Tuesday, December 14, 2004

U2. A spiritual experience.

That's the only way I know how to describe what their music is.
It's a religious experience without being religion-specific.

I've been a fan of U2 ever since their album Unforgettable Fire in 1984.
I own every one of their albums. Their masterpieces like Rattle & Hum, The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, All That You Can't Leave Behind.....and even their lukewarm ones like Pop and Zooropa.
Their music touches you in every way music SHOULD.
I can't even name one favourite song.

I am so in awe with anything and everything about U2.
I don't mean "in awe" in the groupie sense of the word. I am a shameless groupie-whore when it comes to Duran Duran.
U2 appeals to me on a higher level.
As a human being with a social conscience.
The pursuit of justice and truth.
Ideals.
Read Bono's speech at the University of Pennsylvania when they awarded him with a Doctor of Laws here.

"U2 is about the impossible."
Bono is MORE than just a musician, artist and activist. I'm convinced that he's a living breathing saint. He uses his celebrity to make a difference in the world. His work with DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa), AIDS awareness, Unicef and Amnesty International speaks for itself. Time magazine featured him on their cover: "Can Bono Save The World?"
A fuckwit like Mick Jagger is given knighthood and not Bono.
But I argue that Bono is beyond that. Knighthood seems paltry in the light of this man's standing in the world.

Meeeeeeeeeeooooooowwwwwwrrrrrrrr

Sunday night: had dinner with husband's fellow wanker banker (myspeak for investment banker) buddy, an old friend of my husband's whom I have grown to know well. We both enrolled in the same MBA program.
Occasion: Introducing us to his new fiancee. In a whirlwind courtship, he fell in love and proposed to her.
Venue: Rockpool
Attire: Veronika Maine and Witchery

A few things I noted:
  1. She TOLD him what to eat and what not to eat. *She's a controlling bitch.*
  2. She pinched his cheeks and baby-talked him. *Surpress the urge to vomit*
  3. She TOLD him she wanted no less than a 1 carat rock and wouldn't stop flashing it around once she got it. *Gold digger*

If you ask my opinion, she looks like a frigid piece of fluff who'd be rubbish in bed.

Who does she think she looks like? Audrey Hepburn, by the looks of it.

What does she really look like? You know those girls who are obsessed with showing their cheekbones and their best angles? Whose every action is designed to impress the present company?

I'm not the best judge of character, but I can spot a man who will cheat on a woman mile away. In one year. Tops. I have already made bets with hubby.

Friday, December 10, 2004

Amanda de Cadenet

This is the post I am submitting to a very cool shagfest bloggathon.
I had originally planned to write about a little something from my own experiences.
The truth is, I started typing and I was surprised at what emerged when I read it. I did what I did driven by a very pure hatred. Don't get me wrong: I'm not being prudish. What I read was not your usual sensual delight with a bit of rough thrown in.
It was a bit of a revelation for me. I wasn't even prepared to write about it, much less publish it on my blog. It really blew me away and I am sort of dealing with it.

BUT on a lighter note, I want to write about a woman who casts a bit of a spell on men. A woman whom I would swap lives with in a split second.

John Taylor, the bass player in Duran Duran was the object of my obsession up to when I was 15. I had posters of him all over my bedroom and had extremely dirty dreams about him.






















I was pretty much devastated after he started dating someone just a few years older than me. Someone who was the same age as the millions of screaming girls who adored him. A few years later, she got pregnant at 18 and he married her the following year. The woman who shattered my teenage dreams: Amanda de Cadenet.


"HOW could he? Why her? Whyyyyyyy?" I whined.
"Oh my GOD, get a life!!!!" said my so called Durannie-partner-in-crime.
Bah. Some friend.

So, who was this woman, anyway?

I had a friend, "L" whose parents sent her to Benenden College, the same posh London school that Amanda de Cadenet (who also had rich parents) attended. I phoned "L" up when I was back in KL for 3 weeks for my winter break and she was back in town for the summer holidays to get the goss. From what I could tell, Amanda de Cadenet sounded just like us. Sneaking out of boarding school after curfew to go clubbing. She dated Nathan Moore, the lead singer from Brother Beyond when she was just 14.



She was also one of the hosts for BBC's youth music program "The Word".

OK. I eventually got over it all. Time heals all.
I forgot about all that until last year, when Duran Duran made their comeback and I went to their gigs. I started to read whatever I could get my hands on to catch up on the news.
Yes. I know. That's pretty lame.
I found an Amanda de Cadenet fan website and it inspired me to write this.

Amanda became an actress, she roles in a few moderately successful films. One of those films, Four Rooms remains my favourite to this day.

She was in the news again when she supposedly had an affair with Courtney Love. This was a short time after her husband, the legendary Kurt Cobain of Nirvana shot himself.
I don't know if there was any truth to the rumour or not, but wow. I can see why another woman would find Courtney Love attractive. She appeals to the grrrrl power in all of us- that's incredibly empowering.


























Then, as all rock stars do, Amanda de Cadenet and John Taylor announced their separation.
What did she do then? She dated Keanu Reeves, with whom she has reportedly had an on-off affair for a few years.
Oh my God, I thought as I read on and googled for more late into the night, "This woman has got some sort of powerful mojo happening"......




























She has apparently "reinvented" herself as a photographer in the last few years.
AND to top it all off, she's now got Nick Valensi, the guitarist from The Strokes.

I LOVE The Strokes. My favourite band of the moment.
I am SO jealous.
Yes, even at MY age!

Thursday, December 09, 2004

My "I hate ALL Men" phase

A few months back, I blogged about a phase in my life when I hated men. I went through a bad break up and became bitter. It lasted about a year and a bit.....

It's hard at this point in my life, when I'm happy, to talk about it. WHY I chose this forum, I don't know.

I was out for revenge, out to get even with the male race. I hated them with every fibre of my being and became incredibly destructive.

I did everything I wanted to ever do to get even with men because I thought, no, I KNEW they were weak because they'd do anything for an attractive woman- they'd go even further if there was a chance you might have sex at some point. That's not an egoistic statement, I swear to God. That's just a very frank assessment. I firmly believed that men would do anything if their dicks told them to.

What exactly did I do?
  • I made married men cheat on their wives (Honey, in any city in the world, men like that are NOT hard to find) and made sure their wives "accidentally" found out about it. (Strategically placed receipts, emails, untimely phone calls, misplaced personal belongings etc.)
  • I would try to break up male friendships by making them compete against each other for me. Make them betray their friendship.
  • I would lead the naive ones on, manipulate them a bit, and drop them.

All fuelled by hate.

I lost a great number of friends, colleagues and made plenty of enemies this way. Got a few pieces of jewellery, some designer handbags and shoes which I gave away etc.... (NOT what I was after. I was after BLOOD. Theirs.) Last year I had the misfortune to bump into one of them again in a meeting for a new joint-venture project. Very uncomfortable, and very unprofessional. The new projects in Asia and Australia is mainly concentrated in China and in the Middle East- Dubai, especially.

I went down this path for a while until I realised that the only person I was really hurting was myself. There wasn't really an "Aha!" moment for me. The anger just eventually dissipated.

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Words

You know that old ditty "Words" by FR David in the early 80's?
If you were one of the people who religiously watched UK's Top of The Pops, you'd remember it.
Look past the synth-pop to the lyrics and it's about someone who expresses himself through music, not words.
In person, I'm not incredibly verbose. I can turn it on for business meetings and PR.
With friends and family, I'm a listener. And I hug.

I bumped into someone a while back. Words failed me.

“CUT HERE” by The Cure

"So we meet again!" and I offer my hand
All dry and english slow

And you look at me and I understand
Yeah it's a look I used to know
"Three long years... and your favourite man...
Is that any way to say hello?"

And you hold me... like you'll never let me go

"Oh c'mon and and have a drink with me
Sit down and talk a while..."
"Oh I wish I could... and I will!
But now I just dont have the time..."
And over my shoulder as I walk away
I see you give that look goodbye...
I still see that look in your eye...

So dizzy Mr Busy - Too much rush to talk to Billy
All the silly frilly things have to first get done

In a minute - sometime soon - maybe next time - make it june
Until later... doesn't always come


It's so hard to think "It ends sometime
And this could be the last
I should really hear you sing again
And I should really watch you dance"

Because it's hard to think
"I'll never get another chance
To hold you"


But chilly Mr Dilly - Too much rush to talk to Billy
All the tizzy fizzy idiot things must get done

In a second - just hang on - all in good time - wont be long
Until later...

I should've stopped to think - I should've made the time
I could've had that drink - I could've talked a while
I would've done it right - I would've moved us on

But I didn't - now it's all too late
It's over... And you're gone..

I miss you I miss you I miss you
I miss you I miss you I miss you so much


But how how many times can I walk away and wish "If only..."
But how many times can I talk this way and wish "If only..."

Keep on making the same mistake
Keep on aching the same heartbreak

I wish "If only..."

But "If only...."
Is a wish too late...

Friday, December 03, 2004

My best friend



My best friend is a beautiful blue eyed gay man.
He's flamboyant and larger than life.
He's intelligent, he's talented and gorgeous. (YES. he admits to having an agent whoring him for TV appearances and modelling jobs)
He's also a talented designer. He's funny, he's the life of the party..... I can't say enough nice things about him.

With all those wonderful things, he also comes with a load of insecurities. He's sensitive and very defensive. He puts up a front.

BUT I can count on him to be honest when everyone won't.
He's not afraid of hurting my feelings when it's good for me. I love him loads.

He rarely lets anyone in.
He's had a really hard week this week. One of his parents has advanced cancer. It's the parent who never came to terms with him being gay.

He keeps smiling, though. Like he did when he and his boyfriend of 3 years split up.
I'll be there for him.