Speeches by Obama and McCain on Election Night

I am an avid watcher of politics, and I was particularly excited this election cycle because I felt like I could vote for either of the candidates for President (unlike the last election where I felt like I couldn't vote for either). After two long years of watching the campaign I cast my vote proudly for Barack Obama. The night of the election both candidates gave inspiring speeches about unity and progress. In case you missed them, I have embedded them below:


Barack Obama



John McCain

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

I recently came across a pretty cool little video on youtube that gives a summary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its kind of sad to think that there are many places throughout the world where these these basic rights can't be guaranteed. You could even argue that here in the United States some of these rights are violated.

Anyway, for those that are unfamiliar with it, here is the full text at the United Nation's website:

http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

And here is the video I mentioned before:

Flobots - Handlebars

A local Denver band, the Flobots, released a hit song recently that has garnered a lot of attention. The song is called "Handlebars", and has some really incredible lyrics. To me it seems to follow the rise of a person, and by extension humanity as a whole, and our incredible potential with technology and compassion to do great things, and how sometimes that goes horribly wrong - which is especially poignant in todays world where we seem to be surrounded by injustice, war, and suffering.

Here is the song on youtube, lyrics to follow:

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

Look at me, look at me
hands in the air like it's good to be
ALIVE
and I'm a famous rapper
even when the paths're all crookedy
I can show you how to do-si-do
I can show you how to scratch a record
I can take apart the remote control
And I can almost put it back together
I can tie a knot in a cherry stem
I can tell you about Leif Ericson
I know all the words to "De Colores"
And "I'm Proud to be an American"
Me and my friend saw a platypus
Me and my friend made a comic book
And guess how long it took
I can do anything that I want cuz, look:

I can keep rhythm with no metronome
No metronome
No metronome

I can see your face on the telephone
On the telephone
On the telephone

Look at me
Look at me
Just called to say that it's good to be
ALIVE
In such a small world
All curled up with a book to read
I can make money open up a thrift store
I can make a living off a magazine
I can design an engine sixty four
Miles to a gallon of gasoline
I can make new antibiotics
I can make computers survive aquatic conditions
I know how to run a business
And I can make you wanna buy a product
Movers shakers and producers
Me and my friends understand the future
I see the strings that control the systems
I can do anything with no assistance
I can lead a nation with a microphone
With a microphone
With a microphone
I can split the atoms of a molecule
Of a molecule
Of a molecule

Look at me
Look at me
Driving and I won't stop
And it feels so good to be
Alive and on top
My reach is global
My tower secure
My cause is noble
My power is pure
I can hand out a million vaccinations
Or let'em all die in exasperation
Have'em all healed of their lacerations
Have'em all killed by assassination
I can make anybody go to prison
Just because I don't like'em and
I can do anything with no permission
I have it all under my command
I can guide a missile by satellite
By satellite
By satellite
and I can hit a target through a telescope
Through a telescope
Through a telescope
and I can end the planet in a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust
In a holocaust

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handle bars
No handlebars

I can ride my bike with no handlebars
No handlebars
No handlebars

Jack Johnson - It's All Understood

I have been a fan of Jack Johnson for a couple of years, but for some reason I had not realized the profound message behind his song "It's All Understood" from his album "Brushfire Fairytales". I was listening to it in the car today, and was blown away.

Here is a video from youtube with the song:



Here are the lyrics:

Everyone laughed at her joke
As if they'd never even heard it before
And maybe they were truly amused
But every word that she spoke was a bore
And maybe it's because they had seen
The previews on the TV screen
Well this part is good and that's well understood
So you should laugh if you know what I mean

But it's all relative
Even if you don't understand
Well it's all understood
Especially when you don't understand
Then it's all just because
Even if we don't understand
Then lets all just believe

Everyone knows what went down
Because the news was spread all over town
And fact is only what you believe
And fact and fiction work as a team
It's almost always fiction in the end
That content begins to bend
When context is never the same

And it's all relative
Even if we don't understand
And that's well understood
Especially when we don't understand
Then it's all just because
Even if we don't understand
Then lets all just believe

I was reading a book
Or maybe it was a magazine
Suggestions on where to place faith
Suggestions on what to believe
But I read somewhere
That you've got to beware
You can't believe anything you read
But the good Book is good
And that's well understood
So don't even question
If you know what I mean

But it's all relative
Even if you don't understand
Well it's all understood
Especially when you don't understand
And it's all just because
Even if we don't understand
Then lets all just believe

But there you go once again
You missed the point and then you point
Your fingers at me
And say that I said not to believe
I believe
I guess
I guess it's all relative

***

To me there are several important messages in this song, one of which is the trend in society to believe what you are told rather than thinking for yourself - this is a powerful message that is incredibly relevant in today's society that is so highly commercialized. It also has a great deal of relevance for everyone as they come of age, and start making their own decisions in life.

Into the Wild

I recently saw the movie Into the Wild, a deeply introspective film that is based on the life of Christopher McCandless. McCandless is the son of wealthy parents, and appears headed towards Harvard law school, when suddenly he decides to forsake everythin, and search for a deeper meaning and spirituality. He donates his life savings (about $20,000) to charity, burns his Social Security card and what little cash he has left, and wanders the country. Along his journey he meets a variety of people, shares tender moments with them all, but eventually leaves them all behind. Eventually he decides to go to Alaska, far away from anything to do with modern society. Sadly, McCandless died of starvation in the Alaskan wilderness, but not before leaving the rest of us an indelible example of how to be true to yourself.

The plot may seem a little bare - but the reality is, the film was very moving for me. McCandless seems to exude authenticity, sadly a rare attribute in today's world, and something I have always striven to have myself. The story of his rejection of society as a fake and invented system is something that is not new for the thousands of drifters in the world, but was a breath of fresh air to me, and gives a new perspective on life and love and the things that really have meaning to all of us.

Here is a photo that he took of himself not long before he died - it was found undeveloped in his camera when his body was discovered.

The Destruction of the Buddhas of Bamyan

Two of the largest and oldest statues ever created were the giant Buddhas near the small town of Bamyan, Afghanistan. They were carved directly into the sandstone cliffs near the town in the sixth century A.D. and stood 180 and 121 feet tall. They were considered the largest standing Buddha statues in the world. They stood for over 1,500 years, and are truly one of the marvels of the world.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the religious extremists in the Taliban government cracked down on all un-Islamic parts of Afghan society, banning television among other things. This crackdown eventually led to the declaration the monumental statues as un-Islamic. In March of 2001, in a shadow of perhaps what was to come later in September of that year, the Taliban government in Afghanistan ordered the Buddhas to be destroyed. It took almost a month, since the statues were carved directly into the mountain, but eventually, after repeated barrages of artillery fire, and other methods, the Buddhas were destroyed.

The condemnation of the act by the Taliban from the international community, was, as you might have guessed, universal. I believe that the human race lost a priceless piece of its heritage when the Taliban made that deplorable decision. On a positive note, since the Taliban government was overthrown, there have been plans to rebuild the monuments.


An old photo showing one of the Buddha's before it was destroyed:


During one of the barrages that eventually destroyed the Buddhas:

Coldplay, "The Scientist"

I am a big fan of Coldplay, and one of my favorite songs of theirs is "The Scientist". The words and music are so simple, yet so moving. To me, the song is about a guy that, despite all of his searching for greater meaning in life, realizes that nothing really compares to love, which is where true meaning in life is found.

Here are the lyrics, and the music video from youtube (which by the way is pretty cool in its own right - notice how everything is moving backwards, yet he still is singing correctly?)

***

Come up to meet ya, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you, tell you I need ya
And tell you I set you apart
Tell me your secrets, and nurse me your questions
Oh lets go back to the start
Running in circles, coming in tails
Heads on a science apart
Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh take me back to the start

I was just guessing at numbers and figures
Pulling the puzzles apart
Questions of science, science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart
And tell me you love me, come back and haunt me
Oh and I rush to the start
Running in circles, chasing tails
Coming back as we are

Nobody said it was easy
Oh it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard
I'm going back to the start