Mariah Careys’ 10th studio album, E = MC2, as you may have guessed doesn’t have anything to do with Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. It actually means "Emancipation of Mimi to the second power." If you’re not in the know, that’s the title of her widely received 2005 album, which came out after a series of commercial failures, a nervous breakdown, and a rumored suicide attempt.
So is this one any good? Guardian.co.uk has a review. Quoting the website, in the question of vocal prowess:
Carey’s voice has been mocked, bizarrely, as being a triumph of technique over soul - an argument that fails to comprehend that technique and soul are intertwined, that technique primarily exists as a means to convey emotion - but she is on fine vocal form throughout E=MC2…
When she sings elsewhere, "Them other regularities, they can’t compare with MC," it is hard not to agree.
CD release date is April 15, 2008. Through "the powers that be" (no, I didn’t get a free CD copy this time), I was able to listen to the entire album and I must say I’m liking it so far. That is if the involuntary tapping of my foot while listening to the tracks is any indication. The songs are a hybrid from different genres - pop, hip-hop, reggae, even gospel. Too far removed from the singer who dished out one of my most favorite CDs of all time - Daydream - this Mariah is someone I can still appreciate listening to but not so much seeing. I still regret not watching her concert here a few years ago, though. Love her or hate her, there’s no argument to the statement that she’s one of the best singers of all time.
For the past 2 weeks, I haven’t been getting enough sleep because of the demands of setting up a blog in my own domain (and a paid host, too). First things first, is one blog not enough? Not for me, no. I have been seriously blogging for more than a year and my archive here at i.ph has grown too large for me to move to another site for collective purposes. Such an endeavor would also mean losing more than a thousand comments (if the comment numbers in my links are to be believed), which mean so much to me. Besides, a number of my friends have opened an i.ph blog (I’ve also been lurking on sites of others who want to keep their blogs a secret, heh he) and I wouldn’t want to miss on the fun. Some of them I get to see every single day except Sundays, but there’re always some things we don’t really talk about but get to share online.
Second, as I’ve said before, I want to separate my more serious, introspective articles, lest it means the other site becomes a spiderweb of frustrations and heavy-laden, if at times nonsensical, thoughts. I scrapped the idea of using two names, though. It proved to be confusing and unnecessary.
Third, I wouldn’t deny setting my sights on problogging. Like what an officemate said, it would be great to earn from something you love doing. My only worry, as it had always been, about this goal is the tendency to sacrifice content for payoff. Here’s hoping I wouldn’t go that far.
So it is just timely that I stumbled upon this article from The New York Times, stating how three professional bloggers have recently died due to the complications of 24/7 Web blogging stress. In this pay-per-click / pay-per-post business, the propensity to produce more to earn more comes naturally. Even for those who blog just for fun, and end up having so much fun they keep their faces to their computer monitors as much as they can, it doesn’t hurt to be reminded that you just have to stop sometimes. The cyberspace is such an immense universe to conquer. Don’t forget to go back to earth each time.
In the same manner that ven and other badminton players I know say "Thank you" when the opposing team commits an error and thus gives up a point, I’m thanking Nikolay Davydenko for beating Rafael Nadal in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, today.
If Federer can’t win a tournament yet this year, so can’t Nadal. Eh, that’s just me. I don’t want Fed to lose the no. 1 spot anytime soon. But if by some miracle Roger wins the French this year, then by all means Rafa, try to grab the top spot before The Djoker does.
Because it is too hot this summer, I had been thinking about cutting my hair short. When I finally did, I felt quite sad. Not that I hated what the hairdresser came up with [I’m the type who sits there and tells the stylist "You do what you think will look good; Bahala ka na (more on this later)]. I guess women will understand what I mean by having that panicky-almost-regretting-it feeling when you see clumps and clumps of your hair falling to the floor. I usually only ask for a trim because I like keeping it shoulder-length or longer. Long hair is a lot more versatile. But then again, Huh?! Did I just say that? As if I style my hair everyday.
Now on to my "more on this…" Since an officemate referred me to her hairdresser in Jesi Mendez salon in Park Square, Makati, I never let anyone else touch my hair. That was for almost three years until she went to work abroad. Upon the suggestion of another friend, I then went to try Mary Pauline salon at the Mall of Asia. If there’s one thing I can say about these relatively pricey salons, it is that, from my experience, they’re giving value for your money. In Jesi Mendez, they even serve free iced tea or coffee; haircut from a senior stylist is about PhP400 . Mary Pauline didn’t have free refreshments, though. Haircut costs about PhP450. I said earlier that I let the stylist do what she or he think will look good without giving my own preferences. That’s one reason why I don’t hesitate about shelling out more than I probably should for a haircut. With their asking price, I somehow feel that they have to give an excellent and quality service. They have to know what they are doing. That may sound shallow, but I haven’t been disappointed, so that works for me….
Main Entry:di£va
Function:noun
Etymology:Italian, literally, goddess, from Latin, feminine of divus divine, god — more at DEITY
Date:18831 : PRIMA DONNA
2 : a usually glamorous and successful female performer or personality; a fashion diva; especially: a popular female singer; pop divas
Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary
I heart Mariah Carey. I mean the 90s Mariah - before the infamous nervous breakdown and before Mimi got emancipated.
Having the "reputation for being one of the most demanding A-listers ever," UK’s The Daily Mail reports that MC has landed in London and is currently flexing her diva muscles to promote her new album, E = MC2. I don’t mind the play on Einstein; I hate physics anyway.
Click on the link above to read this chanteuse’s top diva moments. Here are my personal "favorites":
When signing autographs this week at Selfridges department store, Mariah demanded a £50,000 antique table, covered with silk cloth, to scribble upon, flown in from New York. She sat on a £1,000 throne and was surrounded by roses and butterflies.
Perhaps Mariah’s single greatest moment of diva madness came when she checked into London’s Baglioni Hotel in 2005. At 2 am, a team of her minions arrived to check that everything was ready for their mistress’s arrival. She, meanwhile, was driven around in her limo, until the hotel had rolled out a red carpet, lined with white candles, for her to make her entrance.
