The other day I was watching or babysitting my 1 1/2 yr. old niece who LOVES puppies. Actually, that's probably an understatement. She literally almost spasms with excitement when she sees or hears a puppy or dog. Since I'm such an awesomely clever uncle/babysitter I thought that I could appease both of us for endless amounts of time by letting her watch videos of puppies/dogs on Youtube! Brilliant in theory. So it worked well for a few videos and then a title to one catches my eye..."Puppy Screams 'Elmo'." "Wow, she likes Elmo AND puppies this could be the perfect video," I thought.
Well I quickly realized after a few seconds into the video that I have a new fear...ANIMALS THAT TRY TO TALK. (also, animals that people THINK can talk - I'm probably more weirded out by the people in this case). This is probably a close association to one of my friend's creepy dislikes; people who dress like animals and animals that are dressed like people. It joins the list of other creepy things including: -- Clowns -- People (especially alone) who sit in their cars at the park and watch joggers, etc. -- go to Centennial Park any day of the week and you'll see what I mean -- Extremely close talkers -- The music videos in my previous posts! (especially the "Wishful Thinking" video where the guys is wearing spandex, a jacket, a hat, and playing an electric standing bass -- wow)
With the exception of the Elmo video, it seems like most of the animals I hear "talking" are being coerced by their owners. It's kind of like that parent who says, "It's amazing, little Johnny just said 'fire truck'," but in reality everyone ELSE hears "whah whah uck." Know what I mean? If you took out the human's voices in these videos you would just see an unusually stressed dog yearning so intensley that something weird comes out of their mouth. It kind of looks like the dogs are so annoyed that half of them want to attack their owners for making them do such a stupid thing. Look close and you'll see what I mean...thus the treat that some of the owners give them. I guess we'll never agree that anthropomorphic qualities were intended for literature...oh well.
Here are a few creeptastic videos for you to cringe at:
Ok, so I was listening to Yahoo! Radio this morning on the "Classical Crossover" station which plays classical and some Bocelli, Sarah Brightman, etc.
A song came on that sounded eerily familiar. I say "eerily" because it was a Gregorian Chant song. It took me a second and then I realized what it was..."Nothing Else Matters." That's right, "Nothing Else Matters" by, ahem...Metallica. For the conservative folk who may read this blog (parents), I am on the record as saying that I am not a Metallica fan (although I MAY have heard a few of their songs and let them play all the way through, merely to know what OTHER people were filling their heads with). With that being said, I am however a fan of Gregorian Chant. I'm not totally sure if they're spiritually based as a normal chanting monk would be but I do know they are definitely in the record selling business.
But wow, how ironic is it that Gregorian Chant would re-do a Metallica song?! I really liked it actually. I guess there have been several other similar cases in history of ironic re-makes by a band. Here's another example off the top of my head:
-- "God Gave Rock n' Roll to You" -- originally done by KISS, then re-made by Christian band Petra (although they changed some words)
I know there are several others but i'm drawing a blank.
Well now to the evidence. Here's Metallica for you (in case you've never seen them):
Nice huh?
Well here is a video of the Gregorian Chant version of "Nothing Else Matters." ** By the way, the video is kind of weird and may scare small children, pets OR adults afraid of monks in bright robes**
So, in an effort to join the rest of the world (at least our small social circle) we have decided to start a blog. Everything from this point on is subject to change, i.e. Blog title, content direction, etc.
This blog in no way indicates an announcement of pending child berth or any other slanted commentary, but rather a place where Jamie or I can post random musings that we find interesting. It could also be used to update our non-Facebook friends/family.
I chose the name "Witful Thinking," because: 1. I couldn't think of anything that goes with Smith 2. I like the Princess Bride and witty banter which would lead me to the classic scene..."The Battle of Wits" -- unfortunately "Battle of Wits" was taken so that led me to "Witful Thinking" 3. Since I tend to have a large knowledge of useless information and retro music I immediately thought of the song, "The King of Wishful Thinking" -- BUT I changed one word and turned it into Witful Thinking...witty no??
Also, I know everyone is expecting a monumentally witty post on my first attempt but that will have to wait..."under promise, over deliver" right?!
