Oh Pandora, how do I love thee?

Let me count the ways…

• I love that I can access you from work or at home, and not have to worry about which computer I've synced my iTunes library with.

• I love that you give me access to WAY more music than I have hard drive space/money for, and help me discover new stuff all the time. For FREE.

• I love that I can dial you up on my netbook, take it into the kitchen, and listen to TobyMac or Sinatra or Aretha Franklin or Jack Johnson while I putter around.

• And I really, REALLY love that when Jason brings home my Android phone in the next day or two, there will, indeed, be an app for that.

Sigh. What did I ever do without you, Pandora dear?

Need a laugh?

Yeah, well, so do I.

The 23-year-old daughter of my friend Stephanie from church was killed in a wreck last night. She leaves the most adorable 3-year-old daughter this side of Anna Marie at that age.

(I never met my friend's daughter, but she brought her granddaughter to church with her on a pretty regular basis.)

And, I got some reminders about Anna Marie's upcoming summer camp trip in the mail today, so I was reminded that MY KID IS GOING TO OKLAHOMA FOR A WEEK THIS SUMMER. WITHOUT ME.

And, well, there's just a lot of funky junk going on in the world in general, and in my life in particular.

So, in honor of Stephanie, I present you with a YouTube video we all watched during a break in choir practice about a month ago. (Stephanie is one of the altos, like I am, and we rely HEAVILY on her leadership of our section.)

Our music pastor referenced this video in conversation, and when we took a break, Stephanie went into his office and found it so we could all watch.

Enjoy. And I hope that you aren't in such need of a laugh today as I am - and that if you are, this little clip will provide it for you.

He's a bad motha

Shut yo' mouth!

I pondered many titles for this post, like:

"He's a complicated man, and no one understands him but Tom Cruise"

or,

"Who is the man, who was on TV yesterday talkin' bout Bernie Mac?"

How unreal is that? Just Saturday, Isaac Hayes was on our local (Memphis) news stations talking about Bernie Mac, who had died that day. And then, Jason gets online yesterday and exclaims, "Isaac Hayes has died!"

(And I'm pretty sure Jason only knows who that is because we moved to this area, and Isaac Hayes used to operate an eponymous restaurant at one of the malls here. Hot buttered soul, indeed!)

And then last night, we were at our small group meeting, and my phone (which I usually switch to silent at such events) rings, and it's my mom, asking if Isaac Hayes is really dead.

Because when you pick up the tail end of a photo montage on a news cast, that's the first thing you assume, right?

And living in this area, I'm pretty sure I'll have the theme to Shaft running through my head for like, the next week or so.

Just like last year when I mused that it was completely awesome that James Brown, the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, had to work hard even after death - multiple funerals, multiple costume changes, and a several-month delay in being interred - I think that Isaac Hayes needs an equally-awesome sendoff.

Like, they need to bury him in that get-up from the Oscars that year that the theme from Shaft was nominated - gold chains and all - in a solid-gold coffin. Maybe with a red-velvet interior, and some diamond-shaped windows.

And a rag top.

That would be awesome.

Can you dig it?