Sunday, September 23, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Wow!
I discovered this yesterday via Dale Price at Dyspeptic Mutterings and via The Anchoress
A humble, modest cell phone salesman, a rather dumpy, ordinary-looking guy in a bad suit, enters a TV talent competition, reveals his extraordinary gift, and blows the judges away. Even Simon Cowell, the King of Putdowns and Snarky Comments, is visibly moved. There's something almost operatic in that storyline alone. But the best part is, the fairy tale continues right to the end:
If you watch the original video over on YouTube, notice the cheap shots and mean-spirited jibes some people felt compelled to make. If you ever needed proof that we live in a fallen world, just look at the jealousy and resentment that can come out when someone does something beautiful and extraordinary like this. I don't know beans about opera--never cared much for it, to be honest--and perhaps someone more familiar with the music than I could find fault with his technique, but it's obvious the man has tremendous talent that can only be improved with the right coaching and development. If you ask me, the guy deserves credit simply for having the brass to sing opera in front of a national TV audience in a culture where pop music is the dominant form. Here's to Paul Potts! I hope this is the start of great things for him!
A humble, modest cell phone salesman, a rather dumpy, ordinary-looking guy in a bad suit, enters a TV talent competition, reveals his extraordinary gift, and blows the judges away. Even Simon Cowell, the King of Putdowns and Snarky Comments, is visibly moved. There's something almost operatic in that storyline alone. But the best part is, the fairy tale continues right to the end:
If you watch the original video over on YouTube, notice the cheap shots and mean-spirited jibes some people felt compelled to make. If you ever needed proof that we live in a fallen world, just look at the jealousy and resentment that can come out when someone does something beautiful and extraordinary like this. I don't know beans about opera--never cared much for it, to be honest--and perhaps someone more familiar with the music than I could find fault with his technique, but it's obvious the man has tremendous talent that can only be improved with the right coaching and development. If you ask me, the guy deserves credit simply for having the brass to sing opera in front of a national TV audience in a culture where pop music is the dominant form. Here's to Paul Potts! I hope this is the start of great things for him!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Unemployment Update
Longtime readers of this blog (all three of you) may be aware that I lost my job back in early July, and blogging has been rather sparse since then. You may be asking how things are going. The short answer: not so good.
I've sent out some resumés for library jobs principally in the Charlotte, NC area, since I've got family there, and that's where I'd like to wind up. So far, I've gotten no invitations for an interview, although I did receive word that two of the positions I'd applied for had already been filled. One respondent said my qualifications appeared to be "stellar," which gave me some small encouragement.
In recent weeks, however, some health problems have flared up which may make it more difficult for me to work outside the home, especially if they persist. I already have a serious disability and some other health problems that make working more challenging than it would be otherwise. In view of that, after much prayer and deliberation, I've decided to apply for government disability benefits, at least as a temporary measure. I'm also mulling over the possibility of starting some type of small home-based business (freelance writing, copy editing, indexing, for example) to supplement what I might receive in benefits. There are provisions under the rules where I could work and earn a certain amount each month and still receive benefits. However, I've spoken with friends and family members who've run their own businesses, and both have advised me that working for yourself can be very stressful and demanding.
In short, there are no easy ways out of the current mess. Many, if not most, days I feel very depressed and discouraged, and I have to struggle to find the energy to get out of bed and keep going. Prayer helps a lot. I say the Rosary and the Tessera, the set of prayers associated with the Legion of Mary almost every day now, and I always feel better when I do. I am president of our praesidium, or local chapter of the Legion, and I wish I set a better example for our members.
Much has been made of the recent revelations that Mother Teresa suffered from years and even decades of spiritual darkness. She perceived absolutely no sign of God's presence in her own life and even wondered aloud if God was really there, yet urged those around her to seek and serve God. Some have said that this made her a hypocrite, but to me it just means she was human. Everything I've ever read about prayer cautions that there will be "dry times" when God seems to be absent or deaf to our prayers, but the same spiritual authorities (including Jesus himself in Lk. 18:1-7) urge us to keep praying and loving and serving God anyway. Somehow, I find it enormously comforting and encouraging that even someone as obviously holy as Mother Teresa went through such a profound period of spiritual darkness and dryness and yet remained faithful to what she knew God wanted her to do. The kind of darkness I'm going through now is nothing like what she experienced, but if Mother Teresa got through hers, I can get through mine. I'm in pretty good company.
I've sent out some resumés for library jobs principally in the Charlotte, NC area, since I've got family there, and that's where I'd like to wind up. So far, I've gotten no invitations for an interview, although I did receive word that two of the positions I'd applied for had already been filled. One respondent said my qualifications appeared to be "stellar," which gave me some small encouragement.
In recent weeks, however, some health problems have flared up which may make it more difficult for me to work outside the home, especially if they persist. I already have a serious disability and some other health problems that make working more challenging than it would be otherwise. In view of that, after much prayer and deliberation, I've decided to apply for government disability benefits, at least as a temporary measure. I'm also mulling over the possibility of starting some type of small home-based business (freelance writing, copy editing, indexing, for example) to supplement what I might receive in benefits. There are provisions under the rules where I could work and earn a certain amount each month and still receive benefits. However, I've spoken with friends and family members who've run their own businesses, and both have advised me that working for yourself can be very stressful and demanding.
In short, there are no easy ways out of the current mess. Many, if not most, days I feel very depressed and discouraged, and I have to struggle to find the energy to get out of bed and keep going. Prayer helps a lot. I say the Rosary and the Tessera, the set of prayers associated with the Legion of Mary almost every day now, and I always feel better when I do. I am president of our praesidium, or local chapter of the Legion, and I wish I set a better example for our members.
Much has been made of the recent revelations that Mother Teresa suffered from years and even decades of spiritual darkness. She perceived absolutely no sign of God's presence in her own life and even wondered aloud if God was really there, yet urged those around her to seek and serve God. Some have said that this made her a hypocrite, but to me it just means she was human. Everything I've ever read about prayer cautions that there will be "dry times" when God seems to be absent or deaf to our prayers, but the same spiritual authorities (including Jesus himself in Lk. 18:1-7) urge us to keep praying and loving and serving God anyway. Somehow, I find it enormously comforting and encouraging that even someone as obviously holy as Mother Teresa went through such a profound period of spiritual darkness and dryness and yet remained faithful to what she knew God wanted her to do. The kind of darkness I'm going through now is nothing like what she experienced, but if Mother Teresa got through hers, I can get through mine. I'm in pretty good company.
Arrrr!
Ahoy there, mateys! From our old shipmate KT Cat we learn that today be Talk Like a Pirate Day, it be! Fer me readers in the UK and other places where they "labour" with "honour" and write "cheques," here be the link to the TLAPD UK site. Avast there, ye landlubber! What are ye waitin' for? Click on on one o' them links before Cap'n Tom sends ye to Davy Jones locker!
Fer those of ye wishin' t' indulge yer propensities for piratical parlance, here be a wee bit of instructional video from the Old Chumbucket and Cap'n Slappy on how to talk like a pirate:
KT, I tip me three-cornered hat to ye, ye scurvy
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