KEY POINTS:
Elvis is alive and well and living in ancient Rome, judging from this carved marble head in an auctioneer's collection.
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It's all grumble, grumble, moan, moan out there with wintry weather and economic gloom. So today's Sideswipe is searching for a bit of happiness, starting with The Only Guide to Happiness You'll Ever Need:
1. Live in the present. Don't think about how great things will be in the future or dwell on what happened in the past.
2. Connect with others. Spend time with those you love rather than being alone or with people you don't much like.
3. Do the things you love. Figure out the four or five things you love doing most and make those the foundation of your day.
4. Focus on the positive. Whether you're happy or not depends largely on which aspects you focus on.
5. Do work you love. Make it a priority to try to find work you're passionate about.
6. Help others. Is there any better feeling than helping a fellow human being?
7. Find time for peace. With the hectic pace of life, it's important to make time for solitude and quiet.
8. Notice the small things, instead of waiting for the big things to happen - marriage, kids, house, car.
9. Develop compassion.
10. Be grateful. Learning to be grateful for what's in our lives goes a long way towards happiness.
11. Simplify your life. Create time for your happiness and thereby reduce stress.
12. Slow down. Learn to eat more slowly, drive more slowly, walk more slowly.
13. Learn to accept things as they are rather than try to make everything and everyone conform to an impossible ideal.
14. Spend time in nature.
15. Exercise.
(For more go to Zenhabbits.net)
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While in Samoa last week a reader attended a fiafia night at Tanu's beach fales, where the MC for the night introduced fellow guest Bill English as the leader of the National Party (and Dr Mary English as "the wife"!)
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How things have changed, writes Murray Hunter. "This letter in the Sydney Morning Herald says it all: 'My granddaughter, 7, had just joined the Guides,' Lynette Silver of Wahroonga writes. 'This conjured up nostalgic images of campfires and bushwalks during my time as a Guide over 50 years ago, so I asked if she had been on a hike yet. "Yes, grandma, just last week. We took our torches and walked all the way from the Guide hut to McDonald's, where we all had an icecream".'
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Today's Webpick: John Key in 1987 as a foreign exchange trader-boy and teeny-trunked squash court hunk. Watch it here. Scroll down.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
