The iPhone app blinks, reassuring that it sees us, a blue dot traveling along RR 1376, a squiggly, a two-lane road. We take our time, passing some fenced pastures and a few houses on our way to Luckenbach. We pull into the dirt parking lot and head for the tiny post office and trading post. Inside, we stand near the pot belly stove to warm up and toe-tap along to the music of a guitar-playing cowboy. You never know who’ll stop by for musical entertainment. After awhile, we walk over to the dance hall, strung with Christmas lights that stay up all year. There’s nothing finer than an evening listening to country music, but there’s nothing colder than a wood frame building in December. We decide against lingering at Luckenbach. Hungry for a burger, we drive further on down Old Wildlife Management Road to Alamo Springs, past the bat cave, quiet from the cold. In the summer, these tiny creatures rise in a whirlwind from their limestone tunnel, devouring millions of mosquitoes each night. Tonight, these migratory critters are in Mexico.

Lotta food luv: the green chile cheeseburger at Alamo Springs Cafe.

It’s late when we leave, and pitch dark in mid-December. The stars at night are big and bright, especially in Gillespie County, where ambient lighting seems verboten. The slightest sliver of moon appears. Peering into the sky, I’m able to locate the little dipper above me.  Driving back to town in the inky darkness, we listen to Robert Earl Keene and recite our deer-in-headlights instructions. Go slow (not a problem due to the squiggly road). If you see a deer, don’t swerve. Hit the brakes hard and hold the steering wheel firm. We laugh, round a corner, and come to a headlights-to-nose stop. A huge bovine stands in the roadway. He blinks and bows, but doesn’t move. The headlights frame his mooing head. Dust floats around in the beams.  We can’t get by the steer. So, I climb in the back of the SUV, pull out our walking sticks, open the passenger door and stand on the running board.

Clicking the sticks, I fuss at Midnight Steer. “Git. Git away!” 

Midnight turns his rump toward me. I step down from the SUV and go around the front, staying close to the car in case he gets ornery. Tapping him on the rear with my walking sticks, I scold him again. He moos and moves on. Hubby gingerly drives around him as I step to the side of the road. With the SUV just ahead of me, I look back into the darkness. A shooting star, tiny and diamond-brilliant, illuminates the velvety black sky. I make a wish to have more nights like this, and climb back into the car.

Hubby is smiling. “Good job.”

“Thanks honey. Round up is all finished. Let’s head for the house.”

She sends a brief spark;/
Then, again, goes strangely dark!/
Like a shooting star.

How long will it be before they begin to take effect?  When will gravitation take place and begin pulling me closer to what (or should I say who) I want?  On Sunday I made a wish upon two celestial bodies; shooting stars to you and me.  Now I know it’s only been 3 days since I looked up to the sky and crossed my fingers in the hope that two brightly coloured meteors would change my life forever, but so far there’s been no sign of that change whatsoever. Perhaps I’m being too hasty.  Maybe they have to pass through quality control with the Big Man first.  Maybe my wishes are caught up in a queue behind a long line of other hopes and dreams waiting to be approved.  What ever the reason, I want results.  And I want them fast.  We exist for a few seconds within billions of years so, forgive me if I’m being impatient, but I don’t have time to sit around waiting.  Yes, I know I could crack on without the aid of intergalactic intervention, but if it was that easy then I wouldn’t have made the bloody wishes in the first place.

So, what was it that I wished for?  Well, firstly I figured that seeing two shooting stars meant I was allowed two wishes.  However, the first one I think I wasted.  In amongst the excitement of seeing something I’ve waited 28 years to witness, I wished on a dream I once held so tight, which I have now relinquished.  Stupid, I know.  I should have left it in the past and saved myself a wish.  My second.  Well, I’m not really sure I should be divulging my chimeras via the window of words that is my blog.  They say you should never tell the Devil your plans, so on that note I’ll keep them nicely harboured in my head and hope that Chris’s constellation didn’t get lost en route.

I don’t know what to do with myself anymore. It’s like a domino effect and if I don’t me… even if it’s a millimeter away, I will soon fall too.

The miseries of everyone has always been my breaking point. Knowing how helpless I am and that I can only share words is not enough. Is it wrong to want to be something else…

I wanted to be their shield, the one to protect them.  I’d always put myself aside because I didn’t want them to think that placing their problems on be would be a burden. I smiled for them. I kept myself at a pace in which they could all keep up with and a pace in which I could watch them at.

These tears that now constantly fall are for them. The endless need to cry because all I can ever do is watch is now plaguing my everyday schedule. But you know, I’m still always feeling okay. I can sigh though it’s heavily. There’s still much for us to go on to. I see past others and maybe that has always helped me feel rather light.

I say trudge on but walking slowly is fine too. I’m not in rush… not anymore. It’s only been a few months and somehow I’d forgotten to look back and wait. I’ve left a trail but there they are walking, it’s not a steady pace. I can see a few wavering paths. I guess we’ve all forgotten about each other… hmm… somehow my train of thought ends here.. I can’t quite put my finger on it but I get this heavy feeling in my heart that our problems have only started. It’s an uneasy thought and I prey that we can stand firmly against these worries.

“today i looked down at the wet grass, staring and waiting for a four leaf clover to out shine all the rest. somehow i failed to see the one just beneath my feet. today i picked up a dandelion, making sure to snap it off gently. somehow my hand crushed the flower itself. today i watched the clock tick by. somehow i missed 11:11. today i waited for the first star to come out. somehow i looked away only to realize that there aren’t any stars today.  that crosses out shooting stars too. what other ways can i make a wish?” – ureshii michi

Most days out of the week, I wear glasses. And I absolutely hate them. I have contacts, yes, but I don’t enjoy the way they feel or the process of getting them properly into my eye without the slightest bit of debris (or else they’re coming right back out).

Don’t get me wrong. I like being able to actually see things. My vision isn’t terrible, but it’s bad enough that anything over five feet away has a nice fuzzy border. My problem is that when I’m wearing glasses, I have almost zero peripheral vision. Four-eyes of the world know what I’m talking about. They only help you see what’s right in front of you or whatever you’re trying to look at. But they don’t improve your entire vision.

Tonight I went out to watch the meteor shower. Because I was running a little behind and didn’t want to miss it (which in retrospect, it’s supposed to have bursts from now until dawn), I decided to throw on my glasses instead of putting in contacts. And to be honest, I think it would’ve made a huge difference. Regardless, I was still blown away by having my entire field of vision packed full of the clear night sky with shooting stars darting back and forth. It was an amazing spectacle to behold. Yet I felt like I could’ve seen more of them if I had taken the time to do things the right way. The way I knew I should have.

I feel like that’s what it’s like in life a lot of times. Our vision gets focused by something: a career, a goal, a girl or guy. And our sight gets so narrowed by it that we miss parts of the big picture. Sometimes really important parts. Sometimes things we can’t do it without. Good thing for me I need my glasses to drive, otherwise I might have forgotten them altogether.

Of course, the most important thing was getting out to see the stars in the first place. It was great. Therapeutic in many ways. It made me think about how many people were missing it. Whether it was because they had gone to bed because of work in the morning, or they didn’t care enough to get out and see it, or maybe they simply didn’t know it was happening. That made me think, “At least I’m looking in the right direction.” And that made me wonder how many of those who didn’t know it was happening would’ve chosen to watch if given the chance. It all boiled down to a neatly-packaged metaphor for our job as Christians: we can’t make people seek God and His salvation if they’re focused on something else, if their priorities are in a different place. But we can make sure people know they have the option.

So for a while my eyes were darting back and forth as I tried to zone in on the different shooting stars, wherever they were in the sky. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that wasn’t the most enjoyable way to watch them. So I tried just focusing on one constant star and waiting on one to show up in that area I was watching. Not all that great either. Finally I just stared up at the sky, not really focusing on any one thing but trying to take in the big picture. And that’s what really did it. That’s what made it an experience. And once again I had a lovely little metaphor: sometimes when we’re seeking God, we end up chasing all kinds of different things and don’t get to really enjoy them. Sometimes we focus so hard on a singular goal that we only get flashes of brilliance and miss all the other things going on around us. Maybe what we really need to do is take a step back and see that God is in everything. That He is working everywhere in unison. All we have to do is make sure we’re facing the right direction.

And sometimes facing the right direction on its own isn’t enough. Sometimes we have to make sure we’re in the right place. I couldn’t see the stars from my house. Too much light pollution, as they say. I had to drive a good distance away from the city so the light pollution (as they call it) wouldn’t obstruct my view. I had to be in the right place to even begin looking for meteors. I’m sure if I wanted to I could’ve stood in my driveway for a long time and stared up at the sky. Eventually I might be able to catch the tiniest glimpse of a particularly bright one, but why would I settle for spending hours on that singular burst when I could simply pick up and move to spend a lot less time enjoying a whole lot more? Sure, I had to spend a little time travelling, but they payoff was so much better than I would’ve gotten by standing still where I was.

I stayed out there for a good hour. I brought a blanket. The amazing thing is, the longer I stayed, the better it got. My eyes got used to the darkness and I could see more stars and meteors alike. They were just brighter. But then I looked away for a second to check my phone and when I looked up again I was back where I started. It took another ten minutes or so for my eyes to readjust so I could see everything again. Isn’t that so much like God too? The longer we follow God and His will for us, the better things start to look. The more glorious the big picture becomes. But sometimes we stumble. Maybe it’s only a minor set-back. Maybe it puts you all the way back to square one. The longer your focus is away from Him, the longer it will take to get back to where you were. The beauty is, with time and patience, you can always get back.

My prayer is that, whoever you are, you would focus on seeking God first. That you can truly see all the facets where He is always working. That you take a step back and try to truly appreciate his handiwork.

If you aren’t a believer, I encourage you to take this risk. Try seeing things from a different perspective. Give God a chance to show you what He can do with your life beyond what your life experiences have lead you to believe. He can do miracles through you if you’ll only give Him the chance.

The last big sky show of the year, indeed the decade, will occur tonight. And some astronomers say it may be the best of the year.

Other showers, like the Perseids, tend to get more attention, perhaps because they occur in warm weather for many viewers, but the Geminid show might persuade even reluctant sky watchers to bundle up, grab a chair (ideally one with some neck support), head outside where you can see a patch of night sky, and look up.

This shower has been getting stronger every year it’s been recorded, going back the the 1860s. It could be “an amazing annual display”, according to Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office.

Scientists believe that the Geminids actually come from an asteroid, called 3200 Phaethon, which is itself an extinct comet. (Most meteor showers come from comets.) Comets create meteor showers by flying close to the sun, which causes the comet’s dirty ice to evaporate and that, in turn, causes comet dust to spew into space. When the comet dust enters the earth’s atmosphere, we see it as meteor flashes. Because asteroids don’t usually produce dust, it is thought that 3200 Phaethon is really the skeleton of an ancient comet.

People around the globe have already been reporting seeing good meteor showers. The Geminids are due to peak Sunday, December 13, at about Midnight, Eastern Standard Time. Any time between about 9 p.m. one’s local time and one’s local sunrise the morning of Monday, December 14, should offer good viewing, and there are showers predicted even a couple of days on either end of that.

At far Southern latitudes, the viewing window will be a little smaller. This American Meteor Society page is a great site for exploring more about just where and when to find the Geminids in your local night sky.

You don’t need any special equipment to view the Geminids. In fact, the naked eye is best for meteor viewing, as it allows you to follow a big swath of the sky. As mentioned before, get comfortable. You do need clear skies, and an area with as little light as possible.

If the weather is clear, skies should be pretty dark, because the moon is just two days shy of new.

This movie of the 2008 Geminids comes from a space camera at the Marshall Space Flight Center. You can also see the movie here.

Or rather… thrice. Each time I saw a shooting star I remember I’d wished for the same thing: Let me meet great teachers.

How vague. How silly. I remember telling myself, better wish for money or power next time a shooting star comes along. But when another actually shot across the night sky – panic! – and I’d wished for the same thing.

But that wish definitely came through. All my life, I’ve been blessed with the guidance of excellent teachers.

At 14, my English Language teacher told me to write a short-story because I’d refused to do the standard boring, too simple language exercises. That experience had let me to realize that I COULD write all kinds of things. Very soon it became a crucial communication mode for me.

When I’d decided to write proper short-stories to enter competitions for publications at the age of 19, my college lecturer introduced to me KL’s equivalent of Carrie Bradshaw – equal in glamor, keener in observation – and helped me win my first published story in a published anthology.

At age 21 when I woke-up one day and decided I wanted to learn Feng Shui (literally. But that was due to a Luck Pillar change). So I hit the internet searching for some older ‘reputable’ person but somehow ended up at the website of my future teacher/boss academy. The course fees were almost 10 times of the money I had left then, fresh out of college. So what to do?

I got writing gigs for quick bucks, and paid my way through until I could qualify professionally as a Feng Shui consultant. While I am no extraordinary person with some outstanding achievement, but here I am today and life is definitely okay

How I met my healing teacher (through the academy) and all that have been told already…

Of course, there were also many other teacher along the way that shaped who I am now. During standard 5 I had an excellent Malay language teacher which set the foundation for my A1 in that subject seven years later. My college lecturers were all amazing – passionate and willing to go the extra mile.

I guess everyone you meet will change your life and perspective a little. But some change your life completely from the moment you meet them. Some day when you walk along the busy city street, you remember your teachers and smile a bit.

One of the little things in life that remind you to keep trying to be a better person.

By: Hale

So many times you’ve hurt me
So many times you’ve fooled me
But you’ll be doing it again

So many times we’ve spent in
Too many lives we’ve been in
But you’re doing it again

To me the nights have fallen
The lights are on and off again
Is there a chance that you won’t die
Won’t die, with me tonight?

Like a shooting star to where you are
Are we too late am I too soon?
You’ll make it through you’ve gone too far
Will you ever be my star?

I’m holding on to nothing
No reason worth for living
I’m calling out to you

If it’s the only way to keep you
Then I don’t want to break you
I’m losing grip again

With you the nights have fallen
The lights are on and off again
Is there a chance that you wont die
Won’t die, with me tonight?

Like a shooting star to where you are
Are we too late am I too soon
You’ll make it through you’ve gone too far
Will you ever be my star?

You’re a shooting star to where you are
Are we too late am I too soon
You’ll make it through you’ve gone too far
Will you ever be my star?
Will you ever be my star?

You’re walking away
I’ll be seeing you through a satellite

If you go
Then I’m walking away

In the meadows of the angel’s lark, a star told its eternal story

but amidst the shadows of the crying sky

it wept along within its glory

because it knew no way to reach so far

to the one he loved through the bleeding heart

it was to be told all through the scripts, that

it came down to be  known as the shooting star..

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“Fireflies in fairy tales, shooting stars and wishing wells.”

Five or so years ago I ran across this phrase and to this day I still love the way it sounds, the way it moves across the page, the picture that it paints. It just drips of childhood and innocence and imagination and hope.

When we’re little wishing is a way of life. Blowing candles out on birthday cakes, pulling a part wishbones, finding four leaf clovers in the front yard, catching falling leaves, and catching snowflakes on our tongue were all ways we tried to influence wishes to come true.

We’d look up into the night sky, close our eyes, and breathe out the words, “Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight.”

But even today, decades removed from childhood, rarely do I pass a wishing well without scrounging in my pocket for a penny or a dime or a quarter to toss. And even today, I love coming home late on a cold winter’s night, getting out of the car, and just standing in the driveway looking up at the stars, “Star light, star bright.”

I’m not superstitious. Cracked mirrors and ladders mean nothing to me unless I need to see clearly or climb high. And black cats do not scare me; I scare black cats.

But ingrained in each of us from early childhood is this desire to wish, to hope, to dream. And this is a very good thing. Without hope a person dies. Without a dream a spirit withers. Old King James put it this way in Proverbs, “Where there is no vision the people perish.”

Wishing and hoping bring life. Wishing and hoping is why we get married and have children and read self-help books. Wishing and hoping is why we buy exercise machines and go on blind dates and play the stock market. Wishing and hoping is why we read the Bible and pray and trust God.

And at this time of year, wishing and hoping is why kids go crazy on Christmas morning. Do you remember being so excited throughout the month of December you could barely contain yourself? Remember writing letters to Santa or giving your Christmas list to Dad and Mom and wishing so hard? Remember not being able to sleep on Christmas Eve because you were so wired with anticipation of what “might be” the next morning?

When we fail to wish, when we lose hope, when we stop dreaming, we shrivel and die. Proverbs 13:12 reminds, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”

God encourages you and me to keep wishing and hoping and praying and dreaming, which also means we will have to keep waiting.

“Like fireflies in fairy tales, like shooting stars and wishing wells, like happy endings rising after the storm. I know we were meant to fly, I know there’s a reason why, we held onto the dream inside and never let it go.”

... The Oncoming Storm ...

A lone red dot glows, hovering, suspended in the air. That’s the only way anyone would know he was there, a lone Englishman standing, smoking on a balcony in Ireland (not to be confused with Northern Ireland of course, one would not want to upset the locals after all). Enveloped in the 8pm winter darkness, he paced, deep in thought.

It had been a rough year; nothing traumatic, just more of a non-event. At 24, he had always assumed he would have life figured out, be settled down with a nice girl, be living in a small apartment, striving away at a job he loved. So far he had achieved none of this, but he had no one to blame but himself. Laziness, that was the problem, complete bloody laziness. All his plans, all his dreams, desires, needs from life, so far he had strived for nothing and simply sat back and let the world revolve around him, sweeping him along and taking no control over the events that unfolded.

In the quietness of the countryside with only the light of the stars to give him any concept of his scene, he quietly leans back against the mottled stone wall, muttering under his breath. It was time to change, time to take action. The New Year was approaching and he knew it was cliché, but his mind turned to thoughts of new beginnings, change and The Oncoming Storm.

Glancing skywards, a shooting star blazed across the sky before burning into nothingness. The guy observes as it dissipates and laughs, shaking his head.

Turning inside to light a coal fire, thoughts of change run through his head, filling him with excitement.

Mergea grabita prin aeroport. Desi a mai fost prin el de zeci de ori, Schipol e un aeroport foarte mare, si iti trebuie destul de mult timp ca sa ajungi dintr-o parte in cealalta. Pare mai degraba un fel de complex intercultural, daca stai sa te gandesti cat de multi oameni se plimba prin el de-a lungul unei zile; oameni din toate colturile lumii.

In orice caz, tocmai se intorsese din Cape Town, un oras pe care isi dorea foarte mult sa-l vada, iar acum trebuia sa ajunga acasa, in New Haven. Desi avionul urma sa decoleze in doua ore, cand ajunge la terminalul 2, afla ca zborul s-a amanat cu vreo zece. Cum nu e genul de persoana care sa astepte, a hotarat sa se plimbe putin prin Amsterdam. Doar au trecut mai bine de cinci ani de la ultima promenada de-a lungul Amstelului. Isi lasa bagajele in aeroport si ia un tren catre Centraal Station.

Cand ajunge acolo, isi cumpara o cafea din imprejurimi si decide sa se plimbe prin port o vreme… Vroia sa profite de razele blande ale soarelui de mai. Se asaza in acelasi loc in care a stat prima data cand a pasit aici. Isi aminteste de copila inocenta care privea, cu ani in urma, portul, plina de vise si de iubire. Nu, copila aceea nu a disparut. E inca acolo, doar ca acum sufletul ei ascunde si mai multe taine decat atunci. O dulce melancolie iese la iveala, printre zambete sfioase.

Prinsa in amalgamul de emotii starnite de ganduri despre trecut, ignora norii cenusii ce se intind cu repeziciune pe cerul nu demult azuriu. Incepe ploaia, dar sentimentele care au iesit la suprafata o tin acolo, in mijlocul furtunii. Toata lumea cauta un adapost, insa ea tot ce vrea e sa primeasca niste raspunsuri. De ce nu a avut curaj sa ii spuna de la inceput ceea ce simte? De ce nu a putut sa aiba o a doua sansa? De ce, atunci cand a reusit – cu stangacie, poate – sa isi exprime sentimentele, el… nu mai era langa ea? Da, in Amsterdam si-a dat seama ca vrea sa fie langa el, ca vrea sa imparta cu el toate visele si experientele pe care viata asta minuanta i le ofera.

Cum ramane cu raspunsurile la toate aceste intrebari?

[to be continued]

Tracklist

1. Futatsu no Kuchibiru

2. SHOOTING STAR

3. Someday –House Mix-

4. ROCK THE BEAT

5. Futatsu no Kuchibiru (Instrumental)

6. SHOOTING STAR (Instrumental)

7. Someday –House Mix- (Instrumental)

Single thứ 32 của nhóm nhạc EXILE mang tên “THE GENERATION ~Futatsu no Kuchibiru~” được phát hành ngày 11/11/2009 và đạt #2 trên bảng xếp hạng Oricon với lượng đĩa được tiêu thụ lên tới 183,550 bản.

Mở đầu single là a-side “Futatsu no Kuchibiru”. Mặc dù được phối với phần beat dễ làm người nghe liên tưởng đến những bản mid-tempo nhưng chất liệu chính của track này lại là ballad. Điểm mạnh của “Futatsu no Kuchibiru” nằm ở cấu trúc và chất mượt mà trong giai điệu của bài hát. Đoạn verse được thể hiện ở quãng trung trên bản phối mỏng và đơn giản chỉ với âm thanh của piano và những nhịp trống đều đặn dần dần xây dựng cảm xúc cho track này. Ở đoạn chorus, âm thanh da diết của dàn dây được đưa vào cùng phần vocal bứt phá lên âm vực cao hơn làm bài hát có chiều sâu hơn, giàu cảm xúc hơn.

Đánh giá:

B-side “SHOOTING STAR” với không khí sáng hơn, rộn ràng hơn a-side mang lại sự đa dạng cho single. Nhìn chung đây là một track dễ nghe nhưng lại không có những chuyển biến đột phá nên chưa thể bật lên thành một b-side mạnh được.

Đánh giá:

Tiếp theo, “Someday –House Mix-” có lẽ là track yếu nhất single với phần giai điệu thiếu mất những đoạn đủ mạnh và catchy để có thể trở thành điểm nhấn cho bài hát làm người nghe có cảm giác track này cứ trôi qua đều đều mà không để lại một dấu ấn nào.

Đánh giá:

Kết thúc single là “ROCK THE BEAT”. Được phối với những lớp âm thanh điện tử dày, chạy liên tục trên phần beat mạnh mẽ được hỗ trợ bởi những hiệu ứng độc đáo, “ROCK THE BEAT” tỏ ra là một track hết sức thú vị đồng thời cũng cực kì danceable và mang tính đột phá. Không nghi ngờ gì nữa, đây chính là track tốt nhất trong cả single.

Đánh giá:

“THE GENERATION ~Futatsu no Kuchibiru~” rõ ràng là một bước tiến nếu so với single “THE HURRICANE ~FIREWORKS~” được EXILE phát hành hồi tháng 7. Single mang lại một a-side khá tốt cùng với một instrumental track catchy đến mức gây nghiện, tớ nghĩ sẽ tốt hơn nếu “SHOOTING STAR” và “Someday –House Mix-” được loại ra khỏi tracklist vì nói thật là hai bài này không có đủ yếu tố nổi bật để có thể quảng bá cho single.

Điểm: 92/100

Fue mi psicoanalista Pablicto Muñoz el que me enseñó a moverme por el mundo de los sueños. Nos acabábamos de conocer. Estábamos en un bar hablando de sueños, de sueños repetitivos, de sueños impresionantes, y me contó como era posible moverse dentro de un sueño, dominarlo y hacer lo que uno quisiera dentro de el.

No le creí, aunque como siempre me pasa con él, no pude decir que no fuera verdad.

Se repite con mis mejores amigos que, por muchos disparates que me suelten no puedo negarles que no sea verdad. ¿A mi amigo?

Y eso da alas.

No fue cuestión de días sino de años, pero al fin y poco a poco, me he ido dando cuenta de que ese bribón enano, no mentía.

Os contaré una de esas últimas experiencias. Una de las mas flipantes.

Mi destino: Alemania. Una de esas convenciones de la asociación de fisioterapeutas Bobath a Alemania con el fin de subir un peldaño mas en mi carrera profesional, como tiene que ser.

Medio de transporte: Avión.

“Buenos dias les saluda el comandante McFoscar …bribribri…    …horas…    bribri…….     la temperatura       …..blabla….          tatata…..    rororor……  buenviajeGoodmorninladiesandgents….sssssss….hhhh…..rrrrr…   farenheit……fffffffff…..ffffff….      you”

Pero qué mameluco… Es increible como cada vez que te subes a un avión y estás a punto de despegar el “comandante” coge el walkie-talkie y al dirigirse al respetable balbucea con sopor pero a toda hostia unas frases (probablemente) leidas lo peor posible que es capaz.

Hagamos un inciso para analizar los motivos:

*1/ Para que parezca que lo tiene todo controlado, que ha volado 3 millones de horas que está sobrado y tu no eres mas que un puto gusano. Que quede claro que tu vida está en sus manos.

*2/ Que sabe mogollón de ingles y ya casi se le ha olvidado el castellano -como a Martín Lopez Zubero- para hacerte sospechar que quizá vive a caballo entre Manhattan y La Moraleja, cuando probablemente vive en San Chinarro.

*3/ Efectos del alcohol, cocaina y Viagra. Too much triqui-triqui con l@s azafat@s. Jet Lag+Resaca=Hiper-destrucción

*4/ Quizás si fuera alfarero, carpintero o campesino estaría mas satisfecho. Si o si.

El caso es que esta actitud -en mi caso- actua como cápsula somnífera, y el único rato que me quedo dormido en un vuelo es antes del despegue.

Momento en el que empecé a soñar…

Aparecí en un sitio precioso. El valle del Azucar (USA) Un bosque repleto de los colores del Otoño atravesado por un rio que discurria por el fondo del valle. Me hallaba en una vieja casa de madera con un tipo que no se quitó un gorro ruso en los 10 dias que duró el sueño, una tía con 2 trenzas que vestía un pijama de rayas y el dichoso comandante McFoscar. La luz era tenue y acogedora, había lucecitas de esas de Navidad por todas partes y calabazas de Halloween con sus diferentes muecas chinescas. Recuerdo estar bien ahí.

Sentados alrededor de la mesa de una gran cocina charlamos y charlamos. Bueno… el supuesto McFoscar, comandante del avión resultó no tener ni guarra de inglés como intuía antes de quedarme dormido.

Pero si, allí se habló sobre ser un “Misfit”, el sentirse inadaptado, cementerios y niños, discutimos amargamente sobre si la música de Mozart, la música clásica y los Requiems no eran mas que el subproducto de lo que los monarcas e Iglesia quisieron en su tiempo. Y lo contrapusimos a la música de los negros de Africa, esa de la que tanto os he hablado, la que hizo que la musica americana tenga la piel negra. Nos disfrazamos de Góticos siniestros y salimos a dar una vuelta al cementerio del valle junto a un par de cabras amarradas a una cadena. Vimos antiguas películas rodadas en Super 8 de los tiempos en los que en Central Park había un zoológico. Hicimos música en el salón de la casa transformado en un estudio como el que tantas veces había soñado con los ojos abiertos.

Si, claro tambien nos comimos un cocido. Todo el pueblo vino a vernos, iban todos disfrazados, multitud de niños llamando de puerta en puerta pidiendo caramelos, y juntos cantamos canciones de John Prine al calor de una gran hoguera. Aporreé unos bongos hasta sangrar.

Vi una estrella fugaz, e incluso un cerdo volando, señales de boda.

Soñe con gaitas.

Chocamos las manos de alegría por ser los únicos pirados que piensan que Joey Ramone ha sido el “Best singer ever”

Soñe con una gran Luna llena. Soñé con las 12 lunas indias.

En este sueño escuchamos blues muy antiguo hecho por gente de la que no existe siquiera una imagen de ellos.

Mucha furia y mucho barro.

En el pueblo unos skaters se enganchaban a una carreta del año 1800 tirada por caballos, en la que iba una familia entera con los trajes y peinados de esa época. Ay si en los sueños se pudieran tirar fotos…

Pero los sueños sueños son, y las imágenes quedan en mi cabeza, nada mas. Entre la neblina.

Solo puedo compartir unas canciones, las que me pareció escuchar, solo algunas de las que recuerdo. Este disco que regalo es la banda sonora de este sueño.

Solo espero que algún día pueda yo convertirme en tu mejor amigo y confies en mi de manera incondicional. Los sueños se pueden dominar. Porque quién sabe si como me dijo el amigo Segismundo hallándome yo en el diván: “La vida es solo sueño” y… Zzzzzz.

“Es verdad; pues reprimamos

esta fiera condición,

esta furia, esta ambición,

por si alguna vez soñamos:

y sí haremos, pues estamos

en mundo tan singular,

que el vivir sólo es soñar;

y la experiencia me enseña

que el hombre que vive, sueña

lo que es, hasta despertar.

Sueña el rey que es rey, y vive

con este engaño mandando,

disponiendo y gobernando;

y este aplauso, que recibe

prestado, en el viento escribe;

y en cenizas le convierte

la muerte (¡desdicha fuerte!):

¿que hay quien intente reinar,

viendo que ha de despertar

en el sueño de la muerte?

Sueña el rico en su riqueza

que más cuidados le ofrece;

sueña el pobre que padece

su miseria y su pobreza;

sueña el que a medrar empieza,

sueña el que afana y pretende,

sueña el que agravia y ofende,

y en el mundo, en conclusión,

todos sueñan lo que son,

aunque ninguno lo entiende.

Yo sueño que estoy aquí

de estas prisiones cargado,

y soñé que en otro estado

más lisonjero me vi.

¿Qué es la vida? Un frenesí,

¿Qué es la vida? Una ilusión,

una sombra, una ficción,

y el mayor bien es pequeño:

que toda la vida es sueño,

y los sueños, sueños son.”

Demasié bonito

]]> http://tasmith1122.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/i-wish/ Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:30:31 +0000 Yousei Hime http://tasmith1122.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/i-wish/ http://paisq.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/%e2%98%85%e2%98%85%e2%98%85%e2%98%85%e2%98%85-6/ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:11:57 +0000 paisq http://paisq.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/%e2%98%85%e2%98%85%e2%98%85%e2%98%85%e2%98%85-6/

Waited for Leonid meteor shower all night. Even went for a walk with mum for almost an hr (3+-4+am) but they were all futile attempts

Even attempted to go to Jap Gardens but well, i was too lazy to walk for 30mins to reach there. And thus decided to stay put and dang dang! That’s the retribution for not plucking up enough determination.

And i still said  if i saw a shooting star i’d help 煜哥 to make a gain weight wish. HAHA. I didnt even catch a single one for my own wishes! ZOMG.

It’s 5:09 am, supposedly the peak period for the Leonids. But where are they?????

& so with a futile day camping for Leonids, which didnt spare some thoughts for someone whose horoscope is Leo, i shall surrender and tuck in instead.

Good night/morning, lovely world

Sky fans: An exciting meteor shower is headed our way. Anyone who lives in the Northern Hemisphere may be in for a good old-fashioned sky show, just by looking up.

The Leonids are debris from a wandering comet that appear as shooting stars each November. They often provide one of the best shows of the year, if the skies are clear and the moon is not full.

This year promises a stellar show, if clear skies hold, because the moon is almost new.

Peak Leonid viewing should occur early Tuesday, November 17, around 1 a.m. PST. There are expected to be fine shows for hours, and even days before and after that.

Just before dawn is generally a good time to catch some shooting stars, especially because Leonids generate from the constellation Leo, which is visible in the east before dawn.

You won’t need any special equipment to see the Leonids. The naked eye is actually best. If possible, get to a high spot, away from city lights. A backyard or front porch can work just as well. Just be sure to give your eyes some time to adjust to the dark. So bundle up, get a comfortable chair, and hope for a good show!

For more info: Visit this NASA web site.

Photo: AP File Photo/ Leonids over Joshua Tree National Park.

And wake up where the clouds are far behind…. November 18 is going to be a night of the most dramatic star show in years, according to astronomers. The annual Leonids meteor shower is going to be a highlight of my month! Visit the Nasa site for more.

Murphy’s law…Is there anything more annoying?

The skies have been covered with this grey thick cloud constantly (with a few rare hours exception) for way too long now.
Been trying to go outside and try take some pictures of the night sky at my parents house. But this seems to be an impossible thing to do.

Today i noticed that you could actually see the star’s after it became dark outside. So i decided to give it a shot. Came outside, rigged up my tripod, made 2 test shots and moved to a nice position to take a good photo. Tried with a 15 sec exposure and after those 15 seconds i decided to relocate myself to another position…

IF i wouldn’t have done that i might be able to get off a second shot at the skies, but Murphy had other plans for me. Once again there is not a single star visible in the sky…Better luck next time…In three weeks or so…Funny thou, the only “real” shot i was able to take catched a shooting star, some luck i guess.

Random Bits Of  Happy

“I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center.”

* Cemeteries.  I visited 2 cemeteries last weekend and had completely different experiences.  Friday night for our Anniversary, Terrell and I went to St. Augustine for a fancy dinner and decided to walk it off down St. George Street (it’s an old street in downtown St. Aug. that is closed off for foot traffic only, a tourist trap basically but has some really cool stores nonetheless) to end up at Hugenot Cemetery at about 8:45 pm.  We listened to some of the stories being told by the ghost tour guides and took photos of the cemetery at night and I had a light that appeared in my camera but not my husband’s!  We tried to be logical about it but none of the lights around us including the moon seemed to be causing the light and I saw it in 3 different areas.  It really was cool and I’m happy to hear what you think about it.  You can see the pictures here.  Also Saturday on Halloween during the day we went to a nearby cemetery that is rather old (and still accessible, Hugenot doesn’t allow you in the grounds unsupervised) and walked around reading the tombstones out loud to one another.  I took grave rubbings of the interesting ones, 1883 “Little Carrie” “Shall We Meet”, a really strange cat on a family stone, and some Masonic symbols on another.  It was a peaceful gorgeous day and it was nice without the noise and without any strange experiences unlike those from the night before.

* Walking on the beach at night.  Terrell and decided to drive up the coast to return home that same Friday night.  A1A was bright from the moonlight and we couldn’t help but find a spot to park so we could roll our jeans and go walk in the sand.  The moon and stars were so very bright.  We held each other tight and wiggled our toes in the sand.  It ended our night in such a beautiful way.  Terrell saw a shooting star.  Perfect.

*  Pagan podcasting.  I finally remembered to go find my favorite podcasters.  Without my laptop I have been a little lost and can’t wait until we have money again to purchase a new laptop.  I think it will be before the end of November, but regardless I used my Mother’s laptop to find out that Darkly Fey had decided to change things up a little and start off fresh with a more positive podcast name and using her real name for hosting.  So I have spent today catching up on Feithline Stuart and her SpiritsCast podcast and of course on Mojo & Sparrow with The Wigglian Way.  My work day has flown by listening to their podcasts that have little music breaks in the middle. 

 Quick Mentions:

* Practical Magic – I can watch that movie a hundred times and it never grows old.  * Sleeping with the window open, it makes you wake up all cold and cuddly.  * Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill * Leftover Halloween candy!  *Cool weather.  *Making lists for traveling.  * Getting ready to see family I haven’t seen in a while.  *Family Weddings.  *So You Think You Can Dance.  *Vanilla Noir by Bath and Body Works, it’s the perfect fall scent.  * Scarves to keep my neck warm.   * Crashing a Halloween party with a most awesome friend and meeting new friends at that party!  * Hamsa necklace with the prettiest irredescent stone to ward off the evil eye! *The photos I keep seeing in my re-found tumblr account

What has made your heart flutter this week?

Life is a shooting star, burn bright. Do You Believe In Asking A Wish When You See  A Shooting  Star on The Sky ?

Orion and a meteor on Flickr

オリオン座流星群がとてもよく見られたのだそうだ。お昼頃のテレビでこの話をしていたのを偶然聞いて気がついたのはすでにピークを過ぎた 23 日だった。残念ながら、その夜は曇でまったく星の光が見えなかった。

アマチュア・カメラマンが撮ったという夜明けの富士山に落ちてくる流星の写真を見たりすると、見逃したことが悔やまれる。21日がピークだったらしいが、確かこの日はこちらは良いお天気だった。ピークの 21 日には 1 時間に 30 個程度見られたらしい。国立天文台では観測した人たちからレポートを受けていて、新潟県は神奈川県に次いで全国で 2 番目に報告が多かったようだから、きっとよく見えたんだろうなあ。

オリオン座の代表的な星は 500 光年くらい離れているらしい。ウルトラマンもこの辺からやって来たはずだ。冬の空を見上げると、あまり天体の知識の無いボクにでも簡単に見つけられる。寒い新潟の冬の空に似あっているようで、何となく親近感を感じている。

映画ブレードランナーの中で、レプリカントが夜明けの雨の中で死んで行く時のセリフがある。

お前たち人間には信じられない光景を俺は見てきた
オリオン座の肩の近くで炎を上げる戦闘艦…
暗黒に沈むタンホイザーゲートのそばで瞬くCビーム…
そんな記憶もみな、時が来れば消えていく
雨の中の涙のように…

暗いトーンの映画の中で、このシーンは光が差し込んでくるように美しく、印象に残っている。レプリカントもオリオン座の方向に流星ではないが、光るものを見たことがあったんだろう。

流星の正体は、戦闘艦ではなくて、彗星が自分の軌道上に残した 0.1 ミリメートルから数センチメートルのかけらで、これが秒速数十キロメートルという猛スピードで地球の大気に突っ込んできたときに上空 100 キロメートルくらいで燃えて見えるのだそうだ。100 キロメートルも離れた所の 0.1 ミリメートルのものが燃えるのが見えるなんて信じられない。

オリオン座流星群はこの次は 70 年後だそうだ。とても生き延びられない。だけど、しし座流星群なら見られるようだ。今年の 11 月 17 日の新月直後の夜から 18 日の朝にかけてピークらしい。一時間に 200 個と予想している人もいる。しし座がどの辺か分からないけど調べておこう。晴れると良いけど。

If meteor showers were really like that, I’d be in awe. This past Tuesday, October 20th, there was a meteor shower. I remember going to my Yahoo! homepage and seeing the announcement. I became excited; I’ve never seen a meteor shower before. The article stated that meteors were debris from Hailey’s Comet entering Earth’s atmosphere and that the spectacle wouls start at 1 am and last until 6 am. The most activity would be towards the end.

At first, I was going to watch the shower from my roof. My window opens out onto the roof of my dorm, and I thought it’d be pretty neat. But a few friends knew that the best view would be on the Bellarmine Lawn.

So we headed out around 1 am.  I was with three of my friends at time, but other soon joined us. We set up the blanket, laid down and waited.

Being squished between three of my friends and staring up at the night sky was an unusual experience. There was such beauty in the heavens that night. I’ve never seen so many stars in one location, even when I’ve been to upstate New York. They twinkle so gracefully. I was also able to point out the Little Dipper. A proud moment for me.

 I felt infinitesimal, organic, pure under the stars. I didn’t even care if I saw a ’shooting star’ because I was experiencing such a tranquil, beautiful moment. But then I did see one.  It shot across the sky in an extremely swift manner that I almost didn’t catch it. At that moment, I  felt connected to the universe. There I was, on a blanket with friends, watching space phenomena. And I could feel myself rise and land on a star. I looked down and thought, ‘How small you are from up here. Yet your dreams are so big. You cannot be confined or limited.’ Strangest out-of-body experience yet.

My mind was far from blank while I was stargazing. I kept thinking to myself, ‘I wish I could freeze this moment,’ ‘I wonder what other universes are like,’ ‘A starry night sky has to be one of the most humbling images in this world.’

Thoughts that made me realize just how much we need to cherish our human life. Our existence is so short lived if we really think about. Sometimes we cram so much into our life that we really miss out on the experiences that will define and shape us. We really are connected to everything. So I think sometimes as people we just need to stop and breath. Enjoy what’s around us. Stargaze.

My friends and I stayed on the lawn until 2:30. In that span of time, I saw six shooting stars. Most were small and speedy, but there was one that is burned into my memory. It glided across the sky, the bright white of the hottest flame cutting through the black expanse above me. Probably one of the most moving natural images I’ve ever seen.