This is one of a regular series of articles highlighting some of the music that has played a part in my life.
You’ll find a range of songs from old to new. You’ll probably find music that has been part of the soundtrack of your life too.
You can also check out some of the other songs that make up the soundtrack of my life.
Empty Me Out – Liz Vice
One of the newer songs that has very quickly become part of the soundtrack of my life is Empty Me Out from Liz Vice. To tell the truth, her entire There’s a Light album is part of that soundtrack.
I discovered Liz’s music last year and have been enjoying it ever since. There’s an incredible freshness to her music but there are tracks, such as Empty Me Out, that would feel at home on a classic album from any great soul singer. You can listen to her album just for the outstanding music but then you’d be missing the amazing way she weaves her faith into her lyrics.
Gospel, Soul, and R&B-infused artist Liz Vice is from Portland, Oregon. The songs from the album feature dynamic, soulful vocals, with lyrics that are classically influenced enough to feel timeless and reference her deep-rooted spirituality.
Some music takes years to find it’s way to my heart and to truly become part of the soundtrack of my life. Empty Me Out and the other tracks on There’s a Light were added to that soundtrack almost immediately. I hope Liz Vice’s music becomes part of the soundtrack of your life too. It deserves its place in many lives.
I’d encourage you to get involved too. Let me know about some of the songs that are etched in your mind. What are the tunes that bring back a flood of memories every time their opening notes start cranking out on your stereo? Are there songs you love for their music and others that speak deeply through their lyrics?
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Today we’re being urged to celebrate what’s great about our country. One of the things that’s great is that we get a bunch of days off for various reasons throughout the year. Australia Day is no exception.
We celebrate Australia Day on the 26th of January each year because it was that day in 1788 that Captain Arthur Phillip took formal possession of the colony of New South Wales and became its first Governor. The first official celebrations were held in 1818 to mark the 30th anniversary of white settlement.
The tradition of having Australia Day as a national holiday on 26 January is a recent one. Not until 1935 did all the Australian states and territories use that name to mark that date. Not until 1994 did they begin to celebrate Australia Day consistently as a public holiday on that date.
If you want to find out more about Australia Day you can go to the official website here.
The day is marked with a public holiday and some large scale celebrations across our big country but not everyone will be celebrating today. For some, this is not ‘Australia Day’, it is ‘Survival Day’ or ‘Invasion Day’.
It’s good to see that the National Australia Day Council is acknowledging the pain that the day brings for sections of our population. For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples the 26th of January marks the day that white settlers stole their land and in many cases tried to wipe them out.
On Australia Day we recognise the unique status of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The National Australia Day Council (NADC) is committed to playing a part in the journey of Reconciliation by helping all Australians to move forward with a better understanding of our shared past, and importantly how this affects the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today and how we might build a better future together.
The NADC’s approach to Reconciliation is one of leadership. We recognise that some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and some non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians may have mixed feelings about celebrating this day. January 26 has multiple meanings: it is Australia Day and it is also, for some, Survival Day or Invasion Day. The NADC acknowledges that the date brings a mixture of celebration and mourning and we believe that the programs presented by the NADC should play a powerful and positive role in advancing Reconciliation. – Australia Day – Reconciliation
So how do we create a day that everyone can feel includes them? Are there simply too many points of view to ever hope for a unified celebration? How do we ensure that we’re actually deeply engaging with other points of view rather than being dismissive or simply paying lip service?
If you honestly want to hear the heart of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples it’s worth taking the time to watch an eight and a half minute video that has gone viral in recent days. It features journalist Stan Grant in an off-the-cuff speech during a debate on racism last October. I think we’d all do well to hear Stan and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders not as those trying to spoil our Australia Day party but as those with some relevant things to say that we need to consider.
So can we mourn and celebrate on the one day? I know that I do just that every Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Christmas Day. I celebrate the occasion but mourn those who are no longer around to share those days with me. How much more should we mourn on this day when we consider the long history of the way we have treated our nations’s first people? And don’t try to tell me it’s all in the past. There is still deep racism in our nation which needs to be recognised and healed.
Murray Campbell is a Baptist Minister from Melbourne. Yesterday he wrote about the need to go beyond recognition of the issues to respond appropriately.
We cannot live in the past, but living in the present can remain most hard when our history remains unresolved. To this, I am looking forward to the Day when God will put away forever all that is wrong and evil, but in the present we remain responsible for our words and actions, and to ignore the call for reconciliation when it is given us, is simply iniquitous.
At this time, let us re-issue calls to include in our national constitution a statement recognising the first Australians. Of course, the wording of such an inclusion is incredibly important, and so instead of deferring it because the task is complex, let’s move forward.
Also, January 26th is our national holiday, and on this day I will give thanks for the many blessings we enjoy in our country. It does seem as though the date has evolved beyond the tall ships in Botany Bay, as it is now cherished by many thousands of immigrants who have no connection to 1788, but who have made their home here from all corners on the globe and who celebrate becoming citizens on this date. But I am still conscious of the fact that for many Aboriginal people, ‘Australia Day’ is not so celebratory.
Are we so tied to this date that we cannot move to another? – Murray Campbell
I want to celebrate what’s great about Australia today, and the list is almost endless. We live in a magnificent land that is justifiably the envy of most others around our globe. But I’ll be mixing those celebrations with mourning for what has been taken from so many for so long. As a white Australian I can never know the full depth of the pain that others know but I hope and I pray that we can move forward as a nation and make right what is wrong.
I’d really appreciate your thoughts and comments.
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While in Australia millions will be celebrating Australia Day this Tuesday, half a world away India will be celebrating Republic Day. I like the fact that I get to celebrate two countries that I love on the same day. I don’t know if it will ever happen but one year I’d love to be in India for Republic Day.
Though India became a free nation on August 15, 1947, it declared itself a Sovereign, Democratic and Republic state with the adoption of the Constitution on January 26, 1950.
A salute of 21 guns and the unfurling of the Indian National Flag by Dr. Rajendra Prasad heralded the historic birth of the Indian Republic on that day. Thereafter 26th of January was decreed a national holiday and was recognised as the Republic Day of India.
The Constitution gave the citizens of India the power to choose their own government and paved the way for democracy. Dr. Rajendra Prasad took oath as the first President of India at the Durbar Hall in Government House and this was followed by the Presidential drive along a five-mile route to the Irwin Stadium, where he unfurled the National Flag. – Know India
I’ve had the privilege of visiting India three times over several years. It’s a truly amazing place. While I’ll be celebrating in my home country on Tuesday I’ll be thinking of friends in India.
Below is a video of my first trip to India in 2003. I was joined by several locals to ride from Agra, home of the Taj Mahal, to Delhi, as well as cycling around Delhi. I was there as a guest of the Bible Society. It’s just a short video and I hope you enjoy watching it.
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This is one of a regular series of articles highlighting some of the music that has played a part in my life.
You’ll find a range of songs from old to new. You’ll probably find music that has been part of the soundtrack of your life too.
You can also check out some of the other songs that make up the soundtrack of my life.
Last week I highlighted three songs from David Bowie to mark his passing. Today I’m marking the loss of another great musician.
The One You Love – Glenn Frey
Glenn Frey’s music covered a wide range of genres that it’s hard to choose a song that truly represents his career but as this is the ‘soundtrack of my life’ I had to choose a song from his first solo album, No Fun Aloud. The album was released in 1982, back when I was 19 and some people that are reading this post weren’t even born. I bought the vinyl copy because back then it was either vinyl or cassette.
The album quickly became a favourite with schmaltzy (and I mean that in a very good way) tracks like today’s choice, The One You Love, through to a little rock and a wonderful version of Sea Cruise. The album rose to 32 on the U.S. charts and featured two top 40 singles, “The One You Love” and “I Found Somebody”. No Fun Aloud reached gold status, selling half a million copies in the U.S. alone.
The One You Love has a huge helping of eighties saxophone and tells the all too familiar tale of seeing someone you love choosing someone else, or at least it was all too familiar for the 19 year old me when it was released. 🙂
Are you gonna stay with the one who loves you
Or are you goin’ back to the one you love?
Someone’s gonna cry when they know they’ve lost you
Someone’s gonna thank the stars above
The song reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100, #12 in Canada, #36 in New Zealand and #50 in Australia. It also peaked at #2 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart.
While Glenn Frey will be remembered more for being a co-founder of The Eagles than his solo work, I’ll always love his own music, right from that first album through to songs with a strong social conscience like I Got Mine with lyrics like the following.
There’s another kind of poverty
That only rich men know
A moral malnutrition
That starves their very souls
And they can’t be saved with money
They’re all running out of time
And all the while they’re thinking
It’s OK ‘Cause I’ve got mine
Check out the rest of the song some time. It’s powerful.
Glenn’s most recent solo work, his fifth and final studio album, was After Hours, a lush lounge album that highlighted his smooth vocals and displayed his incredible versatility.
So now, it’s time to soak in one of the songs that makes up the soundtrack of my life. Enjoy Glenn Frey’s The One You Love.
I’d encourage you to get involved too. Let me know about some of the songs that are etched in your mind. What are the tunes that bring back a flood of memories every time their opening notes start cranking out on your stereo? Are there songs you love for their music and others that speak deeply through their lyrics?
This week I’d be particularly interested in your favourite Glenn Frey music, whether it was anything from his solo work or a favourite Eagles track. I look forward to reading your memories.
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Internet security firm SplashData has released their annual guide to helping, or hindering, hackers. They’ve been taking a look at the worst passwords used online last year and have come up with their list of the top 25 worst passwords.
If you see your password among the top twenty five in the picture below, you’re data is in serious danger. It’s time to change your passwords or get ready to get hacked.
As in previous lists, simple numerical passwords remain popular, with six of the top 10 passwords on the 2015 list using only numbers.
With a new Star Wars movie being released last year, many have decided to jump on board and created galactic passwords. Popular Star Wars terms such as “starwars,” “solo,” and “princess” are new entries on this year’s worst passwords list.
SplashData has announced the 2015 edition of its annual “Worst Passwords List” highlighting the insecure password habits of Internet users. “123456” and “password” once again reign supreme as the most commonly used passwords, as they have since SplashData’s first list in 2011, demonstrating how people’s choices for passwords remain consistently risky.
In SplashData’s fifth annual report, compiled from more than 2 million leaked passwords during the year, some new and longer passwords made their debut – perhaps showing an effort by both websites and web users to be more secure. However, the longer passwords are so simple as to make their extra length virtually worthless as a security measure.
You can click on the image below for a better look.
If you’re looking for a better solution you might like to try a password manager application.
SplashData has a secure password manager which, as they say, offers solutions for people and organizations who care about keeping passwords and other information both secure and accessible.
I’ve been using LastPass for a while. It’s another password manager which makes web browsing more secure.
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This is one of a regular series of articles highlighting some of the music that has played a part in my life.
