A return to blogging

I was surprised to see that I haven't posted since April. I guess that means for the last 5 months of my thesis, I wasn't procrastinating as much.

Yes, that's right, the thesis is finally done. Well, submitted, anyway. I still have to wait for examiners' reports and the almost inevitable revisions. In the meantime I'm catching up on life, and I'm planning to restart this blog. I'll have to change the tagline though, since I'm no longer a procrastinating PhD student. Procrastinating, always; PhD student, just about done!

I have a dilemma, though. I'd like to write more about science and Christianity topics, as well as more general Christians in academia stuff, but I might also like to continue with the random snippets about my life. If I decide I want to put my name to the more academic posts, is it worth starting a new blog, and keeping this for the more mundane, personal stuff?

Thoughts, anyone?

1. Leaving on a Jet Plane

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE
John Denver -Cherry Lane Music Publishing Co., Inc. -ASCAP

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go
I'm standing here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin', it's early morn
The taxi's waiting, he's blowin' his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could cry.

Chorus:
So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go.
I'm leavin' on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go.

There's so many times I've let you down
So many times I've played around
I tell you now, they don't mean a thing
Every place I go, I think of you
Every song I sing, I sing for you
When I come back, I'll wear your wedding ring.

(Chorus)

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time let me kiss you
Then close your eyes, I'll be on my way.
Dream about the days to come
When I won't have to leave alone
About the times, I won't have to say,

(Chorus)

2. The Cruel War

CRUEL WAR
Yarrow/Stookey © Neworld Media Music Publishers- ASCAP/Silver Dawn Music- ASCAP

The Cruel War is raging, Johnny has to fight
I want to be with him from morning to night.
I want to be with him, it grieves my heart so,
Won't you let me go with you?
No, my love, no.

Tomorrow is Sunday, Monday is the day
that your Captain will call you and you must obey.
Your captain will call you it grieves my heart so,
Won't you let me go with you?
No, my love, no.

I'll tie back my hair, men's clothing I'll put on,
I'll pass as your comrade, as we march along.
I'll pass as your comrade, no one will ever know.
Won't you let me go with you?
No, my love, no.

Oh Johnny, oh Johnny, I fear you are unkind
I love you far better than all of mankind.
I love you far better than words can e're express
Won't you let me go with you?
Yes, my love, yes.

Yes, My Love, Yes.

3. Blowin' in the Wind

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND
Bob Dylan- Special Rider Music - SESAC

How many roads must a man walk down
Before they call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
How many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
How many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
How many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
How many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
How many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

4. If I Had A Hammer

IF I HAD A HAMMER
Seeger/Hayes- Ludlow Music Corp. - BMI

If I had a hammer,
I'd hammer in the morning
I'd hammer in the evening,
All over this land

I'd hammer out danger,
I'd hammer out a warning,
I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

If I had a bell,
I'd ring it in the morning,
I'd ring it in the evening,
All over this land

I'd ring out danger,
I'd ring out a warning
I'd ring out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

If I had a song,
I'd sing it in the morning,
I'd sing it in the evening,
All over this land

I'd sing out danger,
I'd sing out a warning
I'd sing out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

Well I got a hammer,
And I got a bell,
And I got a song to sing, all over this land.

It's the hammer of Justice,
It's the bell of Freedom,
It's the song about Love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

It's the hammer of Justice,
It's the bell of Freedom,
It's the song about Love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

5. Lemon Tree

LEMON TREE
Will Holt- Boulder Music Corp.-BMI

When I was just a lad of ten, my father said to me,
"Come here and take a lesson from the lovely lemon tree."
"Don't put your faith in love, my boy", my father said to me,
"I fear you'll find that love is like the lovely lemon tree."

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.

One day beneath the lemon tree, my love and I did lie
A girl so sweet that when she smiled the stars rose in the sky.
We passed that summer lost in love beneath the lemon tree
the music of her laughter hid my father's words from me:

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.

One day she left without a word. She took away the sun.
And in the dark she left behind, I knew what she had done.
She'd left me for another, it's a common tale but true.
A sadder man but wiser now I sing these words to you:

Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.

Image from Ian Britton on freefoto.com

The Very Best of The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary!

My lovely friend Donna bought me The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary for my birthday - my very first P, P & M CD! I've been listening to it tonight, and despite what some may say, Peter, Paul and Mary really do ROCK! Just for the sheer thrill of it, I've decided to count down my top 5 favourite songs from the CD - not my top 5 P, P & M songs of all time, just out of the ones on this album (a hard enough task in itself!) This is the list I had to choose from:

1. Early in the Morning
2. 500 Miles
3. Lemon Tree
4. If I Had A Hammer
5. Where Have all the Flowers Gone
6. Puff, The Magic Dragon
7. The Cruel War
8. This Land is Your Land
9. Blowin' in the Wind
10. Stewball
11. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
12. For Lovin' Me
13. For Baby (For Bobbie)
14. The Times They Are a Changin'
15. Early Mornin' Rain
16. Leaving on a Jet Plane
17. I Dig Rock and Roll Music
18. Too Much of Nothing
19. The Great Mandala (The Wheel of Life)
20. Day is Done
21. El Salvador
22. Wedding Song (There is Love)
23. Follow Me
24. Weave Me the Sunshine
25. Don't Laugh At Me