Books are Portable Magic

"books are a uniquely portable magic."

- Stephen King. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. Scribiner: New York, 2000. pg 104

I wholeheartedly agree with Stephen King here. We should remember to never take books for granted. They are indeed magic.

It's Not Easy (Being Green) - Happy Earth Day!

In honour of Earth Day, today's What Wednesday features "It's Not Easy (Being Green)" by MC Lars. Enjoy!

 

"I got a letter from Al Gore the other day 
I opened and read it, it said we're in trouble 
It said "Go Green!" What's that mean? 
Bought a hybrid hummer to save gasoline 
Went to Live Earth in my private jet 
Just like Sting and Kanye West 
Let's save the earth with area rock 
(Pyrotechnics are very sustainable) 
(I'm going green) Can't you see? I keep the AC above 63 
(I'm going green) Hardcore like Slayer, here's 27 fliers on the ozone layer 
(I'm going green) Because I care, use organic aerosols in my hair 
(I'm going green) So my grandkids will remember, 
when you couldn't buy ocean property in Denver 

It's not easy being green (it's not easy) 
Having to change that old routine (it's not easy) 
The climate change could be extreme 
It's not easy... it's not easy 

Went to Sea World with a giant net 
To save the whales but they got upset 
Brought Shamu to the parking lot, didn't get far 
Couldn't even fit one fin in my car 
Recycling's great, but my roommate didn't smile 
When I told him what I did to his old-school Beatles vinyl 
Gotta separate plastics form the glass 
Even though it's a pain the morning 

(I'm going green) Aerosol cans are terrible so I 
Spread the word with spray painted signs 
(I'm going green) Love animals for real, you see me clubbing with baby seals 
(I'm going green) Bought a Prius to save on gas 
But I fly every weekend in first class 
(I'm going green) So my grandkids will remember, 
when it wasn't 500 degrees in December 

It's not easy being green (it's not easy) 
There Will be Blood for gasoline (it's not easy) 
I drink your milkshake like that scene 
It's not easy... it's not easy 

It's not easy being green (it's not easy) 
Santa Claus's sleigh will need jetskis (it's not easy) 
The polar bears might need sunscreen 
It's not easy... it's not easy 

I bought size five Vans at the local mall 
To make my carbon footprint half as small 
I wrote this song to express how I felt 
About climate change and glacial melt 

You know the movie 
The Day After Tomorrow? 
That could happen dude 

I even rap in haikusÉ what! 

Manhattan (could be under water) 
LA (could be under water) 
Vancouver (could be under water) 
London (could be under water) 
Detroit (could be under water) 
St. Louis (could be under water) 
Chicago (could be under water) 
New Jersey (but who'd miss Jersey?) 

It's not easy (it's not easy) 
It's not easy (it's not easy) 
It's not easy (it's not easy) 
Woah, oh 

It's not easy being green (it's not easy) 
We'll tour New York by submarine (it's not easy) 
We'll scuba dive the Bronx and Queens 
It's not easy... it's not easy."

- MC Lars "Not Easy" from the album "This Gigantic Robot Kills"

Blind Spots, Obstacles, and Opportunity

"It's been said that seeing is believing. But the fact is, we all have our blind spots...Sometimes we recognize them ourselves. Sometimes others recognize them for us...Distance has a way of distorting the things we see. But what appears as an obstacle may in fact be an opportunity. The trick is having enough faith to carry through."

- Narrator on Everwood (The narrator also plays a character on the show. This is a picture of him)

Don't Stand By

"The world is a dangerous place to live in. Not because people do evil, but because people sit by a and let them."

- Albert Einstein 

Great words to contemplate here. 

We need to remind ourselves that we always have the power to act. 

We are responsible to stand up, speak out, and act. We cannot merely stand by.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Our's is a Time for Crossing Barriers

"Our time is a time for crossing barriers, for erasing old categories—for probing around. When two seemingly disparate elements are imaginatively poised, put in apposition in new and unique ways, starting discoveries often result."

- McLuhan, Marshall and Quentin Fiorce. The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects. Penguin Books: Toronto, 2003, pg 10

No Formula

"Story is far too rich in mystery, complexity, and flexibility to be reduced to a formula."

- Robert McKee. Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principals of Screenwriting. ReganBooks: New York, 1997. pg 20

5 Year Rut

"So this is the life, this is the life of leisure
The monster's gone, the demon's been raiiiiiiiised
No better time, there's no better time or season
To bury the past, you're no longer a slaaaaaaaave
It's the thorn in your side
It's like your soul divides

But it's over now, the wound's been shut
You can write it off as a five year rut
Well, tomorrow's the life, but tonight
She's learnin'' to breathe...

It's a beautiful ride down a familiar highway
You stop to the side reminiscing away
It's a natural high, it's the final kiss goodbye

Well, it's over now, the wound's been shut
You can write it off as a five year rut
Well, tomorrow's the life, but tonight
She's learnin'' to breathe...

Dooooo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-dooooo

Ohhhh, I beliiiiiiiieve there are no words that can answer
Your deepest desires and dreamiest dreams
Were you alone? Oh-oh, did your world explode?

It's over now, the wound's been shut
You can write it off as a five year rut
Well, tomorrow's the life, but tonight
She's learnin'' to breathe...

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo...

Learning to breathe...she's learning to breathe..."

- 5 Year Rut by superGARAGE from the album Demolition

- lyrics from the band website http://www.supergarage.com/Lyrics/DEMOLITION.html