New dream vacation: to tour with Brandi Carlile and the twins. I’ll just be a roady or whatever, go to the concerts, hang out with the band on the tour bus…. sing on the tour bus, eventually get asked to sing on stage… go into shock (I’ve actually gone into shock before, so I can vividly imagine it. Ok… *now I’m feeling kind of sick.) Ok, scratch that last bit. I’ll just tour with them.

*Dang, I am one of those people who get sympathetically ill and I just started to get sympathetically ill with my past self or my future imaginary self! Come one, now, that’s going a little too far.

Lyrics

When are you gonna come down
When are you going to land
I should have stayed on the farm
I should have listened to my old man

You know you can’t hold me forever
I didn’t sign up with you
I’m not a present for your friends to open
This boy’s too young to be singing the blues

So goodbye yellow brick road
Where the dogs of society howl
You can’t plant me in your penthouse
I’m going back to my plough

Back to the howling old owl in the woods
Hunting the horny back toad
Oh I’ve finally decided my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road

What do you think you’ll do then
I bet that’ll shoot down your plane
It’ll take you a couple of vodka and tonics
To set you on your feet again

Maybe you’ll get a replacement
There’s plenty like me to be found
Mongrels who ain’t got a penny
Sniffing for tidbits like you on the ground

Dooce says that Barack Obama makes her want to be a better person. Me too!

Not sure if there will ever again be an election like this one in my lifetime, and I am so proud of my country right now. Many people wanted to know why I was going to vote for Obama, and the reasons are many, but most importantly he inspires me to be a better person. I don’t think I’m alone when I say that, and so I can imagine a multitude of people out there striving to make the world around them better.

Both he and Michelle Obama make me want to be a better person. Here’s to making the world around us a better place. Yes, we can!

My Love by The Bird and The Bee

Happy Friday!

I rewound this and watched it over and over when I was a kid. AHH!!! The sound of the glass breaking! Does it get any hotter than that!

I was hoping for some insight. Maybe some tips from that class I clearly must have missed in kindergarten. The book delivered. It was a really great book which describes different types of children and gives tips to help them fit in.

The advice is practical and will really help kids. It does not say, “Just be yourself. They’ll love you!” But the author does give a possibly exasperated parent the good side of the kids behavior so that the parent will know where they are coming from and possibly have some empathy. (She also mentions to the parent how they might need to change to help the kid. Ah so.)

She talks about the short fused kid, the “different drummer” (a really nice name for the weird kid at school,) the shy child, the sensitive soul, the natural born leader, the little adult, the pessimistic child, the intimidating child, and the vulnerable child.

Some example tips:

• For the shy child, there are exercises about how to greet other people and how to join in games. To join in, stand near the action, observe what the other kids are doing, and then join in with out asking or waiting to be asked. (Research shows this is the most effective method!)
• For the whiny kid: have a complaint box. Teach the child how to ask for help in a way that will be heard. Teach them other ways to interact with people besides complaining.
• For the little adult, teach them that they don’t have to be responsible for the spread of information to everyone. (Oh!) That what people value most in a friend is someone who is fun and caring.

I have grown out of or learned to work around most of the behavior that I could see in myself as a kid, but I still found the tips useful. And judging by the comments at Amazon, a lot of other adult readers felt the same way.

Jesus Don\’t Give Tax Breaks to the Rich by Frank Hoier

Frank’s My Space page with more songs.

Via 3Hive.

Very Random Musically Themed Links

Spirit Voyage Music : Spirit Voyage Music : Celebrate Peace

Barry Green-The Inner Game of Music

Guitar Noise - free guitar lessons (www.guitarnoise.com)

Untitled Document

MP3.com.au - Australia’s most popular Music Service Provider

Who’s Who? Music Directory: indy songwriters, bands & recording artists - indie musician resources

MuseNote WebRing

The Voice Studio Ring

Dummies::Practicing Your Singing: Getting Started

Expose Progressive Music web site

Appleseed Recordings

Roots Music Report - The #1 Independant Music Charts in the World - Music News, Reviews, & More

Sondre Lerche - official website

Brickell edie “This eye” Guitar chords

? Brickell Edie Tabs, Brickell Edie Chords for Guitar, Lyrics

Online guitar tuner - E A D G B E

3hive - sharing the sharing

Do-It-Yourself CD Cover Design

Adam’s Project

The Official Berkley Hart Website

3hive - sharing the sharing

NPR: All Songs Considered: The Best CDs of 2004: Listener Picks

NPR: All Songs Considered: Best Music of 2004

NPR: All Songs Considered: The Best Songs of 2003

NPR: All Songs Considered: Best Songs 2005 (So Far)

NPR: All Songs Considered: Archives

Amazon.com Music: Music / Best of the Year So Far: 2005 : Top 50 Editors’ Picks & More

NPR: All Songs Considered: Open Mic: Stage 107

Radio

A Prairie Home Companion: Old Shows

Air America Radio America’s Progressive Talk Radio Network

KRCL Community Radio

American RadioWorks - Witnesses to Terror

Oh my gosh. I saw her perform at a small venue and I want to see her in concert again soon! In person her voice has moments so stunning that the hair stood up on my arms. Wow.

Hate to see the nation being run by a hack
Dig the situation that he dug in Iraq
Half the population wants to give him the sack
And now he’s lookin’ round for somebody else to attack
We need somebody great to get us back on the track

So we’re takin’ it back with Barack, Jack!

Choo Choo, Change to believe in
Woo woo, we can achieve it
Choo Choo, Change to believe in
Takin’ it back with Barack, Jack!

Now that global warming is a matter of fact
The only real question is just how to react
The new administration needs the guts to enact
Drastic legislation, leave the planet intact
We can’t be foolin’ round with some Republican Mac

So we’re takin’ it back with Barack, Jack!

Choo Choo….

He only gets his money from your regular macs
Doesn’t take a penny from some whackity PAC’s
For bringin’ folk together he’s the man with the knack
And he’ll supply the hope and inspiration we lack
Cause he’s the best we got and did I ….mention he’s black?

So we’re takin’ it back with Barack, Jack!

Just for the record: I like McCain. I think he’s a good person and has done a lot of good during his political career. During this election, I was cheering for Hillary and think she would be a great president. BUT, now that she isn’t in the running, and McCain is pandering to the right and has selected a conservative, seemingly simple minded person, as his running mate, I’m taking it back with Barack! Oh, and I love Michelle Obama. She will be an awesome first lady.

ps: For any real swing voters out there: I read all of the above three candidates positions- everything they had written on their websites. Overall, I agreed the most with Hillary, then with Obama, and then with McCain. Although Obama did have a few ideas I liked better than Hillary’s concerning taxes.

Before you knock either Obama or McCain, I suggest reading their websites and their voting records and deciding based on the facts rather than inflammatory emails. I think they are both good people but with very different ideas about which policies and regulations they want to implement. Check out the issues.

pps: I can’t say the same about Palin. I think she is unfit to be vice-president, her views are extremist and she seems inept- in the same ball park as George Bush.

Watching TLC at my aunt’s house…

I have learned one valuable thing from my incessant TV watching: I think I need to improve my dressing. I’ve been watching What not To Wear. I used to think they were rude, but now I love Clayton and Stacey! (I still think it’s a little rude.)

Also, it’s against my value system to spend a lot of money on clothes. I buy ALL my clothes at the thrift store. YES! It’s true! So, I am going to buy myself some nice clothes. Since I hate to shop, I’m going to buy my stuff on myshape.com. Hopefully I measured myself correctly. Watching the show and seeing that people who feel like me about clothes often have underlying insecurities made me think that maybe updating my look to a professional woman in her mid-thirties would be a good thing to do. (I have loads of underlying insecurities.) Who am I now? What do I want to project to the world? I am not going as far as wearing high heeled pointy toed shoes though. Oh, NO.