How Do You Get To Your Happy Place and Stay There?

Good Day World!

Today, I’m asking what makes you happy and how do you stay that way?

First, here’s a quick test to see what floats your boat!

Positive psychology guru, Martin Seligman studied happiness and found these characteristics of happy people.

Part of the reason happiness often feels so elusive is that we don’t spend time really focusing on what we need in order to cultivate that happiness.

When we’re bogged down at work or flustered with unsuccessful attempts, more often than not we mostly just wallow in those feelings of frustration and hopelessness, rather than taking a moment to question what needs to change.

Change that. Take the time to explore what you really need to make yourself happy.

Here’s another helpful article:

How to Find Out What Makes You Happy

Life’s too short to be unhappy. Don’t you agree?

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

What do you look for in a news story?

                                Good Day World!

When I was a newspaper editor back in the late 1970s the already old adage; “If a dog bites man – no story. But, if man bites dog – then you have a story,” was used to teach journalism students the basics in news gathering.

That 20th century advise has been given steroids in the 21st century.

Journalism students today must compete with other extreme (man not only bites dog, but eats dog and wears it skin over his face) stories that need gotcha headlines.

What does it take to get your attention? Perhaps some of the examples listed below may apply:

Meth Lab Found in Taco Bell

Newly Released Dashcam Video Shows Police Shooting of Jonathan Ferrell

Man Accused Of Masturbating In Driveway 3 Times In A Week

Woman Tries Eating Crack Cocaine In Front Of Cops, Police Say

Florida Man Chews Off Fingerprints In Hopes Of Not Being ID'd

Headline writing has always been an art. Reading the evolution of headlines is a fascinating study into our culture. Try reading headlines from newspapers in the 1960s, or the 1880s, to see what I mean.

We are being bombarded from more news sources than ever before thanks to the internet and social media. The competition for your attention has never been greater.

If headlines today don’t instantly shock, disgust or amaze, they might as well be written in invisible ink!

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Oh baby, baby! You’re looking good!

                               Good Day World!

How about a few pounds of cute? These babies are guaranteed to make you smile. Enjoy:

 

Left: this smiling Hedgehog baby has a grin that won’t end! The sleeping porker on the right is happily night night! Pics via Brain Jet

 

Left: baby Panda Bear saying hi! And this little owl on the right has eyes that are out-of-sight! Pics via Amazist

 

Left: wild kittens defy gravity, while this frog mom takes her offspring for a ride in the pond. Pics via Baby Animals

 

Left: a curious fox cub checks out his world and it’s bottle time for this long-necked baby giraffe. Pics via Amy Top

 

Left: friends of a feather – duckling and owl pals. This worried looking little kitten seems to be standing guard over the puppy. Pics via Shine On

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Misstatements, Stumbles, and Exaggerations: Where Was The Beef?

Good Day World!

Wednesday’s GOP debate was a meaningless function full of misstatements, stumbles, and exaggerations.

The format gave 11 presidential hopefuls a chance to tell Americans what they would do if they got elected.

That’s not exactly happened. It was more like Romper Room.

Viewers found out that:

* Donald Trump is so anti-vaccine (and clueless on the issue) that he was caught bullshitting about a two-year old boy who supposedly got a vaccine shot which gave him autism.

Study after study has shown no possible way that vaccines could cause autism, even in supposedly vulnerable children. You can read more about that body of medical research here.

* Some pundits say Carly Fiorina won the debate. I’m not sure how they arrived at that conclusion. All I know is she really exaggerated when she said she grew jobs while CEO of Hewlett Packard after a merger.

* Chris Christie flat out lied when he said: "I was named U.S. attorney by President Bush on September 10th, 2001," as a way of proving his 9/11 credentials. He was actually appointed U.S. attorney by George W. Bush on December 8, 2001.

Then there was the dull, plodding Ben Carson looking bored most of the time. Compared to his old job of shilling snake oil it was a dull gig. 

In case you didn’t know, Dr. Carson has shilled for a modern snake oil nutritional supplement company Mannatech (yes, manna-tech, they wanted the religious overtones of naming it after the miraculous God-bread that fell from the sky in the Old Testament, combined with, y’know, modern science and technology).

What’s wrong with Mannatech? That’s a good question, one that the folks over at the National Review have answered.

Viewers were left wondering what any of those clowns would really do in the Oval Office. They were all in lock-step about defunding Planned Parenthood, but what about our countries crumbling bridges and roads?

What about a foreign policy? They made the mandatory threats about Iran as pabulum for the clueless on world affairs, and assured us they were all conservatives (like that was something to brag about).

Sigh.

Timer for me to walk on down the road…

Back by Popular Demand! Meet the Booger Family

Good Day World!

The Booger family is back by popular demand!

It seems thousands of readers couldn’t get enough of this reality show when it appeared last June. So, in case you missed it here’s your chance to weigh in on this popular new reality show:

MEET THE BOOGERS

Travel through Texas with the Booger family as they gross out restaurant patrons throughout the Lone Star state.

Watch as Pa Booger, Ma Booger, daughters Mandy and Randy, and son Jim Bob blow diners minds with well-timed Booger battles. Listen to Booger family members as they explain their existence. Their mission in life.

Pa, a retired preacher and classic Booger collector, wants the world to know that there’s a place in the world for Boogers. He’s best known for his long stringy boogers.

Ma constantly catches her kids off-guard and blows a booger at them when they least expect it.

Twins Mandy and Randy have an ongoing argument over which has the better booger blower and which is the most accurate.

Jim Bob likes to eat boogers. And he’s not too particular.

Viewers will get to follow their adventures weekly as they travel about in their custom Bogermobile bus. At the end of every episode, viewers are asked to send in the names of restaurants they’d like to see them appear at.

Related video:

See the world’s biggest booger!

Time for me to walk on down the road…

I’m taking a blog break but there’s still stuff to view for you

                                       Good Day World!

Once a year I take a one-week blog break. It helps charge my creative batteries. I’ll be gone from September 9th through the 16th.

I would like to point out that the right side of this page offers viewers a number of options to explore.

I have articles from when I was a columnist for The Times-Standard newspapers in Eureka California, prior blog posts going back to 2008, links to my book Rafter’s Redemption, a fiction book in progress, and social media links.

 

Taxpayers are Paying for Kim Davis’ Hypocritical Run for Sainthood!

I sure would hate to be a taxpayer in Kentucky – especially lately – with a county clerk (Kim Davis) that refuses to do her job, but expects to get paid while she square-dances with religious zealots like Mike Huckabee and Mat Staver (representing the well-documented hate group Liberty Counsel).

After the judge released her today – taking some wind out of the Release Kim Davis Day, she promptly lumbered up some steps of a hastily-erected grandstand and told her fans she wasn’t done yet.

Translation for taxpayers: she is NOT going to do her job and she expects you to pay for her 15-minutes of fame. The judge warned her to not hinder the five deputy clerks now issuing everyone marriage licenses.

Mind you, Davis doesn’t have her name on these newly issued marriage licenses, but that doesn’t matter. She now feels emboldened to further defy the laws of the land (of which she took an oath to obey) and says she doesn’t even want any marriage licenses to gays being issued out of “her office.”

Apparently Davis feels pretty safe to flaunt the Supreme Court decision in a county where being country clerk is a family affair. As a matter of fact Davis has visions of more airtime (extending her 15 minutes of fame to 30 minutes).

As long as there are other hypocrites (Davis whose been married to four men, basically violating the tenants of the very church she goes to) and religious zealots jumping up and down waving posters depicting her as a crucified Christian woman, she’s going to ride that wave of intolerance for everything it’s worth.

Meanwhile, the taxpayers in her district have to continue paying her salary while she seeks sainthood.

Time for me to walk on down the road…  

A Buddhist Fraternity and Sorority? Why Not?

                                 Good Day World!

Most people associate Greek college fraternity's with wild parties, and not much else.

You can’t blame them. When was the last time you heard a story about a college fraternity doing something really positive?

But that could be changing soon.

Imagine having a Buddhist fraternity as an alternative to Greek? Guess what?

Planning is underway for a Buddhist fraternity and sorority at a school known for its partying reputation; San Diego State University.

Credit Jeff Zlotnik, founder of the Dharma Bum Temple in downtown San Diego with this idea. Instead of learning how to guzzle beer in prodigious quantities, members of this new frat could be learning how to focus better and get good grades!

I like the way he thinks.

His vision is a marked contrast to what’s currently available. He plans on offering classes in Buddhism and meditation to help college students cope with stress, anxiety and depression.

But don’t worry. This isn’t a sneaky backdoor attempt to recruit Buddhists disguised as a fraternity.

"We're not looking to start this heavy religious organization," Zlotnik told The San Diego Union-Tribune (http://bit.ly/1NbV83R). "This is a cultural organization. We're not trying to create ordained Buddhists."

But why stop with just a Buddhist frat?

This is the 21st century. How about an Italian fraternity (can’t you just see hand gestures becoming a trend)? I bet you could probably come up with a few yourself.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Stoner Network Looks Like A Cool Place To Hang Out

Good Day World!

It was only a matter of time.

Finally, a social network for stoners.

As an old hippie, I never thought I’d see the day when the majority of Americans were for marijuana legalization.

With 23 Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC and Oregon becoming the fourth state to legalize recreational marijuana, the writing is on the wall: Legal marijuana is finally having it’s day in the sun.

Sometimes I feel like pinching myself when I read stories like this stoner network article:

“MassRoots (^MSRT), which launched in 2013 and went public on the over-the-counter market in April of this year, has filed an application to have its shares listed on the Nasdaq.

The company bills itself as one of the "largest and most active communities of cannabis consumers," a place where people can find smoking buddies, share experiences and connect with local dispensaries.

MassRoots hopes a move to the Nasdaq will help it garner more interest from institutional investors and help bring legitimacy to a burgeoning legal American marijuana industry that’s still operating in the shadows even as public sentiment toward the drug is changing.

But MassRoots still has to win the Nasdaq's approval, a process that can take weeks and requires the company's share price to rise above $3, among other requirements. MassRoots shares were trading at around $1.38 a share on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of around $60 million.”

FOR THE RECORD

There’s two other cannabis-related companies, GW Pharmaceuticals (^GWPH) and Insys Therapeautics (^INSY) — both medical marijuana companies — that already trade on the Nasdaq.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Babies and dogs that will leave you smiling

(These best buds were born on the same day and share a strong bond. Photo source)

                                             Good Day World!

It’s time for a massive overload of cuteness!

We love out pets in America. Taking care of them is a billion dollar industry. Taking pictures of dogs and babies is guaranteed to be popular. Enjoy:

 

                               (Google common images)

At sleep, or playing, these adorable pals set the bar on cuteness.

 

                                (Google common images)

Left – Ready to party! Right – A room with a view

                              (Google common images)

First encounter: these two already see eye-to-eye!

 

                              (Google common images)

Left – Surprised Pug meets new member of the family. Right – Hoodie pals forever!

 

                           (Google common images)

Left – These buddies are ready to fly. Right – these two cuties show how to share at mealtime.

Time for me to walk on down the road…