Norah decided to start walking while we were in Iowa. She spent the better part of one afternoon taking first two, then three, then up to ten steps walking back and forth between me and Sarah. She was all excited about it and seemed to be gaining a lot of confidence in her bipedal abilities. But that one afternoon was enough for her, apparently, since she's shown no interest in walking since that day. I'll post a video or something once she decides to give it another go, but for now she's content to get around more quickly on all fours.
Unrelated -- We bought an iPod Touch yesterday. It's glorious. We were originally planning on buying a new MacBook laptop with which we would have received a free iPod Touch, but plans changed and we decided not to get the MacBook after all. So it goes. I plan on using the iPod Touch a lot this fall to help me manage emails and work responsibilities when I'm not in the office.
Also unrelated -- I don't really understand Lady Gaga. Don't misread that as though I don't like her music and think that it's catchy as hell ('cause it is), but really... I don't understand why this cult of personality has popped up around her in ways that it hasn't around some of her contemporaries. She does have some musical talent and can actually sing, sure, but not any better than a lot of other people in her same situation. I've seen some interviews with some of her fans and other people who have bought into her whole thing, and I've heard numerous times that she's such an innovative and forward-thinking artist. But I don't really know if I get that, you know? I mean, her music is catchy, but not so much that it's different in that regard from anything else you'd hear on pop radio right now. So what's really innovative about her? Is it her fashion sense, then? It's no secret that she dresses unlike anyone else in the pop scene right now. But fashion is separate from music, right? And she's not wearing her own fashions... She's wearing the fashions of other designers. So she's not really being innovative, per se, but allowing others to use her as an avenue to show their innovation in that regard. So, again, what's so innovative about her? Is it her choice to be celibate and to be open about it? Is it the stance she takes on gay and lesbian rights? Right. Well... Neither of those things are innovative, necessarily, since both of those things are discussed and accepted by large portions of her listening population. What would be innovative about Lady Gaga is if she choice to make music which reflected these themes. But she doesn't. If you listen to any one of her songs, you'll find that her lyrics and messages are just as hedonistic and indulgent with regards to sex, drugs, and alcohol use as any other rap or pop song that you might see and hear on MTV. So why is she so popular? Why does she stand above the rest right now as the "it" artist? She's not innovative, really, and her message is redundant. I guess it all comes down to the money that's pushing that message, eh? She's considered "innovative" because she's been marketed and sold that way. Style over substance. But seriously.... It's impossible not to want to sing along with her songs when they come on the radio and/or the burned copy of her album which we have in our car. So I'm not complaining, really. Just commenting.
Also, also unrelated -- I get the feeling that there are a lot of people out there who probably see me as judgmental and who think that I'm better than them for one reason or another. This tends to come up sometimes when I'm talking about my faith. And I don't think that I'm alone in thinking that Christians are thought quite often to be thinking that they're better than others because of their faith. So I've been thinking about that a lot and here's what I've come up with -- I'm not really better than anyone because of my faith in the Father. Like, at all. I don't know how you can be a good Christian and think that you are better than anyone else because of your faith. But I do think that I am better in general because of my faith in god. I'm a better version of myself. I'm better than I used to be. Whether that makes me better than you, I don't know and I can't say. It's inconsequential, anyway, isn't it? I could be better than the lowest of the low but still be near the bottom of the scale, right? But it is important that faith has made me better in my own life because that means that I'm growing and that I'm not stuck in being less than I can be (though I doubt I'll ever really live up to my full potential...). Oh well. But I'm sure that people will continue to see me and other Christians as judgmental, and I guess I have to be okay with that in some ways. I can't make everyone happy and I'm not going to try. Just know that if I'm coming across as judgmental it's not because I think I'm better or more correct that you about the Eternal. What you're perceiving as judgment is simply confidence in the path I've chosen and probably a little bit of my eagerness to see you have the same sort of confidence. Whether you choose to follow the same path is up to you and I certainly don't feel as though I can be mad at you as a person if you choose to not do so. I just know that it's worked for me. The same goes for the Straight Edge. And "liberal" social politics. And most other things.
I do judge vegetarians, though, 'cause seriously... Meat is the best.
I figured out what my Norah tattoo is going to be -- a lamp. I started drawing it just the other night. Get stoked!
Fooball season is literally weeks away. Well, preseason is weeks away. The actual season is a good month and a half away. But still. I'm so excited. I don't know what to do with myself. I'm going to be commissioning a Fantasy Football league this year with some of my friends. I still need a few people to play though, so are there any readers out there who might be interested? Current players span the nation from NH to Wisconsin and Iowa, so don't feel like you need to live close to us to join in. Let me know! (I got you already, Jake. Dana -- despite you hatred for football, would Ryan be interested?)
Good music:
Good music, too, for those of you with a more delicate palette:
Okay, that's it. That's all for now.
Norah hasn't been very cute lately. Maybe once she cutes it up a little more I'll post some pictures.
Stay Gold!
MMK
No comments:
Post a Comment