Glimmerings of Wakefulness

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Meme: My Life According to Flogging Molly
Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, somehow answer these questions. You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Re-post as "My life according to [band name]".

Pick Your Artist
Flogging Molly

Are you a male or female:
Factory Girls

Describe yourself:
Punch Drunk Grinning Soul

How do you feel:
Another Bag of Bricks

Describe where you currently live:
Far Away Boys

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
The Kilburn High Road, Tobacco Island

Your favorite form of transportation:
With a Wonder and a Wild Desire

Your best friend is:
Sentimental Johnny

You and your best friends are:
Us of Lesser Gods, The Wrong Company, Screaming at the Wailing Wall

What's the weather like:
Whistles the Wind

Favorite time of day:
The Rare Ould Times

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
The Story So Far

What is life to you:
The Light of a Fading Star

Your fear:
Don't Let Me Die Still Wondering

What is the best advice you have to give:
Tomorrow Comes a Day Too Soon, Every Dog Has His Day

Thought for the Day:
Wanderlust, The Likes of You Again, You Won't Make a Fool Out of Me

How I would like to die:
If I Ever Leave This World Alive, Devil's Dance Floor

My soul's present condition:
From the Back of a Broken Dream

My motto:
Swagger

Shisha Smoking Studies
I've been tooling around doing some cursory research on the health implications of smoking shisha vs. cigarettes. The general conclusion is that more study is, of course, needed for any truly conclusive results (am I allowed to use "conclusion" and "conclusive" in the same sentence?) There are, of course, some knee-jerk reaction articles out there along the lines of "smoking is bad, so smoking shisha can only be worse" without much-if-any quantified information to back up these claims, but I found this one particularly interesting (if nothing else, because it seems to be one of the more balanced articles I've found . . . they present their study results and the tentative conclusions while qualifying their statements with full admittance that further study is needed . . . I think a sign of a good study is that it leads to more questions. (i.e. - hookah water showed higher levels of lead than cigarette filters, but does that mean that we're inhaling more lead or that the water is filtering more out?)

Yes, of course smoking tobacco is bad for you. No argument there. The question is how the health effects of smoking shisha compare to smoking cigarettes.

I probably know more shisha smokers than your average bear, and I thought you might find this worth the read:

The Health Hazards of Smoking Shisha

P.S. Also, some of the articles (namely rah-rah pro-shisha articles) claim that there is no tar in shisha smoke, while others (namely the knee-jerk reactionary types as mentioned above) claim there is exponentially more . . . any ideas?

Current Mood: investigative

Huh?!
I'm really confused as to when "Stay in School, kids" became a "socialist ideology" . . .

Backlash Growing over Obama School Speech

C'mon people, reeeeally?! This makes me sad beyond words.

Current Mood: bewildered

"Something More"
Pretty sure I've already posted this . . . but it's particularly applicable today.

Something More
Monday, hard to wake up
Fill my coffee cup, I'm out the door
Yeah, the freeway's standing still today
It's gonna make me late, and thats for sure
I'm running out of gas and out of time
Never gonna make it there by nine

[Chorus:]
There's gotta be something more
Gotta be more than this
I need a little less hard time
I need a little more bliss
I'm gonna take my chances
Taking a chance I might
Find what I'm looking for
There's gotta be something more

Five years and there's no doubt
That I'm burnt out, I've had enough
So now boss man, here's my two weeks
I'll make it short and sweet, so listen up
I could work my life away, but why?
I got things to do before I die

[Repeat Chorus]

Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate
I believe that happiness is something we create
You best believe that I'm not gonna wait
'Cause there's gotta be something more

I get home 7:30 the house is dirty, but it can wait
Yeah, 'cause right now I need some downtime
To drink some red wine and celebrate
Armageddon could be knocking at my door
But I ain't gonna answer that's for sure.
There's gotta be something!

[Repeat Chorus]

~Sugarland

Current Mood: breathing!

Soon . . .
Toes
I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand
Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand
Life is good today. Life is good today.
Well, the plane touched down just about 3 o’clock
And the city’s still on my mind
Bikinis and palm trees danced in my head
I was still in the baggage line
Concrete and cars are their own prison bars like this life I’m living in
But the plane brought me farther.
I’m surrounded by water
And I’m not going back again

I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand
Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand
Life is good today. Life is good today.

Adios and vaya con dios
Yeah I’m leaving GA
And if it weren’t for tequila and pretty senoritas
I’d have no reason to stay
Adios and vaya con dios
Yeah I’m leaving GA
Gonna lay in the hot sun and roll a big fat one
And grab my guitar and play

Four days flew by like a drunk Friday night as the summer drew to an
end
They can’t believe that I just couldn’t leave
And I bid adieu to my friends
Because my bartender she’s from the islands
Her body’s been kissed by the sun
And coconut replaces the smell of the bar and I don’t know if its her or
the rum

I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand
Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand
Life is good today. Life is good today.

Adios and vaya con dios
A long way from GA
Yes, and all the muchachas they call me “big poppa” when I throw
pesos their way
Adios and vaya con dios
A long way from GA
Someone do me a favor and pour me some Jaeger
And I’ll grab my guitar and play

Adios and vaya con dios
Going home now to stay
The senoritas don’t care-o when there’s no dinero
I got no money to stay
Adios and vaya con dios
Going home now to stay

Just gonna prop up by the lake
Put my ass in a lawn chair
Toes in the clay
Not a worry in the world a PBR on the way
Life is good today. Life is good today.

-Zac Brown Band

Current Mood: excited

21 Guns - Green Day

21 Guns
Do you know what's worth fighting for?
When it's not worth dying for?
Does it take your breath away
And you feel yourself suffocating?

Does the pain weigh out the pride?
And you look for a place to hide?
Did someone break your heart inside?
You're in ruins

One, 21 guns
Lay down your arms, give up the fight
One, 21 guns
Throw up your arms into the sky, you and I

When you're at the end of the road
And you lost all sense of control
And your thoughts have taken their toll
When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul

Your faith walks on broken glass
And the hangover doesn't pass
Nothing's ever built to last
You're in ruins

One, 21 guns
Lay down your arms, give up the fight
One, 21 guns
Throw up your arms into the sky, you and I

Did you try to live on your own
When you burned down the house and home?
Did you stand too close to the fire
Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone?

When it's time to live and let die
And you can't get another try
Something inside this heart has died
You're in ruins

One, 21 guns
Lay down your arms, give up the fight
One, 21 guns
Throw up your arms into the sky

One, 21 guns
Lay down your arms, give up the fight
One, 21 guns
Throw up your arms into the sky, you and I

~Green Day

Current Mood: contemplative

Healthcare Through the Ages
Blatantly kiped from Mark Covington.

2000 B.C. - "Here, eat this root."
1000 B.C. - "That root is heathen, say this prayer."
1850 A.D. - "That prayer is superstition, drink this potion."
1940 A.D. - "That potion is snake oil, swallow this pill."
1985 A.D. - "That pill is ineffective, take this antibiotic."... Read More
2000 A.D. - "That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root."

Current Mood: frustrated

Born Country
( Born Country )

Current Mood: nostalgic

Louisiana Saturday Night
One of my all-time favourite songs. . .

( Louisiana Saturday Night )

Current Mood: content

Literary Geeks Unite!!! . . . Looking for a Book Title . . .
Edit 4.19.09: I totally win! Google is a beautiful thing! The book, Ladies & Gents, is The Wump World by Bill Peet! I FOUND IT!!!! http://www.librarything.com/work/55155

Okay . . . looking for a book title . . . I figger maybe the combined GeekPower of this collective of people might be able to remember/deduce it.

The information I have been given is that it is
- a children's book, as in picture book.
- it is about a society of wombats . . . or possibly beavers. Or possibly even some other "rodent-like creature".
- a spaceship lands, they think they remember. And "aliens" (a.k.a. humans) overrun the furry little creatures' world, use it up, and leave a polluted wasteland in their wake.
- this is not a Dr. Seuss book.
- probably published in the late 60's/early 70's . . .

Ideas?

Current Mood: determined

It might make you Laugh . . . It might make you Cry . . .
(Especially for you,

ravenbow!) =D Hehehehe . . .

Bohemian 8-bit Rhapsody

Current Mood: amused

Say Thank You to our Troops
It's fast. It's free. Most importantly, it's desperately needed and desperately appreciated by those on the receiving end.

Xerox company has teamed up with this website; go to the site, pick a card, hit send, click a message or enter your own. Xerox will print it and send it for free to a serving man or woman at random.

http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1024.html

Current Mood: grateful

"Stop-Loss" . . . Because Apparently They Don't Already Do Enough for Us . . .
They're so excited that they're "cutting back" on forcing our Service Men & Women to extend their tours . . . perhaps we should just cut back on the wars?

$500 bucks a month . . . that's less than I used to pay in rent. *spit*

( Stop-loss Rollback )

Current Mood: disgusted

I believe Life does not get much better than the first 50-degree day of the year with bright, clear sunshine & open windows to shoo away the winter and work must & dust, combined with Ol' Blue Eyes on new (to you) speakers . . .

And I was able to restore my ipod, so whee-hoo! I am music-ful again! =D

Current Mood: feels like dancing
Current Music: "Luck Be A Lady" - Ol' Blue Eyes

"I Stand for You"
. . . also taken from the below-mentioned source. I have e-mailed the contact on the page for the original source info so as to give proper credit, but did not want to wait to post the actual words. Due credit will be updated when I receive a response.

"I Stand for You When terror grips you, and the fabric of civility tears,
I stand for you.

On foreign soil, where peace is but a whispered hope,
I stand for you.

As bullets fly like bees, and hateful bombs explode
Threatening to steal my sanity –
I stand for you.

I carry broken bodies back to be mended, and No matter how hard I try –
The tears fall like rain, and still through all the pain,
I stand for you.

That is until I fall, and I wonder, as I lay cold and Still...
Will you remember,
and stand for me?"

"I disagree of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
- Voltaire(1694-1778)

Current Mood: contemplative

The Canadian Soldier
Taken from the posting wall of "Petition to Remove "Soldiers are Not Heroes" from Facebook".

The Canadian Soldier
THE CANADIAN SOLDIER
------------------------------
He is profane and irreverent, living as he does in a world full of capriciousness, frustration and disillusionment. He is perhaps the best-educated of his kind in history, but will rarely accord respect on the basis of mere degrees or titles. He speaks his own dialect, often incomprehensible to the layman.

He can be cold, cruel, even brutal and is frequently insensitive. Killing is his profession and he strives very hard to become even more skilled at it. His model is the grey, muddy, hard-eyed slayer who took the untakeable at Vimy Ridge, endured the unendurable in the Scheldt and held the unholdable at Kapyong. He is a superlative practical diplomat; his efforts have brought peace to countless countries around the world. He is capable of astonishing acts of kindness, warmth and generosity. He will give you his last sip of water on a parched day and his last food to a hungry child; he will give his very life for the society he loves.

Danger and horror are his familiars and his sense of humour is accordingly sardonic. What the unknowing take as callousness is his defence against the unimaginable; he whistles through a career filled with graveyards.

His ethos is one of self-sacrifice and duty. He is sinfully proud of himself, of his unit and of his country and he is unique in that his commitment to his society is Total. No other trade or profession dreams of demanding such of its members and none could successfully try.

He loves his family dearly, sees them all too rarely and as often as not loses them to the demands of his profession. Loneliness is the price he accepts for the privilege of serving.

He accounts discomfort as routine and the search for personal gain as beneath him; he has neither understanding of nor patience for those motivated by self-interest, politics or money. His loyalty can be absolute, but it must be purchased. Paradoxically, the only coin accepted for that payment is also loyalty.

He devours life with big bites, knowing that each bite might be his last and his manners suffer thereby. He would rather die regretting the things he did than the ones he dared not try. He earns a good wage by most standards and, given the demands on him, is woefully underpaid.

He can be arrogant, thoughtless and conceited, but will spend himself, sacrifice everything for total strangers in places he cannot even pronounce. He considers political correctness a podium for self-righteous fools, but will die fighting for the rights of anyone he respects or pities.

He is a philosopher and a drudge, an assassin and a philanthropist, a servant and a leader, a disputer and a mediator, a Nobel Laureate peacekeeper and the Queen's Hitman, a brawler and a healer, best friend and worst enemy. He is a rock, a goat, a fool, a sage, a drunk, a provider, a cynic and a romantic dreamer. Above it all, he is a hero for our time. You, pale stranger, sleep well at night only because he exists for you, the citizen who has never met him, has perhaps never thought of him and may even despise him. He is both your child and your guardian. His devotion to you is unwavering.
He is a Canadian soldier.

DUCIMUS (We Lead)

CANADIAN INFANTRY MOTO