It's just like that, Ma

Last night I religiously observed Earth Hour. Without a computer or a TV, I figured I'd sit out the hour in bed. Bad idea, I fell asleep only to wake up at 5am on a Sunday morning!

I admit, I am guilty of posting many of these in my early days of being a Facebook-er. But I think when you age on Facebook, you get better at saying things on your own rather than finding cards to express them or trying to look wise with borrowed sayings! Anyhow, I found this one and thought it was good food for thought.

The last time my mother visited me, she had several culture shocks. First of all, compared to home, Singapore is a lot safer and more peaceful. If you forget your wallet or phone in a cafe, chances are you will have it returned by the person who found it, whereas back home, a random stranger might be more than happy to snatch yours from your hands. Crime rates are very low here and it's not something I have taken for granted, because it really is a privilege. It's a very organised country; most things go like clockwork. Surprises rarely happen. Whether you are a woman or a man, it doesn't really matter what you wear or what you do with your free time. Nobody really cares or judges you for that. But back home, it's a closed up society. Everyone is interested in everyone else's business. Especially if you are a female, you have to behave in certain accepted ways for your own safety and survival. Being independent, different or expressive will most likely land you in trouble. When in public, one has to always watch over the shoulder and it can be quite stress-inducing. Here in Singapore, that is unnecessary so she was pleasantly surprised.

I had a hard time explaining to my mother why some people on the streets wore these and spectacles without lenses. (I used this image from Google Images to illustrate my point)

When shopping, she naturally multiplied everything by a 100 which gave a large figure in currency back home and it somewhat made a dent on the shopping experience. She also told me that while she was touring on her own, several strangers came to her aid and she was touched by the friendliness of the people here. The one thing which she could not stand and which I agree wholeheartedly is that a majority of people here don't have the good habit of closing their mouths when they yawn or cough. So being next to a sick person in a crowded bus or a train will most likely get you sick too. Let's not discuss bad breath here.

Another time she went to a famous shopping area and had seen a sign board that said "The Sex Shop".
Shu's mother: [with horror-stricken eyes] What happens in there??
Shu: Nothing Mama, it's just a shop selling toys for very old children. 

I spent my evening researching rock bands with the added input from Ryuu - who's bit of an expert on the subject. [After note: Ryuu refuses to be called even a bit of a Rock expert]. It's a very complex subject with so many types of rock (classic, punk, pop, cheese, glam, metal, and there's more!) within one genre, that it is almost too confusing to categorise them. I think I'll stop trying to figure out how to catergorise them at this point. I managed to listen to several new songs, re-discover a few old songs and even learn some new things:

• Britain was the beginning of the Rock Era - starting with legendary bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Beatles.
• I am not a huge fan of all classic rock bands. I'm just a rabid Queen fan. I just think they are pretty awesome - talented, unique, bold with experimenting with music (they played with pianos, they played with classical orchestras, they came up with songs ones like Bohemian Rhapsody and they really rocked the crowds) and their songs STILL play on popular radio stations. And I'll bite anyone who disagrees.

Music really is a universal language. This Beatles song caught my ears today and stuck.

 

A public holiday approaches us end of this week - yay!

Today we are musically inspired

Had I been born a ten years earlier, I might have caught Queen live in concert!

*note to self* Attend a live Rock concert. And hurry, before the last of the Classic Rock bands perform their final world tours.

Journey is performing live here today. I'm not a big fan of the band, only because I have not actively listened to their tracks growing up except for "Don't Stop Believing" after hearing a Glee cover and falling in love with it. But I have to admit, they sound Great! Perhaps artistes these days, in their great numbers and with bountiful opportunities to arrive at fame, have to work harder to have lasting fame because there just is too much competition and too many channels to address. Back then before the 90's, it was a simpler affair - if a Rock band had exceptional talent and toured around a lot, most likely they'll get their immortal fame because unlike now, the audiences were not spoilt for choices when listening to music. They were likely to listen to the same limited collection of good songs which would then be etched in their souls. Now our playlists grow and change so fast that it's easy to forget even a good song in a matter of days. Quite unfair to the extremely talented artistes these days, I suppose. And back then, musicians needed mostly exceptional talent and stamina to go on. Now, budding musicians need business and social networks, media channels, sophisticated equipment, an entourage of performers.... Oh and fame doesn't necessarily co-relate to talent.

Our musical pursuits made us really hungry after work so we made a colourful home-cooked meal!

Run away, vegetable haters!

My mother was extremely supportive of my recycling efforts when she visited me. She went the extra miles to throw every piece of trash that was recyclable into my special trash bag during her stay. So it brought me much joy to see the biggest haul of weekly junk during one of the weeks she was here. I'm also quite touched that my housemates continue to support the cause in their own ways. Since we began separating the recyclable from the non-recyclable junk, the number of trash bags thrown down the chute to the public disposal system has vastly reduced.

A record week of junk haul for Shu!

Time to log off. Do support Earth Hour on Saturday, 23rd March 2013 from 08:30pm to 09:30pm. It's a good gesture to be part of a global effort for a global cause.

The Mentalist

I blog while I try to resist the urge to throw up some cheese macaroni I had. But let's rewind for a bit.

The day turned out okay. I managed to do a 15-minute workout in the gym this morning and burn 41 calories (no kidding! Anyway, calories are overated nowadays). It helps now that I have a sophisticated mp3 player. Usually I'd take my phone upstairs and use it like a player during workouts. But complicated as it was, it involved touching my phone too often with sweaty hands and probably depositing on it tonnes of germs left behind by other users of the gym machines. So now, it helps that the mp3 player plays on it's own, with minimal touching. I do have to sort the playlists though as it is a messy goo of songs now. Now, Mozart plays next to Adam Lambert plays next to Amaradeva (an old classical singer in my country that few people my age listen to!) plays next to Kill Switch plays next to Nicky Minaj.

The macaroni! So yeah, I had a huge craving for cheese macaroni and went on to make a pack of San Remo quick cooking macaroni. It said 3 servings, but really that's worse than a cheap marketing trick! It is seriously only one generous serving. Maybe I put in too much milk or it got cold too fast, I lost the enthusiasm after eating 3/4ths of it. Aaand that's how the first line of this blog came about.

I'm hooked on Mentalist , a TV series I scavenged from a generous pile of DVDs given away by a kind soul in office. Actually I snatched all of season 1 AND 2 as I was one of the first few lucky people (flies) to come across this pile of freebies (dung). Early birds get the juicy worms, they say. I finished season 1 and now I have all of season 2 to go! Got to love the main character, Patrick Jane. He has a knack for observing people and evidence and deducing what most detectives miss out during criminal investigations. It marries two of my favourites together - criminal cases and psychology - into a very entertaining series.

For anyone who's curious, here is a little dose of Patrick Jane!

Happy (would-have-been) 65th Birthday, Freddie Mercury! And Google, I must say, I'm impressed with the "doodles" you come up with.

Bohemian Rhapsody

“It's one of those songs which has such a fantasy feel about it. I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and then make up their own minds as to what it says to them. "Bohemian Rhapsody" didn't just come out of thin air. I did a bit of research although it was tongue-in-cheek and mock opera. Why not?”

- Freddie Mercury

The first time this song by Queen caught my ears, it went unnoticed.

Until, I watched the season finale of Glee Season 1. This song was performed in a musical by the group Vocal Adrenaline in the finals of a competition. It was a memorable performance, mostly, as this ran concurrently with flashes of scenes from the final episode, revolving around the main characters. Most notable was one scene where a female character screams away in labour pains, while coupled with the “Bismillah! NO! We will not let you go” part of the song. It sent shivers down my spine the first time I watched it!

I have since listened to the song probably a hundred times at least! This song definitely sits somewhere on my top 5 favourite songs of all time.

What is so special about this song? I think it is a bold experimentation and successful mash up of various (and highly specialised) musical styles. I have not come across a piece as diverse and entertaining as this in popular English music. Most speculate that this song has strong ties to Freddie Mercury's personal issues particularly his battle with AIDS. With this in mind, the song creates in my mind, varying emotional states, while taking one through (probably intended) feelings of sadness, regret, fear, anger and finally acceptance of the inevitable end. However, many decades later, this song is still open for speculation as Queen never really clarified it's lyrical significance or it's specific relation to Freddie Mercury.

This song is also a great example of how strongly music can influence with the way we think and feel.

A capella intro (0.00 – 0:49)

A curious invitation to “be open”, probably to prepare a listener to the rest of the song. At this point, the song makes little sense. Some might even be bored at first.

Ballad (0:49 – 2:36)

An emotional piece expressed in a duet between the piano and vocals. A sad account by the song writer crying out his sadness and regret to “his mother,” making it known that it is time to leave and that he is afraid.

Guitar solo (2:36 – 3:03)

A refreshing interlude.

Opera (3:03 – 4:07)

A rather odd addition to to the piece, it is an amusing play of seemingly nonsensical words. But it gradually builds up emotions (as if the person in reference gathers strength and courage, against the odds) towards the end of it. In how many other instances has anyone successfully made a smooth transition from opera to rock?!

Heavy metal (4:07 – 4:56)

This is my favourite part of the piece! It appears to release a lot of the anger and pain left in a man's soul. I'm no fan of heavy metal. But this part always gets me high, so much so that if I closed my eyes, I can very easily picture myself dressed up a rocker (black suit and lots of eye liner) jumping around and performing this bit on stage! Yeah....shocking (and fictional!).

Outro (4:56 – 5:55)

A soothing end, that seems to conclude with some sort of closure with acceptance of facts.

Queen is a band that has surpassed greatness and now remains on an immortal throne in the music world. This was a band that was not afraid to challenge conventional musical styles or venture out of their comfort zones. Few bands shared the same success that Queen did in their lifetime. If you need more evidence of this, look no further than video clips of past Queen concerts and the oceans of fans who surrounded them! That was the result when the musical genius of 4 great men - Freddie Mercury, Brain May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon - came together.

Queen Lives On.