Inspiration

I love music. If there has been one constant to the events in my life it is that I tend to associate events and situations to music. For example, one time when I was being put under anesthesia prior to surgery, the doctors were playing "Our House" by Madness. That was the last song that I heard before I went out. Now, whenever I hear the song play, I am taken back to that moment immediately before surgery. It's neither a good nor a bad memory, simply a way for me to recall a given moment.

This comes in handy for me as I have a terrible memory. I often find myself unable to recall specific events or people, particularly if I have no music to relate to the situation. So I try to have music playing as often as I can in order to help facilitate a memory that can be recalled in the future. It does drive some to distraction, understandably so considering my eccentric tastes, but it is useful for me.

Beyond its capacity to assist my memories, though, I also find music to be incredibly uplifting and inspirational most of the time. Obviously, it does depend on the music and sometimes even the song, but music is more a form of poetry and I love poetry. Well, ok, to be more precise, I love to write poetry. I have a much harder time reading poetry. But music and the poetry often within is magical and provides me with feelings that life itself seems often unable to provide. Perhaps it is because I love words and the myriad ways they can be combined to convey thoughts and emotions. I sometimes wish I were equally skilled at words and could devote my time to them instead of spending my days as I do.

I guess that is a major reason for this blog - to be able to use words and practice my skills in a way that I am otherwise unable to do.

And, for the record, tonight's blog was inspired by Quincy Jones' Back on the Block album. A good blend of various styles ranging from rap to hip hop to soul. If you haven't heard it, you should give it a try.

Christmas Music

A few weeks ago, I had the very distinct pleasure of attending a concert by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Suffice it to say that I had a great time and enjoyed it tremendously - and that was in spite of the poor seats that we had which placed up in the rafters directly the right side of the front of the stage which meant that we couldn't see some of the lighting conducted from the very front. But, in the end, that did not really matter a great deal.

Now, I should caveat that I am a big fan of TSO and it is about the only Christmas music that I can bear to listen to for more than an hour or so. Their eclectic sound is a mixture of heavy metal with a Christmas theme and clearly has a devoted following as the theatre was jammed with fans. It is clearly a genre all its own, too, as those fans ranged from families with kids (such as mine) to older couples to young headbangers (including a young couple who sat in front of us and whose head-banging motions during the concert were almost as entertaining as the concert itself). Their most famous song, Christmas in Sarajevo, was the denouement of the evening and a fitting climax to a terrific show.

The show began with lights and fire and did not let up from there. The guitarists and violinist kicked things off with some hard-rocking licks which then led up to the beginning of the story of the Lost Christmas Eve (the name of one of their albums). The story was compelling and the intersection of the story with the music was unlike any concert I had ever heard - though it should be noted this was only my 4th concert ever attended. Regardless, it was a wonderful experience and one that should be experienced at least once. In my case, I think we'll be attending again in another year or two so that would make it at least twice.

I may not post another low-level review after the next one, though. Unless I remember to write it within a few hours of actually seeing the concert...

Really Random Thoughts

For the first time in more than a month, I did not bring my work laptop home and work. I probably should have but I have grown tired of pulling long shifts at work and then having to do more work at home each night (and weekend). Less than two weeks to go and then this project should be done and I can move onto other (less pressing) deadlines. Woohoo!

And now I feel inclined to write a little bit tonight while I have some free time. I could have gone to exercise tonight but decided against it as the urge to just relax was more important to me this evening. So instead, I'm currently listening to "I'm With Stupid" by the Pet Shop Boys on Spotify. And while I'm at it, I think I'll intersperse my musical selections (via the randomizer with Spotify) as I write up this blog post. Apparently, this is going to be a really random post. :-)

It's a cliche that you can get a better insight by seeing how people interact with others who are in the service industry (such as waiters/waitresses, clerks at the market, etc.).

(Next song is "You think you know her" by Cause & Effect)

I like to think another good way to see a person is by observing what they when they think no one is watching or when they think there will be no repercussions. So, while standing outside a local market while my better half shopped, I watched as more than 20 people brought their purchases out to their cars in shopping carts. And I watched as more than 20 people then either left their carts in an open space nearby (ensuring that no one could park there without first removing the cart) or, in the case of one 30ish woman, proceeded to actually push her cart to a nearby curb which was actually farther away from the store but out of the way of someone who might want to park their car in a parking spot.

("Everything You Know is Wrong" by Weird Al Yankovic)

So, in short, not one person actually attempted to return the cart to the store or to the designated repository of the store for all shopping carts. Which, I suppose, only goes to reinforce the belief by some that people generally only do right if they think they will be held to account. And, for the record, you'd better believe that after I unloaded all of our groceries that I then took my cart all the way back to the store. And I was parked a lot further away than most of the people I'd observed.

("Voulez-vous Danser" by Ace of Base)

This is a good time to point out that I've recently become a user of Evernote. I think it's a good way for me to keep track of things that I see and want to comment upon but may not have time to devote to doing so at the given moment. So far, I have about 8 different things that have popped up on my radar that I've listed on my notebook that I want to address when I have time (and apparently, that time is not now). But I like the fact I can be at any of my computers and simply bring up the application (or the website itself) and write up a quick note for later or I can even run it off my phone and leave a voice note for myself (I've done that several times when I'm not near my computer).

("Der Kommissar" by Falco)

It's also a great resource for listing off ideas for the book I have in my head (read: not yet actually written). Sure, it's been around for a while and I'm probably a total dork for not having utilized it before but it's not my fault that my techie self ignored it for so long. *sigh*

("Stay Beautiful" by Taylor Swift)

And it's just now dawned on me that this would be a great time to maybe spend 30 minutes working on the Chinese classic "The Monkey King" which I found a simplified version of in a shop in Flushing, NY, a little while back. (Did I write about that trip and the things I enjoyed? Nope. Ok, something else to add to Evernote to write about later.) Though, that does bring to mind another good story from this past weekend. Went to dinner at a Chinese/Japanese/American style buffet. While there, I asked one of the waitresses for chopsticks. She asked me how many and I told her 三双.

("She Wolf" by Shakira)

I honestly wasn't thinking about what I was saying but I'd heard her talking earlier to another waiter in Chinese so it was just habit, I suppose. Of course, I can't say that I look all that Chinese so she just stared at me for a second and asked "三双?" So I repeated it and she fumbled around for three pair and handed it to me while looking at me rather quizzically. Later, when my better half had stepped away, she stopped by and asked me "你是中国人吗?" (Are you Chinese?)

("Tik Tok" by Ke$sha)

I told her "No." She followed up, "美国的?" (Are you American?) I smiled politely and told her yes. Now, normally when I surprise someone by using Chinese (and I don't try to do it on purpose but it just sort of slips or they realize that I understand a conversation), they are very surprised and ask me pointedly if I speak Chinese. But I think this is the first time someone has asked me if I was Chinese. And, believe me, I may look like someone from Xinjiang (if you have some imagination) but not really Chinese in any way.

("The Diary of Jane" by Breaking Benjamin)

I have to admit that I was taken by surprise to be confused as Chinese - are there really that few foreigners who speak the language with any degree of proficiency (and let me assure I am can carry on a conversation but wouldn't consider myself to be proficient to any degree)? Sure, I've been taken as Iranian, Mexican, Norwegian and a few others but Chinese was probably stretching it. On the other hand, it was a good chuckle - even my better half found it a little amusing. The waitress was very nice, though, and I did leave her a nice tip - which I didn't have to do but maybe that says something about me? Who knows?

("Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John)

And, on that note (I'm wondering what my musical selections thus far say about me so feel free to chime in with whatever analysis you'd like), I am off to practice my Chinese a bit more...  :-)

Random Thoughts

As I noted in my most recent post, I had recently started using Spotify, an online music service. I cannot tell you how absolutely thrilled I am with this service. Granted, I am not necessarily a huge user beyond my office and occasionally at home but the ability to play both the music I already have then the music I find from their site has been absolutely wonderful and opened up new genres for me to appreciate. This evening, I found the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack as well as a variety of music from the various Star Wars films among the music available and have been listening to them with great joy. This does not include the list of music from the 70's, 80's & 90's that I have found and listened to over the last week or so. Granted, they do not have all of the music I would like (I found very little by Peter Schilling who I truly enjoy) but it has been far more of a gift than a disappointment. For music lovers, this site is highly recommended!

For those in the US (not that most Americans are paying any attention to it at the moment other than the various talking heads who have been wailing for the last few weeks), the looming debt crisis has to be rather unnerving. The possibility that the US could fall into a default status is a worrying concern and one that, frankly, should never have reached a critical point such as it now faces (3 days from today). Politicians have whored themselves out to every interest group (I can't refer to them as special interest groups as that would assign them a status that would not be fitting) and created causes for which government money can be spent with wild and reckless abandon. It has deemed itself an integral factor into the everyday life of its citizens and, as a sad result, requires vast sums of money to support itself. And now, both sides are playing brinksmanship in the hope of winning political points (and elections) rather than trying to resolve an issue that has no short-term solution. Democrats are unwilling to cut social programs - let's face it, if you received money from any one of those social programs (and far too many people do), would you vote for the party that took it away from you? Republicans are unwilling to increase the debt limit unless some form of fiscal restraint (and significant social spending but not military cuts) are imposed. And both sides of Congress waited until less than a week before even attempting to pass any form of legislation - and both sides passed bills that they knew would not pass in the other half. It is at times like this that not only Americans but people everywhere look at this form of government and wonder how the US managed to become a world superpower.

And, just to be fair, let's not forget the other burgeoning superpower that is facing a crisis that seems to have only grown in the past week and does not figure to become better with time - the fatal crash of one of its high-speed trains. A nation that has grown increasingly restless with the corruption that has plagued its government leaders found a focus upon which to vent in not just the crash itself but the actions taken by the government that seemed designed to hide any unpleasant facts that may have placed culpability for the crash upon itself. And the fact that there has been little transparency and deliberate efforts by the government to put a rosy picture on the efforts of the government to help the people hurt by the crash (much like the Wenchuan earthquake of 2008 which saw the rise of Ai Weiwei who worked to reveal facts of shoddy school construction that resulted in many children's deaths that the government did not want advertised) has only added fuel to the anger of many people who want accountability. Sadly, the likely outcome of this will be a sop - some poor official who has insufficient ties to higher officials for protection will be held as a sacrificial lamb and likely executed for "corruption". It is worth wondering how much longer Chinese will be satisfied with such sops before they demand real answers and accountability that correspond with the rise of the Chinese nation. For that matter, it's worth wondering how long Americans will be content to live with the decreasing accountability they seem to hold their own officials to...

EDIT: And just learned that apparently there isn't much in the way of an independent judiciary in China (big surprise!). Or at least it doesn't seem that way when the government tells all lawyers in the vicinity of the train crash they are not allowed to help any victims of the train crash because it "is a major sensitive issue concerning social stability".

Blog Design Change

While listening to music I haven't heard in a while on Spotify (I absolutely love this!), I decided to make some changes to my blog. Well, more precisely, a simple background change since that is a clicky-clicky change and I'm too lazy at the moment to do anything more significant. But I like this one - lots of books in the background to suit my nerdy personality. I may go make some layout changes later but depends on how I feel. With this music, though, I may feel very inclined to do a bit more. Music is one of my passions (listening, not making, since I have no talent in that arena whatsoever) and I associate a great deal to music. It also serves as my muse in many instances - so maybe I'll feel more focused on that in the near future.