I finally remembered one of my favorite singer/songwriters released a new album last Tuesday.  Bebo Norman’s self-titled album is well crafted and smartly written. While it seems a bit too “pop rock-ish” for his folky style, there are many tracks that deserve a listen for the words alone.

In my first run though the album, the words to “Britney” immediately stood out.  While I’m not a “fan” of the person it’s about, the message of the song is clear.  Bebo’s sincere apology for scoffing at her as a celebrity who has fallen in the glare of the media’s flashbulbs and video cameras, hit me like a ton of bricks.  I found myself convicted for doing the same.  Laughing at her difficulty and desperate cries for help (figuratively and literally).

Many say who cares? They have it all. Do they really?  No matter what they all seem to have, we are all fallen and in desperate need of God’s grace and mercy.  For some reason we seem to think it’s not real when celebrities fall into tough situations and despair.  Perhaps in a few cases is a pre-planned act to get publicity, but many times it’s more serious than we realize.  Either way it’s fodder for the gossip magazines and entertainment news media.  We as a society eat it up.  Sad but true.  My hope and prayer is we can see all people through God’s eyes, including celebrities.

Bebo talks about the song here.

Below are the lyrics:

Britney
By: Norman/Ingram

“Britney I’m sorry for the lies we told
We took you into our arms then left you cold
Britney, I’m sorry for this cruel, cruel world
We sell the beauty but destroy the girl

Britney, I’m sorry for your broken heart
We stood aside and watched you fall apart
I’m sorry we told you fame would fill you up
And money moves the man so drink the cup

I know love goes around the world we know
And you never see it coming back, you never see it coming back
And I know love goes around the world we know
And you never see it coming back, but I can see it coming back for you

Britney I’m sorry for the stones we throw
We tear you down just so we can watch the show
Britney I’m sorry for the words we say
We point the finger as you fall from grace

I know love goes around the world we know
And you never see it coming back, you never see it coming back
And I know love goes around the world we know
And you never see it coming back, but I can see it coming back for you

It’s coming back for you
Yeah, it’s coming back for you

Britney I do believe that love has come
Here for the broken, here for the ones like us

I know love goes around the world we know
And you never see it coming back, you never see it coming back
And I know love goes around the world we know
And you never see it coming back, but I can see it coming back for you

It’s coming back for you
Yeah, it’s coming back for you”

For the most part, I have no interest in former CNN anchor Aaron Brown’s opinions on the news business. He’s just as biased as anyone else in that business (on either side of the political landscape).

An event that sticks out where I did respect his work was coverage of 9/11. I remember watching him and others report from New York and Washington D.C. as the events were happening that morning on a big screen TV in my office cafeteria. He covered it about as well as anyone could and I appreciated how clearly he communicated new information as it was coming, with that surreal, horrible scene just behind him.
In a recent speech he spoke about the news business today. Highlights were reported in a Palm Beach newspaper online about this speech. Many topics he discussed I could debate and others I could care less about. However there were two statements I thought were important to note:

“‘Truth no longer matters in the context of politics and, sadly, in the context of cable news,’ said Aaron Brown”

“Many Americans on the left and the right aren’t interested in the truth, but simply want news that confirms their viewpoints,” he said.

I read those sentences a few times. Whichever side of the political spectrum we fall on, we do prefer to hear news that confirms our worldview. However, I think many Americans are interested in the truth, whether it agrees with our position or not and if we want to admit it or not. I can absolutely see why he would question that with the culture we live in today. But I see his point in the sense that the truth is not always what we prefer to hear if it doesn’t confirm of our opinions. I think the statement cuts much deeper than cable news channel choices.
Do we want the news to report the unbiased truth? I think we all do, but to his point, many also want it reported to support our personal opinions. But the truth and our personal opinions do not always match up.

This is exactly why I refuse to go near any shopping malls or stores on the day after Thanksgiving. I like to get a deal as much as anyone, but when it’s necessary to sleep on the street overnight and fight though people to get to the goods first at 5 a.m. for a big discount, I’ll pass. My loss? Not a chance. Funny thing is most stores these days have comparable deals year round, not just on one day. Foolishness indeed. I was sleeping soundly while this insanity was going on.

You knew this was coming… A reality TV show (should I really call it that?) in England is being filmed that attempts to dupe unwitting contestants that they are training for space flight. In the end they hope to trick them in to thinking they have been rocketed to space.

All of it is staged, of course, on a old military base. They have been cutoff from the outside world and actors have been placed amongst them to monitor if they are actually believing this whole scenario. The producers hope to make these goofs think they actually fly into space with special effects and video screens. It does seem like a smaller version of what the movie The Truman Show was about. Creating a false “reality” to see how people will react with everyone viewing except the actual cast knowing its fake. I suppose they’ll have to reveal everything when they don’t see the effects of zero gravity.

If they actually fall for this, they have to be some of most gullible people on earth. The more I think about it, it does sound quite funny. Nothing like a good practical joke.