Every so often something will pop into my head. Sometimes it's just the opening bars of a song, sometimes it's the chorus. I have no idea why, I guess earworms are like that. Maybe it's a bit of nostalgia for times gone by, maybe it's the minds way of providing comfort when something isn't right. I don't really know, but I've learned to go with the flow.

Todays earworm started because my nephew asked me about "I'm A Man" by Chicago. Actually what he asked was whether or not it had been done before. Usually I can't remember but for some reason I knew that the Spencer Davis Group had recorded it before Chicago did. After the conversation I had the opening bars of "Gimmie Some Lovin" stuck in my head. Does that make sense? No, of course not. Still it's how this post was born, so whether it makes sense or not doesn't matter.

"Gimmie Some Lovin"



"I'm A Man"



There's just no accounting for some peoples taste in music.

I was listening to the radio a little while ago and the DJ was informing us that the words to Yankee Doodle were written by a British surgeon during the French and Indian War. It was designed to poke fun at the ragtag Colonial Army that thought it could win a war. That ragtag army adopted the song and sang it after every time they defeated the crack British troops that King George sent to quell the uprising. What began life as an insult was adopted and changed by the indomitable spirit of our ancestral countrymen to one of victory and rebirth.



Not quite what the British surgeon had in mind, but you just have to love James Cagney.

Sometimes when trying to understand another persons point of view, I find it necessary to ask questions. It's a matter of perception, how each individual perceives anothers actions. My question was met with some hostility by another blogger. These things happen, and since I had no wish to further any negativity by insisting that anyone listen to me. I chose to treat all parties with respect and I bowed out with an apology and a request for peace.



Just one more thing,

When I first heard about the death of Meghan Meier my response was one of shock. My mind would not then, nor even now, allow me to understand adult behavior that would bully a 13 year old into committing suicide. Nor does it understand parents allowing children unsupervised use of the internet. Never, in my wildest imagination, would I have conceived the notion that an adult would create a fake persona for the purpose of victimizing a child. Yet that is what happened in this case.

Lori Drew, the mother of a former friend of Meghan's, and an 18 year old employee of hers created "Josh", whose purpose was to find out what Meghan was saying online about Lori's daughter. "Josh" befriended Meghan, to the point where sexual conversations took place. When Meghan became enamored of "Josh", "He" turned against her and bullied her. Meghan suffered from clinical depression and ADD, yet an adult, who was aware of her situation, chose to create an event which would deliver to this all ready suffering child a blow so hard she would kill herself to end her pain.

Yesterday, the Governour of the state of Missouri signed a bill which makes this behavior a crime. Up to this point, bullying was punishable only if it occured in writing or over the telephone. There was a news article on it this morning at AOL, and I was reading the comments regarding the article. It seems that quite a few online users are objecting to this law. It seems that they have a problem with their online behavior being controlled and with laws being created around the weaker members of our society.

As I understand the purpose of a law, it is created to protect society at large, or a segment of that society against harm. Does it matter who is weak? Obviously, given what happened, Meghan needed protecting. With the internet society being what it is, I'd say that protection would be vital for all of us. Based on what I read, the adult members of the internet society can't or won't be counted on to protect each other.

It's all anonymous which means I can pretend to be whoever I choose to be and hurt whoever I want with impunity. It's anonymous...why take it seriously? Who gives a damn that a 13 year old, or anyone at all for that matter, commits suicide because of something I did? Who are we as a society anyways? What part of laws protecting ALL of us against cyberbullying would we feel the need to object to? Why are we so angry all the time, so sure that our rights are being infringed on by these laws?

The internet is a tool that predators are provably using all the time. We can become a victim in the blink of an eye. Child molesters use the internet as a way to meet and in many cases kill our children. Hackers use the internet as a way to disrupt our lives in ways we aren't aware of until it's too late. Our identities are being stolen, our bank accounts robbed of our money. Our credit ruined at the whim of someone else. Our peace of mind destroyed because of someone we've never laid eyes on in our entire lives.

I'd like to see all states enact these kind of laws. I'd like to see that protection in place for every internet user, and especially for the teens that use social networking sites. I don't ever again want to hear of a child committing suicide because an adult, who should know better, decides that they have the right to abuse that child. It it takes laws to do what adults won't do then don't complain your rights are being infringed upon. If you don't want the laws, then stop cyberbullying yourself. Take a stand, tell the bullies that we won't allow that behavior anymore. If adults would behave online as if they were adults, maybe Meghan would still be alive.

I've been watching "I Love The New Millenium" on VH1 this week. During one of the programs one of the commentators said that she thought Amy Winehouse was this generations Janis Joplin. Given the sort of headlines I read about Amy Winehouse it's a real possibility. I had planned on posting a video of Amy singing "Rehab" but something just kept interrupting my search. I do enjoy some of her music, but I'm not a big fan, which might be why I had such a difficult time making my choice. I'm just not in the mood for Amy, or very much else in pop music at the moment.

It's not overly warm here but very humid. The air sits on ones skin like a second set of clothing. The house is airconditioned, but energy levels are at a low right now. I decided that the music I needed should be smooth, but not necessarily overly mellow. Something with a little kick to it but something that would float over me rather than add to the weight of the atmosphere. Something that would lift me up and move me ever so gently into a state of contentment.

Then came the inspiration. I asked myself if Boney James or Rick Braun might be just what I needed. Took a good look through Youtube and found the mother lode. Both of them in the same video. Smooth jazz and it just doesn't get any better than this. Kick back, relax and give a listen.