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Just fo yo infomation.

Poodle dreams and stranger things

So, I'm hurrying to get into school on time on Wednesday a few weeks ago, when I get stopped by (I find out later) Mrs. Campbell--the Mrs. Campbell, mwa-ha-ha--and she tells me that I knocked her socks off in Beauty and the Beast; she'd been thinking, all this time, that I was a quiet, unassuming kid, and now that she's seen my hyper side, would I please, pretty please be the Jaguar--the school mascot--for the Homecoming game?
Sa'what?
I tell her, as evasively as I can, that I'll think about it, then sprint off to Algebra with all the grace and composure of an irate rhino. Fortunately, I make it on time.
Mrs. Campbell wants me to dress up in the Jag costume and go gallumphing around cheering on the football team? No stinkin' way! I think to myself. I've seen the poor guy at Chuck 'E' Cheese's who dresses up in that horrid costume, and no way Jose am I doing the same thing.
I think about it for the next week and a half or so, my resolution to not do it slipping, unbelievably, away. Hey, I think, it might be kinda fun, actually. Mrs. Campbell calls me on Wednesday and, oh horror of horrors, I comply. I'll do the Homecoming game, and, in addition (as a bit of a warm up, to get used to the costume) I also agree to jump around a bit at the pep rally the preceeding Thursday.
So, that's how, on Thursday, I came to be gallumphing around in the background, air-guitar jamming to We Will Rock You as my dad, dressed up as what's-his-face from Queen, along with several other members of the faculty, does the same thing.
And then yesterday I found myself in front of the bleachers, jumping around, giving people high-fives, waving at little kids, doing the whole "Oooooooooooooh......First down!!" schtick (once in the wrong direction...how mortifying!), and getting a sore spine from leaning back so I can see properly out of the Jag mask. Funfunfun.
And to think, if I do this whole mascot thing long enough, I could actually wind up with a letter! Imagine that, James Powers, the quintessential non-athlete, getting a letter! Haw haw haw!! I don't think I'll go for that, though. It would mess up my carefully cultivated image.
And tonight I'm going to the actual homecoming dance. Dunno whether to laugh or groan at that. It could be a blast, it could be a hoot, it could be a horror...I dunno.
Excuse me while I go be rebellious by not wearing a suit to the so-called "semi"-formal dance *snort*.

Contemplating moozik again

Even though my dad wouldn't agree, I find U2's Zooropa to be a righteously righteous album. Even though the techno/pop sound of the album strays off the track of their typical, Joshua Tree-esque style, there are some darned cool songs on it. And one that is downright creepy. I speak of Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car, whose lyrics are below:

You're a precious stone - you're out on your own
You know everyone in the world, but you feel alone
Daddy won't let you weep - daddy won't let you ache
Daddy gives you as much as you can take
A-ha, sha-la - A-ha, sha-la
Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car
A little uptight - you're a baby's fist
Butterfly kisses up and down your wrist
When you see daddy coming you're licking your lip
Nails bitten down to the quick
A-ha, sha-la - A-ha, sha-la
Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car
Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car

You've got a head full of traffic - you're a siren's song
You cry for mama, and daddy's right along
he gives you the keys to a flaming car
Daddy's with you wherever you are
Daddy's a comfort - daddy's your best friend
Daddy'll hold your hand right up to the end
A-ha, sha-la - A-ha, sha-la
Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car
Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday's alright
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday's alright

Now, you can only get a taste of what the song is about from the lyrics, for, as we know, there is also the music to consider. Some of the blokes on SongMeanings.net--a cool site if ever there was one, even if it is cripplingly slow--speculated that the song was about God, taking a battered, broken soul in for redemption. It makes me wonder if the people who said that have actually heard the song, as the music is far too sinister sounding for that to be true. As one user on SongMeanings said:

There is no way this song is about God. Read the lyrics. Does this sound like any God you know?

This song is about the DEVIL. This is the evilest song on Zooropa. It comes right after Stay for a reason. When you are down on your luck and depressed, who's there to comfort you? Satan. This is definitely what the song is about. I read that when Bono performed this song on tour, he always wore his MacPhisto getup.

Read C.S. Lewis' 'The Screwtape Letters'.

This is my take on the song, as well. Of course, that is, probably, the meaning of the song as Bono intended it, and a rather general one. I've been thinking, though:
Is there a "Daddy" that is physically present in today's world? Sure, there are lots, but I'm thinking of one in particular. Who is it that takes in the poor, tired souls who have lost their innocence and are wondering what to do, takes them in with the lie that they do care and that they can make it better, when their real intentions are far different? Hmmm...
Couldn't possibly be these guys, could it?

God and Dave Matthews

My dad has been a Dave Matthews Band fan almost since they were started, so, consequently, I have grown up listening to their music, and, consequently, they have become one of my favorite groups, if not just favorite, period. Their music is just bursting at the seams with beauty, complexity, and poetry that seems sorely lacking in most other music.
It's funny, how by listening to an artist's music, you can get a glimpse into their personal life. Dave Matthews's music, as well as his personality, seems oddly two-sided. On one side we seem to have the drugs, sex, rock'n'roll and who-cares-about-God-or-the-consequences type of attitude, coupled with stubborn Atheism; a mindset very prevalent in pop culture.
However, we also see a side that regrets this behavior, and wishes for redemption. Listening to Dave Matthews's music, I have basically been hearing him trying to decide whether he believes in God or not. Some of his songs have very obvious anti-God lines, for example:
"Hoping to God on high is like clinging to straws while drowning" from the song What You Are.
"There's no God above and no Hell below" from Mother Father.
Incidentally, both of the songs quoted above are from the same album, Everyday.
But then, as we hear this obvious Atheism in those songs and that album (and in others, I'm sure), we also sometimes hear a belief in God, a belief that often takes on a hopeful tone (as opposed to the throughly pessimistic sound of his Atheist lines, hint, hint).
A beautiful example of this is the song Bartender, from the album Busted Stuff. Bartender has two parts to it.
One, the man in the song is asking the people in his life to not forget him if he dies "before his time." For example:

If I go
Before I'm old
Oh, brother of mine
Please don't forget me
If I go...

Two, the man is asks:

Bartender, please
Fill my glass for me
With the wine you gave Jesus that set Him free
After three days in the ground...

Who do you suppose the Bartender is?
Dave is imploring God to have mercy on him, and to grant him a ressurection like Jesus's. All throughout the song is the theme of death, redemption, and resurrection. The music matches as well, with an ethereal sound that suggests (to me) standing at the end of the tunnel, gazing at the light on the other end, and hoping to reach the light.
And all through Dave's music, you hear unnatural beauty and complexity like that of Bartender, and you can't help but realize that God is with Dave, whether Dave realizes (or wants) it or not.

gripe time

Gaaaahhh....it's a Saturday...and I'm grouchy, tired, stressed, and confused. Saturdays shouldn't be like this, especially after a week like that. At least I slept in today. I wonder what life would be like had I gotten up an hour earlier.
Praying for the afternoon to be better than the morning. Blagh.