The mistake of the common

It is a glorious Monday afternoon and as such, I wish to opine about a little this, and a little that. I will not bloviate, but in the mode of posting lyrics that are meaningful, in the middle of my annual listen to as much Christmas music as possible, I was on the treadmill yesterday and a beautiful Beatles song came on my iPod. No, I don't normally work out to the Beatles but I was in a great mood yesterday and so I listed to some happy Beatles songs. Here are the lyrics to the Beatles song, "For No One."

Your day breaks, your mind aches
You find that all the words of kindness linger on
When she no longer needs you
She wakes up, she makes up
She takes her time and doesn't feel she has to hurry
She no longer needs you
And in her eyes you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years!
You want her, you need her
And yet you don't believe her when she said her love is dead
You think she needs you
And in her eyes you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years!
You stay home, she goes out
She says that long ago she knew someone but now he's gone
She doesn't need him
Your day breaks, your mind aches
There will be time when all the things she said will fill your head
You won't forget her
And in her eyes you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years!

So often the duo of John Lennon and Sir Paul have written such simple melodic lyrics that will stand the test of time. When I think of today's artists, I find very few that I think will still be listened to forty years after their creator. I think maybe Kanye West, DMB, Coldplay and a few others... "For No One" was recorded in 1965. Now, I will resume my normal post as social commentator on things only I find interesting:

1. The Des Moines Register had a poll that had Obama number one in the Iowa pre-caucus poll. That really excites me. I think Hillary will do really well in New Hampshire but if Obama could win Iowa, that would be huge!

2. When will the Superbowl forgive young people for the Janet Jackson fiasco and allow people under 45 perform at the halftime show. The last three acts have been Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, and Prince. This February's Superbowl halftime show will feature Tom Petty. Yawn.

3. I was thoroughly entertained by Desperate Housewives last night.

4. It was great to see friends from college and high school on Friday and Saturday night. I wish more friends would make the effort to make the laborious drive up to Minneapolis. Andrew is the obvious exception since he is moving here. But I can think of SEVERAL trips I have made to neighboring states and I can count on one hand the visits to Minneapolis. Apparently places like Ames, Iowa must be pretty happening on the weekends.

5. The NCAA football national championship game between Ohio State and LSU disgusts me. This was supposed to be the year of the underdog and great upsets. Yet...

USC won the Pac 10
Ohio State won the Big 10
LSU won the SEC
Oklahoma won the Big 12
West Virginia won the Big East
Virginia Tech won the ACC

As usual, there were some great stories like Illinois finishing second in the Big 10, and Kansas going 11-1 but all in all, the winners stayed winners and losers stayed losers.

6. The goal for Iowa State football next year is to be 6-6. That's average. Do you know what average means? It means you're the best of the lousiest and the lousiest of the best. I have no problem being the lousiest of the best... for now. Big 12 title in 2011.

7. I am thinking about buying either Netflix or Blockbuster's equivalent. Does anybody have any tips or suggestions?

8. The worst part of the winter is what is does to your car/driving. I hate already being late getting ready for work and now I have to sit and scrape my window, heat up my car, and melt half the ice on my window so I can barely see and attempt to drive to work. Then, once I get going, I have the privilege of going 30 mph on the highway because people forget how to drive in the winter. Roar!!!

9. While having lunch with a certain Robbins character on Saturday, we both agreed that Christmas would be a lot better if nobody would get anybody anything. I don't know what to get my 19 year old sister? Or my 53 year old Dad? Wouldn't it be better if we all saved our money and celebrated the real Christmas? Plus, I don't need anything. Sure on my list included some fun CD's and DVD's, but in reality, what I need are things like a tie rack and a new belt. But, I don't want get a tie rack for Christmas.