A Songwriter Passes away...

Despite the juicy news (McCain endorsements galore!) I thought I would take a break from the politics.

Today has been so gloomy with the nor'easter pounding on my window panes. It is days like these that cause one to reflect on the past, and how fleeting the present is. I had a great weekend. It wasn't particularly eventful. My mother and Aunt came down to Massachusetts to visit on Saturday. Saturday night and Sunday I spent time with Kate and we reminisced of the Christmases gone past. We exchanged presents to some classic Christmas music. I found myself unable to sing along with Bing, or Mr. Como. It wasn't because of rusty singing chops, but because I was so overflowing with the feeling of time passage and nostalgia, that my voice cracked when I tried.

This evening I discovered that Dan Fogelberg passed away of prostate cancer at the young age of 56. Folgelberg had one or two songs that had radio play in the 70s and 80s. They still can be heard occasionally on easy listening stations. They are the types of songs that many people like, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, depending on his perspective) I think name recognition would be fuzzy at best. A couple of them tell stories, reflections of the past. "Leader of the Band" is probably one of the better known songs.



"Longer" is, cheesy... but that is why it is so good. It is simple, elegant, and comes off like a reassuring lullaby. This video is a youtube user's interpretation with nature scenes. I was looking for another live performance or official Fogelberg video, however this was the best of my findings. Fogelberg had the high tenor's octave that was perfect for the material. The video has a rather literal interpretation of the lyrics, which is a bit corny but whoever put it together did choose some nice photographs.



Lastly Fogelberg performed a melancholy Christmas song (Same Old Lang Syne) about a past love, which is very sad, yet beautiful. His lyrics are real, and in this song in particular they capture the unpredictable nature of the world and the amazing speed at which life flows by. The songs seem so simple, and yet it seems so difficult for many to match this type of writing that the listener really connects with. I especially like the ending of the song:

"As I turned to make my way back home, the snow turned into rain" followed by the sax crying out the familiar notes of Auld Lang Syne.

The following is a video someone supplied for this song. This video kind of bites, but the song is great... so close your eyes, picture what you may.

White House Press Secretary

What a revolutionary idea!

Make the White House Press Secretary an attractive young woman.

Since Tony Snow had to step down due to a relapse in his colon cancer, Dana Perino has stepped up to fill his shoes. Perino makes me stop and listen to C-Span as I'm flipping through the channels. Typically there had to be some big news or a scandal to get me to sit there and veg out to hear reporters ask questions. Nothing particularly interesting today, although I did laugh when a reporter asked her whether the administration thought Syria was involved in the recent Lebanon terrorist attack. Her response was something along the line of "I don't want to speculate.." Then she went on to say "but Syria has been involved in the past". I guess she didn't say "I won't speculate".

Honestly I was surprised to find out she was only 35, although Scott McClellan was only 38 at the end of his reign in the position. Perhaps it is her stuffy politician suits that make her appear older.

Huckabee dissing Mormonism now, then apologizing to Romney. I'm telling you... this guy's a piece of work.

Huckabee apologizes for comments on Mormons

I guess he does want the Utah vote... probably AIDS patients wouldn't vote for Huckabee anyway, so he probably figures why bother with that one.

Uncertainty with the Huckabee

I'm against Huckabee on his social issues, abortion, gay rights, and I think we need someone who distances their faith from their work. I think his ego is large, and perhaps goes a long way to explain his composure and charisma in this campaign. On the issues that count, the economy, federal spending, foreign policy, and immigration, I can't say I'm sold.

A follow up to previous posts:

Huckabee 'very willing' to meet with AIDS victim's mother
That would be interesting... if it were to ever happen.

From Article: "It's so alarming to me," she said in a telephone interview Monday with The Associated Press from her home in Leesburg, Florida.
"It's very important to me that we don't live in the darkness" when people thought AIDS was transmitted through casual contact, such as by "kissing, tears, sweat and saliva," White-Ginder said. "We have to treat this disease like a disease, and like Ryan always said, not like a dirty word."

Many of you may remember White who was the poster-child for the random AIDS victim. White actually contracted AIDS through a mistake in a blood transfusion, as opposed to from an action of his own.

Poll: Huckabee would lose to top Democrats by double digits

Yes it is a poll, and an early poll. Many would argue that it doesn't mean much, and in fact to some level that is even stated within this article. However the enormity at which Huckabee is behind I believe outlines the predicament of the GOP primary. If the radical Christian right is allowed to hijack the party on issues which aren't critical to the masses, we are going to have an unelectable candidate. I think Huckabee's handling of the AIDS comment and the prisoner-parole fiasco were poor. There is a level of arrogance there that America is tired of. It is expected from the Bushes, and the Clintons, but I'm not certain how much tolerance there will be when it is from an outsider.

A piece by Dick Morris, former Clinton advisor offers some comfort in the way of Huckabee's Fiscal Conservatism. Huckabee is a Fiscal Conservative Additionally, Morris's theorizing on the upcoming early primaries is also interesting.

From article: So what happens if Huckabee wins in Iowa? With New Hampshire only five days later, his momentum will be formidable. The key may boil down to how Hillary does in Iowa. Hillary? Yes. If she loses in Iowa, most of the independents in New Hampshire will flock to the Democratic primary to vote for her or against her. That will move the Republican electorate to the right in New Hampshire -- bad news for Rudy, good news for Huckabee. But if she wins in Iowa, there will be no point in voting in the Democratic primary and a goodly number will enter the GOP contest, giving Rudy a big boost.