Stop the Madness Now!

First things first: Faggot, Faggot, Faggot. Take that you silly censors!

The ridiculous ruling by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council to ban the original version of Dire Strait's hit song 'Money for Nothing' is part of a very disturbing trend this week. It follows a decision earlier this week by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal that concluded marriage commissioners have no right to refuse to marry same sex couples.

In neither case are the rights of homosexuals harmed or challenged, but in both cases the rights of others are seriously threatened. Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Conscience are fundamental to democracy, both have been harmed this week.

Fortunately, many Canadians are willing to stand up to the censorship decision. Q104 Halifax and K97 Edmonton are both publicly defying the ruling by playing the song, in their report, the Toronto Sun helpfully published contact information to complain to the CBSC. Anyone can contact the CBSC national chair Ronald Cohen at ron.cohen@cbsc.ca or 1 (866) 696-4718. I definitely plan on doing that, but I wish it were as easy to fight the Saskatchewan decision on conscience rights, because I think that's more serious.

In the meantime here's the unedited version of the song



and the offending lyrics:

See the little faggot with the earring and the makeup
Yeah buddy that's his own hair
That little faggot got his own jet airplane
That little faggot he's a millionaire

Christmas Light Show

Most likely I'm still at Midnight Mass, but I wanted to be sure to say Merry Christmas! Here's a way to celebrate for one and half minutes, or two minutes if you want to let the video load for a second.

A Call to Leadership

Today's rain clouds did have a silver lining. I was able to pick up Faith FM 94.3 on the drive home. They played this new song called Lead Me. Actually it's not that new apparently it's been #1 on the Christian music charts for a few weeks but I just heard it today.



The song is a powerful reminder to men that we have to take a leadership role in our families and leadership means self sacrifice. The song also inspired the band Sanctus Real to post a special prayer on their website, which the announcer read on air today:

Lead Me- a prayer for husbands

Christ Jesus, you have called me to love my wife tenderly and sacrificially, even as you love the church, but too often I know myself to be a selfish man with a distracted heart. Please give me patience, gentleness, and kindness toward my wife, and the wisdom to value her for her gifts and ideas. Teach me to be vulnerable with her, openly sharing my own heart and thoughts, hopes and fears, even as I seek to better understand her.

Remind me to be ever mindful of her interests and needs with each decision I make and to structure my life in such a way that she receives the best of my energy and attention, rather than the leftovers. Give me courage to passionately pursue relationship with her even when I feel wronged or wounded. Let me become for her a man of tenderness, kindness, creativity, and integrity, protecting and cherishing her by vigilantly guarding my own eyes and heart.

Above all, teach me to lead as you led, Jesus, in humility and service. Only by your grace can I be a godly man and a good husband for my wife.

Lead me Lord, I pray.

As a rather remarkable coincidence today's readings at Mass included Ephesians 5:21-33:

Brothers and sisters:

Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the Church,he himself the savior of the Body. As the Church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the Church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the Church, because we are members of his Body.

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.

In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.

Maybe God's trying to tell me something.

Great Song and Incredible Hand Dancing

I was planning to write about competitive currency devaluation, but that issue isn't going away anytime soon. Instead I'm just going to point out this incredibly fun song, that I'll probably listen to several times this weekend:

Live Music to Feed the Soul

Friday night we saw James Taylor and Carole King at the Air Canada Centre. It was my first concert at the ACC and even though we were in the extreme upper edges of the cheap seats, it was an amazing show. The sound quality was perfect and the screens gave an excellent view of everything that was happening on the rotating stage below. James Taylor's voice was extremely rich as he sang simple yet meaning full songs like Fire and Rain, and Shower the People You Love with Love. My personal favourite is definitely, You've Got a Friend, which he's singing in this YouTube video from 2008:



Perhaps the best part of the evening was singing along to some of the songs along with thousands of other people in the stands. It was deeply moving, almost spiritual. That surprised me given the fact that there's nothing religious at all about the lyrics in the songs. Still, I left the concert feeling deeply fulfilled. That's probably why the Church has made music such an integral part of it's worship through the ages. It's also probably part of the reason why massive concerts like this almost always sell out and often very quickly.

Today I'm even more sold on live music than I was before. I'll definitely try to go to another concert at the ACC. Although, I'm probably not ready to go onto ebay and try to grab some Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber tickets just yet.

Remembering Our Soldiers

Happy Remembrance Day. This is really a beautiful song by Billy Ray Cyrus and I can't think of a better tribute today.



May God bless all our soldiers. If any of you are reading this today - Thank you for your service to us!

My opinion of Harper just changed dramatically. I'd say overnight but I only saw a YouTube video of his Beatles' cover this morning:



[Note on the video. I've seen a few, this one has my favourite camera angle.]

I've campaigned for the Conservatives in the last few elections and I've kept donations going to my favourite conservative candidates or MPs, but, I've still had a mild discomfort with Stephen Harper. He strikes me as a brilliant strategist and a very effective Prime Minister, however, he very often seems cold and ruthless too.

Today, thanks to Lauren, he seems a lot more likable, even fun.

At home, he plays the piano “almost daily,” Mrs. Harper said . . .

[The] band met Mr. Harper through “a friend of a friend,” according to percussionist Phil Nolan, a high-school music teacher by day. “We've gone over [to 24 Sussex Dr.] a couple of times this summer to jam,” Mr. Nolan said Sunday.

Those jam sessions made Herringbone a natural choice for Mr. Harper's stage debut. “We got a phone call,” Mr. Nolan said. “It was Laureen's idea to play and so we decided we'd get together and see.”

He said their first real rehearsal was Sept. 27, less than a week before they were scheduled to play “the show of our lives.”

Together they chose the performance piece, Mr. Nolan said. The decision was not based on lyrics or symbolism. “My husband loves the Beatles, the song was in his vocal range and that is about it,” Mrs. Harper said.

Summertime jam sessions and covering Beatles' tunes. . . That's just plain awesome. We'll be jamming with some friends this Saturday night. It's something regular people do. All of a sudden Stephen Harper seems a lot more real.

United Breaks Guitars: Song 2

After last month's YouTube sensation, United Breaks Guitars, Dave Carrol is back with the second song in the trilogy. It's as original as the first and definitely worth the 3 minutes to give it a listen.



I heard the original on the radio during my drive in to work and it just made me happy. I quite enjoy the sound of Sons of Maxwell and Dave Carroll. I may have to download one or more of the songs, it'll be great driving music.

Sweet Justice

The way this video is making it's rounds over the internet, there's a good chance you've seen 'United Breaks Guitars' already. Tonight it's the number 2 entertainment story on news.google.ca, right behind more crap about Michael Jackson. Even the Globe and Mail is reporting on it, noting the song has become an 'internet sensation'.

The song really hit's home with the story of a musician's guitar damaged by on his flight with United Airlines. Anyone who's been frustrated with poor customer service is going to enjoy this song. I can also relate as a guitar owner, there are many times I want to break my guitar - but I certainly hope nobody else does.



One last personal connection to this story: As I watched the video I thought this is the kind of band I'd love to sit and listen to at a fair or music festival. Come to think of it I'm pretty sure I did . . . the Sons of Maxwell played the Fergus Scottish Fesitval last year and I quite enjoyed them.

Definitely watch the video, I'm sure it will have over a million hits on YouTube by the morning.

I Want to be a Good Man

I've stumbled upon the phrase "a good man" a few times in the last year - it was used in key moments during the movie Fire Proof and the 1970s version of the Poseidon Adventure. I'm coming to realize that the phrase really is powerful.

It hit me over the head when a friend of mine casually said, "you're a good man." I smiled and moved on, but inside I was bursting with pride. That conversation was months ago and I still feel good when I think about it. The beautiful thing about the phrase is it's a general endorsement of your entire character. In it's purest sense it's probably impossible to be truly good, I've got more than my share of embarrassing faults, but in a lesser sense of displaying integrity and generosity it's certainly something to strive for.

This song, "A Good Man" from Emerson Drive is going to be my theme song for the day tomorrow:



These are my favourite lyrics in the song:

My dreams aren’t that complicated…

I wanna be the one When all is said and done

Who lived a good life, loved a good wife, and always helped someone in trouble

On the day they lay me down I want everyone to gather ‘round

And say he was a father, brother, neighbour and a friend

He was a good man!

Yeah, me too.

More Country Lyrics

I heard a new country song today. It's not really very good from a musical or lyrical perspective, but chorus is neat:

God is Great, Beer is Good, People are Crazy.

Can't much argue with that.

The Beatles: Rock Band

September 9, 2009 they're launching The Beatles: Rock Band. This could be a fun fall. I just can't believe they haven't done that before. The good news is the game sounds truly innovative:

A key element in capturing that Beatles sound is the vocal harmonies, and for the first time, a guitar-based music game has allowed more than one singer at a time. Even for a musically minded type, pulling that off in front of an audience can be especially humbling. Also, trying to play an instrument and sing at the same time, while keeping an eye on both parts as they zip by the screen, is especially challenging.

Yeah no kidding, this game will be tough and will take hours to master, but only minutes to bring people together and get everyone laughing. I can't wait to play.

4 Country Radio Stations Heard in Woodstock

I don't listen exclusively to country music anymore, but if I lived in Woodstock, Ontario I just might. As I was driving by the town last night, I scanned the radio and heard 4 FM country stations clear as day.

BX-93 has been playing country music for London for as long as I can remember. I grew up on that station in the kitchen, the chicken barn, pretty much everywhere. They're still going strong and they still sound great.

Country 95.3 broadcasts out of Toronto, it's my least favourite. I find the announcers loud and obnoxious which is definitely not what I'm in the mood for when I listen to a country station. Still it's a clear signal and there are some decent songs there.

KICX 106 is a Kitchener station and it's only been around for a couple years. It's the only country station that has a place on my presets because it comes in clear on my drive into work, and I like their announcers and their advertisers.

Country 107.3 is brand new, I just heard them for the first time last night. They're broadcasting out of London and playing a great mix of both new and classic country. They also seem to have a great newsroom. These guys could give BX-93 a run for their money.

So there you have it. If you're a country music fan, it's worth driving through Woodstock.

Happy Music, Happy Faces

Here's an interesting study that shows listening to cheerful music makes people think others look happier. The Telegraph reports:

In the tests, the volunteers listened to 15 second clips of music and their reactions to photographs of a variety of faces were recorded.

Results showed that happy music "significantly enhanced the perceived happiness of a face." Further studies of the volunteers' brain waves revealed that the effect of the music was almost instantaneous. It took just 50 milliseconds for changes to take place – too fast to be under our conscious control.

Similarly, listening to depressing music made sad faces appear more miserable.

It's pretty intuitive. I think of Christmas when we're inundated with cheerful carols and it really does seem everybody is happier. I do think it's remarkable how quickly the volunteers responded to the music and how the study seems to demonstrate that the changes in perception happen subconsciously.

It tells me that we have a lot more control over our emotions than we think, we can choose how we want to feel toward others just by choosing the right music! Time to look through my CD library.

Cleaning This Gun

This is a truly great country song. It's kinda warm and fuzzy AND it's just plain fun:

The Beatles Sound Great Bashing Commies

I've recently discovered this hot new band called the Beatles. OK - more like new to me. I grew up listening to country with an ingrained fear that if I ever changed the radio station I'd end up listening to Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper or German Opera, all of which scared me. In an effort to broaden my horizons I added a classic rock station and it turns out they play quite a bit of material from this 'Beatles' group. Truth is they're not bad. Yesterday on my drive in to work I heard my new favourite song. Revolution:



I love it, the song sounds great but the lyrics are the best part. Take a look at this:

You say you want a revolution Well, you know We all want to change the world

You tell me that it's evolution Well, you know We all want to change the world

But when you talk about destruction Don't you know that you can count me out

Don't you know it's gonna be all right all right, all right

Later in the song they get even more explicit:

But when you want money for people with minds that hate All I can tell you is brother you have to wait

And then the best line in the song:

But if you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow Yeah.

Way to stick it to the commies boys especially in the 1960's. I'm impressed.

Just one more random thought about this band. I have heard them somewhere before. . . that's right I think they performed on Sesame street playing 'Letter B.'

While I'm Waiting

I wrote on Sunday that I loved the movie Fireproof. On thing I didn't mention is the really poignant soundtrack. One song in particular was in my head all weekend and all of yesterday. While I'm Waiting by John Waller is a touching song with a very simple message. Keep trusting in God even while we wait for him to answer our prayers.

I've written before about some of God's answers to my personal prayers and there are many examples that I haven't written about, but I hope I haven't given the wrong impression. There are many prayers I've made that I'm still waiting to be answered - with some of them I've been waiting for years. Not being the most patient person by nature it's very hard to just wait and pray and hope and trust. That's why I love the simplicity and truth in this song:

I’m waiting

I’m waiting on You, Lord

And I am hopeful

I’m waiting on You, Lord

Though it is painful

But patiently, I will wait

Later the song encourages me saying:

I will move ahead, bold and confident

Taking every step in obedience

AND

I will serve You while I’m waiting

I will worship while I’m waiting on You, Lord

That's really hard to do, but I know it's the right response. Simply trusting in God and being faithful in worship and service will give us the strength we need to wait even when it seems like forever.

Songs that say, Don't cheat, Don't Leave

I've got two country stations on my radio presets. I knew this song was big when I heard it twice in 5 minutes while scanning the channels. Taylor Swift's, "Should've Said No" is a grand kiss off to her cheating boyfriend. It's totally simplistic, no torn emotions just plain punchy. Simple message to men, be faithful or you're toast. Give it a listen:



It kind of reminds me about the song Cheaper to Keep Her by Aaron Lines that made the circuit a few months ago. Similar message to men, DON'T Leave because you’ll just screw up your life! I enjoy both these songs because they’re just so refreshingly direct. I think they’re just plain fun, as long as you’re not in the situation. If you are, they’e gotta sting and you have my sympathy. But I think these two songs are popular because they contain warnings that deep down we men know we need to hear. (I think they’re popular with women because they can laugh at men.)



Stay Strong by the Newsboys is different. First, it’s not country, I’ve heard it a few times on my drive home on the local Christian music station. More important it’s hopeful it’s talking to us BEFORE we make a bad decision. It’s definitely my favourite of these three songs:



I like all three of these songs especially the last one. They may be direct, maybe even preachy, but they're definitely catchy. It’s refreshing to have some explicitly encouraging music especially when popular culture seems to diminish committed relationships.