Poem Sunday - Dec 13th 09

I've decided that I will make a real effort to make all Sundays 'Poem Sunday'. For me, poetry and art allow a way of expressing what I am otherwise unable to. And when even that won't do, I can usually turn to the art and poetry of those more experienced and famous than me. So, as I read through poetry in my spare time, I'll make note of the ones I most identify with/move me the most, and share them here. Usually they relate to what's going on in my life at the current time... much like the Bible passages that move me most at a particular time are the ones that most relate to my current situation. Other times, I just think they're pretty. Does that make sense? Hope you enjoy it, it's a taste of what's inside me in a way... I guess. S

Devotion - Robert Frost

"The hear can think of no devotion

Greater than being shore to the ocean--

Holding the curve of one position,

Counting an endless repetition."

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou

"A free bird leaps in the back

Of the wind and floats downstream

Till the current ends and dips his wing

In the orange suns rays

And dares to claim the sky.

But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage

Can seldom see through his bars of rage

His wings are clipped and his feet are tied

So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill

Of things unknown but longed for still

And his tune is heard on the distant hill for

The caged bird sings for freedom.

The free bird thinks on another breeze

And the trade winds soft through

The sighing trees

And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright

Lawn and he names the sky his own

But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams

His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream

His wings are clipped and his feet are tied

So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with

A fearful trill of things unknown

But longed for still and his

Tune is heard on the distant hill

For the caged bird sings for freedom."

Meat without Animals... would you eat it?

Check out this article, it's totally given me the freaks:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/12/Growing-Meat-Without-Animals--Would-You-Eat-It.aspx

Parenting: It comes naturally

Christmas Album a Requirement?

It started over a month ago: Christmas songs on the radio. But at least then they were mixed in with a variety of other, less seasonal, options. Now, the holiday favorites are all I encounter when I switch on the radio and browse through the stations. It's unavoidable. And this bombardment with songs made me start to wonder something this morning.

What if when someone is becoming a musical artist of some note, they are called into a meeting where they are told that in order to be permitted to continue on in this line of work, they must commit to producing a Christmas album at some point in their career? It certainly could be the case, couldn't it? I jest of course, but it seems like every successful artist has come out with their version of the same old Christmas carols and hymns.

I like Christmas music as much as the next person, both the secular and the Christian variety. I will always enjoy hearing Bing Crosby's "White Christmas," and Handel's Messiah never fails to send chills down my spine. My favorite of them all, "Oh Holy Night," is sung beautifully by so many artists (Celine Dion, Josh Groban, Charlotte Church, Il Divo).

Many popular acts have been putting out their own take on Christmas songs for at leeeast the past 50 years. Elvis did it. So did John Lennon. I love Nat King Cole's version of "The Christmas Song". Bizarrely, Bing Crosby and David Bowie did a duet that proves that some people's voices are just made to be together (seen here, but be patient through the corny fake dialogue, the good part starts at about 1:50 in).

But it now seems that everyone has to produce a Christmas album! It's one thing to write a new song unique to you, as Elvis and John Lennon did. Jethro Tull's "A Christmas Song" is but an extension of their usual fare.

But I just find it awful (forgive me) when someone whose musical style doesn't lend itself to Christmas music still tries to adapt some holiday songs. I mean... Bob Dylan!? I half expected the lead song to be "Buh Naah Guh Bo Duhh Buh Wuh Dah" (Translation: "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"... anyone whose heard that guy sing knows what I'm talking about). I generally like Dylan too, but this is one album I think I'll skip. And Reo Speedwagon!? Goodness, those guys were SO 35 years ago! Why plague us with a gimmicky album? Try coming up with something new for a change. haha.

If a musician wants to come up with a new album, I'm willing to listen. But I find myself turned off by the apparently naked opportunism of Christmas albums. No thanks.

Do I sound like a Scrooge?

The pinecone girl

To get to my bus stop from school, I walk down this really steep hill from the back of campus. Today while I was making this exact journey, there was a girl huffing and puffing her way up in the opposite direction. She was carrying this giant pinecone that a unique shape... kind of circular. When we got close enough, she flashed me a huge toothy smile and held up the pinecone proudly. Then we kept walking.

It was just one of those beautiful moments in life.

Experiments with monochrome

A little taste of my latest forays into photography...

A realization of winter

Walking to my class this morning, I crunched my way through grass made brittle from frost, and watched two flocks of geese flap by overhead on their way to warmer climates. A little girl toddled past me so bundled up in coats and mitts and scarves, she looked wider than she was tall.

It's officially winter, my friends.