I meant to post last night, the internet was down at our house most of the night. Today, more than deep intellectual thoughts, I'm thinking about God and blessings. Particularly the lyrics to the Newsboys song, "Devotion": "All my world / all I've lost / the wrecks I've made here / the lives it cost / Your hand restores / Your works make whole / with all my soul / I thank You, I owe You all my / devotion ... all my past / my tainted main / You stole its legacy / of pride and shame / You're all I love / You're all I fear / I'm drawing near / to face You / to know You ... You found me / in a shallow grave / You tracked me out from beneath it all / You healed me, saved me / in the nick of time, Your perfect time ... / I devote all I have to You / devote all that You've made new / all You restored that day You bled / all that You brought back from the dead ... my Lord, my devotion"
I also had coffee with a Betty (no time to explain now) last night, and it was so pleasant just to share mutual feelings or insecurities, then encourage each other. I got to come home, do a little jump-roping, watch a little "Seinfeld," and dive into a brand new book ("My Scrumptious Scottish Dumplings"), which is already a hoot despite the fact that the main character is at least six or seven years younger than I :) So the whole night just got me thinkin' ... it's really a pretty good gig we've got goin' on.
It's finally arrived...
"No spring nor summer hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face."
~ John Donne
Today is the first official day of autumn. So begins my favorite time of year, which includes my anniversary, my birthday and Thanksgiving. Not to mention the countdown to my favorite day of the year: Christmas Eve. Ah, you thought I'd say Christmas, right? Well I think most people would agree that after the pomp of a Christmas Eve service or dinner party at your grandparents' or a final reading of the Christmas story, things seem to wind down after gift opening on the actual holiday (food is an obvious plus but, as I must remind myself constantly, it's not everything). The anticipation and knowing that you have one more day to bask in the Christmas spirit is where the magic truly is.
But that time will come, and I'm not counting down the days yet because I soak up every ounce of autumn I can. Some people ("summer lovers" I call them) choose to look at it as "the beginning of the end," the outdoors version of terminal illness. But it's not death it represents, but change. The kind of change that matures you, ready or not, and somehow makes you even more colorful and beautiful. In the New Testament, Christ and Paul often talked about death as a pathway to life. That's all this time of year is, really. The whole tree doesn't die when it sheds its leaves. It's simply letting go of the old stuff to make room for the really good stuff. Ain't life grand?
~ John Donne
Today is the first official day of autumn. So begins my favorite time of year, which includes my anniversary, my birthday and Thanksgiving. Not to mention the countdown to my favorite day of the year: Christmas Eve. Ah, you thought I'd say Christmas, right? Well I think most people would agree that after the pomp of a Christmas Eve service or dinner party at your grandparents' or a final reading of the Christmas story, things seem to wind down after gift opening on the actual holiday (food is an obvious plus but, as I must remind myself constantly, it's not everything). The anticipation and knowing that you have one more day to bask in the Christmas spirit is where the magic truly is.
But that time will come, and I'm not counting down the days yet because I soak up every ounce of autumn I can. Some people ("summer lovers" I call them) choose to look at it as "the beginning of the end," the outdoors version of terminal illness. But it's not death it represents, but change. The kind of change that matures you, ready or not, and somehow makes you even more colorful and beautiful. In the New Testament, Christ and Paul often talked about death as a pathway to life. That's all this time of year is, really. The whole tree doesn't die when it sheds its leaves. It's simply letting go of the old stuff to make room for the really good stuff. Ain't life grand?
Rave
Like any great musical purchase should be, David Gray's new album, "Life in Slow Motion," truly is a treat.
He's back with a bigger sound and higher language (I actually had to pull out my dictionary a couple times for good measure). Gray commands the slow build: You'll be listening to a perfectly delightful song and before you know it, you've reached a crescendo strong enough to stir your soul. Coincidentally, a lot of British-Isles acts seem to excel at this (think U2, Coldplay or Travis).
This review can explain it more eloquently than I, though I would have been a bit more generous with my grade. My favorites (so far) are "The One I Love," "Slow Motion," "Ain't No Love" and "Disappearing World." No, this CD is not an "upper," but with the haunting choruses and beautiful music, it is by no means a "downer."
The bottom line is David Gray doesn't get nearly the attention he deserves. He's a masterful musician and lyricist. He consistently achieves that more and more elusive goal of conveying a specific emotion or thought without spelling it out. Even if you don't comprehend the meaning of each word or phrase, you "get it." That's what good poets do.
He's back with a bigger sound and higher language (I actually had to pull out my dictionary a couple times for good measure). Gray commands the slow build: You'll be listening to a perfectly delightful song and before you know it, you've reached a crescendo strong enough to stir your soul. Coincidentally, a lot of British-Isles acts seem to excel at this (think U2, Coldplay or Travis).
This review can explain it more eloquently than I, though I would have been a bit more generous with my grade. My favorites (so far) are "The One I Love," "Slow Motion," "Ain't No Love" and "Disappearing World." No, this CD is not an "upper," but with the haunting choruses and beautiful music, it is by no means a "downer."
The bottom line is David Gray doesn't get nearly the attention he deserves. He's a masterful musician and lyricist. He consistently achieves that more and more elusive goal of conveying a specific emotion or thought without spelling it out. Even if you don't comprehend the meaning of each word or phrase, you "get it." That's what good poets do.
It's amazing, really...
...how few sentences will ever begin with "It's like that part of 'Crossroads' with Britney Spears... ."
...And that sexist jokes are still in style. While dropping my husband off at an eye appointment, I told him I'd be shopping a couple stores over and would be right back. The doctor paused then turned to him, "You didn't leave her any credit cards did you?" Brilliant. And original.
...And that sexist jokes are still in style. While dropping my husband off at an eye appointment, I told him I'd be shopping a couple stores over and would be right back. The doctor paused then turned to him, "You didn't leave her any credit cards did you?" Brilliant. And original.
Eight days until its official...
"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." ~ George Eliot
So ... this is a blog
I've always thought "bloggers" were a little (no offense) stuck up, posting their every thought and whim on the World Wide Web. But you know what? This is the Information Age, and I'm still young enough to jump on the bandwagon and see what all the fuss is about. And besides, like girlfriday says, who doesn't like to read their own writing?
This is a blog about life and the stuff that really matters ... at least as far as I'm concerned :) Brilliance and high IQ not required. Instead, think insight, gray matter meanderings and, in the words of U2, "all that you can't leave behind."
America
It's been four years since the terrorist attacks on the East Coast, and once again Americans are uniting to help those victimized by disaster. Except this time, instead of planes crashing into buildings, it was a fierce hurricane tearing through a coast. I can scarcely name a Web site I've visited or commerce outlet I've patronized that didn't offer or display a way to help Katrina evacuees. Yes, we are spoiled here and tend to be very materialistic. But if there's one thing we know how to do when it counts, it's help one another. And our generosity extends past our borders in many ways as well. There's a reason why more than 60 countries (including Cuba) have offered aid TO US this time.
Someday we'll know all the things that went wrong in getting aid to survivors quickly, and I guarantee none of it will have to do with George W. Bush's feelings toward black people (FYI: he just signed one of the largest foreign aids bills of all time for ... Africa). More troubling than the ignorance in Kanye West's words last week were his own implications. He insisted on referring to every person of color in New Orleans as "we." And yet, in the stories or photos of countless celebrities pitching in throughout the Gulf Coast, West's face has been absent.
"We" are Americans and though we're far from perfect, "we" care.
Someday we'll know all the things that went wrong in getting aid to survivors quickly, and I guarantee none of it will have to do with George W. Bush's feelings toward black people (FYI: he just signed one of the largest foreign aids bills of all time for ... Africa). More troubling than the ignorance in Kanye West's words last week were his own implications. He insisted on referring to every person of color in New Orleans as "we." And yet, in the stories or photos of countless celebrities pitching in throughout the Gulf Coast, West's face has been absent.
"We" are Americans and though we're far from perfect, "we" care.
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