hey, hey, you, you.

we've reached a new level/low with this song. white, emo, canadian, skater, grunge, teenage, 23yr-old chick rapping about wrapping guys around her finger.

music can create the oddest couples. darn the hook.

senator mccain

I attended the Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan tonight, and had my first taste of in-person politics. I've never been to a rally, or a formal debate, nor have I really seen a big-name politician in-person. And I really should've asked a question. I had a few formulated towards foreign policy, status of the US vs the United Nations, and other general US vs the world questions.

but, overall, I must say I was disappointed with Senator McCain. I had such big hopes that he was going to dissect the topics carefully, exposing the complexity and importance within each. but both his speech and his answers during the Q&A were full of the same electionspeak. And they were particularly American. I mean, yes, we're in America, but do you have to extol the virtues of only America? I don't remember one detail mentioned about how the US should contribute to world society - except how the US should lead it. hence my desire to ask a question about the UN.

I really wanted to ask, "how do you/will you restore world trust in the United States?"

The Iraq war sucks for the lives lost, the constant insurgency, the fear of terrorism, alqueda in Iraq, etc, etc, but the US has lost world confidence. I would posit that it will take a good part of the century to remedy faith in the United States and the american dream.

oh, and I support the troops.

survey says...

alright, you canadians. Here's what the survey says

Anytown, Canada
The following are the top 10 cities most closely resembling the country as a whole, according to Environics Research Group.
Red Deer, Alta.
Waterloo, Ont.
Guelph, Ont.
Kingston, Ont.
Kelowna, B.C.
Maple Ridge, B.C.
Grand Prairie, Alta.
London, Ont.
Calgary, Alta.
Langley, B.C.

I can believe most of them except Grand Prairie. I've been there and I don't remember a thing about it.

europe, anyone?

sanpietback.jpg, originally uploaded by justinjeffery.

Anybody interested in a backpacking trip through Europe?
I was clicking through my pics this weekend, and wow, I'd really like to go back - maybe hit the germanic countries this time.

am I an elitist musician?

alright, don't hate me. I'm working my way through this.

here's the scenario:

11yr-old girl sings for church this morning/
song is CCM, country-style, wide jumps, out of her range/
mostly incredibly out of tune, with little sense of step/half-step motion/
mother is obviously the pusher in the situation/
girl forgets the words, starts crying and sits back down/
one by one the congregation stands up, clapping; an ovation/
justin remains seated at the piano.

alright, hear me out.

There are so many subtleties that I'm sensitive to:

why can't an 11yr-old sing amazing grace or I love you Lord, something that is relatively easy to sing, with fewer words to remember?

why would an 11yr-old have to sing the song without words (in church) - especially if she's nervous?

why would a mother push her daughter into something that she's obviously not doing really well, even when unstressed?

would she be able to discern that the standing ovation was more for her effort and not her musical performance?

what about the school of hard knocks? is an 11yr-old exempt? (my experience with festivals, competitions, even playing in church can be brought up at this point - I've screwed up enough times to know that I've been given grace - but I think I've always been taught to analyze my mistakes and learn how to grow from them)

it was interesting - after church, I was listening to Prairie Home Companion driving up to Riverside, and the guest was Renee Fleming, a famous soprano (just google for her dossier). And she related the story of her first of three Metropolitan Opera auditions - basically she said it was horrible - she said how her parents had pained looks on their faces, how her accompanist wanted to stand up and say that she'd try again the next year, just some way of putting her out of her misery.

I like this story. Some days you just screw up (like this past saturday morning for myself), but the potential of having a great performance is there (now this point can be discussed for hours). I can just see this 11yr-old, maybe five/ten years from now, still trying to sing, and hopelessly sub-par, still being encouraged by a parent that has big dreams.

______

Dear 11yr-old girl,

I'm sorry for applying all of my 27 years of musical development, cynicism and suspect on this one performance. May you learn scales and truly develop a voice to rival Shania Twain.

______

On a side note - North American audiences love their standing ovations.

whole foods addendum

And then you should ask these questions.

Justin, If that's how you really felt about "organic" foods,

1. why are you so cheap that you couldn't support their idealistic aims?
2. do you not feel worthy enough to eat healthier food?
3. why do you hate the intelligently, intellectually, hip and coolly marketed brand names, with large green posters of tomatoes and barley, and wide assortments of vegan salads and whole wheat sandwiches?

whole food agenda

This current story on Whole Foods CEO, John Mackey, is hitting home the thought that just about everything can be corrupted. yes, just about everything. If you're not aware of the story, check out this link, or this link. Basically, he, the CEO of Whole Foods, poses as an anonymous user on Yahoo Chat rooms and makes negative statements about the rival company, Wild Oats, trying to influence their stock price. And all at the same time, Whole Foods is trying to buy out Wild Oats. There are other human, trivial, but funny, details.

I guess I respond to this story because it kind of hits home to that feeling of old-fashioned values, etc, etc. Alright - here are my trains of thought:

I'm trying to eat healthy, but it's been marketed to me that>>

>> regular food from big chains have been exposed to way too many pesticides, have all sorts of preservatives, and are mass-produced, harvested by immigrant children at 3am.

>> regular food contains obscene amounts of salt, fat, processed sugar, and trans fats

So I think that organic food (and by proxy organic food stores) will provide me with>>

>> food that was created on an idyllic setting, with gorgeous hillsides, azure sunrises, with cows and chickens, and berries on trees, and old farmers and their wives, leisurely climbing up ladders to pull down the ripest fruit (ok, a little extreme, but packaging can conjure a lot of images) - meaning - I'm supporting middle america and the values we admire in our grandparents (paraphrased to say the least)

>> healthy, whole grain, oats, fiber-rich substances that will clear up my atherosclerosis.

hmm...this is turning cynical.

Basically, I'm disappointed that we've finally (because I knew it was inevitable) brought organic food down to the level of business. Maybe I've always thought that "organic" food was about a healthier lifestyle, about being nicer to the environment, about honestly caring about fair trade and those who produce food for us.

I'll be honest, I've always been suspect of organic stores, and organic food in general. Granted, I'm frugal and I don't want to be paying premium for items that really don't address my health issues. Maybe the organic wave is now too much of a fad, and the marketing aspect has overshadowed the real benefits (and the lifestyle that should accompany it).

Thunderstorms and iPods

I really like thunderstorms - and I really like my iPod. I guess I just can't mix them together. check this story out.

My Dad is on youTube

Facebook, gnutella network, and now getting a video on youTube - I have to say that I'm impressed by my father's ability to stay on top of web technologies. Now he just needs to give up HotMetal Pro. please.

katie and todd

DSC_0014.jpg, originally uploaded by justinjeffery.

hey, here's to you and you, and patterns on the wall.