Dec. 12: Under the influence

People are talkin' '

Bout the way I'm walkin' 

Troubled by the change in my stride 

Everyone's askin' 'Bout the way I'm actin' 

Bothered by the look in my eyes 

They can see a difference In my way of livin' 

But they don't know the reason why I can't wait to tell them what is wrong with me

Those are lyrics from a song called Under the Influence. At first blush, we don't know what the context is. The narrator could be in love, on drugs, or has a new purpose in life. It is helpful to know that the song is by a Columbus-based Christian Contemporary Music group called Anointed.

The second verse, posted below, gives us the rest of the story.

Love without condition 
This is my addiction 
It's a need that only God can fill 
Once I got to taste it 
Nothing could replace it 
Now I've let it overtake my will I admit my weakness 
Craving its sweetness I have givin' into its control
Love has got a hold on me and won't let go 

And bang. Now we know that the narrator has found religion. 
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There's more than one song called Under the Influence. I chose the one above because I remember it from a two-disc compilation album of Contemporary Christian Music I bought in 1997. I thought that listening to worship music would make me a better Christian. It did, actually. You tend to believe what you surround yourself with and this is why I'm a better Christian in church than I am at a strip club.
There is a song called Under the Influence by a person named Chris Brown. I just read the lyrics. They are filthy. The words "Under the Influence" do not appear in the song which, I think, is about a guy who sees an attractive woman and pretty much demands she go to his place so she can fulfil his animal needs. 
Eminem also has a song called Under the Influence. The lyrics start off like this:
So you can suck my...
Okay, let's stop right there. And you know, at about this point, I think I'll just agree with all the foaming at the mouth atheists who say that religion poisons everything.
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The American magician Penn Jillette has never even sampled a recreational drug and has never tasted alcohol. I believe the same was true about James Randi. It's also true about Gene Simmons of KISS. I'm willing to bet that none of those three have WOW: The Year's Top 30 Christian artists and songs in their personal collections. I have never used recreational drugs but I have tasted alcohol. I wish I could say I haven't. There would be some kind of awesome status upgrade in being able to say that.
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Tell you what, friends and neighbours. Last night, Cornwall, Ontario was under the influence of a massive windstorm. I spent the early part of the evening doing a magic show at my church and, as I drove down to Domino's to pick up a pizza, I saw the havoc that the wind was making. The wind had knocked lights off of buildings; they were dangling by their wires, dancing like giant drunk fireflies. An empty garbage can rolled across Pitt Street and slammed into a mailbox. The back fender of a pickup truck lay in the middle of the intersection of Pitt and Fifth.
During all this, the lights in the buildings flickered on and off. One second, each side of the street was a tapestry of colourful Christmas lights. The next second, darkness. The wind howled like a banshee. I wish I could say that the sky was all purple and there were people running everywhere...
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I'm writing this note in my clean apartment. I am not a clean person by nature. (My mom once said that I was mostly perfect except for one big fault, I'm a slob. She's wrong about that. I'm far from perfect. Being a slob is just one of my many faults.) Anyway, Ashley knew that I'd never be able to get my messy apartment back to optimal orderly condition. Pretty much all I can do is take junk and move it around. So she, along with her mom and her daughter, came to my place to make order out of chaos. It was an early Christmas present. She knew that I tend to thrive, creatively, in orderly environments. I think that's true of most of us.
So I am writing this note under the influence of a clean apartment.
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So far this month, I have been under the influence of 12 different people. All of them have influenced my creative spark, fired up my muse, taken me to new worlds simply by offering me a title. I have also been scolded for resorting to the scatological and Grade 7 memories. I will say, once again, that I wish I dreamed up this project when I was a child. I could have made it my life's work.
Thank you thank you thank you.