Fun met slapeloosheid Blog

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De Well-Being Survey, in de volksmond de Major Depression Inventory, is goed bekend in de internationale psychiatrische gemeenschap.

Alle vijf de vragen, Bash zei, zijn geworteld in de definitie van depressie beschreven in de Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, waarin is bepaald dat een persoon, voor de afgelopen twee weken, ofwel een depressieve stemming of anhedonie, een term die ervaren "een duidelijke vermindering van interesse of plezier in alle of bijna alle activiteiten het grootste deel van de dag bijna elke dag."

Technisch, Bash gezegd, een depressief persoon kan beide symptomen vertonen. Maar om te worden gediagnosticeerd als depressief hij moet ook een extra vijf symptomen vertonen van een lange lijst die bestaat uit: gewichtsverlies, gewichtstoename, veranderingen in eetlust, een onvermogen om te slapen (slapeloosheid symptomen), overmatig slapen (hypersomnia), vermoeidheid, gevoelens van waardeloosheid, en nog veel meer.

"Depressie is ook zo breed. Er is mild tegen matige vs zware depressie, "zei Bash. "U zult vermoeidheid en verlies van energie zien in mensen die verhuizen in de richting van matige depressie, terwijl je ziet een vertraging van de fysieke beweging in een ernstige depressie."

In de meeste gevallen zal een depressief persoon geest niet denken als actief, Bash zei, en hun bewegingen zal vertragen en activiteiten te verminderen.

In Well-Being Survey de Daily Record's, 6 procent van de enquête-takers gemeld gevoel actieve en krachtige alle van de tijd, 14 procent de meeste van de tijd, 18 procent meer dan de helft van de tijd, 20 procent minder dan de helft van de tijd, 24 procent een deel van de tijd, en 18 procent geen van de tijd.

De mix van elementen - de slaap, de activiteiten, rust en interesse in het leven - zijn allemaal gevangen in de vragen van de enquête.

Professor Bech Major Depression Inventory is op twee manieren gebruikt in sommige huisartsenpraktijken, volgens Bash - als een screening apparaat om te zien hoe een nieuwe patiënt zich voelt, en later als een marker om te zien hoe een patiënt te verbeteren.

"Het kan een goed hulpmiddel voor communicatie voor arts en patiënt zijn," zei Bash, die eraan toevoegde dat proeven of onderzoeken kan niet de plaats van een klinisch interview of een diagnostische therapie sessie nemen. "Ze kunnen simplificeren van de ziekte."

Maar, voegde hij eraan toe, leren over depressie, of door het lezen of anderszins, en het nemen van een enquête een positieve verandering te stimuleren.

Koffie is waarschijnlijk de meest geconsumeerde drank op de planeet en er zijn vele redenen waarom. Het is zowel een stimulerende en een laxeermiddel. Dus het maakt je wakker en maakt je gaan ... in meer dan een manier. Voor marketing doeleinden, is koffie vaak aangehaald als een hoge antioxidant drank, die rekening kan worden gehouden voor een recente stroom van berichten in de media dat de koffie is een gezondheids-drankje!

Maar, laten we eerlijk zijn, als je te analyseren fabriek voor de inhoud ervan u gebonden bent aan antioxidanten te vinden. Dat is wat planten in overvloed. Het is hun taak om anti-oxidanten te maken. Niet-eetbare planten zoals wilgenbast, sparren naalden, dennen en berken schors hout zijn ook rijk aan antioxidanten. Dat betekent niet dat we hebben om ze te eten!

Of koffie is goed of slecht is relatief en gebaseerd op het individu. Laat me u te helpen beslissen of u verslaafd bent en wat je eraan kunt doen.

Als je bloed dunner een beetje en circuleert beter, omdat je hart wordt gestimuleerd door koffie en je bent niet zo verstopt bij het drinken van java - ja, jij bent de gelukkige ontvanger van de voordelen ervan. Maar als je reeds gewezen op de max, adrenaline nonstop en verslaafd aan andere stimulerende middelen zoals alcohol en suiker, het is niet je vriend. In uw geval, is koffie gewoon toe te voegen aan uw stress te laden en uw giftige lading.

Een opeenhoping van stimulantia kan je hart springerig en stel je zenuwen op de rand. In een bepaalde groep gestresste en toxische mensen, zelfs een kopje koffie kan genoeg zijn om een race-hart en zelfs hartkloppingen veroorzaken. Koffie is een natuurlijke diureticum en kan het niet helpen, maar te elimineren magnesium, kalium en natrium uit je lichaam! En jij bent niets wijzer van.

U kunt zelfs het maken van uitstapjes met uw arts of de spoedafdeling met je hart kloppend wild en niemand vraagt je of je een kopje koffie verslaafde. Ik heb klanten op zes koppen koffie per dag medicijnen voor koffie-geïnduceerde hartritmestoornissen! Nu dat is eng als je een calcium-blokkerende geneesmiddelen aan de gevolgen van een magnesiumtekort veroorzaakt door koffie te behandelen nemen.

Hoe weet je dat je verslaafd bent?

Simpel, wanneer u probeert te stoppen, krijg je een bonzende hoofdpijn - dat is niet gezond kan zijn.

De enige uitweg is om het uitknippen! Het goede nieuws is dat u niet hoeft te cold turkey te gaan. Hier is mijn recept. Begin met het nemen van magnesium supplementen. Je hebt magnesium verliezen zolang u geweest bent koffie te drinken, dus het is tijd voor wraak. Magnesiumcitraat poeder is een goede vorm om te beginnen. Vindt u ook magnesium glycinaat en magnesium dimalate pillen in reformwinkels of online. Tenzij u zeer constipatie, wegblijven van magnesiumoxide, want het is slechts 4 procent geabsorbeerd, zodat de andere 96 procent kan fungeren als een sterke laxeermiddel.

Magnesium is de natuurlijke energizer. Het balanceert zenuwen en spieren spanning veroorzaakt door calcium. Ook de darmen ontspant, dus het heeft zijn eigen zachte laxerende werking. Magnesium is rustgevend, omdat het neutraliseert adrenaline pieken, waarin angst voorkomt en behandelt slapeloosheid symptomen. Die allemaal zijn het tegenovergestelde van de effecten van koffie. Magnesium is verantwoordelijk voor meer dan 325 enzymsystemen in het lichaam met het lichaam van de hele gunstige effecten

Plan een tijd twee tot drie weken na het starten van magnesium te spenen koffie, je zult versteld staan hoe makkelijk het kan zijn. Met magnesium onder je riem, over te schakelen naar zwarte thee voor een week alleen. Dan stoppen zwarte thee en over te schakelen naar kruidenthee of een korreltje koffie vervanger, verkrijgbaar in reformwinkels.

Als u behoefte aan wat extra hulp, hier is het:

1. Voor ontwenningsverschijnselen van prikkelbaarheid, gevoeligheid en hoofdpijn te nemen homeopathische Chamomilla 12X (een dosis, 3-4 keer per dag). Magnesium is ook een effectieve behandeling voor hoofdpijn.

2. Als je ervaring slapeloosheid symptomen, neem homeopathische Coffea 12X, een dosis 3-4 keer per dag. U kunt uw magnesiumopname ook toenemen door een meer dosis.

Neem van beide corrigerende maatregelen voor een week nadat u gestopt alle cafeïne. Vergeet niet om etiketten te lezen, omdat sommige kruidenthee, met name groene thee, cafeïne kan worden.

Sauna's, stoombaden, warme baden met Epsom zouten en meer magnesium zal allemaal helpen om koffie te ontgiften en het is metabolieten door uw huid. U zult verrast zijn wanneer u begint ruiken koffie in je zweet! Geloof het of niet, klei is een geweldige manier om te ontgiften. Get some natuurlijke klei poeder en mix gewoon je 1 / 2 kop in je blender met veel water en giet dat in een voetenbad of douche. Inwerken in warm water gedurende 30 minuten en spoel of douche uit.

Het geven van de koffie is vaak de eerste stap op uw weg naar een betere gezondheid. Wanneer u meer energie en overdag 's nachts slapen, zult u alleen wilt de volgende stap te nemen - te bezuinigen op suiker! Stay tuned.

Volg Carolyn Dean, MD, ND op Twitter:

www.twitter.com / DrCarolynDean

Zweterige, slapeloze nachten. Onverklaarbare knorrigheid. Gewichtstoename, hoofdpijn, en geen sex-drive. Veel vrouwen die de menopauze naderen kan betrekking hebben en kan dus Mike Coleman.

Vorig jaar een reeks van slapeloze nachten stuurde de 46-jarige verzekeringsagent uit Lineville, Ala, aan zijn arts. Na een bloed-opwerking, Coleman werd meegedeeld dat zijn testosteron lager waren dan normaal, en waarschijnlijk de schuld van de symptomen die hij had ervaren.

"Het was logisch," zegt hij. "Mijn energie niveaus waren niet wat ze gebruikt worden. Maar je soort van denken, 'Hoe kon dit gebeuren voor mij?'

"
 
 Coleman de conditie is niet zo zeldzaam. Nogal een paar mannen-up van 25 procent-have testosteronspiegels die hieronder vallen normaal op middelbare leeftijd, en in sommige gevallen deze overgang zorgt voor een verzameling van symptomen die is komen te staan bekend als "mannelijke menopauze" (of "manopause").

"Testosteron niveaus geleidelijk dalen met het ouder worden, meestal rond de 40 jaar," zegt Alvin Matsumoto, MD, een professor in de geriatrische geneeskunde aan de Universiteit van Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. Hoewel de daling is natuurlijk, Dr Matsumoto voegt toe, "dat betekent niet dat zij geen fysiologische of klinische consequenties of niet moet worden behandeld."

Meer en meer artsen lijken het erover eens. Tussen 1999 en 2008, het aantal voorschriften gevuld in de VS voor testosteron gels, schoten, en patches, de eerste-lijnsbehandeling voor de meeste mannen-met meer dan 400 procent, tot 3,3 miljoen.

Testosteron behandelingen bij mannen van middelbare leeftijd en ouder zijn grotendeels onbewezen, echter, en ze dragen een risico van ernstige bijwerkingen. De sterke toename in het gebruik ervan heeft ertoe geleid dat sommige deskundigen zich af te vragen of testosteron wordt dan voorgeschreven en of de zogenaamde mannelijke menopauze moet op alle worden behandeld.

Hoe vaak komt het voor?

Mannelijke menopauze-of late-onset hypogonadisme, zoals de voorwaarde officieel bekend verdiende zijn bijnaam voor een reden. Het lijkt op de veranderingen fortysomething vrouwen ondergaan, en de meest voorkomende symptomen zijn onder andere een kwijnende libido, opvliegers, vermoeidheid, zwakte, slapeloosheid symptomen, humeurigheid, en gewichtstoename, die alle zijn ook bekende symptomen van (vrouwelijke) menopauze.

Maar de vergelijking gaat niet zo ver. In tegenstelling tot de relatief snelle veranderingen die optreden tijdens de menopauze, testosteron bij mannen de neiging om langzaam af gedurende vele jaren en is niet altijd merkbaar. Slechts een fractie van mannen met een laag testosteron ontwikkelen problematische symptomen, terwijl de meeste vrouwen in de menopauze ervaring ten minste een paar opvliegers.

Gerelateerde links uit de Health.com :

8 Redenen Sex Is Better Na 50
10 Redenen Je bent geen seks
Kan Supplementen Ease Menopauze Symptomen?

Hoewel zo veel als 25 procent van de mannen 30 jaar en ouder hebben een lage testosteronspiegel, slechts ongeveer 5 procent symptomen ernstig genoeg zijn bevel testosteron therapie. Hoewel de symptomen zijn zeldzaam, hebben veel artsen begonnen met het testen meer middelbare leeftijd mannen voor lage testosteron. Deze trend heeft geleid tot een brede-en misschien opgeblazen-ramingen van hoe vaak mannelijke menopauze is, zegt David Zahaluk, MD, een familie geneeskundige aan de Baylor Medical Center, in Carrollton, Texas.

En het is niet altijd duidelijk dat een lage testosteron is de schuld van de symptomen die de pest 5 procent van de mannen die worden behandeld, omdat zij gemakkelijk kunnen worden verward met die welke voortvloeien uit andere gezondheidsproblemen, zoals stress, depressie of hart-en vaatziekten. "Wanneer kom je in en zeggen: 'Ik ben moe,' er zijn zoveel [potentiële] veroorzaakt," zegt Dr Zahaluk, die een aanbeveling testosteron-test als onderdeel van een jaarlijkse fysieke. "Het kan best niet te laag testosteron, maar het zal niet worden gecontroleerd, tenzij er zich bewust van."

Eerder dit jaar voor het eerst, onderzoekers in Groot-Brittannië probeerden om de symptomen die het meest nauw verbonden zijn met een laag testosteron te bepalen. Slechts drie- erectiestoornissen , minder ochtenderecties, en minder seksuele gedachten-betrouwbaar waren aangesloten op testosteron, vonden de onderzoekers. Zes anderen, waaronder een laag energieverbruik, vermoeidheid en moeite die betrokken zijn bij fysieke activiteit-verband hielden met minder nauw of zelfs helemaal niet aan laag testosteron. De studie concludeerde dat veel minder mannen dan eerder werd gedacht-slechts ongeveer 2 procent van de mannen tussen de leeftijden van 40 en 80-zijn eigenlijk ervaren iets dat kan worden genoemd mannelijke menopauze.

Dit en ander onderzoek blijkt dat behandeling noodzakelijk is alleen wanneer een laag testosterongehalte en de menopauze-achtige symptomen samen voorkomen, zegt Dr Matsumoto. "Voor een lange periode van tijd, mensen hebben personen die behandeld werden met slechts een laag testosteron niveau", zegt hij. "Alleen meer recent heeft het gewaardeerd dat de behandeling alleen mag worden overwogen bij mannen met symptomen en tekenen van een lage testosteron en consistent lage niveaus."

Te behandelen of niet te behandelen

De FDA eerste goedgekeurde testosteron behandelingen voor mannen met een zeer lage niveaus van testosteron veroorzaakt door specifieke medische problemen, zoals teelbalkanker. Studies door de jaren heen hebben geconcludeerd dat testosteron therapie effectief is voor deze, meestal jongere-mannen, maar de waarde van de behandeling van mannen met de leeftijd-gerelateerde testosteron verlies is nog onzeker. De weinige studies die zijn uitgevoerd bij oudere mannen hebben opgeleverd gemengde resultaten over de voordelen en risico's van deze behandeling.

Dat is niet gestopt oudere mannen uit te willen behandelen of artsen zijn van hen te behandelen. Een man met een zeer laag testosteron en talrijke symptomen: hij is zijn libido verloren, kan niet seks hebben, is de hele tijd moe, en heeft geen kracht-past het wetsvoorstel voor de behandeling, ongeacht leeftijd, zegt Dr Matsumoto. "Er is geen bewijs voor oudere mannen te behandelen als dit, maar van wat we weten over jongere personen die zijn behandeld met een combinatie van deze symptomen en tekenen en zeer lage testosteronspiegel, zouden we verwachten dat een aantal voordelen," zegt hij.

Dr Matsumoto hielp opstellen van een reeks bijgewerkte richtsnoeren voor testosteron therapie die werden in juni vrijgegeven door de Endocrine Society, een professionele organisatie gericht op hormoon onderzoek. Hij en zijn collega's ontmoedigd het algemeen gebruik van testosteron therapie bij oudere mannen met een lage testosteronspiegel, tenzij hun niveau waren stelselmatig laag en ze klaagde over belangrijke fysieke en seksuele symptomen.

Het is belangrijk voor patiënten om de risico's en voordelen van behandeling met hun arts te bespreken alvorens een beslissing, Dr Matsumoto zegt. Maandelijkse testosteron behandeling kan variëren van $ 50 tot $ 200, afhankelijk van de gebruikte methode en hoe vaak behandeling nodig is, dus mannen met een relatief milde seksuele en lichamelijke symptomen misschien beter af zijn geld te bewaren.

Bijwerkingen, groot en klein

De kosten niet af te schrikken Coleman, die voor het eerst probeerde een dagelijkse testosteron pleister (die hij irritant vond), en vervolgens maandelijks shots (die hij gevonden oncomfortabel). Ongemak opzij, deed Coleman beter begint te voelen op de foto's. Hij sliep beter, was minder humeurig, en zag ook een toename van zijn libido-althans op het eerste. Maar na ongeveer vier tot zes maanden, begon hij te lichte hoofdpijn te krijgen en zag een piek in zijn gewicht na elk schot.

"Ik was op dieet, dus ik zou naar beneden te krijgen tot ongeveer 190. En dan na dat ik mijn schoot heb, zou ik op 4 tot 6 pond in een week of twee, zonder aanwijsbare reden, "zegt hij.

Deze reacties zijn niet ongewoon en kunnen heel vervelend zijn, maar er zijn ernstiger potentiële bijwerkingen. Testosterontherapie kan het lichaam bij het opvoeren van productie van rode bloedcellen, gooien off circulatie en het vergroten van de kans op hart-en vaatziekten en beroerte. En hoewel een link is niet bewezen, kan het zelfs het risico van prostaatkanker. "Zelfs in de afwezigheid van enig bewijs, je hebt om patiënten te informeren dat is een potentieel risico, omdat de ervaring bij vrouwen met oestrogeen suppletie en borstkanker," zegt Dr Matsumoto.

Vanwege deze potentiële risico's, artsen nauwlettend toezien op de patiënten die de behandeling. Als hun lichamen niet absorberen testosteron of handhaven van de effecten van de behandeling, zijn sommigen zelfs geadviseerd om vervangende therapie te stoppen. "Dat is niet de meerderheid van de gevallen, maar het gebeurt wel", zegt Dr Zahaluk.

Het is veel vaker voor bij mannen testosteron therapie te stoppen omdat het gewoon niet werkt voor hen. Dat gold in het geval Coleman. Hij uiteindelijk verliet zijn behandeling, wanneer zij niet aan zijn testosteron niveaus te verhogen in het gemiddeld bereik. "Ik wist niet zien dat ik kreeg zo veel als voordeel in tegenstelling tot wat ik had opgemaakt met," zegt hij.

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Paloma Faith
Zanger

Noordelijke School of Contemporary Dance, Central St Martins College of Art and Design

Podiumkunsten; scenografie

Ik kom uit Hackney en mijn moeder was onvermurwbaar dat ik in Londen verlaten voor een paar jaar en leren onafhankelijk te zijn, dus ik was erg opgewonden om een plaats in de Noord-school te krijgen, vooral omdat slechts 50 mensen werden aanvaard uit van 2.000 aanvragers , dus voelden we ons allemaal heel bijzonder.

Het was niet de normale student levensstijl. We bezochten de klassen de hele dag, vijf dagen per week, en omdat het allemaal over je personal training, kun je niet een dagje vrij. Daarna werkte ik als danser een nacht per week en in een pub drie avonden per week, dus ik bracht het grootste deel van mijn uitgeputte studentenleven. Als dansers hadden we niet, dat ding drank - we zouden oplopen om 7u te gaan op de cross-trainer voor de les. Ik denk niet dat ik kon net zo goed gefeest, ik had een zenuwinzinking.

We leefden allemaal in een gedeeld appartement. Net als de meeste mensen, ik was ook absoluut niet in staat op zoek na mezelf in het eerste jaar. Ik herinner me wakker op een dag met conjunctivitis en gewoon liggend in mijn bed roepen "ik blind ben! Ik ben blind! "Uiteindelijk mijn huisgenoten kwam binnen en nam me mee naar het ziekenhuis gelukkig.

Ik was niet al te bezorgd over het maken van vrienden - Ik dacht dat ik vrienden gemaakt met de andere zonderlingen. Ik ben best gezellig, maar ik heb altijd al aangetrokken tot buitenstaanders. Russella de drag queen werd op mijn cursus en we zijn nog steeds vrienden.

Maar ik heb niet een fantastische tijd op mijn Natuurlijk, als ik eerlijk ben. Academisch, het was niet wat ik had verwacht. Ik vond het heel beperkend en narcistische omdat je de hele dag doorgebracht in kamers vol met spiegels concentreren op uw onvolkomenheden - Ik was prpretty oneven albumed en stak veel, maar ik had niet veel tijd om mijn geest of mijn eigen creativiteit te cultiveren.

Ik wilde stoppen en iets anders te doen, maar ik voelde dat ik die nodig zijn om aan te tonen aan iedereen dat ik het kon doen. Ik ben koppig als de hel. Dat lijkt belachelijk nu, maar eigenlijk is het me geleerd wat ik in staat was.

Toen ik afstudeerde, wist ik dat ik moest nog een kans op onderwijs. Bezig met een MA in het St Martins was het beste. Het opende mijn ogen voor zoveel dingen. De cursus was vol met mensen uit verschillende disciplines die allen geïnteresseerd in de prestaties, dus ik werkte met acteurs, architecten, bestuurders en ontwerpers uit de hele wereld, die werd massaal inspirerend. Het opende een wereld van boeken, theater en film, en ik kreeg het hele jaar door te brengen na te denken over de menselijke conditie, en kwamen uit gevoel dat ik had iets te zeggen.

Terugkijkend op, ik weet niet of ik moet zijn overgestapt van dans of niet. Als u niet tevreden bent op uw Natuurlijk zijn er zoveel andere geweldige dingen die je zou kunnen doen. Maar aan de andere kant geloof ik niet in te geven, en ik doe mijn dans mate voel me geleerd dingen als een performer. Ik voel me echt vertrouwen op het podium, en ik weet wat mijn lichaam vormen is het maken - en dat alles komt uit dansopleiding.

Tip: Je moet geven dingen tijd. Mijn moeder placht te zeggen: je moet gaan op vijf data met iemand, want je kunt niet zeggen als je ze na een, en dat is waar over de universiteit.

's nieuwe album Paloma Faith "Wilt u de Waarheid of iets moois?" is nu uit. Ze reizen het Verenigd Koninkrijk in oktober en november.

Dr. Christian Jessen
Arts en presentator van Embarrassing Bodies

UCL 1996 - 2001

Geneeskunde, Pass

Ik was redelijk bang op mijn eerste dag. We hadden een inleidende lezing, die ging over hoe we zouden hebben om echt te hard werken - geen druk is er - en dan de oudere medische studenten speelde veel trucs, waaronder vertellen ons dat we moeten gaan urine te drinken.

Ik woonde in hallen rechts onder BT toren (in Londen) in mijn eerste jaar, wat betekende dat ik nooit verloren. Ik was in hetzelfde blok als een groep jongens die in een band. We gebruikten te krijgen echt geïrriteerd, omdat ze waren altijd in de gang spelen hun gitaren. Als ik had geweten dat ze zouden gaan naar Coldplay te worden!

Ik heb echt genoten van mijn cursus, maar ik was erg ondeugend - Ik heb niet echt naar lezingen. In feite, gebruikte ik om te gaan dagen zonder naar lezingen, deels omdat ik veel meer uit een boek te lezen. Ik heb ook veel niet-medic dingen - Ik was in het UCL orkest, en in veel speelt.

Ik denk dat de studie geneeskunde is extra eng. Het is zo'n grote inzet, en je weet diep van binnen het zal moeilijk zijn om te vertrekken als het niet wat je wilt doen. En eigenlijk, wat je aan het leren zijn vaak heel schrijnend - zodra je aankomt, krijgt u uw eerste instantie te snijden, en u begint te leren over hoe patiënten die ze sterven vertellen.

Top Tip: Dit gaat klinken iets nerdy - maar dan ben ik een arts. Er is ontzettend veel druk om belastingen te drinken en hebben veel seks, maar het leren om te zeggen "nee" "is een heel belangrijk onderdeel van freshers 'week.

Kan ik Just Ask? door Dr Christian Jessen (Hay House, 12,99 pond) zullen worden gepubliceerd op 1 november.

Jessica Ennis
Atlete

Sheffield, 2004 - 2007

Psychologie, 2.2

Ik ging naar de universiteit in mijn woonplaats, zodat ik kon mijn opleiding voort te zetten zonder afbreuk te doen mijn opleiding. Atletiek was mijn belangrijkste prioriteit, maar ik denk dat mijn coach angstig was, wetende wat de leerlingen kunnen worden wil! Maar mijn ouders waren echt blij dat ik een manier had gevonden om beide te combineren.

Hoewel ik verbleef in Sheffield, ik wilde toch naar huis te verlaten. Ik besloot dat het leven in zalen zou te veel van een afleiding, zodat ik woonde in een huis met twee vrienden uit de atletiek. Ik denk dat ik had waarschijnlijk een heel andere freshers 'week van de meeste mensen - ik niet besteden de hele week uit te gaan en dronken worden omdat ik nog moest opstaan om training te gaan. Maar ik had genoten van mezelf heel veel tijdens de zesde vorm, dus in een manier waarop ik het gevoel dat ik had al gedaan. En hoewel ik niet was gaan elke nacht was het heel gemakkelijk om mensen te ontmoeten op mijn cursus, die was geweldig.

Was ik waarschijnlijk veel meer georganiseerd en gedisciplineerd over mijn ritme dan de gemiddelde student, maar het ergste wat voor mij was het geven van presentaties. Ik word nerveus als ik concurreren, maar staan voor een kamer van mensen om een toespraak was veel meer ontmoedigend.

Ik heb echt genoten van de psychologie en in een ideale wereld zou leuk geweest zijn om meer tijd gehad hebben om zich te concentreren op mijn studie als ik zeker had om offers te brengen, ontbrekende lezingen en deadlines concurreren. Maar het was echt leuk om iets anders te doen en niet gericht op sport de hele tijd. En toen ik examens had, kon ik break it up door te gaan training.

Top tip: Haal je handen op een kaart. Sheffield is mijn geboortestad en ik nog steeds verdwaald!

Jessica Ennis is wereld-en Europees kampioen meerkamp en de wereld indoor vijfkamp kampioen

Katie Derham
Omroeporganisatie

Cambridge 1988 - 1991

Economie, 2.2

De belangrijkste ding over freshers 'week op het Magdalene College in 1988 was het eerste jaar werden vrouwen toegelaten tot Magdalene College - het was de laatste van de colleges te gaan gemengd. Ik was gegaan om een week te vroeg om een auditie te doen, maar het betekende dat voor de eerste vijf dagen dat ik er was het enige meisje. Ik had een regelmatige stroom van mensen kloppen op de deur te kondigen dat zij "komen aan de Magdalena meisje te zien"!

Ik wist niet dat de economie zou zo wiskunde gebaseerde - Ik was geschokt bij hoeveel docenten spraken in de grafieken in plaats van zinnen. Maar ik heb echt genieten van mijn diploma. Ik vond de zelfdiscipline uitdagende (je hoeft niet naar lezingen ... en dan te realiseren op examen moment dat zij had kunnen zijn erg handig) en de overgrote leeslijsten, maar ik snel leerde lees net de dingen die ik nodig had.

Ik heb niet onmiddellijk aan al mijn beste vrienden. Ik gooide mezelf in waarschijnlijk veel te veel, vandaar de 2.2. Ik raakte betrokken in de commissies en de Light Entertainment Society, en deed college zingen en lasten van de sport. Ik wist niet schitteren op niets, maar ik had een te gaan op alles.

Top tip: Zorg ervoor dat uw koekblik vol is - als je te ontmoeten yvour nieuwe beste vrienden of droomman je kunt zeggen: "terug naar mijn kamer voor een kopje koffie - ik heb koekjes! Kom"

Katie Derham presenteert live vanuit the Proms voor de BBC2 en Radio3

Huw Williams
Zanger, Melodica, Melody and Me

Leeds, 2006 - 2009

Philosophy and the history of philosophy of science, 2.1

I arrived at my halls quite late on the first day, so it was very manic, with everyone clearly very nervous and lots of people already chummy with each other. You have the same conversation over and over again, saying where you are from and what subject you are doing.

My brother's advice was “Go to whatever is happening and you'll meet other people who don't like it, too”. So on my first night I went to a club night called I Love Sex. When I got there, I found I was the only one standing in the corner not enjoying it. It took me a good few months to find people I liked. With hindsight, if I'd joined societies, I'd have found like-minded people much quicker.

Music was a big part of my time. We started the band at school, but all went to different universities, so we got to perform in lots of different cities.

The best bits were the things you can't plan for. In my second year, I lived in a big house with a ceilidh band – we put on open mikes and I learned a lot about traditional folk music and Irish jigs. I started getting involved in campaigns, and I ran an allotment with a friend as part of Leeds Students Green Action.

Top tip: The advice my brother gave me was good – keep with it, and you will meet people you like.

Melodica, Melody and Me's debut single, 'Piece Me Back Together', is out now

Mark Watson
Komiek

Cambridge, 1998-2001, English, First

Virtually every impression I had in freshers' week was negative. I had no confidence whatsoever that I was going to be all right. I thought I would meet people like me at university, but the people I met weren't anything like me. It was only later that I realised the people like me were in their rooms brooding – no wonder I couldn't find them.

At the freshers' fair I signed up for loads of things (as I was writing my name I'd catch myself thinking “I won't want to do that”). I turned up to the German Society hoping to practise my German. It was awkward explaining in German that I wasn't actually German. After two pints and an hour of being spoken to by kind Germans, I left. Though I never had the courage to unsubscribe from the emails.

The other thing about freshers' week is the way it exposes your lack of personal competence. I turned up to my first supervision covered in blood, as if I had come direct from the battlefield. In fact, I had had a nosebleed on the way, I didn't have any tissues and had no idea where the nearest shop was. At the time I thought I was going to have to leave the city, but in fact it was something we ended up laughing about.

Eventually I made friends, got up the courage to audition for Footlights and started to enjoy my degree. But freshers' week was really pretty odd album – my advice is to disregard nearly everything that happens.

Top tip: A note on toasted sandwich-makers: leave that sandwich to cool before you eat it. And do clean the toaster or you'll have to buy a new one at the end of the year.

Mark will be on tour throughout the UK from October; www.markwatsonthecomedian.com

Jimmy Doherty
Farmer

University of East Anglia 1995 – 98

Zoology, 2.1

I was obsessed with insects, so the degree was a real passion. The one incident that sticks in my mind was a really strict professor who hated anyone eating in his lectures. I was munching a pork pie when he came in. I panicked and stuffed the pie into the top of the projector. Two minutes later, the projector went on and there was this huge pork pie on the screen.

My family lived in Essex and I wanted to continue working in the wildlife park I had worked for since I was 13, so I lived half at home and half at UEA.

Top tip: Make a budget. When I did my PhD I lived with a French guy and we would always go to the market and cook from scratch. We baked our own bread and it saved us a fortune.

Jimmy will be hosting the festival Jimmy's Harvest at his farm on 11-12 September; www.harvestatjimmys.com

Bridget Phillipson
MP for Houghton and Sunderland South

Oxford 2002-2005

History, 2.1

One of the first things I learned at Oxford was that if you missed dinner in Hall you were pretty much snookered – though you could always use the toaster in the common room. In the first month, I came back late one night and burnt my toast, setting off the smoke alarm and getting everyone out of bed.

I joined the Oxford Labour Club in the first week.I really enjoyed meeting people from a broad range of backgrounds – including from the Conservative Association. That really helped me to hone my arguments. There are definitely similarities between freshers' week and your first week as an MP – not least that everyone asks your name, your constituency and your majority. I should probably ask what A-levels everyone got!

Top tip: Get on and join things. I played women's rugby for two years – it wasn'ta massive commitment, but it was good fun and I met people from other colleges.

The Secret Life van de meisjes

20 augustus 2010

Fabiola Carletti

PERSONEEL REPORTER

Ze geniet met een publiek. Zij volgen elke aankoop, outfit en puppy-love affaire. Hun huid is dik. Welkom in het leven gezien door tiener meisje bloggers

Je hoeft niet aan een wiskunde whiz om te weten dat 13 is een nogal raar album nummer. Sommigen noemen het zelfs een ongelukkige is. Maar in tegenstelling tot bijgelovige eigenaren van gebouwen, kunnen meisjes die hun tieners niet overslaan de 13e verdieping.

Voer blog: de krachtige platform, dat kan een dagboek of plakboek of fotoalbum of ... van alles zijn, lijkt het. Een meisje kan nu document haar proeven en triomfen in omgekeerde chronologie, maken steeds meer een zeer openbare proces.

Tavi Gevinson, 13, weet alles over bloggen. De zelfbenoemde Style Rookie is misschien wel de hoogste-profiel voorbeeld van een kind die niet bang is te worden verhoogd, of de grond gelijk gemaakt, door de global village.

Ze begon haar blog in maart van 2008, toen haar pezige frame was nog steeds erg veel op die van een 11-jarige kind en haar mode fotoshoots meer als dress-up games gekeken. Tavi's eerste blog post leek om het album te beloven een soort van genotzuchtige sticker, maar later aantekeningen zou ontluikende omvatten haar feministische idealen en kritische brieven naar tijdschriften met smalle definities van schoonheid.

“At some point during the second half of 8th grade, I became sadder and angrier,” wrote Tavi in July 2010. “To this I do not credit teenagerdom, or angst or any hormonal whatever, just learning, and not the kind that I was supposed to be getting from school.”

It has been decades since Shakespeare entrusted 13-year-old Juliet with such dramatic dialogue. Now, many of the youngest female bloggers, barely able to affix a -teen to their age, are thinking out loud and creating diary-scrapbook hybrids read by people all over the world.

The Chicago native, now 14, has filled her blog with testimonials that range from the glum to the sublime. The precocious writer makes bold statements and cultural references that are older than she is. In fact, some cynics find it hard to believe that she does it on her own.

But other 13-year-old bloggers sound like the babbling adolescents that rip through silences on the bus.

In the halfway space between the child and the young adult, girls become more aware of themselves. Suddenly, they no longer qualify for child discounts, but can see movies deemed inappropriate for 12-year-olds. The fascination with their changing minds and bodies has fuelled everything from wholesome books series, such as The Babysitter's Club , to controversial films like the racy drama Thirteen .

In one erratic blog post , Lourdes “Lola” Leon writes, “A lot of you asked me what color I was dying my hair and it's actually going to be like a kind of cherry blackish thingy bobbie. OH MY DAIZ.” From there, Lola touches on the donkey in Shrek (“just soooo friggin legendary haaaaaaa”), British slang (“var var LOL”) and Spanish soccer players who are “PFH (pretty freakin hot).”

Many readers note that Lola, who happens to be Madonna's daughter, seems like an ordinary girl. And although her voice differs drastically from Tavi's, both have been dealt the same variables: high school, puberty, style consciousness. The mini material girl just started blogging in June.

Whether you find it endearing or annoying, you may not have expected to find such unselfconscious writing outside of high school yearbooks.

Alyson Lewis, an English teacher in Toronto's Pleasant View junior high, has become accustomed to the way many 13-year-olds write.

“It took me a while to embrace that chaos and realize that what they put on the page exactly reflected what was going on in their heads at the time,” she said, “I think there's a real rawness to writing at this age, and I'm not just talking about the obligatory spelling and grammatical errors, nor the huge gaps in logic.”

Lewis adds, “that kind of honesty — before they've learned to couch their words in metaphor, formality and emotional distance — is really special.”

But, unsurprisingly, some older readers would rather parent than praise these young writers.

London-based Camilla Ackley received anonymous feedback on her fashion blog “ Into the Fold .” The now 14-year-old started her blog in July of 2009.

“God, I don't want to come up with the stupid when-I-was-your-age argument, but really, when I was thirteen, my mum would've killed me for such dressing up,” wrote the reader. “Of course, you're all very stylish, very pretty and everything, but this is not what childhood (yes, you're still children) is all about.”

The commenter would more likely relate with New York Magazine ’s Emily Nussbaum, who used to seal her diary with a literal lock and admits to being uneasy with others' self-exposure. Still, in a feature titled “ Say Everything ,” Nussbaum comes to three conclusions about her uninhibited successors: they think of themselves as having an audience; they have archived their adolescence; and, most interestingly, their skin is thicker than yours.

“Different kids choose to have different childhoods. Some choose sports, some choose music, some choose fashion,” Camilla explained. “A childhood doesn't have to be about running about 24/7; it's about finding out who you are.”

Camilla told the Star that teen bloggers may be more prone to disparaging comments, but she takes it in stride.

“If bloggers took every insult to heart, there wouldn't be any of us,” she noted, “It's easy to tell the difference between constructive criticism and bullying.”

We often forget how resilient young people can be — just name your time and place.

Maya Angelou began to speak at 13, following six years of silence spurred by a traumatic childhood event. Joan of Arc was 13 when she started hearing celestial voices. Anne Frank, who received her iconic diary at the age of 13, penned one of the most famous personal accounts of the Holocaust.

More recent examples include Lady Gaga, who wrote her first piano ballad at 13, and David Suzuki's daughter Severn who shamed UN delegates on behalf of an environmental children's group.

Despite their different voices, all girls have something to say to the world in their own words.

Girl bloggers from around the world

• The Style Rookie by Tavi

• Material Girl Collection blog featuring Lourdes “Lola”

• Into the Fold by Camilla Ackley

• The Writing Pages by Meghna

• Fallie's Scrapbook by Fallie

• Maja Ravn by Maja

• PaulinaBelle by Paulina

• The Stylish Wanderer by anonymous

• Plastic Brain by Eleonara

sFabiola Carletti

Editor's Picks

Two suits of medieval armour dominate the entrance hall of the hilltop castle that Rachelle Spector calls home. One stands opposite an oil painting of the Beatles, whose final album, Let it Be, was produced by her absent husband, Phil, in 1969. The other, a few yards to its right, leans on a large sword. Since Phil's fascination with dangerous weapons recently landed him in prison, you might wonder if they make for entirely appropriate ornaments. But in the few hours I spend with Rachelle, together with a couple of occasions when we speak via telephone, I come to realise that suits of armour actually sum her up pretty well: she's a tough cookie, and thick-skinned, too.

Rachelle greets me on the doorstep, where I've been admiring the personalised
number plate of her Lexus SUV (it reads: “I Í Phil”). At
first glance, she looks astonishingly blonde-haired, blue-eyed and bubbly;
at second glance, the blonde comes from a bottle, and she's wearing bright
turquoise contact lenses. But the bubbly bit is genuine. While she nips to
the kitchen to fetch a drink, I look around her enormous dining room. Het is
decorated in the style of a Berni Inn: all dark wood and moody lighting. In
the corner sits a huge piece of paper on which Rachelle, perhaps at the
behest of a psychiatrist, has drawn a flow chart mapping her “life goals”.
They revolve squarely around two inter-related entities. One is Phil; the
other, her pop career.

These are, as it happens, the exact subjects I'm hoping to talk about. Voor
years, this famous 30-room house, which is called the Pyrenees Castle, and
situated in Alhambra, a charmless suburb of east Los Angeles, has stood as a
neo-Gothic monument to the eccentricities of the great Phil Spector. It was,
according to rock'n'roll folklore, a Xanadu-like mansion, where the
extraordinarily wealthy record producer, who had made a slew of the most
uplifting pop songs in history (from “Da Doo Ron Ron” by the
Crystals, to “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes) but suffered from the
depression which afflicts many a genius, had retired from the record
business to wallow in a twilight world of darkness and paranoia.

That was the Castle's reputation, at least. But lately, Spector's old friends
(and even his enemies) have been describing him as a man transformed. Het
reason: Rachelle. Bright, amenable, and one-third his age, she burst on to
the scene some time in 2003, and turned him from an obsessive recluse, whose
controlling nature once sparked ugly lawsuit after ugly lawsuit, into a
gentle old man with a renewed appetite for life, love, and the pop game. Ik
want to find out how Rachelle managed this. And to get to the bottom of
whether she arrived on the scene too late to prevent the tragedy that may
now overshadow the rest of his natural life.

Rachelle returns. We adjourn to the wood-panelled dining room, and sit at a
long antique table, in front of some framed photos of their wedding, which
took place in the foyer of the Castle in September 2006. She was 24, and
wore a traditional white gown. Phil, who was then 66, and marrying for the
third time, opted for a straw-coloured wig, teamed with a black silk shirt,
dark suit, and an impish smile. “Philip and I are many generations
apart, but we do have an incredible amount in common,” says Rachelle. “We
both wanted exactly the same thing: a small ceremony, at home, with a
minister and just a couple of guests. That's how it ended up. Perfect.”

Today, the Spectors profess to remain as deeply in love as they were that day,
and though they make an pretty odd album-looking couple, I have no reason to doubt them.
But life is no longer quite so perfect. Since April 2009, Phil has been an
inmate at California State Prison in Corcoran, three hours' drive north of
Los Angeles. According to Rachelle, it's “disgusting”. He spends
23 hours a day in a shared cell measuring five feet by nine feet, and has
little to do with his time except read, and sweat. “Recently,” she
says, “the prison has been cutting off its power supply, and air, for
one day a week, to save money. Temperatures up there can reach 120F. He's 70
years old. It's gross.”

Phil became a jailbird because of a now-notorious event which took place just
a few yards from where we are sitting. On 3 February 2003, a month before he
first met Rachelle, Lana Clarkson, a B-movie actress whom he'd apparently
met in a Hollywood nightclub and taken home for drinks, was shot in the face
in the Castle's hallway. She died immediately. Phil, who may or may not have
witnessed the event, and who is certainly the only living person who may
know what actually occurred, denied pulling the trigger. But a jury at Los
Angeles Superior Court saw things differently. In April 2009, he was
unanimously convicted of second degree murder and given 19 years to life.

The sentence has left Rachelle in charge of Phil Spector's life, and legacy.
She runs his home, his back catalogue, and his multi-million-dollar business
interests. She is currently masterminding an appeal against his murder
conviction, and also provides about his only regular familial link to the
outside world: of the three children he adopted in the 1970s, two are
estranged (a son, Donte, keeps in touch). His only surviving daughter,
Nicole, who is roughly the same age as Rachelle, visits occasionally. But
she lives in New York, a day's travel and three time-zones away.

For Rachelle, this makes for a sometimes sad existence, punctuated by small
highlights. One comes just after 2pm on weekdays, when Phil is allowed to
make a 15-minute phone call (when he dials, Rachelle's BlackBerry bellows: “Philip
calling!”). The other happens each Saturday, when she rises at 1am and
drives to Corcoran to be first in the queue to gain access to the visitors'
area. She is strip-searched, and taken into a spartan canteen. There, Phil
is usually allowed to kiss her once and give her a single hug; after that,
they talk for hours.

Rachelle's other highlight, and the one which helped me bag an invitation to
the Castle, revolves around music. Describing herself as a singer,
songwriter and trombone player, she has just released a debut CD. Its title
is Out of My 'Chelle, and it already occupies an intriguing place in pop
history: it was produced by Phil, before he went into chokey, and is
therefore the first album that he's been entirely responsible for in no less
than 30 years. His last one prior had been End of the Century, by the
Ramones, which came out in 1980.

Despite the fact that it marks the return of one of pop's greatest
impresarios, critics have not been altogether kind about the record. The New
York Post dubbed it “a pop drivel vanity project that has no relation
to anything the legendary producer has ever helped craft” and said that
Phil's music is now as criminal as he is. It has none the less made a small
impression on the US charts. “The highest we have got so far is 46,”
says Rachelle. “I'd say that's doing pretty well, especially for
something from a new artist, which doesn't have a big label pushing it.”

Touchingly, the album's first track, “Here in my Heart”, is a love
song about Phil and Rachelle's long-distance relationship. It's set to a
1980s-style synthesiser-pop beat, and contains some gloriously-extravagant
lyrics which would not be out of place in the Eurovision Song Contest. “You're
here with me night and day, even when you're far away”, goes a typical
line. “The song's about somebody you love, who is always in your heart,
even if they're not in your arms,” adds Rachelle. “For me, that
person will always be Philip. He is my shining light, and part of him has
become a part of me, so he's constantly here with me.”

Phil has meanwhile been equally soppy discussing the project. “I'm as
excited about this album as when I met Elvis or the Stones,” he said,
in a prison interview coinciding with its release. “Making that record
with Rachelle was one of the greatest experiences of my life.”
Regarding his wife, he told the Associated Press: “Prison is very
difficult. I'm in here with sociopaths and misfits… [but] she comes every
week to see me, and I see sky rockets each time I see her.” Then he
added, without a hint of irony: “She's the fairy princess in my world”.
And to understand that world, you perhaps need to hear Rachelle's story.

There was, as it happens, plenty of fairytale about the journey that turned
Rachelle into the sole occupant of the 30-room Pyrenees Castle, which was
built in the 1920s as a one-third-sized scale replica of a French chateau.
Brought up in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, by a single mother, she learnt
trombone at school and played in the marching band. After leaving, and
discovering that she could make a living from singing and modelling jobs,
she set off down a road trpretty odd albumen by many pretty girls from small-town
America, and drove to LA. Aged 20, she arrived in 2002, with just $150 in
her pocket.

A year later, Rachelle Short, to use her maiden name, was performing live gigs
(she had won a gong for Best Indy Pop Performer at the LA Music Awards). Een
night, she found herself dining at Dan Tana's, an old-school Hollywood
restaurant. Phil Spector, who was also there, asked her to sit at his table.
And Cupid's dart struck. “I learnt more that night about religion and
politics than I knew in my entire life,” she recalls. “We ended up
talking until six in the morning. When it was time to go, he looked at me
and said, 'May I kiss you?' I said, 'No!'. But he got my phone number.”
The old devil called the next day. “I've always been attracted to older
guys,” she says.

The romance blossomed during visits to the local Starbucks, dinner outings,
and trips to LA Lakers basketball games. But it wasn't all plain sailing. Een
few weeks in, Rachelle heard about Lana Clarkson, who had died a few weeks
before their meeting. But Rachelle didn't for one moment doubt Phil's
innocence. Never has, never will. “When you meet him, you get no sense
of danger whatsoever. He's tiny. I'm bigger than him now, and he wouldn't
hurt a fly. He couldn't murder someone. He's too kind, and caring and giving
and genuine.” They duly became engaged in 2005.

Their relationship was first dragged into the public arena when Phil's first
murder trial was televised, in late 2006. The sight of Rachelle in court
initially sparked intrigue and ridicule. She looked suspiciously like
Clarkson, and snarky commentators wondered what had attracted her to the
famous multi-millionaire. But over time, opinion turned. “Even those
who loathe Spector, and there are plenty in Hollywood, surprise themselves
by feeling protective of this instantly likeable woman,” noted the Los
Angeles Times, in a profile of Phil. “They praise her unswerving
loyalty to Spector. Men in particular fall under her spell.”

By the time Phil's first trial had been abandoned in 2007 (the jury was unable
to reach the required unanimous verdict), Rachelle had become Mrs Spector.
Then, during downtime from the retrial, Out of My 'Chelle was conceived. “One
day I was going through old home movies of me singing. Phil walked in, and
said 'That's you?'. He didn't know what my vocal capabilities were, up until
that point, since I had put my career on hold to help him with the court
case.”

To release the record, Rachelle recently founded her own label, Genius Forever
(named after Phil, of course) and cut a distribution deal with Sony. She is
also about to go back into the studio to make a Rachelle Unplugged version
of the record, which her husband will be unavailable to produce. “People
say that Phil Spector can make anyone sound good, and I want to prove that I
can actually sing,” she says. Allegations that Phil used auto-tune and
other dark arts of his trade to paper over holes in her musical ability are “totally
untrue”.

The other thing that often angers Rachelle, and we can't beat around the bush
here, are allegations that she's a gold-digger. The reality of her
existence, she says, is quite the opposite: she says her favourite shop is
Target, a sort of American Argos. She doesn't loaf around. When we tour the
downstairs bar area and pool room, I notice that a layer of dust has
gathered on Phil's collection of Grammy trophies.

It must, I suppose, be a lonely existence. She shares the vast home with six
dogs, some cats, and two iguanas. A maid comes twice a week. Her other
regular visitor is Esmerelda, her gardener's six-year-old daughter. Het
lawns of the Castle are brown and parched (she recently turned off the
sprinklers, to save money and the environment), and even Phil's collection
of garden gnomes could use a lick of paint. This is hardly the high life,
zegt ze.

“My life is hard. It's a lot of work. It's so emotionally, physically and
mentally draining. I work seven days a week. I've started the record label,
I'm trying to promote the album, manage Phil's estate and also look after
the appeal to get him out. If I were a gold-digger, I wouldn't be here,
doing all that. I'd be by some pool, on an exotic island, counting my money.”

Rachelle's priority, these days, is to free Phil. Having sat through the two
trials, which together lasted more than a year, and reviewed 40,000 pages of
evidence, she has applied for (and got) a licence to practice as a private
investigator in California. This allowed her to be closely involved in
drafting the lengthy appeal against his murder conviction which was filed
earlier this year.

The case against Spector was by no means cut-and-dried. It revolved around
inconclusive forensic evidence, with conflicting interpretations of blood
spatter patterns and gunpowder residue, which left experts divided as to
whether the famous defendant was anywhere near Ms Clarkson when she died.
The supposed murder weapon did not carry any of his fingerprints, and no one
is sure of the identity of its owner. Officially, it was registered to a
pawnshop in Texas.

In attempting to prove Spector guilty, prosecutors therefore relied on
testimony from his driver, who told the court his boss had confessed to
Clarkson's killing. They also persuaded the judge to allow evidence from
five former female acquaintances of Spector, who claimed that at various
times in the past 30 years, he had threatened them with guns. This, the jury
said in its explanation of the sentence, tipped the balance in favour of
conviction.

It certainly worked into a well-established narrative. Spector, who had
produced his first number one hit, “To Know Him is To Love Him”,
in 1958, at the age of 18, had never enjoyed what you might call a normal
life. A millionaire by the age of 22 (during the early 1960s, his hits
included “You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling”, the most extensively
played record in history), he was always volatile. When creating his famous “Wall
of Sound”, which involved vast armies of backing musicians and singers,
he lorded over recording studios like a mad dictator.

Stories also abound of Spector's fascination with firearms. He once fired a
pistol into the roof when losing his temper while working with John Lennon.
Some years later, when apparently drunk, he wandered up to Leonard Cohen,
and stuck a loaded pistol in his neck, saying, “Leonard, I love you!”
(Cohen is said to have casually replied, “I hope you do, Phil”).
In the 1980s, his mental state deteriorated further when his only son,
Philip Junior, contracted leukaemia. Phil retired from music to nurse him,
only for the child to die, in 1992. Soon afterwards, he began taking vast
quantities of anti-depressants, and for most of the next decade, made only
occasional forays into the recording studio. He had also become paranoid
about being left alone at the Castle; visitors spoke of him locking doors
and gates to prevent them from leaving.

After talking the jury through this biography, the prosecution was able to
construct a compelling narrative: Lana Clarkson, a down-on-her-luck actress
who also suffered from depression, had met him at the House of Blues
nightclub in Hollywood. She returned to his house, and shared some drinks.
But when Ms Clarkson got up to leave, Spector lost his cool. By accident or
design, he fired the gun. Given Spector's personality, they argued – it was
in any case an accident waiting to happen.

There is, however, a problem with this theory: it relies on circumstantial
evidence. In his defence, Spector's “dream team” of highly-paid
lawyers have advanced an alternative: that Clarkson, who'd had roles in
Scarface and the cult fantasy flick Barbarian Queen during the 1980s, but
whose career had since tanked, actually committed suicide. “She had
consumed a bottle of tequila, she had Vicodin [a pain-relief drug] in her
system, and was broke and about to be evicted from her apartment,” is
how Rachelle puts it.

The appeal will highlight the lack of forensic evidence, and also argue that
the judge shouldn't have allowed the five women to give character statements
against Phil, since they were prejudicial. “This whole hatred towards
women thing … I don't understand where it came from. Because if you know
anything about Phil's career you'll know that he helped women, especially
women of colour, achieve success, people like Tina Turner and Ronnie Spector
[his second wife]. There is no greater misconception than that Phil hates
women.”

Clarkson's sister, Fawn, and her family's lawyer, Roderick Lindblom, did not
respond to requests for a comment about the appeal for this article.
Rachelle, with half an eye on their feelings, says the case “was a
tragedy for everybody involved. But it was not a murder”. Clarkson was
six feet tall, and weighed 160 pounds, which is far more than Spector. “They're
trying to tell me she let him walk up and put a gun in her mouth? It was two
inches behind her teeth when it went off. How could he possibly do that?”

Time, of course, will tell whether Rachelle secures their day in court. But
the wheels of justice move incredibly slowly. Even if the appeal is granted,
it could be years before Phil Spector is free to once more build a wall of
sound. “I've lost my husband and my best friend,” she says,
returning once more to the subject of her album. “The whole point of it
was to turn the negative of the case into a positive and put the focus back
on Phil Spector's music, where it belongs. Whatever happens, I hope to
remind people that he's still that genius producer who is way beyond his
time, and who no one will ever be able to imitate.”

');
} else
document.write('

[ Editor's Note: The views of this column do not necessarily reflect those of SOHH.com ]

1. King Me

D*mn, doggies, this year's Forbes' Cash Kings list is ridiculously funny. Not so much because we see Jay-Z and Diddy in the list but that Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and DRAKE made more $$$ than 5-0 Cent? LMFAO!!! This has to be a clerical error, right? LMFAO!!! Before we see who made the cut, let's just analyze a few things. In 2008 , when those numbers came out, 5-0 held his ground at No. 1 with Jay and Puffy looking in the rearview, right? Then this clown caught feelings when he got booted to No. 4 last year, getting edged out by Kanye West . OK. But now, to get tossed all the way to No. 15? SMFH. There's no excuse doggies, especially with as much as this clown says he's WORKING . Those tours? Those straight-to-DVD movies that he claims are where the REAL $$$ is at? Or how about all those iTunes sales G-Unit is raking in? SMH. It's over, doggies, admit it :

#1. Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter – $63m

# 2. Sean “Diddy” Combs – $30M
#3. Aliuane “Akon” Thiam – $21M [that Lady Gaga money is no joke...]
#4. Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter – $20M
#5. Andre “Dr. Dre” Young – $17M
#6. Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges – $16M
#7. Calvin “Snoop Dogg” Broadus – $15M
#8. Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley – $14M
#9. Pharrell Williams – $13M
#10 Kanye West – $12M
#11. Aubrey “Drake” Graham – $10M
#12. Clifford “TI” Harris – $9M (tie)
#12. Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean – $9M (tie)
#14. Marshall “Eminem” Mathers – $8M (tie)
#14 Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson – $8M (tie)

^ LOL. Good looks @ NahRight for that list. Some things ain't adding up, doggies. We can understand how Jay got $63 million from Roc Nation ( J. Cole, Wale , Blueprint III Tour, etc.) and Diddy's a** was all over those informercials and let's not forget that Lady Gaga money ain'ta joke for Akon along with Dr. Dre 's dope BEATS. But Ludacris? F*cking Drake!?!? TI ??? Wait……how the h*ll did TI make more $$$ than 5-0 when he was LOCKED UP for 6-8 months!?!?! SMH…… Look at those numbers doggies, this post is short but the comments should be long. Feeling sad about 5-0′s numbers? Maybe it's just me, but something tells me he had this coming……………

“I'm on deck,” 50 said in an interview in JULY 2009 . “I'm loaded. Call me 'four' this year, and then you call me 'one' next year , because I'm really preparing for my cycle . They're fine…What kind of person would be upset at what position they fall when they're on the Forbes list . That person would be a complete idiot. Ask me to show you a person who's happy, and I'll show you someone who's content. And if you ask me to show you a guy who's piss-poor with really nice things around him, I'll show you the guy that's on that list that's worried about being number one. And [the person] won't stay there , trust me.”

^ …..”call me 'one' next year….” Really 5-0? REALLLLY? And yeah, I hear your issue about the accomplishment to be on the FORBES list, but that's like saying what doggy would be mad to get SIGNED to Interscope? Call Wale, Charles Hamilton and the rest of those other doggies. And I pulled that quote, doggies, to say this. If you really believe everything coming out of this Gorilla-Doggy's mouth, then why when you have the PROOF right in front of your eyes that he's speaking bullsh*t, do you continue to DEFEND and VOUCH for this clown? SMH………

2. The New Def Jam Records

Go ahead doggies, consider my words “STFU” Honors material, but at least hear me out first. Baby is the NEW Russell Simmons. Whether y'all want to admit it or just skip over this to peep this week's Mrs. Butterworth (she's juicy, too!), you cannot deny how powerful Cash Money Records is becoming. And let's stop lying, we all KNOW Young Money is the same company, don't get sh*t twisted thinking Nicki Minaj is not technically a Cash Money Records artist. Everybody, and I do mean everybody, wants to be Cash Money affiliated more than ever right now. But first up, Shyne ?

“I might do that. I'm not sure,” Shyne said about possibly releasing an album on Cash Money. “We're still finishing the fine points and negotiating that . Maybe I'll come with something six months later, [maybe] every six months. I've got so much to say, you dig? I don't think I can answer all the questions on one album. So I definitely think we can put out two different albums on the same day at the end of the year, then come back with a third one or another double set six months later. Get all this sh*it off my chest.”

^ So this doggy wants to drop an album on Def Jam AND Cash Money Records. SMFH…even though we think he has turned into straight a** since getting out of prison, especially after 5-0 pranked the h*ll out of him last week, you can't lie, having Shyne drop something on Cash Money would be a GOOD LOOK. Let's be honest, doggies, Bow Wow and Jay Sean are cool but haven't even an ounce of street credibility to their names. Shyne on CM would be like when 5-0 recruited Game to G-Unit. Just to add another element. But even bigger than that? Recruiting Bizzy Bone ? WTF?

“ Cash Money , Young Money and such labels as this know how to treat a artist ,” Bizzy said in a statement. “Whether the artist has been in the industry for a decade or brand new to the system. They (Cash Money, Young Money, G Unit etc.) respect the artist position and know how to market and promote a top caliber artist(s) .”

^ Whether Bizzy Bone is just kissing a** to get Baby's attention or really feels like Cash Money is a hot label, this is f*cking amazing that he's upping a company that has been publicly sh*tted on by producers like Jim Jonsin and Bangladesh .

Need an explanation for all this, doggies? Well, even though I planned on featuring this in the “STFU” Honors section, Baby pretty much lays out the formula for why CMB is out-doing the industry:

“I look at that sh*t as we went through war and we sustained the weather and we stood in the fog ,” Baby said in an interview. “Even when muthaf*ckas counted us out, we stood up and we manned up. We did everything we had to , to get where we're at today. I think God gives it to ya when he feels you're ready for it. It took us a long time ; we had to go through a lot of changes. A lot of obstacles, losses, gains . I just think right now we're so great at this sh*t. We got so many young n*ggas who look at me andWayne and what we've accomplished. You see the hunger [that] Drake and all the rest of those little n*ggas [have] because they're reaching for those stories . We work like n*ggas who never made a dollar and I think that's impressive to them. That makes them go harder. Those little n*ggas got promising futures.”

^ D*mn, hate it or love it, Baby has a point. No other label has hotter artists, mainstream artists and, most importantly, SELLING artists. Not familiar with the Def Jam/Russell Simmons' 1990′s days? Just think DMX , Jay-Z, EPMD, Ja Rule, Redman, Method Man and all those other motherf*ckers from Def Jam Vendetta . LOL. The list runs long, doggies, for CM going with Lil Wayne, Cool & Dre, Bow Wow, possibly Shyne/Bizzy Bone/ Sean Garrett / Freeway / DJ Khaled, Jay Sean, Kevin Rudolph and the Young Money roster…so don't sleep on this squad.

3. The Day The Earth Stood Still

Doggies and b*tches (female dogs, doggies) alike, it is true. Nicki Minaj is the hottest artist out. When Kanye West said it, I kinda shrugged but when the f*cking Associated Press interviews rap doggies about what THEY think about her? SMFH. It's bigger than her just being a “good” female rapper. She is THE rapper out right now. Doggies might shrug too but her buzz is bigger than Drake. Her following is bigger than Drake. (Do the math doggies, she hit that million follower mark weeks before Frogger). Even though I hate her album title, Pink Friday , she has even given herself months to do whatever changes she feels necessary. Anyway, getting to the point at hand, here's why your favorite artists are f*cking with this Barbie :

Pharrell

“I think since Nicki came out there's going to be a lot of new girls coming out. There's always one that paves the way and opens the door [and] I think she reopened the door to hip-hop for females.”

Ludacris

“Now that you have somebody that has pretty much her own style and does her own thing, people are gravitating toward it, so I think that makes her stick out 'cause she's so different.”

5-0 Cent

“There's not as many female rappers because there's not as many emerging crews. When those new crews come up, there's a potential for a female artist when the head of that crew sees the idea of bringing someone to speak from a female perspective.”

Eva

“Even though Nicki is representing for females period, she's not representing for every female. She's a specific type of entertainer. There are a lot of different kind of men out there representing for the males, and you need a lot of different females that represent for the different kinds of females. … Honestly, between [Lauryn Hill] and me and Nicki being out there, hopefully a lot of other females will be coming up.”

Queen Latifah

“Part of the reason hip-hop was dead is because there weren't any female emcees out, really like in the forefront of hip-hop, playing on the radio, in the daytime, every day.”

SMFH. F*ck it doggies, “It's Butters Barbie, b*ttttttttch!!!!” CO-SIGNED.

4. Mrs. Butterworth: Dela Monet

Doggies, I have yet to fail y'all at this point and once again Bulldog Butters has come through with the most juicy Mrs. Butterworth we have seen thus far, Dela Monet. Now she is on the come-up, so there isn'ta rack of pics out there for us, but we got a solid stack to peep this week. Even though some complain that a** and t*ts don't get more exposure here, I would hope that y'all could at least find some dark corner of your parent's basement and find something worthy of posting in here. F*ck it, why do I bother to type, here's what y'all have been waiting for:

Bonus Video, Doggies:

5. “STFU” Honors

LMFAO! D*mn, sometimes it's even hard for me to begin this section doggies b/c I know what is going to be said. Easily the most hilarious “Shut The F*ck Up” Honors material of the week but even better is when you take away my bolded font and really look at what these doggies are saying. SMFH. Comparing a Little Weasel to the best pop singer of all-time? Or what about saying rappers need second chances after their careers are completely destroyed, and actually comparing your horrible a** sales today to someone out-selling you. SMFH. Not impressed? Well, then imagine some fat rapper not including the TWO BEST MC'S OF ALL-TIME in their top five list or a lying a** wannabe groupie thinking a rap magazine feature is the equivalent of getting tossed up in a TIME piece. SMFH. Doggies, it's that time. Feast your eyes:

1. Baby

“When Wayne comes home he lifts everybody's spirits, he lifts everybody's value, he lifts the brand, he lifts everything. Wayne is gonna be the biggest artist in music, not just in hip-hop; in music. It's some Michael Jackson sh*t right here goin' on right before our eyes…He's a beast; he went back to that raw rappin'. That n*gga still be impressin' me with his music.”

2. Ja Rule

“Yeah, I'm starting to now see people that may have hated on me in the beginning are not rooting for me and want to see me win,” Rule explained in an interview. “That to me is big. The best part about it is I'm humbled by it all. I feel like everybody deserves a second chance to do whatever. Really, I feel that my situation was an unfair situation. A very unique, very pretty odd album situation. Nobody ever seen anything like that in hip-hop, you know? I laugh when I see people say sh*t like, ' Yo, [50 Cent] kilt Rule , but he didn't kill [Rick] Ross.' No disrespect to Ross, but he did 180-something [first week sales of Teflon Don]. I went platinum with [2004's] RULE after I made [2003's] Blood In My Eye. I look at sh*t like that and… I don't know, take it how you want to take it. I was a much bigger selling artist than just platinum so I guess that's why people felt I took a hit. But the music industry was taking a hit at that time, too. You can't really judge it or try to make an issue out of it, or an excuse. It just is what it is.”

3. Fat Joe

“That's a hard question to answer,” Joe told DJ Vlad when asked who his top five favorite artists were. “I would say Big Pun , I would say KRS-One , umm, I would say Kanye West. Yeah, I would say Kanye West, umm, it changes every day. I can't really answer that question you told me. I would go with Lil Wayne . That's four. Then I like this combination, Dr. Dre and Snoop [Dogg] combination. If I could put them as one, that would be like, my top five and half. Big and Pac are up there too, a million percent but when you ask somebody who's their top five, they gotta tell you who 'their' top five is. You can't always say Big and Pac. We know they're the greatest, we know they're the best, we know all that. And listen, it changes every day, my favorite rappers of all-time and my favorite rappers now.”

4. TI

“I pushed the album back so I can completely focus my attention to the rollout and release of this film Takers ,” he said. “I feel it wouldn't be fair to the film or the album if I was splitting my attention span amongst the two, so I hit pause on the album to completely focus my attention to rolling out this here film. And once we prayerfully debut No. 1–25-plus, 20-plus million–then after those bottles have been popped and that celebration [is] underway, I will completely resubmerge myself back into the music, fully on album mode.”

5. Kat Stacks

“When I first made the Internet blog, I regretted it, because everybody stopped talking to me ,” Stacks revealed in the interview. “But as I got bigger in time , bigger names and muthaf*ckas in the game, they all started getting at me . It just upgraded my career . Now I don't gotta go work . I don't gotta do sh*t. All I gotta do is show up at a [club] and get paid [for appearances] I don't regret it anymore . The first time I did it, I was like, 'D*mn, why the f*ck I did this sh*t? Because I was drunk? Just to embarrass muthaf*ckas?' I didn't expect to get money out of it. Now these muthaf*ckas keep f*ckin' with me, so I'm gonna continue to do Kat Stacks. “

^ Just for you Kat:

***D*mn doggies, final weeks of summer, can y'all believe it? F*ck it though, I like that NY cold weather and the hoody's out. Turns out all that rap beef sh*t just died out, with Waka Flocka/Gucci Mane, Rick Ross/Young Jeezy and Nelly/The Mask. LOL. No hot albums out, no blockbuster movies out…nah doggies, “The Lottery” doesn't count, and no more rap b*tches going after Nicki Minaj anymore. Any excuses/reasons? Well, it's dark and h*'ll's hot, so I'm hopping in the pool bathtub doggies. See y'all on Tuesday with that Waka Flocka Flame/LeBron James sh*t! LOL!!!!!!!! -BB***

Kenny Chesney 's new album “Hemingway's Whiskey” isn't out until Sept. 28, but the Country chart-topper gave Billboard an in-depth preview, discussing the record's 11 songs track by track, and in the process revealing how he sees himself in his fans, his thoughts on being like a “modern day pirate,” finding inspiration in the dentist's chair, and why duet partner Grace Potter is “a hell of a singer.”

The Kenny Chesney Billboard Cover Story

1. “Boys Of Fall”
(Casey Beathard/Dave Turnbull)

Kenny Chesney: “Boys Of Fall” is a perfect description of how I grew up and where I grew up. That song meant so much to me and I thought, 'Wow, there's a lot of kids out there and a lot of people that have that feeling in their lives.' There's a line in the song that says, “In little towns like mine, that's all we got.” And that's the way it was in East Tennessee, and still is. I've got a lot of guys from East Tennessee out on the road [with me] that grew up the same way, and I played them that song when [writer] Casey Beathard gave me the CD of just him on a guitar playing it. I made everybody come on the bus and said “listen to this.” I knew we had something that was very common.  A lot of people that listen to my music and that are passionate about what we do out on the road… I've been pretty perceptive over the years, and I think that we kind of grew up the same way. I see myself a lot in my fans, and I think vice versa. I hope so anyway.”

2. “Live A Little (Love A Lot)”
(Shane Minor/David Lee Murphy)

Chesney: “That song is what I try to live by. When I heard 'Live A Little (Love A Lot),' that's pretty much the definitive sound we create out on the road. If there's a predictable song on the record, for me, this might be it. And I don't think that's a negative, either. I think this song is going to be awesome in concert. I think it defines me — anybody out there that gives to anything — a lot. I work really hard, I give everything to this, I've given my life to this. But so does the guy that's a CEO for some company. I'm addicted to 'Deadliest Catch.' Those guys, they don't have a life; that's what they do. They can relate to that, 'I've got to get off this boat and live a little.' That's why I think that song matters.”

3. “Coastal”
(Michael Mobley/Wendell Mobley/Neil Thrasher)

Chesney: “When I was a kid we were very lower-middle class. We weren't poor, but we didn't have a lot of extra money to go places. So when we went on vacation, we packed the car up and we drove to Myrtle Beach. Or we drove to Daytona. Or we went to the Redneck Riviera: Panama City, Gulf Shores or Destin. And I still love that. That song is for everybody that grew up like I did. It's a beach song, but it's a Redneck Kenny song. These people work for a living. Like he says in the song, 'No more building transmissions, he's going deep sea fishin'.' I love that line. That's my family, that's my friends. That's my cousins. That's my audience.”

4. “You And Tequila” (featuring Grace Potter)
(Matraca Berg/Deana Carter)

Chesney: “This song makes me believe in music even more. I'd never met Grace Potter until she came into the studio. She grew up in the woods in Vermont. I grew up in the woods in East Tennessee. We come from completely worlds, different backgrounds, probably religious beliefs, we haven't talked about it. I don't know what her political beliefs are, I don't know nothing about any of that. I know she's a great person and I know that she is a hell of a singer. I heard her voice and I knew I would love to sing with her one day. I didn't know it would be on this, or this soon.

“At the end of 2007, I rented a house North of Malibu, Calif., for about two months. I was exhausted, I didn't want to talk to anybody, I didn't want to listen to music, I just wanted to be still for a minute. Every day I would drive close in to Santa Monica, meet some friends, eat dinner, and I'd drive back up the PCH with the windows down. That time of year is really chilly, I'd watch the sun set. It's beautiful, I loved it. I would turn on the radio every now and then and I would hear these songs. I heard an Eagles song, I don't even remember what the song was. But I remember thinking, 'Wow, I think I like music again.'

“When I heard 'You and Tequila,' it put me in that spot. That's when I thought of Grace, because I listened to her music a lot on the boat, a lot on the bus, her live record especially. She has a song called 'Apology' that still kills me. I got in touch with her and sent her the song, I had already recorded it. She called back the next day and said “I want to make this happen.” When she came in and we put our voices together, wow.  I love the song, Matraca and Deana wrote it, but, boy, it's relatable, so universal. To have Grace on it, that will be with me forever.”

5. “Seven Days A Thousand Times”
(Lee Brice/Billy Montana/Jon Stone)

Chesney: “To me, when I heard that song it was like 'Anything But Mine,' chapter two. It was like the next phase of that guy's life. I know I have that person in my life, and I think everybody's got that person in their life, that they were with a short time and had no idea the impact that short time would have on them. No matter how you live, no matter where you go in your life, no matter who you're with later on, those seven days or that little time frame that you're with them made more of an impact than you even knew at the time. I think that's very powerful and that's what this song's about.”

6. “Small Ya'll” (duet with George Jones )
(Bobby Braddock)

Chesney: “Here's what happened on 'Small Ya'll': George Jones cut that song a long time ago. I had his version in my truck for about three years and it never came out of my six-CD changer. I got into a little routine where I'd fly home after shows and fly back out the next day because I thought it was giving me more rest, until I realized it was only exhausting me more. But, I would land about 1:30-2 o'clock in the morning, depending on where I was playing, and I had about a 30-minute drive home. It would be the middle of summer and I'd roll down the windows to keep me awake and I'd crank up 'Small Ya'll' as loud as I could. No matter how tired I was or if I was in a bad mood or whatever, that song always brought me to center, mentally. It made me smile.

“And as fun-sounding as that song is, it's got an incredible message to it. What Bobby wrote about makes you think, it really does. It's a very well-written, deep lyric. I love that song, and the fact George is on it with me. I really do believe that there's a generation out there now that doesn't realize the genius of George Jones. And I felt like I had the opportunity to educate them just a little bit. It's as country of a song as I've cut in a while, too. It felt good, to be honest with you. It felt natural.”

7. “Where I Grew Up”
(Ashley Gorley/Kelley Lovelace/Neil Thrasher)

Chesney: “I haven't had one of these songs in a while. 'Where I Grew Up' is a song that you really look for, you hope you get three or four of them in a career. And I've been lucky to have three or four of them. This is me. I've been in every scenario in this song. I remember as a kid writing in one of my buddy's yearbook, “I hope we never grow up.” And I try in lots of ways to make that philosophy come true, but then again you realize in some ways I already had. My grandfather died when I was a kid, and I grew  up a little bit. I think this song teaches us that there are things in our lives that force us to grow up.

8. “Reality”
(Kenny Chesney/Brett James)

Chesney: “I got the idea to write 'Reality' in the dentist's chair. I'm sitting there with a gas mask on. There were a couple of years that I was so busy on the road I was kinda numb. I wasn't really tired, I wasn't really not tired, I wasn't really happy, I was just kind of numb. So I'd go to the dentist to have something done and they'd put that gas mask on me and I'd be like, 'Wow, that's as relaxed as I've been in years!' I thought to myself, 'This is why people smoke pot right here! This is it!' I don't smoke pot, but this is why people do it, I guarantee you. Because it gets them away from reality. I even asked my dentist, 'I just want to come over here and sit some time, can you guys do that?' He said, 'We can't do that, we'd get in trouble.' I swear, I started writing that song on the way home. But then I related it to everybody that comes to see us. That's what live music is. It's an escape from reality. That's why as a kid I loved it. I still love going to shows, I love live music. That's where I got the idea to write the song, it's my message to the fans that it's OK to break free and escape reality, with us.”

9. “Round And Round”
(Scotty Emerick/Paul Overstreet/Even Stevens)

Chesney: “'Round and Round' is very different for me, melodically and production-wise. I think everybody, whether it's your job or your love life, whatever it is, there's a certain complacency that we get, the internal voice saying it might be better somewhere else, or I'm kinda sick of what I'm doing now I might want to try this or that. This song is telling us we should enjoy the right now, enjoy the moment. I think everybody searches for that certain balance and tries to quiet those thoughts in their head that they've got to be constantly moving, need to go somewhere, do this, be with somebody else. It's like all those characters in the song. The guy that lives in the mountains wants to go to the beach and the guy on the beach wants to live in the mountains. The message of the song is you've got to enjoy the moment as much as you possible can.”

10. “Somewhere With You”
(JT Harding/Shane McAnally)

Chesney: “This song killed me when I heard it. This is a tortured soul song. If you get going with somebody, you've been in a relationship and for whatever reason she's gone or you're gone. And you're not necessarily in another relationship, but you're with somebody else, just starting something with somebody else. Trying to balance both those worlds is tough. I've done it a lot, where you're with somebody and you're thinking this isn't necessarily bad, but wow, man it would be really great to be with you. That can be a lot of mental baggage.”

11. “Hemingway's Whiskey”
(Guy Clark/Ray Stephenson/Joe Leathers)

Chesney: “My favorite book ever is “The Old Man and the Sea.” Those two characters in that book remind me of the relationship I had with my grandfather. It was an important one. I've been asked many times, on many different occasions, if there was one person you'd want to sit and have a beer with, living or dead, who would it be? And it would probably be Ernest Hemingway. He's traveled, he's met all these wonderful characters, he's written about them, he's loved, he's lost love, he's lived with regret, he's lived with depression, he's lived with so much stuff. Why wouldn't you want to have a beer and pick his brain… on a good day? And he loved life.

“When I saw the title on a Guy Clark record, I was curious. I wonder what that means, wonder what he's talking about? And I listened to it, and it's a celebration of how he kind of walked between the raindrops. I do that a lot. I've spent a lot of time on my boat down in the Keys and over in Bimini and the Bahamas, and those are all places where he hung out. I haven't been to Cuba yet. But when I heard this song, it just took me to those places. It took me to a state of mind. I love that part of the song where it says, “Sail away, sail away, three sheets to the wind/live hard, die hard, this one's for him.” Because I do, I live a pretty fast life. Even though I'm very healthy and regimented in my diet and everything, we live hard. We don't live as hard as the guys on “Deadliest Catch,” now they live hard. But we're in a different place every day, we're a lot like modern day pirates. So I get what that line is. It's not about being drunk at all. It's about being pedal to the metal. When I heard that line, it about killed me. I felt this pretty odd album kinship to that song.

“I don't know what I'd ask Hemingway if I had a beer with him. We'd have to have whiskey, I guess.”