"Personally, I find living in London to be incredibly inspiring. It's not always easy, but I enjoy the challenge of living there, and I enjoy the passion everyone demonstrates for the arts."

- Juanita Stein from the Howling Bells tells Frankie magazine.

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Antonio Sofi, blogger and new media commenter, had some interesting things to say earlier this month when speaking at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia.

"You may not be familiar with both medicine and the wars from the last century in Africa. But you might have readers among doctors, historians, lawyers and sociologists.

Set a subject in an interesting and provocative way and you can get many feedbacks to find the truth.

Write incomplete articles and let the audience fill them in! The conversation is basically more interesting than the topic!"

Long live the blogosphere!

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"I believe marriage is meant to be a sacred institution between two unwilling teenagers.


But don't think I don't tolerate gay people. Because I do. I tolerate them, with all my heart. And I know quite a few, too. Not personally, but I know of them. I've seen Ellen. Oh and there was this one girl on my college basketball team. She wasn't officially a gay, but, you know, we were pretty sure."


- Tina Fey's take on Republican Sarah Palin's views on gay marriage, as spoken in the recent U.S. Vice-Presidential debate.


(Photo source: hollywoodgrind.com)

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"These times are so uncertain. There's a yearning undefined, and people filled with rage.

We all need a little tenderness. How can love survive in such a graceless age?

And the trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness are the very things we kill, I guess.

Pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms.
And the wall they put between us, you know it doesn't keep us warm."

- "The Heart of the Matter", India Arie

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Yes, she's constantly emo, with not-too-melodic tunes and a constant expression of bewilderment slash frustration slash deep mediation creased into her face. But I still like Missy Higgins, and particularly- the song "Where I stood". Before I youtubed/googled it I thought the lyrics were a little different though, and its interesting that just a few minor monosyllabic words could make such a difference to the story of a song. Both- the purposeful, and the accidental, are equally profound.

The words in brackets are the words I thought they were:

I don't know what I've done
Or if I like what I've begun
But something told me to run
And honey you know me it's all or none

There were sounds in my head
Little voices whispering
That I should go and this should end
Oh and I found myself listening

'Cos I don't know who I am, who I am without you
All I know is that I should
And I don't know if I could stand another hand upon you (me)
All I know is that I should
'Cos she will love you more than I could
She who dares to stand where I stood

See I thought love was black and white
That (But) it was wrong or it was right
But you (I) ain't leaving without a fight
And I think I am just as torn inside

'Cos I don't know who I am, who I am without you
All I know is that I should
And I don't know if I could stand another hand upon you (me)
All I know is that I should
'Cos she will love you more than I could
She who dares to stand where I stood

And I won't be far from where you are if ever you should call
You meant more to me than anyone I ever loved at all
But you taught me how to trust myself and so I say to you
This is what I have to do

'Cos I don't know who I am, who I am without you
All I know is that I should
And I don't know if I could stand another hand upon you (me)
All I know is that I should
'Cos she will love you more than I could
She who dares to stand where I stood
Oh, she who dares to stand where I stood

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"This is how it works
You're young until you're not
You love until you don't
You try until you can't
You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dying breath

No, this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took
And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some
Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood
And walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again"
- 'On the Radio'- Regina Spektor


"If the moon had to run away
And all the stars didn't wanna play
Don't waste the sun on a rainy day
The wind will soon blow it all away"
- 'Shine on'- Jet

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"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognised by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."

- George Bernard Shaw

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'What you want might make you cry,
what you need might pass you by,
if you don't catch it, if you don't catch it.
And what you need ironically, will turn out what you want to be,
if you just let it, if you just let it."

Lauryn Hill, When it Hurts so Bad

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"I feel like the institution of marriage has become a code-word for exclusion and dependence, rather than couplings that expand and strengthen society's fabric. I'm open to being convinced otherwise, but generally fail to see the merit. Love, sacrifice, fidelity and commitment are so important to me- I hope they can stand alone."
- Rick Bull, 30

"I live with my partner. You don't need a slip of paper and a traditional marriage ceremony to have a satisfying, loving, committed relationship."
- Fenella Kernebone, 30
(Good Weekend, 23 September 2006, pp. 21-22)

Its sad that we see it as an institution, or some mysterious force of entrapment than a reinforcement or confirmation of love and devotion. Since when did we become so disillusioned with the notion of marriage? Is it due to rising divorce rates, de facto relationships and casual drunken sex? Or does it go hand-in-hand with the denouncement of all things religious or remotely associated with convention?

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“Getting a man is like catching a wily silverback gorilla in the Ugandan highlands. You see, nature is telling that gorilla to stay in the wild. But both you and I know, that that gorilla would be much happier back in the zoo on a normal feeding schedule. But sometimes, he’s just gotta roar and beat his chest before he’ll let you shoot him with a tranq dart.”

('Taylor Townsend', The O.C., Season 3 Episode 21)

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I really should be doing my report, but its a little painful to churn the words out since I haven't been going to lectures for that subject for a couple of weeks now.

And I had to get this down:

As unsatisfied/discontent I may feel with things sometimes...usually when most everything is going great and there's just that nagging feeling that its not 'enough', that something's 'missing', and that familiar friend bitterness rocks up to lend a helping hand, these lyrics still ring true:

'What you want

What you lost

What you had

What is gone is over

What you got

What you love

What you need

What you have is real' (Our Lady Peace- Not Enough)

Simple as they sound, they're not always simple to remember. When you constantly want more, even when you don't know what that would neccessarily entail- these words ring true.

No matter how much gets taken away, or how much you lose, whatever the reason its gone there's always something left behind. No matter how sacred that something was- all is never lost.

It got me thinking. Every birthday I've had in the past three years has been spent with different people...as I make, grow close to and move away from different people for different reasons. And what's really important- is that some of those people have remained the same. Its important not to forget those people. Because those are the ones you make an effort to stick with, or with whom 'sticking' is effortless...and a lot can happen in 3 years. Its not always easy. They remain true. They remain present. So even when you feel like you can't rely or depend on anything to stay constant- there's always a rock of support that stands at the corner of your life, as yet unturned, unweathered by the storm.

And when I think of that, and how those friendships have changed but essentially remained the same, I realise I have nothing to whinge about, and everything to feel thankful for.

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'The individual is free insofar as he or she is left alone, not interfered with or coerced by others...freedom in this sense is the absence of external constraints upon the individual.'

-- Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies

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Doubt thou that the stars are fire;
Doubt thou that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt that I love.
- William Shakespeare
Hamlet

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