Gem of a song, apparently about Apartheid and Mandela.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rise_(Public_Image_Ltd_song)
PIL Rise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmVSXGuMoGI
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Friday, August 8, 2014
Song of the Day: Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died in Your Arms
Wow, here's a song that takes me back. Not the greatest song in the history of the world, but I associate this so strongly with my youth that I just had to post it. I remember vividly playing this song from a boombox on the deck while picking/raking/throwing apples in my dad's yard, prior to mowing the grass. Yes, I had (and still have somewhere) the cassette tape of this album!
"Just Died in your arms Lyrics"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqqVgXPclsE
"Just Died in your arms Lyrics"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqqVgXPclsE
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Quote of the Day: Marcel Proust on Discovery
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
- Marcel Proust
This is similar to a past blog post of mine: Quote of the Day: T.S. Eliot on Exploration and Knowing, from March 10, 2012. I guess the reason I'm posting this idea again is because I'm seeing just how true it is.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Tom's Poems - The Complete Collection
I'm not a big poetry fan. But there are times when poetry can express things so simply and succinctly, and beautifully, that it is stunning. Here are a couple examples, from past posts on this blog:
So, without further delay, here they are:
Cat
Cat
Rhymes with splat
And that's that.
Joe
Joe
Rhymes with blow
So let's go!
Yes sir, that's my complete collection!
Okay, so there's a story behind these poems. No, no cats were harmed in the writing of these poems, by the way. Not sure if Joe got blown or not...
Both were written in either the summer of 1988 or 1989, the two summers where I worked at Ehrich's Bavarian Inn in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin. I've talked about working there before, for an amazing woman, in these posts.
For the first poem, some of us got a little tired of Mary Ellen talking about her cat all the time. So I ended up writing "Cat" in response. I wrote it up on the back of a paper placemat and hung it up on the wall in the kitchen. Mary Ellen went to take it down, but Rita LOVED it! And so it stayed.
Then later in the summer, Mary Ellen made the grave mistake of mentioning that she was seeing a guy named Joe. Well, we all started teasing her about that. And it didn't take me long to come up with "Joe." Again, it hung on the kitchen wall for the remainder of the summer.
Yes, you never know where inspiration will strike. You just never know.
I often say, when I come up with a crazy joke that applies to a certain situation, that "the jokes, they write themselves." These poems are an early example of this, for me.
Oh wait, I forgot one. Here it is, previously posted on this blog:
Ode to the North Georgia Mountains, from May 9, 2010.
Ode to the North Georgia Mountains
* estimated
- Quote of the Day: TS Eliot on Exploration and Knowing, March 10, 2012
- There's a hole in my sidewalk, September 20, 2010
So, without further delay, here they are:
Cat
Cat
Rhymes with splat
And that's that.
Joe
Joe
Rhymes with blow
So let's go!
Yes sir, that's my complete collection!
Okay, so there's a story behind these poems. No, no cats were harmed in the writing of these poems, by the way. Not sure if Joe got blown or not...
Both were written in either the summer of 1988 or 1989, the two summers where I worked at Ehrich's Bavarian Inn in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin. I've talked about working there before, for an amazing woman, in these posts.
- Rita, 54545, USA, June 22, 2010 (One of my very best posts, by the way. Read it now.)
- Labels, July 13, 2010
For the first poem, some of us got a little tired of Mary Ellen talking about her cat all the time. So I ended up writing "Cat" in response. I wrote it up on the back of a paper placemat and hung it up on the wall in the kitchen. Mary Ellen went to take it down, but Rita LOVED it! And so it stayed.
Then later in the summer, Mary Ellen made the grave mistake of mentioning that she was seeing a guy named Joe. Well, we all started teasing her about that. And it didn't take me long to come up with "Joe." Again, it hung on the kitchen wall for the remainder of the summer.
Yes, you never know where inspiration will strike. You just never know.
I often say, when I come up with a crazy joke that applies to a certain situation, that "the jokes, they write themselves." These poems are an early example of this, for me.
Oh wait, I forgot one. Here it is, previously posted on this blog:
Ode to the North Georgia Mountains, from May 9, 2010.
Ode to the North Georgia Mountains
Tar snakes, how they squirm.
Life is too short to be stuck
Behind a Camry.
* estimated
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Quote of the Day: Shunryu Suzuki on Life's Problems
From Theendlessfurther.com:
http://theendlessfurther.com/tag/shunryu-suzuki/ *
"When your life is always a part of your surroundings–in other words, when you are called back to yourself, in the present moment–then there is no problem. When you start to wander about in some delusion which is something apart from you yourself, then your surroundings are not real anymore, and your mind is not real anymore. If you yourself are deluded, then your surroundings are also a misty, foggy delusion. Once you are in the midst of delusion, there is no end to delusion. You will be involved in deluded ideas one after another. Most people live in delusion, involved in their problem, trying to solve their problem. But just to live is actually to live in problems. And to solve the problem is to be a part of it, to be one with it."
- Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, 1970
So often we think that if only we could solve our problems, the problems we have today, that we'll be all set and life will be good. But then you hear that rich people, or other people that you think have things "figured out," still have a lot of stress in their lives.
I think that this quote has it exactly right. Life is problems. You'll never solve them all, and if you do you'll just find more. You have to embrace them. No, you don't like having problems, of course, nobody does. But maybe you learn to accept that you'll always have an endless to-do list or you'll never be as fit as you like or you'll never achieve all you want at work. Fight the battles and savor the small victories, the precious moments. I wish I had figured this out earlier.
* There were other pages that had this quote, of course. But this page had a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon!
http://theendlessfurther.com/tag/shunryu-suzuki/ *
"When your life is always a part of your surroundings–in other words, when you are called back to yourself, in the present moment–then there is no problem. When you start to wander about in some delusion which is something apart from you yourself, then your surroundings are not real anymore, and your mind is not real anymore. If you yourself are deluded, then your surroundings are also a misty, foggy delusion. Once you are in the midst of delusion, there is no end to delusion. You will be involved in deluded ideas one after another. Most people live in delusion, involved in their problem, trying to solve their problem. But just to live is actually to live in problems. And to solve the problem is to be a part of it, to be one with it."
- Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, 1970
So often we think that if only we could solve our problems, the problems we have today, that we'll be all set and life will be good. But then you hear that rich people, or other people that you think have things "figured out," still have a lot of stress in their lives.
I think that this quote has it exactly right. Life is problems. You'll never solve them all, and if you do you'll just find more. You have to embrace them. No, you don't like having problems, of course, nobody does. But maybe you learn to accept that you'll always have an endless to-do list or you'll never be as fit as you like or you'll never achieve all you want at work. Fight the battles and savor the small victories, the precious moments. I wish I had figured this out earlier.
* There were other pages that had this quote, of course. But this page had a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon!
Monday, August 4, 2014
Quote of the Day: Ralph Waldo Emerson on Instinct
"Trust the instinct to the end, though you can render no reason."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Song of the Day: Gabrielle Aplin - Please Don't Say You Love Me
Very tender song.
"Gabrielle Aplin - Please Don't Say You Love Me"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxNYvk_0Onw
And how about this version, from an X-Factor contestant? Amazing!
"Rachael Thompson - The X Factor Australia 2014 - AUDITION [FULL]"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58-as-joCfU
Lyrics from AZLyrics.com:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/gabrielleaplin/pleasedontsayyouloveme.html
"Please Don't Say You Love Me"
Summer comes, winter fades
Here we are just the same
Don't need pressure, don't need change
Let's not give the game away
There used to be an empty space
A photograph without a face
But with your presence, and your grace
Everything falls into place
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
Doesn't mean my heart stops skipping when you look at me like that
There's no need to worry when you see just where we're at
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
Heavy words are hard to take
Under pressure precious things can break
And how we feel is hard to fake
So let's not give the game away
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
Doesn't mean my heart stops skipping when you look at me like that
There's no need to worry when you see just where we're at
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
And fools rush in
And I've been the fool before
This time I'm gonna slow it down
'Cause I think this could be more
The thing I'm looking for
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
Doesn't mean my heart stops skipping when you look at me like that
There's no need to worry when you see just where we're at
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
Please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
Doesn't mean my heart stops skipping when you look at me like that
There's no need to worry when you see just where we're at
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
"Gabrielle Aplin - Please Don't Say You Love Me"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxNYvk_0Onw
Heavy words are hard to take
Under pressure precious things can break
And how we feel is hard to fake
So let's not give the game away
And how about this version, from an X-Factor contestant? Amazing!
"Rachael Thompson - The X Factor Australia 2014 - AUDITION [FULL]"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58-as-joCfU
Lyrics from AZLyrics.com:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/gabrielleaplin/pleasedontsayyouloveme.html
"Please Don't Say You Love Me"
Summer comes, winter fades
Here we are just the same
Don't need pressure, don't need change
Let's not give the game away
There used to be an empty space
A photograph without a face
But with your presence, and your grace
Everything falls into place
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
Doesn't mean my heart stops skipping when you look at me like that
There's no need to worry when you see just where we're at
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
Heavy words are hard to take
Under pressure precious things can break
And how we feel is hard to fake
So let's not give the game away
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
Doesn't mean my heart stops skipping when you look at me like that
There's no need to worry when you see just where we're at
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
And fools rush in
And I've been the fool before
This time I'm gonna slow it down
'Cause I think this could be more
The thing I'm looking for
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
Doesn't mean my heart stops skipping when you look at me like that
There's no need to worry when you see just where we're at
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
Please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
Doesn't mean my heart stops skipping when you look at me like that
There's no need to worry when you see just where we're at
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
Just please don't say you love me
'Cause I might not say it back
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