Nearly all of my books on spirituality (especially Eastern philosophy and spirituality) have orange on their covers. Bear with me while I decode that…
Sorry for the obnoxiously short post; I’m barely at home before leaving to the cabin again :) Have an excellent day!
I don’t like to advertise things, because it makes me sound like a scammer/spammer/spatter. (“Spatter” is the name I came up with for someone who has a spam Twitter account. I’m oh-so-clever.)
However, there are some exceptions. And it is this: Better A Cappella.
Ahhhhmazing. And also very inspiring. I’ve been interested in the idea of creating a college a cappella group, because nearly every college has one now, except ours. And almost all of my friends can sing very well (I swear it just magically happened that way) and would be willing to participate in and organize such a group. But part of the problem is the money. Now that I know there’s a site like this…
Seriously, I sound like such a spammer. But I’m not! I’m just really excited :) The best part is where they got the idea for their name! It’s on their site ;)
Anyway, leaving now for the cabin. shweeeet!
“This,” the director said, snatching a chorus member’s papers, “is not music.” He threw it on the floor. “Music exists only in this immediate moment.”
I smiled in understanding, but I don’t think he saw me. And the evening went on.
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A cappella singing is like no other, and barbershop is a special branch that I hold dear. The four parts, from lowest to highest, are bass, baritone, lead, and tenor. The lead part has the melody of the song, and the three other parts are harmony (bass usually as a vocal rhythm, baritone weaving around the melody, and tenor trilling at the top). I usually sing tenor, but one chorus needed basses and I had the ability, so that’s what I sang—and I’m a better tenor for it. It takes so much to be able to produce chords in these choruses. Fundamentally, everyone must be on pitch, but the actual correct singing requires much more: First, one must breathe deeply and in the right place (into the base of the lungs, without raising the shoulders). Next, one must create proper vowel shape with the mouth (there are actually many different ways to say the “oh” sound, for instance) and make sure it matches the other singers’ mouth shape. The singer also has to use “resonation chambers” in the body. It’s like we’re cathedrals, and if you want the best sound you have to sing in the stone hall instead of in the bathroom; you have to sing into the sinus cavities and as if the crown of your head is the Tacoma Dome.
After you create the right note by achieving all that (constantly, and while keeping correct posture and foot position, remembering notes, words, and maybe even choreography, and smiling), your part relies on the others to do the same so that the whole chord may “lock.” Even if every person is technically hitting the right note, the chord may not lock—they must also be doing everything to be actually singing correctly. Then, even if the chord has locked, it may not ring (but that’s unusual).
It may seem too hit-and-miss to even bother trying. But when a chord rings, and when you’re able to hear it while singing rather than just knowing it because of the pleased director, it’s the most rewarding feeling in the world. Ringing chords creates overtones, which are notes above the chord that no one is actually singing. They’re clearly audible—it’s not just a mind trick—but also surreal, because for all the work it took to produce the actual chord, no one singer is creating the overtone. It takes the entire group, and those overtones are what we always strive for. When we don’t have an actual audience, the overtones are like the heavens’ applause.
[This is a very short excerpt from the final paper I wrote for my class in our last quarter. As with all the content on my blog, please do not reproduce it in any way, except perhaps with proper citation :) If you ask me, I'd probably be happy to give my permission!]
This is a complete, comprehensive review of Tom Felton’s EP, In Good Hands. All 6 tracks of it. It’s not one of the ones by Feltbeats, just the one Tom Felton released on March 10, 2009.
To see where you can obtain a copy of any of Tom’s works, see the post below this one, “Re: Tom Felton: Where to Find…”
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Tom Felton's EP: "In Good Hands"
At Face Value: There is nothing missing from the cover of this album, except perhaps color. But who needs it? You can’t really tell whether it’s water or grass in the background, but it looks very fluid. I think that’s what counts, picturesquely speaking. You get Tom’s guitar, his signature baggy sweatshirt, the sturdy tree, and the dangling leaves in the foreground. And then there’s something metal, like a tool or something, in the tree. Don’t quite know what it is, but it looks very rustic. It’s like you’re catching Tom on a typical day, except that we all know that Tom, on “a typical day” is surrounded by Potter pals.
Track 1 “If You Could Be Anywhere”: I love the way this song starts. It almost sets you up for something different; that first bar of music sort of asks a question, perhaps “where would you be?” What follows is energetic strumming and a not-so-intricate picking style that comes in a bit late at times, cluing fans in to the fact that really, he’s just having fun. At least for now. I’m going to pass over the incorrect grammar of “where would I fly to?” and move right on to… who is that lady in the waiting room? The strangest part of this song is the sort of sighing in the background. At some places it’s pretty clear that it’s a supplemental sort of harmony part, but at others it just sounds… maybe like a mimicry of Tom’s biggest fangirls? and who is that lady in the street? My favorite part of this song comes at the very end, with the harmonica–simply superb.
Track 2 “We Belong”: I’ll be honest: at first I thought it was going to be a cover of the Pat Benetar song. It’s not, of course. That said, there’s not much I can say about this song. It’s a pretty sweet love song. I think the drums are a little much at times, and again, the sighing background vocals are distracting. I like the lyric “we belong in the sands of the sky” the best in this song. Perhaps it’s just because I’m a cynic, but the song gets a little too sappy about halfway through. If I thought it was actually a parody of itself, like Jason Mraz might produce, I might stomach it a bit better. And indeed, the “you are the reason why…” bridge is reminiscent of some of Mraz’s work. “You are the reason why I won’t be sleeping tonight” is amusing… and it just gets a little too sweet after that. Also, he references his own song, which is a technique I’m not too thrilled about. Still, it’s a song that fangirls will like to listen to and pretend he’s singing to them, I’m sure.
Track 3 “When Angels Come”: Like the emphasis on the upbeat at the beginning, and also the slight falsetto throughout the song. Unfortunately, I have the same complaint with this song as the last one. “Makeup was designed for other girls to try and look like you.” Really, Tom? I have to wonder if he’s even talking about his current girlfriend, because really, who is she trying to look like with all that makeup? But I digress… I do like that he actually warns us that he’s not going to leave anything out about what he likes about this girl– “my words no longer cautious.” At first I also liked the idea that he was incorporating angels… but then it’s only to compare them to this girl, and it turns out that his girlfriend wins. And not to go completely Jesus-freak on everyone, but is that really realistic?
Track 4 “Convinced”: Ok, I have to reveal a pet peeve here: beginning a song with “and” or “cuz.” In all of Felton’s work (including his 3 other EPs under Feltbeats) he only does it about 3 or 4 times, but for some reason it made a big impression on me. So, barring that, this is one of my favorite songs on the EP. It’s actually quite hilarious. He has “makes you want to vomit” rhyming with “change the channel, nothing’s on it,” and for some reason those lines make me laugh every time I hear them. However, the line after that, which I believe is “it’s all ri-i-ight,” is exactly the same as “I’m yo-o-ours” from Jason Mraz. Catchy, but already used, Mr. Felton. (I know I’m picky, but “I’m Yours” was a huge hit everywhere, and this EP came out at least a year after “I’m Yours,” so he might have switched it up a bit…) I’m a little biased toward songs about honest girls, and this one is no different. I like the idea that “she’s as honest as can be; that’s why I’m convinced when she says she loves me.” I like the faded out guitar part.
Track 5 “Father of Mine”: [*Ahem*, bear with me here.] I like the opening guitar part. It sets the song up very well, and is extremely different from the other songs on the album. And after that… well, after that comes what I think is supposed to be a very touching song about divorced parents. First of all, I (fortunately) cannot relate to this subject at all. But I must give Tom kudos for singing about such a difficult subject and bearing his heart. Seriously, that takes guts, especially for someone who is known for his role as a “tough-guy.” As a singer, I can’t help noticing that I’m pretty sure he’s flat in a couple of lines, and I almost can’t tolerate the “father of mah-hiiine” whine. I guess in general, it’s just a little too specific. Its tone is a little too sad and it doesn’t make up for it with any biting cynicism or sarcasm or making fun of itself. I won’t lie: it makes me uncomfortable, for more reasons than one: My final issue with this song… it reminds me of Lucius Malfoy. Someone could write a parody of it and insert “Dark Lord” every time Tom said “divorce,” and poor Draco would easily be singing about his father. Please, Tom, put that on YouTube and make this song worthwhile!
Track 6 “If That’s All Right With You”: This EP goes out with a bang. This is my favorite track by Tom Felton, out of all of his EPs, and it gives me happy vibes every time I hear it. I love that it starts out with a kind of docile sound, with just quiet voice and guitar, and then it builds with a bit of drums, the vocal gets louder, and more drums, and he…! I really don’t want to give it away. It’s a bit surprising, considering every other song Tom performs. I love that it’s a bit rowdy, but with this underlying timidity: “I’ll kiss you on the lips… but only if that’s alright with you.” And, ok… if I was the girl Tom was singing to, I’d rather hear this than hear that he would tell all the angels that I was prettier than they are. The other best part about this song is the line “I’d hold you in my arms like you was a guitar.”
And just like that, just like the actual CD itself, the music comes full circle. On the album cover? Yes, Tom holds his girls like they’re guitars and he holds his guitars like they’re girls. And whichever he happens to be holding at the time, she’s in good hands.
Ok, I’m a little dense, and I just needed to put this up for clarification RE: Tom Felton’s music/Feltbeats:
Tom Felton has released an EP under his own name, In Good Hands, which is the one on Amazon that I linked to. However, Feltbeats has three other albums (though one of those is only a single). They are:
Time Well Spent
All I Need
Silhouettes in Sunsets (single)
These are all available at iTunes and Amazon, as well as at eMusic, which is a fantastic source that I really prefer (it’s cheaper, plus there are fantastic free downloads sometimes).
Please, my one request is that you don’t try to find these tracks on LimeWire. We all know that it’s not like it would hurt Tom financially if no one paid for them, but the Feltbeats EPs from eMusic (or Tom’s solo one, In Good Hands, from Amazon) are already cheaper than the typical $.99 downloads anyway. Plus, if he’s really serious about wanting to study music and continue a musical career after HP, then we should be supportive of that, right? :P
And just so you know, I have downloaded them all from eMusic, and all the songs are as fantastic as the YouTube vids :) Well, maybe not quite as fantastic, because you can’t see him, but still… And “If You Could Be Anywhere” is longer then the YouTube version and it’s amazing! But now that I’m listening to the full album, I think I’m going to have to review the whole thing! Coming soon…
Also, I really do promise to review Half-Blood Prince. soon.
Almost epic fail of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month, like NaNoWriMo–National Novel Writing Month–but you just have to post every day for a month).
Anyway, Saturdays were/are fiction day, so this is a short piece of fiction I’ve written. Please with all content of this blog, be respectful and do not copy or reproduce it in any way (or without proper citation)! Thank you kindly.
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boy with a penny
The boy walked with purpose on the hot pavement, just to make sure even the birds thought he was going somewhere. He clutched his shiny penny in his fist, debating whether to put it in his pocket. If his pocket had a hole in it, the penny would be lost forever… but if he tripped, the penny might fall out of his hand.
He didn’t yet have a reason to distrust most people, but he wanted to pretend he did. If he pretended, it gave more purpose to his walk and more meaning to his penny. And it didn’t have to mean much, but why not pretend about that, also? He walked with even more purpose, with the determination of someone who had something to protect.
The penny dug into his palm, but he liked it. He clenched harder, and it hurt a bit. The boy smiled wryly, thinking that even if he did lose the penny, he would have proof that he had it once. What he needed was a scar, something that didn’t fade. Anyone who cared could look at the scar on his palm and see that, yes, the penny had been there. And it had been important.
A dog barked at him as he passed a yard crowded with someone’s possessions. The boy started, cringing when he saw the yard. Children’s toys were scattered everywhere and there was a line of empty flower pots of various sizes and shapes, perhaps waiting to be filled. The boy’s nose wrinkled at the disarray and neglect, and he made to walk more quickly, but music was drifting from an open window. He looked toward it, barely recognizing traditional negro music. As someone who didn’t listen to music on his own, he didn’t know how he could tell the band had a typical New Orleans jazzy sound, but somehow he recognized it. They played with a washboard and probably a homemade bass—it was live inside the house.
His gaze concentrated on the darkened window. Inside the house, he could just see outlines of dark faces and white teeth inside open, smiling mouths. A sitting man, a standing man, a standing woman closest to the window whose young profile he could see most clearly, and one or two more female voices.
He just had time to think that it was so odd, that these people were playing music in their own home, not for an audience that might pay to come see them, not even for people walking past who might deposit money in a jar (or maybe that’s what the flower pots were for), and that they weren’t just listening to music while they cooked or worked (or maybe cleaned their yard), when the music stopped. The music stopped, but the voices continued.
They rose and rose, and the boy could have sworn that there were ten pitches at a time, when there could only have been five voices at most, and then one of the voices sounded like it was crying, but another one must surely have been laughing.
And then he was sure someone was laughing, because he saw her—the young woman next to the window was turned toward him, and everything up to her eyes showed that she was amused, whether at the fact that he was probably standing and gawking stupidly, at the fact that her dog had barked at him a few more times and he hadn’t noticed, at the fact that he had slowly realized he’d been spotted, or at him losing his footing as he came to his senses and tried to stumble away, dropping something that glinted in the sun before it hit the sidewalk and bounced through the chain link fence into the dirt of the yard.
Everything seemed to be in slow motion. The boy dropped to his knees immediately, reaching under the fence to grapple in the dirt. The dog, who did not seem to be as menacing as his bark, sat down to watch the boy’s struggle.
The creak of the screen door to the house fell on deaf ears, but the black girl’s approaching steps caught the boy’s attention. He vaguely wondered what she was doing as his fingernails dug for the penny. Does she think she can to talk to me? Does she actually think I would respond?
The girl came closer. She was no longer laughing, but the boy didn’t look to see her face. It was traumatizing enough to be kneeling on the ground as she was walking to him; he didn’t need to give her his attention. Especially after he’d paid so much attention before, when she was singing.
She was too close now, still walking, but slowly, at a distance where it would have been awkward to speak, but even more awkward to stay silent. Just when the boy was sure she was going to say something, a finger scraped something hard and flat.
The dog got up to examine it as well, but the boy was too fast. His fingers caught the penny with a fistful of dirt, and he was gone, running quickly but in such a way as to keep his pride.
He couldn’t keep as much dignity when he realized he was lost. But he still had his penny. He looked at it as he slowed in an alley, and was dismayed to see that it was significantly dirtier and more scratched.
I brought it to my attention today (since there’s no one else out there to do it) that I haven’t been writing about music enough. Well, that’s because I haven’t been listening to very substantial amounts of new music. New singles from people I’ve never heard before every now and then, but not full albums.
However, I have been doing some YouTube touring, and call it cheesy… but I found something worth reviewing:
A channel belonging to Tom Felton (who plays Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, of course). It’s titled “FeltBeats” for his band, or just his production name, or something like that. He only has 4 videos, but he has an EP that is available on Amazon. And get this… he’s actually quite amazing. Not just saying that because he’s the most well-dressed character in the latest “Harry Potter.” He’s actually quite a good singer, as well as an adequate guitar player (not that I know how to judge guitar playing, but); I thought his playing accompanied his voice and lyrics very nicely. His words were heartfelt and charming; from the 4 songs on YouTube, I didn’t think they were particularly clever, but for debut work? It’s something special.
It’s even more fantastic that he’s seriously considering pursuing a career in/an education in music. It’s not hard to tell that he could easily have a following and new life as a musician, and I think he would also have a good presence as a performer and entertainer. He definitely has the acting background for it, and he has shown comfortability with a camera and in front of audiences, on YouTube and in press conferences and the like.
In case you haven’t checked out the link of Felton performing yet, I’ll debrief you:
The videos begin like many amateurs’ do; you see someone’s arm retreating from the webcam button. The first thing I noticed was the sepia coloring, which I think is a unique touch. Then, the scene [probably Felton's bedroom (ooh)] is revealed, and we see he’s lucky enough to actually have some pretty good equipment… microphones, a couple guitars in the background in addition to the one in his hands… He wears his signature polo or striped shirt/sweatshirt and a smile.
Yes, the sound and picture are a little mismatched in a couple of the videos, but one hardly notices because Felton’s confident-yet-bashful grin would tell anyone that he just.doesn’t.care. He knows when he makes mistakes, but he doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s a testament to his character that he puts these videos up, daring fans to disown him for a few chord errors or the times he almost forgets to sing. Of course, his fans would never do such a thing. If anything, they grow more and more in love with Tom with each amused “oops” smile on his lips.
“If you could be anywhere” would definitely be his single, if he ever released one. he has edited the video and overdubbed himself, so he’s strumming in one layer, picking in one layer, and singing melody in a couple layers (I don’t think he harmonizes with himself). Toward the end, he even adds in a harmonica riff, which he plays passionately well. If I had any misgivings, it would be that this song (or the portion in the YouTube video) is extremely short.
As he fingerpicks his way through the feel-good melodies on all these songs, we think, “Draco who?” The nasty Potter arch-rival is nowhere to be seen–there’s not even much angst in the lyrics, just clear-headed optimism.
Actually, the Feltbeats videos are rather difficult to critique. If it seemed like he were putting himself out there for a reason, as if saying “look, I can do more than act in family movies,” then we might be able to tell whether he was doing a good job. When Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) did “Equus,” the play in London, he explicitly told the media something like, “I want people to know that I can act in different genres, and that I have a future as a different kind of actor.” Admittedly, Radcliffe got excellent reviews for “Equus” (maybe partially just because everyone who went saw him naked, so he may have been mainly praised for sheer confidence in himself… which also goes a long way, but I digress…), but he set out to prove something.
Nowhere have I read anything from Tom Felton that implied that he was making music for any reason other than his own pure enjoyment. And no one can be faulted for that.
If I could be anywhere, I would be on the Feltbeats YouTube channel. : )
[@feltbeats and @TomFelton are both excellent follows on Twitter; look them up!]
My mom is leaving tomorrow for southern Idaho, so for a while we had a plan to carpool a ways down there. She would drop me off at a monastery and I would spend a couple nights down there, volunteering and just hanging out, because I’ve never been in that kind of environment before. Then I found out that their facilities aren’t really open to that right now–only to retreats. Which means it would be two nights/three days in complete devotion to God, and I don’t think I’m ready for that. That’s pretty intense, and I feel like such an amateur.
Anyway, it turns out that they’re booked up for this weekend, so I’m not able to stay there even if I had the guts. It’s sad that I would even need guts to visit a monastery, for Heaven’s sake, but it’s true. Situations like that have always intimidated me. When I got to my middle/high school, everyone was familiar with the Bible and I barely knew where Genesis was. I’ve gotten a bit better, and a little more confident, but I still freeze up every time I enter a Catholic church. When do I kneel? When do I stand? With which hand do I cross myself?
It’s odd that I have some friends to whom this is all second nature… then, I have some friends who have only memorized the moves and rituals from movies, and some who have never stepped inside a Catholic church. I love them all, of course. But I do become wary of people who don’t really step out of their box.
That’s why Caleb and I are looking into “touring” some churches in the area, just to get some variety before I leave again. And when I do leave, I’d like to keep going to a church, because I love the experience. Last Sunday, after church, my dad asked me what it was like after the sermon. “Do people leave immediately, or mill around, or dissect the sermon, or what?”
After thinking for a moment, I likened it to the moments after a Sweet Adelines rehearsal. We sing a closing song, usually with hands held, and close with a big finish. We’re all smiling at each other and praising each other for a job well done, no matter how the evening went. Then, when we release hands, there’s a “beat” (as they say in the acting community) where everyone just sort of sighs.
It’s marvelous how similar things are in the churches I’ve been to. As the congregation closes with a song or a rousing chorus, everyone feels unified and vibrantly alert of each other and the reason they are all gathered there. Then, like the end of a rehearsal, there is a moment like a sigh–it isn’t silent, and it’s not particularly reverent, but it is somewhat thoughtful.
That’s a pretty cool moment, though it’s usually unremarkable. I mean, it’s also just the moment when everyone picks up their Bible and purse, begins talking to their neighbor, and makes their way out of the pew. Life goes on. It’s ordinary. But it’s the most comfortable moment, because there’s so much to think about, and yet it’s a very tense moment, because there’s so much responsibility. I always feel pretty pressured to keep up the kind of faithfulness I’ve felt for the past hour. And even that is a pretty awesome (yes, awe-some) feeling… but it’s also near impossible.
As many a pastor has said, “life gets in the way.” Sometimes I wish I were someone like Rumi or Aristotle or the Dalai Lama, for whom life probably does not get in the way. Feeling faithful IS their life. Hopefully they know how lucky they are.
I also follow Yoko Ono on Twitter, which was an embarrassingly huge step for me. It has taken me years to recognize the profound love than she and John shared, no matter how much it may have negatively affected John’s other relationships.
Anyway, I love it when people recognize that the first step towards peace is letting people know it’s out there. Peace exists; let us find it within ourselves first, and then learn how to spread it. Yoko, at least from her Tweets, seems like that kind of person, and I can really respect that. Plus, whatever she’s doing for “art” is a step in the right direction, so I want to praise her for actually trying.
Come to think of it, [and please excuse the shameless way I say "we" through all this, as if I were there], I have a few things for which we can at least recognize, if not praise, her.
“Oye” means “listen” in Spanish (correct me if I’m wrong–I took French), and I think Yoko deserves that from us. She’s pretty much the closest remaining piece of John that we have; maybe we should cherish that. After all that she’s been through, she hasn’t turned bitter and she’s still preaching John’s message of peace. Far from excommunicating Yoko Ono, let’s join her in wanting war to be over.
[This article was originally a continuation of the post below, TwitterBurger.]
I can’t help it; I love looking at every single one of people’s Tweets. You never know what you might miss, I suppose… and some are really quite profound or inspirational. Take this, for example: I follow Deepak Chopra (if you don’t know who he is…look it up), and he has some really amazing quotes. Today he Tweeted: “We have fallen into the place where everything is music. -Rumi“
I would imagine that this has something to do with Rumi’s general teachings (I had to look this up too): He believed that he had been disconnected from his creator and had begun to think himself above it/him/her, but that he had the ultimate goal to reconnect with his primal roots and restore that relationship.
So at first, the quote that Deepak Chopra Tweeted seemed a little… derogatory, shall we say? towards music. If we have “fallen” to that place where everything is music, it doesn’t seem very positive. It makes me think of falling from grace, or “falling” as a sort of failure. So despite my unconditional love for music, my conclusion was that perhaps Rumi saw music as monotony? To say that “We have fallen into the place where everything is monotonous” would make much more sense, since monotony isn’t really something we strive for, and it could definitely be said that our world has become monotonous (despite all the Twittering).
However, even my extremely rudimentary Rumi research through Wikipedia told me that Rumi was anything but skeptical or pessimistic towards music. Apparently, he wholeheartedly believed that music was one of the best ways to get back in touch with his creator or God.
(At this point I must stress that if you know anything about Rumi, please tell me, because I’m completely at a loss and I’m a little distrustful of Wikipedia sometimes.)
Anyway, Wiki says that Rumi thought poetry, music, and dancing were the ways in which people were most spiritual and soulful. The idea of “whirling dervishes” (which I always thought were a kind of garden ornament) originated around Rumi’s time. They were so invested in the sounds that they would move in whatever way the spirit moved them, which often resulted in spinning. Pretty soon, this sort of dancing became a ritual, during which Rumi believed that the soul was damaged and repaired, and when it was repaired, there was a renewed devotion to God.
From Wiki: “In this journey, the seeker symbolically turns towards the truth, grows through love, abandons the ego, finds the truth, and arrives at the Perfect. The seeker then returns from this spiritual journey, with greater maturity, to love and to be of service to the whole of creation without discrimination with regard to beliefs, races, classes, and nations.”
Honestly, this sounds amazing. I was never one for believing that the soul could have just one point of revelation; rather, it is always evolving and maturing. But for the alternative, it’s an amazing idea. And of course, whether you believe the soul goes through one very powerful transformation or many, I do concur with the idea that music plays a huge part of it.
“Falling into music” is a little bittersweet, and actually I think I was partially right in my analysis of it. We’ve fallen into a place where everything is monotonous, but we can choose to see it as music, because that is all we have. And because music is so powerful, we can choose to make something of it and use it to our advantage, not just in the world but for ourselves, spiritually. And once we change ourselves, we are well on our way to changing the world anyway.
At this exact moment, I wish blog entries were released via snail-mail first. I don’t know why. It’s not like I ever send snail mail (or receive it). But I guess it’s just so easy to file. With emails, you may have to read the first few lines to know whether to delete it or read it. But with most junk snail mail, all you have to do is look at the envelope. Sometimes the junk envelopes are different colors or they have “act now!” stamps on them.
No wonder it’s junk; who would want to be burdened with more things that demand immediate action? I just got TweetDeck and Seesmic, which are apps for Twitter and Facebook so that all your updates are accessible on your desktop, without having to access the actual web pages. You can also change your status for either Twitter or Facebook from your desktop. They’re updated by the minute, which is actually rather nerve-wracking, not time-saving. If you have either of these apps, you may know what I’m talking about:
One of your favorite musicians posts a question and it shows up on your Twitter feed: “I’m at In-n-Out, what kind of burger should I have?” You can imagine that they’re probably getting a thousand responses already, but for some reason you think you should chime in. After all, they are asking, and maybe they’ll go with your answer! You go to the box where you can change your status, but you have to make sure that it only goes to Twitter, not to Facebook. Then you have to do the little “@” reference, then make sure you spell their screen name right. At this point, you’re wondering if this celebrity is even still wondering which burger to order, but you’ve come this far, so you might as well post an answer. The thing is, you didn’t actually have any type of burger in mind in the first place. You really couldn’t care less which type of burger she gets; you just wanted to be part of the decision making process. Which, now that you come to think of it, is really quite lame. Maybe she wasn’t even looking for fans to answer; she really just wanted her close friends to answer. But again, you’ve come this far… so you tell her to get a veggie burger with cheese, even though she’s vegan, because it’s what you would get. And then you post… and it’s all over. A few minutes later, she Tweets about getting a veggie burger, but you wonder if your Tweet even got to her in time to influence her decision, or whether she even read it, or whether she cared at all. You firmly resolve to never respond directly to celebrities. And then, an even more favorite musician Tweets, asking all his fans what they thought the meaning of life is. Ahhh, damn.
True story.
But I can’t help it; I love looking at every single one of people’s Tweets. You never know what you might miss, I suppose… and some are really quite profound or inspirational. Take this, for example: I follow Deepak Chopra (if you don’t know who he is…look it up), and he has some really amazing quotes. Today he Tweeted: “We have fallen into the place where everything is music. -Rumi“
Needless to say, I will be reading some Rumi.
[This post is continued as an article above, Illuminating Ruminating.]
Wavelengths are powerful; sharing wavelengths with someone is even more so. It’s one thing to be in agreement with someone verbally; it’s another thing to share the same thoughts; it’s another thing to share feelings.
I don’t think all of that comes automatically with someone. People may talk about love at first sight, but even though the lusty feeling may be there, the synchronicity takes some work. And it’s not any different with a friendship. In fact, it’s even more difficult to develop mutuality, because you don’t have the initial lust from which to develop common ground. But when you do reach that ultimate mutuality, in any relationship, it’s the best feeling in the world–but it still demands attention and effort.
One of my criteria for having a romantic relationship is that we both have to have a mutual respect. We should share other things mutually as well, but respect is first and foremost for me.
So I often wonder if this isn’t my main problem with Christianity. If I want a relationship with God and/or with Christ, I seem to have this innate desire for it to be mutual, and that’s just not possible. The idea that we owe so much to Christ, who bled and died for our sins, is sort of a deterrent–meaning that we can never “break even” because of our sin nature and all that. But wouldn’t it be great if the phrase “what a friend we have in Jesus” was actually true, and it actually was a friendship?
“What a friend we have in Jesus,/ all our sins and griefs to bear/…/ Can we find a friend so faithful/ who will all our sorrows share?/ Jesus knows our every weakness/…/ Are we weak and heavy-laden,/ Cumbered with a load of care?/ Precious Savior, still our refuge/…/ Thou wilt find a solace there.”
Maybe it is mutual. Maybe Jesus does bear our burdens and we bear his, like friends do. Maybe he does want the best for us, and in a way, we want the best for him– for the ideals he embodied. The biggest difference is that a friendship with Jesus doesn’t involve immediate gratification. While it’s possible to have tons of fun with a best friend, it’s not really possible to have a party with Jesus… unless you dole out peyote as a party favor. But instead, the time when we get to join Jesus is at the “end” of the friendship.
“Soon in glory bright, unclouded,/ There will be no need for prayer./ Rapture, praise, and endless worship/ will be our sweet portion there.”
Or is it the beginning? Perhaps life is a long courtship with Jesus, and Heaven is the real beginning of a beautiful friendship.
[Song: "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," by Joseph M. Scriven.]
The downside of introducing your blog to lots of people who know you is that then it’s very awkward to actually blog about them.
So in other news…
I changed my desktop background. Boring, no? But it’s a gorgeous picture I took at the Grand Canyon, and it reminds me of the amazing trip my mom and I took last year. Good times.
Went to Caleb’s again today–we sorted and resorted bottles of soda. No, really. It was tons of fun. But of course, if I were with Caleb I’d probably think watching the stock market change was fun, so that’s not saying much. Church tomorrow, and I’ll probably blog about that.
Besides my simple goal of blogging every day, I’d like to develop some trends. Sundays and Tuesdays can be faith days, and if I go to church or something like that I’ll talk about the experience. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are music days. Thursdays are random, things-on-the-street days, and maybe movie reviews, and Saturdays can be fiction days.
Ahhh this is so exciting! I feel like I need to catch up for every week I’ve been blogging and not done this. wow.
Also, I have a few resolutions that are not to be mentioned outside of cyberspace, just in case:
1. Get up earlier. Wake up at 9 and stay awake, even if I do just read in bed.
2. DO more. Get out. See stuff. Maybe take pictures of it or write about it to prove that I’ve gained new insight. ha.
3. Read more. This includes others’ blogs, the magazines I have piling up, and my ever-expanding book list. But mostly the books, I think.
4. Say “yes” more. It may be just because I just finished “Yes Man,” but I want to feel better about trying new things. I thought about shooting a bb gun today at nothing in particular at Caleb’s, but I’ve never held a gun and I’m not sure I want to. And… I suppose there’s nothing wrong with it if it’s just target practice, right?
5. Listen to more new music, and review it.
6. Pick one thing each day to love in my life.
7. Pick one thing each day to think about. (This sounds really dumb, but I like the idea. Some problem to solve, or something to pray about. It can’t hurt.)
8. Pick one thing each day to better something/someone other than myself.
9. Do one thing each day of which I’m proud. It has to be something that I didn’t accomplish on the computer (unless it’s a set of articles or something).
10. Blog about something that has potential to influence others or be meaningful to someone.
I think this is about the time of year where people really do start to slip on New Year’s Resolutions, so maybe it’s time to revamp. What are your resolutions? Are they ones you’ve tried before? Why are they important to you?
Ahh, Twitter. How can it be so consuming?
Belle and Sebastian now, with an ultimate feeling of… loss? hopelessness? gravity?
I am liking those stats over on the right, my 1290 visitors and the fact that “evergreen,” “music,” “writing,” and “peace” are all pretty big on that tag board. Unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more clear that those numbers are the only things that exist online, so I’m going to be working extra hard to make sure that’s not the case on this blog.
I’d like to talk about more things that matter… no one cares if I go tubing with my family or the fact that I’m listening to Belle and Sebastian, but I’d like to think people do care a little more about what all that means to me. Rather, I care about the people who care.
Anyway, from now on, I’m going to strive for article-quality posts that really hit on something. I think it will be more beneficial for everyone.
That doesn’t mean things will be long and boring–actually I want to bring in more multimedia (I might even buy the extra blog space so I can post music files) and shake up the styles a bit. Be patient.
And please, please leave comments and spread the word… Follow The_Inner_Piece and josahlin on Twitter, etc. Every little bit helps. And I know I said this isn’t about numbers, but I suppose if I’m completely honest, I’m definitely counting up to 1300 views!
Thanks, everyone <3
I was just talking with a friend I haven’t talked to in quite a while–months, probably. We were never extremely close (in fact I mostly felt like his acquaintance), but we talked every once in a while and he was always very upbeat, if a little cynical and more focused on getting laughter sometimes than any actual meaning in a conversation. But, that just tended to make him more fun, even if we didn’t have a friendship that was really rooted in something.
As I regained contact with him, I braced myself for his humor and the old nature I remembered. But instead of random, detached jokes, a real story greeted me: a sobering one. While he’s been staying in the east for a while, his recently divorced mother had decided to shut him out of her house upon his return, and made it impossible for my friend to see his father. My friend has no money and still has two years left of high school to manage–needless to say, he doesn’t have the resources to figure out how to negotiate his situation.
Through the conversation, the optimist inside of me tried desperately to cling to other options for my friend and possible things to distract him. Finally, I claimed that “if nothing else, there’s always the youth mission, or whatever it’s called.” Without having any idea of how he would react, I think I was kind of buffering the statement (or myself) with the “whatever it’s called” part. And sure enough, my friend would hear nothing of it.
“You know I don’t accept charity,” he said. I didn’t, in fact, know that about him, but I would soon enough. “I need to work for it somehow, and, more importantly, that people worse off than me should take that opportunity, not me.”
I guess I still don’t know what to make of that. Some of those places to make kids work for the privilege to stay there, and they’re run by volunteers who are happy to dedicate their time to the shelter or whatever place it is. I said, “it’s all relative,” but he disagreed.
You just can’t argue with some people. But that’s not the point.
The point is that sometimes, all you can do is pray. And what I’m slowly realizing is that as I and my friends grow up and start encountering things that we’ve never experienced before, we can’t always act according to “best interests” or “the right thing to do,” because we just plain don’t know what those things are. So I guess people pray that some other force can guide them. I don’t know why that’s better– either way, we feel like a situation is out of our control; sometimes we ask for help, and sometimes we don’t.
I’ve never really been very good at prayer or interested in it, but I’m starting to think that the most meaningful part is not necessarily the connection one makes with God through it, but the connection one makes with fellow humans through it. Whether we think anyone “up there” is listening, we feel good about it. If we pray for someone else, we are comforted by knowing we may be doing the only thing that’s in our power to do; if we pray for ourselves, we’re comforted knowing that even if nothing comes of it, we’ve asked for help.
Maybe that’s my gut feeling about what my friend said to me about charity. Personally, I like to be asked for help. It makes me feel capable, loving, and needed, as well as a mutual nurturer. And I know there are other people in the world like that–some of them work at youth hostels, I would bet. (As I side note, I just happened to wonder if God likes to be asked for help… interesting.) So besides the fact that hostels and other “charities” exist to be taken advantage of by anyone (just like how anyone can pray, not just those who “really need it”), the people involved might actually feel privileged to help.
I don’t want to see my friend suffer, but I also don’t want to undermine his beliefs–I have the utmost respect for his opinions about charity (and sympathize with them, to some extent). But we, his friends, would probably rather see him swallow his pride than pitch a tent on a street corner.
I rarely, if ever, pray. But whenever I do, the thought or wish that usually surfaces when I’m grappling for something to pray “about” is that most of all, I would like some guidance in prayer itself. This time is no different. Do I pray for my friend to find a roof over his head, no matter what the conditions are, as long as his beliefs are upheld? Do I pray for him to, just this once, abandon his rules and take advantage of the charities that are available to him? Do I pray for his mother, who can really be seen as the root of this problem?
As usual, I can’t decide… and luckily, I don’t think it’s for me to decide. The prayers I do come up with can usually be boiled down to one theme: peace. I know, hippieness blah blah blah. But really, is there anything more powerful that I can pray for than for my friend to be at peace? The actual events at stake here are out of my control; they’re out of my friend’s; and they’re out of the control of everyone else who is praying for him. So ultimately, I would like to pray for him to be at peace with whatever ends up happening, whether it’s his will or not. And for all of us to keep love in our hearts first and foremost. ((w&f))
Title courtesy of Jon Foreman’s, “Again”
… That was my latest update on Twitter. Sounds very strange, right? You know you want to follow me… and when you do click the link to my Twitter page, linger for a second on this one and leave me a comment or two! I’m actually thinking about making my blog have its own Twitter site, so that I can post when I have a new blog post and all that.
So, I woke up this morning and realized that in my dream, my grandpa had just died. It was kind of heavy to wake up on, and I still don’t really know what to do with it or anything. He is pretty old, and pretty frail, but it’s not like he’s imminent or anything. Still, it’s good to be prepared… and I also don’t feel like I have any unfinished business with him. Unless you count thanking him for all the money he’s ever given me, including my entire education– yeah, that would be good. It’s not like I’ve never thanked him before, and my family doesn’t really do outspoken verbal stuff anyway… but it might be nice at some point. I really value everything he’s given me and the rest of my family.
Good day. everywhere I turn, signs point to Haley, and I really miss her. She’s on the Grand Canyon right now on an epic rafting journey… she didn’t seem as excited as I thought someone who was on that kind of trip would be, but whatevs. I think she’ll have fun, but if she doesn’t, she gets to go straight to India afterwards! And then we send in our applications for an apartment, and that will be AMAZING… and then I move in!
I’m seriously considering going to Bumbershoot, the music festival in Seattle during the first weekend of September. Mainly it’s because Jason Mraz will be there… but also, tickets are extremely cheap. $80 for three days, and you can upgrade to about $200 (which is what most music festivals are) and get unlimited drinks in an air-conditioned lounge and stuff like that. I’m totally down. I don’t have anyone to go with or anything like that… but I’m fine going alone. I mean, I have mace.
So this next week I’m housesitting, and this place has a tv (we don’t get tv at my house; haven’t for most of my life) and I caught this special on Paul Simon on PBS tonight. It was so cool! They had Lyle Lovett, and James Taylor, and then at the end Paul Simon performed with Art Garfunkel (yay!) and then a song with Stevie Wonder. And when they got to Stevie Wonder’s verse, he faltered and they had to stop the song, and then Stevie Wonder said “I’m sorry–I don’t have my notes up here with me.” AHH, it was so funny. I so appreciate people who have a good sense of humor. My standards aren’t that high, but I am picky. In fact, my number one criteria for anyone I might date or hook up with is that I must find them funny. Take that.
I have a new writing job, which is great. Instead of getting $1 or $1.50 for a 500 word article that would take me and hour to write, I’m getting $3 for 300 word articles that generally take me a half hour to write. It’s so much more worth it, and the articles aren’t even that dull. My boss seems funny and easy to get along with, as well as pretty laid-back. The only downside is… it’s like, he’s too laid back. Let’s face it, I don’t have a life. So when I sign up for a writing job, I’m assuming that it’s going to take up most (or all) of my free time, so that I can really get the… buck for my bang. (…ok…) You know what I mean. If I’m going to do one of these jobs, I want to go all out.
Then again, this seems like the kind of job I could stick with for a long time (maybe even through school), so maybe it’s not so bad if it’s building up to a long term thing. And I told him I’m only in it for two weeks (while I’m housesitting, basically) so I’m thinking anytime after that I may get to make my own terms.
Anyway, I really must go to bed, before my chapped lips distract me too much and keep me from sleeping. I have to be up WAY early tomorrow (later today) to go kayaking with my mom. yay me.
OK, when I joined Twitter I didn’t get it. Why not just have a facebook and update your status all the time? That was almost two months ago… and now, finally, I’ve gotten myself a profile picture, I’ve customized my profile page, I’ve set up my phone so that I can update my status from it, I’ve searched for my favorite bands, news sites, and websites to follow, gained a few followers myself, and just generally have been enjoying myself.
So definitely check out my page if you want to keep posted on all the exciting things I’m up to: www.twitter.com/josahlin.
In other news, I had a most amazing weekend. My family visited from California, which consisted of my first-cousins-once-removed (my dad’s cousin and his wife) and my second cousin. We went to our cabin and my uncle took us out on the boat, and my cousin water skied and I went on the inner(inter?) tube, and now my arms are very sore and I’m happy about that. :)
My cousin and I had great bonding experience; we talked and talked and talked, which I’m ecstatic about. I finally feel like I have more family members, rather than feeling sort of marooned and cut off from them. She has great insight and she’s 27, so she’s good at giving advice without being too pushy or motherly. On Friday we went and got sushi and went to my aunt’s house to watch Harry Potter 5, and that was great because I could tell them what was beyond the movie (since they don’t do any justice to the books!). But, to my surprise I realized there were holes in my explanations, which clearly means that I have to reread the series… oh darn. :P So after I finish this post, I’m going to start the series over and be done with that by the time “Half-Blood Prince” comes out in theaters. Then after seeing that a few times, I’ll probably reread the Twilight series so that I can stay caught up with my friend who knows everything about that one.
I’m continually amazed by the integrity of the Harry Potter series. It’s just incredible that it is so popular and so influential, while being subtle. Granted, it took a while for the books to get to that point, but eventually they broadened so that they would still be universal, but also deeper. … I think I’ll write an actual article about it soon.
Oh, and on Friday when we went boating, my uncle’s “lady-friend” came with us. They had met maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago on Match.com, and here she was. She was… so… nice. Honestly, she was the nicest person. But… too nice? Something like that. We talked about it at length (that was kind of cool too, because we are NOT the kind of family that talks about each other when we’re not around, but now we had a topic to bond over with the Cali family) and my insight was that she didn’t have an “edge,” and my uncle needs someone who’s edgy, not just quietly quirky (ha, *you* try making alliteration with Qs!). Anyway, the bottom line was that we couldn’t imagine it going anywhere.
We didn’t tell my uncle this, of course, but as my aunt said, “he’s no fool,” and he either got the message or didn’t need it in the first place. None of us were worried about him making the “right” judgement call, so what may or may not have been gossip didn’t amount to any drama whatsoever. And that’s a very, very good thing.
So then Saturday we went to my uncle’s house for our 4th of July dinner, which was amazing because there were TEN people at the table! My aunt made amazing food and my grandma looked SO cute–white pants, white sandals, and a sea blue tunic top that she had made, beaded, and embroidered herself(!)–she’s absolutely amazing–and the family gathered and talked about the weird things we talk about. Grammar, Michael Jackson (for, like, the fifth time that weekend, gah), writing, Jewish things (my dad’s cousin’s wife is Jewish and my dad’s cousin converted to marry her), the great food, our heritage and other family members, grammar (trust me, it’s a big issue; everyone in our family is meticulous about grammar, spelling, writing, and anything of the sort and has some related pet peeve), the food (also a recurring topic since it’s always so good), pets, some current events…
Actually, it sounds blissfully normal… I think? What do other people’s families talk about?
