When the hi tea came, August 15 for the 120th dinner seemed so far away. It no longer is.
With less than three weeks away, almost all the 320 seats have been taken. My guess is many of us are on diet. I am. The pounds have been padding on and it's time they go. Am on a good workout regime too, practising dance steps.
Yes, DQs are going to dance again at the dinner. We'll be back with Abba's Dancing Queen. We are also throwing in an extra as a tribute to MJ. Take a guess. Which hit of his?
We are having a blast, practising THRILLER! All us makcik-makcik and auntie-auntie dancing to MJ's cool beat and moves. My head is twitching...
See you on at Legend Inn!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Remembering Michael, 1958-2009
It'll soon be three weeks to the day. I don't want to put it off any longer.
But, first, I seek your indulgence because I am going to write about something seemingly unrelated to the focus of this blog. Simple reason is that I just feel the need to remember and would like to remember here - at a blog by someone from Taiping, a small town so faraway but impacted nevertheless.
So, please, allow me.
How do I explain this feeling that a part of me has gone missing when I don't even know the person in the first place?
When I expressed this to a friend just yesterday, she said that is exactly how she is feeling too. We are not Quincy Jones who had worked closely with him and yet, like Quincy Jones, we feel a part of us has come away.
Across the globe, the outpouring of grief is unprecedented. The same scenes of spontaneous and heartfelt street vigils and memorials were repeated in the various continents - from south to north, east to west. In the Philippines, hardcore criminals put together a song-and-dance tribute. In Kuala Lumpur, people dropped whatever was on in their lives that one afternoon and came together for a few hours at a shopping mall to honour him. Many also sent loving messages during the special broadcast of his Bucharest concert on ntv7.
On Sunday just past, during a gathering of old school friends, one had brought along a compilation of his greatest hits. We played our favourites. As his voice filled the room, we grew silent. Each with our own thoughts.
So, we mourn. All over the world.
Why did Michael Jackson's death evoke such a groundswell of emotion?
I'll Be There; Black Or White; Ebony and Ivory; They Don't Really Care About Us; Will You Be There; Heal The World; Earth Song; We Are The World; Man In The Mirror; You Are Not Alone.
For me, these are the songs which have helped to define many things about life, about being a person and about being a citizen of our world. Though I thrilled to Beat It and Billie Jean, I have been shaped by these others. What self-empowerment lies within the lyrics of Man In The Mirror!
I've heard Ben and many of his early hits during my childhood, but it was in varsity in the 1980s that I became more aware of him. I remember how his Beat It and Billie Jean videos were the rage and we used to crowd that one common room with a TV in Desa Permai to soak in his genius.
As someone who has definitely been impacted by his music and his life, I would say that he went beyond mere entertainment.
For the past 30 years, in a world growing more and more askew, through his music and dance, his was the voice of our conscience. He touched chords deep in us and uplifted us in thought, action and spirit toward a rising consciousness and humanity. He was part of our soul.
I find it utterly profound that his very self became the embodiment of "it don't matter if you're black or white." From black, he became white. Not because he aspired to be white. But because vitiligo, a skin ailment, had caused deadening of pigment cells in his skin which in turn caused white splotches all over his body, and his dermatologist had embarked on killing off the remaining pigment cells as the treatment path.
So, Michael Jackson did not choose to be white. He became white out of medical necessity. In the end, he lived his very message of common humanity and racial acceptance.
You are not alone
I am here with you
Though we're far apart
You're always in my heart.
Yes, Michael Jackson, you live on in us - we from Taiping, so far flung and unknown to you. And we will continue your legacy to us - for each of us to continue playing our part for a better world.
Thank you.
Author's note: I am fully aware there are those who do not share my view of MJ. I hope you will accept that is my view as I respect yours. The world is big enough. Let's respect each other. This is my tribute to a person I perceive to be a great soul.
To anyone interested, do check out Wikipedia on MJ - very comprehensive and objective.
But, first, I seek your indulgence because I am going to write about something seemingly unrelated to the focus of this blog. Simple reason is that I just feel the need to remember and would like to remember here - at a blog by someone from Taiping, a small town so faraway but impacted nevertheless.
So, please, allow me.
How do I explain this feeling that a part of me has gone missing when I don't even know the person in the first place?
When I expressed this to a friend just yesterday, she said that is exactly how she is feeling too. We are not Quincy Jones who had worked closely with him and yet, like Quincy Jones, we feel a part of us has come away.
Across the globe, the outpouring of grief is unprecedented. The same scenes of spontaneous and heartfelt street vigils and memorials were repeated in the various continents - from south to north, east to west. In the Philippines, hardcore criminals put together a song-and-dance tribute. In Kuala Lumpur, people dropped whatever was on in their lives that one afternoon and came together for a few hours at a shopping mall to honour him. Many also sent loving messages during the special broadcast of his Bucharest concert on ntv7.
On Sunday just past, during a gathering of old school friends, one had brought along a compilation of his greatest hits. We played our favourites. As his voice filled the room, we grew silent. Each with our own thoughts.
So, we mourn. All over the world.
Why did Michael Jackson's death evoke such a groundswell of emotion?
I'll Be There; Black Or White; Ebony and Ivory; They Don't Really Care About Us; Will You Be There; Heal The World; Earth Song; We Are The World; Man In The Mirror; You Are Not Alone.
For me, these are the songs which have helped to define many things about life, about being a person and about being a citizen of our world. Though I thrilled to Beat It and Billie Jean, I have been shaped by these others. What self-empowerment lies within the lyrics of Man In The Mirror!
I've heard Ben and many of his early hits during my childhood, but it was in varsity in the 1980s that I became more aware of him. I remember how his Beat It and Billie Jean videos were the rage and we used to crowd that one common room with a TV in Desa Permai to soak in his genius.
As someone who has definitely been impacted by his music and his life, I would say that he went beyond mere entertainment.
For the past 30 years, in a world growing more and more askew, through his music and dance, his was the voice of our conscience. He touched chords deep in us and uplifted us in thought, action and spirit toward a rising consciousness and humanity. He was part of our soul.
I find it utterly profound that his very self became the embodiment of "it don't matter if you're black or white." From black, he became white. Not because he aspired to be white. But because vitiligo, a skin ailment, had caused deadening of pigment cells in his skin which in turn caused white splotches all over his body, and his dermatologist had embarked on killing off the remaining pigment cells as the treatment path.
So, Michael Jackson did not choose to be white. He became white out of medical necessity. In the end, he lived his very message of common humanity and racial acceptance.
You are not alone
I am here with you
Though we're far apart
You're always in my heart.
Yes, Michael Jackson, you live on in us - we from Taiping, so far flung and unknown to you. And we will continue your legacy to us - for each of us to continue playing our part for a better world.
Thank you.
Author's note: I am fully aware there are those who do not share my view of MJ. I hope you will accept that is my view as I respect yours. The world is big enough. Let's respect each other. This is my tribute to a person I perceive to be a great soul.
To anyone interested, do check out Wikipedia on MJ - very comprehensive and objective.
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