You Live And Learn!

I've often said after reading something I wrote, "I wish I could write like that".

Then lo and behold I find I'm not alone!

I was reading this week that it's a common occurrence, and it's all down to your muse.

Now there's me thinking a mews is a little street in London, round the back of big houses, where they used to stable the horses.

No, this muse is someone who does your writing for you. Like a MacDonalds Take-Away but for words.

You sit there, do nothing and all of a sudden your word meal is ready to publish.

Joking aside, there is a lot to be said for just sitting there and typing.

Type anything.

And surprisingly the words do start to flow.

No corrections, that comes later. Just write.

Don't even think about what you're writing.

And voilà, your article is ready!

Mind you, they do also say, that given enough time, you can sit a monkey in front of a typewriter and it will type the complete works of Shakespeare.

Sigh...now I have to decide whether I'm assisted by a muse or a monkey!

I put a lot of work into Mediterranean Living print magazine.
Hour and hours of research go into each edition.

I was talking to a lady today who said that she seemed to discover something new on each page.
Now I've been wondering for ages now how to shape this blog, what direction it should take.
So I'm going to start from today by linking to articles in previous editions, new articles of up to the minute interest and anything that is interesting, informative or a bloody good laugh!

Let's start with this true-life story from the US of A...
True Life Horror. - The men in black watched the mother give birth, then took the baby away.
Why? The baby does not have mother's DNA. Any parent's worst nightmare! http://www.med-liv.com/Articles Index.html

While you're there take a look at how teen millionairess Patty Hearst became a victim of The Stockholm Syndrome. The Syndrome occurs when a hostage becomes so reliant in their captors that they establish a loving relationship. Bizarre but true. http://www.med-liv.com/Articles Index.html

How do the silver screen's most glamorous stars rate their men?
Just to whet your appetite, one classic came from the 12 year old girl in the spoof movie Airplane.
When asked by the hostess how she likes her coffee she replies, "The same as I like my men, strong and black"
Now sit back and enjoy Mae West, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Joan Rivers as they slag off the superior sex! http://www.med-liv.com/Articles Index.html

Lots more of the same to follow.
Have a good one,
Mike

Is Being Too Clean Killing Us?

My mother was the daughter of a coal miner from the north of England.
One of the things she always used to say was, “As my mother used to say, thicker the dirt, better the man”.
Just a saying, of course, but what was an old wives tale, yet again appears to have a basis in fact.

Mother Nature likes to keep a balance between the good and the bad, she seems to like to offset one against the other. Live and let live.

So while the bad guys in our bodies are trying to harm us, and existing, the good guys trying to protect us, while also existing.

One of the puzzles of health today, is that at a time when the developed countries have never been cleaner, previously unknown diseases are appearing.
Diseases such as hay fever and asthma to diabetes and multiple sclerosis are on the rise, whereas they are relatively unknown in the poorer countries.

Joel Weinstock, the head of gastroenterology and herpetology at Tufts New England Medical Centre, believes we have become just too clean.
Read the article here... http://www.med-liv.com/Medical Update.html

Talking about cleanliness, they say it's next to Godliness, which has very little to do with
little Johnny who boarded a bus and sat down next to this man.
He noticed that the man had a strange kind of collar, so he asked him, "Excuse me sir, but why do you have your shirt collar on backwards?" He was a posh little git!
The man smiled kindly and replied, "I wear this collar because I am a Father."
Little Johnny thought for a second then said, "Sir, I have a father, but he wears his collar the other way around. Why do you wear your collar so differently?"
The priest thought for a moment then said, "I am the father of many."
Little Johnny quickly said, "My father, too, is the father of many. He has four sons, four daughters and many grandchildren. But, he wears his collar like everyone else does. Why do you wear yours backwards?"
The priest, flustered, said impatiently, "I am the Father of hundreds and hundreds of people." Little Johnny sat quietly for a while.
As he got up to leave the bus, he leaned over to the priest and said, "Mister, maybe you should wear your trousers backwards."

Have a good one,
Mike

Happy New Year for 2008

Had a great start with this blog.
Added a few meaningful tweaks of my own...to perfect things you know.

Lost the bloody lot.
Sigh.
So please excuse the rather bare page, I hope to sort it out shortly. Either that, knowing my luck and skill, this is the last post!
Winter edition of the mag is out now, if you haven't seen a copy yet, then either be bloody patient, or you can read it on the net at: www.med-liv.com
As the most popular part of the mag seems to be the jokes, I've started pages on the website for all you pervs, racists and heathens out there. Take a look.
I say pages, there is on, but it's a start.
You can also sign up for a regular dose of funnies by email...just send an unstamped email to laughs@med-liv.com and mark the subject jokes.

This reminded me of my younger days,

A lonely wife brought a man she had just met at a bar home to her bedroom one evening when she thought her husband was out of town.
They immediately tore each other's clothes off and started going at it.
She sat up quickly in bed as she heard the key in the lock.
"Quick!" she said to the man, "it's my husband! You've got to get out of here quick!"
"Where's the back door?" the man asked as he grabbed his clothes.
"There isn't one," she replied.
"Where would you like one?" he asked.

Reuters came up with these facts, about the production of cocaine in Latin America, this week.

Of the money earned,

• 2% goes to the growers.

0.7% goes to those who convert it from a leaf to pure cocaine;

5.2% goes on the “system” in the country of origin, the wholesalers if you like.

91%, goes to the drug barons, dealers and sellers.

So just 2.7% goes to the producers, those involved before the Mr Bigs of the drugs world get their filthy mitts on it.

Much of this 2.7% goes to feed the starving poor in Latin America, and many areas now rely on the growing of drugs as a source of income.
America spends a fortune fighting the drugs trade in South America.
I know it sounds simplistic, but wouldn’t money diverted to these poor countries to give a reasonable minimum wage encourage the growers to give up growing the illegal crops?