Author: michaelyoungauthor

Shurri 2

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BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE:

SHURRI 2

spirit-vs-matter 1

We are in a state of separation between spirit and matter, between our very souls and materialism. We are half-awake with our toys and technology. We don’t hear our souls crying to be recognised as part of creation, so we will wake up. The world we have made and live in does not bear witness to the divine. It bears witness to our greed, our delusions of power, and to the righteous of religion. We kill for the determination of our religious power. We kill for the individual’s democratic right to plunder the Earth as we separate ourselves more and more from the Earth’s divinity. We live separate from our true selves.

 

The Buddhists speak of non-attachment, which is different to detachment. I was beginning to see the difference. Our attachment to so many things makes us forget why we are here and what we are supposed to be learning about ourselves…

 

Shirley MacLaine 2011.

 

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=-S-yW5wVa3kC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false

IOAT

IOAT 2

 

Shurri 1

 

Shurri

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BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE:

Shurri

I always thought SHIRLEY MacLAINE was a nutter. (I’m sure that’s what “they” wanted me to think!)

Now I realise that she is just a few steps ahead of me on the same spiritual journey as millions of others.

I’ve just started reading her 2011 book “I’m Over All That”.

 

This book has sat on the shelf in my bedroom for a long time.  The shelf where I have a collection of books for “future reading”.  In fact, it’s been there for so long I have no idea where it came from or when it was purchased… or how it got there at all. Late last week I was walking past the shelf, and “saw” the book for the first time… like it had not been there until that moment when it suddenly caught my attention.

I love how the universe provides me with an endless supply of “the right book at the right time” to help me along my spiritual/life journey.  The book I was previously reading was one that had to be digested in slow portions because it was way beyond average daily reading… “Catastrophobia” by Barbara Hand Clow, which I now realise is a book that Shirley would definitely have read herself.  (That magical “one degree of separation” appears again in my life.)

My initial thought at seeing “I’m Over All That” was, ‘that sounds like me talking, I’m over it all too,’ followed by ‘this will at least be something light to contrast with the heaviness Catastrophobia.’ As I started to read, I realised it was actually necessary for me to have read the two previous books so I could appreciate all the wisdom that was waiting for me in this new book.

The timing was simply beyond what I would expect for my life, but as always, it was perfect.  I’d been struggling with a cold/cough/sinus infection for over six weeks. I caught it at the Cher concert we recently attended, probably because I’ve worked from home for over a year my immunity to minor bugs has lowered, so it was easy to pick up something form all those “germy people breathing all over me” in the crowded venue.  I was getting depressed from the long illness and didn’t understand why it was hanging around when all my blood etc tests showed me to be healthier than any average person. 

I read a comment in Shirley’s book that suggested illness is often a sign that we need to change something in our life. Long story short that led me to ask my “people” (guides, angels whatever you prefer) who gave me an immediate answer, which I then started to question, so I consulted my Angel Cards which, in only ONE selection pounded home the same point… that I had to re-balance a certain distracting obsession in my life immediately.  So I made the agreement with them and, with the help of my doctor, I began to see an immediate release from the illness. 

No, I won’t tell you the specifics, but suffice to say it was one of those very “human” situations where you know the obsession or addiction to some distraction is taking over your life, but you just keep ignoring all the signs… until the universe has to back you into a corner and MAKE you see what you are pretending to ignore.  This time I was backed into the corner and handed a book written by Shirley MacLaine published seven years ago to slap me back to reality… and get me writing again as well!

There’s so much in “I’m Over All That” that resonates with me, it’s like I’m becoming more and more like Shirley without even knowing her… or put more simply, we are on the same spiritual journey through a very similar list of life lessons. (By the way, if you want to know why I’ve called this post “Shurri” you’ll have to read the book 😉  )

Shurri 1

Here’s just one of those passages:

I’m Over Fear Taught In The Name Of Religion. (Page 28).

I never cease to be amazed at how far some religious people will go to turn their destinies over to god rather than take charge of them for themselves. If the devil really does exist, he would beat his chest with pride at how significant we humans have made him. More movies and books have been made heralding his existence than anything else… because the FEAR of him makes so much MONEY. Fear seems to be the most common human emotion and the easiest to exploit. Fear of god, fear of the devil, fear of terrorists, fear of death, fear of life, fear of race, (fear of authority), fear, fear, fear. Learn how to propagandise FEAR, and you can control a civilisation and make a LOT of MONEY…

 In fact, everywhere I have traveled in the world, the conflicts I’ve seen stemmed from organised religion in one way or another…  

 What I was learning about religion around the world as I traveled was that it afforded each denomination and culture an opportunity to BYPASS RESPONSIBILITY for itself and assign that task to god. (Also creating their devil in the image of their longtime cultural enemy or their “imagined” enemy, also declaring them an enemy of their god to justify their godless hatred and war.)…

Therefore, I gave up religion a long time ago. I’m over all that religion thing and have been ever since I put my experiences with my own karma together with my strong sense of SELF-RESPONSIBILITY…

Shirley MacLaine 2011.  

(Emphasis is mine… Michael Young)

Doctor Who 2018

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New Doctor Who:

I have NO problem with Jodie Whittaker being The Doctor.
I have a BIG problem with Chris Chibnall delivering such a mediocre first story for her.

The MAGIC is missing!

It was an uninspiring setting, any writer of Who fan fiction could have done better with the story… it was just a predictable, average drama with a few Doctor Who references.

If the second episode isn’t a ripper then it is all over. Doctor Who will be losing viewers by the millions… and episode one would definitely not have created a new generation of viewers, quite the opposite.

Or was this deliberate? To actually give the BBC an “excuse” to stop making Who? It happens a lot in television these days… sadly.

Who 2018
https://www.facebook.com/DoctorWho/

Episode 13.3 – ROSA

The BEST episode of Doctor Who that I’ve seen in MANY years!

Chris Chibnall and the new Doctor Who team have redeemed themselves with this amazing historical episode about Rosa Parks.  

I’m finding many of the episodes this season to be more like episodes of “Class” than Doctor Who… and we all know that show only survived for ONE season.  Seems like we are condemned to be dragged between two extremes in season 13 of new Doctor Who. 

 

Problem Two

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Problems? Don’t talk to me about problems…

Went to pre-book our seats online for MAMMA MIA Here We Go Again in GOLD CLASS at the local cinema. We rarely go to the movies, usually wait for the Blu-ray or Netflix options.  We had two gift cards that we have struggled to use, so hard to find a movie we will both love.

Found two perfect seats for the Tuesday session. Was disappointed to see that the “Cheap-arse Tuesday” sessions are only $32 not $42… we won’t get the full value of the gift cards. Then the damn online booking system said the gift cards were invalid… AND they want to charge a $7 booking fee… to book it ONLINE where it costs them NOTHING! OMG!

So I had to take the damn 5-minute drive to the Pacific Werribee shopping centre to pre-book the tickets in person. Then I couldn’t find a car park space close to the cinema and had to walk in the cold for a few 100 metres to get to the entrance… at least I had my hoodie to cover my head.

I was concerned I may have had to wait because it was the busy time, but a staff member came up to the desk right away and served me. We looked for seats on the Tuesday, but she could only see ones along the side, not in the middle like I prefer, so decided to try Thursday instead. The Gold Class cinemas have 8 seats across and six rows of seats but I like to be somewhere in the middle four seats. After a bit of umming and eerring I decided to compromise and go for two side seats on the Tuesday.

When she went to select the seats for me, she discovered that the two seats I originally wanted on the Tuesday were actually available, the ones I tried to book online. So I booked them. There was no booking fee either! Just think how much it cost them for her to do that booking compared to me booking online which cost them nothing.

Yes, FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS indeed!

Problem One

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Problems? Don’t talk to me about problems…
My mobile just fell down the side on my electric reclining lounge, my dairy-free ice cream is melting all over my home cooked Peach/Apple/Cranberry pie, I have to get up again because I forgot to put the USB into my laptop so I can watch the latest episode of The Young And The Restless on my 64″ HD 3D TV… AND… it’s getting to warm in here so I’ll have to turn the heating down!
Meanwhile, tonight on the streets of Wyndham (western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia) there are people, even families sleeping in their car or on the street, or god knows where while the wind chill factor turns the temperature to -7 degrees! But, hey, we don’t have a “homelessness problem” here, of course not! (…if we keep denying it, it will go away…)
Yes, FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS indeed!

COMMENTS:

AMY:
The Salvo’s are doing a great job assisting homeless in Wyndham.
But they cannot do it all. We must recognise our homeless and all pitch in together.

LISA:
White lion also doing great work with homeless youth but again can only do so much.
We have a huge lack of resources here as in crisis accommodation, mental health services rehab facilities for drug and alcohol (major contributors to homelessness).
Unfortunately posting on facebook although it brings awareness people very rarely take further steps.
Make donations of time and or money to organizations that can assist these people.
Write federal and state MP’s calling for more to be done.

WOLF:
You can join me knitting sleeping mats, blankets etc.

Goodbye, Christopher Robin

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GOODBYE, CHRISTOPHER ROBIN is a beautiful, powerful, emotionally stirring movie.  This movie is about the evil and senseless trauma of war, also about unintentional emotional child abuse which most of us suffer; one way or another.

On the surface, it’s the story of Christopher Robin Milne, his father AA Milne, and the creation of Winnie The Pooh… then the personal agonies that they faced as it spread to become a success across the entire world.

GBCR

Not having ever read or heard the stories but aware of them from cultural legend, I was only aware that AA Milne named the boy in the books after his son and the boy’s toys, I knew nothing else about their story.  That “not knowing” made the movie so much more powerful and that was also the audience that the script was crafted to impact the most.

This movie made me realise, after 55 years, that I never had bedtime stories read to me as a child.  I now feel deprived!  I also realised I never read them myself either.  However, that never stopped me from eventually becoming the avid reader and writer that I now am.  It was destined to happen, regardless of the choices of those around me, particularly during my own rough childhood.

There is even a scene that has a view I would describe as perfection… I could look at that view forever and be at peace.

View 2a

https://www.facebook.com/GoodbyeChristopherRobinFilm/

 

ABBA Miracle!

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ABBA Miracle!

“Half awake and half in dreams, seeing long forgotten scenes…”

This morning, in that magical half-world between sleep and waking, I imagined that Frida, accompanied by Benny, would perform “Andante, Andante” at the ABBA Day in Sweden this year.  Then I imagined all four of them would be there and perform “The Way Old Friend Do”.  I also dreamed that I was up in the country at my grandparents’ house for school holidays in the 1970’s… where I received my very first ABBA tape!

Then I heard the news and I immediately thought it was 1st April… an April Fools joke…  but it’s 28th April 2018 and it is OFFICIAL news… ABBA HAVE RECORDED TWO NEW SONGS: “I Still Have Faith In You” and “Don’t Shut Me Down”.  At least one to be released in December and the video will be performed by the new Avatars from the upcoming “Live” stage shows.

To top that off, a little later, my partner puts his phone down in front of me and starts playing a new track… FRIDA’S new version of “Andante, Andante” which proves that her voice is as beautiful as ever.  Of course, it was a little disappointing that it was sung in Spanish but the other news completely removed all the sting from that.

What an amazing day to wake up to… an ABBA MIRACLE!

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New interview with Bjorn:

https://www.facebook.com/michel.zondag.1/videos/1629818167072729/

 

 

Radio interview with quotes from Gorel Hanser (Manager):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fewl1C2IhmY

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ABBA’s return to the recording studio is one of the most long-awaited, surprising band reunions in music history – and here’s what to expect from their “magical” reconciliation and their first song in 35 years.

In an exclusive Australian interview with Fairfax Media, long-time ABBA business partner and confidante Gorel Hanser, who was in the studio for the reunion recording session, reveals: It’s a ballad.

The song, I Still Have Faith In You, was specifically written for this reunion by the ABBA men – Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson – and is not a dusty composition pulled from the bottom drawer from the 1970s.

It’s sung together by the ABBA women, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, re-igniting their instantly recognisable vocal duel but with neither taking a solo lead.

And the making-of story behind this reunion was a warm, emotional affair when the four band members – two pairs of former spouses – finally came together again to record their first music since 1982.

“It was wonderful,” Hanser says. “It was magical. It was a very warm, relaxed, happy atmosphere, no hard feelings, no stress… it was like 35 years hadn’t passed. Like back in the old days. It was very emotional.”

The band left the studio “very happy, all of them”.

In a statement, the ABBA members said: “We all four felt that, after some 35 years, it could be fun to join forces again and go in to the recording studio. So we did. And it was like time had stood still and that we only had been away on a short holiday. We may have come of age, but the song is new. And it feels good.”

The recording session was driven by a semi-reunion project flagged two years ago, a vaguely defined show involving ABBA reproduced as digital avatars. That ABBA-avatar project is still going ahead but now with this new original music attached, Hanser says.

“Along the way, Bjorn and Benny talked about maybe it would be good to have a couple of new songs included in this show… and then they wrote some new songs for this show. This was something that gave them the idea of writing something new for ABBA, for a special cause, for a special project.”

The band has recorded two new songs: I Still Have Faith In You, which the world will hear for the first time when the avatar show is revealed in a TV special in December, and another song, Don’t Shut Me Down, that is likely to follow as a single release when it premieres on the avatar tour.

“The first song is more of a ballad, the second song is more of an up-tempo song,” Hanser told Fairfax Media.

And how did the band go about matching the ABBA sound of the 1970s and 1980s to a new era?

“I think you do it the same way as you have always done it – the best you possibly can,” Hanser said.

“They have always done it their own way. They did it today the way they always did. The way Benny writes music. And the lyrics are more mature… the way they are today.”

You will recognise ABBA, no problem – but it is ABBA 2018.”

As to the question fans worldwide now want answered: Does this mean a possible on-stage reunion? Hanser has bad news.

ABBA famously knocked back an offer of $1billion to reunite for a world tour and apparently it’s the same response now.

“No,” she says. “They will not be performing as a group again.”

That leaves the avatar tour as the only live hope for the ABBA faithful, and that tour is certain to include Australia, where the band first exploded as a music force in 1975.

“Australia is a dear, dear country to ABBA, absolutely,” Hanser said.

By Neil McMahon @ Sydney Morning Herald.

 

SALVATION

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SALVATION

 

SALVATION is a 13 episode season on Netflix about an asteroid heading to destroy Earth. 

The tech geniuses, played by Santiago Cabera and Charlie Rowe, have to fight the government and a group of young, deluded hackers to save the planet.  With some help on the inside they get close to success but the traitors, also on the inside, have their own agenda.

Strong and charismatic performances support a story of twists, turns and intrigue.

Thrilled that we will have Season 2 in late 2018.

 

9 asteroids out of 10

Salv 1

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/SalvationCBS/