Today the iPod shuffle landed on a melancholy song by The Beatles. To be honest, the song fit my mood of recent days. The iPod landed on The Long and Winding Road. The lyrics express a feeling of futility. The long and winding roadThat leads to your doorWill never disappear…Paul McCartney talked about the song in a 1994 interview. “It’s rather a sad song. I like writing sad songs, it’s a good bag to get into because you can actually acknowledge some deeper feelings of your own and put them in it. It’s a good vehicle, it saves having to go to a psychiatrist … It’s a sad song because it’s all about the unattainable; the door you never quite reach. This is the road that you never get to the end of.” I talk to and hear from so many people who can relate to McCartney’s pessimistic words. They feel like they are on a road to the unattainable. They strive
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The iPod shuffle landed on a song by The Animals that brought back memories of a childhood lived in black and white. I remembered Ed Sullivan awkwardly introducing “The Animals” on his show many years ago. Forty-two years if anyone is counting. After watching the clip again it was even more awkward than I remembered. The song is called “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” and it produced a surprising time of reflection and prayer. Are you telling me that you don’t have your quiet times around songs by The Animals? The song is an apology and explanation to a love interest. The writer wants her (in this case) to know that he means well and sometimes he is just human. He makes mistakes. If I seem edgy I want you to knowThat I never mean to take it out on youLife has it’s problems and I get my shareAnd that’s one thing I never meant to doBecause I love you…Oh,
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad questioned the official version of the Sept. 11 attacks and defended the right to cast doubt on the Holocaust in a tense appearance Monday at Columbia University. Ahmadinejad made the amazing assertation that there needs to be more research to validate the Holocaust. Maybe we should do more research on gravity.  His comments about the Holocaust reminded me of our visit to the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem on a memorable Thanksgiving Day. Here is that piece written a couple of years ago. I am pretty sure after visiting Yad Veshem that there has been enough “research” to document this horrible example of the potential evil of mankind. I knew that this family Thanksgiving would be a bit different. We were in the midst of a whirlwind tour of Israel when Turkey Day arrived. As the day dawned in Jerusalem I remembered past Thanksgivings with family all around. Watching the Macy’s Parade while the tantalizing aromas of roasting turkey and pumpkin
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Regular readers of the humble ramblings know that I am a big fan of the group Casting Crowns. I pre-ordered their newest CD titled “The Altar and the Door”. I hoped it would be as good as their previous efforts. I was not disappointed. Today’s song in the iPod Devotional series is a song from that CD called “Slow Fade”. The lyrics struck a chord with my heart: It’s a slow fade when you give yourself awayIt’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paidWhen you give yourself awayPeople never crumble in a dayIt’s a slow fade, it’s a slow fade I don’t become overweight in a day. I didn’t get out of shape in a day. And I do not become spiritually lifeless in a day. It is a slow fade. Sometimes the spiritual fade is the hardest to see. Having troubling buttoning the jeans pretty clearly reveals the dietary
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The title of today’s iPod Devotional could have been a cover of a Peter, Paul and Mary song. I would have had to modify the lyrics a bit. Based on my travel experience today it would now be titled “I May or May Not Be Leavin’ on a Jet Plane But They Promised to Let Me Know In Fifteen, Make That Thirty Minutes”. An easy two hour flight home became a twelve hour ordeal of cancelations and begging for a morsel of information. Ahhh, the joy of traveling. So I have to dig in the archives and ask Willie Nelson to do an encore of an earlier iPod post. Today’s spin of the shuffle wheel pulled up a little tune from Willie Nelson. The song is titled “Funny How Time Slips Away” and it is one of his signature songs. I realize that Willie is, for some, an acquired taste. I do not endorse Willie’s recreational choices but I do like his ability to make
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Today’s iPod shuffle landed on a song by the Beatles. The song takes me back to 1964 when I was an overweight nerd struggling to find my place in the world. What a difference forty-three years makes. Now I am not overweight. “Can’t Buy Me Love” reached the top of the charts for the group. When asked about the deeper meaning of the song Paul McCartney gave this reply. “The idea behind it was that all these material possessions are all very well, but they won’t buy me what I really want.” Sing along with me aching Boomers… I’ll buy you a diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel alright I’ll get you anything my friend if it makes you feel alright ‘Cause I don’t care too much for money, money can’t buy me love I’ll give you all I got to give if you say you love me too I may not have a lot to give but what I got
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There is no safer sport in politically correct (for the most part) America than Christian bashing. Comedian Kathy Griffin went for shock value, sure publicity and safe offensiveness with her recent comments about Jesus at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards show. Griffin made the remarks over the weekend upon receiving the award for Outstanding Reality Program for her show “My Life on the D-List.” “I guess hell froze over,” said Griffin, whose show overtook ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. “A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus.” Holding up her statuette, Griffin topped off her off-script speech by saying, “Suck it, Jesus. This award is my god now.” That offends me. I made a mental note to avoid all things Griffin (TV shows, CD’s, comedy shows, etc) in the future. But that was the end of my reaction.
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