Scion of NLP

Archive for the ‘Personal Interests’ Category

Some people may be wondering, with all the harsh posts and articles I’ve been writing for different websites lately that have been attacking the internet “gang” known as Anonymous: Why am I disrespect’n Anon so much? … why I gotta be such a hater?

Well … I’m not — in fact, I used to be a huge supporter of the Anonymous movement before it became a culture (cult?) of it’s own … I agreed with their ideology of using the freedom of anonymity to expose and attack the corrupt and dishonest people and organizations who rule our world — they were a way for the little guy to fight back against the overpowering tyranny of big industries and our self-serving governments; however, today anon, like anything that is taken over by the masses, has become polluted with zealots and haters — the ones who have let the power of anon go to their heads and begun using that freedom as their own personal weapon against every little petty grievance they experience in this world … their own *personal* injustices! Oh, don’t misunderstand — these people all claim what they do is in the name of *the greater good* and to *save/protect us all* …

… but they’ve become nothing more than cyber-bullies pretending their individual vendettas are a shared belief across all the world wide web. Well, I don’t want them to speak for me anymore (I’ll speak for myself, thanks) and I don’t buy into every individual on each forum and in every chat room and across all the hacker sites claiming to represent the Anon culture — the ones who are just looking to take back a little bit of the power they’ve lost in their own personal life … the ones who don’t deserve to wear the Guy Fawkes mask that symbolizes Anonymous.

Sadly … just like the old axiom, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” — so it has become with Anonymous …

Wanna know more about Anon?

For a basic explanation about the internet culture known as Anonymous I recommend starting with the Wiki article and do Google searches from there … CLICK HERE to start learning more about Anon today.

And when I say *yes men* I’m not talking about guys who just crumple when their spouse gives them orders and quietly reply, “Yes, dear.” or the butt-kissers at work who constantly get ahead by always saying, “Yes, boss!” and following company policies and procedures which they know are unfair.

I’m referring to The Yes Men who have the guts to punk giant corporations and government agencies around the world in order to stir up shit and get people’s attention on real issues and problems that are being ignored my mainstream media! — these guys ROCK!

These two guys recently put out a movie about their adventures in challenging corrupt institutions and organizations around the world, which reminded me a lot of Michael Moore, the American filmmaker, author, and liberal political commentator who made the movies Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko, and Capitalism: A Love Story — controversial documentaries exposing some serious issues facing the American People. The main difference is that The Yes Men aren’t making movies in hopes of challenging societal norms, they’re challenging societies norms (and risking getting in huge trouble!) and then made a movie about it!

And it’s a MUST SEE movie!

Their movie, The Yes Men Fix the World, is a documentary about the experiences the 2 Yes Men, Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, went through when they set up fake websites pretending to be major, international corporations and then went on to impersonate these industry leaders and news events, speaking engagements, and conferences around the world! Their goal: to embarrass the business leaders and government organizations into admitting the damage they’re inflicting on the people of the world! … and, although it didn’t really work, it brought to light some incredible facts about what’s going on right under our noses!

I just recently watched Michael Moore’s new film, Capitalism: A Love Story, and even though it was really great exposing the sneaky and underhanded things the US government, big businesses and banks did to undermine the economy and create the current financial crisis … it fell short on getting anybody to respond (other than the security guards that would always stop Moore before he got anywhere near the big wigs hiding high up in their ivory towers).

The Yes Men, however, actually made it impossible for these people to not respond! These guys made stupendous announcements on behalf of these companies and agencies … and the news media put it out! (including CNN!) … and when the PR reps showed up to denounce their false promises those same media people had some hard questions for them to answer about real issues — The Yes Men made people stand up and take notice because they got it put right there on Joe Average’s evening news!

… anyway, I digress — you gotta see this movie! … and I recommend downloading the torrent version because it has stuff in it that the US courts have forbidden them from putting on the DVD. Here is their website (check it out!):

www.TheYesMen.org

Boo-ya! It has finally become official — science has proven that my depression skills gives me a mental edge on the pollyannas of the world.

(are you listening Jodie?!)

A study by Australian psychology expert Professor Joe Forgas recently concluded that being in a grumpy mood makes us think more clearly. I choose to interpret this to mean that people who suffer with depression may possibly have a greater ability to make better judgments than the average person — the optimal word there being ‘possibly!’

The recently published article on the BBC News website — Feeling Grumpy ‘is good for you’ — says “Those in a bad mood outperformed those who were jolly — they made fewer mistakes and were better communicators.” Professor Forgas’ explanation for this is: “Whereas positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, co-operation and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world.”

I know you’re probably thinking, ‘How the Hell Does That Work?‘

Well, the theory behind this concept is quite simple actually — more or less the idea is that a person who is looking for the ways things can potentially fail, the better chance they have of being prepared for anything that will go wrong along the way. This ‘Eeyore’ kind of mindset, however, does hold its own potential for problems.

A person who has the true power of depression must walk a razor’s edge — always on guard, wary of going too far!

You see, depression (or, as Forgas refers to it, being grumpy) is not a thought process in itself. These are better described as emotions, attitudes or, as NLP calls them, states of mind. As a state of mind it can best be compared to a filter on one’s awareness — a certain way of focusing a person’s attention on specific elements within their perception … looking to see things in a way that will most make sense with their negative attitude about things.

The biggest difference is, where being grumpy is about a certain context or situation, being depressed is a negative attitude towards overall life in general and, although it can sometimes help you think more objectively about things, too much negativity can be just as bad as being too positive. If being too pollyanna makes one gullible then being too grumpy makes one pessimistic, demotivated, and prone to self-sabotage.

Well … it’s July 1st once again and this is the day all us Canucks of the Great White North celebrate Canada Day (previous called Dominion Day) — the birthday of the founding of our great nation Canada!

Yes, I said ‘nation’ … no, we’re not the 51st state.

Now, I’ve been doing some thinking and it’s well known around the world that the United States of America celebrate their Independence Day on July 4th …

… so, here’s my idea —

I believe that our 2 great nations should join forces in our celebration efforts and, together, declare the dates July 1st – 4th (inclusive) as a new international federal holiday …

North America Independence-Dominion Week!

… and, as such, all 4 days should be a statutory holiday where we party all week and (taking inspiration from the Irish and their St. Patrick’s Day festivities) I think the whole week should be commemorated with Olympic style drinking games between our 2 fine nations! … oh, hell — let’s invite Mexico too (… those amigos make some damn good tequila!)

So … who’s with me?

Who shall throw back the first shot of Cuervo in an opening ceremony to bring our nations together in this fantastic new fun-fest? Rise up my fellow North Americans … take to the streets … it’s time to take the concept of Mardi Gras to a whole new level! Call out your politicians — demand this phenomenal new holiday be founded in your nation today … come together … party … drink … puke … wake up .. and, feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck, swear off alcohol forever and ever … or at least until next year.

It may take some pressure on each of our governments to enact my idea and pass it into legislation … so, in the meantime …

Party On CANADA! — YOU ROCK!

Okay… so I’ve noticed a few discussion on wordpress forums about “rating” your blog — and let’s be clear here… this is my personal blog, in no way business related like my other websites — and people seem to be getting concerned about identifying a blog’s suitability for younger readers…

…so I have decided to take a moment to be absolutely up front about how appropriate my personal blog is for the general public — and my suggestion is: IT”S NOT!

Yep, that’s right, I’m telling you … my loyal readers … that this blog is set at an R rating! There are several reasons for this:

• first, this is my personal blog … a place where I can let my hair down (metaphorically speaking since I’m bald) and give my honest opinion and advice about topics ranging from depression and suicide to web comics and NLP jokes.
• there are too many people on the planet and no matter who you are or what you say you’re going to upset somebody somewhere … it’s just a fact, and I can’t censor my posts to be acceptable to everyone because I wouldn’t be able to say anything then … and even that would upset people against censorship!
• although this is an NLP related blog that has a tendency to focus on dealing with depression, the truth is that in everyday language that people use include profanity and inappropriate comments or things that can be construed in a bad way … and I write the way I speak, think and live — no holds barred!

Now, I’m not setting forth with the intention to offend people – it’s simply the fact that I don’t filter my blog content the way I do my professional website stuff. There is never gonna be stuff like porn or over-the-top x rated humor or anything like that here… that’s not what this website is meant for!

Rather, this is a place where we can talk about NLP and it’s applications for stuff like depression openly and candidly … and, as a reader of this blog (or subscriber of the rss feed), I feel obligated to warn you that some readers may find the language, humor or topics of discussion here on this website to be inappropriate or offensive!

The language censors are offline and tact has gone completely out the window from this post forward my friends! You have been forewarned … so, be prepared! (*mwha,ha,ha,ha!*)

(No it’s not actually gonna be that bad — just more WTF’s and stupid dumb-ass shit like that.)

Did you know about the new Oak Island petition that is being put forth to get the government of Nova Scotia off it’s proverbial rump and allow the treasure hunt on Oak Island to continue? If not, you can check it out here:

http://www.petitiononline.com/mystery1/petition.html

Ever since I first heard about the Oak Island Mystery as a little boy I’ve been fascinated to find out what treasures lay in wait at the bottom of the “Money Pit” … and specifically, I really want to know WHO put it there! — And so… I have added my virtual signature to the mysterious Oak Island petition… will you???

(BTW, for those who don’t know what the Oak Island Money Pit is, here are a few videos about it…