Everything Happens in Threes

If you read my last post about coincidences, then you'll know what I'm talking about here. Nothing big, nothing extraordinary.

Another March 11 event

While looking for the song Over the Rainbow, then Judy Garland, then Wizard of Oz, then Land of Oz, then the Wicked Witch of the West, then Tin Man the television series.

I'm currently listening to:

Eluvium: Prelude for Time Feelers, Radio Ballet

Beethoven- Moonlight Sonata

Franz Liszt- Liebestraum

and a bunch of other similar music.

I had a hard time concentrating on my work today, especially towards the end, around 8pm or so. Can't wait until Monday is over, whether I finish this school work or not, at least I'll have some closure.

I feel uneasy, anxious, uncomfortable, restless, etc... I should try to get some sleep, so I can wake up tomorrow and get started on the work.

Like I've said (I think I've said), if I finish this paper by Monday, and pass the test and quizzes, then that is the last class I need and I'll be finished with college. I'll have my degree in philosophy, and then I'll try to get certified to teach, and get a teaching job for the time being. Hopefully I can do that. Then maybe in the future, when I have a better idea of what to focus on in grad school, then I'll return to school for round three (round one was elementary and high school, round two was college). Right now though, I'll focus on finishing this, getting a teaching job, and deciding whether I really want to go to grad school in the future.

-Jr

Strange Occurrences and Recent Happenings

Which to start with... I guess I'll start with the recent happenings.

Not too long ago, I went to a Witchcraft show at the conservatory, and that was a good show. There were three other bands there; Los Hijos del Diablo, Dead Child, and I can't remember the name of the other band... oh yeah, Blood of the Sun. All three were alright, Blood of the Sun was really energetic, and they played old school hard rock along the lines of Deep Purple, Atomic Rooster, Black Sabbath, etc... They mixed their guitar driven songs with prominent keyboards, and the energy that you'd expect from a band like.... oh I don't know, The Who (without all the breaking of the instruments, that is). But Witchcraft was the highlight of the night. The lead singer announced before they began that a doctor had told him not to play because he was really sick, and one could tell that he looked sick, he just didn't look well, but that didn't stop him from playing, and they put on a good show nonetheless. His vocals didn't sound bad, but there were times when it sounded like he restrained himself from putting in 100% vocalwise. But his guitar playing did not sound affected by any sickness. The rest of the band played well also. There was a retro vibe to the whole thing, from the old-fashioned amps to the microphone, to their look as a band. I left feeling good.

And now, for the strange occurrences. It wasn't anything bad, just a coincidence or something. Maybe not even that. So, I started listening to Bjork after Luis bought a dvd of all her videos, which are artistic, and the songs are great. Haven't stopped listening to her since. She has such a great voice, and the beats range from poppy, catchy, to complex, triphop-ish, electronica, and she does big band jazz (It's Oh So Quiet), and some ambient tunes. So I'm into Bjork for now. I read about the song It's Oh So Quiet, and apparently it's a cover song of a song called Blow a Fuse by Betty Hutton, who died on March 11, 2007. March 11 also happens to be my birthday. Yesterday and today I went to the Library (bar and grill). I love that place, it's low key, intimate, and it has some good beers, good atmosphere. Riley, who I went with, told me about Pandora, which is like a online radio type website, where you type in an artist, and it searches through a database for other artists that sound like that, and plays songs by them. So I typed in Opeth, and it brought up what I expected, songs by Katatonia, Tool, Isis. Then I typed in Bjork, and it brought up Radiohead, Portishead, Telepopmusik. Then I typed Ulver, and it brought up some artists that I don't know (since I don't know of many that sound like Ulver, that's why they're great and unique). Among them were Amon Tobin, Little People, and one that got my attention called Kaki King. So I look her up, read her profile, about the song, and the album, and her latest album called Dreaming of Revenge, which was released on March 4th, with another edition released on March 11, 2008. I know what some people will say, it's just a coincidence. And yes, it is, but it's one of those coincidences that makes me feel good. Well, maybe not the Betty Hutton death so much. But it's even more fun when the coincidences happen more than twice, so let's aim for 3, dare I say, 4!

There's a lot of good music I've been discovering lately, and this Pandora thing is just going bring more and more. That's almost a bad thing, almost. I mean, eventually one reaches a point when there is so much music that one can't listen to it all, right? Oh well, for now, I'm content with the discovery of Bjork, Kaki King, and Devendra Banhart.

I just typed Linda Perhacs on Pandora, let's see what this brings.

-Jr

The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry

To A Mouse by Robert Burns

Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty
Wi bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murdering pattle.

I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth born companion
An' fellow mortal!

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave
'S a sma' request;
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
An' never miss't.

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's win's ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste,
An' weary winter comin fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.

That wee bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,
Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!
Now thou's turned out, for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald,
To thole the winter's sleety dribble,
An' cranreuch cauld.

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

Still thou are blest, compared wi' me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!

So this time I got distracted while working on my history of Mexico paper when the random thought came into my head "what is a yeoman farmer?" Read some wikipedia, clicked on the Tudor period, from there clicked on Elizabeth I of England, then clicked on depictions of Elizabeth I, then on the film Elizabeth, then on the sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age (both of which look pretty interesting), then I clicked on the composer of the soundtrack Craig Armstrong, and he also composed the music of a movie called Best Laid Plans, and that sounded familiar so I googled "best laid plans of mice and men," and it brought up the original quote and then I remembered it from British Literature, and decided to read the whole poem again and remembered that the English dialect was a little hard to understand, so I read the translation also, and came to the conclusion that it is a great poem. I especially like the last part:

Still thou are blest, compared wi' me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!

The life of a mouse is blessed compared to mine; it only knows the strife of the present, while I carry the burden of the past, and look to the future with fear and uncertainty, especially these next three weeks, not knowing whether I'll finish this paper and the books I have to read for the quizzes and test. Robert Burns said it best. Life is tough, but I guess I can only keep on working. With that, I'll go back to writing this paper.

"I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union"

-Jr

Wake Up

I wrote this just now, thinking about how many are brainwashed. I'm not sure if brainwashed is the right word, because they still retain their own free will, and freedom of choice, but it seems that they are being deceived. Actually, I don't even think we have free will, so scratch that last comment.

Hey you, wake up. The media is not a source of truth. It is where one turns to to get a certain viewpoint. Owned by corporations, the media is looking out for corporate interests.

Hey you, wake up. The politicians who want your vote are looking out for corporate interests. They are looking for power and money. When it comes down to it, there are only a very few honest politicians out there, who are truly working to make the world a better place.
Hey you, wake up. The life you are living is insignificant to the leaders in office. Those leaders make wars all the time, with little regard for the lives that are taken. They make decisions from an office, decisions which affect the lives of millions. They know that they send people to die, yet they keep on doing it.
Hey you, wake up. While it is important to buy food, and the basic necessities, consumerism is way out of hand. Corporations are aggressively marketing things that one does not need, in order to make millions from hard working people. They are not satisfied with huge amount of money they already have, so they keep on expanding and expanding, until they begin to exploit natural resources, and affect the lives other people and things in adverse ways.

Hey you, wake up. Marijuana is not a bad thing. Cuba is not a bad place. Politicians exploit the fears of many in order to get into office. They take an anti-marijuana stance in order to win votes. They support the American embargo on Cuba in order to show that they are tough on Castro.
Hey you, wake up. Those in office are at all times trying to appear tough, even if keeping up this appearance means hurting others. They do not care about whose lives they affect, as long as their agenda is carried out, and as long as ideas contrary to theirs do not survive. They say they support freedom of speech, but in reality they are doing what they can to undermine countries who do not adhere to a capitalist formula. The same applies to other countries. Wake up and find out if your country's leaders are those who make decisions that negatively affect the lives of millions, for the gain of their friends and for themselves.
Snap out of it, war will not solve anything. War has been going on for thousands of years now, and it has gotten us nowhere . War only creates more war.
Hey America, wake up. A two party system is not very democratic. There are so many more ideas out there than democratic or republican ideas. America is more diverse than a two-party system. Don't vote because one candidate has more air time, or because one candidate has more money, vote for what you really believe in.