Proud by Heather Small

Joy Retro Disco presents:
Uplifting tunes for your weekend

“What have you done today to make you feel proud?” asks Ms Small, in this anthem to self-belief and the power of positive change.
I thought this was a fitting tune for this weekend as the show that made it a mainstream earworm, The Biggest Loser, is back on [...]

What breakthrough discoveries will we see in our lifetimes?

That international club of provocative thinkers, The Edge, released its 2009 Question earlier this month at its World Question Centre. 150 of the sharpest pencils in the, um, pencil-case of contemporary thought were asked:

WHAT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING?

“What game-changing scientific ideas and developments do you expect to live to see?”

Barack-ing for Obama

Guest blogger, Carolyn Ride, gets the vapors while watching some political thingy happening on the other side of the world…
Call me schmaltzy (because I am, plus it’s a great word), but it was hard not to be inspired by Wednesday’s inauguration of 44th US President. 1.8 million people were there in Washington to watch President [...]

Squeal! The L Word returns for its final season

[Spoiler alert: Many rehashed internet rumours to follow]
After much internet speculation, and frantic emails between dykes asking “Is it true?”, The L Word began its sixth and final season with a splash on Sunday night (US time).
We’ve just finished watching the first episode where, yes as rumoured, Jenny meets her maker. (Although I’m taking [...]

Organic business: Why I’ve gone organic

I’ve been writing articles for the online business community, Flying Solo, for a couple of years now. This article on my organic approach to business is one of my favourites from last year. 
As a soloist, I’ve struggled to find the right amount of structure to keep my business fresh, enjoyable and with a healthy cash [...]

The first disco record? Soul Makossa by Manu Dibango

Joy Retro Disco presents:
Uplifting tunes for your weekend

Could there be a better way to start off the weekend than with the tune that is often credited with being the first disco record in town?? I’d never heard of the 1972 hit, Soul Makossa by Cameroon sax player, Manu Dibango, but it only takes one listen [...]

The Global Financial Crisis is My Fault

Oh, and it’s yours too.
Guest blogger, Carolyn Ride, comes clean and reveals the real players in the economic meltdown. It’s ugly folks but the truth must out.
As the storm clouds of the global financial crisis were gathering in the US in early 2008, and we watched in alarm as the map showed said storm ready [...]

Free your mind: The power of Unsubscribing from email lists

It’s that time of the year when I review what I’m doing and start re-visioning how I’d like my next twelve months to be. This year, I’ve decided that my future is going to have a lot less email.
I use email a lot. It’s my main connection with the world. I like it so much [...]

Twenty Top Tunes 2008

This was the first year that my music listening was determined by an algorithm. Sure, I may put the music I like on iTunes but whether I hear it or not is up to the Shuffle gods. As such I have no idea what whole albums were good or even if I got to hear [...]

What not to do, or, what I learned (again) in 2008

Yay. It’s over. Let’s celebrate.
1st January 2009:  I woke up this morning feeling quite odd. It wasn’t that I was in a strange house, exceptionally dehydrated, and trying to remember just what had transpired the night before.
It was the queer feeling of optimism.
You may have noticed that every second thing I’ve been writing the last [...]