The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Bullshit.

Bosom friends!

Today I will hit you with a double-decker.

This year marks the 50th anniversary since the movie "The Sound of Music" was released (March 2, 1965)
The hills are still alive with the sound of music and we haven't figured out how to solve a problem like Maria.

Original Movie Billboard.

In Italy the title of the 1965 movie was modified to "Tutti Insieme Appasionatamente" which literally translate as "All Together Passionately". All of the lyrics got adapted too so I didn't get the chance to enjoy the original score as a whole until I met my hubby. As a young gay boy the hubby used to watch that movie everyday on tape.
When I watched that glorious movie for the first time in its original language I felt as high as a kite with the help of no chemicals. Julie Andrews took my gay soul up on the Austrian hills and it still reside there alive with the sound of her incomparable voice.
I don't need to praise neither the wonderful music nor the stunning craft behind such an evergreen masterpiece. The planets must have been aligned and the gods mush have been in good spirits during the filming of The Sound of Music.
I highly recommend to the new generations to watch the glorious movie adaptation of the 1959 Broadway musical (lord I am getting old...). It will give you a fresh perspective on how good nowadays youngsters actually have it.

It's incredible that such an old movie still has something to teach about parenting and life in general.

I was reading an article about a new study from the Netherlands that finds that being overvalued as a child by one’s parents – told you’re more special, for example – may lead to the development of narcissism.

Think you’re God’s gift to man? Take a hard look at your parents.

“Children seem to acquire narcissism, in part, by internalizing parents’ inflated views of them,” the study said, such as “‘I am superior to others’ and ‘I am entitled to privileges.’”
The results apparently undercut a previous theory that suggested narcissism emerges from lack of parental warmth. The amount of emotional warmth, however, did predict children’s levels of self-esteem.
“These findings are consistent with the view that children come to see themselves as they believe to be seen by others, as if they learn to see themselves through others’ eyes,” the study said.
The difference between narcissism and self-esteem, the study authors said, quoting a 1998 study, is “high self-esteem means thinking well of oneself, whereas narcissism involves passionately wanting to think well of oneself.” 


Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder in which a person is excessively preoccupied with personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity, mentally unable to see the destructive damage they are causing to themselves and to others in the process. It is estimated that this condition affects one percent of the population, with rates greater for men. First formulated in 1968, NPD was historically called megalomania, and is a form of severe egocentrism.
People who are diagnosed with NPD are characterized by exaggerated feeling of self-importance. They have a sense of entitlement and demonstrate grandiosity in their beliefs and behavior.They have a strong need for admiration, but lack feeling of empathy.

You'd think I've just described the average teenager, socialite, social media starlet,  or the whole Kardashian clan.
If the shoe fit...


I don't see Captain Von Trapp putting up with any of that silliness. He was busy drawing the line against the Nazi regime, there was no time left for any introspective crap.

When the shit hit the fan he took a nun out of the safety of her convent and fed her to his children. He didn't even bothered calling them by name, a practical Brass Boatman's Whistle sufficed to get his brood coming swiftly. When the children put together a whole musical number in perfect Broadway style he did not jump on his feet in an over the top standing ovation. Captain Von Trapp internalized his appreciation and went ahead and presented the kids with their new stepmother who couldn't wait to send them all off to boarding school.

Yet his children were all quite well balanced and they all had a wonderful musical inclination. They didn't think "I am going to be the star of our next act", no. They worked together as a team to provide the Austrian audience with some refined live singing entertainment. I didn't see any of them pulling a tantrum or acting like divas when they got scouted to take part to a very prestigious singing competition. They won the whole thing and they were graceful enough to leave the award ceremony before accepting the prize in order to run away so they wouldn't be captured by the Nazis. On top of that they crossed the state limits on foot, not even a quaint carriage was allowed let alone a private jet.

The Von Trapp children did all that while wearing clothes made out of old drapes. No stylist was involved and if the nuance of the fabric didn't make their eyes pop TOUGH! The outfits given in concentration camps were far less appealing.

Still those children loved and respected the man who put them on this earth and were mature enough to welcome in their lives a nun who used to work under the pseudo-name of Mary Poppins before getting "the call".

The hills used to be alive with the sound of music.

Today they are alive with the sound of bullshit.

Ciao for now.