The Best Thing About Blogging...
July 1st 2009 06:32
...is that anyone can write one.
The worst thing about blogging?
Anyone can write one.
| 112 |
| Vote |
RubySoho
Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
Joined February 21st 2008
Number of Posts:
148
Number of Comments:
2906
Karma:
10
- About Me
- No details about me yet :(
Recent Posts...is that anyone can write one. The worst thing about blogging? Anyone can write one.  Fire and Rain/Ode To My BrotherJune 4th 2009 07:08
This song, long a favourite of mine took on a whole new meaning to me when it came on radio the day I heard that my father passed away back in 2003. Exactly two weeks ago today I thought of this song again when I heard the news that my younger brother had died suddenly. It is not my intention to analyse this song at this time but merely to try and give an indication of what I am feeling in this, the darkest and most hopeless time I have ever experienced. Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone Susanne the plans they made put an end to you I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song I just can't remember who to send it to I've seen fire and I've seen rain I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend But I always thought that I'd see you again Won't you look down upon me, Jesus You've got to help me make a stand You've just got to see me through another day My body's aching and my time is at hand And I won't make it any other way Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend But I always thought that I'd see you again Been walking my mind to an easy time my back turned towards the sun Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around Well, there's hours of time on the telephone line to talk about things to come Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend But I always thought that I'd see you, baby, one more time again, now Thought I'd see you one more time again There's just a few things coming my way this time around, now Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you fire and rain... Are your memories floating in the ether? Are your thoughts resting on the clouds? Does your love follow the sun as it journeys over the horizon? Does your laughter mingle with the birds in the trees? To know you was to love you. To love you was a privilege. To be loved by you, the highest honour. My childhood is wrapped up in you. My most precious memories are the ones that have you in them. My favourite photos are the ones that are lit up by the sparkle in your eyes. From the moment you were born, you were our star. Our little baby. Do you remember my brother? Do you remember how we used to kiss you so hard we made you cry? And that time you wept for hours because you had to stay home while we went to school? I swear little brother, I swear your eyes were still wet when I returned home that afternoon. You never could stand to be left behind. Is that why you had to go first? You were something to everyone. The favourite uncle, Unkie Mase, always there with advice and a magic trick. The cousin and best friend, waiting with a fishing rod in your hand and a dirty joke in your head. The friendly neighbour who always had time for a five minute chat...that would turn into a three hour deep and meaningful. The baby brother who adored his siblings. The doting son who could do no wrong. And now, as we bid you farewell and brace ourselves for a life without you, our hearts and minds are awash with questions. Questions only you can answer. How did it happen my brother? Did death come for you like a thief in the night? Did it take you unawares and claim you even as you were dreaming the sweetest dream? Or did you see it coming? Did it wake you from a fitful slumber? Did you look eternity in the eye and say "I am not afraid'? What were your last words? Your final thoughts? Did you cry out for your mother? Or your sisters like you did when we were young? Or were you thinking of your father? That it was your time to be joining him? Oh my darling brother, tell me how do we live in a world without Mason? Our hearts are broken beyond repair. You have left a hole that cannot be filled. A wound that will never be healed. When we lost our father, we lost so much. When we lost you, we lost everything. May 21 2009. The saddest day.
Hey! JealousyMay 20th 2009 10:49
Hey Jealousy is probably one of my favourite songs from the 90s. I say 'probably' because I can go for years without hearing or thinking about it. The for some reason it'll pop back into my head and the Devil herself (hi Morgan!), couldn't shake it back out again.
For some reason I've been thinking about Hey Jealousy a lot lately. The breakout hit by American modern rock band the Gin Blossoms, it was actually initially released in 1992 but went largely unnoticed. That is to say, it flopped. Undeterred, the band released it one year later and for a good many months spanning from 1993 to 1994, you couldn't leave a radio station on the FM dial for more than ten minutes without this song making an appearance. Unfortunately the embedding on the YouTube video of the clip has been disabled. But here is the link so you can just pop on over and have a look and listen.Just be sure to come back when you are done. I haven't finished yet: LINK:YouTubeHeyJealousy hey jealousy Tell me do you think it'd be all right If I could just crash here tonight? You can see I'm in no shape for driving And anyway I've got no place to go And you know it might not be that bad You were the best I'd ever had If I hadn't blown the whole thing years ago I might not be alone Tomorrow we can drive around this town And let the cops chase us around The past is gone but something might be found To take its place...hey jealousy And you can trust me not to think And not to sleep around And if you don't expect too much from me You might not be let down Cause all I really want is to be with you Feeling like I matter too If I hadn't blown the whole thing years ago I might be here with you Tomorrow we can drive around this town And let the cops chase us around The past is gone but something might be found To take its place...hey jealousy She took my heart There's only one thing I couldn't start Hey Jealousy was written by Gin Blossoms guitarist Doug Hopkins and is both a lament to a past love and a plea for a second chance. Hopkins was the quintessential 'tortured artist', suffering from severe alcoholism and chronic depression. By the time the band were recording their debut album New Miserable Experience, Hopkins was proving to be such a liability ( he was opposed to signing with a major label), that the rest of the band were faced with prospect of losing their record deal with A& M Records. So they lost him instead. Hopkins, the principal songwriter was fired from the band before the album was finished. The thing that strikes me most when I listen to this song is how someone so young could have so many regrets...if i hadn't blown the whole thing years ago...the past is gone. Still in the earliest of his twenties and already Hopkins is fearful that his best is behind him. The second, and in my opinion, the most pertinent statement made in this song, is the fact that Hopkins seems all too aware of his shortcomings and the fact that hurting the one he loves most is an inevitable outcome...if you don't expect too much from me, you might not be let down... The subsequent success of the song, album and the band in general was too much for Hopkins to take. He committed suicide in December 1993. He was 22. The past was gone but sadly for Hopkins, he could not find anything to take its place. Fifteen years later and still it saddens to me to think of a man so young and yet so without hope. Perhaps more so because four years after the release of this song I was to meet a young man so similar to the flawed but earnest anti-hero Hopkins represented in this song. And with the same sad, inevitable outcome. He didn't feel like he mattered either.
This Is What Progress Looks LikeMay 8th 2009 06:08
I'm a progressive. My greatest wish for the human race is that we, as a species, find a way to push beyond the cultural and religious constraints that still bind us (albeit in varying degrees), in every single country on the planet. Although the Western world is free-er it is still by no means free. Whilst Australians are proud of this country's laid back, tolerant attitude, it is still illegal for same sex couple to marry here. Even the United States, for all its religious zeal and fervour, has five states in the union in which gay people can tie the knot. But the United States is, as always, a land of contradictions. Because even as the queer community is slowly gaining ground, an alarming number of women are having their reproductive rights threatened as their access to contraception and abortion is curtailed.
If this is what the situation is like in the West, it is nothing short of depressing to read what happens in the less developed world. The stonings, the beheadings, the forced pregnancies, the gential mutilations, the use of rape as a weapon of war, the list of the ways in which people are oppressed in the name of culture and religion is endless. Yes, I know culture can be a beautiful thing, it has given rise to joyous dance and music, incredible food, colourful costumes. And religion has brought people together in faith and given some people hope where they thought there was none
Six Billion Stories and...PukingMay 3rd 2009 03:26
Isn't SBS supposed to be the thinking person's television station? They, with all the documentaries, the world news, the subtitles? So why does their new tagline make me want to punch the nearest wall right after I regurgitate my breakfast?
Ok, so it's not so new, I know they adopted the "six billion stories and counting" mantra some time last year but the passing of time has done nothing to endear it to me. Nor do I find it even slightly less annoying. Six billion stories and counting? Isn't that a little (too) familiar? I mean, what is this, McTelevision? Would you like fries with your world movie of the week? How about a vanilla milkshake to wash down your expose on the illegal intelligence tactics of the Bush Administration? A choc sundae to round off your...okay you get the picture
Goodbye Golden GirlApril 26th 2009 12:41
Epicurus On GodApril 20th 2009 01:16
"Is [God] willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then is he impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then is he malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?"
PETA Outdo Themselves In The Idiocy StakesApril 9th 2009 13:19
I was pretty sure this was a joke when I first read it, but sadly its true. I say 'sadly' because despite all the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, I still don't like to think that people can be this stupid.
Peta, you know that animal rights group that fights for the 'ethical treatment' of animals by by unethically treating women like meat, has asked iconic British pop duo Pet Shop Boys to change their name to Animal Shelter Boys. I kid you not. Something about the unethical and inhumane treatment of animals in pet shops yada, yada, yada. Okay I don't mean to be blase here about cruelty to animals but really, a little semblance of sanity is in order. How on earth would such a name change possibly impact on the treatment of animals in pet shops? Well apparently, in Peta's Alternate Universe it would "encourage your millions of fans to consider giving a home to an abandoned or unwanted animal from an animal shelter". Alas, in this case flattery got Peta nowhere. Millions of fans? Yeah, maybe in 1987. Who the hell gives a shit about the Pet Shop Boys anymore anyway? Oh that's right, this is less about actually changing the way humans treat animals and more about keeping Peta in the spotlight
Well If You Get Caught Perpetuating A Hoax, Just Keep LyingApril 7th 2009 22:00
Is 'Twilight' Really Mormon Propaganda?March 16th 2009 03:28
I have heard much criticism about Twilight. Most of it I would say is founded. Shonky special effects which may have been impressive if I was only 12 years old and the year was 1972. Wooden acting from the least charasmatic and engaging lead performer I have seen since Nicole Kidman donned a prosthetic nose. An uninspiring script and a message, which, and please correct me if I am wrong, seems to be telling young girls that its okay to deny who you really are completely submit to the totally hot guy you have a crush on.
|
Recent CommentsComment by RubySoho
|
Comments (12)
Add Comments
Read More
Comment by RubySoho
on Scientology Indoctrination Cruise docks in Melbourne.
Music Zone
Thought Zone
I have an issue with their method of recruitment and the treatment of their members
Actually, that's how I feel about religion in general. For the most part religions recruit children before those children have developed the capacity to analyse and the opportunity to seek out alternative viewpoints. I also have a problem with the way the Vatican treats its members in Africa when it forbids them to use condoms, thereby condemning many more to fall victim to AIDS. I have a problem with the way the Church treats women when it doesn't allow them control over their bodies. I have a problem with the way Islam treats its members when it decrees that the punishment for heresy and/or apostasy is death. I have a problem with the fact that many Muslim women are not allowed to leave their homes without an accompanying male, if at all. I have a problem with....should I go on?
That's a rather cryptic answer. I much prefer a direct response. What exactly is it that you are trying to say here?
What religion hasn't been banned at some point in its history? If there is one thing that all religions have in common its their tendency to wear a 'persecuted underdog' status like a badge of honour.
Really? And here I thought you were just rambling as usual.
Again with the cryptic comments. I have no time for crypticism. I really wish people would just be more direct. Don't you?