This year, the cherry blossoms are staying for unusually long time, at least around Tokyo, due to the spell of cold weather after they bloomed. The sense of permanence is only illusory. One of these days they will be blown away, and it would be early summer, with greens all over.
Very disappointed that Benjamin Netanyahu won re-election in Israel. The US should take a morally unequivocal stand for both the legitimate security needs of Israel AND the dignity, opportunity and human rights of the Palestinians.
If I want to change my life, to create new meaning and purpose, I must open my mind to transformative thoughts. I must be open and willing to make adjustments to what I think, say, and do as I move ever onward toward realizing my true self—the me I have come here to be.
Instead of being attached to the words I might say, I find myself praying with a spiritual awareness. This state of consciousness is where my thoughts, feelings, and aspirations are at their highest levels.
From this vantage point, everything changes. I see solutions where before I saw problems. I feel relaxation where there was tension, and I live within the realm of divine possibility.
And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.—Matthew 17:2
It doesn’t have to be popular, catchy, or even from this era, but we all have a favorite tune we love so much we’ll never skip it on the playlist. But you don’t have to wait for your song to waltz in your life; find it online and play it now. Sing aloud and enjoy every note. Psst… Here’s what your favorite music says about you!
Reflective and complex is a perfect description of both classical music and the people who listen to it. According to Dr. North’s research, classical lovers are creative, introverted, and show high self-esteem; they see listening as a theatrical experience and share a mutual “love of the grandiose” with metal fans, though they tend to be older and make more money. They also may be smarter, according to a 2009 comparison of students’ SAT scores with their most-liked bands on Facebook. The study found that students who like Beethoven had an average SAT score of 137; more than 100 points higher than fans of the second-place entry (indie instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens). As for the lowest-scoring students? They love Lil Wayne. But don’t let that color your opinion of hip-hop fans…
Energetic and rhythmic listeners, hip-hop fans enjoy the social aspects of music: dancing, singing along, and experiencing it with others instead of imprisoning it in a pair of headphones. Like rappers themselves, hip-hop fans rated as extroverted and had high self-esteem in North’s research. Another study shows that rap fans may share a quality with Kanye West known as “blirtatiousness”; that is, the tendency to blurt out thoughts as soon as they are formed.
Chart pop fans showed a lack of creativity compared to other categories, and tend to be worriers. They are, however, outgoing and sociable, and have high self-esteem. (In general, extroversion is linked with with a love of happy music). Listeners who incessantly replay chart-topping singles may be more likely to use music to regulate their mood, as the brain has been shown to release dopamine before the peak of one’s favorite song.
John Lennon認証済みアカウント @johnlennon https://twitter.com/johnlennon
Official John Lennon stories and updates from the Estate of John Lennon. Quotes in John's own words. "Imagine all the people living life in peace."
“The great thing about the band was that whoever had the best idea (it didn’t matter who), that would be the one we’d use. No one was standing on their ego, saying, ‘Well it’s mine,’ and getting possessive. (...) That’s why the standard of the songs remained high.” - Ringo
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Animal Farm
Sure, when you’re 13, reading about talking pigs taking over a farm seems weird and boring. And you probably tuned out your English teacher when he droned on about how the novel is an allegory for Soviet Union-era communism. But George Orwell’s 1945 classic, Animal Farm, takes on a much greater meaning when you reread it as an adult and discover that the book is about more than talking farm animals. It’s a multi-layered historical analysis of human behavior that examines the way power breeds corruption. Here are other classic books you can read in one day.