..my left arm, that is. It was getting kind of useless there for a while.
Today is the last of 10 days of a doctor-directed regimen of icing, ibuprofen, and indirect pressure (wearing a brace). Actually he was a Physician's Assistant, but he sure made me wait just like a doctor! I'm there on time, but it's 50 minutes later before I finally saw the guy.. :(
I have to hand it to him, though.. it seems to have worked. Tomorrow I will try push-ups again and see how it holds up. If it seems to tolerate that okay, then I'll try the other arm and chest work I'd been doing. Except I'll save the bicep curls for last. That's where it seemed to encounter the strain a few weeks back.
Back in the kitchen again yesterday. :) A nice little Italian chicken thing - sort of a cross between Chicken Parmesan and Chicken Cacciatore. Colorful! Love those chopped-up multi-color bell peppers frozen and left over from the farmers' market this summer. Mmm.
And I see that Barack did good for himself yesterday. So did Tiger. So did Marquette. All my guys did well. :) That, plus getting all my reading done for Tuesday night, finishing up the paper that's also due then, going for a run, going to Mass, watching Die Hard 2, scooping up a hot concert ticket, and picking up a little new music (review to follow later, after I soak in it a while.. ) - all around it was a pretty darned nice day.
Today it's church, going out to grab another hot concert ticket, grading homework, doing one last lesson plan, and tomorrow night.. the final! And then I am done with teaching Math class until Summer. Yay! I get my Monday nights back. :)
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Traffic court in the frozen north
.. is kind of cold and sterile. But at least they're on time. It's not like the doctor's office. You make an appointment by phone with a hearing officer, and when you get there and your time comes, they call your name (loudly!) into a crowded hallway filled with rebels, losers and misfits. In other words, guys just like me! :P Hey yo, dog, they my peeps, dig? Word.
One nice thing is that they run all the citations through an imaging center to get them on line. And you don't have to do anything about responding until they get it in the system.. which only took them 3 months! I was actually stopped in October.. after only the first time going down this particular stretch of urban Interstate (and the first citation in my new state.. aww, I feel at home now!)
No complaints here.. I get to delay without penalty while I wait for them to hear me out. No arguments about the ticket, either. They were right. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Just a plea for mercy across the table from a real person. They're not particularly lenient, however. :(
In every other state, it's been in my best interest to go to a preliminary hearing, because they often have been merciful and have reduced tickets to "no-points" violations (though they *never* reduce the fine!)
Not this time. :( Ah, well. Less than 10 miles over, and that was while coming off of a downhill on-ramp into the flow of traffic, so.. not an egregious violation. Still.. slowing down is in order.
Especially since I now know that in the frozen north.. they're pretty stiff from the cold and not inclined to bend.
I think I need to go for a run. At least there I know how to slow down. ;)
One nice thing is that they run all the citations through an imaging center to get them on line. And you don't have to do anything about responding until they get it in the system.. which only took them 3 months! I was actually stopped in October.. after only the first time going down this particular stretch of urban Interstate (and the first citation in my new state.. aww, I feel at home now!)
No complaints here.. I get to delay without penalty while I wait for them to hear me out. No arguments about the ticket, either. They were right. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Just a plea for mercy across the table from a real person. They're not particularly lenient, however. :(
In every other state, it's been in my best interest to go to a preliminary hearing, because they often have been merciful and have reduced tickets to "no-points" violations (though they *never* reduce the fine!)
Not this time. :( Ah, well. Less than 10 miles over, and that was while coming off of a downhill on-ramp into the flow of traffic, so.. not an egregious violation. Still.. slowing down is in order.
Especially since I now know that in the frozen north.. they're pretty stiff from the cold and not inclined to bend.
I think I need to go for a run. At least there I know how to slow down. ;)
Friday, January 25, 2008
All.. most.. done..
with my Math class at Stritch. This one didn't turn out quite like I'd expected. Of course, none of them have yet.
It was supposed to be a no-prep course for me, as I had just taught it 5 months earlier. Nobody told me they rewrote the syllabus and changed all the assignments! All new prep. :(
It was supposed to be a few weeks over Christmas break when I wasn't taking night classes myself. Nobody told me we'd have 3 weeks off in the middle of class, and that most of the time would be spent after my Winter quarter at Bethel had already started. :(
It was supposed to be a group of students who had been screened for the class, taken any necessary prerequisites. Nobody told me that 2/3 of the class was completely unprepared for algebra. They saw what was required of them and panicked. :(
Add to that the RCIA classes I'm in every Wednesday, the 45 min. drive each way to the classroom location, the phone calls and emails trying to calm down the administration over the unprepared students, the review by an experienced teacher in the classroom as an "observer" (which went very well and really wasted his time), I actually wound up earning my keep on this one! And here I thought it was going to be just an easy fill-in over the holidays..
So, after the final next week, I have my Monday nights back! Yay! But, still, it was good to teach again. And the stipend I get roughly pays for one class at Bethel. :) Hopefully I'll pick up a couple more over Summer, too. I do like it. Even if it isn't ever what I expect.
Oh, and.. almost done with that paper for TS502. Just editing today, so by tomorrow .. I can put it down and stop thinking about the marginalized for a while. And you all can stop reading about it. :)
Plus, tomorrow is my day to get back in the kitchen. Yay!
It was supposed to be a no-prep course for me, as I had just taught it 5 months earlier. Nobody told me they rewrote the syllabus and changed all the assignments! All new prep. :(
It was supposed to be a few weeks over Christmas break when I wasn't taking night classes myself. Nobody told me we'd have 3 weeks off in the middle of class, and that most of the time would be spent after my Winter quarter at Bethel had already started. :(
It was supposed to be a group of students who had been screened for the class, taken any necessary prerequisites. Nobody told me that 2/3 of the class was completely unprepared for algebra. They saw what was required of them and panicked. :(
Add to that the RCIA classes I'm in every Wednesday, the 45 min. drive each way to the classroom location, the phone calls and emails trying to calm down the administration over the unprepared students, the review by an experienced teacher in the classroom as an "observer" (which went very well and really wasted his time), I actually wound up earning my keep on this one! And here I thought it was going to be just an easy fill-in over the holidays..
So, after the final next week, I have my Monday nights back! Yay! But, still, it was good to teach again. And the stipend I get roughly pays for one class at Bethel. :) Hopefully I'll pick up a couple more over Summer, too. I do like it. Even if it isn't ever what I expect.
Oh, and.. almost done with that paper for TS502. Just editing today, so by tomorrow .. I can put it down and stop thinking about the marginalized for a while. And you all can stop reading about it. :)
Plus, tomorrow is my day to get back in the kitchen. Yay!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Just one more post..
on the subject of the marginalized among us.
Hey! I'm writing my first paper for TS502 on this book, and .. it's on my mind, okay? :) Plus.. I have some personal application to make, which is what I do here, right? It's theraputic..
Anyway, I thought this was a perceptive series of quotes by the author (Virgilio Elizondo) of Galilean Journey: The Mexican-American Promise. And while it's not entirely original thought by any means, it was well-worded enough to strike a chord in me. The context is a discussion of poverty as a marginalizing influence. He goes on to define poverty in three ways:
"For our purposes, we may distinguish three basic types of poverty: material, psychological, and cultural-spiritual. Material poverty is the lack of the fundamental necessities of life, such as food, clothing, housing, and medicine. It means not having money or credit. It means not having a job or even the possibility of one. It means being broke."
"Everyone has basic psychological needs, and when these are not met there is psychological poverty. Everyone needs to be accepted, esteemed, needed, understood, desired, and loved. If these are not met, persons develop a low self-image and will often fear or even hate themselves. One of the great problems in the world is that because of psychological poverty many persons do not love or accept themselves as they are."
"A person could be materially rich while being psychologically poor, and vice versa."
"The third and deepest level of poverty is cultural-spiritual poverty. Cultural and spiritual are not the same, but they are intimately related, for basic culture is in many ways the fundamentally life-spirit of the group. Cultural-spiritual poverty is the deprivation ... of the very humanity of a racially and culturally determined group."
"This is the worst type of poverty because it deprives persons of their fundamental humanity as shaped and determined by the Creator. Persons are conditioned to see beauty, acceptability, and respectability only in the ways of the power groups and often feel ashamed or at least confused about their own characteristics. Some even curse their own people and their God for making them to be what they are. Their fundamental spirit is ridiculed, stepped on, and crushed."
Okay.. why am I bringing this up? In part because it was a new way of looking at poverty for me, and especially helps me understand Jesus' stated concern, in the Sermon on the Mount, for the poor "in spirit." I think I might know now what that means.
The other part of why I bring this up is because, while I haven't experienced cultural-spiritual poverty as he defines it (since I'm a white male in North America, after all..), and have only twice in my life experienced anything like material poverty (and that not for very long), I *have* experienced the middle one - psychological poverty. And to a great degree I still live in it - every day. You could say that I shouldn't (many people have..), but the feelings are real and, some days, overwhelming. Let me repeat what he said:
"Everyone needs to be accepted, esteemed, needed, understood, desired, and loved. If these are not met, persons develop a low self-image and will often fear or even hate themselves."
Yes. That's it. Rings true to my experience, and it's one of two core topics (the other being effectively dealing with loss - which itself is all tied up with the above, since my losses are all in the area of these unmet needs) that Dr. S-W and I are talking about, weekly now (yesterday, in fact.) He says that this fits with all I've told him, and he also thinks I'm doing well with it all. Ha - I'm glad *he* thinks so. He must get some personal affirmation and career validation from that. ;)
Now, where was I?
Oh yeah. Elizondo goes on to say this:
"For those who ordinarily have a good existential sense of belonging, the idea of being chosen is nothing special. But for one who has been consistently ignored or rejected, the fact of being noticed, accepted, and chosen is not only good news, but new life. For in being chosen, what was nothing becomes something; what was dead now comes to life. ... The experience of being wanted as one is, of being needed and of being chosen, is a real and profound rebirth. Those who had been made to consider themselves inferior, will now begin to appreciate what it feels like to be accepted fully as human beings."
Yup. That's it again. Except I would add one more word to the list of "noticed, accepted and chosen." I'd add.. understood. Or.. known. Because you can be noticed and accepted, and even chosen, but - if these things happen without you being known/understood.. there is a very real possibility that when you *are* fully known.. you will then be rejected. So.. to guard against that, you put on a mask, you play a role or a part that you think represents the reason you were noticed and accepted, so that you will *continue* to be chosen/wanted. But when you do that.. you become that much more alienated from the real you. You become: the roles you play.
Is this making sense? To me it is.
If they knew me.. really knew me as I really am.. would they still accept and choose (want) me?
With God.. I know the answer (which is why on a daily basis I have such an overwhelming sense of His grace.) With people.. I don't. Until.. I stop playing the part I think I've been assigned, stop covering up the real me, and take the risk of removing the mask, the risk of being known. Then, when they (be it family, friend, employer, social group) understand who I am, when they know me, their actions will tell me whether or not I'm still wanted. But sometimes.. it's too big of a risk for me to take - the threat of rejection (based on past patterns) is too great, and the consequences too severe. So I stay hidden.
Those times in my life when I *have* been noticed, accepted and chosen - all while being well known and understood well - have been few. But they have been life-giving. And some of them.. continue to give life even today.
Hey! I'm writing my first paper for TS502 on this book, and .. it's on my mind, okay? :) Plus.. I have some personal application to make, which is what I do here, right? It's theraputic..
Anyway, I thought this was a perceptive series of quotes by the author (Virgilio Elizondo) of Galilean Journey: The Mexican-American Promise. And while it's not entirely original thought by any means, it was well-worded enough to strike a chord in me. The context is a discussion of poverty as a marginalizing influence. He goes on to define poverty in three ways:
"For our purposes, we may distinguish three basic types of poverty: material, psychological, and cultural-spiritual. Material poverty is the lack of the fundamental necessities of life, such as food, clothing, housing, and medicine. It means not having money or credit. It means not having a job or even the possibility of one. It means being broke."
"Everyone has basic psychological needs, and when these are not met there is psychological poverty. Everyone needs to be accepted, esteemed, needed, understood, desired, and loved. If these are not met, persons develop a low self-image and will often fear or even hate themselves. One of the great problems in the world is that because of psychological poverty many persons do not love or accept themselves as they are."
"A person could be materially rich while being psychologically poor, and vice versa."
"The third and deepest level of poverty is cultural-spiritual poverty. Cultural and spiritual are not the same, but they are intimately related, for basic culture is in many ways the fundamentally life-spirit of the group. Cultural-spiritual poverty is the deprivation ... of the very humanity of a racially and culturally determined group."
"This is the worst type of poverty because it deprives persons of their fundamental humanity as shaped and determined by the Creator. Persons are conditioned to see beauty, acceptability, and respectability only in the ways of the power groups and often feel ashamed or at least confused about their own characteristics. Some even curse their own people and their God for making them to be what they are. Their fundamental spirit is ridiculed, stepped on, and crushed."
Okay.. why am I bringing this up? In part because it was a new way of looking at poverty for me, and especially helps me understand Jesus' stated concern, in the Sermon on the Mount, for the poor "in spirit." I think I might know now what that means.
The other part of why I bring this up is because, while I haven't experienced cultural-spiritual poverty as he defines it (since I'm a white male in North America, after all..), and have only twice in my life experienced anything like material poverty (and that not for very long), I *have* experienced the middle one - psychological poverty. And to a great degree I still live in it - every day. You could say that I shouldn't (many people have..), but the feelings are real and, some days, overwhelming. Let me repeat what he said:
"Everyone needs to be accepted, esteemed, needed, understood, desired, and loved. If these are not met, persons develop a low self-image and will often fear or even hate themselves."
Yes. That's it. Rings true to my experience, and it's one of two core topics (the other being effectively dealing with loss - which itself is all tied up with the above, since my losses are all in the area of these unmet needs) that Dr. S-W and I are talking about, weekly now (yesterday, in fact.) He says that this fits with all I've told him, and he also thinks I'm doing well with it all. Ha - I'm glad *he* thinks so. He must get some personal affirmation and career validation from that. ;)
Now, where was I?
Oh yeah. Elizondo goes on to say this:
"For those who ordinarily have a good existential sense of belonging, the idea of being chosen is nothing special. But for one who has been consistently ignored or rejected, the fact of being noticed, accepted, and chosen is not only good news, but new life. For in being chosen, what was nothing becomes something; what was dead now comes to life. ... The experience of being wanted as one is, of being needed and of being chosen, is a real and profound rebirth. Those who had been made to consider themselves inferior, will now begin to appreciate what it feels like to be accepted fully as human beings."
Yup. That's it again. Except I would add one more word to the list of "noticed, accepted and chosen." I'd add.. understood. Or.. known. Because you can be noticed and accepted, and even chosen, but - if these things happen without you being known/understood.. there is a very real possibility that when you *are* fully known.. you will then be rejected. So.. to guard against that, you put on a mask, you play a role or a part that you think represents the reason you were noticed and accepted, so that you will *continue* to be chosen/wanted. But when you do that.. you become that much more alienated from the real you. You become: the roles you play.
Is this making sense? To me it is.
If they knew me.. really knew me as I really am.. would they still accept and choose (want) me?
With God.. I know the answer (which is why on a daily basis I have such an overwhelming sense of His grace.) With people.. I don't. Until.. I stop playing the part I think I've been assigned, stop covering up the real me, and take the risk of removing the mask, the risk of being known. Then, when they (be it family, friend, employer, social group) understand who I am, when they know me, their actions will tell me whether or not I'm still wanted. But sometimes.. it's too big of a risk for me to take - the threat of rejection (based on past patterns) is too great, and the consequences too severe. So I stay hidden.
Those times in my life when I *have* been noticed, accepted and chosen - all while being well known and understood well - have been few. But they have been life-giving. And some of them.. continue to give life even today.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Music Reviews: Milosh, K-OS, Psapp, Zoe Keating
I've been sitting on these for a while. I'm overdue for a review. :)
Milosh - "Meme": Take a little Booka Shade, a little Caribou, a little Bjork, a little Mahogany, mix.. kind of reminds one of standing out on the balcony of the fishing lodge at night in the far north, watching the northern lights dance. :) Very pleasant background music, good for studying or reading or chilling. Favorites: Couldn't Sleep, I'm Trying, My Life, Run Away, This Way. Two thumbs up - very nice. :)
Psapp - "Hi - EP": This band reminds me a bit of Apples in Stereo or Cibo Matto. Peppy female voices blending with instruments, singing about nothing in particular. :) It's just a little EP, but kind of fun. Nice to have in your mix as a upbeat change of pace. Favorite: Apple Block. Fun little song. Worth a download just by itself. :)
K-OS - "Atlantis - Hymns for Disco": Wow! I mean.. this is rap the way it really *can* be!
iTunes complains that this Canadian rapper's flow isn't very good. Bosh. His flow is just fine on songs like "Equalizer", for instance. They claim it's because he comes at rap with a vocalist's sensibility.. well, hey! That's what makes him so good! :) Vocalist sensibilities (as opposed to atonal gutter thug drivel..) makes a positive difference. His songs are.. dare I say it? Songs! There's a melody somewhere that's noticeable (though not always dominant by any stretch.)
So.. dry up, iTunes! Less of the status quo in rap, and more K-OS, I say. ;) Two thumbs up. Favorites: Highway 7, Born to Run, Equalizer (also a send-up of Elvis's Jailhouse Rock - fun), Flypaper (with a Cut-Chemist-style intro), The Rain, Battle of Noah, Sunday Morning.
Zoe Keating - "One Cello x 16": Not sure you can call this classical, per se. But it's mostly cello, with some looping and over-dubbing, so .. electronic might be better? But it is hardly beat-based.. it's background-y and atmospheric, unobtrusive, much of it in minor keys. Something like you might expect as the soundtrack to a documentary movie about whales, or Iceland, or.. whales off the coast of Iceland. ;)
Someone else in my house (not the regular music critic, mind you..) thinks it's depressing music, but I say.. hey, cheer up! If Mr. Morose here can handle it, surely you can.. :) I think it's really good study music, or music to have on behind you when reading, or while eating dinner, having light conversation, etc. No real favorites, no standout tracks, just.. good. :) Two thumbs up.
Next up.. some really old bands. You know, old. Like.. from the 80's. ;)
Milosh - "Meme": Take a little Booka Shade, a little Caribou, a little Bjork, a little Mahogany, mix.. kind of reminds one of standing out on the balcony of the fishing lodge at night in the far north, watching the northern lights dance. :) Very pleasant background music, good for studying or reading or chilling. Favorites: Couldn't Sleep, I'm Trying, My Life, Run Away, This Way. Two thumbs up - very nice. :)
Psapp - "Hi - EP": This band reminds me a bit of Apples in Stereo or Cibo Matto. Peppy female voices blending with instruments, singing about nothing in particular. :) It's just a little EP, but kind of fun. Nice to have in your mix as a upbeat change of pace. Favorite: Apple Block. Fun little song. Worth a download just by itself. :)
K-OS - "Atlantis - Hymns for Disco": Wow! I mean.. this is rap the way it really *can* be!
iTunes complains that this Canadian rapper's flow isn't very good. Bosh. His flow is just fine on songs like "Equalizer", for instance. They claim it's because he comes at rap with a vocalist's sensibility.. well, hey! That's what makes him so good! :) Vocalist sensibilities (as opposed to atonal gutter thug drivel..) makes a positive difference. His songs are.. dare I say it? Songs! There's a melody somewhere that's noticeable (though not always dominant by any stretch.)
So.. dry up, iTunes! Less of the status quo in rap, and more K-OS, I say. ;) Two thumbs up. Favorites: Highway 7, Born to Run, Equalizer (also a send-up of Elvis's Jailhouse Rock - fun), Flypaper (with a Cut-Chemist-style intro), The Rain, Battle of Noah, Sunday Morning.
Zoe Keating - "One Cello x 16": Not sure you can call this classical, per se. But it's mostly cello, with some looping and over-dubbing, so .. electronic might be better? But it is hardly beat-based.. it's background-y and atmospheric, unobtrusive, much of it in minor keys. Something like you might expect as the soundtrack to a documentary movie about whales, or Iceland, or.. whales off the coast of Iceland. ;)
Someone else in my house (not the regular music critic, mind you..) thinks it's depressing music, but I say.. hey, cheer up! If Mr. Morose here can handle it, surely you can.. :) I think it's really good study music, or music to have on behind you when reading, or while eating dinner, having light conversation, etc. No real favorites, no standout tracks, just.. good. :) Two thumbs up.
Next up.. some really old bands. You know, old. Like.. from the 80's. ;)
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Back in the kitchen again..
..where a man can experiment, take a few risks, and where failure isn't a threat to his masculinity. ;)
Success, however.. can be. :P
And this was definitely a successful experiment.
Dinner Saturday was an attempt to use the broth I made after Christmas from the carcass of the duck J1 and I made for Christmas Eve dinner. I had 6 cups of the brown stuff frozen, and.. wow, did I hit the mother-lode of recipes for duck broth. Two of them, in fact!
The homemade cream of mushroom soup turned out to be real high-end restaurant quality.. just the smell of it was spendid! And with the mix of mushroom types I got, some shallots, the duck broth, and the sour cream (and a little Potato Buds for thickening) - my goodness, it was creamy and tasty. And my new food processor made the fine chopping a breeze. A lot fewer tears. :)
Then, the fennel and onion risotto - oh! Oh, oh, oh. Wonderful. Lots of basil, some white wine, more duck broth, and toward the end (after a couple hours of reducing), shredded Italian hard cheeses (asagio, romano, parmesan) and some peas. Mm. Yummy. Not to mention the handy food processor again. :)
Plus, there's enough risotto left over to have for the next time the college kids come over for dinner and cards. I have this big hunk of uncooked veal in the freezer left over from Grandma's Christmas dinner to use up, so .. they will get a pretty nice dinner, indeed.
If I can figure out what to do with the veal. Never worked with it before. Hm. Suggestions from the readership are welcome.
Packer loss yesterday notwithstanding.. it felt good to get back in the kitchen again. It sure is fun, especially when it comes out right. :)
Success, however.. can be. :P
And this was definitely a successful experiment.
Dinner Saturday was an attempt to use the broth I made after Christmas from the carcass of the duck J1 and I made for Christmas Eve dinner. I had 6 cups of the brown stuff frozen, and.. wow, did I hit the mother-lode of recipes for duck broth. Two of them, in fact!
The homemade cream of mushroom soup turned out to be real high-end restaurant quality.. just the smell of it was spendid! And with the mix of mushroom types I got, some shallots, the duck broth, and the sour cream (and a little Potato Buds for thickening) - my goodness, it was creamy and tasty. And my new food processor made the fine chopping a breeze. A lot fewer tears. :)
Then, the fennel and onion risotto - oh! Oh, oh, oh. Wonderful. Lots of basil, some white wine, more duck broth, and toward the end (after a couple hours of reducing), shredded Italian hard cheeses (asagio, romano, parmesan) and some peas. Mm. Yummy. Not to mention the handy food processor again. :)
Plus, there's enough risotto left over to have for the next time the college kids come over for dinner and cards. I have this big hunk of uncooked veal in the freezer left over from Grandma's Christmas dinner to use up, so .. they will get a pretty nice dinner, indeed.
If I can figure out what to do with the veal. Never worked with it before. Hm. Suggestions from the readership are welcome.
Packer loss yesterday notwithstanding.. it felt good to get back in the kitchen again. It sure is fun, especially when it comes out right. :)
Monday, January 21, 2008
Day off today - to read and contemplate
My new employer takes MLK, Jr. day as a holiday, so.. I'm using it to catch up on reading for TS502. Well needed time, too! I have a paper due in 8 days on a book I hadn't begun before this morning, and so.. I can really use it!
The assigned book is what I quoted from at the bottom of the post just prior, in case you're wondering what the inspiration was for the focus on those who are marginalized. Yeah.. it's not just me. :)
Although.. I may have fit in one or two of those categories at one point, or even.. in my worst moments.. participated myself in the continuing marginalization of some of the others. :(
(that was the point, I guess.)
Actually it's probably a pretty appropriate day to meditate on these things, given whose life the day honors..
So anyway.. I'll be glad when this paper is behind me, and I can get on to something more uplifting, like.. the doctrine of sin.
The assigned book is what I quoted from at the bottom of the post just prior, in case you're wondering what the inspiration was for the focus on those who are marginalized. Yeah.. it's not just me. :)
Although.. I may have fit in one or two of those categories at one point, or even.. in my worst moments.. participated myself in the continuing marginalization of some of the others. :(
(that was the point, I guess.)
Actually it's probably a pretty appropriate day to meditate on these things, given whose life the day honors..
So anyway.. I'll be glad when this paper is behind me, and I can get on to something more uplifting, like.. the doctrine of sin.
unwanted
.
cleanup aisle one
what to do if no one comes
you just step around
homeless on the street
don't acknowledge that they're there
they'll leave you alone
on a clearance rack
last year's colors last year's style
who would wear these now
disability
makes me feel uncomfortable
look the other way
lover pushed aside
can't you see that i've moved on
it's not you it's me
market focus changed
business isn't personal
you'll land on your feet
marginalizing
happens in life all the time
how do I respond
.
"Every concrete Christian community had the privilege and obligation to reflect on the meaning of its faith. No matter how many excellent christologies there might be in the world, it was no excuse for the local community not to work out its own expression of who Christ is and what he is doing in their midst.
"And it was precisely the marginated of every socio-political group who were in the privileged position of being most closely similar to the poor at the time of Christ. They were the first ones to hear his word, to be converted to him and his way, and to begin preaching a new alternative to the world.
"Jesus' identification with the most rejected of society and his love for them is one of the greatest constants of his ministry: it appears throughout the gospels and continues in the tradition of the church. Love and concern for the poor, the disfavored, and the oppressed of society is one of the most fundamental activities of the Christian group."
----- Virgilio Elizondo, Galilean Journey: The Mexican-American Promise
cleanup aisle one
what to do if no one comes
you just step around
homeless on the street
don't acknowledge that they're there
they'll leave you alone
on a clearance rack
last year's colors last year's style
who would wear these now
disability
makes me feel uncomfortable
look the other way
lover pushed aside
can't you see that i've moved on
it's not you it's me
market focus changed
business isn't personal
you'll land on your feet
marginalizing
happens in life all the time
how do I respond
.
"Every concrete Christian community had the privilege and obligation to reflect on the meaning of its faith. No matter how many excellent christologies there might be in the world, it was no excuse for the local community not to work out its own expression of who Christ is and what he is doing in their midst.
"And it was precisely the marginated of every socio-political group who were in the privileged position of being most closely similar to the poor at the time of Christ. They were the first ones to hear his word, to be converted to him and his way, and to begin preaching a new alternative to the world.
"Jesus' identification with the most rejected of society and his love for them is one of the greatest constants of his ministry: it appears throughout the gospels and continues in the tradition of the church. Love and concern for the poor, the disfavored, and the oppressed of society is one of the most fundamental activities of the Christian group."
----- Virgilio Elizondo, Galilean Journey: The Mexican-American Promise
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Real Love, Part 2
"You think she's the one, Don?"
"You mean the one? The one and only?"
"Yeah, " he confirms.
"No."
"I guess that's why you broke up with her."
"Yeah. I guess." The sweat on my legs and arms is beginning to chill. I'm wishing for a jacket or a sweatshirt. "You know, Paul, " I start, "I think she was going to break up with me anyway."
"What makes you say that?"
"Little things. She would say little things. Do little things. I don't think she was really into it."
"How long did you two date?"
"Not long."
"How long?"
"About six months or so."
"That's pretty long. Some folks figure it all out in that amount of time."
"I really liked her, you know. She just wasn't in it. I think I dropped the bomb first. But she was about to do it anyway."
That last sentence is said with tenderness. As if to release some small ache. Paul's expression gives sympathy. But he doesn't know it is more the pain in my legs than the pain in my chest that is causing this melancholy. Kristin is Kristin. A beautiful girl. I miss her, I guess. But she and I were never meant to be. She was in between boyfriends and too pretty to go without. I was there like a number in a bakery. She pulled the ticket, glanced at it, and waited to exchange me for some loaf of bread or cake or pie or feeling that she was beautiful. But I gave her the slip. Came right out of her hands before she could claim the prize and I bet you, I bet you a million dollars, she doesn't even remember that number. She'll just pull another ticket, glance at it, and wait for them to call out her number. She won't remember the things I said and won't realize I had never said them to another girl. She'd heard them all before and it all ran together like bad poetry. You could see it in her eyes when I talked to her. You could hear it in the way she said thank you when I complimented her dress or the color of her eyes.
It's funny how you think you need something but you really don't. I mean I remember feeling like if I didn't have this girl I was going to die. But I am not dead, and I feel fine, and I think half the time when I like some girl I am really looking for some kind of redemption, some kind of feeling that I matter or am valuable or am needed, and I don't think there is a problem with that, but if just makes you realize how much we use each other sometimes.
I heard once that real love doesn't ask what is in it for me; it just gives unconditionally. It just tries to take the weight out of somebody else's pack, lessen [the] load, and if it gets reciprocated, that's great, but that isn't what you did it for. It makes me wonder if real love, not the crap we trade on the street, but real love, longtime ... love, is another metaphor. I mean, I was thinking about it the other day and I couldn't think of a purpose for love in terms of Darwinian mechanisms. It seems like there is a reason for sex, for lust and all of that, but what about love? How does love, like beauty and light, help the Darwinian process? And I wondered if love itself, the real thing ... wasn't another metaphor for God.
----- excerpt from Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller
"You mean the one? The one and only?"
"Yeah, " he confirms.
"No."
"I guess that's why you broke up with her."
"Yeah. I guess." The sweat on my legs and arms is beginning to chill. I'm wishing for a jacket or a sweatshirt. "You know, Paul, " I start, "I think she was going to break up with me anyway."
"What makes you say that?"
"Little things. She would say little things. Do little things. I don't think she was really into it."
"How long did you two date?"
"Not long."
"How long?"
"About six months or so."
"That's pretty long. Some folks figure it all out in that amount of time."
"I really liked her, you know. She just wasn't in it. I think I dropped the bomb first. But she was about to do it anyway."
That last sentence is said with tenderness. As if to release some small ache. Paul's expression gives sympathy. But he doesn't know it is more the pain in my legs than the pain in my chest that is causing this melancholy. Kristin is Kristin. A beautiful girl. I miss her, I guess. But she and I were never meant to be. She was in between boyfriends and too pretty to go without. I was there like a number in a bakery. She pulled the ticket, glanced at it, and waited to exchange me for some loaf of bread or cake or pie or feeling that she was beautiful. But I gave her the slip. Came right out of her hands before she could claim the prize and I bet you, I bet you a million dollars, she doesn't even remember that number. She'll just pull another ticket, glance at it, and wait for them to call out her number. She won't remember the things I said and won't realize I had never said them to another girl. She'd heard them all before and it all ran together like bad poetry. You could see it in her eyes when I talked to her. You could hear it in the way she said thank you when I complimented her dress or the color of her eyes.
It's funny how you think you need something but you really don't. I mean I remember feeling like if I didn't have this girl I was going to die. But I am not dead, and I feel fine, and I think half the time when I like some girl I am really looking for some kind of redemption, some kind of feeling that I matter or am valuable or am needed, and I don't think there is a problem with that, but if just makes you realize how much we use each other sometimes.
I heard once that real love doesn't ask what is in it for me; it just gives unconditionally. It just tries to take the weight out of somebody else's pack, lessen [the] load, and if it gets reciprocated, that's great, but that isn't what you did it for. It makes me wonder if real love, not the crap we trade on the street, but real love, longtime ... love, is another metaphor. I mean, I was thinking about it the other day and I couldn't think of a purpose for love in terms of Darwinian mechanisms. It seems like there is a reason for sex, for lust and all of that, but what about love? How does love, like beauty and light, help the Darwinian process? And I wondered if love itself, the real thing ... wasn't another metaphor for God.
----- excerpt from Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller
Real Love
All my little plans and schemes
Lost like some forgotten dream.
Seems that all I really was doing
Was waiting for you.
Just like little girls and boys
Playing with their little toys.
Seems like all they really were doing
Was waiting for love.
Don't need to be alone
No need to be alone
It's real love,
Yes it's real love.
Oh it's real love,
Yes it's real love.
From this moment on I know
Exactly where my life will go.
Seems that all I really was doing
Was waiting for love.
Don't need to be afraid
No need to be afraid
It's real love,
Yes it's real love.
Oh it's real love,
Yes it's real love.
Thought I'd been in love before,
But in my heart I wanted more.
Seems like all I really was doing
Was waiting for you.
Don't need to be alone
No need to be alone
It's real love,
Yes it's real love.
Oh it's real love,
Yes it's real love.
Oh it's real love,
Yes it's real love.
Oh it's real love,
Yes it's real love.
---- Regina Spektor (covering John Lennon)
Lost like some forgotten dream.
Seems that all I really was doing
Was waiting for you.
Just like little girls and boys
Playing with their little toys.
Seems like all they really were doing
Was waiting for love.
Don't need to be alone
No need to be alone
It's real love,
Yes it's real love.
Oh it's real love,
Yes it's real love.
From this moment on I know
Exactly where my life will go.
Seems that all I really was doing
Was waiting for love.
Don't need to be afraid
No need to be afraid
It's real love,
Yes it's real love.
Oh it's real love,
Yes it's real love.
Thought I'd been in love before,
But in my heart I wanted more.
Seems like all I really was doing
Was waiting for you.
Don't need to be alone
No need to be alone
It's real love,
Yes it's real love.
Oh it's real love,
Yes it's real love.
Oh it's real love,
Yes it's real love.
Oh it's real love,
Yes it's real love.
---- Regina Spektor (covering John Lennon)
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Cry Out
To everyone who's lost someone they love
Long before it was their time
You feel like the days you had were not enough
when you said goodbye
And to all of the people with burdens and pains
Keeping you back from your life
You believe that there's nothing and there is no one
Who can make it right
There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
Love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus
For the marriage that's struggling just to hang on
They lost all of their faith in love
They've done all they can to make it right again
Still it's not enough
For the ones who can't break the addictions and chains
You try to give up but you come back again
Just remember that you're not alone in your shame
And your suffering
When you're lonely
And it feels like the whole world is falling on you
You just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus
Cry out to Jesus
To the widow who struggles with being alone
Wiping the tears from her eyes
For the children around the world without a home
Say a prayer tonight
There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
Love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus,
Cry out to Jesus
----- Words by Mac Powell / Music by Third Day
Long before it was their time
You feel like the days you had were not enough
when you said goodbye
And to all of the people with burdens and pains
Keeping you back from your life
You believe that there's nothing and there is no one
Who can make it right
There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
Love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus
For the marriage that's struggling just to hang on
They lost all of their faith in love
They've done all they can to make it right again
Still it's not enough
For the ones who can't break the addictions and chains
You try to give up but you come back again
Just remember that you're not alone in your shame
And your suffering
When you're lonely
And it feels like the whole world is falling on you
You just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus
Cry out to Jesus
To the widow who struggles with being alone
Wiping the tears from her eyes
For the children around the world without a home
Say a prayer tonight
There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
Love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus,
Cry out to Jesus
----- Words by Mac Powell / Music by Third Day
Ever have one of those days..
where you wish you could just snap your fingers and.. disappear?
So the earth would have no record of your existence?
So you (by just being you) would never be a problem for anyone again?
And the only place you'd live, then, would be in the minds and hearts of those who really love you..
I feel like that sometimes. :(
So the earth would have no record of your existence?
So you (by just being you) would never be a problem for anyone again?
And the only place you'd live, then, would be in the minds and hearts of those who really love you..
I feel like that sometimes. :(
Friday, January 18, 2008
Natural Law
"The 'Catechism of the Catholic Church' sums up well the central content of the doctrine on natural moral law, pointing out that it 'states the first and essential precepts which govern the moral life. It hinges upon the desire for God and submission to him, who is the source and judge of all that is good, as well as upon the sense that the other is one's equal. Its principal precepts are expressed in the Decalogue. This law is called "natural," not in reference to the nature of irrational beings, but because reason which decrees it properly belongs to human nature' (No. 1955).
"With this doctrine, two essential goals are reached: On the one hand, it is understood that the ethical content of the Christian faith does not constitute an imposition dictated to the human conscience from the outside but a norm inherent in human nature itself; on the other hand, on the basis of natural law, in itself accessible to any rational creature, with this doctrine the foundations are laid to enter into dialogue with all people of good will and more generally with civil and secular society.
"Yet, precisely because of the influence of cultural and ideological factors, today's civil and secular society is found to be in a state of bewilderment and confusion: it has lost the original evidence of the roots of the human being and his ethical behavior.
"Furthermore, the doctrine of natural moral law conflicts with other concepts that are a direct denial of it. All this has far-reaching, serious consequences on the civil and social order."
"Today, a positivist conception of law seems to dominate many thinkers. They claim that humanity or society or indeed the majority of citizens is becoming the ultimate source of civil law. The problem that arises is not, therefore, the search for good but the search for power, or rather, how to balance powers.
"At the root of this trend is ethical relativism, which some even see as one of the principal conditions for democracy, since relativism is supposed to guarantee tolerance of and reciprocal respect for people. But if this were so, the majority of a moment would become the ultimate source of law.
"History very clearly shows that most people can err. True rationality is not guaranteed by the consensus of a large number, but solely by the transparency of human reason to creative reason and by listening together to this source of our rationality.
"When the fundamental requirements of human dignity, of human life, of the family institution, of a fair social order, in other words, basic human rights, are at stake, no law devised by human beings can subvert the law that the Creator has engraved on the human heart without the indispensable foundations of society itself being dramatically affected.
"Natural law thus becomes the true guarantee offered to each one in order that he may live in freedom, have his dignity respected and be protected from all ideological manipulation and every kind of arbitrary use or abuse by the stronger.
"No one can ignore this appeal. If, by tragically blotting out the collective conscience, skepticism and ethical relativism were to succeed in deleting the fundamental principles of the natural moral law, the foundations of the democratic order itself would be radically damaged."
"To prevent this obscuring, which is a crisis of human civilization even before it is a Christian one, all consciences of people of good will, of lay persons and also of the members of the different Christian denominations, must be mobilized so that they may engage, together and effectively, in order to create the necessary conditions for the inalienable value of the natural moral law in culture and in civil and political society to be fully understood.
"Indeed, on respect for this natural moral law depends the advance of individuals and society on the path of authentic progress in conformity with right reason, which is participation in the eternal reason of God."
----- Pope Benedict XVI spoke these words last Oct. 5 to the International Theological Commission
"With this doctrine, two essential goals are reached: On the one hand, it is understood that the ethical content of the Christian faith does not constitute an imposition dictated to the human conscience from the outside but a norm inherent in human nature itself; on the other hand, on the basis of natural law, in itself accessible to any rational creature, with this doctrine the foundations are laid to enter into dialogue with all people of good will and more generally with civil and secular society.
"Yet, precisely because of the influence of cultural and ideological factors, today's civil and secular society is found to be in a state of bewilderment and confusion: it has lost the original evidence of the roots of the human being and his ethical behavior.
"Furthermore, the doctrine of natural moral law conflicts with other concepts that are a direct denial of it. All this has far-reaching, serious consequences on the civil and social order."
"Today, a positivist conception of law seems to dominate many thinkers. They claim that humanity or society or indeed the majority of citizens is becoming the ultimate source of civil law. The problem that arises is not, therefore, the search for good but the search for power, or rather, how to balance powers.
"At the root of this trend is ethical relativism, which some even see as one of the principal conditions for democracy, since relativism is supposed to guarantee tolerance of and reciprocal respect for people. But if this were so, the majority of a moment would become the ultimate source of law.
"History very clearly shows that most people can err. True rationality is not guaranteed by the consensus of a large number, but solely by the transparency of human reason to creative reason and by listening together to this source of our rationality.
"When the fundamental requirements of human dignity, of human life, of the family institution, of a fair social order, in other words, basic human rights, are at stake, no law devised by human beings can subvert the law that the Creator has engraved on the human heart without the indispensable foundations of society itself being dramatically affected.
"Natural law thus becomes the true guarantee offered to each one in order that he may live in freedom, have his dignity respected and be protected from all ideological manipulation and every kind of arbitrary use or abuse by the stronger.
"No one can ignore this appeal. If, by tragically blotting out the collective conscience, skepticism and ethical relativism were to succeed in deleting the fundamental principles of the natural moral law, the foundations of the democratic order itself would be radically damaged."
"To prevent this obscuring, which is a crisis of human civilization even before it is a Christian one, all consciences of people of good will, of lay persons and also of the members of the different Christian denominations, must be mobilized so that they may engage, together and effectively, in order to create the necessary conditions for the inalienable value of the natural moral law in culture and in civil and political society to be fully understood.
"Indeed, on respect for this natural moral law depends the advance of individuals and society on the path of authentic progress in conformity with right reason, which is participation in the eternal reason of God."
----- Pope Benedict XVI spoke these words last Oct. 5 to the International Theological Commission
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Christ be in your senses
The Rite of Welcome on Sunday was so rich and good. Each of us in the RCIA process were welcomed as catechumen, preparing our hearts and minds for full communion at Easter Vigil.
They blessed our senses. :) Prayed that Christ would inhabit and transform our senses. And for me.. a sensualist of the first rank.. it was just what I needed.
I've written about my senses before, and the frustration I have felt at not being able to reach God with them. Somehow Catholics understand this idea, and work hard at reaching all our senses in worship, with aromas, images, words/music, eating/drinking, and posture/touch.
To them (and perhaps in a way, beginning to be so with me), God is a God who understands, appeals to, and communicates with, our senses. My hope is that, through this process, my senses can finally become useful not just for interacting with people and the world around me, but in my apprehending and interacting with God as well.
And as our sponsors were making the sign of the cross on our forehead, over our eyes, ears, lips, heart.. and my cheeks were becoming wet with tears.. this song was being sung by the people:
Christ be in your senses, marked with sacred sign;
In the Incarnation, flesh became divine.
Christ be in your hearing, tune you to rejoice;
In each shout or whisper, hear God's calling voice.
Christ will be your strength!
Learn to know and follow Him.
Christ be in your vision, guard you day and night;
Keep your feet from stumbling, shine God's holy light.
Christ be in your speaking, train your every word;
In your daily witness let God's truth be heard.
Christ will be your strength!
Learn to know and follow Him.
Christ be in your breathing; constantly impart
Grace to every movement, peace within your heart.
Christ be in your senses, marked with sacred sign;
In the Spirit's presence, flesh becomes divine.
Christ will be your strength!
Learn to know and follow Him.
Amen! I can't imagine a better blessing.. for a guy like me. :)
They blessed our senses. :) Prayed that Christ would inhabit and transform our senses. And for me.. a sensualist of the first rank.. it was just what I needed.
I've written about my senses before, and the frustration I have felt at not being able to reach God with them. Somehow Catholics understand this idea, and work hard at reaching all our senses in worship, with aromas, images, words/music, eating/drinking, and posture/touch.
To them (and perhaps in a way, beginning to be so with me), God is a God who understands, appeals to, and communicates with, our senses. My hope is that, through this process, my senses can finally become useful not just for interacting with people and the world around me, but in my apprehending and interacting with God as well.
And as our sponsors were making the sign of the cross on our forehead, over our eyes, ears, lips, heart.. and my cheeks were becoming wet with tears.. this song was being sung by the people:
Christ be in your senses, marked with sacred sign;
In the Incarnation, flesh became divine.
Christ be in your hearing, tune you to rejoice;
In each shout or whisper, hear God's calling voice.
Christ will be your strength!
Learn to know and follow Him.
Christ be in your vision, guard you day and night;
Keep your feet from stumbling, shine God's holy light.
Christ be in your speaking, train your every word;
In your daily witness let God's truth be heard.
Christ will be your strength!
Learn to know and follow Him.
Christ be in your breathing; constantly impart
Grace to every movement, peace within your heart.
Christ be in your senses, marked with sacred sign;
In the Spirit's presence, flesh becomes divine.
Christ will be your strength!
Learn to know and follow Him.
Amen! I can't imagine a better blessing.. for a guy like me. :)
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
She
She may be the face I can't forget
The trace of pleasure or regret
May be my treasure or the price I have to pay
She may be the song the summer sings
May be the chill the autumn brings
May be a hundred different things
Within the measure of a day
She may be the beauty or the beast
May be the famine or the feast
May turn each day into a heaven or a hell
She may be the mirror of my dreams
The smile reflected in a stream
She may not be what she may seem inside her shell
She who always seems so happy in a crowd
Whose eyes can be so crowded and so proud
No one's allowed to see them when they cry
She may be the love that cannot hope to last
May come to me from shadows of the past
But I'll remember till the day I die
She may be the reason I survive
The why and wherefore I'm alive
The one I'll care for through the rough in many years
Me, I'll take her laughter and her tears
And make them all my souvenirs
For where she goes I've got to be
The meaning of my life is she
She
She
----- Elvis Costello
The trace of pleasure or regret
May be my treasure or the price I have to pay
She may be the song the summer sings
May be the chill the autumn brings
May be a hundred different things
Within the measure of a day
She may be the beauty or the beast
May be the famine or the feast
May turn each day into a heaven or a hell
She may be the mirror of my dreams
The smile reflected in a stream
She may not be what she may seem inside her shell
She who always seems so happy in a crowd
Whose eyes can be so crowded and so proud
No one's allowed to see them when they cry
She may be the love that cannot hope to last
May come to me from shadows of the past
But I'll remember till the day I die
She may be the reason I survive
The why and wherefore I'm alive
The one I'll care for through the rough in many years
Me, I'll take her laughter and her tears
And make them all my souvenirs
For where she goes I've got to be
The meaning of my life is she
She
She
----- Elvis Costello
Music Reviews: The Pogues, Gorillaz, Daft Punk, Elvis Costello, etc.
Part 2 of the music the kiddies brought back at Christmas for daddy. :)
The Pogues - "Hell's Ditch", "Pogue Mahone", "Red Roses For Me", "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash": Whooo.. 4 CDs to review? Well.. I'll shorten it up, including the album titles (via acronyms). These span from 1984 (RRFM) through 1995 (PM), so it's a range of their work.
I like these guys partly because they are in between Flogging Molly (who are more celtic punk) and Runrig (who are more ethnic folk) - they're a nice blend. And.. their sound is pretty consistent across the albums (including the other two I have - If I Should Fall From Grace With God, and Waiting For Herb, which I may have reviewed elsewhere..) You can depend on them to sound decent all the time. And it's pretty mellow and chill music a lot of the time. Not too frenetic for background. :)
Favorites: from HD, House of the Gods, Madrin Rain, Six To Go. From PM, Living In A World Without Her, Bright Lights, When The Ship Comes In, Where That Love's Been Gone, Love You To The End (also featured in movie - P.S. I Love You). From RS&L, A Pair of Brown Eyes, London Girl, Rainy Night In Soho. From (RRFM), The Battle of Brisbane, Boys From The County Hell, Dark Streets Of London. Two thumbs up for the PM CD - it's good from start to finish - one thumb up for the others.
Gorillaz - "Demon Days": I'm not sure what this is, exactly. Is it rap? Is it dance? Electronica? Alternative? Pop? Obscura (a'la Decemberists)? All of these, I think. There's even a dramatic reading.. "Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head" which is like a fairy tale set to music. Hm. I don't get this group at all. I do like some tracks, like the title track, "Don't Get Lost In Heaven", "Dare", but not others (White Light, November Has Come, Feel Good Inc.) It's a puzzler.. one thumb tentatively up.
Daft Punk - "Homework": House/funk/electro/techno.. yeah, whatever. As the title implies, it's study music. :) Keeps me awake on long nights reading about human origins or pneumatology. Some songs are a bit too.. space-y? for my tastes. (Ex: Burnin') ) I mean, I thought space noises went the way of the Moog Synthesizer and the Apollo program: mothballs and museums, man.. and some are tough to study to because of endlessly looped words (ex: Oh Yeah) I'd prefer more beats & bass and less words & squeakage. Favorites: Alive, Rock 'n Roll, High Fidelity, Phoenix, Da Funk. One thumb up. :)
Elvis Costello - "The Very Best of": This best-of double-CD runs from 1977 to 1999. As I listened in chronological order, I sure wound up liking his later stuff much better than his early stuff. The early material sounds a bit Billy Joel-ish at times, but without the chops to pull it off. But later.. oh yeah. :) His songwriting matures and his material works better with his voice and band. See his collaborative work with Diana Krall on her "The Girl In The Other Room" CD for more. Favorites: She (great song), So Like Candy, Tramp The Dirt Down, Indoor Fireworks, Almost Blue, I Want You. One thumb up.. for the second of the two CDs. :)
Coming up next time.. Milosh, K-OS, Psapp, Zoe Keating, more..
The Pogues - "Hell's Ditch", "Pogue Mahone", "Red Roses For Me", "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash": Whooo.. 4 CDs to review? Well.. I'll shorten it up, including the album titles (via acronyms). These span from 1984 (RRFM) through 1995 (PM), so it's a range of their work.
I like these guys partly because they are in between Flogging Molly (who are more celtic punk) and Runrig (who are more ethnic folk) - they're a nice blend. And.. their sound is pretty consistent across the albums (including the other two I have - If I Should Fall From Grace With God, and Waiting For Herb, which I may have reviewed elsewhere..) You can depend on them to sound decent all the time. And it's pretty mellow and chill music a lot of the time. Not too frenetic for background. :)
Favorites: from HD, House of the Gods, Madrin Rain, Six To Go. From PM, Living In A World Without Her, Bright Lights, When The Ship Comes In, Where That Love's Been Gone, Love You To The End (also featured in movie - P.S. I Love You). From RS&L, A Pair of Brown Eyes, London Girl, Rainy Night In Soho. From (RRFM), The Battle of Brisbane, Boys From The County Hell, Dark Streets Of London. Two thumbs up for the PM CD - it's good from start to finish - one thumb up for the others.
Gorillaz - "Demon Days": I'm not sure what this is, exactly. Is it rap? Is it dance? Electronica? Alternative? Pop? Obscura (a'la Decemberists)? All of these, I think. There's even a dramatic reading.. "Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head" which is like a fairy tale set to music. Hm. I don't get this group at all. I do like some tracks, like the title track, "Don't Get Lost In Heaven", "Dare", but not others (White Light, November Has Come, Feel Good Inc.) It's a puzzler.. one thumb tentatively up.
Daft Punk - "Homework": House/funk/electro/techno.. yeah, whatever. As the title implies, it's study music. :) Keeps me awake on long nights reading about human origins or pneumatology. Some songs are a bit too.. space-y? for my tastes. (Ex: Burnin') ) I mean, I thought space noises went the way of the Moog Synthesizer and the Apollo program: mothballs and museums, man.. and some are tough to study to because of endlessly looped words (ex: Oh Yeah) I'd prefer more beats & bass and less words & squeakage. Favorites: Alive, Rock 'n Roll, High Fidelity, Phoenix, Da Funk. One thumb up. :)
Elvis Costello - "The Very Best of": This best-of double-CD runs from 1977 to 1999. As I listened in chronological order, I sure wound up liking his later stuff much better than his early stuff. The early material sounds a bit Billy Joel-ish at times, but without the chops to pull it off. But later.. oh yeah. :) His songwriting matures and his material works better with his voice and band. See his collaborative work with Diana Krall on her "The Girl In The Other Room" CD for more. Favorites: She (great song), So Like Candy, Tramp The Dirt Down, Indoor Fireworks, Almost Blue, I Want You. One thumb up.. for the second of the two CDs. :)
Coming up next time.. Milosh, K-OS, Psapp, Zoe Keating, more..
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Viability
my new buzzword. :)
Dr. Shrinkwrap said last week that what I should shoot for now is to start moving from dealing with all the negatives (losses, hurts, disappointments) in my life, to building toward a life that I can increasingly view as viable.
This came up in the context of how the new job is going, and as I discussed it with him, I labeled it as: still nothing really enjoyable, but fewer anxieties about it with every month that goes by. Working from home is good, and the travel to KC seems to be manageable. He said "are you starting to view the job as something you can live with over the longer term horizon? something that won't be so discouraging such that you dread each day?"
And yeah.. I think I can see it that way. :) It's alright. I get nothing out of it personally or vocationally, certainly have no "pride in career" left in me at all, and steadfastly refuse to get involved with the company at any level of emotional interest. It's give them their money's worth (maybe a little more), and leave it at that. No expectations for the future other than a day's pay for a day's work.
Is that viable? I suppose so.
So we went on from there to other areas of life. Are other things viable as they are? If not, can you see how they might get there? What you could add or subtract, area by area, to get that area to viability?
He said that if I can see the major areas of my life as viable, then contentment will not seem far off. And as contentment draws nearer.. joy is also closer at hand.
Small steps in that direction is all that's needed - a little at a time. Slow and steady progress.
We talked a bit about some quality-of-life things I've decided to shoot for in this new year, just for my own well-being (and no, they are NOT mostly materialistic.) He was very pleased, and said that it sounded like I was beginning to value myself a little more.. to want to make little improvements like these.
Maybe so.
Maybe it's part of trying to see the circumstances of my life as becoming more viable. Maybe it's trying to see *myself* becoming more viable as a human being, too, instead of how I've appeared to myself in recent years (which is far from that..)
But what it's *not* is a phony propped up "feel good" campaign about myself. It needs to be based on reality, not just my perception. I can fool myself as much as the next guy - or more. And there'll be none of that, thanks.
Hopefully, what there will be.. is a genuine viability to life. And to this human being I call me.
Dr. Shrinkwrap said last week that what I should shoot for now is to start moving from dealing with all the negatives (losses, hurts, disappointments) in my life, to building toward a life that I can increasingly view as viable.
This came up in the context of how the new job is going, and as I discussed it with him, I labeled it as: still nothing really enjoyable, but fewer anxieties about it with every month that goes by. Working from home is good, and the travel to KC seems to be manageable. He said "are you starting to view the job as something you can live with over the longer term horizon? something that won't be so discouraging such that you dread each day?"
And yeah.. I think I can see it that way. :) It's alright. I get nothing out of it personally or vocationally, certainly have no "pride in career" left in me at all, and steadfastly refuse to get involved with the company at any level of emotional interest. It's give them their money's worth (maybe a little more), and leave it at that. No expectations for the future other than a day's pay for a day's work.
Is that viable? I suppose so.
So we went on from there to other areas of life. Are other things viable as they are? If not, can you see how they might get there? What you could add or subtract, area by area, to get that area to viability?
He said that if I can see the major areas of my life as viable, then contentment will not seem far off. And as contentment draws nearer.. joy is also closer at hand.
Small steps in that direction is all that's needed - a little at a time. Slow and steady progress.
We talked a bit about some quality-of-life things I've decided to shoot for in this new year, just for my own well-being (and no, they are NOT mostly materialistic.) He was very pleased, and said that it sounded like I was beginning to value myself a little more.. to want to make little improvements like these.
Maybe so.
Maybe it's part of trying to see the circumstances of my life as becoming more viable. Maybe it's trying to see *myself* becoming more viable as a human being, too, instead of how I've appeared to myself in recent years (which is far from that..)
But what it's *not* is a phony propped up "feel good" campaign about myself. It needs to be based on reality, not just my perception. I can fool myself as much as the next guy - or more. And there'll be none of that, thanks.
Hopefully, what there will be.. is a genuine viability to life. And to this human being I call me.
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