Ramble II

Whoa, Whoa,
You can't be feeling this way.
Don't allow the misery to enter.
Come on, girl. You know better than that.
Yet, you let the waves overtake you,
you let the pain break you,
and the people hurt you.

Darling, life is tough.
You can't deny it, stop it, nor drop it.
You can only accept it and and then hang on with grit.
You can tell me to hold some of weight,
this way you'll pull through.

Let this be a lesson, dear girl.
Life is tough, but so are you.
You are a weed in a strong stream
and you do not let the current take you
for your roots are strong,
and your dreams long,
and you know this is where you belong.
In this strong current,
you have your people throng,
to make you not forlorn.

Girl, girl...weep not,
regret not,
cry not,
instead laugh lots,
give smile shots,
and lifebolts
to the colts
that surround your lot.

Now go play,
'cause life doesn't wait...

Persepolis

"Listen. I'm gonna give you an advice that will always be useful. In your life, you will meet a lot of assholes. Remember that it's stupidity that pushes them to be evil. It will prevent you from answering to their nastiness. Because there's nothing worse than bitterness and vengeance. Always remain worthy and true to yourself."

Extract from the movie Persepolis.

Dance with me...

Dance with me,
and fire dances with you.

Play with me,
and they forget you.

Hurt with me,
and I might love you.

Love with me,
and I might hurt you.

Dance with me,
and I might dance back with you...

I gots me life.
I think I do.
I gots me love.
I know I don't.

I gots me riches.
That's damn not true.
I gots me feelings...
that I want to undo.

I gots me clouds,
in my head.
I gots me prayers,
in my bed.

I gots me hatred,
in my heart.
I gots me peace,
perhaps not.
I gots me wishes,
and those are a lot.

I gots me quarrels,
with myself.
I gots me troubles,
that I put on a shelf.

I gots me lots and lots of things,
I gots me a life,
that brings me drinks,
parties,
people,
and cheers,
but none that eradicate,
this web of fears.

What will you give me,
oh, auspicious stranger,
will you give me more of the above
or the latter?

Tall order of Perfection, please!

Americans!

Americans seem to have this obsession with perfection, an imaginary idea that they strive for, fight for, lie for, even to themselves, but especially to others. They are constantly in pursuit of happiness - as it says in their constitution - but in actuality, it is perfection they strive for. They are convinced that the two are equal, are inseparable; hence, their constant pursuit. They are under the impression that the only life worth living is one where you are always successful, have the best clothes, best body, prettiest smile, most gorgeous car, best education, loveliest and smartest children. They love to compete and especially, with themselves. They are a weird bunch...but oh, so interesting. They have this obsession with always being politically correct, always saying the right thing, doing the right, projecting the right image and in my opinion it all goes back to their pursuit of perfection; sorry, meant to say happiness. They are under the illusion that perfection can be achieved, if only one works hard enough and tries hard enough. I am afraid they fail to notice that perfection cannot exist in this world and this is due to a very simple fact: we are human. I know it is so cliche to say, but it is true. And after all, that's what cliches are, just over-repeated truths. They want the latest gadgets, the biggest homes, the best clothes, the largest meals, the most in overabundance.

They want it all, friends. And why shouldn't they? They work hard enough for it. They have developed a philosophy of life that is entirely reliant on the individual, a freeing and debilitating way of life that is oh-so-solitary. You work long hours to achieve these materialistic dreams dictated by "society" or AKA, multinational corporations.

I am part of this intricate web of self-deceit and antagonizing freedom of self. I work for a multinational company, work in the hub of wall street Canada and I feel so...detached, so not able to cope with the glazed and corrupt look of materialistic perfection and high gloss. I wonder many times whether I want to follow the same dream...

This reflection will have to continue tomorrow.

So this is you denying?
Denying the simple fact of life?
Ah, poor, little soul!
What good will denying do?
Where will it take you?
How will it hide the rest
of your body except for your head?

No, no, don't delude yourself!
Don't salute the cell,
don't preclude the bell,
the bell of freedom,
the bell that can tell
through the ring of its own hell
the memories that seep in your well.

Hear it,
feel it,
for you may forget it,
and then abandon it,
the eureka of life,
the ugly truth of strife,
that simple fact of life!

Artsy roomies

Now that I live by myself and got the good fortune of having artsy people as roomies, I get to see and be part of videos like the ones below. They are my friends and inspiration. Should I dabble in some video work? I think so...

Brock Ave Chronicles from Laetitia on Vimeo.

Kensington Market Experience from Jon Riera on Vimeo.