makeshiftmind

You know that old myth about Pandora’s box? The one where some poor ignorant fool opened it and WHAMO! the end of the world poured forth from his cracker jacks? Yeah, well this has nothing to do with that.

The Pandora I’m talking about is a free music service that makes intelligent guesses about what kind of music you might be inclined to listen to based on your current tastes. You can sign up for a free account and build up to ten virtual “radio stations” that stream songs based on your tastes. You rate the songs with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, depending on whether you actually like them or not. I’ve been listening to it all day, and I’m very impressed by the software’s accuracy. It even tells you why it picked a particular song. For example, I have a playlist based on “Breaking Benjamin” — when I use the “Why did you play this song?” option, the software tells me that:

“Based on what you’ve told us so far, we’re playing this track because it features hard rock roots, mild rhythmic syncopation, repetitive melodic phrasing, extensive vamping and mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation.”

Neat! I’m especially digging that “extensive vamping”!

Today marks the 24th year of my life. I don’t know why, but I certainly don’t feel like I’m 24. I remember when I was in grade school, thinking that I’d never reach Junior High; and then thinking I’d never graduate from High School; and then thinking that I’d never get married… and you know the rest. Over time, I’ve learned a lot of life lessons. Some of them have come easy; the vast majority have come at a significant cost (to me and to others)–and I’m still learning.

I’ve been watching the TV show ‘Lost’ for the last month or so. I’m a little behind (still on season one), but the overt message of the show is that on the mysterious island, everyone gets a new life. Each character has a story, a past they seem to be running from in one form or another. But in a new place, in different circumstances, with entirely new choices they have the ability to become something entirely different.

The new Batman movie emphasized this idea as well–that our past can be overcome by making new choices and reversing old ones (if possible). I can identify with Bruce Wayne when he repeats Rachel’s admonition: “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.” He realized that his actions and his personhood weren’t intimately connected; they were one and the same. In order to make his life different, he had to actively live those differences.

I have 365 days left until I’m 25 years old. A year is not that long–not really. But it is an opportunity to live differently, to make better choices than I made yesterday. And I am thankful for that.