So long as we're talking about musicals, I just can't resist sharing this piece from Jekyll & Hyde. Linda Eder sings A New Life for her 2000 PBS concert.
I know, it's sappy; it's reeking with self-pity, of the I Dreamed a Dream (Les Miserables) variety. But it's also hopeful and, well, dreamy.
Here's one for every lovelorn girl out there.
A new life; What I wouldn't give to have a new life; One thing I have learned as I go through life
Nothing is for free along the way!
A new start; That's the thing I need to give me new heart; Half a chance in life to find a new part;
Just a simple role that I can play
A new hope; Something to convince me to renew hope! A new day; Bright enough to help me find my way!
A new chance; One that maybe has a touch of romance; Where can it be, the chance for me?
A new dream; I have one, I know that very few dream; I would like to see that overdue dream
Even though it never may come true!
A new love; Though I know there's no such thing as true love; Even so, although I never knew love; Still I feel that one dream is my due!
A new world; This one thing I want to ask of you world; Once before it's time to say Adieu, world;
One sweet chance to prove the cynics wrong!
A new life; More and more I'm sure as I go through life; Just to play the game and to pursue life; Just to share it's pleasures and belong; That's what I've been here for all along!
Each day's a brand new life!
Inspired by Ven's latest post, I searched YouTube for some of my favorite musicals. We were talking about how heart-wrenching some of these songs can be. Words and music, on their own, are enough to convey a multitude of emotions. Together, and combined with a convincing performance, they become such potent swoon inducer.
Here's a trio of clips that show a common theme - two women falling for the same man.
In His Eyes (Jekyll & Hyde)
In My Life/A Heart Full of Love (Les Miserables)
I Still Believe (Miss Saigon)
Just got off from a 15-minute taxi ride. Cabbies do talk a lot! Di na ako nasanay. This most recent one looks a bit drunk; thank goodness it was a short trip.
I may be socially inept at times but I see no reason for spilling out your family tales to strangers (especially those who doesn't look the least bit interested).
I was carrying my huge two-compartment black badminton bag so maybe he was a bit suspicious. I was wearing a sweatshirt, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out why he asked me if I work as a guard. I was about to get really offended when he then said he thought P-—R (the street where I told him to drop me off) is a security services company. I'm still thinking he's suspicious of my bag. [Did he think I had rifles in them?] Then he went on to say that if he'll be so unfortunate to take a robber as a passenger, he'll just fight it off and kill him (or them). [Which is when I started to get really scared of him.] He said, "You can never tell. Even with a pretty lady; she could be something else. Sa hirap ng buhay ngayon." [It's time for me to be all assuming now and suppose he thinks I'm pretty.] But then, "Ang gaganda ng mga pasahero minsan. Ang babata pa! Minsan nga, me nagpahanap pa sa akin ng foreigner. Sabi ko, taxi driver ako, hindi bugaw." [Gad, and now he's talking about prostitutes!] He went on to rant about prostitutes and morality and foreigners with certain appendages that fall to their knees (forgive my euphemism).
I thought it couldn't get any worse. So long as he doesn't make me the topic, I can take it. But I suppose one can't be so lucky, "Ilang taon ka na, ineng? For the first time, I managed to smile. "23 po." Then the usual question came, "Me asawa ka na?" I can only do one lie at a time, "Not married, no." I looked outside the window and suddenly felt that I've been inside the cab for hours.
You'd think that ends there. But there's still about 5 minutes of travel left. And so it was in that span of time that I learned about his friends, his cousin, his cousin's boyfriend, his cousin's mother, and their entanglements.
If this tale doesn't teach you anything, at least heed this advice: Don't drink and drive.
My horoscope today says that I am "currently demystifying the concept of talent." Meaning, that I'm finally seeing that there are some things you can do, and you can do better, if you have the guts, the heart, and the determination to learn and improve. It's not all about predisposition. That, of course, is all relative still.
Like, at this point, I believe no amount of hard work can make me learn to play the piano like Alicia Keys. She's just released her new album, As I Am. You can listen to tracks here. Some may find her overrated, but I've watched her live and I really enjoyed her performance then. I've always preferred singers who write their own songs and are also instrumentalists over those who are just plain divas. Anyway, I think I'm getting beside my own point now.
So here's one for improvement and improvisation. At a badminton court last Sunday, a regular playmate told me that it only takes perseverance (her word: tiyaga) to up one's level in the game. I agreed, of course. For the last two years, I've been adding a lot of that particular trait to enthusiasm. Not always easy when you get ignored or make fun of by higher-level players. But it's all part of the experience. In the end, it's all just a game. Everybody goes home back to their own lives where no one is keeping score. The funny thing is, before I did go home, I got some unsolicited makeover advice. In the spirit of self-improvement, I'm thinking about doing something about it soon.
Love is not a habit, a commitment, or a debt. It isn't what romantic songs tell us - love simply is. … love is. No definitions. Love and don't ask too many questions. Just love.
Sherine Khalil/Athena/Hagia Sofia/The Witch of Portobello
Another book that explores the Divine Feminine - the female side of God. In a time when people are either too religious or too detached from spirituality, some dare follow an entirely different path in the search of life's true meaning. I have no intention of promoting a particular belief system. I am merely reinstating what has been written down. Wiser men have warned me a long time ago about choosing what I read, lest books sway me into something dangerous in way of faith. But allow me to remove myself from the subject of religion but instead focus on the more universal aspects of the book.
The Witch of Portobello is Paolo Coelho's latest work. It is the story of Sherine Khalil, the one who chose to be called Athena, who summons within herself an inner goddess and calls her Hagia Sofia, who tells people things that they want and need to hear using magic [used here to denote something that is supernatural; enchantment would probably be a more suitable term], thus earning the name The Witch of Portobello. Her story was told through the eyes of people who knew her - both those who loved and followed her and those who were instrumental to her transformation from a restless young lady to a woman of mission.
Athena had it all - a loving family, a successful career, a husband and a son. But she was not happy. She felt that she needed to fill the white spaces - those moments that exist in between the time you are doing something you deem as useful; that part of your being which doubts your true identity. Like when she studied calligraphy - she mastered the letters but the spaces were there; they make her work incomplete. So she went to search for her blood mother (a gypsy who was banished from her community for sleeping with a foreigner) in Romania, in a town called Transylvania. Forgiving her mother (who left her at an orphanage) did not give her heart peace, but her journey opened up a new world. She gained a teacher, one who told her to teach by means of learning from her students. She discovered how dancing out of rhythm, to the point of exhaustion, could make her in touch with the side of her that is much wiser and much more enlightened. Then she taught other people to do the same.
Perhaps Athena was just like the rest of us. Just another lonely soul looking for a meaning that transcends beyond merely breathing and getting through the day. Maybe she was privy to something most of us couldn't [or wouldn't care to] see. And she used that to free herself, from inhibitions or repressions that she felt was making her unhappy, all in the search of a purpose in life. Or maybe she was just one of those people who uses charm and beauty to make others believe there is something else inside her, something more special and even superhuman, to gain others' trust and devotion. In the end, it was all about feeling loved and protected. And protecting those who you love most.
We find and manifest love (and faith) in different ways. We'll forever debate on the line that separates what is divine and what is human. But if there's one thing we won't argue on, it's that love is. It's our greatest weakness. It's our greatest strength.
Photo from Wikipedia
It never occurred to me that nursery rhymes can be scary. I just thought Humpty Dumpty was very fragile and that his fate was supposed to be a lesson in being careful; in not taking unnecessary risks. Why sit on a wall if you're an egg? Beats me.
Well, I've been rewatching Steven Spielberg's Taken and Dakota Fanning's narration never fails to move me. If I can write the work of my life, I hope to do it the way Leslie Bohem wrote Taken.
When I was very little, my mother would read Nursery Rhymes to me. I always hated Humpty Dumpty. That's a very scary poem. No one knows how to put it back together again–Not all the king's horses, or all the king's men.
No one wants to think that there's anything that can fall apart that badly, but, of course…anything can.
I guess that's what's so scary about Humpty Dumpty.
–Allie
I came across a fallen tree,
I felt the branches; are they looking at me?
Is this the place we used to love?
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely onKeane (Somewhere Only We Know)
I am indeed getting old. It's tougher when you can feel it in all levels - physically, mentally, emotionally. People would tell me sometimes, "Just enjoy it. You don't really have to be worrisome all the time." Sure, that's good a mantra "Life's a bitch! Enjoy it anyway." But then I realized that to really have fun, you have to be superficial. Take the good things as they come and be in the moment. No thoughts of what you're leaving behind; of what you're actually sacrificing for a few moments of self-serving fun.
Consider this: I always want to play badminton every Thursday night but I seldom do because I can't leave extra work behind. That's just being responsible, and that's what I live by above all else. But weighing it out, that's also being irresponsible - to my own well-being. Life.Work.Balance. I see that on our company walls everytime and I still think being a corporate slave is admirable!
That's just me rambling on. Because I can feel in every vein, muscle, and sinew the weight of not living right. There's something missing and the gap is getting wider by the minute. There are times when I'm travelling to work and I'll look at houses, markets, rivers, and bridges and feel a sense of loss. In those profound moments, I can feel my mind drawing sketches and matching them with those I already have inside through years of looking at other houses, markets, rivers, and bridges. They're inanimate, alright. But there is also history written all over them. Time stamps its presence in everything and, sometimes, if you'll look really closely, you can see the quality of the "life" that breathed into those places. And then you begin to question your own.
Quality. Now, even that is a variable - measured by the standards set by individual people. But that's what I long for. I no longer want to experience things just for the sake of having to go through them. Everything has got to mean something. I can see the folly in that, and I guess that's what makes it so hard.
There's this quote I found from an 18th century author, Boscoe Pertwee - "I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure."
Ah, to get old in this bipolar world!
Quite a number hated Maria Sharapova's outfit at the YEC, but I dare say it's nice. Besides, it sure brought her luck, reaching tomorrow's final against Justine Henin after a disappointing 2007 season, which started when she was overpowered by Serena Williams at the Australian Open in January. She almost didn't get in, being the 9th ranked player for the year, but Venus Williams didn't play because of her anemia.
As for Henin, whatever works for her. She's been wearing the same outfit for a few months now. She's never one to wear anything flashy or revealing or unconventional, anyway.
Losing semifinalists were Anna Chakvetadze and Ana Ivanovic.
Feisty Serbian Jelena Jankovic went 0-3 in her round-robin matches, a disappointing end to a gruelling year that saw her win 72 out of 97 matches. She was forced to retire in the second set against Marion Bartoli of France, who was called in as a replacement for an injured Serena Williams. Bartoli was demolished 6-0 6-0 by Henin earlier, in what many called a "grudge match" - Justine took revenge for her shock Wimbledon semifinal loss earlier this year.
Other participants were Daniela Hantuchova and world no. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova. Neither made any major splash in the tournament.
Take a look at some of the outfits:
[Photos from TSF]
[Yahoo Photos]
Except for Sharapova's, everything else looked generic. But, hey, I'd still have the others', given the chance. Maybe except Bartoli's and Kuznetsova's (too many sponsor patches). For now, these work for me just fine.
There're videos at YouTube documenting (women's) tennis fashion from over a hundred years ago and from the 1920s to the present.
Fill you mind with the meaningless stimuli of a world preoccupied with meaningless things, and it will not be easy to feel peace in your heart
Marianne Williamson
No, I'm not that familiar with her. I'm not a follower of her teachings. But I like some of the quotes I've read that reflect her philosophy.
Helpful at times when you're really, really pissed.
Even in the U.S., tennis is a sport sorely lacking in popularity these days. Say Roger Federer and Justine Henin; I bet a lot would say, who? That, despite the fact that both are the current world no. 1 and had both been winning tournament after tournament these past few years. Of course, Federer is fast proving his claim to the greatest ever title, and Justine is simply the most brilliant competitor on the women's side, defeating even the hard-hitting, ball-bashing, well-known Williams sisters in the same tournament ( U.S. Open 2007). Yet, neither is as recognizable or popular as, say Andre Agassi and Maria Sharapova. Steffi Graf, despite being a reclusive champion, was well known even among those who never saw her play.
So when the best of the best cannot generate the much-needed publicity to promote the sport, how do tournament organizers cope? They resort to gimmicks!
Such as hiring model girls to replace ball boys. Despite resistance from some players and officials, the practice has been going on since 2004. And last year, the girls of the WTA started to have their own version of male models on court. Well, only in Madrid (Spain).
But this week in Paris, during the presentation of trophy to tournament winner David Nalbandian, this. Totally inappropriate, in my opinion. It kind of takes away the immensity of his achievement. Why, it's the Argentine's second straight ATP Masters series title, winning Madrid last month against Federer, beating Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal on his way to the final. Then, in Paris last Sunday, he thrashed Rafael Nadal 64, 60, in the final and defeated Federer during the third round. Well, I guess even Nalbandian isn't such a popular name, although he's been around the tour for quite some time now.
While you're deciding if this merging of tennis and fashion is bizzare, I'm wondering when Anna Wintour will show up at one of Federer's tournaments again, and excited over the Sony Ericsson Year-End Championships in Madrid this week. Here's the top 8 contenders.
From left to right (world ranking): Anna Chakvetadze (7), Ana Ivanovic (4), Svetlana Kuznetzova (2), Maria Sharapova (6), Justine Henin (1), Daniela Hantuchova (9), Jelena Jankovic (3), Serena Williams (5)
