Gotta be honest, didn’t plan on edition 113 of #HHOTW to coincide with Friday the 13th, but there you go. And if you’re here, today, how lucky are you? So much for superstition.
I won’t say the pickings are slim this week, but I haven’t had any time to make much new stuff. That’s a lame excuse, I know, since this is what I’m allegedly doing full time. Anyway, onwards, and upwards towards the fun.
Made these a while ago, but haven’t published them here until now.
Three Film Posters
Don’t judge. A cheap laugh is still a laugh. It counts.
Speaking of laughs. Or not. This is the first posting anywhere, and it’s inspired by events at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC earlier this week
One Shitpost
That’s it for this week. Told you not to get your hopes up too high. I trust you followed my advice. Next week’s will be super kickass to make up for my lacklustre material this week. Until then, have a groovy time, whatever you’re up to for the next 7 days.
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? 🙂
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.
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?
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) What’s 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 – O’Jays – 1972
8) Can’t 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!
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 it’s true. Anyway, this month’s full moon alert is animated:
That’s it for this week. Check back next Friday for more #HHOTW fun!
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.
Way hey! It’s Friday, so it must be #HHOTW day! Well, I’m excited, that must count for something.
This week’s main highlight is that I finally wrote a piece updating the world on my epilepsy. I know, hold the front page, right? I have an entire sub-section here on my site about living with epilepsy, so I must be taking it somewhat seriously. Truth is, having epilepsy has changed me; redefined me. I am not the same person I was before all this bullshit started. Epilepsy has changed me in more ways than I can count. I don’t know if I am a better person, or a worse person, but I do know that I am a different person.
To read the piece, you can scroll down, as it is currently just below this post. Or you could click RIGHT HERE, or you could even click on the #EpilepsyHippy Logo below. So many choices!
Bonus content
My tiny urban garden is a wildlife wonderland. Just call me the pound shop Sir David Attenborough. Here are two short clips from just outside my back door:
Close Call in the Garden:
And this one is called Squirrel Acrobatics:
Tell me those clips aren’t highlights, I dare you! 😛
One Shitpost:
I have made dozens of graphics in the last couple of months. Here’s one from the last week about Greasy Pete Hegseth, who is currently on a tour of Asia. He’s a blithering idiot, an incompetent fool, and way out of his depth. In other words, perfect to be part of Trump’s cabinet chaos.
Housekeeping
My 20th anniversary year officially ended this month, I am now into my 21st year of being a fake online hippy.
That means I’m blowing up all the 20th anniversary signage, and I will be re-branding all my logos, and graphics into something new. Don’t ask me what yet, I have no idea.
Anyway, that’s it for this week’s #HHOTW. Until next Friday, stay cool mofos!
Welcome to a brand new feature I’m introducing today: Hippy Highlight of the Week! There’s a hashtag even, it’s #HHOTW. I made a graphic too. And spoiler alert, if you scroll down to the end if this text, you will see an eye catching animated version of it. Fancy!
What is #HHOTW? It’s pretty much going to be whatever I feel like it being.
Ideally, #HHOTW will be something I wrote, or made during that week, but it could be anything. Perhaps it will be a link to an important, interesting, or amusing internet thing, or a groovy playlist of tunes I’m listening to that week. Everything is fair game, as long as it is a highlight of my week. I do have a handful of ideas that I hope will dazzle you, for at least the first few weeks. And I’m sure as time goes by, #HHOTW will evolve into whatever it’s meant to be. Organic, that’s the word that I think applies.
You might be wondering why I’m doing this. Part of it is self-motivation, but the other part is more personal. I haven’t had a major seizure in over 13 months now. I have had some partial seizures, but they’re nowhere near as bad as tonic clonic seizures. Maybe the meds are finally right, and they are working? I’d like to believe that, but since I’ve spent the last couple of years expecting epilepsy to kill me, I’m not finding it easy. I’m hoping that #HHOTW will help me answer a question that’s been on my mind: Now what? What am I meant to do, now that I might not be dying for a while? I genuinely have no idea.
My plan is to publish #HHOTW every single Friday, without fail. And to make life simple, it will be the pinned post here on my website. So whatever my weekly highlight is, it will be right at the top of my home page. You won’t be able to miss it.
All you need to remember is my name: northlondonhippy. Add a “dot com”, and you’re right back here. And Google knows where to find me all over the net. You can’t hide from Google, unless you embed some code in your website. And why would I do that? It sounds complicated, and counterintuitive. I want people to be able to find my me.
So you don’t forget, I will be promoting my #HHOTW on many of the social media platforms I hang out on.
What’s my first #HHOTW? This post, obviously. I’ve gone ultra lazy, and this introduction is really it. Next Friday, the genuine fun begins. Think of this as post number: 100. Next Friday will be post 101, and it will be far more substantial. You can always follow me elsewhere, there’s an up to date list RIGHT HERE.
I am, as always, your ever lovin’, guitar strummin’, truth tellin’, weed puffin’ #epilepsyhippy.
Doug – the northlondonhippy – Friday 14th March 2025
