Underrated Websites, II

If you love music, YouTube is fine. It is very fine, in fact.

But often people want to just listen song after song - of their own choosing - without being lured by video content or having to choose a new tune every three minutes or so. An internet radio, as it were.

For those people, the internet is not as rich as one might imagine.

Pandora works - or used to work - for USA listeners only.

But there is a whole wide world outside the USA, and that world is inhabited by people who like music.

For those people the least hassle-free website we've found so far is this:

JANGO

It still has a long way to go, in terms of music selection.

But as it is now, its future looks promising... provided it doesn't succumb to the "social media" pressure and starts making things difficult for those who won't register just to listen to a couple of tunes.

Keep it simple, Jango, and we'll love you by the millions.

Here is the previous entry in UNDERRATED WEBSITES.

When You Wish Upon the Moon

Somebody - quite a lot of people - told me that the full moon has the astrologically demonstrated (?) effect of bringing things to fruition. Specifically, things that were started - wished upon - at the time of the new moon (i.e. the opposite of the full moon - the "empty" moon :)).

I am not much into astrology, although I am not dismissing it totally.

But I am very much into anything that makes people happy, and that includes the realisation of their purest, most heartfelt wishes.

Many people seem to think that the deepest secrets of our befuddled existence have to be uttered by noted philosophers, or, at the very least, by "published authors" (of books or - o tempora, o mores - noted blogs. And we're not naming any names...)

But having read and heard and seen and experienced as much I have, I have noticed that sometimes the most astonishing nuggets of true wisdom are to be found in -B films (yes, that's a B minus ), or in popular songs.

Here is one, a very simple and beloved one, from the 1940 Disney production of Pinocchio.

It is a very nice song.

But it's more than that.

There is a single line in it that contains the entire truth of all "self realisation" and "manifestation" books put together.

You'll have to find it yourself.

But finding it is only the beginning.

Iif you do not believe it is true - if you don't LIVE its truth - then all the Rhonda Byrnes of this world won't help you. You might as well stop reading all that junk - and even good books of the kind - right now.

Happy Full Moon time to all of us.

A-Tcho!

It's not a sneeze, but Gesundheit, or "to your health", apparently still is the right answer to this one.

One of the bizarre pleasures of blogging is that you get to write about things in which you have a purely anthropological interest.

Chocolate being one of them.
I am told I am a rare bird (which, I think, is a euphemism for a different expression) for not loving chocolate.
It is not that I dislike it - certainly not in general.
And there have been many, many occasions when I absolutely enjoyed the experience.

It's just that when picking a dessert, for example, chocolate would be the last thing on my mind. I love caramel, for example; and I like a good, moist cake - as long as it doesn't contain chocolate.
I will eat it - often, not always - but I would not choose it for myself.

What I do like - love, honour and respect - is good craftmanship, genuine dedication, professional pluck, creativity and integrity.
Which is why I could spend days, not hours, admiring jewelry - which I absolute abhor wearing (and don't, not a single piece).

And which is why I am now writing about chocolate, of all things.
I may not crave it myself, but have friends who do.
And most of all, I am always touched to see a few talented and courageous people trying to make a dent in the bastion-like snobbery of the food business. (See this NYT article for details.)

With all that in mind, I present you TCHO.

I am not associated with them in any way, I only heard about them today - thanks, NYT! - and have no vested interest in their business success or failure.

But as someone who loves sensible, people-oriented creativity and individual dedication in a standardised and homogenised world, I am rooting for them.

Am I a Quiz?

I am inquisitive.
And people do give me quizzical looks (or just myopic, for all I know) all too often for comfort.
But I haven't been made into a quiz, not yet. That is for dead (or thereabouts) pop celebrities.


I don't even like quizzes - with a few exceptions.
If you do, you'll LOVE AquizIam.
The same goes for lovers of challenging riddles and games.
And mysteries.


So, we have a new favourite website. Well, I have.
But knowing my mates, they'll be spending time there like the crazy bats that they are. (Stylish crazy bats, though!)


As a matter of fact, I'll be sending this specific item over to Time Slips, so don't compound your understandable Angst by suspecting deja vu, too.