What's with the Beards Lads?

It seems to have been going on for the past year now, the more facial hair the better.  Although I don't like a man with a beard, it seems to be growing on me ... lol, no not literally! 

I remember seeing photo's of guys in the 60's and 70's with beards it was the hippy era - but then it went away and only guys with skin disorders seem to grow beards, or old men who wanted to look like Santa.


Now days every one is doing it, and I must admit a ginger bearded man seems to be so much more sexier than just a man with ginger hair, is it just me that thinks so?

I first met a ginger bearded man when I worked for my first software company in Ireland and he took it to extreme's, I used to think of him as Rumplestiltskin and I think I blogged about him before.   This was back in 2010, and he looked like something out of ZZ Top.

The beards these days tend to be neater - so why are men doing it, do they want to look older?  Are they just following a trend? Maybe you are a man with a beard reading this and can comment, I would love to know.
 

Pilots in Indonesia

Last night I was watching a documentary on TV about pilots in Indonesia, one of the pilots had to fly to some really remote places where the tribes had built a run way just so that they could have supplies flown into them, they live on top of these really high mountains.

The pilot has to test these runways to ensure they are safe enough for landing and taking off, one of the places was close to where 2 missionaries had been killed and eaten in 1968, I couldn't quite comprehend that there was still cannibalism less than 50 years ago.  Although nothing surprises me lately.

This is a really interesting website http://www.papuatrekking.com/cannibals_papua.html there was even a family eaten in 1974. 
"The last cases of cannibalism were only recently recorded. In 1968 two missionaries (Australian Stan Dole and American Phil Masters) were chopped and eaten. During Christmas 1974, four Dutch families were killed and eaten by aborigines in the Jayawijaya Mountains. The last known case was a killing of a priest and his twelve companions. It allegedly happened because they tried to ban the aborigines from hunting for skulls and they burnt their fetishes. This tragic event happened in 1976 almost in the end of the twentieth century. This is a very recent history of the New Guinea Island."

Although with seeing these photos here, I think it may be one of my bucket list now to visit Indonesia :

 

Farewell Lauren Bacall

 

 

So another Hollywood legend passed away yesterday 12th of August 2014, I was wondering if heaven was short on Hollywood stars, first Robin Williams on the 11th of August and now Lauren Bacall.  

 

Most young people today would have no clue who Lauren Bacall is but I guess because she was born in the same year as my mom and would have been one of my mom's favorite actresses, I do know who she is. 

 

Lauren was married to another of Hollywood's famous legends "Humphrey Bogart" but who sadly passed away from throat cancer in 1957.   He was aged 57 when he died, and now 57 years later Lauren just short of her 90th birthday has departed this world.  I guess the great thing about being a Hollywood star is that you will more than likely always be remembered even 57 years from now.

 

What a sad week this is.  

 



R.I.P. Robin Williams

It was so sad to wake up this morning and read the news that Robin Williams had passed away.

What a legend, and a brilliant man - the saddest part about this is that he committed suicide and a man with so many friends and with so much going for him could choose to end his life.

I have lost so many friends to suicide and know so many parents who have lost children to suicide, I think this is the worst thing a human being can do as they leave behind all those people who think - "What could I have done to stop this?", "Why didn't they talk to me?" 

You wonder what goes on in a persons mind those last hours before thy end it all.  A parent and friends never get over the fact that a person committed suicide and until they themselves have passed on will always question "Why".  Suicide might be the end of all your problems, but it creates so many problems for everyone else.

Majority of the people I know who have committed suicide have been under the influence of Alcohol or Drugs and can only imagine that they weren't thinking of the consequences at the time but only their reasons for ending it all.

My first recollection of seeing Robin Williams was the TV sitcom "Mork and Mindy" - Mork from Ork, I fell in love with him, he was so funny and from that day on I have tried to see everything he acted in.  My favorites are most definitely "Good Morning Vietnam", "The birdcage", "Mrs Doubtfire" and far too many to list here!

Farewell Robin, such a sad loss to all of us!