I really like Japan as a place to visit and I’m lukcy enough to go there about 6 times a year on average. Everything works, the place is spotless, the people are great, super polite and the food is fantastic, especially okonomiyaki in Hiroshima and crab sashimi in Nagoya.

One thing I love there is the gizmo’s, gadget’s and strange trends. Some of the things you find are awesome and some just plain daft but all bring a smile to my face.

The latest one, apparently, is for ladies to wear printed skirts like the ones shown below.

I hope and pray they don’t catch on with the fellas though.

So readers, would you wear something like this seriously for a standard day around the house/work/town?

Arigato gozaimaishita.

Mighty Morgan here!

Some of you don’t necessarily understand some of the stuff I do, the things I write about or why I may ponder upon some of the subject matter that I sometimes do. But all of it and I mean all of it, is because it is the process that allows me to continually grown and become more of the person I choose to be and to live the life I desire.

Some of you already know about the picture puzzle of my life, but then there are some of you who don’t. I figured I would share some pieces of my story in order for the whole picture of what I do to become clearer.

I was a stone cold heroin addict for over 12 years of my life.
I was a liar. I was a thief. I hated myself and I hated the rest of the world.

I was not a nice human being.

When I made the decision to get and stay clean, I rebuilt a life for myself and redefined who I was. I continued to stay clean and at this point last year I came to realized that the equation for life that I had been desperately trying to live by, would never, ever, ever offer me the results I believed they would.

I began my experiment in a last attempt to discover if life would ever offer me more then the daily struggle to survive in this world….and if not, I was done trying to live this life. I examined and re-examine every aspect of who I was in order to discover that the limited life I felt trapped within was a direct result of what and how I believed and felt.

Since I began this journey, my life has unfolded before me almost magically into the life I am currently living…which you can read more about here if you wish. I have learned that every challenge, struggle, setback or limit I perceive in the moment is the gentle teacher of life allowing me to choose a better way of being through the very painful contrast it provides.

I would never know what aspects of my life were not serving me if I did not experience the inner discomfort they produced. A simple shift in my perceptions allows me to discover that all that I desire is being offered to me if I take a step back, out of any situation to see the bigger picture that it encompasses.

So is there any challenges, struggles, setback or pieces in the puzzle of your life that you can turn around by stepping back to take a better look at?

As a younger man I was useless at getting up in the mornings, Mr Snooze Button was used often and led to me missing many important lectures at uni and some overtime in my first job.

These days that is not so much the case, at least Monday to Saturday anyway. In general I’m pretty keen to get up and get on with life and living it. Normal start is; 5.40am alarm goes off, by 5.45 I’m on my rowing machine, by 6.30 in the car for the hour long drive to work clutching orange juice, coffee and a ham and cheese sandwich, of course having a great view from my balcony has made the experience even more enjoyable since I moved to Thailand.

I decided almost 10 years ago to relocate my alarm clock to the other side of the bedroom so that I have to get up to turn it off, I also bought one with the loudest, most annoying and insistent wake up tone I could find. That simple action made my life hell for about 6 months as I got used to it, but the last decade or so have been great as a result of being able to easily get out of bed and hit the day hard.

So do you need a crow bar to get you out of bed ? Are you up with the lark or are you lucky enough to not have to worry about getting up at all (careful life doesn’t pass you by) ? Any advice?

Hello, Everyone.  Empress busting on the scene once more.  This time, I want to share with you about my dream….

I’ve always had very vivid dreams. The other night was no exception. However, when I woke from this one, I felt as though it was trying to pass along a message….

In short, I dreamt about trillions of rabbits, a rich lady and a talking golden retriever.  I know that all sounds ridiculous, so if you want to know the entire story read my last blog entry, See Martin?  I Had a Dream, Too!

This dream of mine accurately revealed my frienship and hopefully, predicts the future of my Haunted House (I found a location, by the way).  This is not the first time in which my dreams have “spoken” to me which is why I pay close attention to them. 

I believe in my dreams.  Do you believe in yours?

Today is Canada Day (in Canada). Today is usually a day when everyone sits around and has a bbq and drinks all day.

I think my favorite part of Canada is it’s Great Lakes. Growing up I always lived within a half an hour from the beach. It is so hot and humid in Ontario that if you didn’t live by a beach it would be a horrible summer! In high school we used to even have a Beach Day on every Friday in June when we would all skip school and go to the beach for the day. But most teachers would try to put tests on Friday so sometimes we would have to stay at school and think about everyone having fun at the beach.

But now that I live in the west there is something I get to enjoy every day….the mountains. I can go outside and see them everyday. They are pretty amazing…but they aren’t the Great Lakes for sure.

What is a favorite part of your country?

Thanks to O’DB in Manchester, England for sending GO! Smell the flowers this BBC news link announcing another world first from Dubai - a building that NEVER looks the same!

This shape-shifting skyscraper may someday energize the Dubai skyline with its revolving floors and environmentally friendly, electricity-generating wind turbines. The Dynamic Tower design is made up of 80 pre-fabricated apartments which will spin independently of one another.

“It’s the first building that rotates, moves, and changes shape,” said Italian architect David Fisher. “This building never looks the same, not once in a lifetime,” he added. Pretty much like us humans then?

The 420-metre (1,378-foot) building’s apartments would spin a full 360 degrees, at voice command, around a central column by means of 79 giant power-generating wind turbines located between each floor. The skyscraper will cost an estimated $700m to build and should be up and running in Dubai in 2010.

No site has been finalised for this project or any of the project team so how they’re going to close our by 2010 amazes us, even by fast-track 24×7 construction, Dubai style where 28% of all construction cranes now exist.

Comments on this twisty-turny idea are most welcomed! Will they REALLY pull it off. Shape shifters anyone?

The other day I got a new tattoo…now the count is up to five…and I’m not done yet. Anyways, I think it’s weird how many people still look at me funny. Getting a tattoo is a fun thing…picking out the tattoo, picking the spot and then watching it be created. This tribal sun was put on my left wrist. I have to say it has hurt the worst of the five I have. That skin is so tender there and when he tattoo’s over a bone…it just vibrates all the way through.

One of the best things about getting a tattoo is talking to the artist. If they are the talkative type it can keep your mind of the mind numbing pain (just wait until I get the huge tattoo on my arm! the stories I will have then!) This tattoo artist was known to me before I got a tattoo from him. I used to babysit his daughter when I tried the whole day home thing. So, he may have been more open with me more than the next girl.

He asked me what I was doing now that I wasn’t babysitting…so I told him that I wrote on the web all day about celebrities. He thought it was crazy and hadn’t met someone who did that yet. So after a bit he said …you know Heath Ledger? I did one of his tattoo’s… I almost hit the floor! I have had a really hard time dealing with his death, and always having to write about him sometimes doesn’t help. So, there the artist was telling me some awesome stories about him. It was a surreal feeling.  The tattoo guy also decided he would add an Australian symbol (aussie you can correct me if I’m wrong) around the sun to symbolize Heath. Now this wouldn’t be so significant if it wasn’t by the same guy that did a tattoo for Heath.

Is there any questions you have ever wondered about tattoos? Ask them and I will try to answer them the best I can. I want to clear up any myths people have about them.

These are fictional Childrens Book Titles.

I wondering, how long it will before we see titles like this on the shelves of our book stores.

Given the presence of the Social Awareness Groups and the acceptance of new and interesting lifestyles in the Western world.

Would you read these to your kids? there are more at Aussie Cynic ( Pagan should appreciate them)

With the openess of our societies these days and the push for more and more exceptance of alternative life styles is it only a matter of time?

And What’s Next?

Trawling through the old gmail inbox earlier this arrived:

This E-mail is to inform you that you have emerged a winner of£500,000.00 GBP (Five Hundred Thousand British Pounds) in our online Give-away 1Oth year Anniversary draws.GoogleUK has successfully organized for the second time a Cash Give-Away marking 2008 10th Anniversary in the UK. Over £20,000,000.00 (Twenty Million British pounds) is to be given out for this Anniversary Draws. No purchases of tickets were required. Participants for the draws were randomly selected from a world wide range of web searchers who use the Google search engine (Googler) and other Google
ancillary services.

Google is now the biggest search engine worldwide and in an effort to make sure that it remains the most widely used search engine, Google is running an e-mail beta test. Your email address was linked with our Computer Generated Profile Numbers (CGPN) and attached to the following details:

It then goes on to give me my ticket number, serial numbers and lucky number and that I was picked among our lucky winners to receive £500, 000.00 British pounds. Winners were selected randomly through a computer ballot system from worldwide users of the Google search engine.

To claim your give-away prize, send the following
Your full names…………….. ,
sex………………………….,
Location……………………….
Alternate e-mail address………………
Your winning details……………..

To your processing agent (Mr.Francis Henson) who have been assigned to handle your winning file and payment processing.

Your Processing Agent contact:
Mr.Francis Henson,
Email:payment.giveaway@gmail.com ,francis.henson01@live.com
Tel:+447031958488,+447031930187

SO - There we have it folks! How would you handle this ‘win’ so others don’t get caught into giving away their data through SPAM - Unless we’re missing something? Do tell and have you even been Spammed and scammed?

This is my first post ever on my new laptop…but that story later. My youngest child’s last day of school was today…he’s now going to be in Grade 1! Now, I remember this day with my daughter and she’s already in Grade 6! I tell you life goes so quickly…and before you know it, life is over!

Being a parent has it’s challenges too. I’ll tell you what they are thinking of doing in Canada. They want to pass a law that makes parents get charged if they spank their child. Just a tap…they will get charged with assault. And just the other week a girl, 12, (which is the age of my daughter) sued her father because he grounded her from a field trip. And she won! Something isn’t right with this world when they want children to think they rule the world. It’s wrong!

What is a crazy rule they have in your country??

I just finished up a long and tedious project for one of my clients.  All I can say is wooooooohooooooo!  It’s like a ton of brinks off my shoulders, a feeling I can unfortnently say I’ve had before as a freelancer. 

I’m inserting this tomato because I like how red it is and honestly couldn’t find a good picture mimicking a ton of bricks!

Everyone’s had some kind of project whether it just be the dreaded math homework from their school days to the more involved hassle of life on the job that’s been like a heavy weight on their shoulders.  What’s the last project you had that just took forever to finish?

Well, I know what Chi is.

Chi is apparently the life force which permeates the world. In addition to being in all living beings, chi is also found in spaces such as homes and gardens. Although chi is a metaphysical construct, rather than something which can be physically quantified and measured, belief in chi is widespread in many Asian nations and disciplines including Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), martial arts and Feng Shui.

And I know that Chakra’s are the different energy points throughout the body.

But what I am struggling with is, what, if any, is the difference between Chi and Chakra’s?

Both are energies so surely they are the same.

So does that mean if you don’t believe in the Chakra system then you don’t believe in Chi?

And as a consequence of that thought process, does that then mean all Martial Arts are a myth?

Help please……1 inch punches are optional.

Mike here,

When not making films for GO! Smell the Flowers, BLAM Productions also makes films like these:

The following is actual footage filmed under cover by The Lone Ranger as part of  Hi Ho Books Away at my magazine, The View From Here. The idea is to leave ten hardback literary books in a public space and see how long it is before someone picks each one up.

So when is the last time you picked up a book and what was it?

Those of you in the UK would have heard of this by now…
If not here is the News Report cortesy Telegraph UK

Police chase UFO over Cardiff

A police helicopter crew gave chase to a UFO after it almost collided with their aircraft near a military base.

The pilot was forced to bank sharply to avoid being hit by the mystery aircraft as the helicopter was returning to the Ministry of Defence base of St Athan, near Cardiff.
The three crew, who described the UFO as ‘flying saucer-shaped’, then gave chase, getting as far as the North Devon coast before they ran low on fuel, it was reported.
The police aircraft was hovering at 500ft and waiting clearance to land on June 7, when those onboard spotted the other craft hurtling towards them from below.
A spokesman for South Wales Police said: “We can confirm the Air Support Unit sighted an unusual aircraft. This was reported to the relevant authorities for their investigation.”
It was reported that the aircraft closed in at great speed, aiming straight for the helicopter which swerved sharply.
“They are convinced it was a UFO. It sounds far-fetched, but they know what they saw.”
The helicopter crew are said to have crossed the Bristol channel in pursuit of the UFO, but lost sight of it and had to turn back due to a fuel shortage.
The sighting comes weeks after the most comprehensive Government files on UFO activity are opened to the public for the first time today and they disclose that even air traffic controllers and police officers have seen mysterious craft in the skies over Britain.
The sightings range from incredible tales of little green men visiting the Wirral to corroborated accounts from policemen and pilots of Unidentified Flying Objects hovering above towns and cities.
All were recorded on official forms, held by air bases and police stations, and compiled by the Ministry of Defence between 1978 and 2002.

For those of you who are still a little specticle and disbeleive the story here is the Police Helicopter Footage..

Do you Know what it is? because the Police, Air Traffic Investigators and the Government have no idea..

and just to top this off what was hovering over O’Hare Airport December 2006

So many people are quick to call those who believe in ET’s as nutters and it is fair to say that there are some, however there is a growing number of people who have stated and reported close encounters. I do not mean little green men invading their homes, but Unidentified Flying objects both in our air and in space. Astronauts, Pilots, Military Pilots, Police, Politicians and the list continues.

Whether these are actual vehicles from other worlds or secret Military tests remains to be seen, but with the UK Government open the files they have held for many years and the vast number and unexplained incidents it is fair to say that there is something going on.

After all many witnesses are very credible people. Some you may have even voted for.

My children will be off of school next week. (And as you can see from the picture my son is super happy!!) And I think I am going to go crazy! I think they are so funny…this week is an example.

My kids have wanted a Nintendo DS so they could be like all the other kids in school. I thought it would be a good idea for the summer so they wouldn’t get bored. But, of course, after playing one game for an hour they were.

It kills me to think that they wanted this thing for so long…and then got tired of it so quickly.

I try to tell my kids to always have something you want…if you always get everything you want you will have nothing to strive for. It’s not always a good thing to get things just handed to you. There is always a great satisfaction in getting there yourself. Things may be tough…but when you get there it’s that much sweeter.

What are you striving for?

Hiddy-ho!  Gwendel here with a question for all of you.  But, first let me set the scene…..

I was watching the movie The Golden Compass the other day.  My eldest thought I would find it rubbish since the concept of the movie is the soul moves around outside the body rather than inward which goes against what my christian upbringing dictates.  On the contrary, I found this movie to be quite fascinating. 

Each individuals soul or “daemon” (demon) was a representation of who they were and they walked, flew, hopped or crawled beside their masters.  For example, the daemons for the army were all wolves while one of the towns gang involved boy’s daemon was a rat.  The individual and their daemon were inseparable and when one suffered pain, the other suffered, as well.  If the individual should happen to die, their daemon would instantly vanish into cinders.

After watching The Golden Compass, I began wondering what my daemon would be.  Since it represents who you are and I find myself being so many different things, I have yet to pinpoint an animal in particular.  My first choice was a hippopotamus seeing as I’m large and slow to walk, but once I get my teeth on you, there’s no turning back.  However, I am also a chameleon — changing my colors and moods along with my surroundings.

So, here’s my question:  What animal would closely represent your daemon?

Many of the Guys here at Flowers are Horse Racing fans and in my household it is no different… hubby has been sitting up watching Royal Ascot till the early hours..

How about Haradasun and Takeover Target…

Go you good things!

Aussie Gloating done now

But all Australians whether you are into Horse Racing or Not, now the Name of our Greatest Hero Phar Lap..

His mysterious Death in 1932 in The USA has been the fodder of many a conspiracy theory ever since and it has today been found to be the truth we partly anyway…

We Australian have for the past 74 years beleived Phar lap was Poisoned, murdered etc but this was never proven, the newpapers were full of headlines of Phar Lap Poisoned but the official line was he died from Colic or an infection in his hoof….

If you go to Little Aussie Cynic you will see the whole story and News Report today which confirmed he was poisoned but not in the way we all think….

I included footage of his one and only international race and another on the history of our greatest ever hero our Horse Phar lap..

NICKNAMES: If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah. If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.

EATING OUT: When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it’s only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back. When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY: A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs. A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn’t need but is on sale.

ARGUMENTS: A woman has the last word in any argument. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE: A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband. A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS: A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE: A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn’t. A man marries a woman expecting that she won’t change, but she does.

DRESSING UP: A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail. A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL: Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed. Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING: Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams. A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: A married man should forget his mistakes. There’s no use in two people remembering the same thing!

Mighty Morgan here!

Well after a few days of service interruption as well as a sword impaled into the space bar on the keyboard of my other computer, I’m back online and ready to write.

Something I try to live by is keeping myself in a happy balance within my life. I know that in times of inner discontent that more often then not, I am being presented with an opportunity to redefine my current circumstances through the contrasts that may be occurring.  A particular  a quote I often refer to in moments of doubt, confusion and anger is…..

“It is more important to be happy then it is to be right.”

Although I intellectually understand this and do my best to live and let live, sometimes in the midst of an emotional tidal wave, I just want to cling to the idea that I am right and in doing so find no relief from the unhappiness that often trails behind when my feelings are validated. I try to discern where this power struggle stems from and why although I know I am right, why I feel I have to have others agree with my point of view in order to reclaim my right to happiness, especially when I feel hurt by the words or actions of others.

So my question to you all is how do you allow yourself to be right and allow another to also be right and still find that delicate balance of happiness in the entire mix of it all??

I am the most impatient person in the world it seems…and this week has been a prime example. I bought a new web site on Friday and I thought it would be up by Monday at the latest. I ended up writing them and they told me that I was even registered to be getting a site with them. I was like…CURSED!! So, yesterday, I decided to try again with someone else and I changed the website name again. Now, my boss worked all day yesterday trying to figure out why it wouldn’t work. CURSED AGAIN! So, to make a longer story shorter I hope to be up today.

I’m super excited to get going again. I’ve been down for a week now. Thank goodness I have the other two blogs I work for, Backseat Cuddler and Knocked Up Celebs! Or else I would have went crazy!

What do you get impatient for?

Last week in our 27th free flowers contest we invited all visitors to GO! Smell the flowers to post a caption for this image AND include something about yourself, your blog, your website or you in your answer.

With 28 entries from a variety of blogs around the world the winner on this occasion was flowers founder Mighty Morgan with:

“oh no…here HE comes again…everyone pretend your asleep”

Random fact about Mighty Morgan - ‘I stink at these free flower caption contests’

Well not on this occasion - Well done Mighty - the $60 of free flowers will be sent wherever you choose! Just accept your prize here in comments and we’ll contact you with the details on how to claim your prize.

Thanks to our partners Flora2000, the international flower delivery experts. You could always send flowers to someone right now, anywhere in the world . Simply use code GSTF00 if you send someone flowers and you’ll be entitled to a bit of flower smelling discount!

More free flower contests next month!

Mike here,

I’m interviewing debut author, Mark Piggott, over at The View From Here Magazine at the moment and I asked him about a past agent. This is what he said:

My second agent was Dr Radice at Gregory & Radice (now Gregory & Co). Again, I sent her an MS and she left this message on my phone saying something like,

“… I can’t say I enjoyed reading this – it was like a 500 page suicide note – but if you were to try writing something else I’d like to represent you…”

So tell us about your answer machine messages - strange and bizzare stories please!

Answer Machine Photo Credit: Aneyeforapicture

Left: Mark Piggott

I took the kids and Mrs AEP to see a dolphin (and seal) show in Dubai at the weekend. We loved it, and the dolphins clearly enjoyed performing. Not only did the kids have a whale of a time but the trainers explained the educational and conservation benefits as well. What’s the problem with animals in captivity?

Go! Out this summer and take the kids to a zoo, safari park, aquarium etc

So, I was hacked again. Yup, this is the third time. Apparently, they did more damage then ever too. So, I have to tell you how it feels to be hacked. It feels like someone has broken into your house and has stolen everything even your heart. It’s weird to think of your website like that but this site is my life. But, she’s no more. I have shut it down. But the hacker may have thought they have won but they haven’t. I have changed names and got a new host. One that is able to handle my pictures and traffic. I will come back and I will be better than before.

There is two people I have to thank for supporting me in the last couple of days: Les and Confessing7Girl.

I’m going to miss Les because he was always the one to put my site back together for me. But I hope he knows that without him I would never have moved to a .com to begin with.

I will let everyone know what my new site is soon…I just want to lay low for a bit.

Based on a best selling book, this movie starts as a story of 2 boys in pre Russain Invasion Afghanistan and then takes some very unusual turns. It touches up human insecurities and deep human relationships. Above all the story is extremely well designed and well told.

Watch it for the extremely sensitive story and to get an insight into pre invasion Afghanistan.

Leaked US documents in 2004 suggested that “men wanted to goto Iraq, but “real men” want to goto Iran”. True to those docs, the Bush administration has constantly beat a drumbeat on the “Iran Nuclear Threat”, with some of it diluting last year with US intelligence suggested that Iran was NOT building a bomb.

Now suddenly the tide seems to be changing. Bush has toured the Middle East twice this year, which is very wired, considering most presidents only goto Israel once during there terms and none have gone to Saudi, Bahrain, UAE, etc so often. Then there is IEA’s about turn on Iran, which has suddenly declared Iran’s Nuclear program dangerous and accussed Iran of not allowing access (deja vu Iraq). Last but not least, infact importantly, 1st Merkel, now Sarkozy, have attacked Iran on it’s Nuclear program and have on Bush’s current Europe tour, offered an aid package to Iran to stop the program and called for sanctions in the event it doesn’t

Are other leaders going to join in soon? Looks likely.

So why do these leaders want a war on Iran? Simple, war is good for the economy. With world recession looming, a war on Iran will generate tremendous military spend and pull the US and thus the world out of looming recession. The last two wards in Iraq & the smaller one in Bosnia were followed by huge economic growth and were extremely good for the world economy and 99% of the world’s population.

Here is my question to you all, considering the tremendous economic downturn that is threatening our living standards and those of our families, should we back the war on Iran? Afterall with around 65M people, Iran’s population is just about 1% of the world’s population and most of those 1% will not be affected by the war directly.

I also say that Iran has walked into this war. 1st of all it has an oppressive regime, which has destroyed the dreams of most of it’s youngsters. It has also taken on a very rebellious position globally despite being a small fry militarily and economically; after all you don’t threaten the big boys and get away with it, right ?

Ofcourrse alternately, one can say that war by principle is bad, but is it really? Considering that it brings prosperity to the vast majority. After all there are more people dying of hunger, poverty and road accidents every year than war…