Music Monday: Carol of the Bells

In honor of the Christmas season, my Music Mondays will be dedicated to some of my favorite Christmas carols.

Carol of the Bells is one of the most popular Christmas carols that most people can't actually sing. I confess that I am one of those people who can't sing it. It's beautiful, but sung extremely fast and the words are not always clear.

This song is Ukrainian and was first titled Shchedryk. Try saying that ten times really fast. According to About.com, it is about "a sparrow and the bountiful year that awaits a family." Yeah, I somehow missed that. Maybe they mean it used to be about a sparrow.

The first line is like this

Hark! how the bells
Sweet silver bells
All seem to say,
"Throw cares away."
Christmas is here
Bringing good cheer
To young and old
Meek and the bold.

So yes, I hope you all have a great Christmas. Even you meek ones.

For your listening pleasure, I'm including links to a couple different versions of Carol of the Bells.

For just the regular version, here is a random youtube video with pictures of presents.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TFrO8c_kVQ

For nice instrumentation and walk-dancing, here's Celtic Women.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKrx-4Awe70

For a slightly more amped up version, here is August Burns Red. But no worries, there is no screaming. Just awesome guitars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUId5f1-KbE

Merry Christmas!

P.S. It's hard to get in the Christmas spirit when it's still in the sixties and seventies.

Thanksgiving Across the Puddle

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, as many of you know. Of course, we don't get the day off, but I did manage to celebrate anyway.

Several English-speaking churches across the city put together a Thanksgiving service. It was at noon at St. John's cathedral, an Anglican church in Central. Wow, that was quite the building. They had huge vaulted ceilings, beautiful stained glass, dark wood. The benches were pretty awful, though. The stuck out at the top, so the only part of your back that would touch the bench was right under your shoulder blades. I don't think that promotes good posture.

It was a nice, very formal, service. They had a guy with a big silver stick who would walk around and escort the different speakers to the altar to speak. One of my pastors, Pastor Steve, gave the main message, and different pastors read scripture or prayed prayers. The US consulate even came and read us the Thanksgiving proclamation from Barack Obama.

After the service, we had refreshments outside. The food was very good, but not terribly traditional. We had egg salad and minced turkey sandwiches, fried potato fritters, quiche, mini pumpkin and pecan/cranberry pies, and orange juice. Very delicious. I smuggled two pies out so that I could give them to one of my coworkers. She had never tried pumpkin pie and wanted to.

Here's some pictures from after the service with my friends Dulcina and Josh.

I had to work at two, so I rushed away from the service. I made it there just in time. I had to work until nine, but I wished all of my coworkers happy Thanksgiving, and I told all of my students about the holiday. Not quite the celebration I'm used to, but nice, none the less.

Music Monday (Tuesday?): Stickable Songs

Once again, I'm writing my Music Monday post on Tuesday. But really, I go to work in the morning and work until six. Then I rush home and eat before I do a private lesson. Then I usually work on the lesson for the next day before going to bed. And I think it will only get busier since I've agreed to take on two more Monday night lessons in January. Busy!

I may just have to move Music Monday to Tuesday but still call it Music Monday because calling it Music Tuesday is just lame. Sound like a plan?

ANYWAY....

What song do you have stuck in your head right now? If you don't have one in there now, you probably will sometime today. Or tomorrow. Or this week. Basically, it happens a lot. You can't stop singing or humming it. It plays in your head while you're walking. It's your theme music when you're driving. And whenever you've just about forgotten it, someone else will start humming it and bring it all back.

I've had "I've Got A Feeling" by the Black-Eyed Peas stuck in my head for the past several days. I keep singing it in the elevator but then quickly cut it off whenever anyone jumps on. The worst for me is when I have screamo songs stuck in my head because I can't actually sing along to them. I can whisper scream, but that wears my throat out after awhile.

Have you ever wondered why songs get stuck in your head? I don't really know why they do, but I did read something about it. Whatever I was reading said that the things in your brain (you can tell that I've been out of school for a bit; I could look it up and pretend that I knew it all along, but I won't) will sometimes get stuck and keep firing. That's why songs get stuck because your brain will keep playing it over and over again. Interesting, I think.

So what do YOU have stuck in your head right now?

"Cause I've got a feeling that tonight's going to be a good night...."

Nostalgia: The Best Time of My Life

In church today, Pastor Steve asked us to close our eyes and think about the happiest time we can remember, the best time of our life. Then he asked how many of us had people in our favorite moment. Most of the hands went up.

I also raised my hand. When I closed my eyes, my brain was briefly scanning through many, many good times. I've had a great life with awesome experiences. Some that came to mind were our family vacations, playing with the neighborhood kids in Florida, Christmases with family and friends, getting our pets, hiking with my dad, brother and sister, my sophomore year Spring Break trip, and many times over the last two years. It's almost a bit hard to choose, but my mind did rest on one thing.

The last half of my junior year was a great time. I had a lot of friends that were all concentrated in about three spots. My good friend Toni and I lived on the same hall, and we would always run over to two townhouses or one off-campus house and there would always be someone to hang out with. So many fun times.

It all ended in one awesome weekend. Graduation. It didn't start out so awesome. The night before graduation I went around saying hi to different people and hanging out. Around one or so I headed back to pack up my room. I had done the same thing last year, pack all night and check out of my room in the morning before graduation. I remembered around four in the morning that the year before my family had showed up at six to help me out. I had SO much to pack and no help on the way. I packed desperately and transferred all of my boxes into the hall. Thankfully I lived in a corner and the girl next to me had already left. The RA came to check me out at nine, but I wasn't quite ready. She came back at nine thirty and checked me out while I changed into my dress. Then I ran to graduation.

I was late, so I had to wait until all of the graduates had walked in to enter. Then I had to sit by myself, desperately trying to stay awake. As soon as the ceremony was over, I took some pictures with people and dashed back to my room. My RA told me that all of the boxes had to be out of the hall by twelve thirty. It was already eleven. I worked madly, carrying boxes down to the storage room two floor down and trying to coax them onto the top shelf, the only one left. Thankfully, my friends Hannah and Toni got done with their room around one and came over to help me. With all three of us working tirelessly, we managed to finish by three. Not twelve thirty, but oh well.

(Grad pics with friends. I managed to not look TOO tired)

At that point, I hadn't slept in about thirty hours and I hadn't eaten in about fourteen. Hannah drove us to get Subway and then we went to a beautiful sunny park to eat and lie in the grass. That was heaven.

That night, Hannah headed home and Toni and I spent the night at a friends. I went out to dinner with my brother at Tower BBQ (he paid) and then hung out the rest of the night with people. The next day we went caving at Devil's Den, making The Descent (movie) jokes the whole time. Caving was followed by pizza which was followed by hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows over a stovetop which was followed by watching and mocking the first Twilight movie which was followed by talk and sleep.

(We somehow avoided getting eaten and killing each other off while we were under the surface)

At times like that, I feel too happy. These people, this fun, it's too much blessing. This is a rather rambly, nostalgic post, but I seriously am amazed at how blessed I have been. Things aren't always sunshines and rainbows (I'm quoting someone who always says this but I can't remember who at the moment; sorry anonymous person) but I definitely remember way more good times than bad times.

Last year after MY graduation (another wonderful day), I wrote a song/poem about friends and graduation. I hadn't thought about it in a long time, but all of today's reminiscing brought it up. If you've already read it, you can just stop reading here. Hooray for friends. What are some of YOUR favorite memories? If you haven't read it and want to, here it is.

(Hanging out with a bunch of cool people after my graduation)

Just yesterday we sat one last time

pretending it wasn't the end.

We talked all night

with faces of light

grasping at minutes that melted away.

These last several years full of moments we've shared

can it really have all slipped away?

Of dances and walks

a thousand great talks

Now memories are all that I have.

Sometimes they seem to fade with the miles

but what will always remain

all of us there,

for a moment no cares,

just laughter and ice cream and sun in our hair.

This is goodness, this is life,

friends more dear than the world.

The times we've had,

the simple, the sad,

And the joy that covered it all.

Oh Dear

After posting fairly regularly for the past couple months, I have let it slide! Oh dear!

This seems to be a common trend in all of my past journal-writing experiences. I'll be really good for a half a year and then I'll just stop for a year or so. When I had a Xanga, it was the same way. I was really good about writing, and then I'd stop randomly.

BUT I'm convinced that I won't let this happen again. Not only do I want to keep those of you Stateside (well, and you Russians and Taiwanese and Germans who somehow found my blog) updated on my life, but I also want to keep in good writing practice. Writing, as with everything, is a skill that can be forgotten if not practiced. I must keep it up!

After looking over my recent posts, I've realized that I haven't really talked much about what my life looks like. I haven't really talked about my job, life in Hong Kong, cultural insights, festivals, etc. So I will make a more concerted effort to write about such topics.

I have several things in mind such as hot pot, holidays in Hong Kong, my job, etc., but that will have to wait until later. I have to leave for work in a n hour and a lot to do before then! Look for more "life" stuff.

I'll try to be good. :)

What Would You Do?

Have you heard about the ABC show "What Would You Do?" It's kind of like Punk'd only with real-life scenarios. A bunch of actors go to some public place, make some kind of awful scene, and see if any decent citizens are willing to step in and help. They've done all sorts of things. In one episode, a saleswoman loudly told a black lady that they didn't need "her type" in that store because she didn't have time to watch her and then had the security guard frisk the poor shopper. Another episode was of an abusive boyfriend berating and "slapping" his girlfriend in a park. Yet another episode in a grocery store featured a lady chewing out an overweight mother with her overweight daughter pushing a cart full of junk food.

One of the worst videos I watched was the Latino hate crime episode. In that episode, they had a group of three white thugs beating up a Latino while screaming at him to speak English. The Latino actor was wearing pads underneath his sweatsuit to protect him, and they had used makeup to make his face look battered and bleeding. So, do you think people helped?

During the two days that they shot the footage, ninety-nine people witnessed the beating. Twenty five people intervened. Seven people called 911. And SIXTY SEVEN PEOPLE just walked right on by. Can you believe that? SIXTY SEVEN? I can understand that three violent young men are intimidating, but you could at least call the cops or go get help. That would take you a total of two minutes. Seriously.

Watching that video made me sick. At the beginning of the show, they talked about "Mexican hunting." Apparently there have been many cases of ass-holes who decide they're bored so they need to go find a Spanish-speaker and beat him up. One man they interviewed had a brother who died from his injuries. It just blows my mind that this actually happens. IS THIS REALITY?

There are many horrible, stupid people in the world who inflict pain on others. Racism is alive and well in the world. While I cannot comprehend how people can do something like that, I am also so disappointed in the people that just let it happen. If you asked those people if they were racist, they would deny it. Still, they let a hate crime just happen. And it doesn't just have to be about race. The same thing happened in the girlfriend abuse video. Some people stepped in, but a ton of others just walked on by. I'm sure they would say they're good people, but they are enablers. Apathy can almost be as bad as hate. What is that famous quote? Something about the only thing evil needs to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Yeah, that's totally true.

Some of the people did help. My favorite help scene is when an SUV stopped next to the scene and this girl pops out and runs in to break it up. She was a lot smaller than all of the thugs, but she kept yelling at them to back off and even got in between them and the victim. Yeah!

This show does fulfill its purpose. After watching the clips, I was asking myself, "What would I do if I witnessed one of those scenes?" I'm certainly not a person who is afraid of confrontation so maybe I would intervene. I pray that I would. At the same time, it's one thing to declare my heroic intentions in the safety of my bedroom after watching these inspiring clips and a whole other thing to actually do something in the heat of the moment.

I guess all I can do now is pray that God would keep making me into the kind of person that will get involved, that will step up to help those in trouble. I definitely have the desire and I hope that courage will be close behind.

It's not just in these extreme situations that we need courage, though. Stopping a hate crime is very heroic, but in what other ways can we be courageous and help others? It takes courage to tell a friend that they shouldn't be rude to others. It takes courage to admit we've been wrong and ask for forgiveness. It takes courage to tell the truth when lying could save us embarrassment and pain. Let's be courageous.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. --Joshua 1:9

P.S. If you want to watch the original clip, here it is, although I suppose I've probably ruined at least part of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru1F29vuVKI

The Ankle Sock Controversy

On Sundays after church, I've been going out to eat with some of the other church people. Sometimes it's with a group of thirty-somethings who first talked to me when I visited and sometimes it's with two twenty-somethings that I met later. Last Sunday, two guys from the first group (Daniel and Adrian) invited me and Lisa (from the second group) to lunch. So we went.

We ended up at a Thai restaurant that had some delicious green curry. :) We all ate and talked, just like any old lunch. Lisa and I were talking about KevJumba videos, and I mentioned when he was in Sweden on the Amazing Race and had to walk through snow. His feet were freezing and he said, "Ankle socks are cool; that's why I wore them."

Lisa and I were laughing when Daniel interjected by saying "Ankle socks are so gay-looking! Why would anyone where them?" So we get into this, I kid you not, half-an-hour argument over whether ankle socks are cool or not.

Daniel and Adrian kept saying that guys should wear real socks, and Lisa and I were saying that they were real socks. We told them that they really are cool and even athletes where them, but I don't think they listened to us. We said you don't want to wear grandpa or dad socks, do you?

Anyway, I suppose it's just the generation gap. Lisa and I like to talk about YouTube and think ankle socks are cool. I'm sure when we're in our thirties we'll disagree with those funny twenty-somethings.

But seriously, who would have thought that ankle socks were so controversial?

Music Monday: Children 18:3

Yeah, yeah, it's not Monday anymore. Well actually, for most of you, it IS Monday. So I suppose it's still ok. I was just so tired last night that I couldn't bring myself to do anything. I worked all day and then came home to tutor a private, then hung out with the parents, then worked on a lesson plan for a couple hours. Whew, I was tired. So enough with my excuses. Back to the regularly scheduled program.

Children 18:3 is another one of my favorite bands. They're punk, but not your typical punk. I'd say they're almost a punk/alt rock mix. But enough with classifications.

I really love their music. As with House of Heroes, they make incredibly intense songs without screaming. They are a bit rougher, a bit more raw-sounding than House of Heroes, but I enjoy that. They also have a nice mixture of songs. In their newest album, they even have a song that sounds like it's performed on an old player piano (The Last Laugh). There are a couple songs that are a bit too major/happy-sounding for my taste, but maybe that would mean some of you would like it.

One of my favorites, both musically and lyrically, is Even Sleeping. It's super intense! It's about someone whose friend got in a car accident. They're with their friend, begging them to stay. The chorus goes, "Oh, what would it take to keep you here in my arms bleeding. Oh, what would it take; is it so much to just start breathing? Stay with me, even sleeping." So sad!

Last year I totalled my car (poor Sophia) on the way to a Children 18:3/Project 86 concert. None of us were hurt, thank goodness, so my brother picked us up and drove us the rest of the way to the concert. Also unfortunately, Children 18:3 were just finishing up when we arrived. No!!!!!! It's a little ironic that I was most excited about hearing them play a song about a car wreck and then I wrecked my car on the way there. Hm.

While some of their lyrics and topics are undeniably awesome, others I go back and forth about. For example, I LOVE the music to their song "Oh, Bravo." The topic is about a little girl at a talent show. She feels bad that everyone else is doing better than her, and her dad comes and comforts her. I do like the lyrics, but I LOVE the music so much that I almost wish the lyrics were about something wonderfully profound or something. I feel that way about a couple of songs, like one about Bourne Identity (LCM) and Cruella Deville (The Cruel One). At the same time, I guess it's pretty cool that they can write songs about simple things. Why can't you write a song about a movie? So I haven't decided yet. Do any of you have an opinion?

I've been having trouble copying links into my posts (hence no links last Monday) but I finally figured out how to do it! Unfortunately, I still haven't figured out how to make them clickable, so you'll have to copy and paste them into your address bar. Sorry.

Anyway, here's some to try, if you want to. These are some of their more intense songs, so if you don't like them you could always try others. Enjoy!

P.S. I'm not responsible for any of the cheesy videos.

Even Sleeping

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlEH4IRRsts

Oh Bravo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu6TRJYVVt4

Homemade Valentine (in the perspective of the disciples after Jesus died)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXWPPwOvBjE

Ok, I'm done.

Stereotypes: The American

Saturday is our busiest day at work. We are totally filled with lessons all day long. I really enjoy one of my morning lessons, an adult student "Julie." She's very friendly and talkative, and we usually just talk about different things. I'll correct her grammar and explain new words that I use or ones that she's heard during the week. She's also very interested in slang, so I've been compiling a list for her.

Anyway, during the last lesson the word "stereotype" came up. I told her what it was and then gave a few examples of different stereotypes (Americans are fat, Asians are hard on their kids, Germans are rude, etc.). After discussing it fairly thoroughly, we moved on.

At the end of our lesson, she told me, "When we first met, I thought you were a British girl." I asked her why she had thought that, and she said, "You are so nice and polite. All the American women on TV are very rude and selfish."

I wasn't quite sure what to say to that. I told her that TV isn't a very realistic because they want to have interesting characters. If all the TV shows were full of nice, normal people, who would want to watch it? They wouldn't have much for drama or intrigue. I mean, look at reality television. Yeah, it's "reality," but how many people actually act like that in real life? We're always intrigued and a bit horrified by their behavior. Did she really say that to him? Are they seriously in a fight? Producers tend to try to get volatile characters so that the show will be more interesting. It's "reality," but a hand-picked one.

It's kind of funny because I've talked with numerous Americans worrying about this very thing. We've always said that if others around the world judge us by movies and TV shows (especially TV shows) they would think we're awful people. They would think that us younger ones are obsessed with sex, drugs, and partying while the older ones are having affairs. Most families are broken, and dads are usually mean, stupid, or absent. We're also materialistic, cocky, and full of back-stabbing drama.

Of course, we are all those things. But not all the way. Yes, we are a very sexed society. Yes, divorce is rampant. Yes, we can be cocky. But that is not all of who we are. The problem with these shows and movies is that they often amplify our faults. We don't care because we say, "It's just TV; it's not supposed to be real." What about those people who have never met an American before? They have nothing to compare it to. Great.

In Julie's case, she developed a negative image of a whole people group. And this is Hong Kong, an international city! If she got the wrong idea living here, I can't image what others in more isolated countries think. Well, I guess I do know of one more example that was pretty awful. A friend of mine had a sister who was in Nepal with her husband. She said that she was constantly being groped when walking down the street. Apparently the guys there thought that all American girls were sluts so it would be ok. That's just awesome. Not.

It's no secret that Americans aren't exactly popular around the world. A lot goes into that. History, politics, wars, international business, lack of knowledge, and cultural differences are all contributors, and Hollywood certainly isn't helping matters. I don't really have a solution to this. It's not like I think we should force all directors to only make nice TV shows about us. Not only would that be wrong and propogandistic, it also would make for some boring and even more un-realistic TV. Yeah, I've got nothing.

All I know is that this sucks.

Hope

So now I've been thinking about hope. Not really in the "never give up way" way. Although I do espouse that mindset, I'm really a "wake up and smell the bacon" type of person. No, you're probably not going to be the next J.K. Rowling. No NBA for you, pal. And no, he won't break up with her for you. Just saying.

Of course, I do recognize that hope is important. No one would ever write an award-winning novel or become a world-touring rock band if they hadn't believed it was possible. Some hopes are good because they keep you afloat. A person who is working a dead-end job and going to college at night has to believe that things will get better. Hope is good. At the same time, hope can betray you. My Nordic side can't forget about the others.

What about the aspiring actress that finally gave up and became a hooker? Or the athlete who was injured his senior year, losing his college scholarship and dreams of pro sports? Or the girl I recently wrote about who hoped that the relationship would lead to the altar but it really just left her heartbroken? These stories don't make for good movies, but they're reality.

The Bible even talks about this in Proverbs. "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." The problem is, then, that you can't choose which hope will be deferred or not. Will this hope lead you to the tree of life or to heartsickness? Hm.

I guess the key is putting your hopes in the right things. It's probably a good idea to try to be at least a bit sure of something before letting yourself get carried away in daydreams. If you want to be an NHL star but are always on the bench, that's not a good sign. It can happen, it's just not likely.

More importantly, God is ultimately where we should be putting our hope. Do you know how many times the Bible talks about putting our hope in the Lord? Well, I don't either, but I know it's a lot. If I were a good blogger, I probably would go look it up. But oh well. The point is that we should hope in God because only in him are our hopes safe. If our dream is to live for him, to praise him in suffering, and put aside our own ambitions for his sake, then we will never be disappointed. If our hope is truly in him, we can handle the heartbreaks and setbacks in life. We will never lose our hope.

Well, that's the end of my thoughts-related portion. On to the poetry portion. I've been thinking about writing a collection of poems where I would write three poems for each topic. Each of the three would treat the same topic in vastly different ways. Who knows if I'll actually finish the project, but I did write my first triplet on hope and hope-related things.

This one is about the struggle between emotion (which embraces hope) and logic (which tries to push hope away).

The Battle
Hope, that niggling mite, the cunning weed,
the worm that burrows into the core of a heart
and makes a home in the warm, red pump.
It's an infestation no amount of Raid will end.
So, the battle is on.
Brain v. Heart,
Brain, the favored contestant.
It stems the red tide with its
solid, unrelenting mass.
But blood bubbles up, overwhelming the gray matter
with crimson waves.
The brain rallies, slowly subduing each pulsing spurt
'til all that is left is a black puddle
and the taste of metal.
Hope is lost, banished to a far-off atria
to nurse its wounds
and plot its inevitable escape.

This is a look at how hope can often be duped.

The Same Story
in an annoyingly repetitive collection.
Hope is locked away in a tower of steel,
Swiss bank walls and bullet-proof glass.
To be kept from prowlers,
princes, hunters, knaves,
witches with apples,
meddling neighbors,
fairy godmothers and their so-called help.
Safe.
Then comes a breach.
A prince with drills and ladders and wheedling declarations of love.
Poor Hope, pitiful, deluded Hope,
lets down her hair to let the loving liar inside
so he can pillage her jewels and cast her out,
flinging her to the roses
who take her sight in payment for the landing.
So the happy ending finds
the prince riding off with his loot
and Hope blindly wandering the wilderness,
weeping for her bullet-proof glass
and cursing boys and broken promises.

Ok, here is an optimistic one for those of you who like hope.

I Hold Hope Close
Not sewing it to my sleeve
or casting it about like a farmer planting seeds.
For sleeves soon rip
and seedlings die under searing sunlight.
I hold hope close,
tucked in the corner of my heart
and it lights the shadows of my life,
glowing in tears,
shining in laughter.
I hold hope close,
but I wait for the day
when hope has forever died.
Not swallowed up in darkness,
but faded into light.
For what was once hope
will simply be reality.

Music Monday: House of Heroes

I love House of Heroes, yes I do. They're not my typical ska or metalcore madness, but quite a solid alt rock band. I saw them in concert last year and was amazed that all three of them have such great voices! They were doing a sound check and all of them were belting it out! I never realized they had so much talent. Unfortunately, I've heard a couple stories about them letting fame get to their heads, but I've never met them so I can't substantiate the rumors.

I only recently found out that they have a new album (I'm living in a slight musical void at the moment), so I'm only discussing their older stuff which is awesome.

I really like their music and they way they mix sounds. In their song "In the Valley of the Dying Sun," they use several different singing styles, musical elements, and levels of intensity. It's like sound texture! They also have an intensity that doesn't come from harsh guitars and lots of drumming. Don't get me wrong, I love the head-banging intensity, but their style is very interesting, refreshing even.

One of my favorite things about them is their lyrics. They have very nicely written lyrics as well as awesome subjects. They go deeper than the run-of-the-mill party and love songs. They do have some about love, but it's love with a twist. In the song "If," the lyrics go "If you were mine I'd tear the altar down to all that I've lost to romance. If you were mine I'd risk my dignity if only to give love a chance." Sweet. "Pulling Back the Skin" is one of my favorites (and they didn't listen to Ian, Steph and I yelling for them to play it at the concert we went to; sad day). It's about a guy who's finding that his ex isn't exactly gone from his life. He doesn't really want her back, but he's still jealous of her. While not particularly pleasant, I thought the honesty was nice.

BUT the best lyrics, in my humble opinion, are their historical lyrics. I do think that artists tend to limit themselves a lot when writing songs. You can write songs about ANYTHING and they always tend to write about love, friends, hard times, sadness, alcohol, partying, etc. These are all well and good, but it's nice to see a bit of creativity. Their "Code Name: Raven" is about a French spy during WWII. The song begins "Maybe you'll see me on the evening news, maybe you'll see me with a bag over my head. If that's the case then I've met my doom. If that's the case then my comrades are dead." It's full of energy and lively lyrics. Wonderful!

I finally figured out how to post links here again (use Google Chrome, not Internet Explorer) so here are some more songs to enjoy.

In the Valley of the Dying Sun (music video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7v6lGru95Y

If

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpmtrqNjFuE

Pulling Back the Skin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q0ETZl5Rws

Code Name: Raven

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbpuSQX8WsE