Darling I Do

Some things just never change, and I thank you for that. :'-)

despicable me!

I never get tired with this trailer. Enjoy!

baby its cold outside

I wish I could sing this song with you my dear *sigh*

Season's Greetings folks!

cc: fastidious

Just for Today

Lord, for tomorrow and its needs I do not pray:
Keep me, my God, from stain of sin, Just for today.
Let me both diligently work, And duly pray:
Let me be kind in word or deed, Just for today.

Let me be slow to do my will, Prompt to obey:
Help me to mortify my flesh, Just for today.
Let me no wrong or idle word Unthinkingly say;
Set Thou a seal upon my lips, Just for today.

Let me in season, Lord, be grave, In season, gay;
Let me be faithful to Thy Grace, Just for today.
And if today my tide of life Should ebb away,
Give me Thy Sacraments divine, Sweet Lord, today.

In purgatory's cleansing fires Brief be my stay;
Oh, bid me, if today I die, Go home today.
So, for tomorrow and its needs, I do not pray;
But keep me, guide me, love me, Lord, just for today.

Sister M Xavier

RIP Steve Jobs

Today the world has lost one its best visioners. The man behind the Apple brand passed away this morning. Such an irony that Steve passed one after the latest iPhone 4S is introduced to the public. Later on after the news spread people comes with new terms for iPhone 4S = iPhone 4 Steve.

I was never a big fan of Apple product. As a matter of fact, up until now I only have 2 Apple products. I had the first gen of iPod Mini, I got it in 2005, and now its broken. After that I dont believe in Apple anymore, but last year I decided to give Apple another shot to become the part of my life. I bought a Macbook Pro 15" and believe me or not, this so-called-best-laptop-ever managed to changed my paradigm about computer into a new level. I came out with a conclusion that Apple computer is a computer created for people who can't use computer. Since then I became a big fan of their product. I was thinking of getting the new iPhone 4S as well. At first, I have doubt with the new iPhone, but after I saw the presentation and its features, I've made up my mind. I have to buy that phone. And I would consider that as a tribute to Mr. Steve Jobs and to honor his work.

I dont know you that well Mr. Jobs, I never even met you, but if I know you from your products. Your products speaks for itself of how you are trying to so hard to create technologies that understand human, and I thank you for that.

Good bye Steve! Rest in Peace, the world will never be like what it is right now if theres no Apple products around.

I'm going to close the post with two of my favorite Steve Jobs' quotes:

‎"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

"Stay hungry, stay foolish"

What is Love?

Is funny how people describe love in such different ways. Today my friend shared a picture/note about love, and here's what it says:

I approached a kid and asked:
"What is love?"

The kid answered,
"Love is when a puppy licks your face."

I laughed, but then he added.
"Even after you left him alone all day."

For me personally this picture/note contains three messages.

1. As a canine lover, who own five dogs, there's no doubt about this kid's statement. I believe that a combination of kids and puppies (not literally) will create the most adorable thing in the world.
2. The last sentence the kid said. Love is about having faith in your love one, you believe that no matter where you go, how long you will be gone, you know that love is the bond that holds you both together.
3. Same thing apply in our relationship with the Creator of life. No matter what mistake(s) you did, how awful your behavior is, the Creator will always open His hand when you need His help. He never neglect His best creation.

Spread the love people!

cheers

The Piece of Bread That Fell Wrong Side Up

We all have a tendency to believe in 'Murphy's Law': that everything we do will turn out wrong. Jean Claude Carriere has an interesting story about precisely that feeling.
A man was quietly eating his breakfast. Suddenly, the peace of bread that he had just spread with butter fell to the ground. Imagine his surprise when he looked down and saw that it had landed buttered side up! The man thought he had witnessed a miracle. Excited, he went to tell his friends what happened, and they were all amazed; because when a piece of bread fall on the floor, it nearly always lands buttered side down, making a mess of everything.
'Perhaps you're a saint,' one friend said. 'And this is a sign from God.'
Soon the whole village knew, and they all started animatedly discussing the incident: how was is that, against all expectations, the man's slice of bread had fallen on the floor buttered side up? Since no one could come up with a credible answer, they went to see a Teacher, who lived nearby and told him the story.
The Teacher requested that he be given one night to pray, reflect, and seek divine inspiration. The following day, they all returned, eager for an answer.
'It's quite simple really,' said the Teacher. 'The fact is that the piece of bread fell exactly as it should have fallen, but the butter had been spread on the wrong side.'

(Paulo Coelho, Like The Flowing River)


remember there's always two sides for everything.

Have a great Monday!

do not be afraid

just when you thought you were alone, when you think you can't do it anymore, always remember.

Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you
I have call you by your name, you are mine

When you walk through the waters I'll be with you
You will never sink beneath the waves

When the fire is burning all around you
You will never be consumed by the flames

Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you
I have call you by your name, you are mine

When the fear of loneliness is looming
then remember I am at your side

When you dwell in the exile of the stranger
remember you are precious in my eyes

Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you
I have call you by your name , you are mine

You are mine, O my child, I am your Father
and I love you with a perfect love.

Superhero

I just came back from the cinema few hours ago. Captain America was the movie that I choose to watch today. Overall the story and the cinematography was amazing. I have to say that this movie is one of the must-watch-summer-movie of the year.

One of the scene, the main character (Cap. America) is arguing with a person about what a 'hero' is all about. And here's what I learnt, a hero is not about having enormous size of muscles, going to a war field, killing enemies, saving other people or wearing tight spandex. A hero something that we have inside all of us, its a responsibilities to ourselves and our neighbors. Not only to protect, but to know what its right and one's willingness to sacrifice something for the goods of others. It depends on you whether you want to show it or not.

Everybody is a superhero. Try to dig deeper.

The Way You Are

Good morning. Happy Thursday.

*thumbs*

There's No Such Thing As Perfect Holiday

Baru saja saya kembali dari liburan bersama teman dekat saya dan keluarganya di London. Rehat sejenak dari segala rutinitas di Glasgow yang menjenuhkan dan penuh kepenatan rasanya sungguh nikmat, Anda tidak dapat membayar dengan uang sebanyak apapun. Perasaan lega saat dan rileks, saat Anda melihat bangunan2 kuno dan pemandangan alami yang indah, ataupun saat Anda menerima keramahan dari penduduk lokal setelah Anda berinteraksi dengan mereka. Bagi saya mengeksplorasi tempat atau kota baru dan melihat kebiasaan orang yang hidup di tempat itu adalah suatu hal yang menarik, mungkin bagi Anda itu hal yang membosankan, mungkin Anda adalah tipe pribadi yang lebih memilih untuk berbelanja sesuatu yang khas dari daerah itu. Tapi saya tidak bisa memungkiri, saya juga tetap menikmati pengalaman berburu beraneka ragam pakaian bermerk dan modis dengan harga murah karena saat ini adalah musim dimana sebagian toko menggelar diskon untuk Musim Panas.

Seminggu saya habiskan di ibukota Britania Raya tersebut, sungguh menyenangkan rasanya tinggal di kota itu. Kota metropolis yang 'hidup' dan penuh dengan 'warna'. Lucunya hampir 85% dari penduduk kota tersebut merupakan imigran, tapi itulah yg membuat kota ini menjadi lebih meriah. Tujuan saya datang ke London adalah untuk berlibur, untuk melepaskan diri dari kebosanan. Jadi saat saya tiba disana saya mengatakan kepada teman saya jika saya ingin berlibur, terserah mau dibawa kemana yang penting bisa liburan. Dan benar saja, hari kedua dan ketiga saya habiskan di kota yang terletak di sebelah selatan kota London. Kota turis yang sungguh sangat mengesankan. Saya berkenalan dengan banyak teman baru dan melihat banyak hal menarik di kota ini. Saya tidak akan bercerita mengenai apa saja yang saya lakukan di sana, yang jelas kunjungan ini benar2 berkesan.

Selain liburan tujuan saya datang ke London adalah untuk bertemu seseorang (mantan pacar) yang kebetulan juga sedang berkunjung ke kota ini. Saya memang berharap bisa bertemu, sudah hampir 6 bulan lebih saya tidak bertemu, dan kami berjanji untuk bertemu di London sebelum saya berangkat ke Glasgow. Tapi sayangnya rencana tinggal rencana, lima hari waktu yang bisa saya manfaatkan ternyata tidak satu detik pun saya bisa bertatap muka dengannya. Saya sungguh kecewa, dan saya berpikir liburan saya akan menjadi kacau karena mood saya sudah turun. Tetapi setelah mengingat apa yang pernah saya tulis di post sebelumnya, semua terjadi karena suatu alasan. Pasti Sang Pencipta mempunyai rencana dibalik semua kejadian. Benar saja, jika saja saya bertemu dengannya mungkin saya tidak akan melihat salah satu bagunan bersejarah di kota London, dan tdak tahu apa yang saya lihat dan 'dapatkan' di dalam bangunan tersebut. Ternyata kita memang hanya bisa berencana, yang menentukan hasilnya bukan kita.

Dari pengalaman ini pula saya mendapat ilham, jika tidak ada yang namanya istilah liburan sempurna. Liburan sempurna itu adalah ungkapan untuk menggambarkan liburan yang tak terlupakan, bukan liburan yang mewah dan berlebihan. Banyak kejadian unik, lucu, sedih, dan menyenangkan pada perjalan saya kali ini, dan hal2 inilah yang membuat liburan saya menjadi liburan yang sempurna. Mudah2an bulan depan rencana saya untuk liburan part. 2 juga bisa menjadi liburan yang tak terlupakan.

Pada kesempatan ini saya ingin mengucapkan banyak terima kasih kepada teman saya, adiknya dan ibunya, serta rekan2 pelajar dari kota berinisial 'B'.

Salam.

cc:fastidious

HOW

another beautiful lyric

"I'm asking for your help
I am going through hell
Afraid nothing can save me but the sound of your voice
You cut out all the noise
And now that I can see mistakes so clearly now
I'd kill if I could take you back

But how?
But how?

Why does the one you love
Become the one who makes you want to cry

Though I don't understand the meaning of love
I do not mind if I die trying"

(Maroon 5 - How)

Cherish what you have right now, some people are dying to get back what they have lost. Show them how much they mean the world to you, its never too late to do that.

we should never be sad

Bhagavad Gita (Chapter II, 16-26)

'Man is not born, nor does he die. Having come into existence, he will never cease to be, because he is eternal and permanent. Just as man discards old clothes and puts on new clothes, so the soul discards the old body and puts on a new one. But the soul is indestructible; swords cannot pierce it, fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, the wind cannot dry it. It is beyond the power of all these things. Since man is always indestructible, he is always victorious (even in his defeat), and that is why he should never be sad'


cheers.

cc: fastidious

The Second Chance

I've just finished reading one of Paulo Coelho's books, Like The Flowing River. The book contains lots of stories, simple, short yet meaningful. One really is a big fan his works.

One of the story explain me about the second chance. People always say that you can never get a second chance. If you don't seize the moment than you've missed it. But they don't realize that life always give us second chance, we just have to be aware of it. The only thing that makes us believe there is no such thing as second chance is because we always close our eyes to our surroundings when we thought we already lose the first chance. We act as if the world is ended and its impossible for us to turn back the time.

Try to think this way, if chances in life is like bus schedule, then when one missed the first bus all one have to do is wait. And during that waiting periode, instead of regretting and cursing, one can learn and reflect, why did one miss the first bus? What should one do so that it wont happen again in the future? Remember there will always be the second trip, even though its the last trip for today, there's always tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Life always gives us a second chance.

cheers.

Gereja yang dingin namun hangat

Hari itu saya memutuskan untuk berdoa novena di gereja. Hujan cukup deras mengguyur kota terbesar di Skotland ini. Tapi kalau memang sudah 'dipanggil' pasti saya akan datang betapa beratnya pun rintangan menghadang.

Saat saya memasuki gereja, keadaan seperti biasanya. Sepi, sunyi dan dingin. Saya berjalan menelusuri sisi kiri altar menuju patung Bunda Maria untuk melakukan novena. Setelah itu saya beralih ke patung Yesus di sisi kanan altar. Saat saya mulai berdoa terdengar tiupan lirih angin dari sela-sela pintu masuk, karena hari itu adalah hari biasa jadi tidak ada kegiatan di gereja dan penghangat ruangan pun dimatikan. Dingin mulai menusuk tulang saat saya berdoa, tapi kemudian saya melihat beberapa buah lilin menyala dibawah patung Yesus. Lucunya sekumpulan lilin itu walaupun tertiup angin tetapi mereka tidak padam, rupanya pantung tsb dibuat sedemikian rupa agar bisa menghalang angin kencang untuk menghembus api. Langsung terbesit dibenak saya kalau lilin itu mirip dengan keadaan saya. Saya saat ini sedang dihadapi angin kencang berupa cobaan, dan saya terus bertahan berkat lindungan-Nya.

Sungguh menenangkan rasanya saat saya tahu bahwa saya berada dalam titik tersulit dan yang bisa saya lakukan hanya berpasrah dan bersandar pada sebuah kekuatan besar yang menciptakan dunia ini.

Dan saat itu juga hawa di gereja itu terasa hangat.

There's Always Good Side in Everything

"There's always good side in everything," said the old lady of the church bookshop as she smile to me. Soft voice but hard slap in my face. Maybe thats what God wanted me to learn that day. Through the experience of visiting an old bookshop next to the church, which I never even bother to look at it every time i went for mass service.

Sometimes we tend to judge everything negatively, and we forgot that there's always two sides in everything. Be wise, try to look the world from a wider perspective. Have a great Tuesday!

cheers

Windy City

witnessing the moment where people get slapped by their own umbrella is not a good experience (and they say Chicago is the windy city?). One feel sorry for them, but on the other hand one feel quite entertain.

cheerio from glasgow.

The Hearts Wants What The Hearts Wants

Never lie to your own heart. The hearts wants what the hearts wants.

This post is dedicated to the newly wed.

Happy wedding for Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton. Today both of you have shown the world that love can not be separated by status. Lets hear it for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!

Cheers.

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

The Man Who Can't Be Moved - The Script

Going Back to the corner where I first saw you
Gonna camp in my sleeping bag I'm not gonna move
Got some words on cardboard, got your picture in my hand
Saying, "If you see this girl can you tell her where I am?"

Some try to hand me money, they don't understand
I'm not broke I'm just a broken hearted man
I know it makes no sense but what else can I do
How can I move on when I'm still in love with you

'cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me
And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be
Thinkin maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet
And you'll see me waiting for you on the corner of the street
So I'm not moving, I'm not moving

Policeman says, "Son you can't stay here"
I said, "There's someone I'm waiting for if it's a day, a month, a year"
Gotta stand my ground even if it rains or snows
If she changes her mind this is the first place she will go

'cause If one day you wake up and find that you're missing me
And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be
Thinking maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet
And you'll see me waiting for you on our corner of the street
So I'm not moving, I'm not moving,
I'm not moving, I'm not moving

People talk about the guy that's waiting on a girl
There are no holes in his shoes but a big hole in his world

Maybe I'll get famous as the man who can't be moved
Maybe you wont mean to but you'll see me on the news
And you'll come running to the corner
'cause you'll know it's just for you
I'm the man who can't be moved

Going back to the corner where I first saw you
Gonna camp in my sleeping bag, I'm not gonna move

Minimalist movie posters

sometime all you need is just a 'simple' creativity. check out these amazing and brilliant work by Pedro Vidotto.












source: http://designerscouch.org/view-log/45-minimalistic-movie-posters-by-pedro-vidotto-1271

Pedro Vidotto personal website: http://vidotto.blogspot.com

Sweet Adeline

Today I'm really stressed up with my exam preparation, but hey! that's life. Found this video on youtube, dedicated to my dear friend. I hope you like it. :-)

00:59

Its almost one o'clock in the morning, yet I still cant close my eyes. I'm laying on my bed and let my mind wonders. These past 3 months is like a dream for me. Living in a foreign country, speaking different language, meeting strangers, learning new things, and exploring new landscapes, its heaven.

Good night glasgow, good night wide window, good night orange wall clock, good night dogs, good night you, good night all.

sleep tight, dont let the bed bug bite.

cheerio.

Source Code movie review

Nowadays it looks like Hollywood got a new trend in creating sci-fi movie plot. Thanks to the genius work of Christopher Nolan in The Dark Knight and Inception, a combination of brain-scrambling scripts, pulse-triggering action and eye-pleasing visuals apparently is what everybody’s fond these days. But Duncan Jones got his own sci-fi way of entertaining the audience. In his latest work, Source Code, Duncan successfully deliberated his mind about parallel universe to his audience.

Similar to his previous work, Moon, Source Code also offers the complexities of quantum physics as the main theme, the only thing that differs them is the heaven and earth setting location. Literary. Staring Jake Gyllenhall as the main character, the movie started with a big confusion using a great score, unsettling tone and disorienting editing. Captain Colter Stevens (Gyllenhall) is a US helicopter pilot in Afghanistan who mysteriously separated from his unit and the next thing he knows he woke up in a commuter train heading to downtown Chicago, and eight minutes later, the train blew-up. After this triumphant perplexing scene leaves a big question mark on the audiences’ face, Jones started to put up the puzzle together by showing the original plot.

Gyllenhall seems to have hit his stride lately by picking up good role that suits him for the last couples of movies he starred in. In this movie he managed to bring up the stubborn, insubordinate and occasionally downright dumb of Stevens’ character. Supporting Gyllenhalls’ role is Jeffrey Wright, Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga. There’s no doubt about these casts, one can see a convincing evil physicist act from Wright and a quite notable performance by Farmiga just like what she did in Up In The Air. And last but not least, is how Monaghan managed to bring her character to live with her natural vivacity to complement Gyllenhalls’ character.

Imagination, parallel universe, alternative realities, time travelling. Maybe only those with a degree in quantum physics might understand the science behind the movies’ plot concept. Repeating eight minutes time length between Gyllenhalls’ moment of conscious and the time the bomb explodes is pretty dull and predictable plot, but Jones’ idea in mixing all of the intrigues and resolving the puzzle piece by piece is another story. Adding the well-oiled work of Ben Ripleys’ script is another great work by the cinematographer, Don Burgess. Burgess idea in making every scene looks simple and descriptive is a plus point in this movie.

If Nolans’ Inception comes with a pulse-racing soundtrack to add the tensions, the former Nolans’ teammate from The Dark Knight, Chris Bacon comes with something a little bit different here. Jones idea in playing with his audiences’ mind is enough stimulate the tensions and their emotions, therefore the scores he works for this movie is much more calmer. The only score that appears quite notable in this movie is when Gyllenhalls’ character managed to create an alternate universe.

Roughly, one can describe this movie as a combination of Tony Scotts’ Déjà Vu and Christopher Nolans’ Inception, but with Jones’ image version of parallel universe. At the end, science fiction meet action and thriller with a happy ending romance is probably something pretty common, but this movie is something you don’t want to miss. Personally I categorize this movie as one of the must-watch movies of the year.

Gerry Cambridge Interview

Wearing a blue shirt and red corduroy trousers, Gerry smiles and greets me for the first time. The moment I saw Gerry entering the room I was quite shocked. He is totally different from what I would have imagined. The Gerry Cambridge that I had in mind was some high-brow artist with all the attitude, but after a few minutes of chat one can tell that behind his quirky look he is a very humble, smart, and passionate about his work, he is the kind of person you would love to have a long interesting chat with.

Gerry kick-off the session by explaining his role in Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) as a fellow writer.

“I’m a member of The Royal Literary Fund, we are a charity organisation based in London, which one of our aims is to help students to improve their writing skills. We are located in most of the higher education institute in all over UK.”

Although the organisation got writers from all over UK as their contributor, Gerry didn’t claim himself as the representative of the Scottish writers.

“Usually a person who lives in Scotland for a while and move to London will find themselves quite different from the others, they will feel a wee bit Scottish, but I wouldn’t say so, because the writing culture is somewhat different there, therefore I’m not claiming myself as a Scottish representative.”

When we discuss about his works, he admits that most of his art works are influenced by natural world especially birds.

“It’s quite funny how the natural world can draw my interest. The story starts back when I was 13 years old, that’s the first time I stepped my foot in UK (Gerry was born in Morecambe, Lancashire, part of the Irish Diaspora). I was having trouble with some of my friends due to the religious matters, and my getaway was the nature,” says Gerry reminiscing the old memories with a big smile in his face.

Up until now, Gerry already released ten books that represent varies of his works including poets and photography. Even though Gerry is not a Scottish native, most of his literature works, especially poetry, had a strong Scottish flavour in it. He tends to mixed English and Scottish culture in his writing. And regarding to his natural world fascination, birds become his symbol of this interest in his works.

“I grew up in the fifties, back then usually all the boys collected bird eggs. It’s sort of a penis-envy activity back then, but I found it quite interesting, and it last up until now. Its amazing if you know how the continuity life of a bird goes.”

This statement also explains the reason behind his enthusiasm in biological science, and why he is posted in the science department at GCU. “Science is our investigation to matter, but poetry (art) is an investigation to ourselves,” says Gerry quoting the famous American poet Robert Frost.

“It is not forbidden for someone to learn something new. For me pure science is something interesting. At first it’s quite dry, but somehow I managed to get along.”

Gerry spent his childhood moving around from one place to another due to his father’s work. He lives in a caravan from the day he moved to UK until 1997.

“It’s hard living in a caravan with your family. When people are caged in small spaces they will react like an animal.”
In 1972 he decided to move out and live in his own caravan, “When I moved out, I feel so free. I can go to bed whenever I want with out worrying someone frying on my kitchen.”

One problem solves and another one come, living independently means he has to figure out how to cover the living cost. Remembering that back then he had great interest in photography, he decided to pursue his long time dream to work as a freelance natural history photographer by selling his pictures to magazines. But things didn’t go smooth for Gerry, until one of his colleagues told him that it would be better if he sell pictures along with the supporting article. This is the point where Gerry started to expand his wings of talent into writing.

“I’ve managed to build a good connection with The Reader’s Digest magazine. They would ask me to do three or four articles per year. I really enjoy it and the next thing you know you’ve been doing this for the next seven to eight years.”
In 1997 Gerry was appointed as a Brownsbank Fellow. “It was quite an unforgettable experience. I got to stay at Hugh MacDiarmid’s former house, Brwonsbank Cottage. Back there it was quite odd for me working as a responsible writer, but somehow I found it quite enjoyable, it’s interesting and discomforting at the same time.”

Because of his interest in American poetry, and back then he is also working with his fellow Dana Gioia, an American poet-critic, in the early 1995 Gerry decide to make something about the poetry life in both countries. That’s when the idea of The Dark Horse magazine pops up. He wanted to create a magazine that’s unique, different and unpredictable, hence describe the Dark Horse meaning.

“I want this magazine to be a medium for the social side of poetry lovers community. I didn’t look at it as an antagonistic work, but more to a complementary work.”

Nowadays the magazine itself is a well-known magazine among the poets. “I’m open to anyone who wants to contribute. What I’m looking from a contributor is authenticity, genuineness, sufficient craft and skills,” says Gerry who apparently also doing all of the layout, design and print design by himself.

Other than writing and photography it turns out that Gerry also had an interest in music, and his weapon of choice goes to harmonica. He learn how to play it 20 years ago using his girlfriend’s harmonica. And as if he got no limitation in exploring his talent, he mastered the instrument in no time.

“I found it very interesting how this little diatonic instrument can make me so frustrated when I tried to play it with other instruments. But through this limited function one can explore new possibilities in music range, it helped me when I’m playing Scottish and Irish tunes.”

Collaborating with Neil Thomson and Findlay Napier, Gerry produced a few poetry-plated tracks back in the year 2000. Its interesting how one can hear the blues colour on his music, again my perception is usually a poet goes along with classical music.

The last part of the interview Gerry shared his view about today’s poetry writing in Scotland. He thinks that the poetry writing culture is changing into a much more relax form.

“It’s a lot more open, more relaxing when it comes to Scottish identity. I think its because of the influence from one of the great Scottish poet in 20th century, Hugh MacDiarmid, he plays a big role in these changes.”
And when it comes to his next plan, he mentioned that he is going to continue his work on The Dark Horse magazine, doing some freelance jobs and probably launch another book of poem in September. At the end it’s just like what the old time saying ‘sky is the limit’, that’s how far Gerry would go, and apparently he also got his birds to go with him.

www.gerrycambridge.com

www.rlf.org.uk

www.brownsbank.org.uk

Dying - Five For Fighting

Dying (John Ondrasik)

I'm Dying, Dying to wake up without you, without you in my head again
I'm Dying, Dying to forget about you, that you ever lived
There's a shade come over this heart that's coping with laying down to rest
I'm Dying to live without you again

I'm Dying, Dying to find a distraction, get you away from me
I'm Dying, Dying to reach a conclusion, so that the world can see
It's the same old story of love and glory that broke before it bent
I'm Dying to live without you again

The first time you left I said goodbye
Now there's not a prayer that can survive

Dying, Dying to die just to come back so we can meet again
Dying, Dying to say what I always should have said
It's a strange emotion this but there's still hope in this
As long as there's a breath...
I'm Dying and I can't live without you again

It's a strange emotion this but there's still hope in this
As long as there's a breath...

I'm Dying and I can't live without you
I'm Dying and I can't live without you again


this is for you. whether you realize it or not, whether you aware of it or not, i cant and i dont want to lie to myself anymore.

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra – The Thursday Night Series: Sacred and Profane | 10 March 2011

The appearance of the American guest conductor Andrew Litton is always one of the most anticipated BBC SSO events, and his collaboration with German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser makes it a double treat for this Thursday Night Series.

[10/03] Glasgow, United Kingdom - Lead by guest conductor from USA, Andrew Litton, this performance is destined to be one of the highlights of the season. As the audience start filling the City Hall, the usher and few of the orchestra members is set for a pre-concert talk show about Elgar’s Cello Concerto score. A small insight and a glimpse preview from the scores’ seem to be an effective way to increase the audience anxiety.

Starting with Wagner’s Prelude to ‘Parsifal’ as the opening, Litton’s emotional-but-calm way of conducting hypnotizes the audience as the long-breathed unison strings and wind section starts to play. And just with in a blink, the middle age audiences who shook their head under the hypnotizing sweet serenity tunes gain their consciousness by the melodic harmony that differs from the previous section. Without seeing the musical play, one can tell that these parts speak a painful and sorrow feeling to its listeners. As the clouds of sadness temporarily part, the prelude comes to a tranquil close and the ovations from the audience last for about five minutes.

Continuing the mourning theme, Elgar’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in E Minor is set to give the City Hall another depressed atmosphere. Featuring German-Canadian cellist, Johannes Moser, Litton’s successfully captained a very well balanced, perhaps with a more technical rather than soulful performance, and managed to propagate the message behind this musical score to his audiences. Moser’s play is unquestionable, its funny how there were parts as if his bow movements’ is similar to a kid scratching an off-key violin snares, but somehow the sound suits the background tunes perfectly. Completing Moser outstanding performances is the presence of the guest orchestra leader, Laura Samuel. She managed to lead the first violins section to another emotional level during the show.

Moving on to the last part of the concert, Sibelius’ Symphony No.1 become the perfect score to close the night and the theme series finale. For me it is always a treat to listen a classical score from a Russian composer. The iconic majestic melodies and the sophisticated beat can be found in almost every Russian composers work, such as Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich as well as Sibelius’. Though Sibelius is living in Vienna when he composed the scores, he always admires Tchaikovsky’s work, and that explain the first part of the score, which comes with a solid Russian influence. In the end, as Litton’s hand finished its movements, the satisfied crowd starts the ovations as a compliment to the conductor and the BBC SSO for the tremendous performance.

It has been a remarkable performance by the BBC SSO, and Litton has added another kudos performance to his collaboration history with the orchestra. As the post-concert coda, a solo cello performance by Moser performing a selection of short works from Bach, Britten and Lutoslawski become a perfect cheery-on-the-top closing act.


http://www.andrewlitton.com
http://www.johannes-moser.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk/orchestras/bbcsso

Black Swan review

In another brilliant work by Darren Aronofsky, the New York director manages to give a new perspective on the famous ballet Swan Lake in his latest psychological thriller, Black Swan. Not like other ballet movies which usually focus on the beauty of the choreography or romance story, this Best Movie of The Year Oscar nominee focuses on the main cast delusional behaviours. Aronofsky somehow successfully directs the audiences to see how and what the white swan feels and thinks during the movie.

Set in the world of the New York City ballet, the movie shows how Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) playing Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde with herself. Portman is a feature ballet dancer who wins the key role cast for the Swan Lake play, but things do not go as smoothly as she plans, when she founds out about the presence of a new rival dancer, Lilly (Mila Kunis). As the rivalry continues, Nina’s obsession with her role becomes paranoia, delusion and more. This is the part where Aronofsky shows his talent.

Portman’s acting was quite notable. At some moments in the movie I think she IS the swan, but during much of the rest, she just misses it. Generally, it was a good one otherwise she wouldn’t be nominated for this year Best Actress in Oscar. But personally I somehow expected more. The movie also co-stares Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey and Winona Ryder. It’s hardly fair to judge the co-star's act because most of the focus is on Portman, literally. For example, the seductive scenes featuring Portman with Cassel and Kunis are not strong enough. You barely even see the act. But maybe it’s just another of Aronofsky’s trick to keep our focus on Portman’s character.

Moving to the technical stuff, if you enjoy scenes using one-man camera technique, then you will find this movie interesting. Otherwise you will probably feel dizzy half the time because of all the hand-held stuff. The other thing that will surely capture your attention is the way Aronofsky wants you to see the palette of the settings. Most of it comes in monochrome and pale colours, perhaps from a desire to emphasise the black-and-white or good-and-bad side of the swan character.

The soundtrack also plays a big role in this movie. When you hear Portman inhaling and exhaling while she's dancing or running or crying it just add the tension to the point as if you were the cameraman or you are standing right next to her. Although its a thriller you won't find any suspenseful soundtrack like a violins in Psycho when you reach a shocking scene. Most of it sounded off a classical music with strings, woodwinds and brasses that give goosebumps. A very well done original music score by Clint Mansell. And of course last but not least, what would a Swan Lake be with out the famous original classic tune by Tchaikovsky.

If you are an aficionado of Aronofsky's work then I would strongly recommend you to see this movie. This one is his best work yet. I personally think it's one of the must-watch movies for this year.