How Do I Get My Picture To Display?

Hi!

This is probably a really stupid question about pictures, but here goes. I was finally able to upload a picture for my profile after figuring out that the one I originally had was too large. However, when I look at my posts, the picture does not display underneath my name like most everyone else's. If I click on my member name, I can see the picture, but I would it to display under my member name as well.

So I must be missing something, because lots of people have pictures that display there. Any help you can provide is appreciated.

Thanks!

Why Do We All Love Him So Much?

It’s a big world out there with so many twitters and tweets and faces and tubes and blogospheres, and I’m but one meaningless one in many millions, but for whatever it’s worth, I’m throwing my “Reflections on This Mystery” out to the ether to land where it may, or may not, as the case may be.

I’m an old lady. I turn 50 this year. I watch my 90-yr-old mother, and I know in my heart that I am far from old, but I know that to the under-30 crowd, I’m ancient. I remember. I was in the under-30 crowd not so long ago.

So last Spring, I developed a fascination with someone I watched on TV, which was an extremely unusual event. Not at first, he grew on me. I didn’t vote for him until he sang “Little Sparrow”, and even then I did it reluctantly. At the end of the day though, when it came right down to it, I voted for him in the final 320 times. Okay, I’m sure that lots of people voted for him more than that, but really, is that anything any self-respecting, almost 50-year-old woman should be doing? And then I made all my friends who didn’t watch AI watch the episodes I taped on my DVR. Worse yet, I watched them over and over myself, especially when I was feeling down. (They always cheered me up...)

This was only the beginning, as I signed up for DCO and and this site, and pre-ordered his CD on Amazon as soon as I could, then waited with childlike anticipation until it appeared.

As soon as the tour was announced, I went scouting for my opportunity to see him in person, but at that time there were no scheduled dates for anywhere near me. So a friend and I journeyed from Cleveland to Niagara Falls to see him, an unforgettable trip all around, since I had never seen Niagara Falls before either. I’ve since been to see him in Akron, the day after his brother’s funeral (God bless him), and now I have 3rd row seats to see him for my 50th birthday in August. (Nice of him to schedule that just for my birthday, wasn’t it?)

In the meantime, of course, I frequently visit DCO (I posted this 'essay' on that site, too) and this site to keep up on the latest news. I haven’t liked everything he’s done, but that’s okay, he has the right to be human like the rest of us.

But when it comes to the websites, there is one thing that is quite obvious on both of them. It’s crystalline clear that I am not the only crazy person, or even the craziest person, when it comes to DCO. (In this context, that means 'David Cook Obsession'. One friend joked that DC is my Higher Power in life, which was a funny joke, but at least I’m sane enough to know that isn’t true! )

So why are we all crazy? It’s been a mystery to me for myself, and I wonder about others, too. Why are we all so in love with him?

Okay, I’m not dead yet, and believe it or not, no matter the appearances, I feel 25 inside, so the most obvious reason is sheer magnetic attraction. (And he is a year older than my oldest son – that’s the rule, you know, you can’t date anyone younger than your oldest child...)

But that’s not really it. There’s his music, of course. I have read comments in several places that his music is “just generi-rock”, so what’s the big deal about, but personally, I consider that statement bordering on the ridiculous. And don’t get me wrong, I love his music. I’ve listened to his CD more times than I can count, and that doesn’t even count watching the AI reruns I taped!

But I don’t think that’s all of it either. There’s his tremendous stage presence – his live performances certainly put that “generi-rock” slur to rest (although I have to say that I think his CBTM TV performances were lackluster at best, sorry, just my opinion).

But I don’t think that’s all of it either. So here’s my real theory. A while back, I read what I thought was a very profound article about the Susan Boyle phenomenon. It went something like this:

"But there's something else Susan Boyle awakens in us as we watch her come out of her shell: our own selves. Who among us does not move through life with the hidden sense, maybe even quiet desperation, that we are destined for more? That underneath our ordinary exterior lies an extraordinary soul? That given the right opportunity, the right stage, the right audience, we would shine as the stars we truly are?"

"It's easy to admire Susan. But it's far more interesting to be transformed by her. 'There is grace,' a friend recently wrote to me, 'in being molded by your own gifts.' To allow yourself to be molded by your own gifts takes courage. You have to be willing to stand there, exposed and authentic, while the audience rolls their eyes at you and sneers, expecting failure. And then, of course, you have to fail, laugh or cry, and keep going until, one day, they stop laughing and start clapping."

Wow. "Who among us does not move through life with the hidden sense... that we are destined for more?" Who among us does not hope that maybe somehow, in some way, we are something more than ordinary?

Wow. “There is grace in being molded by your own gifts…" To have the courage to allow yourself to be molded by your own gifts...

Wow. “To stand there, exposed and authentic.”

Of course, DC is not a frumpy, middle-aged, British old maid, but isn’t that what he did? Stand there, exposed and authentic? From the first time he touched my heart with “Little Sparrow”, to the time he broke my heart as he held back the tears after his stunning rendition of “The World I Know”, and everything in between, he has symbolized everything I value most in life – heart, soul, authenticity, imagination, creativity. Everything I hope in my heart every day is in me.

And so, he has inspired me to be a better me, or to at least look for that nugget of Truth that exists deep down inside of all of us, no matter how large or small it may be.

And that’s my answer to the mystery. No matter how I say it, it still sounds crazy, and while I fantasize that someday he will miraculously pick me out of the crowd and validate all of this for me, I think it’s more likely that he’d just look at me weird (you know that funny look he has) and go running away as fast as he could! I couldn’t put it into words in three minutes anyway, so I don’t stay around for the meet-and-greet. I’m just one in many millions to him, after all.

Now back to this golden age of communication and technology. Most of the time, it all just makes me feel dizzy and insignificant, all the opinions, all the blogs, all the twits (or is that a tweet, whatever that is?), all the jargon… I’m sure I’ll soon be left behind. What the heck is an avatar? How do you embed a link? What would you even embed a link to? Heck, I couldn’t even upload a picture for my profile successfully!

So I throw this essay out there knowing that in the grand scheme of things, it will likely slip through the vast world of information technology totally unnoticed. Who wants to read the equivalent of someone’s extremely self-indulgent English college term paper? Certainly not me!

But I put it out there anyway, because you know what? Even in a world where I am insignificant, I get to count.

I stand here, exposed and authentic, and I count to me. David Cook reminded me.

I hope you count to you, too.

Walmart Version

I made a special trip to Walmart to pick up a couple copies of DCTR because I thought it is the version that has the Breathe Tonight bonus track. I already have the version with the TOML bonus track, so I certainly wasn't looking for that. I just heard Breathe Tonight this week and fell in love with the song, and wanted to acquire it legally.

So I bought two copies, one for me, one for a friend, only to realize when I got home that it is the same version that I already have, with TOML instead of Breathe Tonight. What's up with that? Am I missing something?

Avalanche

Hey - I'm loving the CBTM video, and it's great that David has another single out. I'm just wondering if I'm the only one who thinks that "Avalanche" is overlooked? It's also a great romantic song, and in my opinion, it's the most original song on the CD, it has the best vocals and intonation (from the band as well as David), and the most honesty/intimacy. It also brings to mind David's stunning performance of "The World I Know", which I think was David's signature moment on AI. (Interestingly enough, at David's concert in Niagara Falls, he chose to sing "The World I Know". He did not sing TOML!)

One other very important thing about Avalanche that I appreciate is the fact that it's a DAVID COOK song, not a Zac Maloy song!

Oh well, I may have to live in the wishful minority; at least I can listen to ALL of his songs whenever I want. Life is good!

About Seneca And Niagara...

Poem After David at Seneca, and Niagara Falls

So last Spring,
Something called to me.
It was long overdue.
I was better, I was happy,
But you made me remember intimacy.
Ecstasy.
You were part of a spiritual renewing for me.

So now and again,
I’ve found I can still “Dream of mermaids,
And motorcycles
And meeting a man who can dance…”

With me.
If for some reason,
He does not appear,
Surprisingly,
I’ve found he still lives somewhere here inside of me,
And that, to me,
Feels something like inner beauty.

I also remember there’s a big, bright, beautiful world out there,
Bigger than you, surely bigger than me.
Bigger dreams, amazing creativity.
Of course, there will always be a place for you.
Always a part, but only a part,
Because as I know you know,
“All these heroes come and go…”
Just the way it should be,
And that’s okay with me.

In the meantime,
The river waves dance merrily,
Cheerfully,
Brilliantly,
Dreamily,
Only to be pulled,
To come pounding
Powerfully,
Powerlessly,
Inexorably

Down.

Timeless,
Constant,
Ever-changing, but always the same,
Totally oblivious to all of it,
Because really
It’s all so insignificant.

And that’s okay, too,
‘Cause at the end,
There’s a rainbow
And it follows you
Wherever you go.

Thanks for the memories…
We love you!