Marry for money...

Marry for money, you can always learn to love.

Trace Adkins sings a song that really matches this topic. Added value: the video is amusing, indeed. 

She was pretty, she was smart
she was witty, Yeah, she had charm
Cupid shot me
that's what got me down the aisle. 

But that match made in heaven went straight to hell

split up our possessions, put the house up for sale

and I learned a lesson I won't be forgetting
the next time around.

 

I'm gonna marry for money I'll be so damn rich it ain't funny I'm gonna have me a trust fund, yacht club, hot tub piece of the pie

Find me a sweet sugar mama With a whole lot of zeros and commas Don't really care if she loves me She can even be ugly I'm gonna marry for money

I won't have to love her family
I won't have to like her friends
and if it works out like I planned it,
I won't ever have to work again

[Repeat Chorus]

Y'all I'm gonna fly to Hawaii

On a Lear Jet the old lady buys me
I'll call her sweet heart & honey

if she's a hundred and twenty

I'm gonna marry for money...

I dont care if she loves me
She can be really ugly
I'm gonna marry for money

Oh, cha-ching mucho dinero


Come over here you good lookin' thing, you
There's your walker in the corner
Over over...

ON COUNTRY MUSIC

By the way, how do you like country music? In a way, country music is often seen as a portrait of American culture... Is it truly so?  Does country music really offer a comprehensive picture of the average American? Consider for a moment the keywords for most country songs:

Backwoods, cowboy hats, rednecks, momma, trucks, dirtroad, love lost, love gain, someone died, someone's dog died, patriotic fight for our rights, religious theme, tractors, farm, farming, Dixie, the South, hunting, fishing, partying, boots, jeans, rough, honkytonk, beer, whiskey, did I mention momma? 

As someone stated, country music is a way of life with the songs chronicalizing the journey of the path we lead. If the song touches you, then you know it.


Reflection: If you had to select a music style that represents the average Spaniard, what would you pick?

Affluenza

Affluenza - Keeping up with the Joneses.

Af-flu-en-za n. 1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses. 2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by dogged pursuit of the American Dream. 3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth. 

1. Introduction to the topic (Australian video): A satirical presentation of affluenza, focusing on the hardships of an Australian teenage... 

 2. Oliver James, psychologist and writer, Talks about affluenza and puts it in a nutshell: most folks are about as happy as they make their minds to be (not his own words, though).

Now, please consider how much you fall into this pattern of behaviour. Food for thought! 

Reading Suggestion

If you are looking for a book that is entertaining, inspiring, and curious at a time, and not too hard for a reading, this could be a choice (8€):

Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

PLOT: January 1946: writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.

Short video where one of the authors speaks about the book: VIDEO.

You can also read part of chapter one and value how hard you find its reading: EXCERPT

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

There are 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

Written after Paul Simon's divorce from first wife Peggy Harper (1975), this song is a mistress's humorous advice to a husband on ways to end a relationship: Just slip out the back, Jack/Make a new plan, Stan... You can consider what the message really is... if there's a message in the song. Either way, just listen and enjoy. The rhythm is good for a song written +35 years ago.

Paul Simon - 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

"The problem is all inside your head", she said to me
The answer is easy if you take it logically
I'd like to help you in your struggle to be free
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover

She said it's really not my habit to intrude
Furthermore, I hope my meaning won't be lost or misconstrued
But I'll repeat myself, at the risk of being crude
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover
Fifty ways to leave your lover

You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free

Ooo slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just listen to me
Hop on the bus, Gus
Don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
Get yourself free

She said it grieves me so to see you in such pain
I wish there was something I could do to make you smile again
I said I appreciate that and would you please explain
About the fifty ways

She said why don't we both just sleep on it tonight
And I believe in the morning you'll begin to see the light
And then she kissed me and I realized she probably was right
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover
Fifty ways to leave your lover

You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Oh you hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free

Slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
You just listen to me
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free

Angry Break Up Songs

Download pdf (see below)

Talking 'bout the end of love

Thanks Rocío for sending the links to these two songs dealing with a break up crisis... Before listening (if you do listen to them), it could prove to be interesting to learn about the context and background.

Wikipedia: Eamon

Wikipedia: The song"F**k You"

Wikipedia: Frankee

Wikipedia: FURB 

Warning: The lyrics are both expletive and explicit. 

Singer: Eamon

Song: F**k You (I Don't Want You Back)

YouTube Videoclip

YouTube Sing-AlongVideoclip (lyrics on)

Singer: Frankee

Song: F.U.R.B. (F*ck You Right Back)

YouTube Videoclip

YouTube Sing-Along Videoclip (lyrics on)

Download both lyrics on a pdf file: Angry Break Up Songs

Time Bandits

Extended reading: Time Bandits

If you feel like it, you can read two articles with advice on how to deal with time bandits in daily and professional life (ARTICLE 1 - ARTICLE 2)

By the way, TIME BANDITS is a hillarious (and very imaginative) Monthy Python's 1981 film (you surely know Brian's Life and other films), featuring Sean Connery, Michel Palin and other well known stars. If you have the chance, get the film and... enjoy! Check the OFFICIAL TRAILER.

Are women better at multitasking?

Multitasking can really drive us mad, if not properly controlled. Just have a look at the statistics about surfing the Net while driving. Now it's... Don't drive and surf!

Anyway, the point was to see if a gender excelled the other at multitasking, and it seems to be so... According to the Telegraph, scientists prove that women are better at multitasking than men. The Telegraph - Multitasking 1 - Multitasking 2

Anyway, whatever said in the press, men definitely prove to be better multitaskers... See the sketch.

You feel embarrassed when others speak in English???

Sometimes we can feel quite embarrassed when we hear how some of our politicians or sportspeople speak in English. At least, I do. 

I won't dig into well-known politicians, and there's a wide range of them to choose from. Let's get some sportspeople as a sample: this is when one should simply remain silent...

A Famous Spanish Sport Journalist Speaks InEnglish

HOT FUZZ

Big cops. Small town. Moderate violence.

• The film
• The trailer
• The scene

Hot Fuzz and Torrente... Two very different ways of focussing on the same kind of humor.

Facing a job interview

Have you ever had to convince your prospective employer? Just have a look at this short job interview where a man introduces himself and tries to convince two employers, one taking the role of the nice lady, while the other sits back and plays de baddie...  Job Interview.