Pandora--has Pandora's Box been opened?

So, we stepped up and joined the "smartphone" generation and got Blackberry phones this past December.  By far, one of my favorite things about it has been having Pandora Radio, which is "internet radio."  It's cool because it's like having an iPod on shuffle but without the limitation of your own music library.  Cool, right?!  Yes, but...

I have quickly learned a thing or two about the music industry:

1. More artists than I realized actually produce "explicit" versions of their songs, and Pandora has chosen to play them--uncensored.  So picture me listening along to a song I've heard many times on the radio but then I'm suddenly shocked by an unedited f-bomb or the like.  Have you had this experience yet?  Fortunately, Pandora provides a skip key, so the user can skip to the next song.  But I'm of the mindset that it would be nice if the user could select "play clean versions only" as a permanent choice.

2. Today's most popular artists lead me to firmly believe that the world truly is going to Hell in a handbasket.  What prompted me to write this post was a song that came on titled, I kid you not, "I just had sex..."  I second guessed my ears at first as the artist sang that line, and then when I heard another reference that "she let me put my p----s in her," I was quite honestly dumbfounded.  Seriously?!?  "Artists" can make money on this crap?  In today's world, they obviously can.  An article I read yesterday spoke of how nobody knew the name "Kardashian" until one of the Kardashian sisters made and released a sex tape that "launched her career," and how this past year their "empire" made $65 million.  Sad day when "normal" people are working hard just to get by and this "other side" do awful things to obtain celebrity status and a financial fortune.

Should I be surprised by this?  If you remind yourself of the definition of Pandora's Box as I had to, I guess there should be little surprise.  Wiki says it well:  "Today, opening Pandora's box means to create evil that cannot be undone."  Scary.  I guess if I don't like Pandora I can always switch to another internet radio app---like Slacker Radio, right?

So, here's a question for you:   Do you think there's a market left out there for an internet radio app that connotes something POSITIVE and plays only clean versions of songs?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Costa Vida, anyone? Helps a good cause!

For friends, family, acquaintances in Utah, here's a special invitation to enjoy dinner one of the upcoming Monday nights (tonight included) at the Foothill Village location of COSTA VIDA! 


Up to 20% of the proceeds the restaurant receives on these nights will go to benefit Families Helping Families.  This is the organization with whom our family has built single-family homes in Puerto Penasco, Mexico, during the Christmas holiday.  We are going again this year, and your support would be most welcome!

Take Control of Your Life

Attitude?  Goals?  Fulfillment?  Relationships?  Finances & Income?

This is a cool article that pulls from experts in each field to talk not only about the importance of taking control of each aspect but some valuable insights into how to do it.

http://www.successmagazine.com/take-control-of-your-life/PARAMS/article/812

Awesome country song lyrics...

No, they have nothing to do with a dog dying, a truck breaking down, or a break up.  Quite the contrary, actually...

Love Like Crazy
Written by Doug Johnson and Tim James
Performed by Lee Brice

They called them crazy when they started out.
Said, “Seventeen's too young to know what loves about.”
They've been together fifty-eight years now,
That’s crazy!

He brought home sixty-seven bucks a week.
He bought a little 2 bedroom house on Maple Street,
Where she blessed him with six more mouths to feed;
Yeah, that’s crazy!

Just ask him how he did it; he'll say pull up a seat.
“It'll only take a minute, to tell you everything.
Be a best friend, tell the truth, and overuse ‘I Love You;’
Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common sense,
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy,
And love like crazy.”

They called him crazy when he quit his job.
Said, “Them home computers, boy, they'll never take off.”
He sold his one man shop to Microsoft.
They paid like crazy!

Just ask him how he made it;
He'll tell you, “Faith and sweat,”
And the heart of a faithful woman,
Who never let him forget

Be a best friend, tell the truth, and overuse ‘I Love You;’
Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common sense,
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy,
And love like crazy,

Always treat your woman like a lady,
Never get to old to call her baby,
Never let your prayin’ knees get lazy,
And love like crazy!

They called him crazy when they started out;
They've been together fifty-eight years now.

Ain’t that crazy?

In for a HOT weekend...

YIKES!!!  This clip of the forecast from my iGoogle page says it all:

Funny, the last time I posted in here, we were dealing with Nor'easters and unprecedented snow...  now it is "hottest summer on record" in Virginia's 400+ year history.  Sounds like we got here just in time!

Update 48 hours later...

Just add snow...

... and take away the holiday, and the marquis sign changes.  I wonder how many Harley's they sell with this marketing ploy?  Likely not many, but I'm always curious to see what the sign says when we drive in to Lititz!  :)

Whoa... cool! Watch this vid.

You have to watch it all the way through.  If you only watch the first half, you'll be scratching your head thinking WHAT??  It's called "2 sides to every story," and you'll understand why by the end of it.  Some people are so creative!

http://www.eventstreams.com/suntrust/051jbo/