iPod Essentials #71: "The Show Must Go on"--Three Dog Night

What a summertime classic from a classic pop band. The song reminds me a a roller coaster because of it's circusy, big top opening. It's a love song about a couple facing some challenges in their relationship: "on a high wire...High Wire." But they overcome their conflicts and get back to being in the circus of their existance.

Okay, this song was released in 1974, a far simpler time than today. However, the message remains the same: love and work can conquer the world.

Entitlement

Why do people believe they are entitled to a better grade, better service, a Super Sized meal? All because they feel they work hard, pay money, and in some cases I've encountered during travels abroad, are Americans.

Since I just finished grades at one school, I'm hearing the familiar strains of "I've worked hard. I deserve an A or a B." In academia, it doesn't go that way. Too many students want good grades without effort, just like they got in high school. In short, they are spoiled, thanks to Mom, Dad, and Teachers A through G. Newsflash: the real world seldom goes your way, Students, especially when you don't work hard or improve your skills or have others work for you. The sooner you understand this fact, the better student and person you will become.

This new generation I'm teaching is so full of entitlement issues it scares me. California is very screwed up right now due to budget cuts, fiscal mismanagement, and an incompetent government. What will happen to this state and this country if the generation feels they are entitled to coast along in their lives?

iPod Essentials #70: "Space Oddity"--David Bowie

Whenever I'm troubled, the first song on my iPod or on my Bose system at home or in the SUV on the road is "Space Oddity." I've been listening to it a lot this week. (My week: money troubles, didn't get hired at the same ______ community college that turned me down for a job last year, even though I was a finalist--go figure that one, and the new sudden growth on the face of my beloved dog, Magic.)

"Space Oddity" was a very unique song for 1969 telling the tale of Major Tom, a figure through much of Bowie's early works. Is Major Tom an astronaut, drug addict, or soldier? That remains to be seen. A depressing song, it reminds me that the universe creates problems that no one will ever understand.

iPod Essentials #69: "The Boys of Summer"--Don Henley

Ahhh, summer is arriving in a few weeks, so I always this of this song of innocence lost. Henley's voice and lyrics sell this song. The video is in black and white and is effective in conveying this "loss." iTunes and Henley should think about selling it; I'd buy it for the memories of a simpler time.