Entertainment Monday: (Monday December 28, 2015) Scott Weiland

*Posted on behalf of Jon Bear 

You can not have grown up as I did (as a teenager) during the decade of the 1990s without having been effected in some way by the Grunge phase of popular music that originated out of the Seattle, Washington area led by bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam and featuring many talented bands like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Queensryche, Mother Love Bone and The Stone Temple Pilots (known as S.T.P.) who's lead singer was the extremely talented and extremely troubled Scott Weiland.  Weiland would later go on to front the very successful group Velvet Revolver among several other bands as well.  

When Kurt Cobain of Nirvana committed suicide in April of 1994 it was terribly sad and surprising for a generation of music fans who were caught up in the Grunge phenomenon.  If there were any Seattle Grunge band member who's death you may have expected to hear about it would have been Scott Weiland because of his much publicized and troubled history with illicit drug use.  While I was never a huge Grunge fan, I appreciated a lot of the music and the bands Alice and Chains and Stone Temple Pilots were probably my two favorites.  

A few weeks ago prior to Christmas, Scott Weiland passed away while he was on tour with his current band.  There is a great deal of speculation and some controversy around Weiland's death which is most likely drug related, and would come as no real surprise for a guy who was in and out of rehab on countless occasions since his early 20s.  I wanted to take a moment though this week to remember Weiland and some of the amazing music that his bands created, reflecting upon the artist and his immense talent.   I am grateful for the music Weiland helped to bring into so many lives.  While his personal story may forever be a cautionary tale about the dangers of drug addiction, his professional story will always be about the musical legacy he has left behind.  

Interstate Love Song: STP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjJL9DGU7Gg  

Pretty Penny: STP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWj73gYZDUk
Plush: STP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXhmwMdUKfA
Vasoline: STP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht672-wYelc

Fall To Pieces: Velvet Revolver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JhsUFuqbCM

Rest in Peace Scott Weiland.  

Remembering The Victims of Flight 800

Aaron Burden

* Posted on Jon Bear's behalf 

July 17, 1996 is a day that lives deeply in my memory and something I recall this time every year with a mixed degree of sadness and of hope. My sadness is in the reminder of the pain suffered by the families of 230 victims who lost their lives off the shores of Center Moriches, Long Island, New York that day. The flight they were on to Europe had a catastrophic explosion in an empty fuel tank which brought the plane down mere miles away from where I lived at the time in Mastic, New York. Particularly of note to the media was the story of a group of high school students from Montoursville, PA who were headed to France with some chaperons who perished in the crash. In 1996 I was attending college at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA, not far from Montoursville and some of the students I went to the college with were graduates of the high school.

On the day of the crash my mother, twin brother and I were returning home from a trip to New York City when we stopped at a Dunkin Donuts in the town of Shirley or Mastic and heard numerous fire trucks and police cars zip past. The cashier at the Dunkin Donuts told us what had happened.

My memory of that day sticks with me forever, not because I knew any of the people on board of have ever met any of the family members effected by that tragedy, but because of a link that I had to that day, July 17, six years earlier in 1990. July 17, 1990 was the day that I was hit by a car when riding my bicycle home from my friend Mark's house after having gone swimming. While I broke my leg and bumped my head during the accident I was fortunate enough to live and recover fully from my injuries. My family was spared the sense of loss and heartache that six years to the day later befell the many families and friends who lost loved ones on Flight 800. My heart bleeds for those families/friends and I have never taken the opportunity to express that to any of them.

I feel a kind of connection to them because of the difficulty that befell me on July 17 and the fact that the crash happened on the same day six years later very close to my home. I have been to the memorial on Smith Point Beach in Shirley New York and it's a moving tribute to the lives lost that day.

My hope comes from family and friends who survived and have to live with that loss of their loved ones each and every day that passes and each July 17th that passes. Many of those people have urged others to participate in Acts of Kindnesshttp://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/07/acts_of_kindness_urged_to_reme.html on July 17th each year, in memory of their loved ones. It's a wonderful testament to the power of people and their capacity for love in the face of tremendous suffering and loss. By sharing their story here I hope that it might resonate with a few of our readers and might give us all pause to think about them and do a simple, random act of kindness on this day each year.

It's a small way to honor those who passed, which perhaps has the chance to bring a smile or brighten the day of someone who is down, and thereby reflect the light and brightness and joy that those who passed away brought to so many people while they graced our lives. They could be our brothers, our sisters, our parents or even us. None of us know if or when or how we might be touched by tragedy. Despair and Grief are understandable and expected. But Love and Caring and Kindness are the legacy of so many who were lost.

I am so thankful for each and every day I have with the people I love. Those I have lost and even those I still have are best remembered in their laughs and smiles, in their hugs and kisses, and in their joy and love. I wish to say a truly heart felt thank you to the families and friends of the flight 800 victims for their reminder to me each year of how precious and valuable those moments are. Those lost are not lives to be lamented and forgotten. But the lives of wonderful people who are to be celebrated and remembered in kindness and love. 

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen- Review by Carlyn and Jon *with spoilers*

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The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen tells the story of a dysfunctional American family. The Lamberts consist of parents Enid and Alfred and their adult children, Gary, Chip and Denise. Alfred suffers from Parkinson’s Disease and the family struggle to help him. Enid and Alfred want to maintain their independence but it is clear that they need more help than they will admit. They all have secrets from each other that lead to depression and resentment.

The Lamberts

Alfred is a former railway engineer who suddenly quit his job instead of accepting a promotion. His family do not understand his decision and resent him for his choice. Alfred is a restrained man who has strong morals. His family sometimes think he’s hard to please and cold hearted.

Enid is an old fashioned housewife and a hoarder. She has conservative views on life and is dismayed at how her children have turned out. Enid lies about her children to her friends in order to project the image of a perfect family.

Gary is the oldest Lambert child. He works as an investment banker. Gary works hard to maintain an affluent image and to not resemble his father in anyway. He is depressed but in denial. Gary’s wife and kids think he’s paranoid.

Chip is a bit of a sleazebag and amoral person. He is a former Literature professor who goes to Lithuania to dupe foreign investors for the Lithuanian government.

Denise is an up and coming celebrity chef whose love life is a mess when she comes between a married couple.

Carlyn’s thoughts:

I heard that there were attempts to have this book made into a movie. I think it would make a great movie and I can easily see Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in it. The book is raw and dramatic and there are some funny moments as well. There were times when I found the characters unlikeable because they were so unkind or resentful towards each other. The Lambert siblings found their parents to be overbearing and annoying.  The parents were disapproving of their children’s life decisions.

 In addition, they all make some poor choices that cause them some stress. The book alternates between the characters in each chapter so as I read the chapters I began to understand the characters motives and be a bit more sympathetic towards them. I found the problem with the family was that they are not honest or accepting of each other.

I’m more interested in Young Adult fiction where the characters are not as messed up so maybe that is why this book didn’t appeal to me. I find that YA fiction has more likeable characters and they have a determination to resolve their problems. Also they tend to have sidekicks who act as their conscience and prevent the protagonists from too much damage. The Lamberts don’t really have anyone to talk to and they don’t talk to each other so I can understand why they make some poor decisions.  

I thought the book was well written and each character had their own voice.  I could relate to the family dynamics and how you can love someone and be annoyed by them too. I thought some parts of the book were boring to read about such as when Gary and Denise go to a neurological seminar and there is lot of medical jargon. Another moment I found hard to read involved faeces.

I felt hopeful at the end of the novel when the characters started to overcome their problems and change their attitudes, especially Enid.  While not all the problems are resolved I get a sense the characters want to live more positive lives at the end. 

Jon's thoughts

If you enjoy good character development then Franzen is a writer you'll like.  He does a wonderful job of description in scene setting and in his development of the personalities of each member of the Lambert family.  It's possible the descriptive nature of his writing can be a bit of overkill at times for some readers. 

If you have a good understanding of the bible I think it would probably be an asset in reading The Corrections, as it would be truthfully in so many novels.  The Corrections is set in the early 1990s and seems largely to be a commentary not only on dysfunctional family dynamics but also a dysfunctional America that's headed for a crash. The Lamberts grow up in an innocent Midwest Protestant American lifestyle. You'll note how Christ is the Lamb of God and of course a symbol of innocence.  The story is suggestive of the fact that when the Lambert Children move away from their parents to the East Coast they become corrupted by this distancing from the wholesome Midwestern values when thrust into Corporate America .

C.S. Lewis' book the Lion the Which and the Wardrobe  which is a biblical allegory also plays a large part in the story.  The book is being read by Gary's son Jonah and Aslan, the Lion is the name of one of the drugs used to try and bring competency to patients suffering from dementia. 

A big theme I could not help but consider as well when I read the novel given the dysfunction of Gary, Enid, Chip, Arthur and Denise was the second law of thermodynamics or the law of entropy, which suggest that out of chaos comes order. The lives of the characters that seem to be most chaotic, Chip's life, which is rife with failure and an insatiable sexual appetite and Enid's, which had been dominated by her husband Alfred in health and later dominated by Alfred in his sickness seem to become most ordered by the end of the novel while the lives of those who might appear least chaotic and more stable, those of Gary who has a stable job as a banker and Denise a successful career as a cook move more towards disorder. 

I found Chip and Alfred to be the most interesting characters in the story.  Alfred is presented as having been so domineering by all the characters with the exception of Denise and yet we see him at a stage in his life, when he is losing his mental faculty, where he is the complete opposite of a domineering and in control figure.   The chaos and dysfunction of Alfred's deteriorating mind seems to be a microcosm of the entire family dynamic.  Chip is probably the least redeemable character when you read the book early on.  He seems to lack moral value, responsibility and decency.  Gary and Denise appear to be the stereotypical models of responsibility. 

At the end of the book though when everyone was fearing who would be responsible for Alfred's care, it was Chip (the least likely of all the children) who visited Alfred in the hospital and stayed with Enid to care for Alfred.  Not only that, but Chip actually starts a family, gets married and seems to have his life back on path by the end of the book.  Denise ends the story confused sexually involved in affairs with women and men and disgraced professionally having lost her job.  Gary ends the story being the epitome of his father Alfred who he was so trying to avoid becoming.  He's depressed and is controlling and domineering in his relationship with his wife Caroline and with his children.  He's also lost a good deal of money in a failing market.  Enid is finally in control of her own life and has the freedom of movement, thought and action that escaped her while living with Alfred her whole life.

It's interesting in the Christmas Dinner near the end of the story that Enid was working so hard at organizing when Chip who has felt like such a failure and loser realizes that he is the happiest person at the Dinner table.

Ultimately I found that all the characters did a horrible job of understanding each other's point of view.  They all possessed a strong sense of selfishness about them and their situations.  So they are all unlikeable, and yet they all have qualities too that make sense.  Not enough to really redeem them, but enough to bring some level of empathy for each of them. 

I think Franzen is very talented and a lot of people would love The Corrections.  I came away from it feeling like it was a good, very thought provoking but unspectacular read. 

Jon Bear Journal: Visit to Washington DC 2015 version (Demetri Martin and the Washington Capitals)

Visit to Washington, D.C. 2015

It's not every year that I get the chance to travel down to Washington D.C. and visit with my sister Heather and Brother in law David, but the last two years I have been fortunate enough to have the time and ability to get down to see them.  I always have a wonderful visit with them, whether I go with other family members or make the trip by myself.  Heather and David are of course amazing people but are great hosts too and always have fun and different things planned for us to do. 

This past Christmas Heather and David got me tickets to see the comedian Demetri Martin perform at a theatre in a recently renovated district that is a suburb of our Nation's Capital.

Demetri Martin

Demetri's comedy routine was being filmed for release on RedBox.  RedBox is a movie rental company that has kiosks set up around the United States where people can rent movies for one day at the cost of $1.00.  It's a nice way to see a film or in this case a comedy routine without having to pay the prices you would at the movie theatre or when purchasing the movie.  This is especially nice if you are not sure if you'll like the film. 

Outside the theatre we and other ticket goers were solicited for money by a man and his wife who were standing on the corner (the man was standing the women whom he said was his wife was in a wheel chair) in front of a famous area Macaroni and Cheese house (located right next to the theatre).  I think if I were either the owners of the Theatre or the Macaroni and Cheese house I would not want the people there begging for money and ask them to leave.  I know that it's a difficult scenario to be critical of and I'm fine with anyone who wants to give money to help someone else whether the donation is put to legitimate good use or solicited under pretense, but when you are going out to a show it's not the place where someone should be doing that. 

It should not be up to the patrons to have to say something either.  Ownership should step up, or risk losing future business when they allow such a practice in front of their location. Once we got inside the theatre I thought the theatre looked very nice.  It had an old fashioned gilded feel to it.  There was a high arched ceiling with ornate lamps hanging from it in the entry.  A bar was set up to each side of the theatre's floor level entry and two wide staircases leading to the higher level seating were to the left and right of the main theatre entrance.  During the warm up comedian's performance is when most of the audience filming was done.  I was on an end/aisle seat but was fortunate to not have been one of the unlucky few whom had a rather heavy and large camera stuck right in front of their face or behind their head while the film crew filmed audience reactions for the RedBox recording.   Knowing we were going to a recorded show, I would not have complained if they picked my aisle, but I don't think I'd have been happy or able to enjoy the comedy routine as much with someone in my personal space holding a large camera.

I thought Demetri Martin's routine was great.  It was also nice that at least the camera crew was a lot less interfering during Demetri's performance. Martin is known for his "sketch comedy" where he draws pictures and describes funny everyday scenarios that we take for granted.  This performance deviated from what he is known for though as it was a straight stand up comedy routine without props.  An example of one of his jokes is how he rhetorically asked the audience why signs focus so much on the negative and not the positive?  He mentioned how road signs often indicate that a Bridge Might be Icy and went on to say, "Why doesn't the sign say - Bridge May NOT be Icy.".

He also questioned why part of men's genitalia are referred to as "balls" and said he thinks a much more appropriate or beneficial term would be "lozenges".  Most of his comedy was not of a sexual or dirty nature though, and the genitalia joke is probably the furthest he went in that regard with any of his jokes.  He also did not use a lot of swear words or bad language.  On the whole, if this is similar to most of his comedy routines I would say that for most families with young children it would be fine to watch his routine and most likely one would not find too much of what he says offensive or inappropriate.  The few adult themed jokes would likely (hopefully) be over a child's level of understanding.  Several of the things he joked about might be something a child could understand or laugh at.  Of course there were a few that went over the audience's head or that the audience did not find particularly funny and he would self abashedly say, "We'll have to scrap that joke for the RedBox recording".

I thought as an audience we got our money's worth too.  The routine lasted almost 2 hours.  If anyone has done comedy they know how difficult it is to stay on stage making jokes and getting people to laugh for five minutes, no less almost two hours.

Later during my visit with Heather and David we got to go to a Washington Capitals National Hockey League game at the Verizon Center in Arlington, Virginia.  The Capitals were playing the Minnesota Wild.

Roughly Our Vantage Point at the Verizon Center

Heather and David are very invested and dedicated Washington Capitals fans.  It was great to get to see my first live and in person NHL game in right about 2 decades and my first outside of the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, NY where the New York Islanders play (until next season when the Islanders move to Brooklyn, NY).

Prior to the start of the game Heather, David and I went down to ice level and watched the Capitals players warm up.  One of the Capitals players flipped a hockey puck over the side of the glass to a young fan who was standing next to my brother in law David.  The most impressive thing was probably the flexibility of Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby.  The guy was doing complete splits on the ice and bouncing up from them as if he were strolling down a street.

 The only two small disappointments were the fact that the Capitals lost the game 2-1 to the Wild and the fact that Alexander Ovechkin the star forward for the Capitals did not play in the game (it was the only game Ovechkin missed all year long) >.<  David and I both purchased a Capitals Armed Forces Baseball Cap for $20.00.  It was Armed Forces appreciation night at the game. 

Capitals Team Captain and Star Forward: Alexander Ovechkin

* While I'm not exactly a "looker" or "stud" myself I'm thinking it's a good thing Mr. Ovechkin was blessed with world class Hockey Skills because I don't think the Mr. Universe Pageant will be making a house call anytime soon.

As a bit of an unfortunate side note, the Capitals are currently playing my favorite hockey team the New York Islanders in the NHL playoffs.   So either my or Heather and David's team will get eliminated from the playoffs.  Right now the series is tied at 2 games a piece.  Whom ever can win 2 out of the next 3 games first will advance to the second round of the playoffs.  So while I very much appreciate Heather and David treating me to see the hockey game last month.  GO ISLANDERS! YES! YES! YES! *yes, yes, yes is the Islander fans chant every time our team scores a goal.

The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich - Review by Jon and Carlyn

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Plague of Doves is a novel that was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist written by Louise Erdrich.  The story follows the lives of several characters in a mixed community of Whites and Native American peoples who live in the fictional town of Pluto, North Dakota during the mid 20th century.  The central story around which the characters lives revolve the suspicious 1911 murder of a White family in the town and the subsequent unjust lynching of an Indian boy named Holy Track, his uncle Asiginak and Cuthbert Peace .  The characters lives are full of the lies, secrets, half-truths and the disparate perspectives that shape the reality and create tension between the White and Native people of Pluto.  

The story and history of the town are narrated through  the voices of a variety of the town's people including a young Native girl named Evelina Harp whose grandfather Mooshum is the sole survivor of the lynching; Antone Bazil Coutts the town judge who is of mixed heritage and marries into the Harp family; Marn (Wolde) Peace a white woman who marries into the Peace family; and Dr. Cordelia Lochren, the town historian.   The lives of all the characters are intertwined in intricate detail and while their perspectives are not used, the story also features the stories of Corwin Peace the cousin of Evelina, Mooshum, Billy Peace, Corwin's Uncle who is an Evangelical Messiah of sorts and married to Marn,  Neve Harp, a thrice married Caucasian woman who is the sister of Evelina's father and Warren Wolde a crazy old man living in an Insane Asylum where Evelina comes to work and eventually becomes a patient at herself. 

The plot is intricate with all the family relationships and back stories that twist together making the story somewhat hard to follow in places.  The other challenge to following the story is the different perspective's given by the narrators because as things unfold we begin to see the truth and how the events surrounding the lynching, which is first told to us by Evelina through Mooshum's relating of it, are altered.   

Jon:

Through all the story's twists and turns Cordelia eventually figures out who the true murderer was.  I loved the development of Erdrich's characters via their narratives.  There is definitely no idealization going on in her story as every character is flawed and battles internal conflicts whether they be directly related to the murder or in their interpersonal relationships within the community of Pluto.  The story has a chaotic nature to it probably best described by Cordelia when she references the town's name (Pluto) and how Pluto was the Roman God of the Underworld.  Throughout all the conflicts of conscience and character there is a weird kind of redemptive value in Cordelia's discovery of the true murderer albeit through a pained and irresolvable realization. I came away with the sense that all sins could be forgiven through the utter catastrophes we might weave. Or maybe that forgiveness is what is necessary to move on?  Forgiveness may be the wrong term though.  There may in fact be no forgiveness, but simply the recognition that once the truth is revealed that life needs to move forward and not be weighed down by the sins of the past.  

I am definitely not saying that was the author's intent, or the point of the book for that matter, it's just the way the resolution hit me.  While I felt bad for most of the characters at some point in the story, by the stories end once you realize that everyone has suffered their own personal hell in some way there is a sense of needing to move on from it.  

The Plague of Doves is a very thought provoking read.  I think it would be a great story for high school or college aged students

Carlyn:

I enjoyed reading The Plague of Doves. The characters are well written and like you mentioned, they have flaws so that no character is entirely bad or good. I have not read much on Native Americans and I think didn't learn much of their culture in this book. I also thought it was a thought provoking book because of all the themes. I think it would make a great book to study in high school or college too. 

The story is told through a roundabout way from alternating from many characters, some had more interesting stories than others. I liked the story about the founding of the town and the expedition to get to it. There were other stories that I found boring and others that I found repulsive.  It was hardest to read about the lynching and I didn't like reading about the cult. 

I think you described it quite well about each character going through their own personal hell. Fortunately, most characters find some peace by the end of their chapter. I thought that some stories were irrelevant to the central plot, it actually took me a while to figure out what was the connection was between each story. I think a family tree or glossary at the back of the book would have helped me to remember who the characters were and how they were related. 

I found the end of the book to be satisfying as it ends with Cordelia’s summarizing her thoughts on the town, her feelings of the massacre and the lynching that followed. I found the book to be interesting and not at all depressing considering some of the subject matter. This book is not one of my favourites but it is an interesting read. 

Fitness Challenge

Photo courtesy of Jeff Sheldon

Jon Bear and I both want to get fit this year. We’ve decided to do a fitness challenge for February which will help get us moving. It’s our first time doing a fitness challenge and if we like it we will continue with it. We’re going to start off small to see if this is our thing.

The first challenge we are going to do is a Tricep Challenge for 30 days.

We’re aware that one exercise on one body part can’t make you lose weight so this is really just a supplement to our own exercise regime. Jon likes to jog and take long walks and I like to do yoga and aerobics.  

We will writing weekly blog posts about how we are feeling and I will start first. 

Blogs of the Month: January 2015

Carlyn: The blog that I pick this month is Pudding Fancy by Renae. Renae writes about her life and interests. What I like about Pudding Fancy is that Renae’s kind and funny personality shows in her blog posts. She has enthusiasm for the simple things in life such as enjoying time with friends and enjoying delicious meals. I’m always hungry after reading her food posts as she appears to enjoy her food very much. I also like reading about her current obsessions about kpop or games which I find to be amusing, cute and a little worrying considering the time placed on such obsessions but who wasn’t that way at that age?

*nom nom* --- Jon Bear nosily eating yummers after checking out Pudding Fancy.

Jon Bear:

My blog of the month for January 2015 is pastemagazine.com's blog which is more of a compilation site of various blog entries.  I linked it specifically for it's 2014 blog post of the 100 best comic book characters of all time.  There are several of these types of lists out there, ranking various comic book heroes and villains but I liked their post which combined the two on one list and also considered a variety of comic book characters; not just those from the Marvel and DC comic Universe that I grew up with.   I liked seeing characters such as Groo the Wanderer on their list, who was always a more light hearted type comic book character as well at Hawkeye (number 56 on the list) who was my favorite of all time.  Any list has a great deal of subjectivity to it and can/will always be argued.  That's part of the fun though.  I know that Comics and Anime are hitting something of a revival this past decade or so.  It had seemed like popularity had died down for a bit not long after my childhood when you could once find a comic book store on almost every corner.  I think comic books in general are great entertainment and wonderful social relics of their time, even though the literary genre is in it's relative infancy.  I also think that they can be a bridge for younger adults into reading. 

While pastemagazine is a big site and differs from a lot of the small time more personal blogs around the blogosphere that we might typically share, I still think it's a fun place to read about today's popular culture and can appeal to a lot of people with different interests. 

Entertainment Monday: (January 12, 2015) Snow Tunes!

No, I did not misspell Entertainment Monday's title this week.  With it being the heart of Winter here now in the greater North East Region of the United States I figured I might share some "Snow Tunes" with just a few songs about or songs that mention snow which I like.

I have never been someone who really takes advantage of Winter in the North East as I do not ski, skate, snow shoe or partake in any outdoor Winter activities per se.  I do love the look of snow, and I think a snowy day is quiet and beautiful.  I even enjoy shoveling for the most part as long as I am not in a rush or late for something.  I do not enjoy driving in the snow, but who does?  Except for those crazy and fool hearty drivers who believe their four wheel drive vehicles will successfully navigate them across any road condition.  Yes, I'm taking to you truck driver who was riding up on the tail end of my vehicle this morning as I drove my little slip sliding car the 25 mile drive in to work.

I think that a lot of people in the North East are grumpy about snow because it makes them slow down and they risk accidents on the roadways.  Plus it's just downright cold.  I try to enjoy it though for what it is, much as I like to enjoy a good rain storm in the Summer Time now and then.

So without further ado here are the Snow Tunes I wish to share:

Valley Winter Song by Fountains of Wayne:

Yes, the group who is famous for the song "Stacey's Mom" actually has some really good music.  I love Valley Winter Song, because I live very close to New England (generally considered Massachusetts and Vermont and New Hampshire and Maine) on the boarder of New York and Vermont.  The song also mentions New York City.  So I feel close to home when I listen to Valley Winter Song, even when I'm far away.


Winter Snow by Audrey Assad and Chris Tomlin




While it is a Christmas Song: Winter Snow, written by Chris Tomlin and sung by Audrey Assad (Tomlin plays piano and does back up vocals)  is a song that I associate with the Winter and of course with Christ.  I can listen to it all Winter long.  I love the message and metaphor of Christ's arrival as a Winter Snowfall.  It also happens to be one of my favorite Christian songs of all time.

Winter, Fire and Snow by Orla Fallon

Winter, Fire and Snow is a Celtic Song, sung here by Orla Fallon.  It's a nice little tune about a mother who is waiting for her son to return home.  I am never sure if the information I read on line is entirely true or not, but I've found the songs authorship credited to Brendan Graham and Macdara Woods on the interweb, so hopefully they were the original writers.

Snow (Hey Oh) by the Red Hot Chili Peppers



There are times when I think some of the Red Hot Chili Peppers songs can sound a lot like one another and it bugs me a little.  Not sure why I added that, but it's more of an editorial note than anything, because on the whole I love a lot of the Red Hot Chili Peppers music, including Snow (Hey Oh)!  A quality band and a quality song for those long dark Winter afternoons and evenings!

So while they are all rather different stylistically, those are some of the songs I think of and like to listen to in Winter time, hopefully you will enjoy them too! =) 

Happy Birthday Jon!

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Merry Christmas

Jon Bear and I would like to wish our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

We would also like to thank everyone who takes the time to read our posts especially regular readers.

Blogs of the Month: December 2014

http://www.stellalee.net/

Carlyn: The last blog I want to show for this year is Stella Lee's Blog. Stella Lee is an Indonesian blogger who blogs about fashion, makeup and travel. Most of her blog posts are on Asian products and she has mostly travelled around Asia. I love to read her posts on Japan as it is my dream country to visit. I also love her passion for fashion and makeup. She’s not afraid to try different colours and styles when it comes to clothes, makeup and accessories.  

Jon: My final blog of the month for 2014 is Arianna's Random Thoughts  .  Arianna's posts seem to center around a strong sense of self and the connections that we have with our loved ones.   I think her blog sends a very good message by focusing on the important people in our lives, most expressly our family and our friends.  For a young person she gives some heady advice and sometimes the best advice we get is from young people.  They see the world from a place an older generation once saw it and sometimes forgets or ridicules.  Learning never stops and I like when I find a blog written by a thoughtful young person.  Especially someone with a positive spirit who can help others. 

Entertainment Monday: Fever (December 15,2014)

We've all been there, the aching from head to toe, the chills, nausea, cough, runny eyes and runny nose.  No it's not a pretty sight, but the fever knows no mercy and can even bring the most strapping young bear to his knees.  And truth be told, I'm not a strapping young bear any more.  This past Wednesday I went outside to shovel the snow from my and my neighbors sidewalks as well as our parking spaces and the old saying, "let no good deed go unpunished" reared it's ugly head, cursing me with what's likely the worst fever I have ever had.  If not the worst though, it was the most recent, and when we're talking about illness, isn't it always the most recent one that feels like the worst?

I woke up the day after my snow-shoveling escapades feeling quite achy and my eyes felt kind of funny.  It was when I decided to get my weary body out of bed that I was hit with the true weight of my illness.  I have been sick several times in my life, as is expectant of a 39 year old man, but I never before recall being so sick that I had blurred vision and difficulty maintaining my balance.  So this was a first for me.  I took out the old trusty thermometer and checked my temperature.  It read 103.3 degrees.  I had to check my temperature again and much to my distress got the same reading. 

I'm a stubborn bear and as such I try my best to take care of these things on my own.  I figured the hospital could wait for a couple of days unless my fever started to rise even more.  I monitored myself closely.  So for the next couple of days I drank a lot of water and drank a good deal of soup, while taking my multi-vitamin religiously for once and more than the typical dosage of aspirin.  Last night when I went to bed I still had a fever of 102.0 but I felt a world better than when I was above 103 at 103.3.  I repeated a nice little prayer for well being to God and hoped that I would wake up all better in the morning.  So while I am still feeling the fatigue of my illness today, I awoke with my temperature back to normal, albeit in a cold sweat.  Thanks for the help Lord! =)

To the point of Entertainment Monday though, while I was in my delusional state, I couldn't help but hear two songs running through my head, each song equally as good as the other, although they came from different generations of music.  I thought I should share both those songs about Fever for Entertainment Monday.  Now that I appear (fingers crossed) to be on the better side of my illness and headed towards good health I can listen to them without the delightful dread that the tunes evoked just a day ago (now three days ago, because I'm writing this on Saturday >.<).

Fever by Peggy Lee

Fever by The Black Keys



Blogs of the month: November 2014

Carlyn: The blog that I choose for this month is It’s Autumn’sLife by Autumn, an American who lives in South Korea and works as a kindergarten teacher. I don’t remember how I found her blog but I was drawn to it because I’m interested in Asian culture and education around the world. Autumn writes about food, interesting places, education and beauty. 

Jon: My blog for the month of November is KeepingtheChristmasSpiritAlive365.  I figured that posting a blog about Christmas in November made more sense with the holiday approaching, and not when it's right on top of us.  Natasha, the author of Keeping the Christmas Spirit Alive does just what her blog title indicates by providing everything from nick-knacks to holiday treat recipes to commercials to decorations to gift ideas, all year round.  I always love the "Christmas Spirit" and it's not just about gift giving and gift getting.  It's the feeling that Christmas inspires.  Excitement, anticipation and most importantly good will, that Natasha's site celebrates.  I send my best wishes for a wonderful holiday season, whether it be Christmas, or Chanukah or Kwanza, or any other late Autumn/early Winter (relative to where you live of course it might be Summer for some! >.<)  holiday that our readers may celebrate with friends and family!

Jon Bear Journal: Election Day 2014

Jon Bear Journal: Election Day 2014

Election Day has a holiday type hype and atmosphere around it when you watch the television news programs in America and the various political pundits discuss the changing shape of American Politics as the Nation chooses it's new or returning leaders in Congress, the House of Representatives or the Presidency as well as in their state elections involving Governors, Comptrollers, Attorney Generals etc...

The sad aspect of this all from a very real standpoint is that all the excitement and buzz of election day seems to fizzle out shortly there after when the American public realizes that the only changes we see are the faces and not the rhetoric or action.  That's not to say that there are not many politicians who's intentions aren't to make a change or make a difference for their constituents, it's more a reflection of the process in today's political atmosphere.  The perception is that there is a lot of in fighting and an unwillingness to compromise among the members of the Republican and Democratic parties. In fact, it would seem to be the reality and not mere perception. If we give the benefit of the doubt to our politicians and the reality is a better version of what we see play out during the affairs that effect our public conscious then the problem still exists that the perception of our government is stagnation by virtue of pig-headedness. 

I'm not writing to suggest some cure-all solution to this problem.  I don't know it if there is one.  My mediation skills are not up to par with the kind of stubbornness that can be reflected in our two major government parties either.  I know I want things to change though.  How do you enact change without running for office yourself?  And even those who run for office with the grand idea of enacting change find the twists and turns of political gerrymandering dizzying.  I feel as if America's current political environment has Vertigo.

For the first several years I was of voting age I was a registered Republican.  I later switched to being a registered Democrat and for the last several years have been registered as an Independent, with no political leanings or affiliations with either party. 

This past November 4th was Election Day across our country and while there were many important National Battles playing out relative to which party would control the Senate (eventually enough seats were won by the Republicans to gain control, giving them a numbers advantage in both the House and Senate), my biggest focus or interest was on the election of our Governor in the State of New York.  Why should I be concerned with a race that essentially had a preordained winner?  As our incumbent Governor Andrew Como easily won re-election.  Well for me it just came down to reading and listening, and for once being able to make an informed decision on who I was choosing to vote for.  There was only one televised debate for the Govern ship of New York that I was able to see, and I'm fairly certain it was the only one shown.  I also took the time to read about this years candidates though and found that I most liked what Howie Hawkins of the Green Party had to say and how he went about saying it. 

I read that voting for Howie Hawkins this year was in essence a "protest vote" for Democrats who wanted to make a statement that Governor Cuomo was deviating from the things they found important, with regards to many of the hot topics of today, like Fracking, Education, Political Corruption, Pay for Women, Pay in general and even the proper handling of the Ebola risk.  A protest vote is seen as something of a safe vote.  For people with leanings towards the left of the political spectrum there was no real risk this year of Rob Astorino the Republican candidate being elected Governor of New York, so by voting for Howie Hawkins they did not have to worry about a Republican getting in office but could still show their disapproval with Governor Cuomo. 

Wikipedia Link

That was not my reason for voting for Howie Hawkins.  I voted for him because he was likable, seemed to be well spoken, well informed and most importantly I agreed with what he had to say.  I decided for once I did not care if the candidate I wanted to win had a real chance or not.  I wanted to support the candidate who I would pick if all things were equal.  Which in the political world they rarely are, especially when you get into spending, advertising and the like.  I voted for Howie Hawkins because I wanted him to be our Governor.  Not because I was trying to make a statement of disapproval against Mr. Cuomo and not because of any dislike of Mr. Astorino. 

I wish I had always voted that way and that we would all vote that way in the future.  So many times we let outside voices influence us in the choices we make.  I think it's important that we make decisions for ourselves and stand by those decisions.  When our candidate does not win I think it's important to try and find compromise on positions with those who were the elected officials.  We don't have to give up our convictions, just realize that the person in charge may have a different agenda and instead of stonewalling we need to single out the most important issues and concerns we have and push to make that part of the agenda of the elected official.  How do you do that?  Well, you have to push to make it part of the agenda of the community, because ultimately 4 or 6 years from now (depending on which office/position is being voted for) that's who the elected official will be beholden to upon re-election or removal.   Share with others in your community the issues and solutions that are important to you.  Then come election time maybe some of the issues will resonate with your neighbors and the ones that resonate most will get shared across a broad spectrum. 

One thing I heard constantly during CNN's broadcast of the Senate races that went on during this election was how voters did not like either candidate.  Well, I say, "vote for someone you like then!".  There is no rule that you have to vote Democrat or Republican.  There is no rule that you have to vote for the people listed on the ballot.  We have the option to write-in and vote for any person we like.  Find someone you agree with and vote for them. 

I DO think voting is important, because it's a right we have that is not given to everyone.  Therefore
I would not suggest that people not vote if they did not like either candidate.  I don't think that should be taken for granted.  Even if it may not seem to "mean much" there is an historical significance to the right to vote and we owe it to our ancestors who paid the price to make it possible for the rest of us. 

Those are just some thoughts I have in the wake of our most recent election.  I know that my own opinions and the things I find important to me change over time, so even come next year and then two years from now during the new presidential election I will have shaped and reshaped my own views on the major election topics (which more often then not involve the economy at the top spot).  So who will I vote for?  A Democrat?  A Republican?  An Independent?  I don't know yet.  I just know that my vote will go to whom ever I agree with most, and not who SHOULD or is EXPECTED to win. 

Entertainment Monday: James Mercer (The Shins and Broken Bells) - November 3, 2014

James Mercer: The Shins and Broken Bells

The Shins have been one of my favorite bands for much of the past decade.  For several years I thought that they were from Australia, because they had a song by that name, but one day not all that long ago Carlyn pointed out to me that they were from New Mexico and not in fact from Australia.  I like New Mexico too though so the new knowledge about the band did not dissuade me from enjoying their music. 

James Mercer is the sole original member of the Indie Rock/Pop Band the Shins.  When Mercer wanted to take the band in a new direction he reconvened the band with all new members save for himself.  Mercer remains the bands front man functioning as the song writer, lead vocalist and guitarist.  The Shins first came together in the mid 1990s and had a small but loyal following until they were propelled into the public spotlight by their hit song New Slang, off their studio album Oh Inverted World in 2001.  New Slang was used in the movie Garden State which helped it's (the songs and the bands) popularity to explode.  I have never seen the movie, even though it has come well recommended from a few friends, but having heard New Slang on the radio I was immediately taken by it's somber and melodramatic lyrics. 

wikipedia link

While I liked New Slang I did not pay much attention to the Shins until they came out with their third album Wincing the Night Away in 2007.  That is when I really became a fan.  I had heard the song Sleeping Lessons on a television advertisement for a running shoe.  When I searched on the internet to find out more about the song I saw that it was performed by the Shins.  Already having been familiar with New Slang I figured I should purchase an album, now that I knew I enjoyed two of their songs.  I now own Oh, Inverted World (2001), Chutes Too Narrow (2003) and Wincing the Night Away (2007) their first three albums.  They have one other album Port of Morrow (2012) which I have heard some songs off of and also enjoy even though I do not own the album.

The Shins have also released a single for the movie I Wish I Were Here in 2014. 

What really interested me about James Mercer though is when I found out that he was a member of a duo with Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse) from Gnarles Barkley.  Their collaboration is called Broken Bells.  Broken Bells debut album was released in 2010 but I had only heard one of the bands songs and never made the connection between Broken Bells and James Mercer.  It was when their second album After the Disco came out this past February, 2014 and I heard the single Holding on to Life that I researched Broken Bells and discovered Mercer was part of the duo of a new band I loved to listen to.

wikipedia link


 

   
I feel as if back in the 1960s and 1970s several artists collaborated with each other and made some great music as members of a variety of bands.  I'm sure that collaborations probably happen frequently today still but there are not too many artists I can think of whom have been members of two bands that I consider among my favorites.  I hope that both the Shins and Broken Bells will continue to produce new music and that I will continue to enjoy Mercer's writing and singing. 

Blogs of the Month: October

Carlyn: The blog I’d like to highlight for September is Design Sponge. Design Sponge is a blog about interior design which features interviews from creative people who design textiles, interiors, homewares, as well as cooks and foodies. Design Sponge also has tutorials on how to decorate and make things which range in difficulty level and price.

The blog is run by a team of people so there’s always a daily post or two. I like to read the posts about home renovations as I love seeing the before and after shots. 



Jon Bear: What I really like about Tastefully Offensive is the randomness and variety of the funny clips that are posted.  Who doesn't like to laugh?  And Tastefully Offensive has lots of enjoyable clips from television and the internet that make me laugh out loud.  I always find it to be a nice pick me up when I am having a bit of a bad day.  The blog is frequently updated too, without too much commentary which is nice, because humor is what it is and you either get it and love it or you don't get it or do get it and don't love it, so explanations are not necessary.  

I like the blog title too because a lot of the humor is cute type humor that is not convoluted, difficult to understand or outrageous to the point where it's really offensive.   So most of it is the type of humor that you can share with a variety of age groups and varying sentimentalities without having to worry that someone might take offense. 

Of course people can flit around youtube and find funny clips, but I like when I find a site that I can rely on to sort out the funny stuff for me so I don't waste my time on things that I don't really think are all that funny.   Tastefully Offensive does a good job of coming up with posts that jive for the most part with my tastes in humor.  So while it may not be for everybody I think the site has a rather broad appeal and most people looking for a laugh will like visiting it.