Everyone's Reinventing Themselves

Let's look at some prime examples:

Avril has (finally) (finally) (FINALLY) shed the pseudo-punk-rock image and gone pop. Still, you can tell there are traces of rebellion in this punky, supercilious amalgam of almost all her styles (save for the crappy senti ones like that one that went "keep holding on... cos you know I'm there for you, there for you..." and "knock knock knocking on heaven's door..." which on its own was a noble venture but got overplayed and overabused by other movies like Windstruck), called "Girlfriend". All in all, Girlfriend is a very fun song.

Then there's Hilary, with that new song called With Love. As you can see, she's still aiming to be the next Britney, Princess of Pop (so what's Hilary, like, countess?). The music video of the song was also intensely reminiscent of Toxic--seducing a guy, doing things to him in an enclosed space, acting slutty, basically.

And then there's Britney herself, who's just crazy. I actually just read an article about her this morning advocating Timbaland's pity for her. Poor girl--she used to be so respectable--one of the greatest names in Pop. How the mighty have fallen.

With any luck, Hilary won't fall down the same dark path that our ex-Pop Princess fell through.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elsewhere, moving away from Pop Doom, here're some nifty quotes to guide you along:

"Death is simply a journey that everyone must eventually embark on; one from which no one returns."

Mr. Linderman: "You see, I think there comes a time when a man has to ask himself whether he wants a life of happiness or a life of meaning."

Nathan Petrelli: "I'd like to have both."

Mr. Linderman: "Can't be done. Two very different paths."

Here's the subsequent discussion Mr. Claro and I had about the above quote:

Mr. Claro: ang mga taong nakararanas lamang ng lihim na kalungkutan ang siyang nakararanas din ng lihim na kaligayahan
Mr. Claro: - genoveva matute (kuwento ni mabuti)
Mr. Claro: re stat mo
Me: hindi naman po kalungkuta't kasiyahan ang pinagpipilian
Mr. Claro: oo nga
Mr. Claro: kaligayahan at kahulugan
Mr. Claro: pag pinili ang kahulugan, tila pinili rin ang kalungkutan
Me: kahulugan (as in may saysay) at kaligayahan (as in frivolity)
Mr. Claro: but
Mr. Claro: quote
Mr. Claro: yeah
Me: ah
Mr. Claro: frivolity
Mr. Claro: wala lang allen
Me: ang talim ng re niyo sa stat ko ... bilib na bilib ako
Mr. Claro: napapagod lang ako magbasa ng mga gawaing pasulat...
Me: nakakapagod nga naman po iyon
Me: hali't magsayang tayo ng oras
Me: *does a silly dance*
Mr. Claro: hahaha
Mr. Claro: kanina ko pa ginagawa yun.
Mr. Claro:
Me: kayo naman kasi e... kung ayaw niyong makaranas ng kalungkutang ka tindi, hindi niyo dapat itinakda
Me: pero ika niyo nga, ang nakararanas ng kalungkutan ang siyang makararanas din ng kaligayahan
Mr. Claro: right back at me huh?
Me: you brought it on yourself *hides*
Me: joke lang po
Me: think of it this way
Me: your sacrifice is in the interest and betterment of the future generation of Filipinos
Mr. Claro: SANA!!!
Me: sa madaling salita, you're sort of giving yourself up so that we can have a good education and hop out into the real world as better human beings all around
Me: ah, sana nga
Mr. Claro: iyon ang lihim na kaligayahang inaasam ko.
Me: pero lihim lang siya... hindi nararamdaman o nahahawakan... basta't napakalamig
Mr. Claro: not neccesarily
Mr. Claro: lihim siya in the sense na hindi lahat ng tao naunawaan ang pinagmulan ng bungang iyon...
Mr. Claro: hindi ibig sabihing hindi matutupad iyon...
Me: aba't nagawa niyong ipawalang-bisa ang aking pangungusap!
Me: siguro alternate interpretation lang iyong akin
Mr. Claro: haha
Mr. Claro: i'll give you another quote
Mr. Claro: There is always enough darkness for those who want to see it, and enough light for those who want to see it.
Me: hmmm
Me: absorbing
Me: i believe that happiness is something we create
Me: i suppose poignance is too
Me: and hope or the lack thereof
Mr. Claro: or maybe we create it but at the same time it has always been there...
Mr. Claro: they exist both at once
Mr. Claro: somewhere in that interaction between our self and our world lies the truth
Mr. Claro: ayyyy
Mr. Claro: lalo atang sumasakit ulo ko...
Me: ewan ko... kung sa akin, gumagaan ang pakiramdam ko kapag ganito ako makipag-usap
Me: maybe because some things require the acceptance that they do not completely exist or are not completely achievable, or that nothing can be done about them/they just are; and i as a person shy from those topics when i talk or think
Mr. Claro: how come?
Me: it empowers me
Me: at nauuwi ulit sa "there's enough darkness/light for those who want to see it"
Me: in this day and age, it's no longer fate, it's a decision
Mr. Claro: but fate entails a decision too...
Me: maybe it's in the phrasing
Mr. Claro: hey allen...
Me: fate is a matter of acting upon others, and not being acted upon
Me: hey G. Claro
Mr. Claro: what are we talking about?
Mr. Claro: kidding
Me: kung naging sabaw na ang utak ninyo, huminto nalang po muna tayo
Me: baka't kung ano ang magawa niyo sa mga gawaing pasulat
Mr. Claro: i think it's also being acted upon, but you always have that decision if you want to be acted upon or not...
Me: okay....
Me: ergo fate is a matter of acting upon others, and not being acted upon

A poem: http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=24968

"The Birch Tree" by James Russel Lowell

A line from Don McLean's "Castles In The Air":

And if she asks you why, you can tell her that I told you that I'm tired of castles in the air--I've got a dream I want the world to share; and castles walls, just leave me to despair...

And from the Rascal Flatts' "Pieces" (personal context here):

And I don't wanna see you anymore--I'm just not that strong. I love it when you're here, but I'm better when you're gone. I'm certain that I've given, and, oh, how you can take. There's no use in your looking--there's nothing left for you to break. Baby, please release me, and let my heart rest in pieces.