Tim Bailen's weblog

A good Irish name

I got this auto-reply out of office message today when I emailed Patrick O'Conner. Yes, I suppose I would have to take off on St. Patty's day too, if I had such a name.

Curt

It turns out our friend Curt is a Buddhist. Here is his philosophy on life:

1) Do no harm to other people
2) However we got here, we are here to be happy
3) Try to accomplish #2 with out breaking #1

I'm reading "The Art of Happiness". Author Howard Cutler's analysis of the Dalai Lama's philosophy bears a striking resemblance to Curt's:

1) I am a human being
2) I want to be happy and I don't want to suffer.
3) Other human beings, like myself, also want to be happy and don't want to suffer.

I suppose a simple philosophy is best. After all, how can you apply your philosophy in the heat of the moment if it is too complicated to remember easily?

Listen to the tears roll

Chris Christie's post about his favorite song (Seasons by Chris Cornell) has inspired me to post likewise. Actually, I would not say that this is my favorite song, after all, there are no absolutes in Tim's world, but I heard this on the radio a few months ago after a prolonged absence from the airwaves and it really struck me. It's a very poignant song, and manages to be catchy at the same time. It was stuck in my head for a good solid month.

Mandolin Rain by Bruce Hornsby
The song came and went
Like the times that we spent
Hiding out from the rain under the carnival tent
I laughed and she'd smile
It would last for awhile
You don't know what you got till you lose it all again

CHORUS:
Listen to the mandolin rain
Listen to the music on the lake
Listen to my heart break every time she runs away
Listen to the banjo wind
A sad song drifting low
Listen to the tears roll
Down my face as she turns to go

A cool evening dance
Listening to the bluegrass band takes the chill
From the air till they play the last song
I'll do my time
Keeping you off my mind but there's moments
That I find, I'm not feeling too strong
Running down by the lakeshore
She did love the sound of a summer storm
It played on the lake like a mandolin
Now it's washing her away once again

The boat's steaming in
I watch the sidewheel spin and I
Think about her when I hear that whistle blow
I can't change my mind
I knew all the time that she'd go
But that's a choice I made long ago

There are a few other hits on the album that Mandolin Rain is on, but it is an early album and I like his later stuff much better. "Hot House" and "Harbor Lights" are both excellent albums.

Addendum, April 2004: It's interesting how people hear such varied things when listening to music. There's even one pop artist who refuses to release his lyrics to encourage people to hear their own thing. In any case, I found it interesting that one web surfer arrived at this page searching for "listen to the tears roll down my face as they turn to gold."