Personal & Nonsensical
it’s a small world … no more
Mar 6th
Sad day for Disney fans.
For any of you who have gone to DisneyWorld/Land/wherever and had “it’s a small world” running around in your head forever (and swore at whoever wrote that frickin’ song) this is for you.
Unfortunately the songwriter (or ½ the team) passed away.
Robert Sherman. After WW2 Robert joined with his younger brother Richard to form a songwriting team and in 1958 they became staff songwriters for the Disney studio. They composed “it’s a small world” for Disney’s It’s a Small World attraction at the 1964 New York World’s Fair and, as the song remained uncopyrighted at the request of Unicef, is most likely the most widely known of all their work (and probably the most aggravating).
Anyway.
I would venture to guess his name is not a household name but here is why you should take a minute and bid him a farewell:
The songs in Mary Poppins: chim-chim-chiree, feed the birds (the underrated song in the movie), supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, spoonful of sugar (and others)
The songs in Jungle Book (of which every frickin’ song is amazing): I want to be like you, trust in me, bare necessities (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ogQ0uge06o)
And those 2 movies remain two of the greatest movies of all time (animated or non animated).
In addition.
Bedknobs & Broomsticks, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the Aristocats, Winnie the Pooh … all had his songs in them (among many others).
Part of what made Disney movies so magical, and timeless, were the songs. You could sing along … hum along … be a part of the movie. And. It all created memories. Good stuff.
The Guardian has an excellent tribute with links to songs: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2012/mar/06/disney-robert-sherman
Every once in a while I want to give a shout out to some great memories and the people who brought them to us.
Thanks for some great memories Robert.
Colonel Hathi Elephant March (Jungle Book): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrQQZuLru9s
wasted or not
Feb 20th
Well.
Who would have thought Whitney Houston dying would make me write 2 posts? (not me)
And, while I’m not weeping over her death, I certainly respect her talent and how good she was at her craft.
But. What I do weep over is the fact it seems like when someone like Whitney Houston dies people start blathering about her addictions and shortcomings … and inevitably you see the comment “what a waste.”
Or.
“A sad waste of a great talent with a once in a lifetime voice.”
Well.
Was her life a waste? Really? C’mon.
The woman had more brilliant moments to take with her to her grave then most of us will ever dream of in a lifetime (so the whole “wasted” thing kind of aggravates me).
And as I noted when she passed away … why should we judge her based on her flaws (as if we don’t have any) and by our expectations … but rather by her legacy as a singer?
I admit.
It drives me a little crazy when people start questioning what her legacy will be … for a singer admired for her amazing vocals, but who also battled drug and alcohol addictions that generated tabloid fodder of her health, marriage issues and finances?
Surprisingly (to me) one of the best Whitney articles was written by a Pravda writer (and one who typically almost makes me scream & throw things with his often skewed slightly absurd opinions): http://english.pravda.ru/society/showbiz/13-02-2012/120486-whitney_houston-0/
In addition. 
I was also slightly surprised, among the spectacle someone calls her funeral, that Kevin Costner stepped up to the plate with a really nice articulation of what I imagine all these famous, talented, people face … insecurities of “am I good enough.” And the day to day neverending subtle, and sometimes not so subtle in today’s world, are you god enough questioning. It has to take its toll.
That is no excuse for how Whitney handled it (the well publicized flaws) nor how anyone handles it. But. In the end. We can only hope all the baggage that people are focusing on evaporates and what’s left behind will be is a focus on a spectacular career of work and music.
There was also a nice tribute from Lenny Kravitz as he was performing the night after she passed away.
Intro. To Push by Lenny Kravitz: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQaTUg1JSw8
(side note: Craig Ross is the guitar player you always see by Lenny’s side – not only is he an incredible guitar player, and showman, he write/co writes the music. Are you Gonna Go my Way was his repetitive riff and the solo. Same thing for Is There any Love in Your Heart and My Love. He, and Lenny, is awesome in concert if you ever have the opportunity to see them).
Ok. Back to Whitney.
Separating the legacy from the lurid isn’t easy. “I’d like to say her incredible voice will trump all in how she’s remembered,” says Yahoo music’s Chris Willman. “Unfortunately, with a lot of entertainers who come to tragic ends, it becomes hard to appreciate their art or how it was intended, without thinking of the tragedy of their lives.”
Anyway.
I wish two things.
First is that people celebrate her life & talent and not focus on tragedy we may associate with her life. oh. And the spectacle ends.
Second.
Mainly because I cannot believe I wrote two things about Whitney Houston.
Because she was just one. And every day approximately 151,650 people die in the world.
It boggles my mind the amount of loss experienced every single day. Its not just the 151+ thousand but the ripples of people affected by each loss.
Maybe part of Whitney’s legacy is that it should remind us all of someone’s loss somewhere that happens every day.
That number I gave you makes one wonder just how many stories are not covered and discussed. Yet, each is maybe just as important as Whitney’s.
I guess maybe when one really special voice like this leaves us it should make us all think of the imperfection perfection of life.
And remember each and every one imperfect soul not as imperfect … but as perfect in their own way. And that there are another 151649 stories not being told that day.
whitney
Feb 12th
48 and gone. Maybe it is the age. Maybe it is the fact she was ‘the voice’ of a generation.
Whitney also seemed to embody some of the issues this generation has with the famous. Whitney was famously talented. And in the spotlight she was sometimes famously lacking.
Just because she was a star people wanted her to be perfect. And expected her to be the smartest and the most responsible person.
We forget that she had a talent. And was, frankly, a stunningly attractive women. But she wasn’t a math professor or a literature student. She was a singer. An amazingly talented singer but …. just a singer. And if she fell short at any time in her generation’s eyes it wasn’t because of anything she did but rather the unrealistic expectations we had for her.
Where she never fell short of expectations?
That voice.
She will remain one the greatest voices and in our limited attention deficit world we seem to live in I believe we tend to forget the Super Bowl national anthem Whitney sang in 1991 as our soldiers fought Desert Storm. Her delivery is effortless (which is kind of amazing in itself). And when her voice rose up to sing “the rockets red glare” I am fairly sure all of America got goosebumps:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupsPg5H6aE&feature=related
While it may have been one of the best renditions of the national anthem (and extremely difficult song to sing) but the moment … the time … the impact of the delivery … for that one moment in time Whitney wasn’t just the voice of America … she embodied America … a flawed person with amazing talent. I cannot think of a better description of America. I am not sure I can come up with a better legacy for Whitney.
I didn’t always like her music but I never tired of hearing her sing.
48.
Whew. That seems too young.
the wine glasses
Feb 12th
So.
A 20something (a delightful quirky young lady named Nicole) wrote a hysterical post about huge wine glasses and cheap (excuse me … “inexpensive”) wine. I laughed my ass off when I read it.
But here’s the deal.
I gave these wine glasses to a couple of my best friends about 10 years ago or so.
And we aren’t even close to being 20somethings. And probably not even close to being as funny as Nicole. But pretty funny after drinking an entire bottle of wine in one glass.
My friends really do love their wine.
And they love a
good bottle of inexpensive wine (although they do draw the line on boxed wine).
And they absolutely love the fact they could drink an entire bottle in one glass (don’t we all?).
This couple are awesome at the art of entertaining and having fun. And before the humongous wine glasses I had searched high and low for the world’s largest martini glass for them (and I am not sure they even like martinis). I believe part of entertainment is the ‘show.’ The acroutrements as some may say.
Anyway. If it is fun and spectacular and has to do with entertaining it is perfect for my 50something friends (although I believe they would like 20something Nicole but they already have a pretty outrageous amazing daughter).
Anyway.
I am kind of a wine snob (ok. maybe I wish I could afford to be more snobby but I scoff at a cheap bottle of wine before inhaling a bottle or two of it). But my good friends have mastered the art & science of finding excellent wine under $10. Although. I do admit that after you are on your, say, third bottle of wine and shooting the shit anything tastes fucking awesome.
But. Maybe these wine glasses could be used to benefit … well … say … monkeys for example. Maybe even monkeys in Russia.
Yeah. No shit. Why? Well. Monkeys drink red wine in Russia to stay warm (frankly I didn’t even know Russia had monkeys).
There is a zoo in Karaganda Russia that gives its monkeys hot red wine.
“Monkeys get warm with the help of the wine drink. We take a bottle of “Kagor” red wine, add some apples, lemon, sugar and simmer for a while.” – Svetlana Pilyuk (a spokeswoman for the zoo).
Apparently the monkeys enjoy the hot wine drink a lot (hmmmmmmmm … isn’t that stating the obvious). “This is normal international practice. During the cold time of the year, when we plan to take the animals to a different zoo, or when we have to transfer them from summer to winter enclosures, employees give them something sedative. Most likely, they give them the “Kagor” red wine, which is widely used in Orthodox churches. This is normal practice in all zoos of the world. In their natural habitats, apes also consume alcohol-containing plants that can relax their nervous system”. There you go. Red wine for monkeys.
I say we ship them some of these wine glasses for the monkeys winter health.
So, anyway, why this post (beyond being able to use the monkey drinking wine factoid and writing about the fact I have friends who can drink an entire bottle of wine from one glass).
All of a sudden I began replacing the 20something s perspective and replacing it with say a 50something perspective and I started laughing so hard my sides hurt. I am not sure I will ever look at my friends the same again. They must be eternally 20somethings at heart. And don’t we all wish we had at least a thread of that youth in later years. Joie de Vivre?
And it reminded me how things loop around in life especially if you remain young at heart.
And I think it is good to look at our own actions through the eyes of a completely different generation. And see the common aspects, the scary aspects and the perspective aspects.
Awesome post from Nicole. I can learn a lot from her. I think we all could.
Ok.
There are some things we old folk probably should just ignore with Nicole (you will see if you read her stuff … although she is an excellent little writer and … it is fun stuff).
Oh. If you REALLY want to see a large wineglass visit Japan.
This is awesome (but they don’t have monkeys drinking wine).
sauced
Feb 8th
So.
Urban dictionary should be bookmarked by everyone. It is a priceless source for priceless sayings (and insures us old folk can keep track of the new folk slang).
Why do I bring up the Urban Dictionary?
Well.
Knowshon Moreno (Denver Broncos running back and proud University of Georgia Bulldog graduate) gets pulled over for a DUI in Denver while driving a Bentley convertible with personalized license plates that read “SAUCED.”
Yeah. You read that right. SAUCED.
Oh. Not only was he drunk but he was driving 70 mph in a 45-mph and didn’t have insurance.
Ok.
But let me get back to SAUCED.
I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something (like why would you have personalized plates that suggested you constantly drove around drunk). I wanted to see if ‘sauced’ meant something like ‘rad’ or ‘totally’ or ‘I am awesome’ in today’s vernacular.
With that … I went to Urban Dictionary which always sets me straight after I talk with a yong person in the office (let alone in any high school).
Here is what they had to offer … oh … and it is actually when I got to #4 that I think I understand the license plate (and laughed out loud):
Knowshon not suaced
1. sauced (personal)
sauced: to be so drunk all you can think about is how drunk you are .. “i was supremely sauced at the party” or “I’m sauced bitches.”
2. sauced (descriptive verb)
Having too much to drink.
To be very drunk. Similar words: plastered, hammered, shitfaced, trashed … “my mom is sauced after that party” or “Dude, you were so sauced last night that you passed out on the floor”
3. sauced (descriptive adjective)
- To be shotdown or owned, often an exclamation … “I totally failed that test; I was sauced like none other.”
4. Sauced
(v.) an interjection used when a bout of bad luck has fallen upon someone, or when somebody is hurt, defeated, or is clearly about to catch herpes. primarily used and popularized in Eastern Massachusetts, more specifically in the village of Winthrop By The Sea.
Person A: “I heard billy got herpes from her at that party”
Person B: “SAUCED”
There you go.
Either Knowshon knows someone who has herpes and got the license plate as a joke or … well … maybe the Bentley has herpes.
Oddly (in an odd twist of rationale) … let’s hope it is this rather than driving around drunk with a SAUCED license plate.
OR.
I have one more option. 
It is quite possible Knowshon is a closet poetry fan … and has been traveling to Ontario … and is showing his support for the girls night ‘hot sauced words poetry’ nights.
well.
Just a thought.
rome & atlanta have something in common
Feb 8th
So.
Whoda thunk Rome and Atlanta would have something in common.
Not a Bernini statue (although Atlanta has a rusting Olympic torch).
Not a square… albeit it is really a circle <St. Peters> (although Atlanta has a dome that would make the Vatican envious).
Nope.
Snowplows.
Neither of them has any snowplows.
This week Rome had an Atlanta-like freak winter snowstorm of eight inches of snow. Apparently Snowdrifts reached 6 feet outside the city (not sure how that happens with 8 inches of snow but … whatever ..).
Cars were abandoned on roads.
Grocery stores were running out of milk & bread (someday someone will have to explain the correlation between snow/ice & milk/bread).
I heard that even dogs & cats started living together (sorry … Ghostbusters reference).
Anyway.
Italian newspapers reported Rome has only three true snowplows. But. Italians being industrious folk … have rigged up some tractors to help clear streets.
Ah ha!
But here is where Atlanta could learn something.
The Italian National Civil Protection Agency handed out 4,000 shovels to residents.
Shovels.
What an awesome idea.
Could anyone speculate the response in America if the government suggested that in times of snow you, god forbid, take a shovel (we will give you for free) and shovel your own streets.
Yikes.
The National debt debate would pale in comparison.
Ah.
But what if we encouraged everyone to do it in Italian?
To shovel: spalare
A shovel: badile
Ah.
But if you have any doubts as to the smarts of the Italians … they actually disrobed a woman with a shovel (albeit a big one) … on television … http://www.break.com/index/woman-stripped-by-mechanical-shovel.html
Show this to Atlantans and I bet guys will be lining up to shovel on their own.
For the women?
Geez. Even their shovels look like designer shovels.
but.
This isn’t about shovels.
This is about the fact that neither Rome nor Atlanta hasn’t any snowplows.
How about that?
Enlightening one may even say.
the unAmerican american tradition
Feb 4th
Ok. This is about the American tradition (the super bowl) and an un-American aspect (the fact there just aren’t that many American beers left).
The super bowl (according to Nielsen sales studies) is the 8th biggest beer day of the year. It is behind the 4th of July, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Christmas/New Year’s, Thanksgiving and Easter (in that order) in terms of beer sales.
Oh. And I have actually seen Halloween beat out Ester in terms of sales in some reports (WTF … more beer on Fathers Day, Easter & Halloween then Super Bowl!).
Anyway.
During the Super Bowl Americans drink billions of beers.
According to Slashfood, 51.7 million cases of beer are sold in the week surrounding the Super Bowl. For a comparison, 68.3 million cases are sold on Independence Day and 63 million for Father’s Day.
Think about it.
4 hour TV event = 51.7 million cases.
That, my friends, is quite a lot of beer.
Some more factoids (just because I went factoid crazy here before I get to the un-American beer).
HOW MUCH FOOD WILL BE CONSUMED? (by the way … I cannot take credit for the numbers and math here nor do I want to because if you actually take the time to break them down they become suspect …. BUT … suffice it to say a shitload of beer & food is consumed).
8 million: Total pounds of popcorn consumed on Super Bowl Sunday.
28 million: Pounds of potato chips consumed.
53.5 million: Pounds of avocados consumed.
11.8: Depth, in feet, of guacamole consumed if it were spread across the football field.
293,000: Number of miles of potato chips, laid end to end, consumed during the game.
1 billion: Number of chicken wings consumed on Super Bowl Sunday.
325.5 million: Gallons of beer drank by Americans that day.
493: Number of Olympic-sized swimming pools that could be filled with all that beer.
20%: Increase in ant-acid sales the Monday after the game.
7 million: Number of employees who will not show up to work Monday.
Anyway.
Let me get to the point. Of the 51.7 million cases of beer, or 325.5 million gallons if you prefer, most of it will not be American.
Look. I admit. I do love a good cold non microbrewed funky tasting beer.
I thought I was a huge beer lover until I went to Europe and they started giving me beers that had sweet tastes and fruit tastes and … well … then I realized I imagine I was more of an American beer lover. Yeah, yeah, yeah the “beer connoisseurs” out there are scoffing and will start ranting about their high falutin’ microbrews or Chinese beers or something.
But. I am an unabashed American beer lover.
Unfortunately. That seems to be a tough gig these days.
I haven’t really paid much attention to it but it seems like America has lost its beer (that is kind of a different version of losing your marbles … or balls).
Some background is maybe needed to explain my American beer focus.
My first beer was probably in junior high school when me and a couple of buddies stole a nasty Michelob (I think) that my father had sitting in the frig for maybe 2 years (he didn’t really drink beer). Despite that horrible first experience I ran into a high school senior when I was a sophomore who introduced me to the Champagne of Beers (Miller) and I was in heaven. Throughout high school me and my merry band of beer drinkers drank whatever we could get our hands on … but … the champagne of beers was always our number one choice.
Please. I do have some discerning tastes. There was one afternoon in high school days when over at a friend’s house and our beer had run out … but one.
Ted said “Go ahead. You can have it.” So I grabbed my first … and last … Black Label. I took one sip. Then another (because I couldn’t believe a beer could ever taste that bad) and then asked if anyone else wanted to finish it.
Yup. I passed on the last beer available. Black Label made me want to do it (that was a fairluy momentous moment amongst us young beer drinkers).
Anyway.
While I could always get my hands on a good Canadian beer (high school in Vermont) inevitably it seemed like there was a Budweiser or a Pabst or a Falstaff or a Miller in my hands. And you figure Falstaff and PBR sported the good ole USofA red, white & blue colors so I was being as American as American could be. And then as I matriculated my drinking ass off to college … Coors became the elixir of choice (although I never seemed to leave the Champagne too far behind).
Well.
I am feeling less patriotic these days as I now have discovered that these days American beer is not so much American. It’s tough to grab one of the old tried and true (what people call “watery”) American beers to quaff with friends at ye ole watering hole (damn … that didn’t sound very American did it?).
Interestingly (mostly because I am not sure I thought about it that much) Anheuser-Busch has a market share in the United States of 50.9% for all beers sold (although different sources give a range of about 42% to 52% … I guess no one is sure how to count beer).
That number is primarily Budweiser (all of them Bud brands).
so. Let’s call it 50% market share. Really? 50% of all beers sold?
That’s a big frickin’ number and it cannot be all the NASCAR race fans and their coolers of Buds. Most people don’t buy just one type but also a lot of other stuff. At the very least you would think that Miller and all of the microbreweries would account for more than 50% (or at least I would).
Bottom line? Huge number. That’s all I will say on that.
The bad news for us americans? Bud ain’t American anymore. In 2008 Anheuser-Busch sold the majority of their stock to Belgian-Brazilian beer giant Inbev creating the largest brewing company in the world (and the brewer’s market share in US actually increased after the sale for some reason).
Ok. So if Bud aint American what is the biggest American owned beer?
Not Miller which is South African based and brews: Miller, MGD, Milwaukee’s Best, Icehouse, Southpaw, Steel Reserve, Hamm’s, Pabst, Stroh’s (if you can find it anywhere) and Red Dog.
Not Molson Coors which appears to be based in Canada or maybe Colorado or somewhere in between (they also to have some sort of joint venture with SABMiller to market all beers under the MillerCoors name which confuses me). But, they brew: Coors (the world’s best beer in my eyes), Coors Light (the world’s worst beer in y eyes), Keystone, Killian’s Red and Blue Moon.
So where does that leave us? Sam Adams?
Shiner (which makes an appearance down the list)? After that the list gets slim (by market share size … actual number of choices is huge).
Regardless.
Maybe my patriotism I can hold on to the fact that they are still brewed in America.
In the meantime I still enjoy a chilled Champagne of Beers and love a good Coors original (which I think they call Banquet for some odd reason). And make believe I am being unabashedly American while drinking them.
Enjoy … and know you are probably, most likely, being un-American whilst quaffing a cold one during the American tradition called the super bowl.
sometimes you just have to wonder
Jan 26th
ok.
This took me a couple of days to write … as I wrapped my head around it.
So.
The other day (the 24th of January). I am driving up to a traffic light and to my left I see a dog (a Rhodesian Ridgeback I believe) kind of chugging along the sidewalk.
No owner. Just dog.
And I recognized the look.
Probably because I lived it far too many times.
The “where is my owner” look.
The “I saw him pull out of the driveway and now where the heck is he” look.
The “I miss him and, dammit, I am gonna find him” look.
It is a look of casual intensity.
Ah. That look.
To the ignorant non-dog owner the dog looks lost. But it is far from lost. It is searching … it has a mission.
And typically the dog is conducting its mission within ‘the rules’ … i.e., stay on sidewalk, be polite as you pass people, don’t pee in someone’s yard, don’t run out into traffic, etc.
Oh.
And then the dog did the damndest thing … when he reached the intersection he stopped … refocused … and he crossed in front of the first stopped car at the stoplight and started walking down the driver sides … stopping at each driver window to check for his owner.
I say the damndest because … well … Tigger used to do that.
The smart bastard would know exactly who he was looking for and how to look.
(by the way … there is nothing more disconcerting then seeing your dog unexpectedly staring at you beside the car after you were pretty sure you had left him somewhere else)
Anyway.
And this is where you really have to sometimes wonder about things … the 24th is Tigger’s 2 year ‘gone to the dog biscuit factory in the sky’ date.
Geez.
I certainly haven’t forgotten Tigger … but I have tended to put the box of all the good times (and the times I could have been a better companion) on a shelf just to pull out and scan like a box of old photographs.
But. That searching dog brought the box out and handed it to me (which as you would imagine is, mentally, different than pulling it off the shelf yourself).
Look. I knew Tigger wouldn’t be forever.
And I always knew losing him would possibly be the worst thing I have ever faced to date. But, I admit, nothing could ever have prepared me for this 2 years he has now been gone.
Yeah. It’s been a few years now. But I still miss him.
And, yeah, I have never gotten another dog (yet).
We grew up together (despite the fact I was in my 30’s when I got him).
He was a great dog. And a great friend. (and, yeah Tigger, in case you are reading this post from wherever you are, I still have your picture on my frig).
I have come to the conclusion I will always love that crazy too-smart always hyper but always devoted dog, oh, and I will always be mentally giving biscuits, treats and belly rubs forever.
My dog and I were inseparable. He went everywhere with me … pretty much always.
Oddly.
I think he visits me still on occasion.
And I know he still talks to me on occasion.
And, yeah, for some reason on this particular day … this one dog was walking down this sidewalk with the same ‘where is my owner’ look and I had this same maddening memory … which I believe only pet owners know … the one that is a mixture of unbelievable fear that your best friend is going to be roadkill in his stupidity and the unequivocal bottomless love you feel with the disbelief that he would go to such extremes just for you.
But.
Thanks to this one dog on his mission he reminded me of another one dog … on one special day.
Well.
It’s always worth writing a note about (and to) Tigger. Who knows. Maybe they have wireless in the great dog biscuit in the sky (and they taught him to read).
And.
Sometimes you just have to wonder a little about destiny and how random things truly are that happen.
black white and gray
Jan 15th
“In the course of your education you’ve always been taught to look for the right answer but you must also know that in life sometimes the right answer is that there isn’t one.”
- Mr. Feeny, Boy Meets World.
So.
I do know for sure, having been in the business world for too many years to count, that rarely is there one answer to the question … or challenge … or whatever.
There are multiple “right” answers to just about everything.
And I guess, if I want to get philosophical, that makes me wonder if anything is certain or concrete anymore.
Maybe I really am getting old … but black & white seemed clearer to me years ago.
In fact, some of my past team members may remember the “McTague good – bad scale.”
I would often simply sum up something by saying “well, on the McTague good – bad scale, well, that would be good.”
(or bad when appropriate)
These days I almost feel like I would have to shift the scale to a rating instead of an unequivocal good or bad.
Is there truly an unequivocal non debatable good and bad?
Or a right and wrong?
How about truth or lies? (where omission can be deemed a ‘lie’)
Or is it just mixed together and upon us to decide for ourselves?
Oh.
And say we decide for ourselves … judge our own actions … but the other person has a different judging scale. What happens then? Who is right or wrong?
(hey. maybe there is a new business idea here where everyone carries a little card they can hand someone before speaking which outlines the boundaries of their ‘persona right & wrong’ scale.)
Anyway.
Does the end really justify the means when it comes to good or bad or right or wrong?
And is it your end or ‘their end’ that really matters in your own black or white judgment?
It kind of makes you question the whole concept of ‘Is everything either black and white’ or even worse is anything black or white?
Or is everything somewhere in the middle, in the gray?
Wow.
Sadly this make you start believing the world is built in shades of gray. Everything becomes negotiable, flexible or left to interpretation.
Maybe that is life.
Because the reality in day to day life is sometimes we are forced to bend the truth or sometimes transform it because we’re faced with things that we did not choose to happen but are demanded to deal with it.
And sometimes ‘bending the truth’ simply catches up to us.
And it makes me wonder if this is right.
So.
If there is anything that is ethical in our day, where is the line drawn?
Is it simply if what we feel is right … well … then it really is.
And if we are forced to do what we think is wrong, should we do it anyway or reap the consequences that come with refusal to go along with the way life pushes us?
Ok.
All of that makes my head hurt.
I know one thing for sure … I would like to be certain of one thing.
That somewhere there really is an absolute truth.
Somewhere.
Tricky to find but there.
Maybe that is the truth.
That it is a journey for truth.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm … I like that (although that is a gray answer isn’t it?).
Maybe the best way to think about black, white and gray is this way:
“Dawn and sunset are the times when Nature herself is unstable and in flux. The nocturnal world and the daytime world are meeting, and for a brief time coexisting. It’s not a neat hard cut, but a blurred, irregular dissolve. These moments are the seams in existence through which we can get a glimpse of the deeper, fundamentally random, chance workings of a system in which we are only a small, insignificant player.” Bill Viola
Is it possible we can find solace in this question through some poetic thought like this?
Shit. I don’t know. Most of us would seek to find some more clarity then this.
But maybe he is right. Maybe truth coexists in day and night.
Blurred by the edges of right and wrong.
I do know no one will ever get “black & white” right all the time.
But I imagine that is not a reason I shouldn’t try for the absolute at all times by constantly seeking ‘truth’ whatever that may be.
Make the attempt to find the black or the white.
Avoid the grey.
And maybe this is the best reason of all:
“There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil.” - Ayn Rand
Avoid gray because it is evil.
christmas songs
Dec 25th
So.
Getting gifts at Christmas is awesome but it is still always about the music to create the Christmas spirit. With that I started thinking about my top 5 Christmas songs (of which I would like to point out because I am typing this on a tropical island that it is a little weird to hear Nat King Cole & the Christmas song at a beach bar with the sun shining, the waves shifting in the background and sunburned Minnesotans sitting across the bar).
Anyway.
I began with 5 but the list kept growing.
I am sure I have missed some awesome songs.
It is a mix of traditional and non traditional. But here are the ones I would request to get me in the Christmas spirit.
Numero uno.
No doubt.
Any Christmas anywhere … I will never get tired of this song:
Nat King Cole and The Christmas Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__kQ1PCP6B0
Ok.
I have no clue what chestnuts are and no idea whether roasting them over an open fore is a good idea or not … but dammit … if I had chestnuts I would roast them.
No Christmas is complete without this song.
A classic (most young people have no idea who Dean Martin was and almost everyone forgets he actually sang in between cocktails).
Dean Martin singing Let it Snow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN7LW0Y00kE
And then Amy Grant.
I am not a huge Amy fan in general but I would have to say she is my top female xmas singer … I think she could sing any Christmas song and … well .. it would sound like it was meant for Christmas.
Amy Grant and Grown up Christmas List: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmF2rsDHOZc&ob=av2e
And another Aimee.
Aimee Mann Christmastime: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOL0ZlMMwAo&feature=related
I almost picked Calling on Mary which sounds languid and nice … but kind of has that infamous Aimee ironically truthful realistically darkish side to the holidays …
I heard the sidewalk Santa say:
Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas
Salvation’s coming cheap today
Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas
Next.
My first memory of a non classic contemporary Christmas song. And it still sounds great today.
Waitresses Christmas wrapping … a classic … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARq6uYSsUq0&feature=related
Next.
Beautiful voice. Beautiful Christmas song. Sappy but good stuff.
Carpenters singing Merry Christmas Darling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSHevB1QZOM
Next.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas.
Yikes. There are a bunch of great renditions to this song. Maybe my favorite? Vonda Shepard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O5DYlJSnCs
Next.
How The Grinch stole Christmas is probably the best Xmas cartoon of all time (maybe Charlie Brown close behind) …. but this song … awesome … The Grinch song:
Original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzXKWKaxt3c
But.
It may be Hip Heavy Lip’s version that introduced this song to an entirely new generation (NEVER get tired of this): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRGSCnQ2OuM
Next.
Pretty much anything Leigh Nash sings sounds good but holiday songs … well … she should do an entire cd sometime …
This is Sixpence none the Richer with Carol Of The Bells http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb1tRCqZpxI&feature=related
Next.
Whew. Incredibly sad and thoughtful and … well … heartfelt … which (the latter) is what I expect Christmas is really all about.
Robert Downey singing The River: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etfxRJdoUwo
Next.
The one people probably haven’t heard ….
Glasvegas singing A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW4b2_Xpwbs
next.
For a slightly different sound and it sounds fun in the traditional xmas music mix … Sally Shapiro sings kind of a techno Christmas song … Anorak Christmas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHC1RaLEQSM
Next.
Cocteau Twins are an acquired taste in general … and their sound is always up & down (to me). but. They nailed this one. Frosty The Snowman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e874vKfYfuU
Next.
Just a nice one. And heather Nova’s voice is a nice contrast to the more traditional Amy Grant and Leigh Nash and Karen carpenter. ‘Always Christmas by Heather Nova http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wgd4-ngo0g
Next.
Christmas (baby please come home) by Death Cab for Cutie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Yxq4QEkUE
I love Ben Gibbard’s voice. And I love this version of the song. Whoda thunk one of the best emo bands of all time would crank out a good holiday song.
Next.
A good modern one. Surprisingly good. Surprisingly little played.
Sleigh ride by KT Tunstall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t8rgWkRwIk
Next.
Listen The Snow Is Falling by Thea Gilmore http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01fsYd0oa6s
(had to include this one)
Its just nice. And you never hear. And most people have no clue who Thea is.
Next.
Oh yeah.
O Holy Night by Josh Groban (his voice sounds pretentious at times … but … for the holidays? … his voice was made for songs like this ..) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFln-AlC46M
And lastly.
Just cant leave this one off my ist.
So This is Christmas by John Lennon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cJOm72QDDA&feature=related
How could this not make anyone’s list?
That’s it for my list. 19 songs (if I counted correctly)
I have more but these are songs I like to hear in order to get me in the melancholy state and upbeat state and in general … the Christmas state.
Thinking about the past.
Remembering friends and family (here and gone).
Reconnecting.
Seeing the joy in a child’s face …. Ok … anyone’s face.
Ok.
To make it an even 20.
Just for a smile. Listen to Guster sing “¿Donde Esta Santa Claus?”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOganSDZyLM
Merry Christmas.
