Greetings fellow Earthlings, and all the space aliens, and inter-dimensional beings snooping on our internet. Such wonders, and horrors you all must see. Not sure where I fit on that particular scale.
I’m back for another week of fun, games, and a minor health update.
My make-believe advertising agency signed up a brand new imaginary client this week. Here’s the first, and I expect only advert I will produce for them.
One very short video
A brief hippy health update
After my A&E adventure, I saw a GP at my surgery. I need some tests, and supplements, and probably yet another prescription drug. I have compression fractures (plural) in my spine. It doesn’t sound good, does it?
I’ve written about my health before, rather extensively. Many of my health issues can be traced back to my tragic, premature birth. I was born 6 weeks early, in the early 1960s’s. I was a miracle baby, which sucks. I don’t recommend it. One of the many things I was born with, was a hiatus hernia, which is where a bit of your stomach pokes through your diaphragm. It causes chronic heartburn, and can be confused with an ulcer. My issues began when I was 13 years old, and I wasn’t properly diagnosed until I was 18.
There is a surgical option, but I was advised against it by a gastroenterologist, as my condition has been well-managed via medication for a very long time. The meds are called proton pump inhibitors, and I have been on various forms of them for decades. They keep me symptom free. The downside to them, as I’ve recently discovered, is that long term use causes bone loss, and osteoporosis. In laymen’s terms, my skeleton is fucked.
The good news is my GP says it is treatable, they can prevent it from worsening, and hopefully restore some of my bone loss. I asked if there were any activities I should avoid, and my GP told me I should not do any extreme sports. I was way ahead of her, as I have been avoiding them my entire life.
So you see, my current new health issue, is related to effectively a birth defect, which was caused by my premature birth. It’s the circle of life, or some such nonsense.
Anyway, that’s it for this week, but I will be back next week, fractured spine and all.
It’s the last #HHOTW of May, and I have an overwhelming amount of stuff to share with you. And check it out, I added the “S” to the end of “Highlight” The second “H” in the hashtag is now plural. #HHOTW now translates into “Hippy Highlights of the Week”. Update your records accordingly. And thanks for your attention to this matter.
Before I get into the highlights, I’m going to start with the lowlight. Cue the violins as I solicit your pity. I lost an entire day, yesterday, at the Whittington A&E.
My GP insisted I go, and the staff was amazing, as always. But the lack of resources, and funding means people with non-urgent issues need to wait. My GP told me I needed to urgently get myself to A&E. The A&E people told me it wasn’t urgent, and I had to chill in the waiting room for a long time. Having been an actual urgent case several times myself, I was cool with them dealing with heart attacks, seizures, and the like, before getting to me.
Once I saw the doctor, he didn’t rush with the exam, he was thorough, he did several tests, explained the results, recommended some further, future tests, and sent all of that info to my GP surgery. And when I spoke to my GP again today, she was able to quickly read the results of everything they did to me. It’s a very joined up system. When I’ve had ambulance rides to A&E in the past, the ambulance, and A&E reports were accessible by my GP immediately.
And before anyone gets too worried, I’m fine. I had a minor complaint, that out of an abundance of caution, meant my GP had to send me to A&E. I was at risk of a very rare syndrome that could cause paralysis. Already forgot its name. I didn’t think I had it because I lacked most of the symptoms, but I was a good boy, and did what the doctor told me to do. Guess what? I didn’t have it. They ruled out all sorts of stuff, and found something brand new.
They discovered an issue with my spine, that requires more tests. Yawn. I am so bored of having stupid health issues. Getting old sucks so much. Nobody tells you, but it is really no fun. I one-hundred percent don’t recommend it, so start working on your eternal youth cure, before it’s too late. Big hint, aging is in our genetic code. Turn off the right gene, and you won’t age. Don’t worry, A.I. will figure it out. You could still get hit by a bus though. There’s more about A.I. fun further down. Please try to contain your excitement.
All this leads me to what I wanted to say, and that I am so lucky to have access to the NHS. If I still lived in America, I would be sooooooo fucked. Or already dead. Hey ho.
Something from the Lazy Hippy Kitchen
Speaking of America, how’s that for a smooth segue? I’m about to share with you another Lazy Hippy Recipe. This time it’s Lazy Hippy – Ranch Dressing & Dip. It’s easy to make, and it tastes so good.
It only takes about 5 minutes to make it
I wrote a thing this week
And staying with the American theme, I’m not actually American any more. Nope, I’m not. Not me. I’m Canadian Again. Can you blame me? It’s embarrassing to be an American these days. And it’s not the first time either.
I only posted one shitpost
Not sure what generation would get this. Definitely not mine
I did make another, first posting below
It made me laugh, and isn’t that what really matters? đ
A.I. is coming for your job. And yours. And yours too
Did you read the big scary warning from the head of Anthropic, CEO Dario Amodei? You really should, because he says half of all white collar jobs are about to disappear. I don’t think anyone realises just how fundamentally our lives are already changing due to A.I., except bosses, who are already plotting to replace you with an A.I. Agent. It’s already happened in some call centres. But the joke’s on the bosses, as they’re even more replaceable. Seriously, click that link, the source is the Harvard Business Review.
Chords – G C G F G C Am F G C if you want to play the home game. Send me a video of you performing the song, and I’ll send you a free copy of my book, Personal Use.
I considered performing it for you myself, but then I remembered two key things. I haven’t touched a guitar in a really long time, and I can’t sing. I thought that was justification enough for simply including the lyrics.
Told ya it was a busy #HHOTW. Go me and whatnot. Next time I post one of these, it will be June. This year is already flying by way too fast. Wasn’t New Year’s Eve just a few weeks ago? Catch ya next week.
I’m going to keep the preamble short, because I know you want to get to the recipe. I just want to briefly explain why I came up with it.
Wingstop opened up a branch near me, and I had a big coupon for delivery, so tried it out. The food was good, I enjoyed it, but what blew me away was their Ranch Dressing Dip. I’ve tried just about every store bought ranch dressing you can get in the UK, and none matched what I remember from the USA.
So I hit Google to find out Wingstop’s secret, and I discovered why it was the taste I remembered. According to some Wingstop employees online, they use Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning, mixed with sour cream, mayo, and buttermilk.
Hidden Valley Ranch is the most popular American brand of ranch seasoning, and it’s stocked in every supermarket there. Here in the UK, it’s a specialist item, and it costs a small fortune. I reckoned I could look at a bunch of recipes online, and synthesise something convincing. So that’s what I did.
Why is it lazy? Because it takes 5 minutes to make, maybe a minute to longer if you include any of the optional ingredients.
First of all, the ratio of sour cream, mayo, and buttermilk was the same in just about every other recipe I saw: 2 parts sour cream, 2 parts mayonnaise, and 1 part buttermilk. The main flavours are garlic, dill, and onion, but I’d worked that part out already, you know, since I’ve had it before. All I did was play around with the ratios, and add a few optional ingredients, one of which is well worth the tiny bit of extra effort. Without further ado, here’s the recipe:
Ingredients
227 grams sour cream (8 fluid oz, or 1 US cup)
227 grams mayonnaise (8 fluid oz, or 1 US cup)
113 grams buttermilk (4 fluid oz, or 1/2 US cup)
1 teaspoon dill
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion granules or onion powder
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Juice from 1/4 of a fresh lemon
Combine the sour cream, mayo and buttermilk in a large bowl, and stir. Add all the seasoning, and mix it until well blended. Cover the bowl, or transfer to another container with a lid, and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours, but even better, overnight. I used an old glass jar (see pic). The flavours will meld, and you will end up a very tasty Ranch dressing or dip.
Notes
Use real buttermilk. A pint cost me 90p, and you could use the leftover for a 2nd batch of dressing, or fancy buttermilk pancakes. Even scones
If you canât find real buttermilk, allegedly you can make it with normal milk, and some lemon juice. I have not tried it, but the internet has, and says it works as a substitute
Onion powder or granules – I had granules to hand, but either would work
Optional ingredients that take it over the top
1/2 clove of fresh garlic – minced. Thought about adding it to the main ingredients, but it makes it slightly less lazy. It’s worth the extra effort, trust me. Yum!
Fresh chives – use a pair of scissors to snip them into bits
Fresh dill – use scissors again, best way to cut herbs
Flavour enhancer – I use slightly less salt, and replace it with a pinch of this. Yes, I mean mono sodium glutamate, or MSG. Donât believe the lies, MSG is safe, and natural, and it used by chefs, and food manufacturers in many dishes, and products. Start reading ingredients on prepared foods. Youâll find it in most, especially snack foods.
I’ve been having my homemade Ranch Dressing and Dip with Buffalo Chicken burgers, chips, salads, even sliced up carrots and celery. It goes with just about anything. and It tastes amazing!
A few months back, I had an awkward interaction with an Uber driver, and I hadnât had one like this in a very long time.
I requested the ride, and the driver picked me up in less than 2 minutes. Turned out, he lived very close to me, and I was his first trip of the day. We got chatting and he asked me if I was American.
Technically, I am American. I was born and raised there, but I self-deported over 30 years ago, and have not even set foot in the country in over 20. I donât really identify as American, even if I sound like one. I have a British first name, a British surname, a British passport and Iâve lived in London longer than Iived in the US of A. At this point, Iâm am much more British than American.Â
I replied to the driver in the affirmative, that I was indeed American. He said he recognised my accent, because he had spent a lot of time around Americans.
I then asked my driver where he was from originally. He said heâd lived in London for over 20 years, but was originally from Iraq. My driver didnât need to tell me why he left when he did.Â
Then there was a bit of silence, before I uncomfortably, nervously began laughing, while apologising for Americaâs terrible actions in his country. I was against the Iraq War, but that didn’t stop me from feeling guilty, and embarrassed about it. It was shameful. He didnât seem to hold a grudge, or if he did, he kept it to himself. Like I said, it was awkward.
Similar interactions used to frequently occur to me during the second Gulf war, and it was just as uncomfortable back then. So much so, that when a stranger asked me my nationality, I began to say I was Canadian.
Everyone likes Canadians, They are friendly, non-controversial, and innocuous, so pretending to be Canadian made my life easier. My interactions with strangers of all nationalities suddenly became more pleasant. There were no pregnant pauses, no awkward silences, and no judgement, or criticism. People stopped telling me George W. Bush was a total dummy. As if I need to be informed of something so basic.
It wasnât hard to pretend to be Canadian. My accent is neutral enough, and influenced by living in London so long that no one ever questioned my claim.
Once the war ended, and Obama was president, the USA became less of an international pariah, and I returned to being American again.
America is once again disliked by the rest of the world, perhaps more so than at any point in my life. And thatâs not hyperbole. In just a few months, Trump has resurrected the whole evil empire thing, only this time itâs a domestic policy, with a level of intentional cruelty that I didnât think was possible.
Iâm not doing this out of fear. Itâs embarrassment. Iâm ashamed of what America has become. The Trump regime is attacking freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, freedom of everything. Theyâre even attacking institutes of higher learning, like Harvard, one of Americaâs oldest, and most prestigious universities. And don’t forget all the illegal deportations, er I mean the kidnapping and trafficking folks to other countries – US citizens and non-citizens alike. No one is safe in Trump’s America.
Iâm hoping I wonât have to be Canadian forever. Iâm not a fan of deception. That said, I donât know how America comes back from this. If Trump really fufils his dream and becomes âPresident for lifeâ, then I might be Canadian for quite a while. Itâs cool, I already like maple syrup, and Iâm sure I can get a Canadian hockey jersey online. After all, Iâm Canadian, again.Â
After a 30 year career as a journalist, working for some of the largest news organisations in the world, including Associated Press and Reuters, and 15 years as a duty news editor for BBC News, Doug â the northlondonhippy is now a full time hippy, and writer. And for the last few years, heâs been #EpilepsyHippy. His life was a whole lot more fun before gaining that new title. For real.
Doug is also the author of âPersonal Use by the northlondonhippy.â âPersonal Useâ chronicles Dougâs years of experience with mind altering substances, while calling for urgent drug law reform. Itâs a cracking read. You will laugh, you will cry, and you can bet your ass that you will wish you were a hippy too!
If you want even more, (and who wouldnât?) you could always check out Hippy Highlights â which is the best of the best stuff on the site, and itâs all free to read. What are you waiting for?
Yep, it’s Friday again, and I am here to rock your world. And by “rock your world” obviously I mean providing you with bitter disappointment. I’m setting the bar high this week.
Strategic Vertically Integrated Re-Brand Synergy
After threatening to make some new graphics, I finally got around to it this week. I’m not a graphic designer, but I have been playing at it for a while. I’ve gotten faster at it, if nothing else. I hope they are an improvement. I was aiming for more depth, and texture, while still maintaining my historic multicoloured theme. The palette is deeper this time, and more spread across the spectrum.
While testing out the graphics on various websites, I noticed that my new logo, and banner don’t display on phones. It looks much better on a real computer screen, or an iPad. That’s how you get the full-on hippy experience. Anyway, here’s my new banner, in case you can’t see if by default.
My giant clear out continues, slowly, and for good reason. I don’t want to toss out anything I’d like to keep. The plan is to be extra careful, and thorough.
For this one, please grab a violin, and a box of tissues. It’s a sad tale, with a happy ending.
I don’t have many photos of myself. It’s a combination of me moving continents, and a dysfunctional family. Hey ho. So imagine my surprise when I discovered a treasure trove of old photos. And by trove, of course I mean around a couple of dozen, and more than half of those snaps are from a 2 week stay in Mogadishu in 1992.
Here’s one of the most sentimental things I found: It’s my baby picture. I thought it was lost a very long time ago. I hadn’t seen it in decades.
This little guy was me a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away
I was a miracle baby way back in the olden days of the early 1960’s. They didn’t think I’d survive. Spoiler alert: You already know I did.
And that’s not all…
Here’s the coolest thing I found. And I’d been trying to find it for ages. Yes, I should have definitely taken better care of it. But then, come on, there’s lots of things I should have done, but didn’t.
Check this out:
Someone else got that autographed photo of Springsteen for me, way back in the olden days of 1978 or 1979. I didn’t meet Bruce myself until the summer of 1982.
I mentioned Mogadishu. I was there in December of 1992. I arrived just before the US military did, on what was meant to be a humanitarian mission. It was long before Black Hawk Down.
Sat-phones back then weighed nearly a tonne, and were bulky to carry as well. Also they were worth a small fortune, and the per minute call charges were insane. My new iPhone can connect to a satellite in an emergency, if I don’t have normal mobile service available. I’ve not needed to test it out, which is a good thing, but the fact that it’s possible still blows my mind.
One shitpost
I’m a meme now.
That’s probably more than enough for this week. Perhaps even too much. I’ll try and tone things down for next week. Don’t want anyone to overdose on me, I just want you hooked.
A hale and hearty hello from sunny north London. Welcome once again to another edition of Hippy Highlight of the Week!
I had another busy week IRL, so I didn’t get to make nearly as much as I would have hoped. That’s true most weeks, and my list of fun ideas of stuff to write, or make, just keeps getting longer. And I still want to give my website and graphics a fresh coat of digital paint. It’s time I blew the cobwebs off this place.
Three shitposts
Here’s the first one. It’s a little late, but I haven’t it posted here yet.
And this second one is brand, spankin’ new, and I haven’t posted it anywhere until now.
And finally, Signalgate, the sequel!
From the hippy archive:
“My Summer of Springsteen” is a piece I wrote a couple of years ago, and it has become the most read piece on my website. It’s about me meeting Bruce, and seeing him hanging out, and jamming all around the Jersey shore. It’s also about me “growin’ up”. It’s part of the “Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll Collection”, which is a series of pieces I wrote and published online that’s an unofficial sequel to my book, “Personal Use”.
That’s it for this week, but in 7 short days, I’ll be back with more high quality, you know, whatever it is I do around here. Until then, keep on groovin’, you groovers!
A very pleasant Friday to one and all. Greetings from north London, and whatnot.
Remember I said that #HHOTW could be anything I wanted? It’s okay if you don’t recall, but I really did say it, and it’s never been more true than this week.
My highlight was coming up with a new recipe, making it, and it being a massive success. I call it “Lazy Hippy – Welsh Rarebit Mac & Cheese”, and I’ve shared it online. I don’t think I’ve ever published a recipe before. It’s really easy to make, and it is seriously tasty.
Believe it or not, I didn’t make a single shitpost this week. Either my mental health regarding the state of the world is improving, or I’ve been staying occupied with other things. Trust me, it’s number two. I’ve been occupied. When I have more free time, I will produce more shitposts.
I did manage to make another full moon alert animation. It’s on Monday if you’re keeping score. Duck and cover motherthuckers!
I’ll be back next week for more #HHOTW fun. How about you?
I like to cook, but I’ve never posted a recipe before. Don’t worry, there won’t be a lot of preamble, like you get on most internet recipes. You don’t need my life story, just how to cook this delicious dish that I came up with myself. I’ve blended the traditional flavours of Welsh Rarebit, with a classic mac and cheese. It’s really tasty. And you can whip it up in less than an hour, and a good chunk of that time is just waiting around.
I call it “lazy” because I try to keep things simple. I’ll explain more in the notes below. The recipe itself is easily saved to your photo roll, as I’ve done it as screen caps. There are three of them:
Notes:
Neglected to mention another optional ingredient: Cayenne Pepper. Just a pinch or two of you’d like a bit of warmth.
Pasta – Any tube shaped pasta will do. Cook it in salty water. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t have a big bowl to put the strainer in, but it helps.
Cheese – Mature cheddar is best. And always grate it yourself. Store bought grated cheese has an anti-caking agent to keep it from sticking together, which makes it melt funny. I use a box grater, they’re cheap, and really useful. Some things are worth the extra effort, even if you’re being lazy.
Welsh rarebit flavours – The golden/pale ale, the Worcestershire Sauce, the English Mustard give it that distinctive flavour, but you can experiment. Leave them out for a more traditional mac & cheese. Maybe try some paprika, or cayenne pepper for a bit of a warm kick. Even some dijon mustard would elevate it. Or how about some crispy, smoked streaky bacon, crumbled up into it. Yum. I did really like how my Welsh Rarebit version came out, and would definitely make it again.
Pale Ale – I don’t drink alcohol, but I do cook with it, so I just got the cheapest, smallest bottle of ale I could find. If you prefer not to use alcohol, the dish would still work.
One big pot – Another lazy thing is to just use one pot to cook the pasta, and then use the same pot to make the sauce. It saves up on washing up too. But you could always use two pots, if that’s your preference.
Baking – is actually optional. You could serve it straight from the cooking pot. I do recommend baking it, as it is nicer with melted cheese, and a crisp crust.
Breadcrumbs – I used golden breadcrumbs on mine, as that’s what I had to hand. I would have preferred normal breadcrumbs, and would use them for next time.
Salt – Sea salt is my preference. And if you’ve salted the pasta water enough, the finished dish should only need a pinch or two.
Black Pepper – Freshly ground is so much nicer than pre-ground. It’s worth the extra effort. Not everything has to be lazy.
The finished dish & recipe – I didn’t know this was going to turn out so good, so I did not document the preparation with photos. I did take a couple of photos of the finished dish. Here’s the second one:
Mrs. Hippy is not a huge fan of mac & cheese, but she absolutely loved this one, so I will definitely be making it again. If you make it too, let me know what you think. I’d welcome the feedback!
After a 30 year career as a journalist, working for some of the largest news organisations in the world, including Associated Press and Reuters, and 15 years as a duty news editor for BBC News, Doug â the northlondonhippy is now a full time hippy, and writer. And for the last few years, heâs been #EpilepsyHippy. His life was a whole lot more fun before gaining that new title. For real.
Doug is also the author of âPersonal Use by the northlondonhippy.â âPersonal Useâ chronicles Dougâs years of experience with mind altering substances, while calling for urgent drug law reform. Itâs a cracking read. You will laugh, you will cry, and you can bet your ass that you will wish you were a hippy too!
If you want even more, (and who wouldnât?) you could always check out Hippy Highlights â which is the best of the best stuff on the site, and itâs all free to read. What are you waiting for?
Hey ho to all you hippies and hooligans hangin’ out with me on a Friday! Welcome to another edition of Hippy Highlight of the Week.
#DJHippy
I’ve had a fairly busy week. Well, busy for me anyway. So this week my main highlight for you is a ten song playlist of some of my favourite Soul and R&B tunes from the 1970s. Chances are you’ve heard them all before, but you never know… You might discover a groovy new fav for yourselves as well.
When I was a kid back in the olden days of the 1970s, I had a clock radio in my bedroom. I’d lay in the dark, and listen to the local top 40 station just before I slipped into slumber. Many of these are the songs that sent me off to dreamland back then. I am still digging all of those tunes today.
I make a new playlist every month, and all of these songs have been in heavy rotation in my house for a while, and are still going strong. Welcome to “the northlondonhippy’s 70s Soul/R&B Vibe Playlist”.
I subscribe to Apple Music, so that’s the first place you can find my playlist. If you click THIS LINK, it will open the playlist in the Apple Music app, as long as you have it installed.
I know not everybody has Apple Music, so I’ve also put the playlist on YouTube. You can check it out by clicking on THIS LINK. YouTube won’t let me embed it here.
You could always make your own version of my playlist on the platform of your choice. Here’s the list:
1) Curtis Mayfield – Move On Up – 1970
2) Me and Mrs. Jones – Billy Paul – 1972
3) Whatâs Going On – Marvin Gaye – 1971
4) Midnight Train to Georgia – Gladys Knight & the Pips – 1973
5) Across 110th Street- Bobby Womack – 1973
6) Living For the City – Stevie Wonder – 1973
7) Backstabbers – OâJays – 1972
8) Canât Get Enough of Your Love – Barry White – 1974
9) Fantasy – Earth Wind and Fire – 1978
10) When Somebody Loves You Back – Teddy Pendergrass – 1978
I could have added more to the list, loads more, but I thought 10 tunes was a reasonable length. It’s around 45 mins of music, which is the standard duration of an album or CD.
I did mention I would be sharing some playlists, and if you guys dig it, I’ll do more of this.
I defy you to sit still while listening to this music. At a minimum, your toes will be tapping. And if you end up dancing around your place, carried away by the groove, you can blame me for bringing a tiny bit of joy into your life.
Clear Out – Discovery
My giant house clearing exercise is ongoing. My goal is to get rid of as much junk as possible. It’s slow going because it’s amazing how much crap you end up with over the years. I do keep finding interesting things. Like this flyer from the early 2000s, when magic mushrooms were sold openly, and (quasi) legally. The loophole in the law was shut tight in 2005. It was a sad day.
I used to shroom regularly back then, and it was the most mentally healthy I’ve ever been. It’s also why I started writing stuff online, and why I have an entry in the Urban Dictionary. They even sell NLH branded mugs, but I don’t get a cut, so please don’t buy one.
One Shitpost
This one’s a #HHOTW exclusive, so far. I only made it this morning, and I’m saving it for social media, when this horrible little man undoubtably does something else unpleasantly newsworthy. He’s Trump’s border creep, and he has a hard-on for illegal deportations. Gross.
That’s it for this week. Have a bitchin’ bank holiday weekend if you’re in the UK. Catch ya later you wonderful human! Come back soon!
A very warm welcome to my website. I hope you enjoy your stay.
I’ve had a relatively busy week IRL, which means the pickings are slim for this week’s #HHOTW.
I have been trying to clear out old junk that’s accumulated around the house for about 30 years, and it seems to be an endless task. Last week, I showed you one of my finds, my MTV baseball cap from the mid 80s. This week’s discoveries were photos, mostly of me. One of them is from 1991 or 1992, which makes it the oldest photo of myself that I have, outside of old press credentials, and passports. I won’t be posting my photos online. I expect that won’t cause too much disappointment.
All I have to share are two shitposts, both related to the passing of the Pope.
The first one features JD Pants:
And the second one was snapped especially for Instagram:
Oh, and I’ve got one quick GIF that I made. Full disclosure: The version I’ve posted here is video because for some reason GIFs stutter when I post them here. I have no idea why.
That’s it for this week. Told ya the pickings were slim. I’ll aim to do something double extra special next week, to make up for my piss poor performance today. Catch ya next Friday for more #HHOTW hilarity and fun.
Greetings groovers. It’s already Friday again. How’d that happen so fast? I’ve got a small selection of treats, but you don’t need to wait till Easter to enjoy them.
The main highlight this week is a piece I wrote about the rapidly deteriorating situation in the US of A. Whether you follow the news closely, like I do, or you just dip in and out, this piece pulls together a whole bunch of evil stuff that the Trump regime is doing. You can read the piece RIGHT HERE, or you can click the distress graphic below.
One photo
I actually went outside this week. It was good. I should do it more often.
One Shitpost
I’ll let it speak for itself. Additional commentary is not required.
An Easter treat!
If you need some entertainment this weekend, I suggest you check this out. If the special is successful, we’re hoping to take to a full series.
And that wraps us up for this week. Make sure you pop by again next Friday for even more hippy hilarity!
Most of us knew it was going to be bad when Trump got back into the White House, but few could have anticipated the speed at which he is destroying everything. From international alliances to the actual US Federal Government, he is slashing and burning it all down. The hippy takes a look at a country in distress.
In less than 100 days, Donald Trump and his regime have done more damage to America than I thought possible. In that brief time, Trump has managed to show the world that the USA has become unreliable, unstable, nasty, dictatorial, and imperialistic. And letâs not forget what his batshit tariff plan is doing to the international economy.
America is no longer your friend, ally, or partner. America is now a transactional actor. Whatâs in it for them? And beyond that, they want to dictate laws in other countries as well, and they will make any treaties or trade deals contingent on their weird whims. Â
America is now unapologetically an evil empire, and Luke Skywalker ainât coming to the rescue. America is lost, and it wonât be coming back any time soon. The faster the world accepts this new reality, the easier it will be for everyone.
Sicko-fants
Trump is not doing anything he didnât promise to do if re-elected. None of it should be a surprise, except for the speed and intensity of it all. He has surrounded himself with sycophants and ass-kissers who encourage and applaud his every move, as if the idiot were a genius.
Trump makes several heavily curated media appearances daily. He loves a good photo-op while surrounded by his cabinet, who all praise him mercilessly.
I donât recommend playing a game where you take a shot of whiskey every time one of them says âThanks to President Trumpâs strong leadershipâŠâ. If you do, youâll be hammered before the photo-op ends.
An unnamed administration official told the media not long after the inauguration that Trump looks at each day as an episode of an ongoing TV series. And every day he has to vanquish his enemies. He needs to create the illusion of winning constantly.
Trump is ruling by decree via âexecutive ordersâ, rather than the actual way of governing which includes the House and the Senate playing some sort of role. Instead, Donald has cut them out of nearly everything. And in some cases, he is even overriding them by withdrawing funding that already has congressional approval. Thatâs not meant to ever happen.
Trumpâs cabinet of crazies arenât just his Greek chorus of approval. They also enable him, and carry out his instructions, and further his evil agenda thoughtlessly. Loyalty, and fealty are the chief requirements to be in this administration. Plus looking good on TV. Naturally.Â
Trump lies constantly, and then they all parrot his lies. Itâs a continuing, non-stop firehose of falsehoods. Critical thinking, truth telling, and standing up for whatâs right and best for the country, wonât ever happen with this bunch of fascists.
Look again
Full Fat Fascism
Yep, I went there. The American government is full of full-on fascists, enacting full-on fascist policies. The entire world should be concerned.
Even if youâve seen this list of early warning signs of fascism before, itâs well worth revisiting now. A copy of this is displayed in US Holocaust Museum.Â
Hereâs the list again, annotated with links to examples of each item on the list, all from Trumpâs first term. The Trump Regime Mark II is already so much worse.Â
I didnât have imperialist ambitions on my bingo card for the second Trump administration.
Trump has threatened to take over the Panama Canal, to annex Greenland and take it away from Americaâs NATO ally, Denmark, and he wants to force Canada to become the 51st state. Even weirder, he wonât rule out accomplishing those goals via military force. He wants to invade, and take over sovereign countries, and territories. He claims itâs all needed to keep America secure. Sure thing, Donald.Â
At first people assumed he was joking, but Trump doesnât joke. He doesnât even laugh, except at the expense of others he deems lesser. No, Trump is deadly serious about being a conquerer.Â
North of the border, Trumpâs threats and insults have actually helped Mark Carney and his Liberal Party. They have gone up in the polls in the lead-up to their general election. Trump is unwittingly assisting them towards victory.
Plain-clothed immigration cops are acting like âsnatch squadsâ, kidnapping both legal and undocumented immigrants, as well as legal residents right off the street. It doesn’t seem to matter who gets swept up in these raids.
America then traffics these abductees across state lines, and to foreign countries. There is no due process, itâs just pretty much just this: âThese are bad hombres. Trust us broâ.Â
Theyâre trying to justify these clearly unconstitutional actions by citing an archaic law from 1798, called the Alien Enemies Act. Itâs quite a legal stretch, not that laws matter any more.
The Supreme Court has instructed the White House to âfacilitateâ his return, but they have refused, as has the Salvadorian government. The US Attorney General said he is never coming back. They say the only way anyone leaves CECOT is in a box.
Trump has repeatedly said he wants to âdeport US citizensâ, You canât deport citizens, whether born on US soil, or naturalised. If the US government really did this, then we need to call it out. Itâs kidnapping, or trafficking, but not deportation.Â
We are in uncharted territory now. No one seems to know what will happen once the White House unquestionably defies Supreme Court rulings. Who can enforce the laws, when the government breaks them?
The one Supreme Court ruling Trump does respect is that he has âabsolute immunityâ, so laws donât really matter to him now that heâs president again. The actual ruling is slightly more nuanced than that, but Trump doesnât do nuance.
America has never been perfect, but it feels like Trump and his winged monkeys want to diminish it. Destroy it. And take the rest of the world down with them. So far, theyâre succeeding.Â
The worst person in the world has been elected the President of the United States, again. The sooner the rest of the world accepts it, and reacts accordingly, the better.
America is lost. And itâs not coming back any time soon. Say it out loud. RIP USA.
After a 30 year career as a journalist, working for some of the largest news organisations in the world, including Associated Press and Reuters, and 15 years as a duty news editor for BBC News, Doug â the northlondonhippy is now a full time hippy, and writer. And for the last few years, heâs been #EpilepsyHippy. His life was a whole lot more fun before gaining that new title. For real.
Doug is also the author of âPersonal Use by the northlondonhippy.â âPersonal Useâ chronicles Dougâs years of experience with mind altering substances, while calling for urgent drug law reform. Itâs a cracking read. You will laugh, you will cry, and you can bet your ass that you will wish you were a hippy too!
If you want even more, (and who wouldnât?) you could always check out Hippy Highlights â which is the best of the best stuff on the site, and itâs all free to read. What are you waiting for?
Good morning, afternoon, or evening, depending upon your exact location on our dying planet. Welcome to another edition of Hippy Highlight of the Week, or #HHOTW for short.
Here’s a piece I wrote about the year 1975, specifically about some media that you really should check out. You can find it RIGHT HERE, or you could click the link to the graphic below. The choice, as always, is yours.
Prediction
I made this graphic a while ago, and posted it on Twitter, and Reddit. It’s a prediction that I totally want credit for, should it come true. I’d wager it’s about 50/50 that Orange Shitler actually does it.
And for the interests of transparency, here are links to my original posts from February on TWITTER, and REDDIT. Would it surprise you if he did this?
Discovery
This is kinda cool. I have been clearing old crap out of my place for a while, and as I have been doing it, I’ve discovered things I thought were lost. Here’s one of them:
I was given that hat when I completed my internship at MTV in NYC nearly 40 years ago. If you would like to read about my time at MTV, I wrote a 4 part series about it, called MTV Redux. You should check it out.
Two quick shitposts
First there’s this one:
And here’s number two:
Housekeeping, sorta
I’ve been doing this on Twitter for a long time now. I don’t know why exactly, but I do know the full moon affects me, especially my sleep. The moon influences the tide, and humans are mostly made of water, so it must be high tide in our heads. I choose to believe itâs true. Anyway, this month’s full moon alert is animated:
That’s it for this week. Check back next Friday for more #HHOTW fun!
Getting old sucks, but I donât need to tell you that. Youâll find out on your own, if youâre lucky/unlucky (delete as appropriate). I find it really weird to be able to say shit like â50 years ago blah, blah, blahâ, but thatâs exactly what Iâm about to do. Howâs that for a warm up?
Fifty years ago this year, two films, and one album came out that remain on my list of all time favourites. All three are well worth remembering, and revisiting. And if youâve never enjoyed them yourself, then let the 50th anniversary of all three be the nudge you need to check them out.
The first film is âJawsâ, and if youâve never seen it, you absolutely should. It was the very first big summer blockbuster. I donât mean it was the first big Hollywood movie, but it was the first hyped-up film released in the summer, that went on to set box office records. But it wasnât just a commercial success, the film was also critically acclaimed.
âJawsâ was promoted heavily, and had a lot of pre-release buzz surrounding it, prior to itâs debut. The way the film was successfully marketed became the blueprint on how to advertise new films. The pre-release excitement had people queuing around the block just to get a ticket.
I was 12 years old in 1975, and I got caught up in the massive hype too. The film was based on a very successful novel of the same name, written by Peter Benchley. In anticipation of the film, I devoured the paperback, much like a great white shark might, in big giant bites. And I read it more than once.
The film is a fairly faithful adaptation of the book. They omitted a minor subplot involving Chief Brodyâs wife having an affair with Matt Hooper. It was a smart decision, as it would have been a distraction, and it would have made the character bond between Brody and Hooper weaker.
I saw the film at the very first screening on opening day. The film was a blast, and a half! Dramatic, exciting, action-packed, and just a tiny bit gory. Who knew shark attacks could be so messy?
The shark in the film, named âBruceâ by the crew, was a practical effect. There was no CGI back in the olden days. Could they make the shark look better today? Of course they could. Should they remake the film? OMG no no NO! The film still stands up today, and is as watchable now, as it was when I saw it in 1975. Itâs extremely entertaining.
The second film Iâd like to highlight from 1975 is âOne Flew Over the Cuckooâs Nestâ, which was also wildly popular, though the subject matter was far less commercially appealing.
Based upon the 1962 Ken Kesey novel, the film went on to sweep all five major academy awards; Best film, best screenplay (adapted), best director, best actor, and best actress. It was also a commercial success, and surprisingly funny, considering the seriousness of the subject matter.
Michael Douglas was one of the producers on the film. At one point, his father, Kirk Douglas, was attached to star in the it, but that was more than a decade before this version was produced.
The story centres around Randall Patrick McMurphy, a boisterous, somewhat morally challenged, wise-ass, petty criminal, who feigns mental illness, and his locked up in a psychiatric hospital. He does this to avoid a worse fate, hard labour in prison. McMurphy is played by the great Jack Nicholson. Nicholson’s performance really drives the film. It is easily one of his best.
Jack Nicholson is one of my all time favourite actors. And heâs my homeboy, as weâre both originally from the same bit of the Jersey shore, though I didnât know it back then.
McMurphyâs nemesis in the film is Nurse Ratched, played by Louise Fletcher. She is in charge of the ward in the mental hospital he ends up in, and she sees wise-cracking McMurphy as a threat to her authority. Both Fletcher and Nicholson won well deserved Oscars for their performances in the film.Â
And if youâre really paying attention, you should spot a young Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd in the supporting cast. The film was rated âRâ in America. As I was only 12 years old, it meant I wouldnât be admitted unless an adult accompanied me. I was ultra-hyped for the film, having read countless articles, and reviews about it, as well as seeing clips on TV. I spent weeks begging my father to take me to see it.
My dad wasnât really a cinema goer, and I can count the number of times he went to the cinema with me on one hand. But I was persistent, and extra helpful around the house. He finally relented, and off we went.
I am not going to spoil the plot, as the less you know going in, the more you will enjoy it. As I said, there are parts that are laugh out-loud funny, but there are other elements that are extremely sad. Some might even say shocking, certainly to an audience 50 years ago. I expect it would be the same for an audience today.
If you ever get the chance, watch it. You really will laugh, and you will cry, and you will thank me for turning you on to such an amazing film.Â
âBorn to Runâ, is the album that made Bruce Springsteen a household name when it was released in 1975. All I ask is that you listen to it once. Iâve listened to it countless times, but I can remember the first time I heard it, like it was yesterday.
It was a few years after itâs release that I went Springsteen mad, but it was hard to miss the publicity he received when âBorn to Runâ came out.
Sure, we have NJ in common, but I think it wouldnât have mattered where I lived. I would have still been into his music, and would have still become a huge fan wherever I grew up. That said, it didnât hurt that Bruce and I lived in the same area, it was actually very cool.
When the record was released, Bruce was on the front cover of both Newsweek, and Time Magazine at the same time. That was pretty much unheard of, back then. Talk about hype!
Jon Landau, who was a music critic back in the day, provided this often quoted line, after attending a Springsteen performance: “…I saw rock ‘n’ roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteenâ.
Landau was right. He also went on to work with Bruce for a while, as a producer and manager. And he helped Bruce get out of his terrible first record contract, that was signed in the dark, on the hood of a car.
The opening track of âBorn to Runâ, called âThunder Roadâ is my absolute favourite Springsteen song. My favourite live version was recorded here in London at the Hammersmith Odeon, in 1975.
There are only 8 songs on the album, and itâs a just under 40 minutes long, but those 40 minutes insured that Bruce became one of the biggest rock and roll stars in the world. And 50 years later, that is still true.
I would suggest you listen to âBorn to Runâ at least once in track listing order. Think of it as a journey, follow the stories, and see where they lead.
In the 1970s, albums were considered an art form of their own. There were even radio stations that followed a format called AOR, which stood for Album Oriented Rock. Youâre actually meant to listen to them their entirety. âShuffleâ is something else that wasnât a thing back in the olden days.
Donât think of all this as a homework assignment. Take it for what it is, a small, curated list of my top three pieces of media from 1975 that have more than withstood the test of time. I know there are many other films, and albums I could have name checked, but these three are special to me. One day, they might be special to you too.
After a 30 year career as a journalist, working for some of the largest news organisations in the world, including Associated Press and Reuters, and 15 years as a duty news editor for BBC News, Doug â the northlondonhippy is now a full time hippy, and writer. And for the last few years, heâs been #EpilepsyHippy. His life was a whole lot more fun before gaining that new title. For real.
Doug is also the author of âPersonal Use by the northlondonhippy.â âPersonal Useâ chronicles Dougâs years of experience with mind altering substances, while calling for urgent drug law reform. Itâs a cracking read, you will laugh, you will cry, and you can bet your ass that you will wish you were a hippy too!
If you want even more, (and who wouldnât?) you could always check out Hippy Highlights â which is the best of the best stuff on the site, and itâs all free to read. What are you waiting for?
It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another Hippy Highlight of the Week (#HHOTW)! I’ve already kept this going for more than 3 weeks. I think that’s some sort of personal best.
I’m already thinking of renaming this to make it “highlights”, plural. I seem to have more than one thing every week that I want to share. Sure, they aren’t all equal, but they’re still highlights of my week. That means I have to make a new graphic just add the letter “s”. I was planning on updating all my graphics anyway. I’m rambling already, let’s get to the good shit. Literally.
I wrote a piece about why I’m shitposting so much, and so often. It’s called “Shitposting through the Apocalypse“. It tries to explain why I’ve been such a prolific poster recently. I’m making at least one a day, and sometimes more.
I won’t include any additional shitpost graphics here, as there are quite a few in that piece. Just click the above image, or link, and you’re there. I hope you dig reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And I really did enjoy writing it.
