http://www.ted.com/talks/tan_le_my_immigration_story.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/drew_dudley_everyday_leadership.html

Idan Raichel - Mom, Dad and all the Rest - Links and Lyrics

Idan Raichel - Mom, Dad and all the Rest

A beautiful Israeli song by the Idan Raichel Project. The song portrays the true and deep pain of soldiers returning home from war. It also questions whether a soldier's family even knows the experience they have been through. It firmly states there is no glamour and pride associated with a soldier's work.

The song was actually written by a fallen soldier of the Yom Kippur War.

Lyrics

And when the night is over and the sun shines

Will you know Mom, what our eyes have seen?

Tall tree-tops around, yet with scorched stems

Big houses around, but ruined and matte colored

I walk on ruins, Mom

And believe me, there is no pear and there is no flower

We are not heroes because our labour is dark (black)

The sun will set, the darkness will come

And we will sleep with our clothes in the bed

Yes mother, it's important, it's hard and it's terrible

I swear that it is hard, but I am staying

The ground is gray and the horizon is black

And the blue of the sky lingers and waits

And does not touch, it does not touch the black horizon

A space between them, nothing to do with all the rest

And it is very hard, but I am staying

There is a wired fence, and beyond it a drawn sword

Mom, Dad and all the rest

We are not heroes because our labour is dark (black)

The sun will set, the darkness will come

And we will sleep with our clothes in the bed

Yes mother, it's important, it's hard and it's terrible

And when the night is over and the sun shines

Will you know Mom, what our eyes have seen?

Michel Cohen - Links and Lyrics

Michel Cohen - Al Tashlicheni Le'et Zikna (Do not cast me off in time of old age)

Young vocal-genius Michel Cohen covers a song which is based on a Psalm from Tehilim, Chapter 71.

"My mouth shall be filled with Thy praise, and with Thy glory all the day. Cast me not off in the time of old age; when my strength faileth, forsake me not"

Lyrics

My mouth shall be filled with Thy praise

And with Thy glory all the day.

Do not cast me off in time of old age;

do not forsake me when my strength fails.

Shay Hamber - Links and Lyrics

Shay Hamber - Veat (And You) (Harel Skaat Cover)

And You

This day, which crashed on me

Which made it too hard

I forgot about myself and that's it

I was, I was not myself

I'll close this door behind me

Again could not touch me

In the depths of my heart

I was wrong, I was not myself

That the emptiness will not struck me again

The reality which awaits

That I will not cry again

That I will find comfort

A little bit

And you

Who are you kidding, when you

Don't hug me, again

You almost raised me for a moment

I would have been different, if I would have known

That you,

Who are you getting closer to?

Who are you falling in love with?

Who are you not leaving?

If only you would stay,

I would have made you happy

And again I walk, the same city, the same faces

I know the smells in the air

I was wrong, I didn't see you

And suddenly they are all the same

Every song reminds me

From every ring my heart stops

I touched, I didn't feel you

And I never again want to fall in love

The love that will rot

The emotions

That will burn

Slowly

And you,

Who are you kidding, when you

Don't hug me yet again

You almost raised me for a moment

I would have been different, if I would have known

That you,

Who are you getting closer to?

Who are you falling in love with?

Who are you not leaving?

If only you would stay,

I would have made you happy

And you,

Who are you touching slowly?

Who are you hurting?

Almost like then, when you wounded me

The whole world you discovered,

And then took with you

Who is it now that is touching you?

I hope that he is happy that he has you

That he doesn't hurt you,

That he doesn't harm you,

I would have been like that, if I would have known

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold / Exit Through The Gift Shop

"Corporations are raising our children, McDonalds feeds them. And Disney 
and Time Warner entertains them."

The Best T-shirt Website

Skreened

The Most Dangerous Drug

Brilliant article by Charlie Brooker from the Guardian

The most dangerous drug isn't meow-meow, it isn't even alcohol...

Favourite TED Videos - Denis Dutton: A Darwinian theory of beauty

Denis Dutton: A Darwinian theory of beauty

Educating! Explores a whole new point of view on the subject of beauty and its origins

Favourite Quotes:
Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? No! Its deep in our minds, its a gift handed down from the intelligent skills and rich emotional lives of our most ancient ancestors. Our powerful reaction to images, to the expression of emotion in art, to the beauty of music, to the night sky - will be with us and our descendants will be with us for as long as the human race exists

Favourite TED Videos - Paul Bloom: The origins of pleasure

Paul Bloom: The origins of pleasure

Favourite Quotes:
The mind is its own place,
and in itself
Can make a Heaven of Hell,
a Hell from Heaven

Trust Quotes

• "People ask me why it's so hard to trust people, and I ask them, why is it so hard to keep a promise."

• "I'll start letting my guard down when people stop giving me reasons to keep it up. "

• "I've learned the best way to prevent your heart from getting broken, is to act like you don't have one. "

• "“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” -Golda Meir, 4th Prime Minister of Israel

• "Never trust sheep. " -Ryan Stiles

And my favourite one of all, of course by the great William Shakespeare:

• "This above all, to thine own self be true." -Hamlet

A clever interpretation of the quote:
"It means to first know thyself, who you are, why you behave, act, speak and react in the way you do. Know all that lurks in your subconscious driving your will at times to your destruction. To know your own mind and conquer it with mastery of will is to be true to oneself without compromise or egotism."

Christian Troy from Nip/Tuck

"God gave me a dick and I intend to glorify him by playing that organ as intensely and as often as possible."

"Once you've seen a woman's cumface, you've seen her soul."

"You want the wisdom to know the difference between what you can and can't change? Here's step 13: everything disappears. Love, trees, rocks, steel, plastic, human beings. None of us get out alive. Now you can huddle in a group and face it one day at a time, or you can be grateful that when your body rubs against somebody else's it explodes with enough pleasure to make you forget even for a minute that you're a walking pile of ashes. Now that is the truth. If you're strong it'll make you free, if you're weak, it'll make you... you."

Matisyahu

Jerusalem, if I forget you...

My Favourite YouTube Channels

WatchListenTell - best acoustic performances around the streets of London
http://www.youtube.com/user/watchlistentell

http://www.youtube.com/user/kinkradio/videos

Édith Piaf

Vocal Geniuses - Angus & Julia Stone

The Australian brother-sister duo, Angus & Julia Stone, were introduced to me by a dear someone. Julia's voice reminds of Lykke Li's - they both possess such magical and unique voices.

"Its been days now, and you change your mind again...

it feels like years, and I can tell how time can bend your ideas"

Angus & Julia Stone - And The Boys (acoustic)

Angus & Julia Stone - You're the one that I want (Grease musical acoustic cover)

Angus & Julia Stone - For You (acoustic)

Angus & Julia Stone - Mango Tree (live)

Angus & Julia Stone - Santa Monica Dream (acoustic)

Too Big To Fail

Last night I watched the HBO film, Too Big To Fail, which centers around US Treasury Secretary - Henry Paulson - and his struggle during the 2008 financial meltdown. The movie spans over the few weeks in September and October of 2008 when...


Favourite Quotes




Recession Jokes

(Referring to Henry Paulson's $700bn bailout proposal to Congress in 2008)

(Referring to the $80bn Dubai Debt Crisis in 2009)

(Self-explanatory :P)

(My favourite one - banks need money - 'Recession style' bank robbery)

Khaleesi: "Moon of my life, are you hurt?"

An emotional scene from the seventh episode of Game of Thrones titled 'You Win or You Die'

X-Men First Class

Favourite Quotes
"Charles Xavier: Listen to me very carefully, my friend: Killing will not bring you peace.

1. Erik Lehnsherr: Peace was never an option."

"Colonel Hendry...

Sebastian Shaw"

And of course the breathtaking January Jones

Lykke Li

Lykke Li has been my favourite musician ever since I heard 'Until We Bleed' years ago. I have absolutely loved almost every song shes made and so if I were to start posting my favourite videos of her this post would never end. I have tried to narrow down the list in an attempt to only include the special performances and truly powerful songs.

Lykke Li - Tonight (live acoustic)

This performance would even make Schwarzenegger or Stallone cry

Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone (live in the back of a cab)

Lykke Li - Little Bit (acoustic on the beach)

The Story of a Gentleman?

This is the story of my reflection on a night out with the guys regarding the characteristics, behaviour required of a gentleman.


For years I've tried to follow a narrow set of rules to guide my behaviour so that it is more gentleman-like. Quite basic manners - treat people (especially women) with respect, be patient and polite etc.


Last night I was out in a nightclub in Budapest when two somewhat-funny occurrences reminded of the importance of  maintaining a gentleman's etiquette.

The first awkward incident happened when a waiter at the club stopped by our table to collect the empty glasses. As he started collecting the empty ones, I leaned over and made a 'go away' hand gesture like this:


Obviously my intention (and in my head this made sense) was to communicate to the waiter can that he can take all the empty glasses away. Awkwardly-enough the waiter interpreted the gesture as a 'get away from my table and get out of here' because he asked my friend next to me in a worried voice, "Should I leave? I'm just trying to clean up the table..." This was unbelievably embarrassing but the waiter left before I could explain to him what had happened. I immediately explained to my friend (who knew this already) that I would never ever treat another human being like that.


This brings us to the second story of the night involving the friend I just talked about. From this story you'll see that he certainly lacks the gentleman code. Now throughout the night a lot of people kept bothering us - sitting down at our table, crossing over to other tables by stepping on the white couches leaving black footprints which in itself is inconsiderate and rude. And so each time this happened my friend became a little bit more angry at people's behaviour. Then at one point three girls tried to cross through the table (climbing over the couches) to the dance floor. My friend released his built-up anger on these three drunk girls by pushing one of them so hard that she fell down on our couch. As soon as I saw this happen, I stepped in to help the girl up and explain to her that although it was disrespectful of her to just jump over the table - my friend had no right to use violence, ESPECIALLY on a girl. My friend clearly knew he over-reacted but that is just another part of acting respectfully - being patient and calm. These two stories precisely show the immense difference in the mindset guiding my behaviour and the mindset of my friend. The most important rule of all - never ever raise your hand at a woman.


In the last section I want to talk about some of the qualities that make up this 'gentleman' figure. I remember reading an article a few years ago in GQ about the desperate need of gentlemen in the modern world - it was actually that article that sparked my initial behavioural guide. Some of these points are taken from other articles on the subject:


1) Respect for oneself, respect for others, respect for tradition, respect for change. Style may be irrelevant but putting thought into your outfit implies a degree of self-respect.


2) When engaging in an activity, do it well as it is a reflection of yours values and capacity.


3) A gracious loser who knows that not all battles can be won and that losing can be honorable. However, a gentleman must not be scared to fight for something if it required. The gentleman faces a problem head-on but is not ashamed to ask for help if it is needed.


4) In regards to women, a gentleman will never use pick-up lines, will always be honest and complementary - a man will show genuine interest in a woman.


5) No man is above apologizing and no gentleman should gossip unless a story needs to retold.


6)  “A man’s true character lies in how he treats someone who is of no consequence to him.” This quote really applies to my waiter situation - that manners and professionalism can be practiced at any level of any kind.


7) Lastly, the gentleman will usually be well-read, educated and culturally-open. The gentleman will not impose his beliefs on others but instead will listen, discuss and debate his point of view.

Lissie - yet another vocal genius, brava!

How raw... How pure...

Lissie - Everywhere I go (acoustic)

Adele...

Favourite Songs from 21

Adele - One and Only (goosebumps from 1:10)

Adele - He Won't Go, no acoustic version :(

John Legend - Rolling in the Deep (cover)

Adele - Rolling in the Deep (Jamie xx Shuffle - my favourite)

Bonnie Tyler

"...it wasn't until she damaged her vocal cords
through sheer frustration that she developed her career-defining husky voice..."

Bonnie Tyler - It's a Heartache

"...my voice was huskier than before, and had more of an edge. It turned out losing my voice was not too treacherous for me - I had my first hit in America with my new husky voice on It's a Heartache..."

Game of Thrones Quote on Death

"There is only one god,” he says.

“And his name is Death."

And there is only one thing we say to death... "Not today."

Dr House Quote on Life

"...you are mortal, you're just a bag of cells with an expiration date..." 

Again Google can be very educational

It was Martha Graham's birthday today! (I just found out who she is today)

This picture really reminds me of Natalie Portman's powerful final dance performance in the film Black Swan

Black Swan - Final Scene - 'The Swan's Escape'

The song used in the YouTube video is Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine

Below is a link to a beautiful acoustic take of Cosmic Love

"A falling star fell from your heart and landed in my eyes

I screamed aloud, as it tore through them, and now it's left me blind

The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out

You left me in the dark

No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight

In the shadow of your heart"

I digress...

Consumerism! - "I keep on buying so much I don't need"

So how did we get here..? Well it all started with a Marketing Ethics assignment which fueled...

Malcolm Gladwell - Blink

http://www.nerve.com/screeningroom/books/thestorytellingproblem

Enzo Ferarri

Enzo Ferrari with one of the drivers racing for Scuderia Ferrari

I recently read a case study on how Enzo Ferrari (and a very talented team) built the iconic and prestigious Ferrari brand for over 60 years to be valued today at $7.3 billion. One of the most interesting stories in the article was about how the black prancing horse on a yellow background became the symbol of Ferrari.


Before Scuderia Ferrari (the original name) was formed, Enzo was actually a race car driver in Maranello, Italy. After winning one of the races, Countess Paolina awarded Enzo the prize and suggested that he draw a prancing horse on the side of his car as it brings good luck. She explained that her son was a fighter pilot in World War I who died fighting fearlessly and he had a drawing of a prancing horse on the side of his plane. Enzo honoured her offer and admired the powerful idea of a prancing horse -  It is then that he decided to add the yellow background and use this as a official Ferrari logo.


The article then also went on to discuss the numerous automobile engine innovations causing significant changes in the racing world. Enzo often insulted and questioned the logic of the British car manufacturers (such as Lotus) when they began using rear-mid engines (engines that are placed in the back of the car). Enzo would always say "The horse does not push the cart - it pulls it"


The last interesting topic worth mentioning is the use of the word 'Sprezzatura' in the article. Sprezzatura is "a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it." Another shorter definition is "studied carelessness." The relevance of this word to the article was in relation to the current Chairman of Ferrari - Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, who has been present in the company almost since its beginning. Montezemolo is known for his stylish classic dressing and his sprezzatura. Seems quite fitting to the Ferrari culture as Enzo was also known to be persistent and strict regarding his designs, as well as uncaring regarding the drivers racing for Ferrari (most of whom died in crashes during races). Interesting person that's for sure...

Favourite TED Videos - Stanley McChrystal: Listen, learn ... then lead

Stanley McChrystal: Listen, learn ... then lead

LEADERSHIP, amazing, brave, honour, respect, intelligent, extremely powerful...

Favourite quote:
"Leaders can let you fail... and yet not let you be a failure"

Favourite TED Videos - Sarah Kay: If I should have a daughter

Sarah Kay: If I should have a daughter ...

Great poem! Cute and inspirational

Reminds me of this famous slam poetry video about daughters

Also here's a link to the song she sings in the poem

Favourite TED Videos - Caroline Casey: Looking past limits

Caroline Casey: Looking past limits

Inspirational, powerful, motivating, moving

Favourite quotes:
"Disability is like the elephant in the room. And I wanted to make you see it in a positive way, no charity, no pity..."

"Car and motorbikes and elephants - that's not freedom, being absolutely truly yourself is freedom. And I never needed eyes to see, never, I simply needed vision and belief..."

Just Some Quotes About God

Some humorous ones at first, but then respectable ones second

• "If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people." (By House :p)
• "Science flies you to the moon, religion flies you into buildings."
• "When I was a child, I prayed to god for a bicycle, then I realized that god doesn't work that way...so I stole one and prayed for his forgiveness." (Emo Phillips)
• (About religion but applies to almost anything) "Never argue with a fool. He'll drag you down to his level then beat you with experience"
• (Another one like that) “Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”

Now some intelligent ones,

• “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?” Epicurus (BCE 341-270)
• "The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason." Benjamin Franklin
• "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." Galileo Galilei
• (The answer to people when they tell you: Yeah, but you can't disprove God either!)                     "You are never called upon to prove a negative, that is a law of logic." The great Ayn Rand!

(Ayn Rand interview about God)

Google Logos are sometimes very interesting!

The great Mr. Harry (not Potter) Houdini

Built-in Toothpaste Dispenser

I thought my first post should be about dispensing.


Although this is an almost totally-pointless gadget that will likely sell a mass volume of 3-4 units, it might serve some frequent travelers well.


The sad truth is that gadgets don't amaze us anymore. They have become categorized as television home shopping products where "bored" people go to "waste" their money on junk. We read about them, we blog about them, we link them to friends that read and blog and go "Oh cool", but thats about as far as they go. Hm.


http://www.complex.com/tech/2011/03/cool-concept:-a-toothbrush-with-built-in-toothpaste