Happiness is Amateur Night: New Year’s Eve

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Michael Kane

Happiness is Amateur Night:  New Year’s Eve

Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past.  Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go.  ~Brooks Atkinson

2014

Happy New Year’s Eve my friends, tonight we celebrate the end of a year and the beginning of the next.  We hope to put behind us the things that went wrong this year, the bad news, bad memories.  We look forward to the morning and the New Year, the resolutions we will surely keep, the changes we’ll make, all the good things that are coming.  At least for tonight all of that is true and certain.

A long time ago a family friend, Jack Wrigley, was the first to refer to New Year’s Eve as amateur night.  I didn’t quite fully comprehend until I was older and started attending New Year’s Eve parties.  Once I did I got it, a night for people who don’t normally drink to get drunk and out of control.   Inevitably it seemed some drunk always wanted to take a swing, there were drunks all over the road and quite honesty those parties were rarely fun.  So I adopted a habit of either ignoring or quietly celebrating New Year’s Eve off the beaten path, lots of bonfires in the mountains or on the coast.  I nice quiet way to bring in the New Year and avoid the hangover the next day.

So if you are going out to celebrate tonight take care, be careful and watch out for those who are not, and have a happy New Year’s Eve my friends  ~ Rev Kane

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Looking forward to Happiness in 2014

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Michael Kane

Looking forward to Happiness in 2014

True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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Here comes a new year, a chance for new opportunities, to erase the mistakes we made, to do better than we did last year.  A chance to set goals, dream dreams and find ways to make the impossible possible.  The beauty of a new year is the beauty of new possibilities.  The fact is however, that a new year is not special, it’s just a trick of the calendar that we play on ourselves.  Every day is a new day and just like a new year, a new start, a new opportunity to set and achieve goals, to do a little bit better than we did the day before.

So look forward to the next year and make our plans but remember that the plans and successes of a year, are accomplished piece by piece each day of the year.  To help you get ready here’s a piece on setting and achieving goals from our friends at Zen Habits, and please have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane

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Looking Back at Happiness in 2013 & Thank You

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Michael Kane

Looking Back at Happiness in 2013 & Thank You

I must learn to be content with being happier than I deserve. ~ Jane Austen

angel fix

Hello friends, tonight a look back at last year, I really hate all of the year-end top 10 lists but I think the exercise of looking back is a useful one, it’s good to know how far you have come.

For me personally this year has been a bit of a roller coaster, but I have some goals to achieve in the upcoming year and I feel that I made some progress towards what I need to do to achieve those goals.  How about you friends?  How far did you come toward your goals?  I can say with confidence that I am happier today than I was a year ago, a lot of that has to do with the work I do here with the Church of Abnormal Acceptance and the Ministry of Happiness.

On that front we have had a great year, we’ve more than doubled the number of followers, we are over 1500 now through the various social media and blog outlets.  We broke 20,000 views and have had our fourth consecutive year of increasing readership.  I thank you all very much for your attention here, your feedback and comments are always welcome and if we’ve helped you be a happier person please spread the word.  Most importantly I hope we’ve helped you have happier days.

Thanks for a wonderful 2013 ~ Rev Kane

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Happiness is Santa Claus

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Michael Kane

Happiness is Santa Claus

By first believing in Santa Claus, then the Easter Bunny, then the Tooth Fairy, Rant Casey was recognizing that those myths are more than pretty stories and traditions to delight children. Or to modify behavior. Each of those three traditions asks a child to believe in the impossible in exchange for a reward. These are stepped-up tests to build a child’s faith and imagination ~ Chuck Palahniuk

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Hello friends, tonight a little piece on the jolly fat man of the North Pole.  Honestly I’ve always struggled with the idea that we lie to our kids, this was of course before I had kids in my life.  Watching my little nieces and nephews loose their minds over Santa Claus, the pure unbridled joy in their eyes makes it a no brainer.  I think it’s good to let them believe there is still magic in the world and now I feel bad when they lose that ability.

So ramp the little ones up, take them to the mall santa, throw tennis balls on the roof and let them think they are reindeer hooves, find a heavy set friend and have him bring some presents into the house and ho ho ho around a bit.  Let the little one’s imagination run wild so they can have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane

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Happy Winter Solstice

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Michael Kane

Happy Winter Solstice

bman dawn fix

Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering ‘it will be happier’… ~ Alfred Tennyson

For those of you less Christmas oriented Happy Winter Solstice today, a friend shared this piece on Facebook and I thought it was perfect for today ~ Rev Kane

The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper

So the shortest day came, and the year died,
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive,
And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us – Listen!!
All the long echoes sing the same delight,
This shortest day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, fest, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!!

 

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Christmas Happiness: Holiday Season Images

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Michael Kane

Christmas Happiness: Holiday Season Images

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Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart ~ Washington Irving

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Happiness Resources – December 2013

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Michael Kane

Happiness Resources – December 2013

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A collection of pieces from a tour around the web ~ Rev Kane

First tonight a set of teaching resources for lessons on happiness!

The Happiness Directory a nice little set of resources in a lot of different forms.

Why HR should stand for happiness resources, a really nice piece from the Guardian.

Is happiness is the secret of success? – an opinion piece from CNN written by Shawn Achor

How to find happiness, a really interesting piece.

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Happiness is Music: The Blues

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Michael Kane

Happiness is Music: The Blues

I dabbled in things like Howlin’ Wolf, Cream and Led Zeppelin, but when I heard Son House and Robert Johnson, it blew my mind. It was something I’d been missing my whole life. That music made me discard everything else and just get down to the soul and honesty of the blues. ~ Jack White

Howlin Wolf

blues

Howlin Wolf

The Little Red Rooster – from the London Sessions backed up by  some decent musicians Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Bill Wymans and Charlie Watts.

Son House

Son House

Son House

The Death Letter Blues – one of his more well-known pieces, something about the way Son House moves is absolutely mesmerizing to me.

Albert Collins

Albert Collins

Albert Collins

I got a problem from the album Frostbite, the link has the whole album and it’s a gem.  This song was the trap door that once I opened dropped me full on into the blues, you’ll have to fast forward to 9:43 to hear I got a problem, but listen your way to it, it’s a great ride.
Stevie Ray Vaughan

I’ve said that playing the blues is like having to be black twice. Stevie Ray Vaughan missed on both counts, but I never noticed. ~ BB King

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Flooding Down in Texas – for me trying to pick one SRV song to post is like asking me to pick between moments of ecstasy.  I picked this one because it’s classic blues form and I think it’s one of Stevie’s better singing jobs.

Other Posts You Might Enjoy!

Life Lessons from Granny

A Post with a poem about my Grandpa

Happiness is Granny

Why I’m Happy Right Now!

Making Change Happen

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Happiness is Poetry: Bukowski, again

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Michael Kane

Happiness is Poetry: Bukowski, again

Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead ~ Charles Bukowski

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He is by far my favorite poet, straight forward, blue collar and reading his work makes me happy and hopefully will help you have a happier day ~ Rev Kane

Alone with Everyone

the flesh covers the bone
and they put a mind
in there and
sometimes a soul,
and the women break
vases against the walls
and the men drink too
much
and nobody finds the
one
but keep
looking
crawling in and out
of beds.
flesh covers
the bone and the
flesh searches
for more than
flesh.

there’s no chance
at all:
we are all trapped
by a singular
fate.

nobody ever finds
the one.

the city dumps fill
the junkyards fill
the madhouses fill
the hospitals fill
the graveyards fill

nothing else
fills.

Are you drinking?

washed-up, on shore, the old yellow notebook
out again
I write from the bed
as I did last
year.
will see the doctor,
Monday.
“yes, doctor, weak legs, vertigo, head-
aches and my back
hurts.”
“are you drinking?” he will ask.
“are you getting your
exercise, your
vitamins?”
I think that I am just ill
with life, the same stale yet
fluctuating
factors.
even at the track
I watch the horses run by
and it seems
meaningless.
I leave early after buying tickets on the
remaining races.
“taking off?” asks the motel
clerk.
“yes, it’s boring,”
I tell him.
“If you think it’s boring
out there,” he tells me, “you oughta be
back here.”
so here I am
propped up against my pillows
again
just an old guy
just an old writer
with a yellow
notebook.
something is
walking across the
floor
toward
me.
oh, it’s just
my cat
this
time.

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Happiness is Music: Some Classic Rock Favorites

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Michael Kane

Happiness is Music: Some Classic Rock Favorites

So tonight a few pieces for you to sit back and listen to, I promise NO holiday music at all, this evening some classic rock favorites to help you have a happy day ~ Rev Kane

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Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues – a friend of mine once told me that if you write a woman a love letter, and send along a recording of this song and ask her listen while she reads the letter it would always workout for you.  Those were certainly, better more innocent days.

Love Street by The Doors – A bit of a psychedelic summer afternoon stroll, from the album Waiting on the Sun a disc that once I’ve started playing I end up compulsively listening to for weeks.

Wish you were Here & Echoes, had to post two Pink Floyd songs as it would just be mean to mention Floyd and then leave you with all 24 minutes of the psychedelic sound trip that is Echoes as your only option.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s worth every damn second, but some of you are reading this at work and you can only break for a quick fix so I threw in another masterpiece Wish You Were Here.  But when you get time, particularly if you’ve never heard it you need to take a break and listen it’s pure sonic bliss.

Finally A Friend of the Devil, my favorite Grateful Dead song and of course a live version or my Deadhead friends would string me up, a slow powerful stroll with the boys.

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