Otter Pops

So Otter Pops - sure they're good to just eat on hot days, or when your air conditioning is not working properly. They are especially good when they're slightly melted - kind of a Slurpee in a tube.

Well, I have found a splendid use for Otter Pops! When you have a headache, you can put a string of Otter Pops on the back of your neck or forehead or just draped over the top of your head. It's not overpowering and awkward like some other ice packs. Plus when it's sufficiently melted, they're perfect to enjoy!

The only thing better would be to not have the headache in the first place, but hey, it helps - outside and in :-).

Dr. Seuss Eyes

Several years ago in college I had a song writing course just for fun and to help me complete a minor in music. One of the songs I wrote is called Dr. Seuss Eyes. To me, writing is something to get thoughts and feelings out onto the page or in sound. I wish I was better at it, both language-wise and musically. I had some fun quirky music for this song, but I never really finished it - maybe someday.

Dr. Seuss Eyes

We studied one Spring afternoon locked up inside a room
I studied some, but mostly laughed the day away with you
The future was so far away, a storybook it seemed
But now I think I'm lost in you, and lost inside your dreams

(chorus)
I see Dr. Seuss in your wild eyes, I hear Shakespeare in your thoughts
In your dreams and fascinations, I think I'm getting lost

The Summer came and went back then, we did a thousand things
We read a thousand books back then, all with a thousand themes
Your storytelling face I'd watch, with your enchanting eyes
Then we'd lay down as it got dark, beneath the starry skies

I see Dr. Seuss in your wild eyes, I hear Shakespeare in your thoughts
In your dreams and fascinations, I think I'm getting lost

(bridge)
And would you eat green eggs and ham? And would you stay with Sam I am?
If I fall down and break my crown, would you come tumbling after?
In a kingdom by the sea, I still love Annabel Lee
Like Romeo loves Juliet in the grand hereafter

I see Dr. Seuss in your wild eyes, I hear Shakespeare in your thoughts
In your dreams and fascinations, I think I'm getting lost

Fun music, Viva la Vida, and Anti-War?

Fun Music

Okay so I like music probably to a fault and some of the lyrics and songs out there are just too crazy fun/clever:

"The television was snowing softly as she hunted for her keys"
Death Cab for Cutie, "Long Division," Narrow Stairs
The fact that they made a mainstream love/break-up song with math components is a triumph in my mind. Ah, but then, there's Kraftwerk :-)

"I took a walk along the riverbank of my imagination"
Paul Simon, "Everything About It Is a Love Song," Surprise
The whole song and album has some pretty inventive lyrics. He's so gifted at metaphors and imagery.

Coldplay - Viva la Vida

I love so many elements of the new Coldplay album. There are quite a few elements that remind me of the Beatles - of course the fact that Violet Hill is a street near Abbey Road is a nod to the Beatles mentioned by Chris Martin. The tag at the beginning of the song Yes reminds me of the song I Am the Walrus. There is also a piano progression where it ascends in the song 42 that reminds me of Imagine by John Lennon. Strawberry Swing - the obvious title correlation to Strawberry Fields Forever I suppose.

Then there is the U2 vibe present in a lot of the songs - an Edge-ish guitar sound every once in a while. This might be also because of the presence of Brian Eno as producer of the album. I enjoy his work adding his unique brushstrokes on music in Paul Simon's Surpise album, various U2 albums, and now this Coldplay album. However as much as I like the song Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love, as I listened to the Reign of Love portion with some decent headphones, the background mechanical-type sounds were pretty annoyingly persistent.

All-in-all I love the album - Strawberry Swing and Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love probably being my most favorite. Coldplay is generally so inventive with song design and feel of the music that all of the songs are just a pleasure to listen to.

Anti-War Naiveté

One final note about the album: I thought their whole anti-war bit was done creatively on the music and lyrics side, but I wish that there were more constructive ways to get the message across. I think an anti-war type of message has to be more than "war == bad" and "leaders who take us into war == bad/idiots/not informed/so forth." I'm not questioning Coldplay's motives, but bands generally seem to just poetically call out a problem instead of helping with solutions.

Of course war is bad - war is horrifying. There are far better ways to resolve disputes. War takes its toll on the innocent and on whole generations of a people. Sometimes those who lead us into war are lacking in wisdom and understanding. But we should never go to war? What about the Revolutionary War? What about World War II? What about defending our lives, our families, our freedom? I'm not defending the recent conflicts or the people that started them, but I am saying that sometimes in this world of ours, there are things worth fighting for.

I wish that some musician out there would give a more realistic message. I'm not a brilliant person, but maybe something between the rare necessity of war and possibly the lamentation of its consequences with a message of warning - something like "Hey, we know war is pretty crappy but sometimes there are things worth fighting for."

One anti-war song I liked was U2's plea for peace in Love and Peace or Else with its message to warring factions - "Lay down, lay down your guns; are you daughters of Zion? Are you Abraham's sons?" Christians, Jews, and Muslims are all descended from Abraham and I thought they did a nice job of trying to at least have listeners consider that - we are all people, we are all really family. I think this particular song resonates with me because of U2's efforts to promote peace and help those in sickness and distress. They've seen first hand in Ireland, in Africa, and in other places what people are facing. They are not just blaming from an ivory tower - they're at least trying to find solutions.

Norse Mythology and Headaches

In the book So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, Douglas Adams writes in an odd character to give Arthur Dent a ride in the rain. In the ensuing conversation, Arthur finds out that the driver, Rob McKenna, has had a life of rainy days, literally. In kind of a silly side story, Adams writes:

And as he drove on, the rain clouds dragged down the sky after him for, though he did not know it, Rob McKenna was a Rain God. All he knew was that his working days were miserable and he had a succession of lousy holidays. All the clouds knew was that they loved him and wanted to be near him, to cherish him and to water him.

My Mother and I have a common ailment - we are prone to frequent headaches. We also found out through searching our family history that we are related to one Oden who lived in a village called Valhalla, in Scandinavia around 400 AD.

This has led me to wonder about our heritage and how it might be that we have such frequent headaches - we might just be headache gods! All the headaches knew is that they loved me and wanted to be near me.

It might be cool to be descended from Oden, but I wish I had more useful super powers. Maybe it's just a matter of unlocking the dormant potential and really the headaches are just hidden energy waiting to burst forth when my powers have sufficiently matured. Hmmm. At least I have the sunshine :-).

Context

It's fascinating to me to think of context. The movie The Sixth Sense is a good example of how the revelation of a context can make things fit together in a way not previously considered. It also explains things which before seemed like isolated occurrences.

It seems like these moments of discovery are best had after a long period of subtle clues that are sometimes not even recognizable.

Occasionally I see those kinds of moments in my own life, where things start to make sense in a new way. It reminds me of a passage in the book of Isaiah (55:8-11):

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

It seems to me that a perfect Father, our Heavenly Father, would have fun in helping His children learn lessons and grow and receive blessings in a variety of ways. If we can assume that He can see the end from the beginning and has all knowledge independent of what we know, along with the pure love of a perfect Father for His children, then it's kind of a fun lifelong exercise of discovery for each of us.

It just makes me wonder sometimes - I am humbly grateful to see the vista and see how the mundane everyday steps have taken me there. I wonder sometimes what is around the next corner and it makes me want to keep trekking along a little further to get there.