – it’s official

In Uncategorized on April 1, 2009 at 9:58 am

I’ve been investigating what it might be like to live the life of a writer for the last year, shifting to working part-time in my role at the British Museum and experimenting with the lifestyle of a wordsmith. It turns out I absolutely love writing and the life that goes with it.

So, now it’s time to move on from the BM and give this career a proper chance. As of today, I’m officially a writer. It’ll be strange, but I’m very much looking forward to responding to the question ‘What do you do?’ with ‘I’m a writer.’

I’ve left the employ of the BM, but I’m not leaving them completely. One of my next projects will be to write a tranche of new material for the museum’s audio tour, which is going to be great fun. I’m also continuing to write for Museum [Insider] and for Dulwich OnView (where I cut my teeth as a writer) and will be contributing to other blogs and online magazines too. And research into happiness continues as well.

It’s going to be a busy year. Let’s see what happens next …

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