ga ga over Ga Ga*

So, the second album is out. And, surprise surprise, it's getting good reviews. It'll sell millions and the train will move along.

I'm not a Ga Ga fan, it must be said. I'm not even close to her demographic. The whole 'style over substance' thing doesn't appeal to me. Which is unusual because I'm a guy who usually loves style over substance. But all the costumes, wigs and makeup are only there to distract from the, quite frankly, mediocre music.

Of course, I realise that nothing I say will make any difference in whether you like Lady Ga Ga or not. If you do, you'll tell me to get fucked and, if you don't, you'll agree and we can all move on. The thing I wonder is, where will she go from here?

Everyone knows that you can only stay in the limelight for so long. Especially these days. You have to do things ever more outrageous to gain attention and, if it's one thing that Ga Ga loves, it's attention. Says the man writing a blog. Ah hem.

But, the flavour of the month is just that, flavour of the month. Eventually, people will find someone else and Ga Ga will be evaluated pretty harshly in the years to come. My opinion people, no need to jeer. So where does she go? Where does she go when people come to realise that all that puffery is hiding pretty obvious nothingness?

Well, here's my take: she'll do what people like me accuse her of - she go naked. The only thing that will be left, will be to regress. She'll shave her head and do a whole album of just piano and vocal. No beats, no synths, no vocal posturing, no costumes. Just a bald headed girl and her piano.

And that would be something I might actually listen to. Really listen to.

Remember that, if this actually happens, you heard it here first.



*I only wrote this title because I knew BeckEye would read it and probably comment.

All the riches of the world

can't compete with the taxman.

Seems that Ozzy Osborne might have to sell one of his houses to pay his tax debt. Apparently, they 'forgot' to pay personal income tax the last two years. Surely they'd have accountants working for them? How do you forget?

And, for Christ sake, they only owe $1.5 mill. Surely that's a drop in the bucket? The amount of money Ozzy has made over the years, not to mention the amount of money Sharon seems to keep making; how can this be a problem?

I seem to have noticed this sort of trend in the past few years. I'm sure it's been happening forever, but I've only just latched onto it. How come people, who ostensibly have personal wealth in the millions, still get into debt? Can it be as simple as living beyond your means? Is it just bad housekeeping, insomuch as you've hired the wrong people to look after your finances? I know I'm the last person who should write this but, doesn't anyone save anymore?

I don't know about anyone else but, I still think a million dollars is a lot of money. Not worth as much as when I was a kid but still. I wouldn't knock back a million dollars. Yet, people still can't seem to live on a million dollars. People can't seem to live on SEVERAL million dollars. I'm constantly amazed that some entrepreneur, who only five years ago had a personal wealth of 15 million dollars, is now filing for bankruptcy. And it's not just entrepreneurs. Celebrities, businessmen and women, lottery winners. How can you have so much money one year and nothing the next? As much as I hate money, if I did win five or six million, I'd make damn sure I had taken all necessary steps to keep that money going for the rest of my life. I've said the same things to people before and they look at me like I'm some sort of moron. Surely though, there are investments that are secure, are indexed to grow with inflation and are able to provide you with a source of income over your lifetime.

Can it really be so hard?

Gratification

I was reading Coltin1948's blog the other day and one of his posts got me to thinking. It was the 'Marshmallow experiment' entry.

I'm a 'resigned to the inevitable' kind of guy. I'm a fairly depressed person; without suffering from actual depression, for that would be an insult to people who DO suffer from depression. Let's just say that I'm a negative thinker. I've been that way all my life.

Coltin's entry was about delayed gratification and how, if you can get used to waiting for good things and biding your time working for them, rather than wanting everything now, now, now; you'll have a better chance of a good life in the long run. I'd probably agree with that but I don't believe I've ever really delayed gratification by choice, nor have I run out and gobbled up life/goods/experiences without thought. I'm too afraid for that.

My whole life has been governed by fear and paranoia and that, in turn, has lead to mediocrity and poverty. I grew up poor and have pretty much stayed that way. It's something I've wondered at several times. You always hear stories of kids who grew up poor and worked themselves into such a state that they're now squillionaires but still don't think they have enough.

Of course, there are different types of poverty and, saying that you grew up poor is often no big thing. We always had food; we always had clothes and shoes (even if they were second-hand); we had two cars; we had a house and could afford a mortgage. Yet, there was never any money left over. Mum and dad never had any savings to speak of and there were never family vacations or anything like that. I grew up poor but I didn't grow up poor.

In spite of all this, I never felt like I really wanted for anything. Sure, there were things I wanted: an Action Jackson military jeep, or a new bike, or any of a million things that kids think they want. But somehow, without really knowing why or how, I knew my parents could never afford this sort of thing, so I never pestered them about it. I never threw a tantrum if I couldn't have something because we couldn't afford it; I never thought 'it's not fair.' It was just the way life was and I accepted it. It never instilled in me, a sense of, 'I'm never not going to be able to afford anything again.' I never became Scarlett O'Hara. I just didn't care.

The thing I think it probably did instill in me, is a hatred of money. I fucking hate the stuff. I love getting paid and taking all my money out in cash and budgeting it, because then I have nothing left. A little play money but nothing substantial. I used to be a saver. At one time, I had almost 13,000 dollars in the bank. For me, that was a LOT of money. Nowadays, I'd be like one of those guys you read about who crack the big lottery. 'Tennyson ee Hemingway; a man with only 23 cents in the bank, today won the world's biggest lottery.' The only part of that sentence that's true is the 23 cents. I never have more than a couple of dollars in the bank once payday rolls around. I do save, but usually for something. I don't save just to save. I'm not worried about a rainy day. I don't want to be like my father-in-law; too afraid to spend when on holiday and too afraid to reduce his hours at work because, 'I just don't have enough money to live on.'

I hate that attitude. EVERY DAY can be a fucking rainy day. We're human beings. No matter the circumstances, no matter your fate, no matter WHAT; human beings adapt. That's what we do. It's what we're good at. It's what we're bred for. If I don't have any money, I'll adapt. I'll accept it. I'll work through it.

Sure, I'm going to be a father soon. Yes, probably my attitude will change somewhat. But honestly, if there's one thing I'd like to instill in my daughter, it's the thought that, no matter what; no matter the lack of money/time/whatever, you'll work it out. You can accept it and you can make it ok.