ON SPLENDID MUSICIANS II

This is a second installment of a few artistes that I think basically "saved" the music industry with originality:

Adele
Ava Leigh
Butch Walker
Estelle
Kings of Leon
Paramore
The Ting Tings

SER O NO SER JUAN PABLO CASTEL

¡Soy Juan Pablo Castel! Es decir, soy un ser que siento superior de los demás. A veces pierdo la esperanza en la raza humana. Pienso que hay mucha gente que no puedo confiar en. Siento sóla. Pero Juan tiene rasgos únicos que no comparte conmigo. Juan no menosprecia a los criminales, de hecho, Juan piensa que son inofensivos y limpios; tal vez opine eso porque él es un criminal. Pudiera ser que los criminales son contra de la humanidad y a Juan le da gusto saberlo.

Juan es un artista que pasa su tiempo con psicólogos, eso significa que es capaz de analizar y fijarse mucho en los detalles. Vivía en soledad casi todo su vida entonces no conocer la intimidad. La relación que tiene con María es más obsesiva que amorosa, de la parte de Juan.

13 Febrero 2008

I DECLARE MYSELF IGNORANT AND I AM GLAD THAT YOU KNOW EVERYTHING

As anyone with an ounce of sense should know, each person interprets things in their own manner. At times that person may share the same point of view as someone else. Now, for whatever reason it may be, some people don't know what is happening in their backyard therefore it is impossible for them to know about everything that is taking place in their country, especially if they haven't been living in their country of origin for a long period of time. Pardon my "stupidity", but I am able to keep up with the millions of newsworthy items that are being presented by the media.

Since week I was asked by someone what is the biggest news right now in the Caribbean. I replied that something that has to do with the economy, granted that the lead stories of a particular newspaper website that I read frequently mentions job losses, freezing of salaries and other unfortunate economic circumstances. I was basically ridiculed by said person for not knowing about a Caribbean banker who is being extradited to the United States for whatever reason. (It turns out that I did see the article but never bothered to click on it. What is newsworthy for some people is not newsworthy to me. Pardon me for being different.) Said person began to attack my credibility as a journalism student because I didn't know about this one article! And when I asked said person about what is the biggest news right now in Europe that person couldn't even mention one fact. I said nothing because people's interests are peaked by various things.

I know people who can tell you about happenings in the political world, some who know about new and existing members in the literary world, some who will flood your IPods and MP3 players with music you probably haven't even heard of, et cetera, because that is what gets their critical juices flowing.

Who am I? Just an ordinary being who knows when and where to say things, the person who isn't afraid of declaring herself ignorant if she doesn't know a fact, the person who wants you to enlighten her about that fact, the person that will not let anyone put words in her mouth and comment on something that she knows nothing a bout. I am not pretentious.

This daggering debate was brought to my attention by a relative of mine who proudly created a group on Facebook against the banning of the videos and songs, I was sent a group invite. I first learnt the word daggering last year when I found out that a Jamaican deejay named Vybz Kartel had a condom brand of the same name. I never even gave the name much thought as I was so excited that a Jamaican artiste is following in the footsteps of rappers by creating their own products. Vybz Kartel also promotes Vybz Rum. The condom idea was so exciting to me because I saw it as a way of promoting safe sex, whether it was or wasn't the intention of the deejay. So yet again, someone assumed that I knew what daggering was all about because: 1. I'm Jamaican and 2. It is talking about sex because of the context it is used in. Again I declared myself ignorant because I never even heard these songs about daggering. Pardon me if I don't spend my time searching for and memorizing the latest dancehall songs (I love dancehall by the way but I only admire few deejays).

I say this to everyone, if you and I don't share the same views that doesn't mean that we can't coexist. What I would like for you to do is not to "attack" me or anyone else who isn't like you. Let it be, just let it be.

LIST OF RANDOMNESS

"I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you know"... Wonderwall by Oasis

WTF! I SHAN'T ENGAGE IN THAT "25 THINGS THAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT ME" PHENOMENON ON FACEBOOK. I think that the hidden agenda is finding out people's secrets. There are some things that you just don't wanna share or should share.

People walk in and out of our lives like a grocery store. Only that sometimes, we spend around 3 months in that grocery store getting to know the products :-P

Ellen Degeneres rules!!

Panic and the Rebel Emergency should have been nominated for a Grammy back in the day and has the best album that you probably never heard - Captured by a Vision.

I have homophobic friends who swear that they aren't.

I'm hungry at this moment and can not decide what to eat.

TMZ is funny.

Let the young Hollyweird celebrities be and stop FORCING them to be role models. They are humans first, and always. Raise your own kids dammit!!!

What would I do if I were a trust fund baby?

The L Word is addictive.

Knowledge is attractive.

Soap operas suck.

Meh to most talk shows.

People still keep avoiding reality. Is it that hard to embrace?

How do some douchebags get reality show deals? Oh right, for being douchebags.

The Hills. Tried watching it, but the characters seem like expressionless plastic zombie people without real issues. Unnecessary drama much?... Laguna Beach ruled!!

Pundits, pundits, pundits.

People I know wanna get married.

LE SIGH, NOT ENOUGH TIME

Le sigh. There will never be enough time to accomplish all the tasks we place on our table. Not even for the ones that are most necessary, like showering for example. You get up late for class, work or whatever appointment, and if you stop for that proper cleansing your body requires before facing the public, you will be late, and being late equals sanctions dammit. So whaddya do? Le sigh, and move on.

So much reading to do, not enough time. This semester I have to tackle Open Source Democracy by Douglas Rushkoff, there is also a Geopolitics anthology that I have only given a glimpse, random texts from the likes of Jorge Luís Borges, José Ortega y Gasset, and many others to come. The most interesting read I believe will be that of Sobre héroes y tumbas by Ernesto Sabato. I enjoyed his novel El túnel, I highly recommend it.

And to think I wanted a degree in literature. Le sigh.

PS: I have completed the screenplay for a short film. Please contact me if you are connected to the film industry.