Gregory A. Fournier's Blog, page 55

Fifteen Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy

Our Declaration of Independence has a radical statement which had never appeared in any political document before July 4th, 1776 - the idea that individuals have a right to the "pursuit of happiness." This may be the wellspring where Americans derive our characteristic optimism.

In my travels to Europe, I am always struck by how serious people seem to be. Where Americans tend to smile and enjoy a hearty laugh out in public, Europeans tend to be stoic and reserved.  Americans feel that happiness is a birthright, and when we don't feel happy, we feel like something is wrong or missing from our lives.

The expectation to be happy all of the time is unrealistic. Life is not a continuous laughfest - it has its ups and downs which most of us realize. But then there are those people who are devoid of happiness - which leads to depression and other mental health disorders.

There are doctors you can consult, pills you can take, liquor you can drink, and groups you can join, but the potential for greater happiness lies within you if you can be honest with yourself. Ultimately, happiness is a self-improvement project. Get started by opening the link below.

http://www.purposefairy.com/3308/15-things-you-should-give-up-in-order-to-be-happy/#

Five Regrets of the Elderly

Life is a gift and it amazes me how many people don't bother to unwrap the present. Too many people live deferred lives, for all sorts of reasons, only to discover in their later years that life has passed them by. These people often become bitter in old age. Some people are lucky enough to get a wake up call and have a second chance at improving the quality of their lives.

Most of us are familiar with the "If I knew then what I know now" cliche. The link below explains the "Five Regrets" most often expressed by the elderly in their final days. Maybe some of us will benefit from the wisdom of the aged and teach these lessons to our children and our grandchildren.
https://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying?fb_source=other_multiline&fb_action_types=news.reads

Man Flies Grand Canyon with Jet Pack and Lives

Some things, you need to see for yourself to believe them. This video clip of a man flying the western reaches of the Grand Canyon in Arizona elevates Commander Cody and Ironman out of the realm of science fiction and into the realm of science fact.


As beautiful as the Grand Canyon is, this primeval place has an unforgiving and deadly landscape. One mental lapse, one operator error, one equipment malfunction, and this test pilot would not walk away with his life. This extraordinary individual has the ride of his life, and he takes us with him.

http://www.wimp.com/jetmanflight/

Easter Egg Tree in Germany

Imagine the incredible effort that went into attaching each of these hand decorated Easter eggs to this tree. I don't know the story behind the Easter tree, but I'm tempted to write one.

 
Happy Easter, Everyone!  

The Grande Ballroom - Detroit's Sixties Rock Mecca

In the late Sixties, the place in Detroit to hear the best high energy, heavy metal music was the stage of the Grande Ballroom on 8952 Grand River Blvd. People of my generation can only imagine what the ballroom looked like in its heyday of the Thirties and Forties, but in the Sixties, it was all but a run down tenement - the perfect venue for the post apocalyptic brand of music Detroit's angst ridden white males were churning out in those days.

Soon, the word went out to the international rock and roll community that this was the place to play if you wanted to connect with a live audience. Savoy Brown's classic "A Step Further" album and local Detroit blues dynamo Frost's debut album "Rock and Roll Music" both have live Grande Ballroom performances to get an idea of the musical madness and delirium that audiences experienced here. "Kick Out the Jams..." by the MC5 became the rock anthem for the place. Famous world class rock and roll musicians would show up and sit in with established and local groups for many one of a kind musical experiences. Some were filmed in Super 8 and have never been seen publicly before.

The following brief link is a trailer for a new film documentary on the Grande Ballroom's fabled Rock and Roll era.

http://vimeo.com/couchmode/louderthanlove/videos/sort:date/35631404

The Ideology of Whiteness and the Trayvon Martin Debacle

In the wake of the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida, the issue of race in America has once again hit the front burner of our national consciousness. The rhetoric of race has rippled through communities across the United States, this time fueled and aggravated by partisan television commentators and their army of devoted listeners who have taken their message to the internet. Race baiting for political gain may once again put our nation at risk of civil unrest and embarrass us internationally.

Different accounts of what happened surface daily in the press. If Florida doesn't adequately investigate this ambiguous incident, the Federal  Office of Civil Rights surely will. I remember the race riots of the Sixties and the Chicago Democratic Convention. Believe me, our country does not want to see a repeat of those times. It was a zero sum game for everyone, and some cities never recovered from it.

Racial discrimination against people of African descent has been a feature of the cultural and political landscape in America for over three hundred years, but its roots run deep in European history when white supremacy was taken for granted and Europe sought to master and control people of color to amass great wealth and political control. The Triple Passage of the Eighteenth Century made England rich and powerful, and planted the scourge of white supremacy in the New World with its legacy of racism.

The ideology of whiteness in America was further advanced by the American labor movement of the 1930s and 1940s. As jobs became scarce during the Depression, black men were discriminated against in hiring and could only get the dirtiest and lowest paid factory or foundry jobs. This priced most blacks out of the housing market and forced them into overcrowded inner city slums with substandard housing.

The problem of employment for black women was not as pronounced because of the large number of underpaid domestic service jobs available. Often, black women could get jobs when many of the men couldn't, which further destabilized the African-American community. The uniform of a maid only reinforced the imagery of subservience for black women and supremacy for the white women who hired them.

As industry burgeoned in the Twentieth Century and the labor movement took off in America, many of the old rivalries of the immigrant Europeans who worked in the factories had softened by the second or third generation. Now, these "white" workers organized and conspired against blacks from the South, who were arriving in the northern industrial centers in growing numbers looking for work and the promise of a better life.

The article linked below attempts to answer the difficult question: What is white culture anyway? It isn't as easy to define as you might think.

http://www.thegrio.com/specials/trayvon-martin/transforming-white-culture-in-the-wake-of-trayvon-martin-shooting.php

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Dancing to "The Time of My Life"

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance clips, from a half dozen of their movies, are synced together to the song "The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes from the movie Dirty Dancing.

Dancing with the Stars fans will appreciate the grace and skill of Fred and Ginger, as the film clip editors did a wonderful job bringing this iconic modern song to life with dance routines over seventy years old. The great dance numbers of the Golden Age of Hollywood musicals, which were often better than the movies they appeared in, are readily accessible on YouTube.

When I get tired of the clash and clutter of empty words, especially during an election year, watching a dance video takes me to the harmonious world of music and movement. It is a great break from the cacophony of everyday life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvaClxiF-xM&feature=related

Swing Diego - May 2012

Swing Diego is one of the greatest dance events in the United States. What began as a regional San Diego dance convention now draws the best West Coast Swing dancers in the world. In addition to dance competitions, there are plenty of workshops, and lots of "free" dancing on a huge dance floor.

West Coast Swing is the official California state dance. It is said to have been developed during the Second World War when soldiers and their dates crowded the dance floors of Coastal California.

Jitterbug took up too much room on the dance floor, so this "slot" dance was created with spins, turns, tucks, push breaks, and whips, which can be combined and choreographed in amazing ways. Once a "line of dance" (LOD) is established on the dance floor, more people can be out dancing without bumping into one another.

The dance is good for slow to medium speed R&B music, and it works well with many country tunes as well.

For anyone unfamiliar with West Coast Swing, watch the Canadian Champion, Tessa Cunningham, and her "Jack and Jill" dance partner, Terry Roseborough, have their way with each other on hardwood:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EZighHlVjA

For the latest information on this year's Swing Diego, check out the link below.
http://swingdiego.com/2012-convention/event-videos/
 

Spring Cleaning in Detroit

In recent history, much of  Detroit's urban redevelopment has been high profile building projects to lure people from the suburbs back to the city with its sprawling sports complexes and flashy gambling casinos. The long time complaint of many inner city residents is not enough is being done in Detroit's local neighborhoods.
In addition to clearing blocks of burned out or abandoned buildings, the city has instituted an ambitious program to repave streets, repair street lamps, and utilize the vacant lots for the benefit of local residents. Mayor Dave Bing and his administration are making slow but steady progress to rejuvenate areas of the city other than the downtown commercial area.

For more specific information on what Detroit is doing, check out the following link:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=RJCu3OrwjAM

What Is Madness Anyway? Simply a Personality Disorder?

My research into the minds of serial killers informs me that if a person feels he or she can take the lives of innocent people without feeling guilt or remorse, that individual is incurably a psychopath and a permanent danger to society.

Extreme behaviors the lay person might simply call insane, deranged, or crazy, the legal and mental health communities call personality disorders. There are many ways to refer to psychopathic behavior, but they all spell grief and tragedy for the victims and the people who loved them.

Whether these cold-blooded murders are found innocent because of their insanity or not, it is difficult for the average person to understand why society should care more about them than they cared about their victims.

To better understand specifically what personality disorders are and how the mental health community categorizes them, I've attached a link below from the National Mental Health Foundation.

http://www.nmha.org/go/information/get-info/personality-disorders