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May 25, 2010 12:21:23
Posted By Style
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I don’t talk much about my cultural background but I feel it’s time that I bring it up so I can do my best to bring a stop to probably one of the most insulting saying that is thrown around carelessly by so many. My cultural background is Ukrainian and with that background, or even if I wasn’t Ukrainian, I am and would be very insulted every time someone says “no worries” to me. It feels like someone says that to me every day or so and every time I hear that, a piece of me dies inside.
I imagine, or I hope, that the people who use that awful saying don’t understand the background of the phrase. Back in the early 1940s in the Ukraine, Adolf Hitler sent travelling death squads throughout the Ukraine to exterminate those he didn’t think deserved to live, which included tens of thousands of Ukrainians. The last thing these poor people heard before they were executed by these Nazi death squads was “Keine Angst” or sometimes, “Keine Sorge” which translates to “No Worries”. This is what so many people, including innocent children, were told just before watching their parents get executed before their eyes and then again prior to when they too, were executed, usually as they looked directly into the oncoming gun fire.
I’ve never personally used the offensive phrase “no worries” to anyone under any circumstance and I hope someday soon that this phrase is abolished from the English language. I guess it’s because my Grandfather came to Canada in the 1940s after he witnessed the Nazis murder much of his family, friends and neighbors all while he heard “Keine Sorge” and “Kiene Angst”, over and over again.
So out of respect for those that were senselessly put to their deaths, please don’t ever say “no worries” to anyone, unless of course you are some kind of a modern day Nazi who gets a kick out of the suffering of the innocent. And, whenever you hear someone use the awful words “no worries”, please pass on the origin of this phrase so we can bring it to an end.
Peace….
Lyle
www.doitwithstyle.com
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July 15, 2009 07:12:51
Posted By Style
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 If someone would have told me that I’d ever write a word about Michael Jackson on my website a month ago, I wouldn’t have believed it. The death of Michael had little to no affect on me, when I heard the news, I just assumed it was a hoax as I’ve been hearing about his comeback for some time and what a better way to “comeback” than from the dead. There’s still people who think Elvis faked his death, and from what I understand Michael was fascinated by the death of Elvis and spoke of it often.
The thing that freaked me out more than the death of Michael Jackson was the record number of suicides that took place in the following 48 hours of news of his “death”. Never in history has there been more suicides recorded since 1984 when “99 Neuf Balloons” was in the charts. I did a psychology paper in ’91 on how more suicides took place with that 45 found on the record player or directly linked to that song than any other song out there, the second place song linked to thousands of suicides (to this day), is the theme from the Nutcracker.
Anyway, it hit me a week or so ago that around Christmas of this past year, I received an email from a “Michael” (no last name) who asked how Johnny faked his death in my screenplay “The Life and Death of Johnny Kitsalano”. I replied to “Michael” with a pitch on buying the screenplay and then he would find out exactly how Johnny did it successfully (for the record, I at no point thought at that time it was Michael Jackson, I thought someone was just trying to steal my idea). I never got a response back from that email pitch and I never gave it any thought until this past week. I did a detailed search on my hard drive and even on my back-ups looking for that email (and my response) so I could prove that I’m not making this up but in January, I got a virus that made me format my laptop so unfortunately I have no record of these emails. Now I realize there are probably hundreds of “Michaels” living in the world and what are the odds that it was Michael Jackson, but I thought I’d throw it out there as it’s been eating at me -so perhaps that is proof Michael Jackson faked his death. And for the record, this story is free to read about, that should prove the legitimacy, it’s not like I’m trying to sell my story to the media.
Anyway, I do feel bad for those that cared about the guy and even more so for the families and friends of those who took their own lives shortly after his “death” was announced. I have to admit though that it was an honour hearing that some memorials played my song “Until Next Time” which is a fitting song for a funeral and oddly enough, if someone chose to fake their death (available on ITunes & my album “Cutting Room Floor”).
www.doitwithstyle.com
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March 22, 2009 06:37:02
Posted By Style
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 Someone came up to me when I was standing in line at Starbucks at Portage Place and said “You’re the reason your Grandmother is dead” and then she walked away. I was a little dumbfounded, I didn’t even respond to her and I tried to act like nothing happened, I just kept my head down but I could feel people staring at me. The lady who said that to me was probably in her 50s, she didn’t look insane, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her before in my life, but it got me thinking, maybe I am the reason my Grandmother is dead. I wasn’t too close with my Grandmother but there’s no reason I’d ever want her to die although one of the last things she said to me was, in front of a room full of people I might add, “I can’t believe how fat you’ve gotten”. It hurt, but she was right, I did get fat although it’s strange because I don’t eat or drink as much as I used to, in fact, I eat quite a bit healthier than I ever did yet the pounds seemed to catch up with me in my 30s. I was never skinny but I admit, I’m ashamed of the way I look. But still, that’s no reason to plot my Grandmother’s demise.
When my Great Grandmother died and my Grandfather a few years later, I sang at their funerals, separately, of course. I sang “I’ll have a blue Christmas without you” to my deceased Great Grandmother which was fitting in a way since she died right before Christmas. For my Grandfather, I wrote and sung a song called “See You When We See You” which was something he’d say when he was saying goodbye to someone.
Now, I think my Grandmother told me “I want you to sing when it’s time for me to go” but I wouldn’t bet my life on it. In fact, when she did die last year, no one asked me to sing at the funeral, and I was fine with that, it’s not like I think it’s a good time to promote my music career at a funeral, however, it ate at me that I should sing a song at her funeral because I think she told me she wanted me to. So I asked my mom if I could sing at her funeral, and with the permission of a few key siblings, I was granted my wish. I sang “Until Next Time” which is the closing track on my CD (which I didn’t advertize at any point during the funeral, for the record). I did that song because it’s a sort of farewell track that seemed fitting. I don’t know if I did the right thing by singing at her funeral. I hope she didn’t mind.
Anyway, my Grandmother died just a few weeks before our son was born, leading up to that time, I never called her as much as I should have. I think it’s because I had a lot on my plate at the time, a pregnant wife, a CD in production, busy with life in general, or perhaps it’s because subconsciously, I knew I was still fat and a part of me was ashamed and maybe even jealous because I knew she lost a lot of weight.
Since that day at Starbucks, I’ve been carrying guilt over my Grandmother’s passing although I don’t know if I should or not. I still can’t figure out why that lady said that I’m the reason she’s dead but no matter how hard I try, I can’t prove that I’m not the reason she’s dead. A part of me also can’t help thinking that there’s a good chance she said that to the guy in line behind me.
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November 3, 2008 08:46:41
Posted By Style
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My wife says I spend too much time on things that don’t matter. This is probably one of those things. This is the first time I’ve written a blog, I hate that word (I almost didn’t have this on my website because of that word). I spend hours every day tweaking things that probably don’t need tweaked from the playlists on the iPod, song lyrics, an update on my website or a letter to an industry person that probably won’t even read what is on the paper or perhaps even get in their hands. I am most likely obsessive compulsive with attention deficit disorder which isn’t a good combination and can be quite tough to live with, both for me and my family. If anyone is reading this, you may find it interesting, as I did, that I received a prescription in the mail this week for anti-depressants from someone that heard my new CD, so perhaps you can add depression to my list of unofficially diagnosed disorders.
So after over a decade of work, my new CD is finally available and after all those years I’m starting to think for the first time, does anybody care? I just realized that I’ve invested everything I own and all these years on something I don’t think anybody (except my gut) ever asked me to do. Don’t get me wrong, over the years, I’ve been asked many times “when’s your new CD coming out?” but I think I misunderstood that as “I want you to record a new CD and I can’t wait to pick up a copy”. That’s a pretty big mistake, if it is one.
Maybe when my musical heroes first started out, they were fulfilling a need for the public, but in today’s market, is anybody looking for a “new” recording artist? I hope so. I have to believe that there’s always room for another good song to listen to, but just how does a person get a song really listened to? For my mental health, I have to believe there is a reason I was lead on this path instead of being something like a dentist or lawyer. I could have easily paid for all that education for what I’ve invested in myself in working in the entertainment industry. It’s frustrating because I see friends with “real” jobs that live in beautiful homes and are making six figure incomes and I’m just sliding by with the help of my credit cards. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy for all their success and it’s not jealousy at all, I want the best for everyone, it’s just hard not to think if the right path was chosen. I guess time will tell. All this deep thought is another waste of time, and I’m notorious for wasting time, unfortunately.
Looking at my life (and my wife), I can’t complain at all, and I am not complaining, although I am told it’s good to complain because the more you complain the longer God lets you live. I know that I am beyond blessed: I’ve met all my living heroes with the exception of Bob Dylan (although I just saw him in concert last night and it’s hard to tell if he is still a hero or not after that show). I have a book published and for sale at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville among other places around the world, I met the life of my love and married her and we have a son who instantly turned out to be the sunshine of my world. I am signed to a great label and finally released the CD I’ve wanted to for so many years.
So now what? The thing that eats me up is most successful CD projects out there have an enormous budget to purchase advertising, media attention, hire publicists, promote to radio, tour, etc. Unfortunately, our promotional budget is us doing everything which is ok if the CD is actually listened to. Most people don’t realize that the music industry is an enormous Catch 22, unless of course, you have money, lots of it. First off, you can’t get a manager unless you have a record deal, you can’t get a record deal unless you have a manager, you can’t get a distribution deal unless you’re on tour, you can’t go on tour and make a living unless people know who you are, and the list goes on. I guess what keeps me going is that no two recordings artists have the exact story to tell on how they made it and all “rules” in the entertainment industry are broken often. That, and I never listen to what people tell me I can’t do. Perhaps I’ve pursued the music industry to prove someone wrong, I just can’t recall who.
Anyway I don’t know what my point is, or what my point is supposed to be as to be honest with you, I don’t understand the purpose of a blog. Basically, I wrote this just so I had a first blog to post. If you actually read this blog and would be interested in reading another one, drop me an email just to let me know if anyone actually reads these things and what you want me to give a “piece of mind” on. I’m a very opinionated person which may not be good as my wife tells me I lose more of my target audience every time I open my mouth.
Until next time….
Yayo
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