If I were a song, I'd be Chicago By Sufjan Stevens off his Illinois album (by far his best). It isn't even necessarily my favorite song off the album, though it is amazing, but I was just listening to it today and thought "if I were a song, this would be me." The lyrics are sort of part of it (so I listed them below) but the music itself is, I think, the main reason. It's uplifting but reflective and steady but grows. Every time I hear it I am reminded of so many things and, what's more, excited for what's to come because I can just feel something happening. That's the best way I can describe it. Anyway, I highly suggest giving it a listen (even if you've heard it before) or at least reading the lyrics (though the instrumentals deserve your ears).
I fell in love again
all things go, all things go
drove to Chicago
all things know, all things know
we sold our clothes to the state
I don't mind, I don't mind
I made a lot of mistakes
in my mind, in my mind
you came to take us
all things go, all things go
to recreate us
all things grow, all things grow
we had our mindset
all things know, all things know
you had to find it
all things go, all things go
I drove to New York
in a van, with my friend
we slept in parking lots
I don't mind, I don't mind
I was in love with the place
in my mind, in my mind
I made a lot of mistakes
in my mind, in my mind
you came to take us
all things go, all things go
to recreate us
all things grow, all things grow
we had our mindset
all things know, all things know
you had to find it
all things go, all things go
if I was crying
in the van, with my friend
it was for freedom
from myself and from the land
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
you came to take us
all things go, all things go
to recreate us
all things grow, all things grow
we had our mindset
all things know, all things know
you had to find it
all things go, all things go
you came to take us
all things go, all things go
to recreate us
all things grow, all things grow
we had our mindset
(I made a lot of mistakes)
all things know, all things know
(I made a lot of mistakes)
you had to find it
(I made a lot of mistakes)
all things go, all things go
(I made a lot of mistakes)
Peace
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Grappling with Gray
So I'm about to get a little philosophical. I know, scary. I warn you now so that you can push your back button feverishly or just x out all together. Otherwise, here goes nothing:
In a couple of my classes we've been discussing "gray areas" a lot. I know it's a relatively simple concept, but I suppose my views regarding what's black and white and what's gray are changing these days. I know, I know, nothing is black and white, but to most people there are at least a few issues that they would view staunchly right or wrong, and would have serious trouble even trying to delve deeply into the other perspective. For example, I know that stealing is wrong. In my mind I feel that, ethically, there is no excuse for it. Even people who say they have no other means usually have other minimal, be it bare, options and there are plenty of organizations out there to help. In that same vane, people who steal when they don't need to, like the infamous Enron executives, have no possible legitimate defense. They stole out of greed and chose to maintain (if not expand) a life of excess by robbing their own employees of all they had. See, pretty cut and dry....
But... I wasn't there when they decided to blatantly make up accounts to prevent people from finding out how much they were losing. I am by no means condoning their behavior, but from my perspective I have absolutely no understanding of what makes people do things that I don't agree with. Maybe they didn't understand the gravity of their actions or maybe they were so consumed in their own affairs that they didn't consider what would happen to their employees. Maybe they did, but were so hardened by the gap between themselves and the masses with far less means that they had grown to view them with less concern. Maybe they are just that evil. I don't know, and I never will, but my point is that I am starting to realize that upon first hearing about an event or disaster it is becoming more and more difficult to just peg something as right or wrong. A kid got murdered-that's terrible, no doubt. A suicide bomber killed hundreds-that is sickening. Yet, we never stop and think "what drove this to happen?" George W. Bush refused to "compromise" with terrorists and many applauded him for that, but figuring out what we are doing to make them so bent on destroying us is a much better investment than just doing the same right back. Compromising and empathizing are extremely different things. We are all human beings with innate feelings of (at least moderate) sympathies and desire not to hurt others. It is the people who were molded and hardened in a certain way who do the terrible things beyond our realm of understanding. I do not mean to say that everyone is capable of only good and gets turned otherwise, but I truly believe that those who wish harm on others were brought to that point from some other influence.
Alright, that's it. Not a sermon, just a thought.
Peace
In a couple of my classes we've been discussing "gray areas" a lot. I know it's a relatively simple concept, but I suppose my views regarding what's black and white and what's gray are changing these days. I know, I know, nothing is black and white, but to most people there are at least a few issues that they would view staunchly right or wrong, and would have serious trouble even trying to delve deeply into the other perspective. For example, I know that stealing is wrong. In my mind I feel that, ethically, there is no excuse for it. Even people who say they have no other means usually have other minimal, be it bare, options and there are plenty of organizations out there to help. In that same vane, people who steal when they don't need to, like the infamous Enron executives, have no possible legitimate defense. They stole out of greed and chose to maintain (if not expand) a life of excess by robbing their own employees of all they had. See, pretty cut and dry....
But... I wasn't there when they decided to blatantly make up accounts to prevent people from finding out how much they were losing. I am by no means condoning their behavior, but from my perspective I have absolutely no understanding of what makes people do things that I don't agree with. Maybe they didn't understand the gravity of their actions or maybe they were so consumed in their own affairs that they didn't consider what would happen to their employees. Maybe they did, but were so hardened by the gap between themselves and the masses with far less means that they had grown to view them with less concern. Maybe they are just that evil. I don't know, and I never will, but my point is that I am starting to realize that upon first hearing about an event or disaster it is becoming more and more difficult to just peg something as right or wrong. A kid got murdered-that's terrible, no doubt. A suicide bomber killed hundreds-that is sickening. Yet, we never stop and think "what drove this to happen?" George W. Bush refused to "compromise" with terrorists and many applauded him for that, but figuring out what we are doing to make them so bent on destroying us is a much better investment than just doing the same right back. Compromising and empathizing are extremely different things. We are all human beings with innate feelings of (at least moderate) sympathies and desire not to hurt others. It is the people who were molded and hardened in a certain way who do the terrible things beyond our realm of understanding. I do not mean to say that everyone is capable of only good and gets turned otherwise, but I truly believe that those who wish harm on others were brought to that point from some other influence.
Alright, that's it. Not a sermon, just a thought.
Peace
Monday, February 2, 2009
And If You Don't Know, Now You Know...
SO I'm not totally sure why, but ever since I saw Notorious I have been obsessed with all things Biggie, particularly his relationships. First I should say, the movie was OK. Definitely better than I expected it to be, but there were some cop-outs for sure. Obviously the guy did a lot of bad things in his life, and in trying to keep his personal life in line with the successes of his professional one, I think he was depicted a bit less consistently than he should have been.
That being said, I move on to my main point of concern: the backlash the film got from key people in Christopher Wallace's life, particularly 'Lil Kim. For anyone who knows anything about the women in his life, it goes without saying that his mom, his wife (Faith Evans), and his mistess/ close friend ('Lil Kim) are pretty volatile when thrown into the same mix. The comments made by each of them in regard to distaste toward portrayals, missrepresented facts, etc, etc. is reminiscent of a bunch of hens (chickenheads?) clucking away over nonsense. Exhibit A: 'Lil Kim has made complaints that the actress cast as her, Naturi Naughton, was "too dark" and would have preferred being depicted by an Asian or Hispanic woman. Wow. I reiterate: Wow. First of all, the actress chosen not only draws a very close resemblence but, in my opinion, gave one of the best performances of the lot. She had 'Lil Kim down to a tee, and should be celebrated, not racially slandered. To make such an insensitive, ignorant, and plainly idiotic statement was a terrible call on Kim's part and makes her look like nothing less than a bitter, superficial....I don't know....wench!
And the responses from Faith Evans and Voletta Wallace were nearly as bad. One would expect his mother and widow to respond with poise and candor, but they've reduced themselves to the same level by speaking equally irately. It's one thing to be disturbed by one person's ignorance, and another to reduce yourself to that level.
It is so frustrating to see people acting like that, especially in the memory of a man that was a true creative genius. A man who clearly meant a lot to a lot of people. I wish everyone could learn from Biggie's story that life is precious and we must treat it as such since I got the impression that a general theme of the film was one of overcoming transgressions and focusing on what really matters. So much of his time was spent getting involved in stupid squabbles, and it is disheartening to know that his death wasn't even enough to drive that point home for those closest to him.
That being said, I move on to my main point of concern: the backlash the film got from key people in Christopher Wallace's life, particularly 'Lil Kim. For anyone who knows anything about the women in his life, it goes without saying that his mom, his wife (Faith Evans), and his mistess/ close friend ('Lil Kim) are pretty volatile when thrown into the same mix. The comments made by each of them in regard to distaste toward portrayals, missrepresented facts, etc, etc. is reminiscent of a bunch of hens (chickenheads?) clucking away over nonsense. Exhibit A: 'Lil Kim has made complaints that the actress cast as her, Naturi Naughton, was "too dark" and would have preferred being depicted by an Asian or Hispanic woman. Wow. I reiterate: Wow. First of all, the actress chosen not only draws a very close resemblence but, in my opinion, gave one of the best performances of the lot. She had 'Lil Kim down to a tee, and should be celebrated, not racially slandered. To make such an insensitive, ignorant, and plainly idiotic statement was a terrible call on Kim's part and makes her look like nothing less than a bitter, superficial....I don't know....wench!
And the responses from Faith Evans and Voletta Wallace were nearly as bad. One would expect his mother and widow to respond with poise and candor, but they've reduced themselves to the same level by speaking equally irately. It's one thing to be disturbed by one person's ignorance, and another to reduce yourself to that level.
It is so frustrating to see people acting like that, especially in the memory of a man that was a true creative genius. A man who clearly meant a lot to a lot of people. I wish everyone could learn from Biggie's story that life is precious and we must treat it as such since I got the impression that a general theme of the film was one of overcoming transgressions and focusing on what really matters. So much of his time was spent getting involved in stupid squabbles, and it is disheartening to know that his death wasn't even enough to drive that point home for those closest to him.
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