The Music Gal's Musings...Christmas Songs that send me over the EDGE

...and this is meant in a melencholy, oh my, another year is over, what have I done with my life, why does time go so fast, what happened to my misspent youth, what is with the world/people/kids these days sort of way...

1. River - Joni Mitchell
I actually have recordings of this song by several artists, James Taylor, Sarah McLachlan, Joni herself. Still, my favorite is a recording by some Broadway dude named Michael Ball. It is actually the first version of the song I ever heard. It starts with a few piano bars of "Jingle Bells" and then goes into this great singer/songwriter vibe. The very The first time I heard it, in my car - SURPRISE - I cried. "I wish I had a river I could skate away on..."

2. Same Old Lang Syne - Dan Fogelberg
Don't even need to get more than 2 or 3 notes into this one and I am there. I remember hearing this one as a little girl, SO interested in boys and love and romance and wondering if that kind of heartache awaited me somewhere down the line. Well, I now know, that kind of heartache is just life, and feeling, and love. "Drink a toast to innocence..."

3. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - PREFERABLY The Pretender's version
Just a great tune, but the part that gets me "Through the years, we all will be together. If the fates allow." Just sends me down that path of having NO control on this ride we call life, and being the daughter of a controller - yep, not QUITE ready to claim this trait as my own - I HATE THAT!

4. Silent Night - AT Christmas Eve candlelight service
Every freakin' year, can't even sing verses 3 and 4 'cause I have tears streaming down my face. It is just one of those times, where the feelings, and the sights, and the sounds just get the better of me and I am filled with such wonder that I just burst. And you know, as much as it drives me crazy, I hope I am always well aware of the beauty and mysticism around me.

So, have a listen, and I'll be sure to have the tissues at the ready.
-Cheryl

All I can say is WOO HOO!
Tim and I have been joking about me being all about the Mediterranean diet lately - like throwing feta and black olives on everything - and hey, here is yet another reason to love it.
Bring on the Baklava,
Cheryl


Alcohol in moderation may extend life
Tue Dec 12, 12:32 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Moderate drinking may lengthen your life, while too much may shorten it, researchers from Italy report. Their conclusion is based on pooled data from 34 large studies involving more than one million people and 94,000 deaths.



According to the data, drinking a moderate amount of alcohol -- up to four drinks per day in men and two drinks per day in women -- reduces the risk of death from any cause by roughly 18 percent, the team reports in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

However, "things radically change" when consumption goes beyond these levels, study leader Dr. Augusto Di Castelnuovo, from Catholic University of Campobasso, said in a statement.

Men who have more than four drinks per day and women who have more than two drinks per day not only lose the protection that alcohol affords, but they increase their risk of death, the data indicate.

The reason why men are protected at up to four drinks per day, while women lose the protection after two glasses has to do with how men and women metabolize alcohol, researchers say. It's been shown that when men and women who drink the same amount of alcohol, women experience higher blood alcohol levels than men.

Therefore, women who consume more than two glasses of alcohol per day may be at increased risk for diseases of the liver and certain types of cancer.

"Our findings, while confirming the hazards of excess drinking, indicate potential windows of alcohol intake that may confer a net beneficial effect of moderate drinking, at least in terms of survival," the Italian team concludes.

"Heavy drinkers should be urged to cut their consumption, but people who already regularly consume low to moderate amounts of alcohol should be encouraged to continue," they add.

The manner in which alcohol is consumed also appears to be important, the researchers report. "Little amounts, preferably during meals, this appears to be the right way (to drink alcohol)," said Dr. Giovanni de Gaetano of Catholic University, another author on the study. "This is another feature of the Mediterranean diet, where alcohol, wine above all, is the ideal partner of a dinner or lunch, but that's all: the rest of the day must be absolutely alcohol-free."

"The message carried by scientific studies like ours is simple," Dr. de Gaetano continued. "Alcohol can be a respectful guest on our table, but it is good just when it goes with a healthy lifestyle, where moderation leads us toward a consumption inspired by quality not by quantity."

SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, December 11/25, 2006

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The Music Gal's Musings...aka songs that make me want to DRIVE FAST!

I had this "Top 10" type thought, but then realized that was kind of lame. I need to do more of a "Top 5 with Liner Notes" to be true to my authentically longwinded self...so here goes.

1. "I Alone" by Live - This is honestly one of the best songs ever...gets me up and dancing around the room in a spastic headbangerish way every time I hear it...and I am generally not a headbanger type. The lyrics are totally bizarro but I could care less. It starts slowly, almost hypnotically, with very metered, monotonously repetitive type singing...then builds and builds until it explodes. OK, now I'm thinking about sex. The song goes through this mellow to loud transition like three times too...woah, now I am thinking about multiple orgasms! See? Good song!

2. "Bring Me to Life" - Evanesence - You know, very similar song in a way, where its strength comes from contrast...Amy Lee's ethereally high voice paired with gravelly male voices and hard rockin' guitar. This one, thought, rocks on the lyrics too and if it is playing in my van, trust that it is loud and I am belting it out right along with Amy! And on the topic of singing in your car...you may look foolish when you are caught, but it's better being caught singing than, say, picking your nose or something!

3. "Thunder Island" - Jay Ferguson Didn't think I was gonna go all hard rock on ya there did you? Now HERE'S a classic 70's tune to beat 'em all. Catchy as all get out. When you hear it in the morning, you'll be humming it all day, and driving fast to try to get to the beach. Doodoodoodoo - Doodoodoo - Doodoodoo doodoodoodoodoo...

4. "Middle of the Road" - The Pretenders "Come on baby, come on now, in the middle of the road -Yeah!" WAIT NO! Bad choice...but check that song out - the drum beats have you pressing the accelerator at hello.

5. "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake "Honey" by Mariah "Finally" by CeCe Peneston, and "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls, "This One Thing" by Amerie when I'm "feelin' my groove," ya know?

Alrighty, my "Top 5 is suddenly a "Top 9!" Oops! But that's the thing, there are just so many great driving songs! Take for instance, "Interstate Love Song" by Stone Temple Pilots, "Even Flow" by Pearl Jam (which can also make you drive into a ditch, laughing, as you and your husband recall the Adam Sandler/"Opera Man" version of it on SNL) , "Running Down a Dream" by Tom Petty, "Rock the Casbah" by the Clash, "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes (just don't envision the cat from the video jumping in your lap as you drive...), "Sowing the Seeds of Love" by Tears for Fears, "Sympathy for the Devil" by The Rolling Stones, "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff, "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder, "Girlfriend" by Matthew Sweet, any NUMBER of songs by Journey, in particular, "Ask the Lonely," and who wouldn't be pushing the pedal to the metal as Madonna belts out "Like a Prayer" or "Into the Groove." On further examination, maybe I ought to be asking Santa for a radar detector to go with the iPod...

And somehow, the "Top 5" is now a "Top 22!" Oh well, get behind the wheel and DRIVE!
-Cheryl