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January 27 100 cool things about . . . the hottest person on the planet1. First, it's not a stage name
2. it really is: Shakira (Arabic, full of grace)
3. Isabel (Catholic saint?)
4. Mebarek (Dad, Lebanese-American)
5. Ripoll (Mom's maiden name, Colombian of Italian descent)
6. Graduated high school at age 15 & is described as having an IQ close to 150
7. Just last year ended her "Oral Fixation"
8. Touring 40 countries, on 5 continents
9. doing 140 shows in 397 days
10. then busy organizing a Latin Live-aid concert series in eleven cities + then visiting hurricane-ravaged areas of Bangladesh + then a Dec. 23 concert in Georgia
11. (as in Tbilisi, next door to Armenia)
12. Singing in English and Spanish.
13. And also speaking Arabic (Dad),
14. Italian (Mom),
15. and Portuguese (Brazil: school subject).
16. Now lives in Miami
17. where she consults with Michael Estafan
18. as an advisor on making the Latina-to-American audience transition,
19. without letting her original fans feel deserted
20. yet writing & producing her own albums
21. and is famously a perfectionist, choreographing, producing, writing, singing,
22. but also a self-confessed control freak about every aspect of her career and image.
23. Ironically, her best known song was not written by her
24. she just added lyrics to Haitian-native Wyclef Jean's song
25. (her contribution being the bit about the truthful bodyparts).
26. She has had a recording contract since she was 13 years old
27. when she made her Mom camp out with her in a hotel lobby in Bogota
28. waiting for the SONY execs to walk through.
29. (who liked her purity and genuineness of expression)
30. She credits Depeche Mode as getting her started with the guitar
31. (she was 12 when she heard "Enjoy the Silence" on the radio)
32. but began belly-dancing at age 4
33. while visiting a middle-eastern restaurant in Colombia.
34. her birthday is Saturday (Feb. 2); she'll turn 31
35. Hometown: Barranquilla, a large port city on the Caribbean coast,
36. so her musical influences include rock (especially Nirvana, Aerosmith, Tom Petty),
37. Colombian folk tunes and instrumentation,
38. Caribbean rhythms,
39. and middle-eastern instruments & dance.
40. Dad is Lebanese but grew up in New York City,
41. Mom is Colombian of Italian descent,
42. her most famous fan has been Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Colombian Nobel prize winner
43. He extols "the inncocent sensuality which she seems to have invented"
44. As a teen, she floundered in Bogota, taking a part in a TV soap, while writing her own songs
45. and first hit it big when her third SONY album Pies Descalzos (Barefeet) sold 4 million copies
46. throughout Latin America.
47. She was 18 when she used earnings to start her Fundacion Pies Descalzos (Barefeet Foundation)
48. benefitting Colombian children displaced by bombs, warfare, drug lords, landmines
49. (only Sudan has more displaced families)
50. Personally, she remains engaged to Antonio de la Rua, a NY attorney
51. (and son of Argentina's past-President).
52. On the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in April, 2002 (hint: the interview is available on the left)
53. Evan Wright's profile ended this way: "She wants me to know that she really believes in trying to be a good person. . . 'If I want to die in peace, I've got to do it.' She means it. She is from the town where nobody tells lies, and the myth of Shakira is real."
54. So her Fundacion is now in its 13th year, & a short video explains their current mission:
55. Building a $2 million school in a rural area of Colombia where the need is great.
56. her benefit concert on site included most of the great Colombian folk performers who have been popular for decades
57. and she tapped their rhythmic essence this summer, writing two original songs for the film version on "Love in the Time of Cholera"
58. her live concert DVD "Oral Fixation" was released last November
59. you only need the first number "Estoy Aqui" (I Am Here) to see her tremendous genuine joyful spirit of performance
60. making an instant connection to her screaming fans, running across the stage to greet them, bowing with her famous hair flouncing across her face
61. she sings parts to the fans
62. but the audience sings parts to her
63. the girls know all the words
64. but the guys are a little distracted
65. because the outfit's dance pants and cropped fringed top
66. leave about 4 km of abs exposed, which don't stop moving for the entire performance
67. the third number Don't Bother, about a lover leaving (as if . . .) is in English
68. but when Alejandro Sanz (from Barcelona) walks on stage with guitar (8th cut)
69. girls scream, knowing what's coming next: his guitar and vocals to Shakira's dance number La Tortura (The Torture, again about splitting up)
70. but the easy flirtatious manner they exchange on-stage
71. implies it's a temporary break-up
72. it's a tough dance to describe: dirty, sexy, and honest is probably as close as I can come
73. a prettier number follows to the tune "No" in which her costume becomes a giant red rose engulfing her at the end of the number
74. She is conquering the world
75. one country at a time
76. Moving on next to India,
77. where she is scheduled to sing in a Bollywood production this year
78. She takes time while touring to learn about cultures and people
79. And famously went undercover at UCLA this past summer
80. Auditing a course
81. On Westrn Civilization
82. Enrolled under her middle name with her Mom's maiden name (Isabel Ripoll)
83. And telling everyone that she is just visiting, from Colombia
84. Her give-away hair tucked into a cap, and with no makeup,
85. She pulled it off without being recognized
86. Although she would stand in line after class
87. Asking her questions of the professor.
88. While in L.A. for that class
89. She also fulfilled her commitment to finish and record two original songs
90. For a Hollywood film of "Love in the Time of Cholera"
91. and garnered a Golden Globe nomination (her songs can be heard at www.loveinthetime.com)
92. but she declined appearing in the film
93. She didn't want the nude scene
94. Because I think she would have been the "pigeon lady" who falls for the main character
95. but is then killed by her jealous husband
96. My hope for 2008?
97. performing at the opening of the Summer Games in Beijing
98. Bringing her joyfulness, & her message
99. "No fighting, No fighting"
100. To a world in need of both.
January 24 WonderingThis week I have been wondering about . . .
1. how long is the life of the average blog space? Because I looked at some old comments from early entries on my space (about two years ago) and most of the spaces that were commmenting back then do not even come up as existing anymore. 2. and if the spaces do not exist is it because someone has moved to a different site, or they just lost interest in the whole blog thing? 3. so is blogging a passing fad, or a growing trend? 4. and if the Patriots win the Superbowl and hence go undefeated at 19-0, will they become insufferable party-throwers like the '72 Dolphins became? 5. and how come my mind can't stay on one track? January 21 Wolf MoonTonight and tomorrow night the moon should be looking real full: Wolf Moon, named for their howling on a dark night. If the night is long and cold and dark I suppose they have plenty to howl about.
I am a fan of wolves and other wild things trying to make a comeback. I am a fan of moose and bears and coyotes and geese too, even when they make life uncomfortable. I figure we probably make life tough for them most of the time. People don't like making room for wildlife.
But the moon doesn't mind. January 20 Going greenWhy I am rooting for the Packers
1. No, it's not because I am a Packers fan.
2. I am a Bears fan of long standing.
3. The standing is due to pacing back and forth while watching Bears games over the years.
4. Unfortunately, no lead was safe this year.
5. Their defense was remarkanly porous.
6. But I am still rooting for the Packers to win the Superbowl.
7. The first reason is that although I am a Bears fan I do not actually hate the Packers.
8. Plus I lived in Wisconsin for a couple of years.
9. I respect and admire the Packers organization.
10. So if the Bears aren't even in the playoffs
11. (Did I just say "if"??)
12. Then I don't mind rooting for the Packers.
13. The Vikings however are never extended this courtesy.
14. And the Lions?
15. I believe there is an actual NFL rule against their ever fielding a playoff-caliber team.
16. The second reason I am rooting for the Packers
17. (yes, that all counted as one reason)
18. is that Brett Favre is cool
19. And old
20. So I kind of identify with him.
21. He's fun to watch because he is tough and unpredictable.
22. He'll pull some really bonehead moves now and then
23. But he'll also make some remarkable plays that leave you wondering how he actually thought something like that could actually work.
24. And the third reason is that I want the Patriots to get beat if they make it to the Superbowl.
25. Since they haven't lost a single game all year there is a reasonable chance they could make it.
26. So I just think it would be cool to see the Packers beat them and spoil the whole thing right at the end.
27. Because the Red Sox already won the baseball World Series.
28. And the Celtics are on a roll and may win the NBA championship this year.
29. Come on, should we just name Boston the sports center of the universe?
30. And the LAST reason I want the Packers to win
31. Is that the Bears beat them this year
32. Twice.
33. Which means that even though the rest of the season was prety dismal we still beat the Packers
34. Twice January 19 Make yourself . . . comfortableI recently came across a quote from Halle Berry. About doing nude scenes: "I did one and I'd do more, if it was instrumental in bringing the character to life. I'm really comfortable with my body."
That is exactly how I feel myself these days. I am EXTREMELY comfortable with Halle Berry's body. Even her pregnant body looks very comfortable to me. I am sure whoever is inside there feels the same.
Now, my own body is an entirely different matter. My back difficulties have been clearing up, and I have been trying to get back to doing a bit of treadmill running. But it's not going well. Even doing a quarter-mile at a time is leaving me feeling a little uncomfortable with my body. I guess I am not ready for nude scenes.
Which is really just as well. Because the MPAA rating system is built on the idea that nudity and violence are both bad for the audience, but I don't think that they ever created a category where the nudity IS the violence. Even a beach scene would be a jarring experience if I was the star. I imagine veteran cameramen with severe wrist injuries caused by violent swings of the camera in an attempt to spare sensitive electronics from the glare.
Because I recently noticed that I have gained a couple of pounds over the past months. My comfortable body now consists of about 178 pounds of solid muscle. Encased in about another 30 pounds of not-so-solid "extra calories." For a total of 208, which is more than I ever remember seeing on the scale before. I would be much more comfortable around 195. So I decided that I had better do something about it.
One thing that I am considering doing is switching to a metric scale. Because in metrics I would be under 100 kilograms, and that doesn't sound nearly as bad.
Or, like the British, I could express my weight in "stones," named for a ancient music group whose lead singer weighed only 14 pounds. I would be just under 15 stone. They always say it like that. You don't weigh 14 stones, you just weigh 14 stone, like the whole thing is one unit. Right away you feel better about yourself. Comfortable.
January 12 Ba-racking the primaries!Readerboaters may recall that I am a Barack fan. Since he rocked Iowa, I am now psyched about his campaign. With several asterisks however.
Since Illinois Democrats cannot even pass a state budget without threatening jail time or impeachment to someone, the fact that an Illinois Democrat could be on the national ticket is somewhat startling.
(Illinois Republicans, on the other hand, cannot even run someone for Senator. They imported Alan Keyes (from Maryland) last time around when the Jeri Ryan sex allegations hit the news from open divorce proceedings. They briefly considered running Mike Ditka, but decided against it. And their immediate past-Gov George Ryan is actually doing Federal time as I type this.)
The New Hampshire primary outcome (three points behind the Hillary express) is being hyped by the media as her "great comeback," but actually she was expected to win the state by double digits until the surprising Iowa results. So I think the news networks are just trying to spin everything for maximum viewer fascination. But the biggest asterisk is that I am a CUBS fan of longstanding.
What could the CUBS possibly have to do with politics? Well, other than being owned by the Tribune Company for the past twenty-some years, it's just the idea that you haven't won until the last out.
And you're on the plane home. January 06 Monday on LenoGuess who will be performing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Monday night?
Singing her movie song (nominated for best original song in Golden Globes) from Love in the Time? Which if anyone would like to click on it, is still avavilable here: LA DESPEDIDA There is also a video version here at the film site (click on trailer & video): /www.loveinthetime.com And probably chatting about her favorite causes, currently Fundacion Pies Descalzos (Barefeet Foundation) for Colombian children; along with Bangladesh Cyclone Relief (visited last month); and Latin Live Aid concert series planned for March 2008? January 04 Blogging offsetsI have just decided to sell my soul.
No, not all my old R & B albums, just my proliferatingness. I just realized that there is now (apparently) a growing business in selling carbon offsets. Say you are holding a rock concert and you want to be able to tell all the dogooders who are considering buying tickets (rock concerts are always filled with dogooders, right?) that your entire concert has: No negative environmental impact! Of course that is a giant lie and everyone knows it, because tour buses are going to roll through your state, electronics are going to be amped, speakers will be blasting birds out of the trees, and a wee bit of trash (mostly water bottles; because of all the dogooders) will be left behind. Plus all that cell phone recharging from tens of thousands of calls of the, "Guess where I am?" variety. BUT, then you tell everybody, "Wait, you haven't understood the concept here. What we are doing is offsetting all the Badness with corresponding Goodness. Our Sasquatch-sized carbonfootprint will eventually be reduced to the size of a newborn infant's small toe." . . . (Pause to allow readerboat to recall the intense smallness of a newborn infant's little toe.) . . . The offset works by calling a company (yes, this is AMERICA and there is a profit to be made from these things) who sums up your Total Carbon Badness and then calculates how many trees have to be planted to negate your badness. THEN (and this is the good part . . . so please keep reading) they ACTUALLY PLANT THOSE TREES. Or at least they say they planted them. And that they planted them in your name. And only your name. Because they can't plant one tree and then sell the noncarbongoodness of that one tree to a whole bunch of different people. Or can they?? How would you know, Mr. (or Ms.) (whew) Rockstar Tourer Coordinator Person whether said Carbon Bigfoot Company planted that tree for someone else, and then just SAID they planted it for you?? Now what I am proposing doing is the same thing. Only different. Because I just read of the impending total demise of the World Wide Web due to overuse. I guess we are all doing way too much surfing, and downloading, and file sharing, and e-mailing, and spamming, and (here comes the good part . . . no, the other good part) BLOGGING. When you add it all up we are taxing the Internet so much that soon (and that's electronically soon) (not geologically soon, like the next San Francisco earthquake) (electronically soon: it's, like, nanoseconds) we could all be World Wide Web-Less! Imagine the consequences! No more watching "The Nine" instead of typing up that important work-related document! No more forwarding the same bad joke multiple times around the world until it comes back to you and you say (not realizing that you were the one who started it in the first place) "Good One! I'm going to archive this so that millions of years from now it will still be avavilable in some ancient text-language which has become indecipherable." No, WAIT! We are supposed to be conjuring the BAD consequences of the demise!! (Pause while we all try to imagine really bad consequences of being W.W.W.-less.) OK, there might not be that many bad consequences, but still, I am willing to OFFSET them. Right here and now I am going to go on record as the first Blogger who is willing to Not Blog. For the good of the planet. All you have to do is send me some money whenever you use the Internet, and I will OFFSET your wasteful and profligate misuse by . . . Not Blogging. From now on: Anytime you come here to Gordland, and you see that there is nothing new you will know that I have foregone the posting of a (probably brilliant and potentially planet-transforming) new entry. For the good of us all. And that someone, out of the goodness of their heart, has been willing to pay me to Not Blog Today. I promise **(picture me crossing my heart . . . no, not a Heart album, my actual human heart)** that I will only Not Blog Today once for each and every payment received. Just slip the dollar bills into your CD-ROM drive. I will come by to get them out later. In a noncarbon way. January 01 Member of the bannedHow can I sum up the year just passed? For me, it was a perfect storm. My back problem, a tiny slipped disc in the lumbar region, was subjecting me to waterboarding just to see how much I could take. By year's end I found that instead of the traditional medical treatment that I would have favored back in the day, a more organic approach (utilizing quite a bit of "healertainment" along with some simple exercises and posture changes) has brought on a surge of improvement. I am no longer under the bus. My random wordsmithing has been coming along, which is really sweet. And even though I never participated in an on-line Webinar I really think that I have been able to keep up with some of the pop phrases for 2007. I authored several entries with a post 9/11 outlook in order to give back to the Spaces community. As for my writing success? It is what it is. I never want to decimate my readerboat by bringing up Black Friday. Although Purple Wednesday might be OK. All in all, it's been an emotional roller-coaster. And I am just hoping that 2008 is the new 2007.
Lake Superior State University's 2008 list of banished words or phrases: http://www.lssu.edu/banished • perfect storm • Webinar • waterboarding • organic • wordsmith/wordsmithing • author/authored • post 9/11 • surge • give back • `blank' is the new `blank' • Black Friday • back in the day • random • sweet • decimate • emotional • pop • It is what it is • under the bus |
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