On the long run

cyclers from the back

I hate running so I would never take a marathon. But if it comes to movies, then yes I’m up for one. People who run marathons must have great willpower training for one for months. I’ve seen competitions on TV and it really takes a lot out of the runners. Us normal humans, even getting off the couch, is a challenge. Some have never exercised in their life so they can’t understand how much time and effort it takes. The runners also need to think about the heat and what to eat. If running a marathon was easy, anyone could do it.

I can have a listening to music marathon. I could listen to different music all day and not getting tired of it. At the same time, writing or doing something productive. If you run, it’s just that. When you watch a movie marathon, that’s the only thing you do. In that you need to concentrate. I love all the Lord of the rings and The Hobbit movie, extended versions. One of these days I will watch all six of them. It takes forever and the only thing that’s gonna get sore is my eyes and back. I’ve watched them separately but never together. You need time to watch something like that. That’s part of my retirement plan. If I ever get that far.

Sometimes I have writing fiction marathons. One story at the time of course. Ideas comes flooding no matter what time it is. Once you start you can’t stop. There is times I’ve haven’t slept all night because I got so much to write. I don’t want to lose the train of thought. When I got into that world in my mind, even a little distraction gets me irritated. It’s difficult to get that mood back again. That was something my mother couldn’t really understand. That’s why I’m a writer and only writer’s understand the flow you sometimes get. Having so much thoughts in your head, your hand or fingers can’t keep up. That’s kind of marathons I take part in. Running? Nah, I rather do it in my head.

Ovation to our heroes

may the force be with you

2016
David Bowie
Prince
Leonard Cohen
George Michael

And now Carrie Fisher.

All these heroes of ours have all left this earth this year. What they all have in common is the legacy they left behind. I could go on and on about it but this post is more of an appreciation to them. They should be remembered for what good they did. It’s easy to remember negative things about people you don’t know personally. No one is perfect, not even those in the public eye. Some people seem to forget that they’re only human. They just happen to have a talent that had made them famous.

We all lucky to have experienced their great skills. They’ve entertained us with their music or movies. They made our lives easier to handle. Unfortunately they had paid a price for doing so. If it’s because of their fame or the pressure the press gives them. But they did something not many can. They made a great impression to a lot of people and tried to make this world a better place. They are our heroes who should get all the ovation they can get.

Since the deaths of George Michael and Carrie Fisher are the recent ones and most shocking to me, I write about that. I was on the cruise ship from Riga on Christmas Day. I was watching TV in the cabin and I watched a Swedish channel. I looked on the teletext and then I saw it, George Michael had died. He’s one of my favorite artists so I couldn’t believe it. It was quite shocking. The same when Prince died. I liked him since the late 80’s. I think ‘Careless whisper’ was the first video and song I heard of him. I was too young to remember the Wham days. I got their cassette years later. We got cable in 1987 or 1988 where they showed music videos. I think it was Sky (current Sky1) or Super channel (current NBC Europe) at the time. What’s so great about music is that it never dies. It’s not always that way that songs can still sound great years or even decades later. George Michael’s music is one of them. Actually I’m listen to those right now. His voice is amazing and he sure will be missed. The best one’s seems to die way too soon. RIP George Michael.

Today another death news. Before Christmas Carrie Fisher suffers a heart attack and today she’s gone. This year really has been a disaster when it comes to the entertaining business. It’s like there’s a curse that takes or our heroes away. At first I wasn’t really interested in Star Wars movies but when I saw one, I thought it wasn’t bad at all. I’ve seen all of them (except this new one, Rogue something) and the oldest ones are definitely the best. I’m the same age as the first one. It got Princess Leia for heaven’s sake. She might have been young boys fantasies but a role model for young girls. That girl could kick some a$$. I could not imagine anyone else playing that role than Carrie. It’s such a shame someone like her wasn’t allowed to stay on this earth any longer. For her mother, this is the greatest loss a mother can have. It wasn’t just a loss for her family and friends, it was also a loss for all of us. There will be one more on the big screen performance in ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ which comes out next December. She gave a lot to this world and we should always remember that. RIP Carrie Fisher.

Tallenna

Advent Calendar, Day 5

butterfly
Butterfly girl by Duran Duran

For some Christmas can be a depressive time but there’s still a tomorrow after that. Instead of listening to Christmas carols, you can listen to songs that lifts up your spirit. Instead of wishing to vanish from this earth, how about trying to think something positive. Of course it’s difficult to tell a person who actually do suffer from mental illness to get over it. But if you only feel down from time to time, then thinking positive can help.

When I feel down, music is my savor. The lyric in the photo is from a song by Duran Duran. The lyrics say

Now you’re drunk in the dream of your life as dirt
It might last forever, and that really hurts
And I still hope you’re gonna realize
There’s only one kind of happy in that glass of wine

Some find comfort in food or alcohol but that’s not away to feel better. The problems will still be there. You should try to handle your feelings in some other way. Things are never as bad as we think they are. There’s always a solution to everything. The problem with humans are that we think we’re alone with our problems but there are others too who suffer the same way. That’s one of the reasons why blogging is such a good way to express yourself. Not just blogging but writing in general is good therapy. It doesn’t need to be online. I wrote diaries for years and it helped me a lot. Substances are only a temporary solution and it causes more problems. Talking to someone or writing about your feelings is a much more effective way.

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday but in recent years it has become less important. The reason is that our family has reduced. Now it’s only me and my father left. We will be going to Riga again this year because that’s the easiest. As a kid the holiday was more important. I think when I’m alone, I won’t be celebrating it at all. Christmas food has never really been my favorite food anyway. I’m a bit lazy to make any and the ones you can buy are not good at all. The only thing I would make myself is a dry cake and joulutorttu (Christmas tart) Christmas won’t never be a depressive time for me because I’ll always find something positive about it. The only time I was sad at Christmas was when my mother had died about 8 days earlier (December 15, 2013) I still get teared up when I think about that Christmas. Nothing felt important. I only wanted to cry. She was the one who made Christmas. When she was gone, it was never the same again.

Listening to lyrics that tells about things that turns into positive is a great boost. It makes you feel better and it helped me cope with my mourning period. For example the Monty Python song “Always look on the bright side of life” No matter how bad things are, there’s always something good. That song always brings a smile on my face. There are a lot of other songs of positive thinking. Even a beat of a song makes me happy. Music all year around and not only at Christmas. That’s the right drug to be addicted to.

 

 

 

Tallenna

Tallenna