Better Living Through Style

As we contemplate the onerous task of gift-giving this season, we often lose sight about what truly matters. Ever get a gift so bad, from someone who should know you well, that you had to question who they really are? Selfishness and blindness go hand-in-glove, as a sort of willful ignorance takes over shoppers during the holidays. In the frenzy to comply to the onslaught of advertising imperatives, which constantly broadcast the message that to give means to shop, it's easy to become heedless of our loved ones thoughts, feelings, tastes, or personalities. Is that really a gift, or a superficial gesture meant to stave off deeper obligations?

http://www.rustyzipper.com/uglychristmassweaters

It's often said that "It's the thought that counts", but what does one do about the thoughtlessness reflected in the robotic and compulsory nature of a gift? Questions for us to ponder during these times, when money and jobs are scarce. If one cannot shell out the cash, one must dig deeper for what the ties that bind us actually mean, besides a generic item grabbed off the shelf in haste. What you give says just as much as what you get. Think, before buying, about who the recipient is, and what they value.

I watched a lovely movie this week that brought the issue to the forefront of my mind. It's one of the best movies about the Christmas spirit I've ever seen, called Kings of the Evening. The time period is set during the Great Depression, an era that hit millions of Americans very hard. In addition to a scarcity of work, African-Americans also suffered from severe injustice and prejudice. What does someone have when they feel they have nothing?



Tyson Beckford distracted me ( in a good way! ) with his phenomenal bone structure, but it didn't detract from the movies' overall message. His character, Homer Hobbs, has the best line of the film:

"Fine cars and fancy homes are nice, 

but what a man really has is inside."

Amen to that. I'm sure you'll enjoy this film about the true spirit of giving as much as I did. Sometimes, all it takes is for us to reach out to one another, so we can break through the hard times together, to get back to what's real. http://www.kingsoftheevening.com/

New Radicals

You Get What You Give
Songwriters: Alexander, Gregg; Nowels, Richard

One, two
One, two, three

Wake up kids
We've got the dreamers disease
Age 14 we got you down on your knees
So polite, you're busy still saying please

Frenemies, who when you're down ain't your friend
Every night we smash their Mercedes-Benz
First we run and then we laugh till we cry

But when the night is falling
You cannot find the light, light
If you feel your dreams are dying
Hold tight

You've got the music in you
Don't let go
You've got the music in you
One dance left
This world is gonna pull through
Don't give up
You've got a reason to live
Can't forget
We only get what we give

I'm coming home, baby
You're tops
Give it to me now

Four a.m. we ran a miracle mile
We're flat broke but hey we do it in style
The bad rich
God's flying in for your trial

But when the night is falling
You cannot find a friend, friend
You feel your tree is breaking
Just then

You've got the music in you
Don't let go
You've got the music in you

One dance left
This world is gonna pull through
Don't give up
You've got a reason to live
Can't forget
We only get what we give

This whole damn world can fall apart
You'll be ok, follow your heart
You're in harms way I'm right behind
Now say you're mine

You've got the music in you
Don't let go
You've got the music in you
One dance left
This world is gonna pull through
Don't give up
You've got a reason to live
Can't forget
We only get what we give
Don't let go
I feel the music in you

Fly high, high
What's real can't die
You only get what you give
You gonna get what you give

Just don't be afraid to leave
Health insurance rip off lying
FDA big bankers buying
Fake computer crashes dining

Cloning while they're multiplying
Fashion shoots with Beck and Hanson
Courtney love and Marilyn Manson
You're all fakes

Run to your mansions
Come around
We'll kick your ass in

Don't let go
One dance left
Don't give up
Can't forget
Don't