Monday, June 27, 2011

The Decline of The Garage

If you look at photos from the 1930's through the 1950's, you'll notice a lot of pictures of men driving their cars into the garage, working on their cars in the garage, and just standing in front of their garage. A garage used to be a place that a man got away from it all and tinkered, thought, or just drank a beer to alleviate whatever ailed him. Men from that bygone age discovered what many men of today have yet to learn: Things need to be fixed. Instead of calling the mechanic, the man of the house used to pull the family's automobile into his workshop and fix it his self. If furniture broke, it was by no means time to throw it out and buy anew; bring it into the garage and let Dad have a crack at it.

Nowadays, people are taking older homes of lore and renovating them to accustom the newer generation. We pull the phone wires out of the wall, put up drywall over plaster, and "transform" the garage into another bedroom. We don't need a place to fix things anymore, we need a place to store more of our stuff! And as we accumulate more and cherish less, we find ourselves farther and farther from what a man is: The provider of the family. Mom and Dad nowadays have the same vocations and chores. Wash clothes, sweep the floor, and bring the car to the mechanic. It's a sad state to see a man take pride in being able to bring his car into a mechanic; as if he were doing the work himself. Instead of making things last and understanding all the intricacies of his home, he simply shucks off responsibility and entrusts his own duty to a stranger.

Sit down in front of your computer day after day without ever handling caustic materials and risking your life in fulfillment of virtues stretching from time immemorial and you will lose the very foundation from whence men originated. Take the "safe" way, and you're in more danger than you could possibly fathom.

"...The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." Luke 12:16b-21

Be content friends, and take care of what you have, seeing as it will pass away soon enough anyway.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Music and Culture

It has long bewildered me how much the general population enjoys such music as Britney Spears, Rhianna, Jay Z and the like. I've tried to understand and enjoy such music, however I'm unable to get over the cheapness of it. I find no true virtuosity or artistic interjection within it. To my ears it just sounds like trash. I don't mean to be offensive, but it just doesn't appeal to me in the slightest degree. Cheap sparkles, talk of sex, drugs, and most of all money doesn't apprehend my attention.

To me, a good song has a lot of harmony, different sounds, and an interesting story or idea contained in the lyrics. I don't want to hear about wanting to be a millionaire so friggin' bad. I'd rather find beauty, truth, and wisdom... and some humor as well. This is where I think that the idea of culture comes in.

In the olden days (like Bach and Mozart's time frame) musicians made music so that they would get to eat, or the king didn't kill them. Even as late as the hippie culture, music was looked on as something to enlighten one's self. Although greed and vanity have been around since time immemorial, it didn't permeate every facet of society. This is where I see a change in palette of culture. We are so subjugated by movies, commercials, and advertisements everywhere showing people with so many possessions acting in total bliss that it entrances us to such a degree that we forget what true virtue and curiosity is and simply chomp at the bit. And with such a high degree of importance being put on greed and vanity, it has finally enveloped the vast majority of music. The idea of a quick buck has been turned into the idea of a quickly developed piece of music to make that quick buck. The tragedy is that it works, and society has bought into the idea that if it sparkles, we should forget about what we've built our whole lives upon and change domiciles to that of the new, forgetting everything but what entrances us in the present.

Not to say that crappy music is something new, but it seems to me that it has taken a front seat to the population's choice of what quality is. I aim to change this in my own life as best I'm able. Not only within the music I produce, but in everything I do and bring forth.

"And whatsoever ye do do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance for ye." -Colossians 3:23

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Cultivating Our Lives

I remember watching a 60 minutes episode once that showed a woman that never went outside because she was afraid of the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. She didn't work or produce anything of worth. Her situation as I saw it was hopeless, because not only was she afraid of the simplest of things, but it had inhibited her from work of any kind. As she hid from pain and death, it had already found her. She was a walking corpse. Benjamin Franklin wrote in his autobiography that the used key is always shiny. I'd like to add on this and state the obvious, that an unused one rusts and decomposes. It's a simple law of nature that if one does not grow, they die.

When I was a child, I found that if I knew of something I or one of my siblings did wrongly but professed to know nothing, I could many times get out of trouble and reap (what I assumed at the time) no consequences for my actions. Over time I found that lying about such things is not only damaging to others, but also taints one's soul so that he or she becomes lazy to the point of outlandish means to protect them from a seemingly simple situation. I came to discover that to stand in complete honesty, no matter how disgusting or inconvenient it made me was far greater than an easy lie. You see, trouble is the very thing one needs in order to grow as a human. Jacob found trouble when he wrestled all night with the Angel, and he limped the rest of his life in consequence to his actions. However, without the gumption to leap into an uncomfortable and painful situation, he would never have become the man of renown we know him as today.

To grow, one must hurt themselves; and although this may seem backwards to what is taught today, I'd like to fight the current of careful mothers and assert that danger is paramount if one is to ever live a worthwhile life. The tearing and healing effect appears all throughout nature, and it's just until recently when the idea of protecting ourselves from the water we drink to free radicals floating through the air that that idea has been cast to the wayside. Valor is a word we associate with men of the past. We'd rather play it safe and live as long as we can, no matter how miserable and unproductive we become. We'd rather pump our bodies full of drugs to dull the pain of a wasted life than jump headlong into the unknown to risk life and limb to fulfill our destiny's.

A sad and squandered life, no matter how long lived, is nothing in comparison to the moment one comes in touch with purpose. I say that it's high time we take up the mantels of the past and live life to the fullest no matter the risk! Take responsibility for your actions, fight for the common good, and never use others for the advancement of yourselves. It will always catch up with you in the end. Life is to be lived toiling under the sun, not hiding in a cave.

"Remember, fear looks when faith leaps." -Smith Wigglesworth

Sunday, June 19, 2011

The Glory of 80's Music

Most people would consider the 1980's the epitome of cheesiness when it comes to music (and many other things). I find this a real tragedy seeing as, in my opinion, some amazing music came from that decade. If you watch some of the music videos from that period, you'll notice that a lot of old, artsy effects were used. On top of that, the music in a lot of cases is quite simple. These two things in conjunction are enough to seal the deal for many minds that 80's music is straight cheese. Who can blame them right? Let me explain why I take issue with this train of thought.

Take Steve Winwood's hit song "Valarie." The video starts off with a waterfall, followed closely by Steve appearing in a partly phased out overlay making his sports jacket look like it's part of the waterfall. A fan blows on him the entire video. Not many special effects are added. Fading in and out is a lady (Valarie) dancing around in a white dress. At certain points throughout the video, while Steve is playing his keyboard, the waterfall envelopes his hands. If one were to simply watch the video without music, it would really look horrible. But the thing that really sticks out to me when I watch it is that Steve is in the entire video either singing or playing. He is the composer and musician that made this song, and he is the one being featured throughout. I find it pleasant that instead of so many special effects, the music of Steve Winwood is being featured. Its not a purely visual stimulation accompanied by some background music. Its his music being accompanied by some very simple visual effects. That is what a music video should be as I see it.

But what about the music itself? Simple right? Old synthesizer music, and pretty standard song format. Why would anyone want to listen to it? When I was attending the Navy School of Music a very profound statement was made by a Senior Chief concerning simple music. He said that the reason simple music is so profound is because it's simple. Nothing against intricate music, but to enjoy a simple pleasure can be very healing to the soul. Life in and of itself is complex enough, and to find something simple that doesn't try to be more than it is can ground a person and provide relief from the many stresses that plague us all. Instead of flashing bling, money, and scantily dressed women that we'll never partake of, it shows a master of his craft carving out something from nothing, albeit simple.

There is a lot of wisdom contained in simplicity that is not only edifying but enjoyable. I would hope that you would see the finer things as I do.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Defilement

I try my best to attend Church every Sunday morning. Although I miss it sometimes, and I'm probably not as active in the Church as I should be, I find many things that trouble and upset me; even scare me in some instances. There are always the basic pet peeves like people bringing their coffee in the Sanctuary and playing on their cell phones, but then there are other things that shake me up and really make me wonder just who is paying attention. The last song that was sung at church today was a hymn entitled "Come Ye Sinners." It had been revamped and was newer in style, but the words seemed old. I was singing along with everyone else when I happened to glance ahead at the last line of the tune:

"In the arms of my dear Savior,
O there are ten thousand charms."

I immediately stopped singing and looked around me while everyone droned out the last line. Nobody that I saw looked upset, or even curious for that matter that in a Christian church we were singing about our Lord adorned with occult amulets! When I arrived home, I grabbed my unabridged dictionary and looked up the definition of the word 'Charm.' Here's the first definition:

Charm- A word, character, or other thing imagined to possess some occult or unintelligible power; hence, a magic power or spell; an enchantment; an incantation.

There are other definitions like a bracelet with ornaments on it and something that sparkles, but I looked up when the hymn was written (1759) and these definitions didn't apply back then. Even if they did, it sure doesn't make a whole heck of a lot of sense to have God wearing a charm bracelet.

Joseph Hart was the author of this hymn and in the original version of it, not once is the word charm found. Here's the original lyrics to the 1759 version:

Come, ye sinners, poor and wretched,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, joined with power;
He is able, He is able, He is able,
He is willing, doubt no more.

It wasn't until 100 years after this version did an alternate emerge by (none other than) an anonymous author! From that point on, the most widely accepted version of this hymn has been the post Hart version of it.

So why does this all matter you may ask? Because the power of life and death lies in the tongue (Proverbs 28:21), and if a Christian doesn't watch what proceeds forth from their mouth, then they may very well be speaking death. There are many scriptures in the Bible (namely the books of Moses) that speak of witchcraft, enchantments (the word charm originated from this), and the like. The Bible even says not to suffer a witch to live (Exodus 22:18). This may seem a little long, but I'd like you to understand in the fullest aspect that I'm able to present just what I believe and why I believe it. Here's what James has to say about the tongue:

..."If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh." (James 3: 2b-12)

So as a Christian, one should be very conscientious of what proceeds from their mouth, because a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Just going to Church and sitting there believing that what you see is good because you're in Church doesn't cut it. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)

If I could leave you with one nugget of wisdom from this post that would sum it up, I would encourage you to never blindly follow anything without using your resources and your brain to rightly divide the word of truth. Lazy Christians not only corrupt themselves; they pollute and tarnish Christianity as a whole.

"Holy shoddy is still shoddy." -Charles Spurgeon