Change the World
Late last night, after battling with a permanent highway traffic, I tuned in to a music channel, while leisurely eating my dinner: fish cooked in coconut sauce and boiled rice. I forgot how starved I am when I saw Eminem dancing in his new music video, We made You. That’s Eminem? Whatever happened to the music industry these days?
We’ve seen a lot of new things coming around like a portable playstation in every kid’s corner. It’s a new world altogether: the same visions presented in Alias series by the eccentric genius Rumbaldi, who recreated the future in the golden days of civilization. Now, we are trying to recreate the future we have invented in the silverscreen. What was left is adaptation.
The entertainment world has evolved. We’ve seen every drama, every sci-fi, every history, with the same recycled plots. We need to step up like Eminem did, to twist the angles a little and surprise the world.
I could almost run a list of surprises from the modern celebrities. Suddenly my mind blinked with random thoughts. Avril Lavigne, the rocker chic, danced for the first time in her video, Girlfriend. All we saw of her before is an EMO lady rocking her stage with lots of brokedown-sweet-princess-turned-married-rocker drama. Then she did her cheerleader beat dance.
Some time at the turn of the 21st century, No Doubt lost touch with their fans. Gwen Stefani rose in her glamorous solo plight. I remember well how emotional she has delivered Don’t Speak. Years after, she became the cheerleading queen shouting EAT BANANAS, B-A-N-A-N-A-S!!!
Madonna, who constantly reinvents herself, became inclined with danceable music. At her age, it seems excruciating to dance, even to move a muscle. She made her way to the hit charts, time and again. Isn’t she phenomenal? I remember that she wrote a children’s book too – The English Roses - which became a series.
In the local Philippine entertainment industry, it is not an issue anymore. An actor makes an album, directs a flick, helps a charity, becomes a politician – this cycle is the real entertainment.
The new Filipino hero, Manny Pacquiao, shooked the world of boxing with his surprising skills. He placed Philippines in the World Sports map. He also placed his patriotism in the local music. Para sa’yo ang laban na ‘to… (This fight is for you…) He ran for public office. He hosted a TV show. He dominated tv commercials. What’s next? Nanay Dionisia and him on a Pinoy flick? Yeah, even local entertainment is fun.
Agot Isidro – a TV soap protagonist turned enigmatically to a villainess, who earned rave reviews for her magnificient acting.
The Rock - the famous wrestler who starred big in Scorpion King and other Hollywood flicks. He even became a sort of an ambassador for a kiddie channel.
Mariah Carey – She embraced her new place in the RnB/Soul music. She used to remind us only of songs with high notes. High notes = EMC. Not anymore.
Beyonce – She used to lead Destiny’s Child. Then she came solo. The proof of her awesome talent is evident in the million of fans adoring her. But she showed her acting prowess in the award-winning Dreamgirls, and Hollywood willl never be the same again. One step ahead of her acting career is -
Jennifer Hudson – The American Idol finalist who won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Dreamgirls. With her voice sure to shake the domes of any cathedral, she lost the AI contest, but she made it to the hit charts. One talented girl.
I’m sure there are myriads of people out there who has changed the typography of every discourse available. After all, I’ve only made a few mention from the entertainment world. Nonetheless, they’ve changed the world.
One good thing leads to another. This leads to a beautiful story of changing the world. Let’s make a difference. I quote a Deathnote movie – Change the World.
The Art of Losing
In the wicked darkness of the night, Death waited in the wings, claiming the restless soul of a father. So swift was his flight, like the time I have left to see the man who brought me in to the world of pain and beauty.
I have lost the time to tell him how much I owed him of what I have become. I have lost the time to tell him that I love him. I lost the time to hold his hands to assure him that he’ll be in the safer hands of God. I lost him. Forever.
I have lost much in my entire life. A pen, an eyeglass, a bill, a book, a key, a lot more. Forgetfulness is entirely forgivable, but losing the importance or the sentimental value of the beloved thing is irrational. For all its joyous thought, a toy to a kid is a companion, a thing of pleasure. Losing it, a kid is sure to cry. Perhaps, I thought the same thing, I lost the material, but I realized how valuable it is. Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone…
For in losing, I forgot what I have. I lost focus on the things I have. I looked forward to the things I wanted to have, yet I knew I couldn’t have, will never have, or will certainly set aside in time for a new thing to have. So much was man’s appetite for newer things that he is doomed forever to be dissatisfied. I lost contentment.
In my search for a better life, I lost a great deal of time, energy and money. To sacrifice beyond your needs, all the time for your family and friends is a great achievement of your life’s purpose. Yet I have dwelled so much in my own drive for a material comfort. I am no perfect guy, I lost sense of direction at times. I lost purpose.
With the passing of the years, getting tired of the unchanging waves of an almost scripted way of life is the norm. A man grows by trying to do other things. Our ancestors have found solace in arts, entertainment, sports, etc. They have tried to possess ingenious skills in all the possible crafts to become whole. I yearn to be in the profession I fit in. But I have to tread carefully in the waters of trial. For in those times, I must remain practical yet persistent. I chose to be a driftwood. I lost happiness. And freedom.
I believe nobody has mastered the art of losing. But in losing, we sink like the unsinkable ship, proud of the legacy we’ll mark. We learn to realize and rise from the ashes of our desperation. We learn to value the remainder of what we have and the replacement of a lost pen, a lost eyeglass, a lost bill, a lost book and a lot more.
If losing shall mean gaining more, I have so much more to lose.
