What Is Music?

I've always loved music. And I've always enjoyed stuff that was "off the beaten path." Not content to listen to the usual top 40 songs as a kid, I wandered up and down the dial and discovered foreign but intriguing sounds I'd never heard before. In this way I discovered classical, jazz, and big band music, as well as progressive rock in my teens. See my profile for an idea of the wide range of tastes I have in music.

But for many years I was still "programmed" in a way. Or should I say in THE Way. My time in that organization served to condition my ideas of what was "Godly" music and what was not. But in recent years I have found myself re-evaluating those ideas, in addition to re-evaluating my doctrinal beliefs. Many Christians (not just in The Way) are taught that your basic, straight-forward, Western music is the most Godly, while other forms are pagan or devilish. But strangely they never referred to any Scriptures that demonstrated this. As a matter of fact there is a verse that says that "nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean" (Rom. 14:14). The context is talking about food, but I believe it can be applied to many other things as well. In terms of music, there is none that is evil in itself - it depends on what you do with it in your head. If it influences you in a negative way, then it's not good for you, though it may not be bad for someone else.

I started realizing this when I began to learn a little about music theory and how Western music developed the system of 8 notes in a scale. But in other cultures the system was different, which accounts for why music from, say, India or China, sounds so "different." I used to be afraid of listening to such music, because I was taught that it was "devilish" - whatever that meant. Granted, some Indian music was used in the worship of other gods, but that doesn't mean I have to. Is God so limited that He can only be worshiped with Western Church music? In fact, there is much evidence that the music of the Psalms, and music of the middle east in general, in Biblical times probably sounded more like the Indian or Arab music we hear today than Western music.

Then I started to see the validity of 20th century composers who experimented with 12 tone technique, atonality, randomness, and other things that to some ears just sounds like "noise." As I recall, many adults in the '60s said the Beatles sounded like noise, yet they have since been recognized as musically talented and innovative. Modern composers like Edgard Varese, Arnold Schoenberg, and John Cage weren't just making noises to annoy people. They were experimenting with "breaking the rules" and so challenging people to think about what, in fact, is music. There is still some controversy about whether some of their compositions are music, but that's the whole point - thinking about it and reconsidering, and not limiting oneself to what's familiar.

Another composer that is often underestimated is Frank Zappa. For years I had only ever heard the few "novelty songs" he had done, like "Don't Eat Yellow Snow", "Dancing Fool", and the big radio hit "Valley Girl". But I recently discovered that he was highly influenced by Varese and others, and in fact was quite an accomplished musician. He wasn't a drug-addled hippy, as he is often thought of. In fact he didn't use drugs and thought the use of drugs was stupid. Also, he didn't just play rock music, although he was a hell of a guitarist. He included classical and jazz elements, as well as experimental things like musique concrete (a movement started in the late 1940s and 1950s in which pieces were produced by editing together natural and industrial sounds - think of the Beatles' "Revolution 9"). Many of his instrumental pieces had weird titles, and his songs frequently had sexually explicit lyrics, but musically he was innovative. A lot of his stuff can be seen on YouTube. Check out "Peaches En Regalia", "Watermelon in Easter Hay", "G-spot Tornado", "St. Etienne", and "Yellow Shark Overture" to name just a few.

A lot of this modern stuff may not be everybody's cup of tea, but I've always enjoyed "weird" stuff. That's not to say I don't enjoy more traditional music as well, but a lot of times I like going outside the "comfort zone" and being challenged. I think the avant garde recordings of John Lennon and Yoko Ono were good for that, and some of it is still hard to listen to, but I enjoy trips like that from time to time, if for no other reason than to rethink what music is.

Follow the Money

With everybody talking about how to fix the economy, why isn't anybody addressing the real problem? Changes in government spending will not help the economy very much, and could even make it worse. The root of the problem is that our entire monetary system is based on debt instead of anything with value. Fractional Reserve Banking enables banks to lend money it doesn't have and charge interest on it. When you or I or the government owes money on those loans, we are under the control of those banks.

A big part of the reason that political races are irrelevant is that no matter who is in office, much of this control of the government remains unchanged. There is a tendency to give whatever administration is in power the credit when the economy is good and the blame when it's bad. But does the government have that much control over the economy? Not when it doesn't even create its own money.

How many people know that the Federal Reserve System is not a government agency but a privately owned entity? How many know the same is true of the Bank of England? How many know that top government leaders as well as leading economic experts have long known of and spoken about the dangers of having one privately owned central bank, not to mention the dishonesty of Fractional Reserve Banking?

Below is a link to a video that is very eye-opening. It's called The Money Masters and it deals with the power that international banks have over nearly every aspect of the economy and the government, and how they got that power.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560256183936

If the link doesn't work, copy and paste it into your browser's address bar. The video is three and a half hours but well worth your time.

Also, here's a link to a shorter, simpler presentation of the same basic ideas. It's called Money As Debt and it's only 47 minutes.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9050474362583451279

The old saying holds true especially in this case: If you want to know who's really in charge, just follow the money.

A Brief Word on Politics

The race for president is almost over, after how many years? I was sick of it shortly after it started.

I have been on both ends of the political spectrum at various times in my life. As a teenager I was a liberal. In my days in The Way I was convinced that right-wing politics was equivalent to religion. Now I am even more convinced that politics is not the answer, no matter what the flavor of the month is. I am not so much "middle of the road" as "OFF road."

As Sharona said in Monk, "I never vote. It just encourages them."

Hey, here's an alternative:

What Now?

Seeing it's been almost two months since I last posted anything, I figured I'd better update this thing. There's been a lot happening in one way, and in another way, nothing.

I'm going through a period of re-evaluating and re-organizing my life. So much happened all at once in the early months of this year that I'm sort of still in shock. My goals were changed when I couldn't find work in Georgia and had to leave Atlanta Bible College. My sense of self-worth suffered major blows when I couldn't relate to people there, and was reminded that I've never been real good at relating to people. Then on top of that my mother died, and my wife has been having her own issues, so I can't rely on her like I used to.

I've been fighting off depression, anxiety, apathy, fear, bitterness, and several other emotions I can't even identify. I need lots of prayer and understanding.

My immediate goals are up in the air as well. The inheritance I received takes some of the financial pressure off, but it won't last forever (we invested some of it, though). But more importantly, I don't know what I want to do with my life. I got a degree in computer programming back in the 90's but have yet to use it, as everybody says they hire from within their own company. Programmers start off as something else, from what I've been told. That's what I intended when I got the job at Carrol's back in Syracuse. But I was there for six years and went nowhere. So now the only "experience" I have is helpdesk, but most of the places I've interviewed for here want experience in other things that I only dabbled in at Carrol's. Besides, I don't want to do helpdesk for the rest of my life.

I went to ABC because I had thought God wanted me to be a pastor, but now I'm not so sure, and I don't even think I really want to go that way anymore. But I don't know what I do want to do. And besides, I don't even know who I am. I feel in many ways the same way I felt in my teens and early twenties, and that's pretty sad at my age.

I hope things will turn around, but I am in a state of transition right now. Anybody who reads this and is so inclined can certainly pray for me. It would be appreciated.

My Website is Back Up!

After being down since my hosting agreement expired in January, the site has been relaunched as Godskingdomfirst.ORG (instead of .NET). The .net domain name was only renewable if I continued to be hosted by the same provider, but I found one that hosts for free. I only needed to register a new domain name, hence the change.

I made some changes to the layout and some of the content as well. The biggest change in content is a reworking and reorganizing of the "Future Events" page. The biggest layout change is the new Home or Index page, which has a site overview that includes graphics, making for a more attractive welcome. The rest of the stuff that used to be on the Home page is now on a separate page, called Introduction.

The link to my site in the right hand corner of this blog page has been updated to reflect the new site name. Click there to visit it.

Blessings and Hope

When we reached Seattle, we had virtually nothing left. Patrick and Michele were gracious enough to share their food with us, as well as giving us rides to some places. Michele is a wonderful cook, so we ate well while we were there. And while they thought the kids were annoying us, we actually had fun with them. Jacob is two, and at that stage where he gets into EVERYTHING. (They call him "Destructo-Boy!") But he would look up at me and say my name (repeatedly) and babble something else incoherent, and want to climb in my lap. Yeah, he'd have his screaming sessions, but it all balances out. (Easy for me to say since he's not mine, right? I pray for Michele and Patrick.) And Rachel is five (almost six) and has quite the wit for her age. At one point I had said something strange, and she replied, "I wish I had a pie to put in your face!" I thought I would fall over laughing. She gives great backrubs too!

Anyway, when we returned the truck, the rental people mentioned that it had been due back at 1 pm , so we were supposed to be charged another day, as well as being charged for the mileage we went over. For some reason they didn't charge us for it, nor did they charge us for cleaning it, because the rental place in Georgia hadn't checked the box that said we would be charged for cleaning. So we didn't have to pay anything extra.

We still needed to find work and a place to live. Most places here will not rent to you if you haven't been working for a while. And we didn't have any money for a down payment. I wrote to a pastor friend of ours, Chuck Jones in Pomona, CA, with whom I had corresponded for some time and finally met face to face at the Ministers Conference at the college. He was able to help out by sending us some money to help us get on our feet again. The family of God is so wonderful!

As we looked for housing we discovered how much things cost here. We would not be able to put down a month's rent plus security on much more than a studio, if that. It was starting to look like we would have to stay in a rooming house or something till we got settled. I was starting to get anxious, I have to admit. And so were our hosts, as their apartment complex only allowed people to stay with them two weeks. One afternoon we prayed, and within an hour Melodie had a job and our tax refund check arrived. And because of the amount that I had paid for tuition at ABC, we hadn't owed any tax this year. (It was called the Hope Credit.) Therefore we got everything back that had been deducted from my job in New York, which was over $2000! I had known how much it would be but didn't think I'd get it so soon, especially since it had to go to the college and then get forwarded to me here. Melodie didn't even know how much it would be, so she was even more surprised.

Shortly afterward, we found an apartment that we could afford, and when we filled out the paperwork (there was tons of it, more than Melodie had to do in the army or when she worked for the government!) it turned out we needed less than we thought for a security deposit, plus they were taking $25 off the first month's rent, which isn't due till June 1st because it's so late in the month.

The place is on the south side of Seattle, and you go through a lot of industrial areas to get to it. But the complex itself is surrounded by woods and there are lots of trees along the streets too. It's only one bedroom, but we can upgrade if a two bedroom is available when we have the money. The kitchen is tiny, but the other rooms are good size. It's not bad for now.

Melodie is working for a temp agency scanning documents at a bank. It's not what she wants to do for the rest of her life, but it's paying more than she has ever made at a job before. Meanwhile I have had several interviews. I haven't gotten hired yet, but I didn't even get as far as interviewing in Georgia. The bus system here is great. You can get anywhere on the busses, although it takes a while. So I'm not limited as far as location for a job. And I don't have to pay these outrageous gas prices!

Then I got some interesting news. I wrote in my previous blog that my mother had died the day before we were to leave. It turns out now that I have a sizeable inheritance coming, which surprised me, as I didn't think she had very much after all her medical expenses and other things. But a check is on its way even now. So that takes the pressure off financially, and maybe there is a job for me that I have to wait for.

I still wonder what God wants me to do, and what I want to do, and what I can do, and what I'm doing here. I try not to get anxious about it but sometimes it's hard. But God has blessed me so much already, I have to leave it in His hands. He holds the future.

P.S. - Melodie's pictures from our trip are up on her Photo Album site. Click on the link in the right hand column.

Big Country

It seems like we were driving forever. We left on Friday evening, April 18, after loading the truck and cleaning out the apartment at ABC. We wanted to at least get as far as the state line before we stopped for the night, and we did. Just over the line in Tennesee, we passed Chattanooga and continued west, stopping for the night at Nickajack Lake.

We were given a larger truck than what we had reserved (and charged a lower rate because it was their error). We had the bed on edge and tied in place to hold everything, and when we stopped for the night we untied and laid the bed down and we could sleep in the back of the truck. That was the plan anyway. That first night the door wouldn't shut all the way because the bed was about an inch too far out. So I had to rearrange stuff and get the bed to fit, and it was raining, so the edge of the bed got wet. Still, we were able to sleep and the bed dried out the next day, so things worked out.

Louie seems to like road trips. He was quite comfortable on the seat between us, and whenever we stopped he took his command post on the dashboard.

The next day we continued through Tennessee and Kentucky, passing by Nashville (below).

That night we stopped in Illinois, and the following day we crossed the Mississippi and passed through St. Louis. Melodie got some good shots of the arch. Looks like half a McDonald's, doesn't it?

From there we crossed Missouri, turned north just before Kansas City, and headed north through Iowa. Council Bluffs had a whole riverboat theme on the river.

By Tuesday, we had gone through the rest of Iowa and into South Dakota, stopping at Mitchell for the night. Wednesday was when we had to figure out how to continue since we ran out of money (see previous blog). We were finally able to resume on Thursday.

The rest of South Dakota was a long haul, and then we stopped to see the world famous Wall Drug in Wall, SD.

Melodie has several pictures from there, which she will be putting up soon on her photo site. We then continued west, and hit a huge thunderstorm at Rapid City. It was so bad we had to pull off and wait till it stopped, as I couldn't see anything in front of me. But we finally made it out of South Dakota alive!

We stayed overnight in Gillette, Wyoming. In the morning we awoke to a view of The Devil's Tower. Well, the sign SAID Devil's Tower anyway. I later found out that the sign was referring to the road which led TO Devil's Tower (made famous in "Close Encounters"). But this was a pretty cool looking mountain anyway.

We drove through a corner of Wyoming and crossed into Montana. We discovered that it was still winter in this mountainous region. Although beautiful to look at, it was COLD in that truck at night. We survived thanks to lots of blankets and body heat (including Louie).

We crossed Montana, and then a narrow strip of Idaho. This was actually the most beautiful scenery yet, looking down from the mountains into a deep valley, but the pictures didn't come out for some reason.

We crossed into Washington, and kept driving and driving, trying to find a place to stop for the night. Mile after mile of nothing passed by us. We finally got off at an exit where there was a gas station, but it was closed. Fortunately there was a small place across the street where you could get gas with a credit card after hours. It was expensive though, so we got enough to get us to the next town, where we could fill up for less. We spent the night at Moses Lake.

The last day of travel took us over and through the coastal mountains just east of Seattle. These were even more breathtaking than what we'd seen in the Rockies, with their pointed, snow-capped peaks. But sadly the last batteries in Melodie's camera were dead, and she couldn't get any more pictures.

We finally arrived in the Seattle area, and were warmly greeted by Patrick, Michele, and the kids. After a long trip through eleven states we were happy to be anywhere! But it was nice to have a warm, loving place to sleep that night.

Next time I will write about how God has blessed us since we've been here.