Why Josh Wilson Inspires Us

Singer/songwriter Josh Wilson’s music is inspirational.  Who knew that his viral YouTube video would inspire me to write not only this post, but one on Backseat Writer as well? (Read “Weird Wednesday:: Stuck in Newark with Josh Wilson“).

What I love about this video is not only does it highlight that Josh Wilson is hilarious, a great musician, and someone who deserves a little limelight–I doubt that Josh planned this spontaneous singalong as a publicity move.  From what I know of Josh, he was just looking to boost the spirits of his fellow travelers and have a little fun.  But God is using this video to amuse thousands of people, and through it, His Name is being made famous.  I’m pretty sure that Josh wouldn’t want it any other way, which is another reason why Josh Wilson inspires me.

To take it a step further, everyone thinks about doing something spontaneously crazy, right?  One time when I was just out of high school, my friends and I drove to the shore in February at midnight.  Why?  Who knows?  But an icy jump in the ocean made me question my sanity.  It was fun, silly, crazy–and I loved it.  Every once in a while, we get a chance to do something out of the ordinary–to have a magical conversation with a stranger, to help an elderly lady carry her groceries to the car, and once in a while, we take a chance.  A big chance.  And it changes our lives.  Josh Wilson took that chance when he pulled his guitar out of the case and started singing.  It’s wild.  It’s fun.  It’s unexpected!

It’s the way life is meant to be lived, at least in part.  We love what Josh Wilson did because it tickles our funny bones and, if you’re like me, it inspires me to be bold–to make conversation with a stranger or find a way to use my talents to bring joy to others.

Josh didn’t just sing “Hey Jude” that day; he taught us all an important lesson.  We all need to loosen up, pull out our “guitars” (talents), and “sing” loud and clear for all to hear.

Check out all of Backseat Writer’s Josh Wilson coverage (yes, he’s been ever-so-faithful in doing interviews and the like for BSW and it is much appreciated.)

A Baby Changes Everything

I don’t know much about Faith Hill, except that she’s incredibly beautiful, sings country music that makes it on adult contemporary charts sometimes, and she’s married to country star Tim McGraw.  Despite my very limited knowledge on Ms. Hill, I love her 2009 Christmas song, “A Baby Changes Everything.”  The song itself talks about the difficulty this miraculous birth had on Mary—a betrothed teenage girl and yet how the miracle in her womb changed not only her life, but the world as we know it.  And that Miracle keeps changing lives today.  I hope this song touches your heart as much as it has touched mine.  Hallelujah!  Christ is born!

A Baby Changes Everything :: Faith Hill

Teenage girl, much too young
Unprepared for what’s to come
A baby changes everything

Not a ring
On her hand
All her dreams and all her plans
A baby changes everything (x2)

The man she loves she’s never touched
How will she Keep his trust
A baby changes everything (x2)

And she cries, oh she cries

She has to leave, go far away
Heaven knows she can’t stay
A baby changes everything

She can feel it’s coming soon
There’s no place, there’s no room
A baby changes everything (x2)

And she cries and she cries O she cries

Shepherds own they got their …
Star shines down…

Choir of Angels say
Glory to the newborn king
A baby changes everything (x2) everything, everything, every day
Hallelujah x4

My whole life is turned around
I was lost and now I’m found
A baby changes everything (x2)

Christmas Carol Conundrum

Christmas carols.  Nothing quite fills the heart like a good ol’ Christmas carol.  It conjures up images of family singing around the spinet while holding hands and drinking hot cocoa or a group of classically dressed carolers filling neighborhoods with their angelic voices.  Of course, I don’t know anyone who actually owns a spinet or caroler outfit complete with muff.  Heck, my parents are divorced, so I have to do Christmas twice, and if there’s any singing, it’s probably a Beach Boys song.  So, I’m wondering, do traditional Christmas carols still make sense in our oh-so-modern world of pink Christmas trees and Black Friday?  In fact, did some of these carols ever make sense?  Let’s take it song by song.

“Santa Claus is Coming to Town”

At first glance, this song seems like a nice little tune reminding kids that Santa’s arrival is soon, but as we search further into the lyrics we discover this: “He sees you when you’re sleeping/ He knows when you’re awake/ He knows if you’ve been bad or good.” Hmm…Santa Claus sounds like Big Brother.  Weren’t we warned about this sort of thing in the book 1984?  Santa is secretly taking away the privacy of millions of Americans—all the while we’re worried about the federal government performing wire taps.  Santa isn’t even trying to be stealth about it.

“Away in a Manger”

It’s a cute little song until “no crying he makes.” What a perfect little angelic baby!  I bet he didn’t poop or spit up on Mary either.  I mean, He wasn’t fully human or anything.  (Or as my best friend, Sarah, put it, “He’s human in every sense, except he never cried.”) Or pooped.  Because babies never do that sort of stuff, right moms?

“Little Drummer Boy”

I have never understood this song, but I love singing the “rum-pum-pum” part.  Our choir director really taught us to roll those R’s.  I like the sentiment of the song—a poor little shepherd boy offers a beautiful present to the newborn babe by playing his drum, which is the only thing the lad has to give.  How can you not get a little choked up by the humble sentiment of this song?

But in reality, who plays a drum for a baby?  Can’t you just imagine it?  Mary finally gets baby Jesus down for a nap, and all of a sudden this kid shows up with his drum.  Mary didn’t nod in approval for the kid to start pounding, she was nodding off!  She was a new mother and exhausted.  Then Baby Jesus probably started screaming His blessed little head off.  That’s what I wanted to do when I heard pounding from the workman renovating the apartment above ours a few months ago.

“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”

Is Mommy cheating on Daddy with a man twice or even three times her age?  I mean, did he like her Christmas cookies *that* much?  The song isn’t “I Saw Santa Claus Kissing Mommy,” so we have to assume that Mommy is the one who initiated inappropriate contact with Mr. Claus.  And what of Mrs. Claus?  Does she know that strange cookie-baking women are putting the moves on her husband?    Or could it simply be that Daddy is dressed like Santa Claus and Mommy kissed him?  I’ll go with that.  There are too many seedy extra-martial affairs in the news lately.

“We Wish You a Merry Christmas”

The first verses of the song ring out a joyous Christmas greeting; it isn’t until a later verse in which we experience a conundrum of sorts.  “Now give us some Figgie pudding” and “We won’t go until we get some.” First of all, what is Figgie pudding (also spelled “figgy”)?  I imagine it’s pudding with figs, which are sort of like prunes.  If the carolers wanted prune-like products, why didn’t they carol down at the old folk’s home?

Second, we won’t go until we get some?  How is that a way to spread Christmas cheer—by offering the free gift of a carol and then demanding this so-called Figgie pudding?  Then the song lyrics promise trespass, which is just inciting civil unrest.  All of a sudden the cops have to come to disrupt the carolers for loitering and demanding Figgie pudding in sing-song form.  And why not banana pudding?  It’s so much tastier!

While I only chose five songs to discuss, there are more out there that either don’t make sense to our modern sensibilities.  There’s the problem of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”—does Santa has eight reindeer as stated in the poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” or nine deer as the Rudolph legend seems to imply?  Let’s not even get started on the “12 Days of Christmas.”  I just don’t know how to make sense of it all, so maybe I’ll grab a cup of egg nog, sit by a keyboard with a spinet sound, and rock around the Christmas tree with the rest of them.  Sometimes it’s better not to question tradition, just accept it and move forward.

Are there any Christmas songs you find sort of silly?  What are you favorite carols to sing?

Poor Sales: From the Corporation to the Cash Register

Yesterday after lunch, my best friend Sarah and I ventured into Fashion Bug to look for a few last-minute Christmas presents.  We [incorrectly] thought there might be some good deals with the holidays looming so close on the horizon.  While we sifted through some interesting [translation: ugly as all get out] clothes on the clearance racks, I made small talk with one of the sales girls.

OK, we’re like sales girl/customer BFF’s.  We talked dating, sexual orientation, singleness, make-up, and so on whenever I’m in the store.  The saddest part is that I don’t think we know each other’s first names, but I know her and she knows me.  It’s nice to catch up with a random sales gal from time to time, y’know?

But I digress.  Back to the ugly clearance items–I tried on a few things, which make me look like a misshapen blob, but found a cute “Priced Just Right” v-neck long sleeve shirt for $12 in GREEN.  I think a gal can never have too many green shirts (or brown for that matter) so I snapped up that baby.  I took my purchase to the counter all ready to check out (after fretting over whether or not I truly needed a green v-neck).  Then I had a very awkward and irritating exchange with a crazed sales lady with frizzy hair.  It was as follows::

Crazed Sales Lady (said in crazed fashion):: Is that *ALL* you’re buying?

Me (shocked, but defiant):: Uh, yeah.

(In the background, the other sales associates, including my sales gal BFF stare at Crazed Sales Lady [CSL] in disbelief.)

CSL::  After all the time you’ve spent in the store, you’re not getting more?  I mean, do you see any other customers in here?  You should get one of these in every color!  We need to get paid.

Me:: Oh, really?  Well, if you treat customers like this, I can’t imagine why you don’t have more people purchasing your over-priced clothing. (With sarcasm.  Then I punched her in the face.)  [OK, I think I really said something like, “No.  I don’t need any more shirts.”]

CSL:: Don’t you need a gift for someone?  You should really buy something else!

Me::  Maybe I would buy something else if you had better sales.  I mean, really, that Black Friday sale was a joke. (Sales girls in background nod in agreement and are rooting me on.)

CSL::  I know!  We’ll be closed by January.  We’re not getting any customers!  You should write a letter to the [name removed so I don’t get accuse of libel] corporation and complain.

Me:: I think I will! (Secretly wishing in my head I had thrown the green shirt in her face and said, “With that sort of attitude, you can kiss this sale goodbye,” earlier in the conversation.  But I didn’t think of that great comeback to this point, and now that we were frenemies, it seemed pointless.)

CSL, the other sales associates, Sarah, and I discussed the crap lousy sales as I made my purchase.  I grabbed my bag and walked briskly out of the story flanked by Sarah.  We exchanged knowing looks, and then I finally blurted out, “Can you believe that crazy woman?”

And I still can’t.  If the store goes into the crapper come January, I’ll know it’s not just due to the terrible sales, but also one ridiculously crazy sales lady with frizzy hair.

Atypical Musings is back!

Now that the format of Backseat Writer is changing a little bit, I need an outlet to tell quirky little stories of great interest to the general public.  Hence, I’m giving me life to Atypical Musings.  I may double post Atypical Musings/Backseat Writer stuff from time to time and BSW will definitely have much more content, but I need a play to tell y’all what I really think about things, right? Right!

We’ve moved to BackseatWriter.com!

It’s time to change your feeds, gang! We’re all moved in at BackseatWriter.com (even though we still have a few pictures to hang and such). So, with a bit of sadness, I’m bidding adieu to Atypical Musings officially. All the articles, thoughts, pictures, and most of the comments from this site are on the new site, so fear not. However, if you commented on the last couple of posts, you may want to re-post that comment at Backseat Writer.

As they say, it’s a wrap. See ya over at Backseat Writer for many more atypical musings!

I Can’t Review The Changeling

After a dinner of homemade chili, cornbread, and tortilla chips, my gal pals and I decided to kick back and spend our Saturday evening watching a movie.  What movie did we choose?  The Changeling starring Angelina Jolie, of course.  Here’s what we knew about the plot going in–Angelina Jolie was the main character; she was nominated for a ton of awards for her performance; she plays the part of a mother, whose son goes missing and is returned.  We also knew that the foundling was not actually her son; he was a replacement.

What I wish I knew was that the movie had long drawn-out scenes of nightmarish violence against children, a public execution, and the inner halls of a mental hospital.  Instead of enjoying the movie, being enthralled by the plot, or the acting, I am stunned stupid.  For me, watching this movie was a horrible experience.  I’m not even sure how to write a proper review.

And, yes, even though I’m almost 30, I thought, “My friends are going to think I’m so bizarre if I want to turn this movie off.  They’ll be so disappointed because they wantto see it so bad.”  In retrospect, I realize how foolish I was (how foolish I am).  I mean, my friends already know I’m bizarre, right?  That’s why they’re my friends.  Next time, I’m going to walk away from a movie like The Changeling (even if Angelina Jolie is in it).

When a movie (or album or book) gets a lot of buzz, I want to check it out.  I want to be part of the cool kids culture club and say, “Why, yes, I have seen that movie.  Didn’t Angelina do a marvelous job in her role?”  At the end of the day, buzz is just a lot of annoying noise.

If you like this movie, I think that’s OK, too.  Lots of people can watch flicks like this and block out the disturbing parts; I’m just not one of those people.  I think The Passion of the Christ is graphic and disturbing, too.  It all comes down to taste, and that’s really what any more review is–the reviewer’s opinion based on his or her preferences.  The Changeling taught me a lot about the importance of being honest about my feelings with my friends, why I should take the time to read the blurbs on the back of DVD cases, and finally, sometimes hype and buzz are just four letter words.

The $3.6 Trillion Question

I admit that I’m a bit of a news junkie…OK, a lot of a news junkie. And this whole trillion dollar budget deal of President Obama’s has me a bit freaked out. Then I checked out Fox News’ “You Decide” blog, which just made things worse.

It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around $3.6 trillion dollars, so Fox News put it in terms that are easier to translate::– If you spent $1 million an hour, non-stop for 24 hours a day, you wouldn’t run out of money for 411 years.

– If you took 3.6 trillion one-dollar bills, and placed them end-to-end, that line of bills would reach from Capitol Hill to the sun and then back to Capitol Hill and then back to the sun — and then almost all the way back to Capitol Hill again.– Or try this: 3.6 trillion seconds ago, our ancestors were using stone tools and Neanderthal men still roamed Europe.

Then article also adds, “University of Maryland economics Professor Peter Morici has a different way of looking at a $3.6 trillion federal budget: ‘That’s one out of every four dollars produced in the U.S. It’s 25 percent of the GDP,’ he said.”

One our of every four dollars?  Are you kidding me?  How on earth are we going to pay for this massive budget?  How will half of the national debt be paid off by the end of President Obama’s first term with this kind of spending?

And is it just me or is anyone else freaked out about it?

Two Shall Become One

I’m getting married!!!  OK, not really…but it’s a good hook, huh?  Because know you really want to know what I’m writing about, don’t ya?  Well, a marriage is happening.  It’s not technically a marriage, but it is a “technical marriage”.  What I mean to say is Atypical Musings (my blog) and Backseat Writer (my ultra-cool other site) are getting married!  The two sites are merging into one in the next week or so.

Since my life is much busier these days, I’ve found it difficult to do all the work needed to maintain a site staff at Backseat Writer and focus on my own writing career and Atypical Musings was suffering.  After much fretting and prayer, I decided to combine the sites and allow current writers to guest post.

For those of you who read Atypical Musings regularly, be prepared for more book and music reviews as well as interviews with musicians and other interesting folks.  It’ll be a rockin’ good time for all.  For readers of Backseat Writer, you can expect more personal columns from me about life, faith, news, politics, my dogs, and whatever else pops into my head. I hope you all like the change and will continue to read my writings.

So remember to CHANGE YOUR RSS FEEDS because this site will become inactive once the new snazzy lay-out for Backseat Writer is complete.  I will continue posting on Atypical Musings until Backseat Writer is complete.

So while I’m not getting married at least my blog is.  And, sadly, there won’t be any cake either.

P.S. The RSS feeds on both sites will be a little bizarre until the update is complete.  Sorry about that!

Book Review:: Water For Elephants (2007)

Since it’s still selling like hot cakes, I decided to write a review about Water For Elephants, which I enjoyed immensely.  Enjoy!

If you ever wondered about life in the early days of the traveling circus, then Water for Elephants is for you.  Of course, you don’t have to be a circus enthusiast to enjoy Sara Gruen’s best-selling novel, which weaves together an old man’s recollections of his days with Benzini Brothers Greatest Show on Earth. The biggest show happening around Benzini Brothers, which is actually run by a bloke known as Uncle Al, isn’t the one under the Big Top.

The story’s narrator, Jacob Jankowski, accidentally jumps onto a circus train and finds himself amidst a color cast of characters when he is employed as the circus’ veterinarian.  There’s Walter the “clown midget” and his terrier with whom Jacob shares a room and Camel, an old man who takes Jacob under his wing.  And, of course, Jacob meets a beautiful young performer named Marlena who shares his love of animals.  Marlena is married to Jacob’s boss, the bizarre and mentally unbalanced animal trainer, August.

Through the course of the book, college-educated Jacob loses his innocence and “becomes a man” through weird rites of passage.  Having never lived the life of a “poor man,” Jacob adapts well to hard labor and the dirtiness that exists behind-the-scenes of the circus.  Though Jacob constantly finds himself battling his inner desire for Marlena, his anger against August for his poor treatment of both people and animals, and with the harsh realities of a Depression-era circus.  As the plot develops, Jacob and the reader learn of deplorable practices like red lighting (throwing the grunt workers off the moving train at night) and encounter the seedy happenings among circus folks including massive consumption of  illegal alcohol and acts of sexual deviancy.

One of my favorite protagonist’s is Rosie, an elephant acquired by Uncle Al from a circus gone under.  Rosie’s human-like manner is not only amusing, it’s endearing.  She is cruelly trained by August to perform with Marlena.  However, Rosie is especially fond of Jacob who cares for the animals in the menagerie, including Marlena’s horses.  Jacob and Marlena build a special bond causing August to become suspicious, and for good reason.

When writing this book, Sara Green did her homework researching early circus life.  Therefore, Water for Elephants teaches as well as entertains.  Wildly amusing, thoroughly intelligent, and strangely touching, Water for Elephants is a must-read, even if you never wanted to run away to join the circus.