Can I buy the sun?

I remember my friend telling me he called the star agency and asked them if he could buy the sun. The lady on the line told him that there are millions of other stars, and that the sun is not for sale. He asked why? She just said that it was not. He asked if they owned the stars? She said they sell them. And he asked again if he could buy the sun because it is a star. When he didn't get the answer he was looking for he asked to speak to the manager. They had a long conversation about why the sun is not for sale and about why they own the stars when in reality they don't...

This story fragmented into my head the other day when my boss walked in and said we cannot have any more open mic's in the shop because this place called and said that they can slap a fee on top of the business, basically they can sue us and we have to waive the fee in court and prove that we did not play any of their music. They do not even have to step foot into our shop to press charges because apparently "EVERY store/business in America plays their music at LEAST once a year." (that's very prideful)

My question is whether or not artists receive any money from their songs? Plus, now, how do we foster musicians to be musicians if a local business has to pay ridiculously large sums of money for a licensing fee?

It just seemed to me that money was more important than being an aid to foster musicians to create. Just like the numerous starts in the sky, do we have a right to sell these? Are the stars seeing the money that has sold them to other's loved ones?




...

Light Hearted

Makes me Sick to the Stomach

Sadness

Just for Starters

So.... in theory all of your CD's, Mp3 Files, or any other existing files that holds some type of music disappears. Basically they become irretrievable! You are able to, at this point, only pick up FIVE Cd's to start building your collection again:

1. WHAT FIVE CD'S WOULD YOU START WITH?



Lets apply this to literature as well. Say everything that is in written form becomes instantaneously lost....

2. WHAT FIVE PIECES OF LITERATURE WOULD YOU START WITH?




As a caveat: I understand that music and literature are not the most important, nor should they be, vital to daily life. They add to the richness of who we are as people, the ability to create, and foster growth. I think these two, at least for me, speak a lot into where are culture is, where it was, and where it is going. Literature and Music are beautiful and should be sought after yet not idolized or worshiped. Now we can carry on...

Easter

I fail to reflect on this day. I get caught up in the frustration with family; the beauty of homemade pasta, meatballs, stuffed peppers, etc.; the loud yelling of my relatives (we are Italian); the poor coffee and excellent homemade wine; and the long drive back home.

I fail to reflect on what this day truly means. On the very truth that it is a day that symbolizes the very essence of why I am living!

Last year I sat in a study with eight other individuals and around this time we decided to stop studying 1 John for a stint and look at John's account of Jesus' last days on earth. We picked and prodded at the text, we looked at the parallels of the Old Testament blood sacrifice and blood covenant, at the events that lead up to His death, at what was going on between the Romans and the Jews, and at the details that often times get overlooked when we read through this account.

I loved it. I loved soaking up the details and seeing parallels to the Old Testament. I miss being there, of being challenged through these people. This is my reflection, an end to another Easter. Time with family is sweet and bitter all at the same time, strangely enough I see the same two words going into this time in history. And so the day is about over and I am about to retire. It was nice to reflect for but a moment.



Thank You and Goodnight.




EDIT: This should not be a "holiday" nor a one time reflection. It should be daily and foundational to everything we live and breathe. soak it in

The Day Off...

I started this day with a friend from College, we sat over breakfast and reminisced...or at least I did. She is still in college and I just longed to be back there for a moment in time. It was nice.

Then I set to the task of doing laundry and downloading 40 songs from eMusic. A friend of mine gave me his songs for the month as a gift and also he said, in his words exactly, "i'm sure you could use all 80 before you think twice." It's true... but it is a stressful task to think of 40, let alone 80 songs. Stressful b/c I have to narrow everything down to what I want and get the best for the gift I have been given. Thanks to Jason Panella I was able to get some ideas and the push I needed to start. THANKS Jason!




So this is what I have decided to get:

M.Ward, Post-War

Elvis Perkins, Ash Wednesday

Neko Case, song: Sparrow
Neko Case played at Festival of Faith and Music o7', I decided to download Sparrow because I remember her performance and this song stuck with me. Something about the way she held her voice was beautiful. Jason has a great video and summary of her performance here.

The Decemberists, songs: Everything I Try To Do, Nothing Seems To Turn Out Right; Pt.I/Pt.II/Pt.III/Pt.IV/Pt.V

Andrew Bird, song: Self-Torture




Now, you see, I potentially have 40 more songs to go for next month....I do think though, that my friend (*cough you know who you are) should widen his music interests and use these 40 songs for himself. So if you have any suggestion of MUST HAVE songs or cd's PLEASE PLEASE let me know... I have a list that is a mile long, but I am having a hard time shortening it and if you can't shorten it why not ADD to it?!





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My Weekend