I have been busy with a new job and various other things, among which the creation of Videos for the Systema book, which after many tribulations, I have concluded is just going to happen easiest and best if I do them myself and forget about trying to rely on other people I had contracted originally. It seems the world of media people and I have different ideas about a lot of stuff concerning deadlines and agreed rates and so on. ANY-WAY…
Here is something cool for you though:
Tales of the Gold Monkey (Link to amazon UK)
Tales of the Gold Monkey (Link to Amazon USA)
The tales of the Gold Monkey was a show which I saw only a couple of episodes of when I was a kid in the early eighties, but I was sorry the series (or more likely the reception, as we lived in Botswana then) went off air shortly after it started. I always remembered it though and looked for it online from time to time. FINALLY some genius has put it on DVD, the whole series too!
Now, I did read some of the reviews on amazon before buying it and I was worried that like so many other things from my misspent youth this would have aged badly and I would not enjoy it at all.
I am glad to report this was not at all the case. The show is indeed quite “over the top” but in the same way that Indiana Jones is. In other words, in a way I quite love. And it is a PERFECT show. The violence is somewhat theatrical, yet present, the acting is quite B-class but just kitch enough to make it brilliant and with some genuine moments of inspired B-Acting, and the plots…oh the plots…they basically make this the best damn birthday present I have bought myself in along time. The Gold Monkey has it all. Nazi nuclear bombs, lost Egyptian tribes, anachronistic elements that don’t really fit together and B-movie acting. It’s perfect. Truly a work of wonder. It has 22 episodes in the DVD pack but I am miserly with them as I fear running out of them. If you ever saw the original show you will not be disappointed if you get this. And if you never saw it before get it. Trust me…B-style films never get this good again. This is like pulp film. Brilliant. It’s right up there as one of my all time favourite film things, and probably at number one for TV series, right up there with NCIS and Dexter though these are two very different shows.
So yeah, while I avoid telling you about my life (not much new there) and work (lots new there but it’s for a wealthy and semi-famous client and he likes his privacy so he shall have it from me), be grateful I share this gem of cinematic genius with you. More than 24 hours of excellent entertainment. Not many blogs point to that today. It’s pretty cheap too at about 25 bucks. So if you are stuck for something good to see on TV, now you know what to get.
One last little bit of info…this series came out in 1982 but in it (although in classic B-cinema style) there is a semi-accurate representation of the fact that the Nazis had more advanced atomic bomb technology than the Americans. Something that is still not widely recognised today and only became public in 1992 with the release of certain documents under the FOI act. How Don Bellisario knew of it (or guessed it) before then is not known, but it just goes to show. All good B-movies really tell the deepest truths. At least about Nazis. You know it.
A Busy Week
Well, I missed one post. The beginning of the end you say, nay readers, I have just had a massively busy week. The image above represents what I would prefer busy to look like. I did a seminar of Systema in Italy which was well received and then I have spent more time in government offices than I ever care to so as to sort out various official papers to do with my wedding, passport renewal for Readhead Girl with her new name and various other odds and ends. None of which is very exciting either really. The systema week-end was the highlight as it also involved a little beach time and a swim in warm waters. We may also have some video from it that was not completely bad, but it’s all in Italian, so we’ll see if I got anything good on it.
Other than that, it’s back to a post every Monday morning from now on. As for the results of your survey from a few days ago (see previous post) it’s quite interesting. The two or three things we can tentaively say based on your answers are:
1. People do not want to be dishonest in general. Cheating on the significant other is obviously done out of necessity and some need not being fulfilled by the relationship.
2. Possibly surprising, if one’s partner does not object to your sleeping around but they will not do it themselves, most people seem to think this would not per se result in their sleeping around any more or less, again, reinforcing the idea that most people would prefer to be honest about what they really want.
3. The majority of people would prefer to have sex with others too or at least have that option open to them at some point (no surprises there) but ideally they would want to do so without feeling bad about it it would seem. Also, if global divorce and adultery statistics are anything to go by, a sizeable portion of you people are deluding yourselves that you “would never do such a thing”. About 15-20% or so more people (statistically) would actually fall in the “at some point I would/might/want to” than actually answered in any one of those combinations. Also, if everyone could just be honest without anyone making them feel bad about it, it seems everyone would be doing everyone. Welcome to the modern Roman Orgy. Once you take into account the self-delusion portion it seems only about 10% of people actually would seem to want purely monogamous relationships. This assumes the best possible numbers (on average) for all the answers given when compared to other global surveys on adultery.
In other words, the only thing we can say with some degree of certainty by the responses we have so far is that the human ability to self-deceive is alive and well. More importantly though, so is the fear of being judged for our thoughts/wishes and desires. Keep your responses coming and don’t be shy to invite friends to take part. The more people answer the questions over time, the better the final picture will be as a result of larger numbers being able to give a possibly better idea of the main views.
I am toying with the idea of having a fun or sexy survey every week, but we will see how things go. I also realised from this survey that it’s important to consider not just what questions to ask, but how to ask them and how to interpret them in relation to other answers. keep in mind all your replies are completely anonymous, i have no way of knowing who answered what (though some of you e-mailed me to tell me….you exhibitionists you!)
Have a great week.
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By G | 25 July 2011 | Posted in CE 2, Increasing Happiness, Relationships, Social Commentary