The Knowledgemonger Kronicles

I have always had a bit of a gay boy crush on Natalie Merchant, since her time with the 10,000 Maniacs through to her solo career. I was intoxicated by her voice and her subtle beauty. The MTV Unplugged that they did in 1993 was, in my humble opinion, one of the best done by any performer for the series.

This song is from her second solo effort Ophelia. It is not the most successful single from that album, ("Kind & Generous") but it was my favorite.

The lyrics:

It's a pity It's a crying shame
He pulled you down again
How painful it must be
To bruise so easily
Inside
It's a pity it's a downright crime
It happens all the time
You wanna stay little daddy's girl
You wanna hide from the viscous world...
Outside
Don't cry you know the tears will do no good
So dry your eyes
Your daddy he's the iron man
Battle ship wrecked on dry land
Your mamma she's a bitter bride
She'll never be satisfied
You know, and that's not right
But don't cry
You know the tears will do no good
So dry your eyes
They told you life is hard
Misery from the start, it's dull
It's slow, it's painful
But I tell you life is sweet
In spite of the misery
There's so much more, be grateful
Well, who do you believe
Who will you listen to, who will it be
Because it's high time that you decide
In your own mind
I've tried to comfort you
I tried to tell you to be patient
That they are blind and they can't see
Fortune gonna come one day
It all gonna fade away
Your daddy the war machine
And your momma the long and suffering
Prisoner of what she can not see
For they told you life is hard
Misery from the start, it's dull,
It's slow, it's painful
But I tell you life is sweet
In spite of the misery
There's so much more, be grateful
So who will you believe
Who will you listen to
Who will it be
Because it's high time that you decide
It's time to make up your own
Your own state of mind
They told you life is long
Be thankful when it's done
Don't ask for more, be grateful
But I tell you life is short
Be thankful, because before you know it
It will be over
Because life is sweet
Life is all so very short
Life is sweet
And life is all so very short
Life is sweet
Life is sweet

Life is very short and it is very sweet. Remember that when the miseries set in. They will come and go with time if you embrace the joy and the joyness. ;-)

So, as always, I hope you enjoy it.

~L

There is something to be said (heh) for repetition when trying to get a point across. I think Mr. Mayer does a wonderful job getting his point across in this song. Not only does it make for great panty-melting music, but it also is very sound advice.

Why hold back what you need to say? If you do, you may not "look foolish" but you will inevitably get the same result as you would have if someone rejected what you had to say, but without giving them even a chance to respond. Self creating your own rejection.

Some moments need to be handled differently than others; however, communication is always a vital part of any interaction or relationship. Of course, this is just my opinion and I have been known to be wrong.

Enjoy the music at any rate.

~L

Packing...ugh! 'Nuff Said!

I acted in a one act play in high school entitled "Life" Is Only Seven Points by David Rush. A synopsis pulled from Dramaticpublishing.com:

Every Sunday, 38-year-old Jerry has dinner with his parents, playing Scrabble with his lively mother as his aging father declines into senility. This night, the game triggers memories and, as his mother wins and becomes increasingly cheerful, Jerry finds himself depressed by his failed marriage and his inability to elicit honest answers from his mother. As the game goes on—in a sometimes funny, suddenly painful, and very moving encounter—Jerry forces her to help him face some deeply hidden and tragic truths about his relationship with his father. Poignant and affecting, this is a crisply written, witty mix of comedy and tragedy in the finest tradition of the theatre.

I played the role of the father who was slipping into senility, while watching 60 Minutes. Good times!

So, why do I mention this? Because, my screen name elsewhere is the title of the play. My favorite question to field is some form of:

-So life is only 7 points, huh? Yes, it is.
-How many points is death worth? It is worth 9.

The play itself is very well written and hits on the topic of life and how sometimes we take it a bit too seriously. While there exists a lot of bullpooh in our daily lives, life itself is good. Life is also fragile and we should take each day and live it out to the best of our abilities, because we don't know exactly when we won't have the luxury of one more breath.

So that's the end of my post, and I do like to end the post with a kind of "Oh" feeling, and I think I've done that quite well.

~L

*editted to add a title.