WWJLD Wednesday...Instant Karma

We all shine on, like the moon and the stars and the sun! I love this song on so many levels. When you first start listening to this song it sounds as if JL is being a little pessimistic and really warning you to watch your step - Instant Karma's gonna get you! It reminds you to wake up and realize the things you are doing and the things you are taking for granted - What in the world you thinking of, laughing in the face of love? Perhaps one of my favorite lines in the whole song is - Better get yourself together darlin', join the human race. If we all just took a moment and remembered we are all part of the human race and forgot about colors, countries, race, sexual preference, maybe we might be a little more compassionate with each other, a little more understanding.

After what seems like a little scolding from JL though, he breaks out the positive - We all shine on! We are all in this together, lets act that way. Better recognize your brothers everyone you meet, why in the world are we here, surely not to live in pain and fear. 

To me JL's music isn't just another song. His lyrics are his emotions, his beliefs, his thoughts, his fears. Our fears. I hope if you never have before, that you take a moment, enjoy the video and follow along with the lyrics. They really say something. And next time think twice, or Instant Karma might just get you. 

Instant Karma's gonna get you,

Gonna knock you right on the head,

You better get yourself together,

Pretty soon you're gonna be dead,

What in the world you thinking of,

Laughing in the face of love,

What on earth you tryin' to do,

It's up to you, yeah you.

Instant Karma's gonna get you,

Gonna look you right in the face,

Better get yourself together darlin',

Join the human race,

How in the world you gonna see,

Laughin' at fools like me,

Who on earth d'you think you are,

A super star,

Well, right you are.

Well we all shine on,

Like the moon and the stars and the sun,

Well we all shine on,

Ev'ryone come on.

Instant Karma's gonna get you,

Gonna knock you off your feet,

Better recognize your brothers,

Ev'ryone you meet,

Why in the world are we here,

Surely not to live in pain and fear,

Why on earth are you there,

When you're ev'rywhere,

Come and get your share.

Well we all shine on,

Like the moon and the stars and the sun,

Yeah we all shine on,

Come on and on and on on on,

Yeah yeah, alright, uh huh, ah-.

Well we all shine on,

Like the moon and the stars and the sun,

Yeah we all shine on,

On and on and on on and on.

Well we all shine on,

Like the moon and the stars and the sun.

Well we all shine on,

Like the moon and the stars and the sun.

Well we all shine on,

Like the moon and the stars and the sun.

Yeah we all shine on,

Like the moon and the stars and the sun.

Opinions.....Voice them already

So I've been watching The Voice. And I have to say there are some things I really like about it and some things I think can be improved (yes, I have a blog now, so I get to be a critic!). One thing that I thought they had made a great decision on, and I've been hoping Idol will do for years, is to have the judges have a part in the vote. I have to be honest that when it comes to the Idol winners over the last few years, I have one word - BORING! So obviously America, I'm sorry, but you get it wrong and apparently most Americans don't have much of a personality themselves, just look at the last 4 winners at least. As Simon would say - I'm sorry, but it's true.

Anyways, The Voice decided to give the judges a vote in last weeks round. I was psyched. Finally, not only does America have a vote, but a professional artist gets to put in their two cents and help decide this thing. Then they revealed their votes. Three out of four judges severely disappointed me. Guess what they gave....50 points to contestant #1 and 50 points to contestant #2. Really? What a let down. The only saving grace was Adam Levine when giving 65% and 35%. And he was honest about his reason! Whether you liked the young Casey better than the more experienced Javier, it doesn't matter. Adam's reasoning was the exact reasoning it should have been - Casey is 18 and with her talent can always come back and will have a future if she keeps trying. Javier is older and has had the door slammed in his face and the rug pulled out from under him so many times that Adam could relate. And instead of having 2 16 year olds in the finale like Idol ended up having (Durbin, Haille, Casey, and Paul were all robbed!), they are going to have more experienced artists.

I'm sorry, but no 16 year old should be thrown in the spotlight. Look at all of the teeny bopper artists through the years, and how many are actually ready for that and come out of it in one piece. A handful? And what happened to earning your place and working your way up? In this reality tv insta-star world we live in now, where did all the hard work go?? Reality tv stars will be for another time.

I really do want to give Adam Levine props for being honest and sticking to his guns and not taking the cop out approach like the other 3 judges. You aren't their parent, you don't have to lie to them and tell them you love all the kids equally. You are a judge/coach trying to win a contest. Have some balls and put up real scores instead of putting it all on America, who obviously can't be trusted - Scotty McCreery? Really America?

P!nk.....through the lens

I just read a letter posted by P!nk on her website regarding the choice they are making to publish pictures of their newborn daughter themselves and donate any money to fantastic charities - among them the Ronald McDonald House and Autism Speaks! She goes on to talk about how out of control the paparazzi is in our country, especially when it comes to children. I want to post a few excerpts from her letter because they are views I've been thinking for years. I know celebrities 'signed up for this', but really most didn't. This is a much newer phenomenon. Yes there has always been some type of paparazzi. But think about 30 years ago, it wasn't like this. Celebrities didn't have the need to get restraining orders or hide their children's faces when they go out in public. There was much more of an understanding between the photographers and celebrities. This kind of behavior never would have been accepted in the '50's or '60's. There was so much more respect.
I honestly could care less if I see another pic of a celebrity outside the forum they are famous for - a movie, a concert, etc. And the way they are going after the children of celebrities is honestly sickening. A child has the right to maintain their innocence and not have a hundred flashes going off in their face. They have the right to go to school without creepy old men camped out side their school with a long lens camera. I'd call that pedophilia personally. But because it's a celebrities kid, it's ok?? No it shouldn't be. But as a society we accept it? What is wrong with us? Are we all just complete voyeurs?  And look at poor Suri Cruise. She's a perfect example. That kid never looks happy! I mean NEVER! Would you be happy with cameras in your face every time you step out the door?
Anyways, on to a few excerpts of P!nks letter:

In EVERY other country that I recall, children's faces are blurred out in magazine photos. Why is USA the only country that continues to financially incentivize intrusive paparazzi behavior to capitalize on photos of babies, infants and children? Why is this acceptable to any of us? Why is this even legal? These are questions I ask myself as a new parent. Why are celebrities/public figures having to seek restraining orders to keep strange grown men with still and video cameras from sitting perched outside of their children's pre-schools and elementary schools, preying on little innocent kids? After all, if a stranger was sitting outside of a school taking photographs of random little girls and boys, wouldn't he be arrested? Or, at least in Philadelphia, he would have to face a more primal sort of recourse. But because it's the child of a celebrity, somehow it's okay? I'm just not sure what is wrong with us as a society, that we do more than tolerate this, but our appetite for it seems insatiable. We buy these pictures. We buy these magazines that publish these paparazzi pictures. WHERE DOES IT STOP?

Here's the bottom line: we don't want you to take our little girl's picture. We don't want you to one day follow our little girl home from school. We don't want our little girl's picture in a magazine or on a blog. If you take or publish her picture, it is against our wishes, and without our consent as parents, as people.

To anyone out there that buys a magazine, or goes onto a website to look at pictures of other people's children, may you at least think for a second about what you may inadvertently be supporting. We are so appreciative that people are interested in seeing our daughter. We WANT to share our joys with you, but as parents (and new parents), we should be able to govern these decisions, shouldn't we? And to be clear, I'm speaking directly to these "stolen" photographs--paparazzi photos.

So when you see our middle fingers up in all of our pictures, now you know the motivation. It's all we can do to stop images of a newborn baby from being printed without our consent. Can you imagine a world where they would blur out our middle finger to protect a "consumer" over blurring out an innocent child to protect their integrity and privacy?

I really appreciate her comment about this being a world where we will blur a middle finger, a stupid finger, to protect you from being offended, but we will not blur the faces of innocent children that should be protected. Nice America. That's where we are at. So like P!nk asks in her letter, please think twice about the magazines you buy and think about what you are supporting. I mean we all wan to see cute babies, but I'd like to see them in a more controlled way, not pics from crazy ass paps. If you would like to read all of P!nks letter you can find it here - http://www.pinkspage.com/us/news/important-note-pnk 

WWJLD Wednesday.....Imagine

Some of you might be looking at the title trying to figure out what 'WWJLD' stand for. Initially - What Would Jesus Do - right? But wait, what's that 'L' in there? As I mentioned before I'm not very religious, at least not one religion. So the one I look up to isn't Jesus...blasphemy, I know. I look up to John Lennon, hence the 'JL' in my WWJLD. While I think JL is probably known as the cocky and conceited Beatle, I can also tell by his music and by interviews, that he had a huge heart and was very sensitive. He has written and co-written arguably some of the best and most beautiful music in the world. Some is angry, some is fun, but some of his music is just him - raw and emotional to the core.

Therefore I am going to dedicate my Wednesdays to JL and his lyrics and imagine the possibilities.
Imagine the world as JL saw it when he wrote the song 'Imagine'. How can anyone say this isn't a beautiful thing to Imagine:

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today 

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace 

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one



As a side note - I do have to admit I took the idea for WWJLD Wednesdays from my friend's blog for her One Word Wednesdays...I thought what a brilliant idea! I have to do something like that! Thanks Meredith for the great idea!

Reading into the future....

So I covered a controversial topic in my last blog. Now its time for something a little more like fluff! I have been fighting the e-book thing for awhile. You know first there was the Kindle, then a few copy cats, now you can get e-books everywhere on the I-pods and Android systems. I finally caved and downloaded the Kindle application for my Droid phone. And guess what....I kind of like it.
I downloaded a couple of books for my Android Kindle from Amazon and started reading away. Don't get me wrong, I will always love my paper back books. I love nothing more when sitting on the beach then having a book in hand. And there's just something magical in the pages of a paper book. Some piece of history that I'm not ready to completely let go of yet.
I think about the differences in the generations from when I was a kid to now. I suppose every generation does. I mean, I'm only 30, but to look at the generations coming up now and to think they will never know what its like to grow up without a computer at the ready or a cell phone in hand. I don't want to think of the days when a generation doesn't know what its like to flip through the pages of an old book, maybe a used one with some notes scribbled in the corner from the previous owner and being able to relive that through the book. It's a little sad to me actually. But I guess that is bound to happen as technology advances more and more.
I do have to say though, it is nice to be able to read a few pages of a good book here and there when I have some random time to kill.
How do you feel about e-books and technology wiping away the past?

Separations....Church and State

I've decided to jump right into one of the most controversial topics in our country today - Same Sex Marriage. This is a subject that has people divided all across America. In fact it's even trending on Twitter right now - #PawsUpForMarriageEquality- by Lady Gaga. The reason that seems to be given the most against Same Sex Marriage is that it goes against the 'Holy Union' of marriage. Well guess what, that's a religious view. Other than religious views against Same Sex Marriage, I have yet to really hear a sound reason why it shouldn't be allowed. If some one wants to be married by a Justice of the Peace, then why shouldn't they be allowed to? I can see if a minister/priest isn't able to do it, they are bound by their religious views. But a politician who is voting on a Same Sex Marriage law shouldn't be.
One of the original reasons people came to this country was for religious freedom. It's one of the things our country was founded on - SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. But even after all these years our country is still being run by people who are doing so based off their own religious beliefs and not based off ethics of what is best for all people in America. I personally am not an overly religious person. While I do believe in HIM, I don't believe that any one religion has the story right 100%. How can they? Religions were written down and recorded by MAN. And MAN is known to embellish, exaggerate, and change events to support their own purpose. 
If you honestly put your own religious beliefs aside and really thought about it, besides the typical ignorant response of  - 'Cause it's gross' - what other reason would there be for two men or two women who love each other, just as much as a man and a woman love each other, not to be able to be joined in a legal union? Notice I didn't say holy union. I don't know enough about what it says about homosexuality in the bible, depends on who you ask. But either way, it shouldn't matter in politics. If politicians truly voted on what the people want, then Same Sex Marriage should be allowed. I've seen recent polls that over 50% of Americans polled now say they support it. And why shouldn't we? I've also seen recently that there are 19 states that allow restriction-free marriages between couples - meaning 1st cousins can get married! 19 states allow you to marry your first cousin regardless of the stigma in the US about that, but only 5 states allow Same Sex Marriage!! What?? Seriously - What?? This is just one more form of discrimination. Imagine if you were told you weren't allowed to marry the one person you loved more than anything and think about how that would make you feel. Everything else aside, how would you feel? So why should any of us be allowed to do that to someone else?
If you have reasons other than religious ones, then I'd love to hear them. I'd also love to hear more support for Same Sex Marriage. The more that is out there, maybe the more the politicians will actually start listening to us as the people they are supposed to represent.

Waking Up....

I've always lived a life that I think most people would be content with. But after many years, I started to realize it was a life I wasn't happy with, and being content, just wasn't good enough. I was closed off and I was living my life to make others happy and losing myself in the process. One day I just woke up and it hit me. These aren't the things I want. But then I had to ask myself - What the hell do I want then? I've always been a 'go with the flow' type of girl. Never wanting to rock the boat, I never really spoke up, I never asked the questions that were burning inside me. I was always too afraid. Afraid of being laughed at or made fun of. Or even afraid of hurting someone's feelings or angering someone. But I starting looking around me and seeing, I mean really seeing. Seeing things as they are. Seeing so many people for who they really are. And now the questions and answers that seem so obvious to me, just frustrate me. I wanted to explore more, more about myself and this existence. More about this 'plane' and others.
I decided to write this blog to share my opinion and views on topics that I feel passionate about. I'm not saying this is going to be a blog that is deep on every level. It's not, or not all the time anyways. Honestly I may blog about topics at one end of the 'fluff' spectrum - who I want to win on American Idol....to the opposite end - political issues, bullying, same sex marriage.
While my intent is not to directly offend anyone with this blog, please remember this is MY opinion. Please feel free to share your opinion, but do so with some intelligence and back up your views. Remember if you have the right to your opinion, I have the right to mine. Who knows, maybe if you have great points, you might just change my mind. I think we can all work on being a little more open minded.