rosevalleygERL

make like a tree and leaf

The Boy in a Bubble

Peter Gabriel (Originally Paul Simon) – The Boy in a Bubble

It was a slow day
And the sun was beating
On the soldiers by the side of the road
There was a bright light
A shattering of shop windows
The bomb in the baby carriage
Was wired to the radio

These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That’s dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don’t cry baby, don’t cry
Don’t cry

It was a dry wind
And it swept across the desert
And it curled into the circle of birth
And the dead sand
Falling on the children
The mothers and the fathers
And the automatic earth
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That’s dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don’t cry baby, don’t cry
Don’t cry

It’s a turn-around jump shot
It’s everybody jump start
It’s every generation throws a hero up the pop charts
Medicine is magical and magical is art
The Boy in the Bubble
And the baby with the baboon heart

And I believe
These are the days of lasers in the jungle
Lasers in the jungle somewhere
Staccato signals of constant information
A loose affiliation of millionaires
And billionaires and baby
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That’s dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don’t cry baby, don’t cry
Don’t cry

August 26, 2013 Music for the Soul

Shame On You

Why You Should Think Twice Before Shaming Anyone On Social Media

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”. Jacqui Rivait

We’ve all heard it.  It doesn’t matter where you’re from, what religion you ascribe to, whether it was your mother, grandmother, aunt or teacher who said it.  The advice is still sound, and will continue to be so.  And whether you, as an adult, would like to admit it or not, they were right.

As a thirty-something, I remember a time before social media.  I remember playing Oregon Trail on a Commodore 64 in my grade school’s library.  I remember playing Mahjong on a Classic Macintosh upstairs at my grandparent’s house.  I remember the Mac Lab at my middle school and I most certainly remember the dawn of Windows 95 (the operating system for the first family computer purchased by my father when I was in high school).  I remember when notes, not texts were passed in class.  Do you like me?  Check one: yes, maybe, no.

With the advent or should I say dawn of the internet and the birth of social media we’ve become increasingly disconnected from the idea that what we say (or type/post) really does have a far reaching impact, even if you don’t know the individual(s) or aren’t communicating in person.  I find my eye drifting down to the comments section with each post or article, YouTube video etc. and at times I’m floored at the cruel, crushing and ignorant vitriol I read.

Sticks and stones break bones but words can and do really hurt.  That being said, I don’t want to paint myself as a cynic because I’m told It Gets Better.  I was bullied in high school myself which is most likely why I have little want to relive those years of my life.  And to some extent I’ve made some terrible errors in judgement regarding what I’ve posted on Facebook (or once upon a time, MySpace) and emails and texts I’ve sent to others.  Good intentions are easily taken out of context when read the wrong way and trust me when I say that Karma will always be cutting edge.  If you’re going to make waves, you best know how to swim and always keep the Golden Rule in mind with all that you do.

In summation (really just wanted to use that word today as I’ve started power-watching The Good Wife), listen to your mother.

OF NOTE: Some of the reactions to this piece have suggested that the author, Laura Hudson thought Adria should not have spoken up, or that she thinks there is no room for calling out sexism, racism, and other bad behavior on the internet.  Since this was originally a print article, where she only had 1,000 words to communicate her ideas, she has taken advantage of the significantly greater space on the internet to clarify her position, which you can read here.

August 23, 2013 Read It

The fruits of Summer’s sun…

 

August 21, 2013 Wordless Wednesday

All I Need

Radiohead – All I Need

I’m the next act
Waiting in the wings
I’m an animal
Trapped in your hot car

I am all the days
That you choose to ignore

You are all I need
Youre all I need
I’m in the middle of your picture
Lying in the reeds

I am a moth
Who just wants to share your light
I’m just an insect
Trying to get out of the night

I only stick with you
Because there are no others

You are all I need
Youre all I need
I’m in the middle of your picture
Lying in the reeds

It’s all wrong, it’s all right
It’s all wrong, it’s all right
It’s all wrong, it’s all right
It’s all wrong, it’s all right
It’s all, it’s all

 

Music for the Soul

Dark Side

Kelly Clarkson – Dark Side

There’s a place that I know
It’s not pretty there and few have ever gone
If I show it to you now
Will it make you run away?

Or will you stay
Even if it hurts
Even if I try to push you out
Will you return?
And remind me who I really am
Please remind me who I really am

Everybody’s got a dark side
Do you love me?
Can you love mine?
Nobody’s a picture perfect
But we’re worth it
You know that we’re worth it
Will you love me?
Even with my dark side?

Like a diamond
From black dust
It’s hard to know
What can become
If you give up
So don’t give up on me
Please remind me who I really am

Everybody’s got a dark side
Do you love me?
Can you love mine?
Nobody’s a picture perfect
But we’re worth it
You know that we’re worth it
Will you love me?
Even with my dark side?

Don’t run away
Don’t run away
Just tell me that you will stay
Promise me you will stay
Don’t run away
Don’t run away
Just promise me you will stay
Promise me you will stay

Will you love me?

Everybody’s got a dark side
Do you love me?
Can you love mine?
Nobody’s a picture perfect
But we’re worth it
You know that we’re worth it
Will you love me?
Even with my dark side?

Don’t run away
Don’t run away

Don’t run away
Promise you’ll stay

August 12, 2013 Music for the Soul

Tiger Mountain Peasant Song

Fleet Foxes – Tiger Mountain Peasant Song

Wanderers this morning came by
Where did they go, graceful in the morning light?
To banner fair
To follow you softly in the cold mountain air

Through the forest, down to your grave
Where the birds wait and the tall grasses wave
They do not know you anymore
More, more, more

Dear shadow, alive and well
How can the body die?
You tell me everything
Anything true

Into town, one morning I went
Staggering through premonitions of my death
I don’t see
Anybody that dear to me

Dear shadow, alive and well
How can the body die?
You tell me everything
Anything true

Jessie, I don’t know what I have done
I’m turning myself into a demon
I don’t know what I have done
I’m turning myself to a demon

August 5, 2013 Music for the Soul

Who Am I?

The Good Identity Crisis: It Lasts Two Years, No Shortcuts

Yesterday’s Oregonian featured an article centered around a positive take on an identity crisis (hyperlink above).  I wanted to share this with you all because I think it is a common struggle and articles such as these are really encouraging.

The gist is that it takes two years plus to recover from an emotional trauma; more if it is unexpected.  That there are two processes; recovery from grief and restructuring your life.

Having lost a parent unexpectedly and weathered some rather unpleasant break ups,  it validates the idea that “You don’t have to feel pressure to be OK, because you’re not OK.”

I realize that in the restructuring my life after each of these events I made two major mistakes.  First, I tried moving to a new city (more than once); somehow my grief discovered my forwarding address found me at the worst moments.  Second, I tried to fill the void of the missing relationship with another but that’s akin to putting a square peg in a round hole…it just doesn’t fit and frankly, isn’t fair to the memory of the one who left and the presence of the one who is there!

I can tell you being in my mid-thirties I’m going through an identity crisis (no, I will not be dating someone much younger or making imprudent purchases – quite the opposite).  Not brought about by any one thing other than I feel like I should be in a much better place at this point in my life across the board.

On my wall at home I have a giant cork board that I fill with little bits of inspiration wherever I find them and next to it a massive Post-it note  where I list my goals and with a smelly but satisfying Sharpie, cross them off whenever I achieve one.  These things serve as a compass when doubt tries to creep in on the daily (truth).

So for those of you friends and readers alike who feel lost or directionless, read this and know it is okay to not be okay (note this is a temporary permit not a license to wallow).  That it is healthy to look in the mirror and wonder “Who Am I?” as long as you never give up on finding the answer.

July 31, 2013 Love It Or Leave It

Remember When…

Today was the perfect lazy Sunday.  Rose early feeling rested, worked out feeling accomplished, ate breakfast feeling healthy and napped feeling indulgent (yes, I know a three hour nap is more along the lines of a mild coma but I take power napping to a whole other level people).

As mid-afternoon rolled around and I awoke from my dreamless sleep I found myself craving an early dinner, I wanted a salad bar.  You remember what those are don’t you?  They’re the country bumpkin cousin to the city slicker New Seasons or Whole Foods self-serve section.  Grilled salmon, crumbled feta or blue cheese and quinoa have no real estate here.  Rather three-bean-salad, macaroni salad and the classic green jello salad rule the line.

It seems places such as these are a thing of the past (and no, I’m not talking about a buffet – Sizzlers and Izzy’s be damned).  I am not talking about a grocery store that feels like an open air farmers market (disguising the fact that these places too are part of the larger corporate world) where you pay by the pound and carry your locally-sourced produce, ethically prepared sides home in containers that are derived from by-products of many of the things they hold.  Don’t get me wrong, I think this is fantastic and I frequent places such as these on a fairly regular basis but whatever happened to the Engine House Pizza Parlor of Kelso/Longview, WA?  Or those fast food chains that sat on the fence (once upon a time) – I remember being a healthy omnivore from a young age, taking trips as a treat with my mother or paternal grandmother to the local Wendy’s which, in fact, had a salad bar.  Round Table Pizza (of Longview) had a fantastic salad bar where there was a viewing area for the wee ones where they could watch the pizzas being made on the assembly line.  Granted this was before the advent of cellphones and other similar technologies but I always found the process fascinating.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, there’s a quest forming.  Using Yelp (a portable version of the Knights of the Round Table) I set out to find a destination that would embody the near mythical charms of my lost (but not forgotten) youth.  The usual suspects (New Seasons, Whole Foods), a trendy eatery located downtown and open during the week (serving suits with a hankering for veggies), a few Mongolian-type grills but wait…there, I think I see something.  Could it be?  The unicorn of eateries still exists!?!

The ruddy lights have never looked so good.

The ruddy lights have never looked so good.

Ahh…now this, this is what I’m talking about.  Here little league teams convene following tournaments (cleats, jerseys and small trophies abound), children’s birthday parties are held (where helium balloons are used as weapons of mass annoyance between siblings and cousins), soda comes in large plastic pitchers (pass the root beer please), families are expected to be loud (the more the merrier) and the wait for the corner booth is nothing more than a Game of Thrones.  And though I adhere to a rather strict Paleo diet and like my beverages with alcohol and complex flavors, I still value the smell of garlic bread sticks and the promise of quarters for those prize machines, but only if I’m good.

July 28, 2013 Back In The Day

Bed Pug

WordlessWednesday_07.24

July 24, 2013 Wordless Wednesday

Deeper Devastation

Jesca Hoop – Deeper Devastation

“Deeper Devastation”
Artist: Jesca Hoop
Album: The House That Jack Built

I don’t trust anyone
Not you
And the closer you come
Deeper devastation

I’m a baby bird
I’m a hungry bird
And I feed from your gut
And the wind blows
And the tree shakes
And your beak stabs my throat

Under the power of
Our one and only sun

There’s a kink in the pattern
Do you do the right thing
There’s a hole in the fabric
Do you do the right thing
You cannot trust a human being to do the right thing
Do the right

Under the power of
Our one and only sun

And there once was a time
With you
But it turned on a dime
And tales call the decision

I’m a lover wild
I’m a loyal child
And I’ve burned your eyes on mine
When the bones collide
And the rocks catch fire
And your greed swallows me whole

Under the power of
Our one and only sun

There’s a kink in the pattern
Do you do the right thing
There’s a hole in the fabric
Do you do the right thing
You cannot trust a human being to do the right thing
Do the right

Under the power of
Our one and only
Under the power of
Our one and only
Under the power of
Our one and only sun

I’m a bleeding heart
I’m a hiding heart
And I can bleed and hide and still love
When the truth’s blown wide
And my faith’s capsized
I drift in loss and sorrow

Under the power of
Our one and only
Under the power of
Our one and only
Under the power of
Our one and only sun

There’s a kink in the pattern
Do you do the right thing
There’s a hole in the fabric
Do you do the right thing
And it is all in the planning
Do you do the right thing
You cannot trust a human being to do the right thing
Do the right

Under the power of
Our one and only
Under the power of
Our one and only
Under the power of
Our one and only
Under the power of
Our one and only

July 22, 2013 Music for the Soul