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Holding on to Peace with Planxty

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How do you fight fire? Do you fight it with another fire? There are times when we are put in a hateful situation and we forget who we are. The situation bares our animal instinct.We are not free from the wear and tear of everyday life. There are times when the internal struggles we have are worse than what’s happening outside.

My take on this? Always take time for your self. Find that personal space. Being with the same people for so long can have its downside. As they say ,familiarity breeds contempt. So always be on the lookout. So how do you fight hate? I fight it with peaceful music. Here’s Planxty with Sweet Thames Flow Softly taken from their 1973 self-titled album also known as The Black Album. I hope that to those who are having a bad day, this song will give you a source of inspiration to go on living.Don’t forget to smile.

Artist credits on the album:

Breaking the Silence at Prop 8

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  Just finished gardening after having coffee.It’s getting hot here and we had to cover a skylight in our dining table to prevent a lot of noon sun from getting in .Light is good but too much of it is not really something you’d want especially in the middle of summer.There’s this one song which I think is the perfect soundtrack to today’s situation.It’s called Breaking the Silence by Loreena McKennitt. Taken from her sophomore album ‘Parallel Dreams”,it has been used as an Amnesty International theme.  The song tackles the human condition:War,discrimination,violence,povertyi184247_forum and in the middle of them, the author’s unfaltering hope for something better to come from these.

Parallel Dreams(1989)

 

 

I think it’s a perfect soundtrack while I was listening to NPR  News  through KWMU . They’re  discussing about Prop 8 . I think it is really something I must raise in this blog. As a member of the gay community I feel that my very existence is threatened when something like this happens. It is sad that a lot of the visible majority, not only in the United states but also in the local shores have to be push in hiding just because law considers  us ,second class citizens.

  But I think this is not the end.To quote from George Clooney (A niece to Irish crooner Rosemary Clooney) “This just should invigorate people to get it back on the ballot in 2010 and 2012 and every two years until all people are allowed a basic civil right.”

From Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger::I believe one day CA will recognize gay marriage but I will uphold decision. Made right choice allowing 18K marriages before vote to stand.

  As a blogger, I think it is my responsibility to help build bridges instead of fences.

  To view the lyrics of Breaking the Silence click here

I’m going to see Ewan MacGregor .

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Irish Independent:The 38-year-old McGregor plays Camerlengo Patrick McKenna, an ultra-zealous Irish papal deputy determined to defend the Church from malign forces.

5398921  My favorite Scottish actor  Ewan MacGregor  is back  for the sequel to The Da Vinci Code.I am looking forward to this movie. My friends have seen it and they said Ewan’s character in Angels and Demons is great and his performance is simply superb.It was Trainspotting that caught my attention. Yes yes yes he CAN sing as evident in Maulin Rouge.

A Splash of Orinoco Flow on Live Ireland Radio2

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mylogo

Been listening to Barry Dunne of liveireland.com when the first few chords of Orinoco Flow by Enya started playing just after Westlife’s Swear it Again.It’s actually radio 2 which focuses more on contemporary Irish music. For those who are into traditional stuff, just click on radio 1.

I have been a subscriber for a year now and I always enjoy the playlist. I do frequent radio 2 for the traditional music featuring The Cheiftains and Altan etc but once in a while when one feels funky U2 or Van Morrison can be the answer.

Susan Boyle: A Scot who didn’t back away.

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I really don’t follow shows like American Idol and Britain’s Got talent.
So it is no surprise that I only got second hand information the day
Susan Boyle made a standing ovation in front of 60 million audiences around the world.
I watcher her performance in youtube and showed it to my folks. They were moved.
 She offered something refreshing. She’s got the style or should I say
the ‘it’.I think  the majority of her appeal comes from the fact that she represents
us-the underdogs of society.
  After all we have been treated to the typical glamour stuff that shows such as this one 
presents.Sure there are other singers who can sing like her. Maybe some can even sing 
better.But what made her special was the fact that her’s was an unwelcomed possibility. I 
mean who doesn’t want a singing contestant who looks like Taylor Swift?But that’s the point. 
For the first time people were made to put their ideals to rest and just listen to the 
song…the melody, what it’s all about and the music.They were made to suspend their 
prejudices and made to focus on the music-the real intention of sincing contests such as 
this one.
  I am glad when things like this happen.For people like us who listen to the music first 
before the artist, it’s a breath of fresh air.  When Simon said”Susan, you’re an old tiger 
aren’t you”?I think the truth couldn’t be far.Just goes to prove what a Celtic Tiger can do.

 

Original news can be found here:

http://new.music.yahoo.com/various-artists/news/unlikely-uk-sensation

-boyle-sings-rousing-memory–61987270

I really don’t follow shows like American Idol and Britain’s Got Talent.So it is no surprise that I only got second hand information the day Susan Boyle(Born April 1,1961 in Blackburn,West Lothian Scotland)   drew a standing ovation in front of 60 million audience around the world.

I watched her performance on youtube.com  and showed it to my folks. They were moved. She offered something refreshing. She’s got the style or should I say the ‘it’.I think  the majority of her appeal comes from the fact that she represents us-the underdogs of society.

  After all we have been treated to the typical glamour stuff that shows such as this one presents.Sure there are other singers who can sing like her. Maybe some can even sing better.But what made her special was the fact that her’s was an surprise probably even to her. Coming from a small town and often bullied as a child in school,Susan was inflicted with learning difficulties.

It’s amazing that for the first time people were made to put their ideals to rest and just listen to the song…the melody, what it’s all about and the music.They were made to suspend their prejudices and made to focus on the music-the real intention of singing contests such as this one.

  I am glad when things like this happen.For people like us who listen to the music first before the artist, it’s a breath of fresh air.  When Simon Cowell said”Susan, you’re an old tiger aren’t you”?I think the truth couldn’t be farther.