I've been (Joss) Stone'd...

I've got a right to be wrong

My mistakes will make me strong

I'm stepping out into the great unknown

I'm feeling wings though I've never flown

I've got a mind of my own

I'm flesh and blood to the bone

I'm not made of stone

Got a right to be wrong

So just leave me alone...

(from Right to Be Wrong by Joss Stone)

Some of my favorite performances...

2012...Bring it On!

For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.

~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

And now for another great poet of our time...

Truth in Advertising

Just when I thought there's no more truth in advertising these days, I stumble upon a little book with the absolutely un-PC title of "The harder a wife works, the cuter she gets." And when you see a title like that, you know you just had to grab it. What it is it turns out is a compilation of old print advertisements that are so ridiculous you marvel what influence the brains behind it were under while crafting them. And of course, they are real advertisements. Here are some of the ads from it. Click on them to read the fine print:

Just read...

This 'pretty boy', (as he referred to himself in the book often), can write! Reading this book made me watch his first movie "The Outsiders". It was such a trip.

Ornitho-what?

I'm scared of birds. Not just those that fly but all fowls in general including chicks and ostrich.  Specifically, I don't like touching them (gasp!) and I don't like them near me. Later I found out it's got a name: ornithophobia. I don't know when or how it started. They say usually an animal phobia is caused by a bad, possibly childhood experience of an attack by this animal but I have no recollection of such. In fact, there's hardly any bird encounters when I was a child because I lived in an urban jungle -- except for the occasional tiny brown sparrows that's common where I came from. Besides, these birds do not really fly near humans as they fear for their own safety.

I can and do appreciate birds though. Especially the cute and colorful ones. I also love seeing peacocks! I am pretty sure I would enjoy bird watching and I hope to get a chance to do it one day. But only if they are at a "safe" distance. I also don't like looking them in the eye, even in photos. I know it's irrational, but that's why they call it a phobia, right?

When I moved to Singapore, I was amazed at the many varieties and colors of birds I have seen so far. Although I would not reccomend this as a place to live in for someone with a severe bird phobia 'coz they're everywhere here and closely co-existing with the humans. I used to wake up in our first house to a bird in our kitchen, flying in through the always open window on the 8th floor. They even have a bird park here, although I haven't had the courage to go there yet because I heard that some of the birds are not caged and I can't imagine the scene I would cause if one of them decide to get friendly with me. One day maybe..one day...

Sometimes I wonder if my bird phobia started after watching that classic Hitchcock movie "The Birds". We watched it in Film class in college but I don't remember being very afraid of it. It is about this small town, in California I think, suddenly attacked by throngs (or do we say "flock"?) of black birds. It is still one of the creepiest movies I've ever seen though but hey, it's Hitchcock.

The worst public display of my bird phobia happened on my wedding day. It was at the reception when they asked us to hold a pair of doves, let them kiss, and then set them free. I had to beg them to let us skip that ritual but the photographer insisted it was 'necessary'. So what they did to help me out was, they wrapped my bird in one of the peach table napkins so I could hold it. Poor bird, I was supposed to let it fly but I was so creeped out I literally threw it towards my husband. It hardly made it out of the napkin to free its wings just in time before any untoward bird accident happened.  The snapshot of that moment though was priceless and it still brings me laughs whenever I look at it.

So would I like this fear conquered or cured? Sure. But if it means "facing my fears" to overcome it as I heard they do in phobia therapies, I say no, thank you. Besides, in terms of phobia scale of 1 to 5, mine is probably just at 2.5 to 3.  I'm still more afraid of rats.

Quotable quotes...

"NO is a complete sentence."

-Jaycee Duggard, on one of the things she learned in therapy.

Just read...

As a mother, a woman, and a human being, this is a very painful read.

Just read...

Have I told you he's awesome?

The Sound of Silence

It always amazes me how people assume to know what's happening to you, or what you're thinking when you choose to stay silent.

This one's for my peeps...the romantic geeks!

Romantic geeks, all together now: awwww!!!!!

http://www.jonq.com/jq/proposal/

Let us pray..

Shout out to my friend Hiromi, baby Sana, and the rest of the family, hope you are safe and well. To our family-- the Kamada family, and all the wonderful people we met when we were there. And to the rest of the Japanese people, hope you remain resilient in this difficult time.  We are praying for you.

"It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light." -Taylor Benson 

Quotable quotes...

I have good anticipation, and good reaction to the the ball because I've played so many matches in my life. - Martina Hingis

This is so funny!

Can you imagine Mike Tyson as a speech coach? Well, stop trying and watch this! EPIC :P

Is it bad that these made me laugh??

When I am dead my dearest...

Quotable Quotes...

Reflection of the times. In olden days, we loved people and used things. In today's world, we love things and use people.  (Unknown)