Don't Worry ( #BOTB Results )

Anxiety weighs down the heart,  but a kind word cheers it up.    

Proverbs 12:25 New International Version (NIV)

Pondering the Colorado River in Austin Texas

Pandemic Days

        There's so much for people to worry about these days that it's difficult to know where to start.  Maybe it's best to start by not worrying.  Jesus said not to worry (Matthew 6:25-34) and if you don't take any stock in what Jesus had to say then just use common sense.  How are you going to make things better by worrying? 

          If you find yourself consumed by worry then maybe you need to take some action to take your mind off of that worry.  After all, worry is essentially an act of selfishness if no action is taken to find ways to remedy that which is worrying you.  Worry is wasted effort which culminates in no positive result.  If all you do is worry then you aren't working towards personal wellness and your worry can become more contagious than the worst disease.

         Would you rather be spreading the negative energy of worry or the positive energy of hope, concern for others, and the mindset that things will get better? 

        Sometimes children know best.  Here's a story that my daughter Ada Z shared recently about my dear granddaughter, Grace, who is seven years old:

My daughter, Grace, had a dream the other night. She said,
“We were sitting around the campfire as a family and God came down to sit with us. He started singing a song about the world. Then he ate a marshmallow. Everything is going to be ok”

I asked her how she knew that it was God. She said, “It was definitely God”.

The smile that she had on her face and the twinkle in her eye gave me so much hope and it has truly gotten me through the last few days.

         Thank you for that sweet story, Ada, and bless the wisdom of my granddaughter, Gracie.  She put into words with elegant simplicity the advice I've been trying to live by over the past decade or so.  Eat marshmallows and sing happy songs.  Everything will turn out just fine--or at least the way it's supposed to work out.

Battle of the Bands Results

My Martyr Battle

         My most recent Battle saw "Joan of Arc" by Jennifer Warnes go up against "The Martyr" by prog rock group Wally.  As some of you might have guessed, my favorite was the song by Wally.   However either of the albums that these songs came from are big favorites of mine.  The voting ran close at the beginning of the race, but then Wally broke out ahead to capture the win.

   Final Vote Tally

Jennifer Warnes     5 votes

Wally                       9 votes

Next Battle on Wednesday April 1st

        This is going to be a big day in blogging since this will also be the start of Blogging from A to Z April Challenge for 2020.   So far nearly 300 blogs are signed up to the official list, but many more will be participating through social media sites like Facebook.  If you're basically locked down for the current pandemic then why not join us in A to Z.  This seems like the year to do it.

       And wait!  There's more!   April 1st will also be the posting date for Insecure Writer's Support Group.  So it's gonna be a whopper of a blogging day.  I've pulled all these together in one post in previous years so I guess I can do it again.

        Please be well.  And don't be afraid.

Joan of Arc / The Martyr ( #BOTB )

We've got our corned beef brisket ready to cook on St. Pat's Day but I'll still need to run to the store on Monday to get some cabbage and potatoes to round out the dinner.  I hope I can get in the store.  All this shopping frenzy and panic is kind of weird.  Maybe people should stop paying so much attention to the news.  You'd think it's the end of the world...

Queuing up for panic buying at Costco (Washington Post)

        I've been to the grocery store a couple times this week, not for those items in heavy demand like toilet paper and water, but just for stuff we wanted though not necessarily needed.  Certain shelves were emptied and the store traffic was higher than normal for the time that I visited.  I've heard rumors and seen news reports about the crazy lines and panic buying, but haven't seen much first hand that was too extreme.  Still, what's going on does seem a bit wacky.

         We typically have a goodly supply of necessities and we had already stocked up from Costco before all this craziness started, so we are in fine shape for now.  And I'm not overly concerned about this pandemic mania.  I guess if it's not political nuttiness or climate change extremism or whatever, then somebody somewhere will concoct some other needless fear.  Not to say we shouldn't be concerned, but we shouldn't drive ourselves crazy with worry.

          What, me worry? Alfred E. Newman said it best for me...


Battle of the Bands

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.


Saints Be Praised!

         This week it's all about St. Patrick and all things Irish.  I guess I'll avoid this general theme for my Battle of the Bands and instead give tribute to another saint--Joan of Arc.  There are a number of songs that pay homage to St. Joan.  For this Battle I've chose two that are personal favorites...




Jennifer Warnes    "Joan of Arc"  (1987)

        Though there were a few Leonard Cohen songs that had caught my attention over the years, I wasn't much of a fan until Jennifer Warnes came out with her Famous Blue Raincoat album in 1986. I don't know what made me buy the cassette of her album, but I did and I liked it a great deal and as a consequence became more interested in Cohen's albums, eventually buying several of them to add to my music collection.

        In her rendition of "Joan of Arc", Warnes is joined by the composer himself, Leonard Cohen.  The recording is somewhat long so listening to the first couple of minutes will provide the gist of the song, but you might just like it so well that you will want to keep listening.  Give it a try...








Wally   "The Martyr"  (1974)

         Wally is a mostly forgotten and underrated prog rock band from the 1970's.  I first heard their song "The Martyr" in early 1975 on a radio station broadcasting from Johnson City TN.  The song immediately attracted me with the stately classically tinged violin solo that repeats throughout and then culminates into a dramatic prog rock closing. 
       
         Though I was living in a cabin in the mountains at the time (we had electricity so I could listen to music), first chance I had to drive down to Knoxville I went to a record store to purchase the vinyl LP which I still have to this day.

          As with the previous song, "The Martyr" is probably a bit long for some of you so you might want to just sample some of it.  If you don't feel compelled to listen to the entire track then get a sample of the beginning and then run forward to about 4:40 where they start rocking out a bit more.  Give it chance and see what you think...






Time to Vote!

         You don't have to be a martyr about this, but I hope you'll indulge us in listening to these two songs.   Which song version do you prefer?   Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.



Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

 ‘Storms and Stardust’ 

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

The Doglady's Den 

Angel's Bark  

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Cherdo on the Flipside 

A I Love Music


Winner of this Battle Announced on Monday March 23rd

          For those interested in Blogging from A to Z, don't forget that the Theme Reveal will be happening on Monday March 16th.  I'm not doing any special post for this as my theme is still kind of in the works.  In other words, I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing.  On the sign up sheet I stated my theme as "Life Goals", but that might not be exactly right--kind of right, maybe, but maybe not exactly.   I might actually be winging it this year.  Kind of like I did the first year.  Still there should be a lot of A to Z participants who will have something to say for Theme Reveal Day.

Attack! First We Take Manhattan (#BOTB)(#atozchallenge)

Attack on Manhattan

September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City: View of the World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty. (Image: US National Park Service ) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

        When asked what Manhattan brings to mind, just about any adult in the United States will at some point think about the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.  This terrible event is one of those things most of us will remember where we were and what we were doing when we heard what had happened in New York City on that fated morning.  In my case, I was fixated by the television images and the reports on the radio.  My business came to a near standstill on that day and for a couple days to follow.   We had never witnessed anything quite like that event and hopefully never will again, but I'm sure more is yet to come.

        Now the years have passed and the world has changed in many ways as a result of the catastrophic attack on Manhattan.  The current generation can certainly never forget what happened on that fateful day.  It's likely to be remembered long after all of us are dead and gone.

         The attack on Manhattan was horrible and yet Manhattan remains an extraordinarily wondrous place.  It is a lure to dream seekers.  With so much to see and do, the island city attracts millions of visitors from around the world.  Perhaps you are planning a visit to the city sometime in the future.  During the month of April this blog will be exploring the city and contemplating some of the things the city and what the name "Manhattan" evokes in our minds.

           Manhattan is a city of sights and sounds; people, cars, and buildings.  More than anyone can take in over the span of a day, a week, a year, or even a lifetime.  Manhattan is more than a city in New York.  Manhattan is also a concept and a descriptive term.  We'll take on Manhattan during A to Z Challenge and we'll barely even scratch the surface.

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event hosted by Far Away Series and  StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens twice each month on the 1st and 15th.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.



First We Take Manhattan

        Written by Leonard Cohen, "First We Take Manhattan" was first recorded by Jennifer Warnes for her 1987 Famous Blue Raincoat album which consisted of all Cohen songs.  The song is prescient in its near prediction of Manhattan attacks that were to come later.  Concerning the meaning of the song, Cohen admits that it is about terrorism, but he suggests that it relates also in a metaphorical way to psychic or intellectual terrorism (1).

        After the release of the recording by Jennifer Warnes, Leonard Cohen released his own version in 1988.  Cohen gives the song a unique synth-pop treatment that is uncharacteristic of his typical style and quite different from the two versions I'm presenting in my Battle to be found below.  Don't vote on Cohen's version but if you're interested in hearing it you can click here.

        I first purchased Warnes' Cohen tribute album when it came out in 1987.  In the front of a large record store in a mall in Toronto there was a promotional display advertising the release of the album.  Since I always spent a lot of the money I made in Canada so I wouldn't have to exchange it going back across the border, I always bought a lot of cassettes while I was there.  Though I wasn't overly familiar with the work of Jennifer Warnes, this album was receiving a lot of hype while I was in Canada so I figured it would be worth buying.  I was glad that I did.  It's a fine album with several good Cohen songs capably performed by Ms. Warnes.

       When I hear this song by any artist my eyes can't help but water up as I feel a creeping chill beneath my skin.  It's probably mostly due to what happened on 9/11, but even before then there was an eerie aspect to the song that made me consider the implications of what the song says.  Now that we've seen 9/11 and in more recent times the influx of refugees into Germany and the rest of Europe, the concept of Berlin being the next take down seems far more a possibility than back when the song was first released.

        Here are two very fine versions of "First We Take Manhattan":

   
Jennifer Warnes "First We Take Manhattan"  (1987)

        This version includes some outstanding guitar work by Stevie Ray Vaughn who is also seen in the original music video which I am using here.  Also making a brief appearance in the video is Leonard Cohen, the composer of the song. (2)






Joe Cocker "First We Take Manhattan"  (1999)

       This version of the Cohen song comes from Cocker's album No Ordinary World.  The video I'm using is not an "Official Video" as it is wrongly labeled, but the images depict the terrible events on 9/11.







Time to Vote!

        This is one of the tougher Battle picks for me, but the choosing is in your hands.  I like both of these versions a great deal.  What about you?  Let us know what you think about these versions. There must be one that you prefer over the other.  If you're visiting a Battle of the Bands post for the first time then let me briefly explain.  Please give each song version a fair listen to decide which one you prefer over the other.  If you don't like either then at least tell us which recording was least innocuous to you. This comes down to your preference and it's as easy as that.

     Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours

Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

‘FAR AWAY SERIES’ 

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

 ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ 

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

DC Relief Battle of the Bands

The Doglady's Den 

Angel's Bark  

Cherdo on the Flipside  

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Janie Junebug Righting & Editing.
  
J. A. Scott  

Quiet Laughter

Holli's Hoots and Hollers

Be ReInVintaged



Results on Friday April 8th

       I'll be announcing the results of the voting on this Battle next Friday April 8th. Since we are embarking on the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge, there will posts every day except Sunday on Tossing It Out. I hope you'll stop in to check some of my posts about Manhattan--you might even see yourself featured in some of them since many of the posts are based on comments left on my January post What Does "Manhattan" Say to You?.

       Next Battle of the Bands post will be on April 15th with another song about Manhattan.
      
         What you doing when you heard about the events of 9/11?   How did 9/11 affect you at the time that it happened?   How did the event affect you in the years afterwards?