Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Human nature, Imagination, Jamie Cullum, Life, Mark Twain, Past & Future, Photography, Remembering, Society
Oh how wise was Mark Twain when he utter this truth “What is human life? The first third a good time; the rest remembering about it.” I often exercise my brain and imagination by taking imaginary journeys or spending long nights looking through old photographs and recreating dialogues. Today it is one of such days– those days when remembering seems inevitable, when the thought of what was is surprisingly much more fascinating than what is. Imagining not how things could have been different, but how different in fact they were. Present fears prevail over past ones, as do present lovers, friendships, and fashion trends. Society has mistakenly defined that hope is driven by a poignant wonder of the future, when in fact the past is what germinates the seed of true hope. It is a lie that looking towards the future will yield hope, when the truth is human nature derives from the ability to feel secure and protected on the basis of past experiences. In other words, the past is familiar and secure, while the present is miserable, and the future scary and unknown. What propels that one step forward is not a non-existent subsequent step, but rather its preceding one– or else one would walk backwards.
So what is true happiness– the third one lives, or the rest one remembers? The good news is that as long as time transcend one can always have the opportunity to both live and remember, and so one can always hope to be happy. The only bitterness comes from remembering alone. When friends forget, and people just do not wish to remember anymore. Existence, ultimately, is about remembering. One can breath and walk, speak and think, but if one is not remembered one is not existent. And one can cease to breath and walk, to speak and think, but if someone remembers then one lives forever– or close, somewhere close to forever.
- Lady of Press
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 9/11, American Civil Liberties Union, Attorney General, Civil Court, Crimes Against Humanity, Eric Holder, Justice, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, KSM, Military Court, New York City, Terrorism, Trails, Twin Towers, World Trade Center
Does the name Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) ring a bell? By now everyone should know, in case some don’t: KSM is the “self-proclaimed mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks.” This sociopath, psychotic, extremist, vulgar champion of hatred and intolerance, detritus of scum, mass murderer, malicious and heartless nonhuman bastard is far beyond the average criminal. While the average criminal earns his infamous title through robbery and kidnapping, shop lifting and gang activities, once every few years comes along a troubled soul with wishes to mass produce death and suffering in the most demonic of inconceivable ways. KSM is not a criminal for he committed not a crime, KSM is a terrorist and subsequently he committed a crime against humanity. So why then will KSM face a civilian trial in New York City? A civilian trial for a man who relinquished his own Human Rights the instant he deliberately and arbitrarily deprived some 3,000 people of the most important and vital safeguard for Human Rights– life itself.
I know not much about Law, Criminal Justice, Judiciary procedure, crimes or punishments, but I do know about human values and justice in its most pristine stage. And so I wonder about the thin line that separates justice and injustice– the crucial and thin line that mutates the exercise of justice into injustice itself. Attorney General Eric Holder went on to say “Today’s announcement marks a significant step forward in our efforts to close Guantánamo and to bring to justice those individuals who have conspired to attack our nation and our interests abroad.” Mr. Holder and exactly what is this so-called “significant step forward”? Allowing a terrorist to have center stage and gain media coverage is not a step forward, it is a generous reward for a terrorist who deserves no legitimization. It is sure poetic to have KSM stand before a jury of a New York court room, but it is absolutely irrelevant to the process of carrying out justice. It is as if instead of a serious trial this should all become a sensational Broadway play. Justice should not become a rosy procedure that transforms terrorists into celebrities.
According to Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, the decision marks “an enormous victory for the rule of law.” Well excuse me Mr. Romero, for I am just an 18 year old with a different perspective when it comes to justice. I cannot conceive how a man who took the lives of 3,000 souls, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, people innocent of all political extremism and radical fanaticism, can be the subject of any “enormous victory” in terms of justice. I rebuke the idea that justice has to conform to political correctness of any kind. Terrorism is far from being politically correct, mass murder sure isn’t. Why equate shoplifting with terrorism by bringing it to a civilian courtroom? Since when is symbolism more important than morals, ethics, and justice? I get the symbolic act that this despicable creature will be subjected to justice blocks away from where the attacks took place, but will this poetic symbolism bring back the lives of those murdered? Will all this theatrical absurdity bring any justice?
Justice has frozen– it is just ice. The quintessential idea behind justice should be like a free flowing body of water, but it instead it has become a solid gigantic piece of ice– obtuse and obsolete.
Innocence or Myopia? Justice or political correctness? Courtroom or Broadway stage? Terrorism or average crimes, mere acts of vandalism? Etc, etc, etc.
- Lady of Press
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 2012, Apocalypse, Berlusconi, Destruction, End of the World, Films, Hollywood, Mayans, Movie Review, Movies
I want my money back. I want it back now–just in case the world ends tomorrow, instead of in 2012. Oh Gosh, when will Hollywood stop making ridiculously ridiculous films about the end of the world? I can’t decide whether contemplating that the world will end in 2012 is more painful than having to sit through another showing of the movie. I don’t think the Mayans would be too proud of this cheap and predictable film version of the apocalypse.
Seriously, how many more monuments, buildings, statues, and cities could have been destroyed in this movie? Its always the same plot again and again. There is the young-single-untidy scientist (and his father– who will die after the “goodbye” call) who discovers that the world will end in a few years, but then it turns out that the earth doesn’t follow the schedule so the destruction accelerates. Then, we find the divorced (who still love each other) couple with cute children who become the heroes of the movie just 2 minutes before the movie ends, but only after 2 hours 36 minutes of miraculous surviving every possible death scenario. Now let’s not forget the other key characters: The not-so-funny funny old English man, the father who dies before asking forgiveness, the mean dude who just wants to save his ass, the Russian mafia man, a few other minorities, and the dog. But my favorite still reminds the rendition of world politicians, who is these movies happen to act nothing like how they would really act under such circumstances. Can any one really picture Berlusconi praying at the Vatican instead of saving himself and bringing an entourage of models and hot women along? And why do they always make sure the American president has some sort of family tragedy going on and in the end he does not survive? But hey– his daughter does, and guess who she falls in love with? Yes, the young-single-untidy scientist. To end it all what better than a heroic speech about humanity and civilization and love? And somehow no one seems to really be panicking, and somehow they always find time to just stand there and stare when what they really need to be doing is running. Oh and yes, they also make time to fall in love– when world is about to end, who has time to make out?
Geez, this post is almost as bad as the movie– I tried.
- Lady of Press
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Afghanistan, Animals, Love, Soldiers, Video, War, Welcome Home, YouTube
Sometimes the most unbelievable displays of affection are those least expected. Watch this heart-melting welcoming home from a dog to his soldier owner.
If only more humans learned to love like dogs…
- Lady of Press
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 20th Anniversary Fall Berlin Wall, Berlin, Berlin Wall, Cold War, Europe, Germany, Gorbachev, History, Politics, Reagen
The simple complexity of bricks turned to rubbles celebrated its 20th Anniversary– the Fall of the Berlin Wall that is. But, I leave it to historians and connoisseurs of International Relations to digest and over analyze the ins and outs of the intricate significance of the Berlin Wall and its fall. As for me I’d like to engage in philosophical day dreaming and poeti
c analysis of what the Berlin Wall means & does not mean to me.
There is a certain air of romanticism and attraction towards the idea of the Berlin Wall. Oppression, injustice, cruelty, torture, segregation– it all adds up for a perfect chapter in a history book, but what about the stories within the wall? The thousands of individual lives that were directly and radically changed by the simple eradication of a brick wall. It’s mind boggling to contemplate how a simple structure limited and effected thousands of lives– was it really just a wall? Can bricks suppress and dust liberate? How many miles of wall and barber wire does it take to oppress a nation, to mutilate freedom, to breed fear, and to obstruct the pristine human nature of revolt and upraising? And how many minutes does it take for all of it to turn into dust?
I refuse to understand and accept that a mere wall had supernatural powers that could, and did, defined history– a before & after. Historians have taught us that politicians and leaders build walls, and philosophers and revolutionaries have made us believe that common people tear them down, but I beg to differ. The true engine and driving force behind the world’s locomotive is none other than social standards, physical self imposed limitations, monetary compensation, and a few worldly, lavish and often obscure pleasures. What drives a man to become a freedom loving democratic thinker is his environment and conditioning, and the same goes for the young tyrant whose first encounter with power comes at his neighborhood playground. Those who built the Berlin Wall and those who danced in its rubbles are no different– the decisions they made imposed the difference between them. There are those who make decisions and those others who suffer by them.
I will never agree to the vicious lie that cement and bricks truly impose the rhythm during the Cold War or that East and West Berliners were subjugated under the imposing shadow of a wall. It is nonsense, it is ridiculous, it is impossible! Have I gone mad? No, but perhaps the world has. Am I crazy because I cannot accept that an insignificant physical structure had such an immense influence in world politics and in thousands of individual lives? Well, then I cherish my craziness, for I rather not concede to the hypocrisy of what seems to be the human consensus– a wall has more power than “I”. The Berlin Wall exemplifies the illness of a society that fails to stand up to physical barriers and overcome self impose obstacles, or what’s worse– the imposed obstacles generated by a moron disguised as a leader.
Why did the world need President Reagan ( Fun Tip: one of my favorite presidents) to demand ”Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”? Why couldn’t East meet West without any interpreters or facilitators? Sure, in retrospect it is easier to make conjectures and speak of what should have been done. But even with today’s global problems– why can’t Cubans demand and act for their Freedom, why is there an ongoing genocide in Darfur, why are children dying of hunger and thirst? Why? I know why all of these calamities exist– they exist so that you and I raise to the occasion and become more than just common people. All of these troubles exist so that everyone has the chance to save a life, to make a difference. But instead what do we do? We leave everything to politicians and the so-called experts to solve all the problems, even our own. And then what do we do? We complain that none of the problems are solved– and then, when our children learn about our times in their history books we’ll tell them we were mere spectators. Doesn’t any one want to be the protagonist anymore? Instead of remembering where we were when such and such events occured, wouldn’t it be more beautiful to simply say we made them happen?
Being born a year after the Fall of the Berlin Wall is really disappointing, but I don’t worry too much for I know this was just another brick in The Wall.
- Lady of Press
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Terrorists, America, USA, Criminals, Fort Hood Massacre, Heroes, Villains, Shooting, Nidal Malik Hasan, Superman
Why bother turning on the news anymore? Everything is desolation and calamities– haven’t we had enough?
Yesterday, at Fort Hood in Texas, a US army psychiatrist– who definitely needs therapy himself– loaded some guns and shot dead 13 people and wounded some 28 more. Major Nidal Malik Hasan was a perturbed man, unfortunately lately the earth is filling up with too many perturb beings, yet no one is doing much about it.
Reports claim that Hasan shouted “Allah u’Akbar” before starting his rampage– and so I wonder, how much more greater can Hasan’s god be that so many deserve to die in his honor? Oh geez, I know the answer– Hasan’s god is an extremist radical with a case of serious attention craving disorder, along with a really bad case of unfounded hatred, etc, etc, etc. After gathering data from Hasan’s personal computer police have found website postings with sympathetic messages to suicide bombings. Goes to show that we are sleeping with the enemy– and then there are those who want to close down Guantanamo and bring more perturb radicals inside our home, I don’t get it.
Oh and today in Florida another shooting occurred– is there a competition of some sort? I titled this post “Heroes & Villains”, but I guess the heroes are on lunch break or something– some one please call Superman and get Wonder Woman a raise.
- Lady of Press
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bizarre, Charlie Chaplin, eBay, Film, Nitrate, Priceless, Weird, Zepped
A can of nitrate film on eBay: $5.00
Discovering a 1916 Charlie Chaplin film in the inside of an old $5.00 can of nitrate film on eBay: More than priceless– absolutely unbelievable!
The footage discovered is presumably called “Charlie Chaplin in Zepped”, an unknown work of Chaplin’s. Morace Park, the happy costumer, and his buddy John Dwyer have plans of making a documentary about the discovery– the documentary is expected to cost more than $5.00.
- Lady of Press
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: America, Arizona, Culture, Freedom, Immigrants, Iraq, Murdered, Noor Faleh Almaleki, Tradition, USA
Immigrant families are always worry about maintaining their identity and culture, but sometimes these normal immigrant worries depict extremist behaviour that’s far beyond normal, as is the case with a 20 year Iraqi woman who died on Monday at an Arizona hospital.
Noor Faleh Almaleki died after her own father, Faleh Hassan Almaleki, ran her over with a car on October 20th. The man claims that his daughter was becoming “”too Westernized.” Oh yeah, perfect excuse for murdering your own daughter! After all who in their right mind would think that abandoning “traditional” Iraqi values could go on unpunished, right? Faleh Hassan Almaleki was upset over his daughter’s choice of Western-like wardrobe and her disobedience. Oh boy. One is only left to wonder why did Faleh Hassan Almaleki even chose to move to America– the epicenter of Western culture.
Being an immigrant myself I know my parents sometimes worry that I might forget my roots, and they sure frown when I choose to speak in English at our dinner table. But the outside of my house is proudly adorn by an American flag, we love Thanksgiving, and what can be better than a BBQ to celebrate Freedom and Democracy on the 4th of July? Noor Faleh Almaleki was not murdered because she was wearing jeans and enjoyed watching Glee, she was murdered because of some extremist idealism that rebukes freedom of any kind. Noor Faleh Almaleki was murdered because her lunatic father hates Western civilization. Faleh Hassan Almaleki did not murder his own daughter because he worried she might forget Iraqi traditions, he murdered his own daughter because he despises the scent of freedom and tolerance. Noor Faleh Almaleki’s death is the depiction of baseless hatred and the kind of insanity that has driven our world to become an irrational vast land of brutality and desolation– a loveless world of troubles and wars, of clashes, and spilled blood.
How many Noor Faleh Almalekis will die tomorrow? How many Faleh Hassan Almalekis will continue to germinate unconditional hatred? And many of us– you and I– will stand idly by watching how everything crumbles?
- Lady of Press
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Concert, Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, Movies, Music, This Is It, Thriller
Warning: This post made result offensive to Michael Jackson fans– sorry!
This weekend I headed for the movie theaters to watch the kids movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, but instead ended up watching Micheal Jackson’s This Is It– such a dramatic, and perhaps traumatic, switch.
I really don’t know what all the hype behind this movie is all about– and people might seem to agree because the movie theater was literary desolated. Coming into the theater I expected, at least, more than 5 people to be wearing Michael Jackson like outfits and t-shirts, a few gloves here and there and no seats left, yet we only found an old Asian couple and three emo kids. So my friends and I sat there and watched 20 minutes of previews, until the screen became black and the greatest concert and brilliant performance by Michael Jackson was scheduled to start– only the movie/concert never actually confirmed all the great reviews and things people have been saying about it.
To be fair I should confess that I am not a die hard fan of Jackson. Sure I like “Thriller” and who does not know the lyrics to “Beat it” or “Bad” etc. But I don’t owned any of Jackson’s CDs, and well his only songs on my Ipod are “I’ll be there” and “We are the World”– and can we really say does are even his songs? These group songs don’t count. I acknowledge he did a lot for the music industry and has reached a status perhaps only comparable to Elvis, but I’m still not a fan. And really, can I be blamed? Being born in the 1990’s the only Michael Jackson CD I ever saw in my house was my mom’s dusty “Thriller” Vinyl, and she didn’t even play it anymore. Nonetheless, I reiterate, I went to watch the movie with an open mind and the expectations of something great– and yes, perhaps I hoped by the end of the night my Ipod would be pimped out with more of Jackson’s hits, but none of that happened.
I understand the movie was based on concert rehearsals, but according to what I’ve heard from the news and ordinary people this just-concert-rehearsal was suppose to be out of this world. So I wonder, are people really being honest about their opinions in regards to the movie? Are reviews being light just because is Michael Jackson and he had a tragic death? If it is so, then allow me to give you raw commentary of the movie.
First of all, what’s up with his comments? Every time Jackson spoke it what like an instant “Huh?”. Seriously, the reviews might put it as Jackson’s perfectionist persona, but Jackson’s train of thought was incomprehensible and that has nothing to do with being a perfectionist. To me his performance lacked energy, and this is totally understandable, but why don’t people actually acknowledge this? Yeah, the whole “burning of the jacket” dance was pretty energetic, but that was him pushing himself over the limit and becoming breathless right afterwards–that’s not being healthy! Its like when a fat 3rd grader outruns everyone at a kickball game, but collapses right after. So many hit songs were left out, no? And coming out of a spider might sound cool, but really? Honestly, crawling out of a spider is ridiculously stupid at this point. His moves where alright– nothing crazy that we had not already seen and again he lacked energy. The “Thriller” video was coming along pretty well and that’s perhaps the only thing I really liked.
If anything the movie made me feel for Jackson– some one should have done something to save him from all the craziness in his life. Maybe if I was alive 30 years ago I would have liked Jackson and would have understood why the movie has made some $100 plus million dollars, even though it still has not had the success they expected in it to have in the USA. And perhaps I could have related as to why people cry and obsessed over him, but I think a great majority of people went to the movie because of morbid curiosity. I left the movie theater wondering– is this it? After all that Jackson accomplished during his lifetime for the music industry– just as everyone claims– showing those 2 hours of terrible rehearsal footage was an insult. This movie far from a tribute to Jackson– it is like everything else– a money making scheme. And is this it? Yeah, this is it.
- Lady of Press
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Australia, Heath Ledger, Music, Nfa Foster-Jones, Sidney, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Joker, Video, YouTube
I bet no one has really heard of Australian rapper Nfa Foster-Jones, right? But that’s soon to change because not only was Heath Ledger a close friend of the musician, he was also the director for one of the rapper’s videos.
The video was shot in one day at Ledger’s Sidney apartment a few months before his death.
Check it out:
The thick lipstick and feel of the video is reminiscent to Ledger’s Joker and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. I’m not a fan of the track and the video is alright. I prefer Ledger the actor.
- Lady of Press
