Guns
Government and Accountability, Music Melissa Rooney Government and Accountability, Music Melissa Rooney

Guns

I felt the same way when I first heard Coldplay's Guns that I did when I first read Jonathon Swift's Modest Proposal. Even the most obvious and entertaining presentation of the truth won't change people's minds; but it can instigate and perpetuate the discussion until it leads to action.

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Asking for Forgiveness Later

Asking for Forgiveness Later

American society has put layers of rules in place over its existence. Privileged people, who are generally white, have been permitted to bend those rules; while non-privileged people, who are generally people of color, have had to follow them to a T …

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Cultural Appropriation and NPR's 2021 Tiny Desk Contest

Cultural Appropriation and NPR's 2021 Tiny Desk Contest

While at a beach in Costa Rica where many local residents were soliciting business, I suggested to my teenage daughter that she get her hair beaded. She'd done it once when she was little, and we both loved it. We'd support local business, and it'd be fun. My daughter promptly told me that I was being racist and educated me about cultural appropriation…

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Mandolin Orange, Faith, Incompetent People and Myanmar

Mandolin Orange, Faith, Incompetent People and Myanmar

My #ThemeSong today is a set by Chapel Hill's Mandolin Orange, a folk duo led by married couple Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz, both 31. Their music is relaxing, positive, and thought provoking - perfect for the drive to or from work. (Thanks bro :-) …

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Manic Monday, Everyday Jitters, and Implementation Activation

Manic Monday, Everyday Jitters, and Implementation Activation

My #ThemeSong today is Manic Monday, written by Prince and performed by The Bangles. Here’s a great NPR story on how Prince came to give the song to the Bangles quite early in their musical career: https://www.npr.org/2019/06/21/734176868/how-prince-worked-his-magic-on-the-bangles-manic-monday…

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#VoiceInMyHead Today (re Teachers)

#VoiceInMyHead Today (re Teachers)

We need to start paying teachers the salaries of both caretakers and educators if we want to maintain the system as it is. Teachers have shown they can do it, which is why we are demanding they do it now. But the current situation is not sustainable unless …

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AJR, Snow, Certitude and Sludge
Children, Inspiration, Music, Sustainability Melissa Rooney Children, Inspiration, Music, Sustainability Melissa Rooney

AJR, Snow, Certitude and Sludge

“We wrote ‘BANG!’ about the weird middle-ground between being a kid and becoming an adult; a time when we’re doing all the things adults are supposed to do, but we don’t yet feel grown up,” says AJR. "The fact is, adulthood is bound to hit us at some point, so the plan we made in the song is to ‘go out with a bang.’" I'm at least twenty years older than these boys, and the sentiment applies to all of us, just the same.

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Robert DeLong, Mark Ruffalo, Barkhad Abdi, and Pope Francis

Robert DeLong, Mark Ruffalo, Barkhad Abdi, and Pope Francis

While learning about shrimp and prawns, I also came across the following quote:

"When no one is to blame, everyone is to blame." ~Pope Francis

... which has given me something to think about for the remainder of my last gray afternoon at Carolina Beach.

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#VoiceInMyHead: "Your Rules"

#VoiceInMyHead: "Your Rules"

My #ThemeSong today is Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett's Avant Gardner. I've been sporadically "having trouble breathing in" since I was in middle-school (maybe before) - I know it's coming on again when I have to yawn to get a good breath. This is why, for my (belated) 50th birthday present, I am spending a few days at the beach by myself…

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Senzenina and Calculated Risks

Senzenina and Calculated Risks

I first heard my #ThemeSong today when I watched The Power of One, written by one of my favorite authors, Bryce Courtenay, and starring Morgan Freeman (one of my favorite actors). Since first hearing this song, my ears perk at any mention of African musical influence, and they are far better off as a result…

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17 Jan 2021- 6 days off Facebook (Peter Gabriel, Watched Pots, and Edible Creations)

17 Jan 2021- 6 days off Facebook (Peter Gabriel, Watched Pots, and Edible Creations)

I came upon the Peter Gabriel song below for the first time today, when looking up the lyrics to Bon Iver's Holocene (one of my son's all-time favorites), and it melted my heart. I shared the song with my musically voracious son, who surprisingly hadn't heard it; and we agreed that it's crazy that, though hauntingly beautiful in its own right, Bon Iver's version is more well-known than Peter Gabriel's original…

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Voice in My Head Today: Acceptance

Voice in My Head Today: Acceptance

You need to stop doing what you think is expected of you, and start doing what you want to do in your heart (note: drugs, video-games and Facebook are definitively not included). Accept the arbitrary human rules and the fact that they are going to slow you down, and forge ahead despite the hurdles you don’t want to bother with…

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Get up off of our knees...

Get up off of our knees...

I think about the horrible division, greed and just plain hatred boiling in our collective consciousness right now and remember it's been simmering throughout history and will simmer again. Then I come across the video below. "Open your eyes to my heart, Lord" the song repeats. I think God knows our hearts all too well and that he is desperately trying to open our eyes to His…

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