David Eckstein is a Toronto Blue Jay.
First the tornadoes of January. Then the ice storms and “thundersleet.” Followed up by floods of Biblical proportion. Now this…
The President Made Me Do It March 6, 2008
I was recently informed, by my dear husband, that the President said we HAD to use our economic stimulus refund for flat panel televisions…and shoes! Isn’t that so endearing…invoking the President’s name with a directive to buy a television, then throwing in the shoes to butter me up?
I suggested he might want to research the credibility of his sources on that one. (Which is polite for…I laughed out loud at his adorable self!)
While I don’t think that will be the highest and best use of our refund…just imagine…shopping with such noble purpose.
(cue Patriotic music)
…searching for shoes…for the love of all that is decent and just…for the preservation of capitalism…and even democracy…for the good of all mankind…
Many happy returns!
Apparently…I love…the elipsis… March 5, 2008
I’ve noticed an increasingly pervasive little feature in my writing…the ellipsis. I not only use it incessantly in my blog…but also in email…and text messaging…and comments… It’s approaching epidemic proportions…
I know where it all started… You see, I was so PROUD of myself for having kicked the nasty habit of like totally using “like” like every other breath. Yay, me, right? WRONG! As is always the case, PRIDE doth precede the fall…and I have fallen into the clutches of the ellipsis…
I was lamenting this… just the other day to my friend who had expressed concern of overuse of the “…” in a message to me. I quickly reassured my friend…No!…How could one possibly…overuse…the ellipsis! ? …Truly…it is the only way…to express the dramatic…pauses…I would want to employ…were we having this conversation in person….
…What other typographic function could say all that the ellipsis says?…
…So…my friends….This is a cautionary tale….Beware of the ellipsis…especially…if you regularly read…anything…from me…
…Apparently…it is also contagious…
…And beware of pride…lest some communicative malady befall you…too…
iLike Relevant Music March 4, 2008
A few weeks ago I added the iLike music application to my Facebook profile. It still reads, “Natalie likes 0 songs by 0 artists.” That is so not true…but the task of even trying to adequately represent the music “iLike” is just way too daunting.
On her profile, my friend Christie (you can read her blog over there —–>), says she likes “every kind of music except hard core nasty devil stuff…you know what I mean.” I can attest to this. I got to live with her for a stint in the 90s and was privileged to enjoy her very fine CD collection. In fact, I credit Christie with broadening my music tastes to include almost every genre. Thank you, Christie, for Harry Connick Jr.—really, I still love “Whisper Your Name.”
Back to iLike. Truth be told, I was practically jumping on the couch the other night during American Idol over Kansas, Foreigner, and the Doobie Brothers. I can get equally ecstatic over The Fray. I also love Sara Groves, Travis Cottrell…It truly is an affliction.
Then, it occurred to me. Above all, I like relevant music. I like intelligent songs with poetic lyrics that speak to the human spirit. (The inclusion of the word “intelligent” does necessitate there are some songs I hate. Some songs are completely ridiculous and/or unintelligible.)
This revelation about what “iLike” came to me on Sunday. We were singing away, all manner of songs, when the music team broke into “He Leadeth Me.”
He leadeth me, O blessèd thought!
O words with heav’nly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be
Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
O words with heav’nly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be
Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.
Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,
By waters still, over troubled sea,
Still ’tis His hand that leadeth me.
Lord, I would place my hand in Thine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since ’tis my God that leadeth me.
And when my task on earth is done,
When by Thy grace the vict’ry’s won,
E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
Since God through Jordan leadeth me.
I wanted to sing at the top of my lungs—but my throat closed off and all I could do was stand there and blink back tears. He leads me. My mind cannot fully grasp the wonder of it. I am overcome as I contemplate the God of all creation, leading me. And not only is He leading me, He is leading those in my life who are experiencing loss, abandonment, fear, huge transitions, uncertainty. He is leading those who are experiencing new joys, climbing new heights, and relishing new wonders. My mind raced through a list of those whose requests are presently at the top of my prayer list, and I rejoiced for them, and for myself, as I recognized afresh, we are being lead. Our Pastor later pointed out, “He not only leads us through the valley. Sometimes he appoints the valley.”
The Lord is my Shepherd. His faithful follower, I would be.
Some music goes beyond relevant to transcendent. Some lyrics speak across times, seasons, generations. How else could 1860s poetry grip someone who still likes Kansas?
Transcendent music. That’s the music iLike best of all.
