I, too, was once a Human Being

No ashes, no coal can burn with such glow.
As a secretive love of which no one must know.

She was.

But, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…” [Charles Dickens, Tale of Two Cities]

She began her dark journey into light at the age of seventeen.

In that darkness, he had beaten her ‘on her bare buttocks’ in a ‘special room’ away from the family. In the light, she eventually confessed that she had felt sexual excitement when her father beat her. Her mother had raised her ‘in complete sexual ignorance.’

Suffering – both physical and emotional – with love.

Continue reading I, too, was once a Human Being

Diplomatic Courage

Disney/Pixar’s 2012 project Brave released a full trailer recently and looks to have in droves the charmingly delightful delightfulness that Pixar seems to achieve so well.  Disney/Pixar will be looking for cinematic redemption after its 2011 release Cars 2 flopped hard both at the box-office and with critics.  Brave is centered around a Scottish Princess named Merida, and will be Pixar’s first ‘fairytale’, and it’s first film with a female protagonist.  A brief synopsis tells us that Merida ‘confronts tradition, destiny, and the fiercest of beasts’.  Let’s jump right in and take a look at our red-haired heroine Merida who is voiced by actress Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire).

Merida is described as the impetuous daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson).  Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (voice of Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (voice of Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (voice of Robbie Coltrane).  “Searching for the meaning of existence,” and believing in a “world pregnant with possibilities,” Merida indeed seems quite optimistic.  Extremely courageous, highly independent, deeply mystical, and on a search for life’s truths Merida is a classic Idealist.  Indeed Merida turns to an “eccentric old Wise Woman (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish.”  In order to find out what happens I suppose we’ll have to just watch the film!  Brave is slated for a June 22, 2012 release date.

Quote1.png If you had the chance to change your fate…… would you? Quote2.png

Princess Merida

Romantic Diplomacy

The nominees for the 54th annual Grammy awards were announced Wednesday night and Kanye West (middle) leads the pack with 7 nods.  Adele (left), the Foo Fighters, and Bruno Mars followed close behind with 6 nominations each, while Lil’ Wayne and Skrillex both earned 5.  Full list of nominations here.  Squaring off for the award shows top honor of album of the year will be Adele (21), Foo Fighters (Wasting Light)Lady Gaga (Born This Way), Bruno Mars (Doo-Wops & Hooligans) and Rihanna (Loud).  Notable snubs include Taylor Swift‘s Speak Now for Album of the Year, Beyonce in general, and Lady Gaga‘s Born This Way for Song of the Year.  Looking on the bright side however for the Album of the Year award we will definitely be spared one of Taylor Swift‘s infamous over-the-top “oh my god I can’t believe it” speeches that she keeps pulling out of her ass.  Idiocy aside let’s take a look at rising star and hopeless romantic Bruno Mars.

Peter Gene Hernandez a.k.a Bruno Mars is a Filipino-American singer and songwriter who was born in Honolulu, Hawaii into a family of musicians.  Mars began making music at a young age, and after graduating high-school moved to LA to pursue a career in music.  A talented producer with a great voice and a charming smile, Mars drew from a wide variety of styles and influences, and quickly found his place in the music industry.  Using his childhood nickname Bruno, Hernandez added Mars because “a lot of girls say that I’m out of this world, so I was like I guess I’m from Mars.”  Mars’ debut album Doo Wops and Hooligans was released this October and gave him 6 grammy nominations.  The album is riddled with altruism, romance, and intense emotional experiences.   A hopeless romantic, highly in-touch with his feelings, extremely expressive, and fiercely independent Bruno Mars is undoubtedly a Champion Idealist.  Indeed Bruno exudes a kind of “spontaneous personal authenticity”, and communicates such through his unique musical style.  Bruno is characteristically positive in his outlook, and is surprised when people or events do not turn out as anticipated, as evidenced by his somewhat somber ‘trophy song’ Grenade.  Despite seemingly having his heart broken something tells me Bruno is gonna be ok:

Often their [Champions’] confidence in the innate goodness of life and human nature is a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Please Understand Me II, p. 156

The 54th annual Grammy awards airs February 12th on CBS.

Quote1.png We just hope that it touched people.  And we can’t wait to work on album two!Quote2.png

Bruno Mars

A Child's Memory

“On the back of the slip was written ‘Read 5.25.34’ and the signature of my father. The file — indeed the whole ‘case’ — gave me a heavy sinking feeling. I kept leafing through the documents trying to understand. Shouldn’t there have been some kind of logic to these stories? Did the Chekists’ machinery really so senselessly gobble up people? Perhaps my life would have taken a different turn if been able to see my father’s file earlier. If I could have been convinced without a doubt of what ordinary, banal horror our industry, our powerful Soviet reality was steeped in.”

“My father never spoke about any of this with me. He blanked this piece of his life out of his memory as if it had never existed. It is forbidden to speak of this subject in our family.”

“I was only three years old at the time of my father’s arrest, but I remember to this day all the horror and fear. One night people came into our barracks room. I remember my mother shouting and crying. I woke up and also began to cry. I was crying not because my father was going away (I was still too young to “understand” what was happening to him). I was crying because I saw my mother and saw how frightened she was. Her fear and her tears were transferred to me. My father was taken away, and my mother threw herself at me, hugging me until I calmed down and fell asleep.”  Continue reading A Child's Memory