Higgs Boson alert

So I’m feeling a little anti-climatic about the Higgs Boson.  I’m on high google alert (code red of course) for the confirmation that this elusive “God particle” exists.  There are hints, there are murmurs and there are numerous emails alerting me to this fact.  I am pins and needles sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for someone, anyone, to say “yes we have found it.”  This spec of dust that begat everything, all the stars and the universe and the very matter that makes us what we are.  Of course, this is just proof that Einstein was right.  E=MC squared (couldn’t find a little 2 to put up there).  From nothing, something can come.  From energy, matter can be made.  This Higgs Boson particle is the existence of the nothing that made the big bang.  

I don’t pretend to know what I’m talking about or even what they’re talking about.  I have forever been fascinated by space and the realm of possibility that there are otherworldly things of which I know nothing.  I cannot even comprehend string theory.  Look it up if you dare.  But what I do enjoy is the search, that desire to dissect and understand our very existence.  I’m not a religious person, but I do believe in things beyond the universe I can see.

So, what happens after Higgs Boson?  Michio Kaku believes we will then look for dark matter.  That invisible net that binds the planets and the stars together.  We are hurtling toward nothingness, but what does it matter anyway?  We only have this brief period of time here.  Then what?  I’m not sure.  I’d like to believe in another universe, in another time, I will be me just smarter.  I won’t return that phone call, I won’t go on that date, but I will still end up where I am.  Content in what I am contributing to the universe.  Content in the love that surrounds me like an invisible dark matter binding my soul and my heart.

So after the Higgs Boson discovery, I will be excited for the next thing and the thing after.  Because I want to know. I want to believe this all means something.

MUSIC MONDAYS – ANTHONY AND THE JOHNSONS

I can’t believe there was a time when I didn’t know about Anthony and the Johnsons.  The lead singer, Anthony, is an enigma with a voice even Adele would envy.  His falsetto trill and profound lyrics will lull you to whatever world he hails from.  My favorite song is Hope There’s Someone, a plaintiff love song that usurps every song that came before by singing it raw and plainly, “I hope there’s someone who’ll take care of me, when I die, will I go.”  Which to me starkly resonates the will of us all, we just hope there’s someone who will take care of us.  

I prefer their live recordings, because you never know what you will witness.  It doesn’t matter what version, I love Cripple and the Starfish.  It is a song not meant to be as beautiful as it sounds.  And we’ve all been there when we’re happy in a relationship, when it’s as healthy as it could be, yet we’re waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop and began questioning whether we deserve such happiness.  Just listen to the lyrics, “I am very happy, so please hit me…I am very happy, so please hurt me.”

I could wax poetic about my next favorite song, but you simply must just listen.  Rapture is the kind of song that makes you ache, not just because of the lyrics but the emotion the melody evokes.  It’s about the end of it.  That painful breakup, that saying goodbye to someone you love.  The falling down of everything you’ve known.  Reaching out toward…what?

Some other notables:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MDlMdu2gjw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8V94WQjMAw&feature=related

 

 

Now go listen!

 

Music Mondays – Sigur Ros

Sigur Ros is not an obscure band no one knows about, yet I like them anyway.  I was a dabbler.  I knew a few songs, barely enough to call myself a fan.  Then I met my Sigur Ros soulmate who introduced me to the world of Icelandic music and Jonsi.  I too often use the word beautiful.  I seem to find it everywhere.  I wish there was another word (yes, I checked the thesaurus) that would adequately capture their music.  It is beautiful, uplifting and transforming.

One of my favorite songs is Vaka.  Yes, I realize the lyrics are not in English.  Who cares.  I can feel every emotion Jonsi is conveying.  One of the first I fell in love with is Hoppipolla.   The video is brilliant.  A take on childhood from an elderly perspective.  It’s perfection is how it carries you along, bobbing on a river of happy.  It’s a testament to music that it can transcend language and lyrical intent to hold you in its grasp.

One of their most famous songs is Staralfur.  It is a song that will forever remain in my top five favorites.  I put it on, close my eyes and find myself transported to a bright field of green and I can feel everything.  If you’ve never heard of them, it’s time.

A few other notables:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LeQN249Jqw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaIxnp4G84E&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ6Qheb57hk&feature=related

Now go listen!

I AM ENLIGHTENED