Silly Old Bear

One night, a year ago or so, I was talking to my brother Mark on the phone. Mark and I both love music, and the conversation that evening turned to music. Mark told me about a group that he had discovered recently, a group with a beautifully unique sound and a simple name, “Hem”.

Even if you have never heard of the group, you have probably heard at least one of their songs without even realizing it. In 2006, Liberty Mutual insurance company aired a commercial that created a lot of buzz. Here’s how the company describes it on their website.

“It all began with a single commercial that gave voice to an entire movement. It prompted thousands of people to start thinking and talking about responsibility, to celebrate the positive things in their lives and the world around them. And it captured the essence of Liberty Mutual’s core belief that responsibility matters, and doing the right thing is everything.”
(http://www.whatsyourpolicy.com/videos/index/9)

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[PART 10 OF 12]

Solomon continues his quest for meaning, and in doing so uncovers some more frustrations.

“And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment — wickedness was there, in the place of justice — wickedness was there.” (Ecclesiastes 3:16)

“Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed — and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors — and they have no comforter.” (Ecclesiastes 4:1)

Solomon is frustrated, as many of us are, at the injustice and oppression that he sees around him.

It was Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

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Susan and I were sitting and eating supper together tonight, and she was telling me about her day. She works at our School District’s 8th grade campus as a Paraprofessional (Teacher’s Aide) in Content Mastery. The teacher with whom she works is a young lady in her mid-20′s named Amber.

Susan and Amber were running a couple of errands together after school, which took them outside the city limits. They passed a field with cows, which naturally provoked a conversation about farm animals. Susan raised pigs when she was in high school, and both of our children raised pigs for 4H and FFA from about 4th or 5th grade on. So Susan knows a lot about pigs. You never know when that might come in handy — like today, for instance.

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From time to time I will post information about software that I use and find useful. Today’s post features a program that does one thing, and does it remarkably well. Piston Software’s “Direct MIDI to MP3 Converter” allows you to convert a MIDI file to an audio file in any of the following formats: MP3 , WAV , WMA , or OGG Vorbis .

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[PART 2 OF 3]

OK, this post is primarily for the benefit of my brothers, but someone else might find it useful as well. In response to my previous “Danny Boy” post, my brothers and I are making plans to record a 4-part harmony version of “Danny Boy” when we are all together at Thanksgiving. This post is designed to facilitate the preparations for the Thanksgiving recording session.

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[PART 1 OF 3]

Fascinating History

“Danny Boy” is a classic song, known and loved by many through the years. The melody is actually the old Irish tune “Londonderry Air”. There is a fascinating story of how that tune came into prominence back in the 19th century, and became “Danny Boy” in the early 20th century.

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[PART 9 OF 12]

The Byrds had a chart-topping song in October 1965 entitled, “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season)“. The song was written and composed by Pete Seeger in the 1950′s, who released the song on his album “The Bitter and The Sweet” on Columbia Records in 1962. The lyrics were taken almost verbatim from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, King James version. [Source: "Turn! Turn! Turn!", from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia]

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

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Israel Kamakawiwo’ole is a legend. For many people around the world, he is the voice of Hawai’i. A native Hawaiian, he started playing the ‘ukulele as a boy. In 1976 he formed a band called “Makaha Sons of Ni’ihau” with his older brother Skippy and three other native musicians. Even after Skippy died of a heart attack in 1982, Iz (as he was known to his friends and fans) stayed with the Makaha Sons until 1993.

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[PART 8 OF 12]

Solomon set out to find meaning and purpose in life. He was one of the richest and wisest men alive during his time. Yet money and wisdom left him feeling empty. “It is all meaningless,” he said. Even hard work and achievement didn’t provide the sense of purpose he so desperately sought.

Solomon grew frustrated and weary in his quest. He repeatedly made statements like, “Everything is meaningless” and “It’s all just chasing after the wind” and “I hate life!”

But in the middle of all this frustration and confusion and depression (because of everything being meaningless), there is something very interesting that Solomon throws into the mix, just out of the blue.

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Ronald Reagan was arguably one of the best presidents to ever serve the United States of America. He championed conservative political principles such as lower taxes and less government interference in people’s lives. In his inaugural address in January 1981, he made the statement …

“Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” (1)

Amen! That sentiment needs to be revived in Washington.

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