http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html Landmark: Blog Jannis' PHPRss class - http://www.jannis.to/ Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:43:28 -0700 http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/hubble Remember how much fun it used to be to go to an observatory and look through telescopes? Not anymore! Earth’s atmosphere distorts even the most sophisticated telescope’s photographs so they seem primitive and inadequate. The Hubble orbit’s the entire earth in 97 minutes, traveling 5 miles/second, capturing a crystal clear display of stars and worlds in countless galaxies. There is no atmosphere to interfere with the Hubble’s picture-taking abilities so it”˜s phenomenal visual achievement will infinitely enlighten scientists and continue to amaze onlookers for years to come.
Sitting in the movie and attempting to comprehend the perfect order of space truly rearranges one’s perspective and priorities. It made me feel slightly foolish for focusing on some over-analyzed problems: Like when a rumor circulated that an interesting guy had become divorced (which turned out not to be true -- awkward!) or when an opportunity slipped through the fingers because someone else’s song was better (or at least better for the project). I don’t mean to say that thoughts and feelings aren’t important. Of course, they are but dwelling on them is unproductive. As if all nature around us isn’t reminder enough, through the eyes of the Telescope, the universe is breathtakingly beautiful. It is the perfect moment to really stop and smell the roses, make a wish on a shooting star, and appreciate the unique purpose of every individual’s life.
I still have a lot to learn about dark matter, black holes, overcoming obstacles and the secrets of success. Recently, though, I had a magnificent reality check at Imax's Hubble. Thank God we are here and we have the time and inclination to explore this wildly wonderful world and the incredible meaning of it all!]]> http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/hubble Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:43:28 -0700 Heal Your Broken Heart - Landmark - Blog http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/i_can_be_that http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/i_can_be_that Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:11:52 -0700 Heal Your Broken Heart - Landmark - Blog http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/happy_birthday_america http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/happy_birthday_america Sun, 04 Jul 2010 22:03:44 -0700 Heal Your Broken Heart - Landmark - Blog http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/go_blackhawks http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/go_blackhawks Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:44:59 -0700 Heal Your Broken Heart - Landmark - Blog http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/kris_ipod I’d been hauling around my Bose and headphones forever. My sister had been telling me for years that I needed something tiny for travel but I couldn’t justify replacing a perfectly good Bose, albeit a little clumsy. So she gave me an iPod back in March. I have been having so much fun going through all my old cds and pulling out favorite songs.

Some cds are worthy of complete importation and I do have my favorite albums. Of course the early Beatles qualify, as well as, Fleetwood Mac and ABBA Gold. So many others have one or two fabulous songs, destined for immortality, like Del Shannon”˜s, Runaway, and the Cyrcle”˜s, Red Rubber Ball.
Long ago, one of the first covers I ever played was by the Dave Clark Five, Over and Over. It was such a simple, but great song (the drums really made it.) It only has two chords in the whole song! What a perfect song for beginners! Of course, many songs have only 3 chords (because of the musical progression) but not a lot of hits have only two! I love that song and have had such a good time playing it “over and over” again on my iPod.
This past Memorial Day weekend my brother and I were playing some songs and laughing about the only one-chord hit in the history of pop music! He told me there actually was such a song but I couldn’t imagine anything but a boring chant that could really consist of only one chord! Lime in da Coconut, by Harry Nilsson, has the distinguished honor of being the only 1-chord hit in the history of pop! John played it on his guitar this weekend (being the ham that he is) and my sister actually guessed it by his guitar picking only - no singing, no words! We were all rolling on the floor until we were crying from laughter!
Now I’m on the hunt for that silly song so I can add it to my iPod collection. How would we keep our sanity if we didn’t have music to listen to, play, and enjoy?]]> http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/kris_ipod Fri, 04 Jun 2010 08:38:32 -0700 Heal Your Broken Heart - Landmark - Blog http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/the_legend Take me, for example. I love music. I enjoy all aspects of it: singing, listening, playing, writing, arranging, and accompanying. Music gives my life such purpose and delight. It has also provided immeasurable therapy during the most difficult and troublesome times. As grateful as I am for my musical talents, they dwarf in comparison to the truly legendary musician.
The musical legend has the distinct privilege of not only benefiting from his own music but of infinitely blessing the lives of countless others. His love of music may have propelled him through the ups and downs of his own life, but his melodies, rhythms, and meaningful lyrics also touch the hearts and minds of listeners, strengthening them in their own personal experiences. They are enjoyed as much, when they are heard the first time, as when they are replayed over and over throughout the ages.
Those great songs trigger memories of significant days gone by and bring to remembrance original emotions, once thought lost in the fog of time. Often, a classic song, when heard after a long while, inspires present motivational thoughts and behaviors as those empowering feelings of youth are recalled and relived. And as the music endures, new listeners introduced to it come to relish their own fresh interaction with these magnificent musical creations and with their almost magical composers.
It seems that everyone wants to live a meaningful life and contribute in some small way to society and mankind. But the legacy of the legendary musician is the lasting bestowal of his unique vision of the universe, the miraculous finesse of all his musical instruments, and his ability to capture the connection of the human condition with the possibility of the divine potential. The sincerity, humility and genius with which he approaches his musical art is the eternal encapsulation of the nearly-mythical, gifted legend.]]> http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/the_legend Mon, 10 May 2010 19:14:19 -0700 Heal Your Broken Heart - Landmark - Blog http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/scandalous_times The entire story of the house of Israel is packed with deviancy. There’s deceit, trickery, adultery, infidelity, incest, illegitimacy, prostitution, kidnapping, murder (someone, please stop me anytime now) and the list goes on and on! And these people weren’t heathens, pagans or non-believers. They were those who had been taught the law and the prophets and supposedly knew God!
What a remarkable character Joseph was. In spite of all this commotion swirling about him, he was devoted to God and had a spiritual relationship with Him. Even before he was beaten up, thrown into a pit and sold into Egypt by his brothers (at age 17) he had developed a great ability to turn lemons into lemonade. The first of Joseph’s dreams occurred when he was around the age of twelve. I think it’s clear that these dreams, visions, revelations - whatever we want to call them - facilitated his relationship with God. He knew God was real; he trusted Him; he recognized that whatever afflictions may arise, in God’s grand plan there must be a reason for them; and he realized that all things would work for his good and would eventually bring about his salvation.
After he was sold into Egypt, over approximately the next 13 years, Joseph suffered the pains of slavery, false charges of seduction (for rejecting the advances of Potipher’s wife), consequently, imprisonment, and then abandonment. After Joseph interpreted the dreams of two fellow inmates, one of them (Pharaoh’s butler) was released from prison but then forgot about him for two more years. It wasn’t until Pharaoh needed a dream interpreted that the butler finally remembered Joseph, still stuck in the dungeon. Fianlly, Joseph was summoned by the Pharaoh to interpret his dream, which prophesied seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of drought. Joseph proposed a grain storage program; after thirteen years in bondage, Pharaoh made him ruler over all Egypt; he married an Egyptian princess and they had two children; Joseph ended up not only saving from starvation all of Egypt and the surrounding lands but eventually recovered his family from Canaan, thereby saving the whole house of Israel. At the end of Genesis, Joseph concluded that his real troubles began when his rotten brothers sold him as a slave but that ultimately God meant all those tribulations to eventually be the means of his own salvation, as well as, the salvation of so many other people.
So, the moral of the story is that life is nuts and people are crazy! But it’s an interesting tale (full of symbolism) that tells of one person who made a difference in life and that represents One Person who made possible Salvation for all and Eternal Life with God and with their families for the repentant.]]> http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/scandalous_times Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:40:39 -0700 Heal Your Broken Heart - Landmark - Blog http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/happy_easter http://broadcast.lds.org/general-conference/2010-april/2010-04-4000-third-general-session-eng.wmv

Easter Celebration - 180th General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]> http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/happy_easter Sun, 04 Apr 2010 20:40:20 -0700 Heal Your Broken Heart - Landmark - Blog http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/daylight_to_moonlight Jesus is the reason for the season. Redemption from our past mistakes, as we forge a new course of corrective action, is among the healing gifts of the Atonement. Peace, hope, and the assurance of a bright future are powerful rewards for even the most infantile of our efforts. As our exertion increases, mighty changes occur, through the divine Omnipotence of the Savior, enabling us to achieve personal accomplishments and profound joy, previously unimagined.
Beyond the immediate, the optimism of the Resurrection instills comfort and confidence in deliverance from life’s greatest tragedies. I’ve spoken and written about my brother’s schizophrenia. I have often been asked how it is that my family copes with such suffering. We are fortunate to have the knowledge that Christ overcame death, in the Resurrection of his spirit with his physical body. The miracle of Easter is His guarantee that all mankind are benefactors of this gift. In spite of the distant sadness that lingers over Art’s affliction, we amazingly find enjoyment in our experiences with him. At times, we are able to laugh and to see the humor in some of the incredibly funny things he says and does.
To those without knowledge or hope, life can be too difficult and useless. But the good news is that The Lord lives on and so will we, in a glorious, perfected state.
John 14:2, “In my Father’s house are many mansions”¦I go there to prepare a place for you.”
John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you - not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
John 15:12 “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”

In celebration of this Easter season, “Heal Your Broken Heart” is free for download on the music page. Happy tunes to all - Enjoy!]]> http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/daylight_to_moonlight Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:07:08 -0700 Heal Your Broken Heart - Landmark - Blog http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/happy_birthday_to_me So the good news is that all those tunes in my head have a chance of making it to song form, now that I have a properly functioning computer. The thing is: the songs I write tend to bore me. I'm not the greatest pianist in the world - the piano only provides the foundation for my music. It isn't until the guitar rhythms are added, some interesting lead fills, as well, that it really begins to sound like a song. Still, I am excited to run the keyboard into the new little laptop and begin the process of breathing life into those prominently recurring melodies. Then I can finesse some appropriate lyrics into the music. Finally, comes the task of roping an "unsuspecting" guitarist (they really all just roll their eyes when they see me coming) into lending their finger skills and their artistic talents towards the transformation of my budding creations into a blossoming garden.
It is all such a delightful ordeal. Therefore, today I begin the early celebration of the best gift I ever gave myself (a husband would have been an even better gift but I, alone, can't exactly give myself that one, now can I?) Anyway, I will enjoy my little laptop, and all its nuances, and I hope we will develope a happy and successful relationship for years to come. So, in the spirit of the Olympic season, let the music begin - and happy birthday to me!]]> http://openupyourheart.net/blog.html/happy_birthday_to_me Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:44:29 -0800 Heal Your Broken Heart - Landmark - Blog