Tag: prog rock

How Do You Do, Bartholomew? – 3rd June 2023

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

In the battle between one god
And this supreme being’s two sets of believers
Each arguing that they were doing good
And that the others were purely deceivers

These good deeds involved massacring
Those that believed the same thing
Killing more of each other than those
That hated what some good deeds might bring

More than the Romans ever threw to the lions
Over the space of three hundred years
In just one day thousands lay dead
And the Pope rejoiced with glorious tears

The irony seems to be lost on some
When their books said to live and let live
Only humans could twist the words of their god
And make it part of their dogma to forgive

Inspired by a section of Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari dealing with religion.
1st Apr 2024 – Submitted to My Vivid Blog

Today I’m feeling:

I’m zonked out today. I went to bed around one thirty last night and I knew I was dog tired but still felt like I was in a good mood and should be doing things. I knew it wasn’t the best idea though and fell asleep quickly in the end. I got up late this morning and felt pretty good but by about lunchtime, I was crashing. I just ran out of energy.

Today I’m grateful for:

Yes’s album Drama, which I listened through twice as I crashed out through the afternoon on the sofa. I drifted in and out of consciousness as did the music. At times it made me think of the 70s and 80s, the Old Grey Whistle Test and listening to John Peel late at night. I can’t recall any of the music, even just a couple of hours later but I know I enjoyed it. I’ll listen to it again soon.

The best thing about today was:

Getting into bed early and getting a message from my student Jet that she was having problems at home with her mum and stepdad. I tried to understand as best I could and gave her my support. Jet is a very funny, smart but lazy, tomboy that speaks her mind and has a lot of bravado but as with any kid around 12-15 has her own insecurities and hers is whether her parents love her.
Her mum and dad split a couple of years ago after her dad cheated and no doubt her mum was shocked and sad, and now with a new man living in the house there must be all sorts of conflicting emotions at play for everyone.
Sadly, a lot of kids are facing situations like this. I wonder if it is spurring on the popularity of lesbian relationships here. Girls are seeing how badly their mothers get treated and then forgive and remain subservient to men and they’re deciding that’s not what they want in their lives but they still want love.
Anyway, the reason this was the best thing that happened today was Jet’s response of ‘Thanks for listening, you’re the best teacher and I love you! ‘
That warmed my heart though I did remind her that I am not perfect either!

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

My energy levels, handled by sleep! I think I just get so exhausted during the week at school and whilst still buzzing on the Friday, it all comes crashing down on the weekend. That’s not to say I didn’t get anything done or feel down. I’ll bounce back.

Something I learned today?

Apparently, there was a report out of Cambridge University Press that China is no longer communist but runs a free market, controlled capitalist system and that at the same time, the USA is becoming an increasingly authoritarian system. In my lifetime the world has turned upside down but I still know where to stand.

What are some simple pleasures that bring me happiness?

Coffee. Is coffee simple enough? Maybe not but right now it is simple. Reading a good book that stimulates thought and memory. The smell of night jasmine. A clean shave. The soft ache of a post-workout body. The struggle of conversation in a second language.

I took this picture because this is Thailand. Dirty, dusty, hot, random, wild, beautiful.

The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #61 – 24th October 2020

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

The dumbest rock podcast on the internet as voted by everyone, everywhere. Dumber than the POTUS.

Highly curated, carefully selected and specifically ordered* for your listening edification by world-renowned DJtenzenmen, who has over 500 years of experience in this business.

This week there’s music from An Atomic Whirl, Diminished Men, Magma, Indian Jewelry, Liliput, KLS, Funkadelic, Bee Gees, Captain Sensible, The Skatallites, Unwound, Peter Black, Not From There, Dinosaur Jr, Nothing Painted Blue, Rudimentary Peni, MnM’s and KEN Mode.

ARE YOU READY TO BE THE DUMBEST PRESIDENT EVER!?

Find us on Twitter and Facebook too. Tell us if you like it, tell us if you don’t.
Listen right here or Mixcloud, Stitcher, Apple, Amazon…..all those cool places I guess.

* ie totally random.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to love and trust and have the love and trust of Amy. We understand our quirks, thinking and opinions. It’s just so great that we found each other.

The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #59 – 9th October 2020

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

The stupidest rock podcast on the internet as voted by everyone, everywhere.

Highly curated, carefully selected and specifically ordered* for your listening edification by world-renowned DJtenzenmen, who has over 500 years of experience in this business.

* ie totally random.

This week there’s music from The Scapegoat, White Blacula, Funkadelic, The Move, B Team, Hamster Theatre, PFM, P-Model, The Tempos, MFQ, Hot Snakes, Angelic Upstarts, Beatles, Volcano Suns, Born Against, Feed Me Jack, Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Regurgitator, Satanique Samba Trio, Rosalina Mar and Wolves.

ARE YOU READY FOR THE STUPID!?

Find us on Twitter and Facebook too. Tell us if you like it, tell us if you don’t.
Listen right here or Mixcloud, Stitcher, Apple, Amazon…..all those cool places I guess.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful that today will be a quiet day with no kids around. I will miss them though. Almost a month before we see them again!

The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #57 – 26th September 2020

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Highly curated, carefully selected and specifically ordered for your listening edification by world-renowned DJtenzenmen, who has over 50 years of experience in this business.

This week there’s music from Flower Travellin’ Band, The Spy From Cairo, Autechre, Incredible String Band, Delmonas 5, Eat Avery’s Bones, Bukkake Moms, Et Cetera, Montreal, Present, The Hold Steady and The Dismemberment Plan.

Intro and background music by Utotem.
Incidentals taken from the Church of the Sub Genius Hour of Slack.

PLAY IT LOUD!

Find us on Twitter and Facebook too. Tell us if you like it, tell us if you don’t.
Listen right here on Podbean or Mixcloud, Stitcher, Apple, Amazon…..all those cool places I guess.

26th Sept 2021 – It feels like nothing much has happened in the intervening year but it also feels like doing the podcast was more than a year ago. I have discovered much more new music to enjoy in the last 12 months but find myself reading books more often these days and I don’t have the brain power to do both at the same time anymore.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to have a guitar again. I’ll never be a great player, maybe not even a good one, but I can enjoy playing and practising at my own pace.

The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #55 – 12th September 2020

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

From now I’m going to tell you that these selections are highly curated, carefully selected and specifically ordered for your listening edification by world-renowned DJtenzenmen.

I tell you this because these kinds of things sell!

The truth is that the music is randomly selected by iTunes – but as the iTunes library is already carefully selected with only the best top quality material from 50 years of research then satisfaction is surely guaranteed!

This week there’s music from Shield Your Eyes, Cecil Buffalo and the Prophets, DJ PicaPicaPica, Invisible Ghost Luigi, Mutants, Butthole Surfers, PFM, Sun City Girls, Gelbart, Ne Zhdali, The Freeze, Massacre, Cypress Hill, Deep Turtle and Orthrelm.

Intro and background music by Utotem.

Brain dump (by mouth)

Attempting morning pages exercise using dictation with phone (Samsung)

Your post goes against community standards
Who was the man in the castle?
Ride around MFU placing stickers – advertising podcast – my stickers are tiny – maybe some people will see, will notice
Utopia this morning – met Pim, Fern’s friend
Woke up late – decided to turn off alarm in the middle of the night – My plan schedule now out of whack
Soon I will read Hendrix – Maybe sort out some more music – Do yoga – Meditating – some more reading – Maybe record some more podcasts in the evening
Try to relax
Teaching English online – I don’t look forward to it but enjoy it when it happens
2 o’clock already
Big rain – big sun big rain
Next week not many hours – How to make use of the time – Always things to do

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for my cracking neck these days. Hopefully, it is cracking more because it is becoming more flexible with doing more stretching and yoga. It feels sore but better than before.



The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #41 – 7th June 2020

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

This week there’s music from Volcano Suns, Universal Totem Orchestra, The Controllers, The Piranhas, The Hollywood Squares, Rhun, Off Band, The Stains, Dead Milkmen, Ex Models, Dexys Midnight Runners, Dino Valenti, Unknown and Goblin.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for my man cave. Last night we had a problem with our electricity so had to sleep in my room which was cooler and still had aircon.

To-do list

  • Don’t say anything negative or put people down ½
  • Relax and enjoy – there’s nothing that NEEDS doing ½
  • Enjoy what you are doing – savour it ½
  • Scan some photos today? ½
  • Ask Bee about photo printing ✅

Another easy and pleasant day. I feel like I could do the things listed but didn’t fully invest myself in them.

*Amy interrupted my writing and I didn’t get back to it in the end – so, now it’s Monday.

With nothing to do at work now it’s becoming challenging to stay focused. Still, we’re getting paid and not being asked to work. It’s okay for now; enjoy it while you can.

Sleepy day at work after drinking two beers last evening. Probably not eating enough at the moment either. Would like to stay under 80kg if possible but think I may need to increase my calorie intake if I try to do much/any exercise. Should drink more water too. I never drink enough water.

The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #35 – 18th April 2020

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Music from Senyawa, Jamesy and Sean, Far East Family Band, Air Miami, Arcwelder, Flesh Narc, X_X, Deerhoof, Hidden Rifles, The Damned, Chepang, Lindsay Cooper, Tigermen, Fifty Foot Hose, Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, F, Younger Brothers, Shadow Minstrels, Cypress Hill and Eddie and the Hot Rods.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for my computer. It enables me to do so many things. I wonder if I could live without it? Of course, I could but I don’t think I want to.

To-do list

  • More 1994ever ✅
  • Record TCRAH – spend time on this one ✅
  • Watch less TV today ✅
  • More drawing

Today is Tuesday. I haven’t been writing in here because I have gotten myself absorbed in some good TV and by the time I come to bed it’s too late to turn on the light and write.

I feel like things are coming together more in my room – nearly got all the CDs in their cases – after more than two years! Now I’m trying to get rid of the CDRs and thinking about all the DVDs I have and what to do with them.

I’m hoping to keep up with all the backlog of 1994ever and other bits and pieces of writing. It’s been enjoyable to go through all those, thinking about the past. It still feels like it happened to someone else. Even brief glimpses of mundane things pop into my head and it makes me think about what times and events that I’m part of now will pop into my mind in the future.

Life feels quite mundane and predictable though I also feel quite happy and content.

The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #32 and #33 – 4th April 2020

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Music from Girolamo Ugolini, Dragibus, Giant Sand, The Majic Ship, Bellini, Psychedelic Furs, The Sugar Shoppe, Sax Ruins, Beefeater, The Show Business Giants, The Hoax, Lindsay Cooper, The Afterglow, Amaxonas, Delroy Wilson, Dag Nasty, David Bowie, Christian Fitness, Beekeeper, Jackie Wilson and Negazione.

Music from Here and Now, Bob Drake, Orthrelm, Per Purpose, 20 Minute Loop, Shinki Chen, Tuxedomoon, Smog, POX, Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers, The Move, The Who, Unsane, Samla Mammas Manna, Unwound, Bob Dylan and Retox.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for these cushions where I rest my head on these lazy days.

The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #30 – 21st March 2020

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Music from Unknown Gender, Chaser, Vibrators, Soul Junk, They Might Be Giants, Pfaff, Bob Drake, The Dils, Y.U.P., King Crimson, The Monkees, Universal Totem Orchestra, Meat Puppets, The Who, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Great Plains, The Wipers and Etron Fou Leloublan.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful that our house is a paradise that I can stay there all day, every day.

To-do list

  • Find more topics and lessons
  • Cancel anniversary booking ✅

Lazy and happy day again – but I have a weird feeling of dread and panic – not overpowering – I guess it is just the uncertainty of the current pandemic situation. In fact, if I did get sick it is unlikely to be a critical problem for me personally. It’s just the general hysteria around and I think it’s slowly seeping into me. It’s making me think twice about even working again next semester. That could just be my holiday mood and lack of motivation though.

The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #24 – 8th February 2020

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Music from Bob Drake, The Work, DMBQ, FLIRT, Neutral Sons, Prag, Brainticket, Grobschnitt, Appollonius Abraham Schwarz, The Sweet, The Dazzling Killmen.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to see Oh’s puppies again and thankful she gave us a place to stay for one night.

To-do list

  • Stay relaxed – it’s a mini-holiday ✅
  • Do another Smiling Mind meditation
  • Really savour something today ✅
  • 3 acts of kindness ½
  • Only buy books on your want list

Went book shopping but ended up buying a couple of extra things because I didn’t see any books on my wants list.

In the morning we went to visit Jessica’s aunt and I really savoured sitting and talking with her in her garden. Whilst we were talking she mentioned a book she really enjoyed about Afghanistan. She couldn’t remember the exact title, something about a Thousand Suns. Just as I was leaving the bookshop I spotted on the shelf ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ and that was the book – so I bought that too.

An enjoyable day of food and shopping.