Rise Against, "Swing Life Away"

Thanks to Daniil Zevakin for suggesting this song.



Audio track:

Listen or download Rise Against Swing Life Away for free on Prostopleer

Amazon.com purchase link

Written and composed by Tim McIlrath, Neil Hennessy

Am I loud and clear or am I breaking up?
Am I still your charm or am I just bad luck?
Are we getting closer or we just getting more lost?
I'll show you mine if you show me yours first
Let's compare scars I'll tell you who's is worse
Let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

[Chorus]
We live on front porches and swing life away
We get by just fine here on minimum wage
If love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end
I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand

I've been here so long I think that its time to move
The winter's so cold summer's over too soon
Let's pack our bags and settle down where palm trees grow
And I've got some friends some that I hardly know
We've had some times I wouldn't trade for the world
We chase these days down with talks of the places that we will go

[Chorus]
We live on front porches and swing life away
We get by just fine here on minimum wage
If love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end
I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand
until you hold my hand

I'll show you mine if you show me yours first
Let's compare scars I'll tell you whose is worse
Let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

[Chorus]
We live on front porches and swing life away
We get by just fine here on minimum wage
If love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end
I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand

swing life away
swing life away
swing life away
swing life away

Sarah Masen, "Carry Us Through"

To listen:

To purchase: Amazon link

Written by Sarah Masen:

I took a train
Headed home
Where the colors stream
And my thoughts they go
I was looking Lord
For the Wind to blow
Come carry us through

Sometimes there's doubts
When the dogs they bark
And you're just not sure
What is in the dark
I start to cry
But then the wind goes by
To carry us through

Carry us through, carry us through
Carry us through, carry us through
Looking for the wind to blow
To carry us through

When we think that it's over
Baby we find new things to be afraid of
We can pray till we're older
And believe that there is hope
Even in the night
There is hope

We grab existence
By our defeats
And somehow laugh
When we are weak
We're being made strong
From underneath
Carry us through
Carry us through

Take off of your shoulders
The burdens that you carry of your own regret
Someone else needs holding
And it's very hard to smile when you are all stuck inside yourself

So we close our eyes
And we see the Light
There are so many
To hold on tight
Don't be afraid
To pray just like a child
Lord carry us through
Carry us through, carry us through
Carry us through, carry us through
I been praying Lord I'm so overdue
Lord carry us through, carry us through
Carry us through, carry us through
Carry us through, carry us through
But Lord come on where are You
You come carry us through, carry us through
Carry us through, carry us through

(Source)

Ray, the story of Ray Charles

Ray – Questions about the film biography of Ray Charles

1. What did Ray's mother Aretha mean when she said, “Always remember your promise to me. Never let nobody or nothing turn you into no cripple.” Is there something your grandparents or parents said to you that might come back to you in a similar way when you need it?
2. At the bus, the driver refuses to transport Ray (an unaccompanied, blind passenger) all the way to Seattle. Ray told the bus driver, “I may have left my eyes on Omaha Beach, but I ain't asking no charity from Uncle Sam. I got a job waiting for me in Seattle.” The driver asked, “You were in Normandy?” Ray replies, “Shuttling troopers to the beach. We took a direct hit.” What is going on in this scene?
3. In the Rocking Chair nightclub, when Ray is unexpectedly offered a chance to play, we see him using a drug for the first time. Who gave it to him, and why? (There might be two reasons, maybe three.)
4. Ray uses his hearing to compensate for his lack of sight. Can you remember examples of this from the film?
5. When Ahmet Ertegun visits Ray Charles to explain that Ray's contract has been taken over by Atlantic Records, Ray says nothing about Atlantic. Later in the conversation, Ray explains, “Well, you know, I gotta keep my eye on you city boys. Down home, we call it 'country dumb'.” What does Ray mean by “country dumb”?
6. During one of their early recording sessions, Ahmet Ertegun tells Ray Charles that “I signed you because I sensed something special in you, not because you sound like Nat Cole or Charles Brown.” Ray replies, “I thought you like what I do. … I don’t know no other way.” Ertegun concludes, “We got to help you find one.” What does he want, and why is Ray resisting?
7. When Ray plays “I got a woman, way over town, she’s good to me” to Bea, he is singing about Bea herself. Why is she shocked and upset?
8. “Ain't nothing free in this world but Jesus.” What does this line mean?
9. When Ahmet tries to talk to Ray about his drug habit, Ray asks, “Who's the one who delivers a record in one take, hmm?” What is Ray trying to say? If you were Ahmet, how would you answer?
10. When Jerry Wexler finds out that Ray has been talking to Sam Clark at ABC-Paramount Records, Wexler hits the roof: “Ahmet wouldn't believe it. You know what he said, Ray? He said you would never turn your back on us. Never for a schlockmeister like Sam Clark! That's rich. Sam Clark's a corporate slug, who wouldn't know the difference between Earl Hines and Art Tatum!” What is Wexler saying about Clark? Is that the main reason he’s upset with Ray?
11. In the film, Ray Charles is arrested twice--once in Indianapolis, and once in Boston. Why was the second arrest so much more serious than the first?
12. At the recovery clinic, Ray sees his mother and his brother in a dream. What do they tell him?

401V: Isolation and solitude are not the same thing

Following on the theme of what goes into a happy life, two more TED lectures. First, love and the brain, according to Helen Fisher:



(See questions following the second lecture.)

Meanwhile, Sherry Turkle asks us to consider what our disembodied communication patterns (SMS, Twitter, social networks, even social robots) are doing to our souls. Is it time to overcome our fear of unedited self-disclosure in favor of actual human contact and healthy solitude?



Questions about these presentations

Sherry Turkle What is the central paradox illustrated by Sherry Turkle's story of the SMS she just received from her daughter?  She says, "People talk to me about the important new skill of making eye contact while you're texting." Why might this ability seem useful? Is it truly useful?  She goes on to say, "I think we're setting ourselves up for trouble"--in fact two kinds of trouble. What are they?  What is the Goldilocks effect? (Do you know the story of Goldilocks and the three bears?)  What was Stephen Colbert's profound question, and how did Turkle answer?  Turkle witnessed a woman being comforted by a robot in the shape of a seal, and, in her words, "felt myself at the cold, hard center of a perfect storm. We expect more from ... and less from .... And I ask myself, "Why have things come to this?" More from what? Less from what? How does she explain this?  What are the "three gratifying fantasies"?  What is the difference between isolation and solitude?  What attitude to life is symbolized by the phrase "calling in the cavalry"?  Is the situation Sherry Turkle describes limited to the West or the USA? Is this phenomenon also seen in Russia?  Why is Turkle optimistic?

Helen Fisher What three groups of people have these scientists examined using an MRI brain scanner? Anthropologists have found what phenomenon in every society? Almost 95 percent of both men and women gave the same answer—yes—to two different questions. What were the questions? What did the poet Emily Dickinson say about hell? The study of people in love found activity in the VTA, “part of the brain's reward system.” What functions are associated with this part of the brain? Among the people who have been “dumped,” these scientists found brain activity in the same region as the people who were in love. Why does Fisher say, “What a bad deal”? “Dumped” lovers also have activity in two other brain regions. What functions are those two brain regions responsible for? In terms of human reproduction, how does romantic love differ from the so-called sex drive? Fisher tells a story about a girlfriend to illustrate her point about “relapse.” What was the story? Has the spirit of scientific experimentation spoiled the concept of love for Fisher? How does she illustrate her answer to this question? What has this scientific team found out about people who are still in love after many years? What are some of the factors that will determine whether we will love this person and not that person? Is it possible to identify all the factors involved? In what different ways do men and women express intimacy and friendship?

Melissa Ferrick, "I Will Back You Up"

Audio only:

Amazon.com purchase link

... and here's my transcription of the song, written by Melissa Ferrick:

I let you in, I gave you my word
The best gift I ever got
was you telling me you were sure now about us
I like rising up in your eyes
I hold on to our trust, forever I will stand

So I will back you up, even when you're wrong
I will back you up, baby,
Until the end of the world
Even when you've had enough
I'll be the one who backs you up

So when all the rain is gone
and everything is breathing full, breathing full
And all our troubles go soft, I like sitting still with you
'Cause you are my home, yeah, you are my home
So I will back you up, even when you're wrong
I will back you up, baby,
Until the end of the world
Even when you've had enough I'll be the one...

'Cause it took this long, I needed to be done
No more running, no more halfway...
Now, I've traveled far enough to know
you are where I wanna stay, yeah, baby,
You are where I wanna stay.

So I will back you up, even when you're wrong
I will back you up, baby,
Until the end of the world
I will back you up, even when you're wrong
I will back you up
Until the end of the world
Even when you've had enough
I'll be the one who backs you up

401V, 501, 502: Ted Robinson, "Bring on the learning revolution"

Attention Group 401 (Evening): More from Ted Robinson. (Also see this earlier post.)

Students in Groups 501 and 502: we are also discussing these talks--Judy and I want to hear your viewpoints, too!

Update for Groups 501 and 502: We didn't have time to see this video last Thursday. We'll see it later in December. But we did see "Schools Kill Creativity."



Discussion questions on the second Ken Robinson video:

1. Al Gore spoke at the TED conference four years earlier about the climate crisis, a crisis involving natural resources. What is the “second climate crisis” to which Robinson is referring?
2. Robinson says, “I meet all kinds of people who don't think they're really good at anything. ” They don’t spend their lives doing what they love. Among the factors responsible for this situation, which does Robinson point to? Metaphorically speaking, how are human resources similar to natural resources?
3. Jeremy Bentham divided the world into what two groups?
4. What is fundamentally wrong with “reform”?
5. “I love that word, ‘disenthrall’.” What does it mean, in Robinson’s usage?
6. Thanks to education, we are enthralled to the idea of linearity. What is “linearity”? In contrast, how does Robinson describe life? It’s not linear, but instead it is ….?
7. How did this linearity express itself in the educational policy statement that Robinson encountered soon after his family arrived in Los Angeles? What was his response to this policy statement?
8. Linearity is one principle that holds us in thrall. What is the other idea, exemplified by fast food?
9. Rather than reforming education based on copying systems, no matter how good*, Robinson advocates what approach in the future?
10. Why are people leaving the educational system?
11. Talent is important; what else is important for hour-long tasks to seem like five minutes?
12. Why should we tread softly?

* KIPP (“it’s a great system”): “KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, is a national [USA] network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public charter schools with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life.” (www.kipp.org)

S201-205 Homework: Write your own essay

Write an essay on a topic of your choice.

First, think about a hobby or interest of yours, or about a news story or public concern that you know about. (Ideas: the ideal vacation; music; file-sharing; cost of education; alcohol and addiction; starting your own business; global warming; finding a soulmate; online friendships; are libraries obsolete?; preserving historic buildings.)

Write an opening paragraph, perhaps with a phrase from this list:

• Many people prefer _____, but a growing number believe that ______.
• The increasing number of ______ has become an urgent problem.
• Many of my friends think that ______. Here's why they are right. OR However, I believe they are wrong.
• Some people believe that ______, while others argue strongly that _____.
• Ever since the ______ incident, journalists and politicians have argued for more ______.
• One day I was on my way to _______, when suddenly ________. I realized that ________ and decided to do something about it.

In your second section, express and explain your point of view.

In your third section, express and explain the "other side's" point of view, or explain the weaknesses of your own point of view.

Finally, draw a conclusion or make a recommendation to the reader.

Use these phrases if they are helpful. 

You have two weeks for this assignment. Next week (December 12 or 14), tell me what your topic is, and in the following week (December 19 or 21), please bring your finished essay of 200-250 words to class.