Hopefully, my lack of regular posting is a thing of the past. Now, I'm not saying "resolution," because, well, we all know how those turn out, especially for the New Year, but I have been thinking about blogging for a while.
I like blogging. I really want to be consistent with it. I've been thinking of ways to do that.
I have set up, for my own sanity and convenience, a sort of schedule of what I'll be posting about each day. That way, I'll be able to narrow my focus and not spend two hours surfing the web before typing a word searching desperately for an idea. Generally speaking, the schedule isn't that restrictive, but it will give direction.
And, don't we all need that, sometimes?
So, for this, Tuesday, January 1, 2008, what is the scheduled topic? If it is Tuesday, it must be Tuesday Tunes.
What is Tuesday Tunes? I'll tell you. I have a pretty substantial CD collection.
Unfortunately, I don't listen to it.
It's true. I enjoy music, I just don't think to put it on as often as I should. This next year, though, I'm going to focus on one CD a week, and at the end of that week, I'm going to talk about it.
Sadly, I didn't think of this topic a week ago. I don't have a CD I was listening to over that time. But, I'll modify it for this week, with a single song that I've heard a lot in the last 24 hours – Auld Lang Syne.
First off, I'm (likely) about to educate the majority of the readers of these words by saying this – Auld Lang Syne means "Old Long Since" or "Times Gone By."
Yep, that's right. You can never say you don't know what that means again.
You're welcome.
The words are credited to Robert Burns, a Scottish poet, and was set to a variation of a traditional Scottish folk tune. The lyrics (and I'll throw in some translation helps, too) are:
Should auld (old) acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld (old) acquaintance be forgot
And days of auld lang syne (times gone by)?
Chorus (repeated between stanzas):
For auld lang syne (times gone by), my dear,
For auld lang syne (times gone by)
We'll tak (drink) a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne (times gone by).
We twa hae (two have) run about the braes (hillside)
And pou'd the gowans (picked the flowers) fine
But we've wander'd mony a weary fit (wandered many a weary foot – or, its been a while)
Sin' auld lang syne. (since times gone by)
We twa hae paidl'd i' the burn (we two have paddled the streams)
Frae mornin' sun till dine (from morning sun until dinner time)
But seas between us braid hae roared (us broad have roared)
Sin' auld lang syne. (since times gone by)
And here's a hand, my trusty fiere (friend)
And gi'e's (give here) a hand o' thine (yours)
And we'll tak a right good willy waught (drink a drink of good will)
For auld lang syne. (times gone by)
As I've gotten older, the song has come to mean more to me. The separation of friends, moving away, moving on… it is the key to appreciating the song, I suppose.
That said, know this – I'd rather have stayed ignorant of the meaning of the song if I could have kept all of you near me.
Still, things being what they are, I'll just follow the advice of the song. I'll take this moment, remember those good times from the past, and raise my glass (well, can of Encore, the Meijer brand, diet cola) to you all for all the blessings of the new year.
Now, this next week the album of focus will be Hold You High from By The Tree. If you have any suggestions for future albums I need to rip onto my computer and load into MP3 player for the week, feel free to let me know. Hey, I'll even consider buying a new album if it sounds interesting!
Oh, and one more thing. Along with the new schedule of topics I'm going to try, I'm also going to try to include one sketch a day on the blog. So, even if you aren't interested in reading me going on ad nauseum about whatever, you can take a look and laugh at my artistic attempts. I'll take requests for this as well, if you have something in particular you want to see me sketch. And, the sketch for today is none other than the Crimson Scarab:
(The color is thrown in for the illusion of higher quality.)
That'll do. Type at you later!
