"Courage" by Patrick O'hearn

I have listened to the song "Courage" over a dozen times. I'm still not sure exactly what makes this piece such a beautiful work of art that attracts me, but I have attempted an analysis of what it might be about. Forgive me of my lack of musical literacy; I wish I could analyze the music based on chords and notes and be accurate at doing so. However, because I cannot, the following interpretation of the song is simply my thoughts on the time periods within the song.

Before reading my interpretation, I would encourage you to listen to the song: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9hKbkdJT04

"Courage" by Patrick O'hearn

0:00-0:25: "Did this really happen?" Surprise, shock.

0:25-0:40: "It did really happen." Recognizing basic reality.

0:40-1:00: "What do I do? What shall I think!?" "Must go on" Rapid sorrow and subtle inner panic.

1:00-1:38: "I must go on anyway, even though I'm scared." Superficial acceptance, clarity.

1:38-1:55: "Maybe I can't do it." Overwhelming despair, insecurity, doubt.

1:55-2:40: True, unwavering acceptance. Final and total coming to grips with situation. A declaration to move on; "I WILL move forward; this has happened. I will always remember and be a stronger person because of it." True, solid, inner strength and growth.

2:40-3:20: "What will become of me next? Forever is such a long time!" Faulty view of futurity; final insecurities of what lies ahead in the blurry, distant, indefinite future. Future is a concept to the protagonist; an abstract, ill-defined (and thus incorrect) concept.

Finally, throughout the song there is an eternal, high pitched noise in the background. I take this noise to represent the presence and unchanging reality of a calm, heavenly watcher or guide. Perhaps it even represents the presence of the departed loved one.

                                                                                                                                                                   

Hopefully you listened to the song. Now listen again and see you think of my interpretation. If you disagree, generate your own analysis and find out what you think of it.

Whether my interpretation is close to the mark or way off of it, my admiration of the song remains. Patrick O'hearn has written other scores for movies and shows, and this takes on a similar feel to that of a television scene. The gentle, yet strong tones of the song, as well as the truthful, unpretentious simplicity throughout make me absolutely adore it.

Stewie's Turtle, Air Mattresses, and the Privilege of Education

Video games are such a waste. I love playing them, but I hate how much time they filch from my wallet. It's just horrible to realize; I wish people had less self-realization, so that they couldn't tell when things were bad for them. That would solve the problem.

Family Guy is so bizarre. I'm Watching an episode where there is a turtle that Stewie brings home. He names it Sheldon. It turns out to be a very bad turtle that does all kinds of bad stuff around the house. For instance, it replaces Peter's glasses with forks, so that he stabs himself in the eyes with forks. It also takes out the eyes of Rupert, Stewie's teddy bear.

To be honest, I don't feel I have anything to write about. I just took a nap on the couch. It was kind of nice, but not really because my family was making noise and had the light in the dining room on. I was in the living room, so that's mostly my bad. Before my consciousness faded out, I believe I was reading my book that explains the history and background of lexicography, the art of dictionary making. I had only read probably two pages before I dozed off. The chapter was about "cant," which in the centuries prior to the 19th constituted the language of beggars, tricksters, and other shady figures.

I still have not moved back into my room; I remain on an air mattress in the downstairs living area. Frankly, the air mattress I sleep on is not too shabby; in fact, I think it is better than my bed.

Anyway I should count my blessings: I am not stressed out, do not have any type of insomnia, and am quite healthy and happy, with pretty near complete freedom. The only long-term freedom hindrance I can sight are my finances and the year of school I have left. But my education seems like a privilege, and is definitely something I have chosen. I mourn for those who do not go to school because they want to, but because their parents want them to. I don't really mourn for them, but I wish they could see the bigger picture: education is a great blessing, and there are fellow citizens who beg for it in the less-developed regions of the globe. But passion and desire are not things to be forced, and must be developed over time through subtle means.

Here's to hoping they learn.

Donald Trump

Why is he running for president? Does he take himself seriously? He was on a segment with Bill O'Reilly, talking about his platform. His platform primarily consists of completely wiping out the Arab World, forcing Mexico to build it's own fence across the Southern border, and boosting the economy by forcing other countries to pay more to the U.S. In the short term, with our bully power, those things might work. In the long term, it would strip us of all alliances across the known world.

I don't see how any has voted for him. I think citizens are just keeping him in the race to see how far he gets; he is a running joke that hasn't gotten old yet.

But his case of political silliness gives rise to a more universal, yet personal, human flaw: we take ourselves too seriously. It seems to be the human inclination to believe that the I, the central player, am always right. It isn't unnatural and seems perfectly logical on the surface: if we tend to believe someone else is right, they will take advantage and destroy us. That is how it is in the wild, that is how it is in our everyday, confusing, hustle-bustle economy. If a hare believes a jackal has a greater right to live than he does, he will sacrifice himself for the jackal's cause. Likewise, if we give a business more legitimacy to survive than ourselves, the business will see it's opportunity and push as far as it can to take money. These illustrations are simplifications: some businesses may not feel the need to extort money because they are well off and the jackal may not chase the rabbit down because it had just been snacking on a goat. But the natural tendency of living creatures is to subsume others to gain an advantage.

At the same time, what makes humans better is that we can put away our short-term needs for more long-term benefits. The reason why bears and chimpanzees and walruses do not have vast cities is because they're stupid. They don't work together to form bigger, better things. And even within the animal kingdom itself, the animals that work together reap the benefits. Chimpanzees that form strong communities reign supreme, even if it is in a blood-thirsty and fear-inducing, frenzied way. The ones that work together succeed. Ie. Planet of the Apes.

Swinging this full-circle back to the POTUS, we can see that the candidate who shows love, support, and an aptitude for cooperation is going to have the winning ticket. In the 2016 race for most-known-person-on-planet-earth, Donald Trump, the fighting, competitive little ball of frustration and anger, is not going to win. His ruthless tactics have worked in business precisely because it is such a dog-eat-dog environment. In politics, however, you need to at least have a facade of care and cooperation. Almost all of his purported policies, both foreign and domestic, are reflections of his ideology that brute strength trumps the weaker players. The American people may be confident and assertive, but I do not think the majority will vote for a president that is arrogant and purely aggressive. This is why people think of him as a joke, and why a person like him will not become President.