Defying Gravity

I had the fortune of seeing Wicked in Cincinnati on Saturday Nov 5th, 2011. It was a wonderful show. If you get the opportunity to see, go and take the whole family, because it is very family friendly. I would hesitate for children under the age of 8 because of their attention span more than if it was age appropriate. But every child is different, so you will have to make your own judgement call.

The broadway show has been around for 8 years now and as I was hearing the music for the first time in context, I realized that I had heard some of the songs before. The first was "Popular" and the other was "Defying Gravity." I think that "Popular" is very cute and simple, but also something that most teenagers hope for, while most of us realize that it doesn't matter in the long term scheem of our lives. So that song rings true more for them and to their current state of mind more than most adults. However, "Defying Gravity" is a song that can ring true to all of us in different ways. I thought of my own troubles currently and felt that what I was doing in some asspects was defying gravity or at least attempting to. I am a foster parent which is not a very common thing and my in-laws are not exactly sure what to think about it. But despite what they think, I look forward to the next child that will come into my life that I can only hope to have a possitive influence on.

So "Defying Gravity" is something that has happened to many of us at different times in our lives. Maybe it was refered to as "going agaist the grain" or one of the many words or phrases that represents acts that don't conform with the norm. This makes me think of the "Occupy" movements that are occuring all over the country right at this moment. I can only hope that what ever happens with the "Occupy" groups, that they prove that with a little effort that changes do happen and that every vote does count despite what some people may think. I also feel that these groups are proving a point related to the young people in this country, which depending on how you look at it, includes myself to some degree. Most seem to think that the youth of the current and possibly the previous gerneation is apethetic and doesn't participate in the community around them. These groups seem to be proving this particular idea wrong as people of all ages age getting together to prove a point.

Going back to the song though, I could almost say that this song may be a good start to a theme song/anthem for the "Occupy" group as a whole. Why? Because of what are they trying to do and they know that it isn't easy and it isn't going to get easier. They don't want to continue to play by someone else's rules and they are affecting this country in big ways that will be seen to some people and politicians as trying to overthrow the government. Those same people and politicians are the ones who are afraid of change, while the "Occupy" groups are asking for the change that those same people are afraid of. Fear of change is the same as fear of time passing every second, because no second in ever the same. Without change, people wouldn't grow up or learn or be able to experience the joys and sadness of life. I understand that some changes can be bigger than others but just because they are big doesn't mean that they are bad or something to be feared.

So how about we all defy a little gravity and enjoy knowing that our lives will change one way or the other, with the choices that we make each day, as well as the choices that are made for us by elected and selected officials. Live your life the way you decide and enjoy the music below. I have included the primary lyrics from the song as well.

Enjoy!




Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes: and leap!

It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
And you can't pull me down!

I'm through accepting limits
'Cuz someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost!
I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down:

Just you and I
Defying gravity
With you and I
Defying gravity
They'll never bring us down!

So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately:
"Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free
To those who'd ground me
Take a message back from me
Tell them how I am
Defying gravity
I'm flying high
Defying gravity
And soon I'll match them in renown
And nobody in all of Oz
No Wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down!

Bring me down!

Ahhh!

Spell Check...For Icing?

Now this has more to do with the educational system but one of my co-workers was ordering a cake over the phone and they asked her how to spell "Congradulations." This was rather sad, since it is a fairly common word and I would make the assumption that a lot of their cakes get ordered for more than just Birthdays, so why was this one word so hard. I can only imagine the cake person getting that wrong and having to get someone else to correct it after the cake was finished. I have made a number of cakes in my time and making changes after other letters are already on there can be very difficult. But hearing that someone needed them to spell this very common word was new.

It is unfortunate to think we are getting to a point where machines and computers are making cakes and doing the icing so that spell check could be built into it, so that spelling errors would not occur. Is our educational system so bad that we have to verify everything, even the simple words? I hope not. I was kind of under the impression that we as a society were getting smarter and more advanced. I suppose that it is possible that like the income divide in this country that there is also a educational divide. I can only hope that as the reformation for education occurs that education for all gets better, since according to the world the US is dropping to an average of 18th in our overall ranking and subjects which is far from 1st place,where we used to be 20 years ago.