You and Me by Rod Smith is an inspiring article about intimacy that I read in the Sunday Times months ago. I really wanted to share his inspirational words with you.

You and Me by Rod Smith

Lay aside the commonly held connection of intimacy and sexual behaviour. See it as an essential platform for a meaningful relationship. Intimacy occurs when I let you into my head, heart and reality without fearing that you will disapprove of what you see. I let you in and my hope is that you will love and accept me. I don’t want you to rummage around, judge my thoughts or be startled. I don’t want you to rearrange the furniture or paint the walls.

We discover intimacy when you enter my world and behave as a valued, respectful guest. You are a guest, not a consultant, interior decorator or demolition expert. I want you to know me so you can treasure me, understand me and enjoy me – so don’t try to change or fix me.

Authentic intimacy (there is no other kind) is not easy. You have to know yourself really well, possess a high degree of self-acceptance and self-love. In the event that you do not love and accept yourself, the moment you enter my world the experience will be so unsettling for you that you will either take an emotional hike or you will feel like you have to be a missionary or nurse and fix whatever I show you.

• Rod Smith is a family therapist who lives in the US. Email rod@difficultrelationships.com

STARBARIANS: A Happy Friday cartoon by Harry Partridge

I don't know if I've ever mentioned Harry Partridge on this blog before but he has to be one of the best comedic animators of 2012. His video Starbarians made me shoot tea out of my nose the first time I watched it. It has almost reached 1 million views in 6 months but Starbarians has already been translated into several different languages.

And that's just one episode! It's obvious that Starbarians would become a hit cult of it became a whole series! So I guess this is a plea for more episodes of Starbarians! Harry Partridge, if you're listening, this series could rock the very balls of the animated universe. I'm just saying...

Starbarians - Episode 1 (with hopefully more to follow)

Other Harry Partridge classics include Hal the Misinterpretive Porn Star, The Justin Bieber Show, Stephen the Lesbian and a whole whack of delightfully humoured music videos (of sorts). Check out his Happy Harry Toons YouTube Channel for more.

More Happy Friday Videos (animated):

• Albi The Racist Dragon
• Doraleous & Associates
• New Fat Pie cartoon by David Firth

THE MOVEMBER SONG: Another Happy Friday parody video

Movember has begun! Ready, set, grow! The boys who brought us Braai Day and the South African Car Guard Song have created another parody video to tickle our funny bones. Here's The Movember Song by the sickeningly talented Derick Watts and the Sunday Blues!

The Movember Song - Derick Watts & The Sunday Blues
(Carly Rae Jepsen - "Call Me Maybe" Parody)

Some splurb from YouTube:

The band have created this video to help further the real purpose of Movember: educating men & raising awareness about prostate & testicular cancer, helping them to take control of their health whilst raising much-needed funds for the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA).

"We wanted to show our support for the Movember cause, which we have supported privately for quite a few years now," said Derick Watts member, Gareth Allison. "Not everyone seems to realise that there is a real meaning behind this month of magnificent "snors", and we just wanted to help contribute this year in the best way we know how - comedy!"

To find out how to get involved this Movember (either by growing some face-grass of your own or by donating), visit www.movember.com

Some splurb from the Derick Watts website:

To help spread the word, Derick Watts & The Sunday Blues have created an official group on the Movember website, where anyone can join and show their support and solidarity for this cause. Members of this group can donate to Movember through the group itself, as well as encourage their friends and colleagues to grow a manly, hairy, glorious moustache for a worthwhile reason.

Ladies, there's no need to feel excluded: you're also welcome! Women can also join the group and become a "Mo Sista" and show their support for their hairy compatriots. You can find out more about Mo Sistas here.

More from Derick Watts & the Sunday Blues:

• The Car Guard Song
• Braaiday – Rebecca Black “Friday” Parody

HAPPY FRIDAY: Prepare to feel (and LOL)

This is fantastic. The comedy duo band, Flight of the Conchords, have put together this charity song for sick kids to raise money. The song, called “Feel Inside (and stuff like that)", is freely download-able off YouTube, but donations are encouraged.

Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement – also known as the Rhymenocerous and the Hiphopopotamus - are possibly the funniest creatures in New Zealand. Did you know that Brett wrote the songs for the Muppets and plays a little elf in Lord of the Rings?

Flight of the Conchords - Feel Inside (and stuff like that)

The Flight of the Conchords brought us musical gems such as “A Kiss is Not a Contract”, “Pencils in the Wind” and “Albi the Racist Dragon”. They also did a charity drive in one of their shows in aid of epileptic dogs.

The video above is a bit of a mini episode of their two season show Flight of the Conchords, but I highly recommend watching it through to the end when they sing Feel Inside with some well-known celebs!

** More Happy Friday Posts! **

Madam & Eve's South African Olympic Events

The creators of Madam & Eve have come up with their version of South African Olympic Events - featuring epic feats of endurance, such as The Limpopo Textbook Toss, the 200m Pothole Hurdles and the 4 x 100 Million Government Tender Relay!

Happy Friday !

HAPPY FRIDAY: 9 of the best lols from 9GAG!

If you're a hipster (or just conventionally cool) you will have heard of 9GAG – the “just for fun” website. On 9GAG you can basically scroll down the page forever and enter into a timeless vortex of hilarity. 9GAG consists of a huge chunk of everything that has ever been considered as a meme on the Internet.

I was recently stuck in an airport and spent about 3 hours straight on 9GAG. I saved a few of my favourites and present my totally biased and opinionated version of the best of 9GAG.

The Best of 9GAG

Country Balls

The poor Germans have it rough. Not only do many of our favourite computer games constantly remind us of what bastards Hitler and his Nazi regime were, but the world still seems kak-scared of them taking over and putting us all on a diet of bratwurst and beer for some reason. Strange. I'm down with that.

Boogey Man

I'm sure most of us shared this phobia as sproglets (that's hipster-speak for "children" btw ... and that's an acronym for "by the way").

Cats lol

Out of the plethora of cat memes or "lolcats" on the web, this has to be one of my favourites. Same goes for this Chuck Norris gag below!

Chuck Norris makes a baby

Toilet Humour

Deep?

The best comic strip I've ever seen posted on 9GAG. I literally ROFLed!

Dragonborn tag

Salomonic Physics

This last one isn't for gags but is rather touching I thought. It's especially moving if you love dogs and aren't a soul-less robot with the inability to feel. This is how 9GAG rolls - by mixing in humour with food for thought and adding a dash of LMAOnaise. Click on over to 9GAG again sometime and catch up. Or get stuck in an airport with a laptop and free wi-fi.

Puppy love

HAPPY FRIDAY VIDEOS: Where the Hell is Matt? 2012

I have something very special for you today. If you have been wondering where the hell Matt Harding has been since his Where the Hell is Matt 2008 video, well he's back! Back with a new colourful dance rendition from around the world.

Matt Harding has trekked half the globe and danced with different peoples from around the world. If ever you feel that your faith in humanity is somewhat dwindling, give one of his videos a watch. If you're not a robot, you might just be reduced to tears. It really is moving stuff.

So without any further ado, here is Where the Hell is Matt 2012. Try watch in full-screen if you can - the quality really is top-notch. Enjoy!

Where the Hell is Matt? 2012