iPod Essentials #62: "Land of 1000 Dances"--Wilson Picket

What a dance song. It never fails to get me ponying around the house while I clean it. Because of its fast tempo, it is likely a hard song to sing, but Picket did it beautifully. The world needs more great tunes that honor dancing.

Too Much Baby Love?

I might be in the minority, but the woman in Bellflower, CA, who recently gave birth to octuplets, really has no place on the good news scale. She already has six other children. Her mother claims this woman only sought fertility treatments because she wanted "just one more." She "loves being a mom."

This woman should enfuriate us all. Is she stable? She already has six kids. Why does she feel the need for the seventh? She's divorced and is allegedly a grad student. How in the hell is she going to support fourteen children? Her parents are likely in their sixties. Will she be leaching off them until they die? No, she'll likely try to milk that already-broke state of California for governmental assistance. She'll depend on the kindness of strangers and volunteers for help.

The world already has nearly seven trillion people, according to The World Population's website. We don't need anymore! Overpopulation is contributing to global warming, overbuilding, disease, and starvation.

If she wanted children, this woman could have adopted a few children, as long as she held a decent job. Why did she choose to create yet more lives?

The fertility clinic that allowed her to have this procedure should also be held accountable for this travesty. If this were a woman, with a well-paying job, who wanted to be a mom, just once, then that's one thing. This woman is a human hamster who really needs psychological help quickly before this happens again.

iPod Essentials #62-: "You Haven't Done Nothin'"--Stevie Wonder

In honor of our new president comes this selection, one of my faves from Stevie Wonder. It's got biting lyrics and a great grrove. Allegedly, Wonder wrote this about Nixon and the whole Watergate fiasco, how nothing had changed for the better in this country. Unfortunately, the same can be said for #43 (May we never hear from him again!).

So far, I'm impressed by Obama's work ethic. He's rolled up his sleeves and started working. He'll do somethin'.

iPod Essentials #61: "Route 66"--Nat King Cole

For anyone who's ever traveled part of this historic highway (CA and AZ, for me), you will find a soft spot for this jazzy tune, which chronicles a drive along it. Besides, it's Nat King Cole.

Route 66, though barren in spots, has such a fascinating culture. Life is basic along the highway. Stores contain kitch, but also the bare necessities, like bottled water or Advil. People are friendly, despite the heat and dry desert.

Well worth a side trip. You can listen to Nat King Cole tell you about it.

iPod Essentials #60: "Someone Saved My Life Tonight"--Elton John

A classic pop tune, though a bit melodramatics in parts. We all have the ability to matter to someone, whether it be through an act of kindness or the emotion of love. Just step outside of our minds and our troubles, and you will see how true this is.

Commit to Ourselves

Happy New Year! (Or will it be the same as last year?)

In 2oo9, I vow to finish my newest novel and find an agent (I'm a third of the way through the last draft.). I vow to take my Weight Watchers membership more seriously and lose that annoying 20 pounds. I also vow to improve my finances and hopefully find a better-paying teaching job.

Every year starts with comments such as these, but at the end of the year, these comments have not become reality. Why? Because we lose sight of ourselves and what we need. We resort into habits and becoming so busy that we don't make time for ourselves.

May 2009 be a better year for us, this country, and the world.