After Michael Buble came Queen...

Not in terms of birth year, but in terms of my schedule the past week. Wednesday night was Regent Theatre night, located within Melbourne City Central, again, far, far from where we currently live. The musical was entitiled "We Will Rock You" and from title itself, its based largely on music by Queen. It was originally shown in London but was brought to Australia and has been running for some weeks now.

I havent seen that many musicals which is why I have no deep, thought-provokng insights on the quality of the play. Or maybe,I don’t have any of these thoughts because of the very obvious shallowness of the play. Story-wise, it wasn’t much. Not to sound terribly critical but it was something I could’ve easily written during my high school days. Its set in the future, around the year 2300ish where Globalsoft rules the planet once known as Earth. Music is forbidden along with imagination and free thinking. Clones roam the lands along with humans with names that build together like website URLs. Our protagonist is a young man who calls refuses to use his www-name and calls himself Galileo Figaro. That, in itself, is a sign of rebellion, a sign of independence and imagination. Traits that led the powers that be from Globalsoft to imprison him, and then eventually use him to track the rebellion - the bohemians.

With every male lead comes a female. She is Scaramoush, also named by our male hero. She refuses to wear pastels like the rest of the girls, and she refuses to join in on their shallow shopping ways. Needless to say, she eventually ends up with Galileo, imprisoned one moment, rubbing elbows with bohemians the next.

Long story short, they eventually find the lone guitar left in the planet. Hidden years ago by the hairy one, Brian May, since they foresaw the tragedy known as the Globalsoft reign. Of course, this was with the help of The Dreamer, The One - Galileo.

It all sounds very cliché-ish. And well, not really impressive, but the best part about it, is hearing the music. All time Greatest Hits like “I want to Break Free”, “Somebody To Love”, “Pressure”, “Another One Bites the Dust” were mixed in with the story and like, the fan that I am, I was thrilled. My favorite moment was towards the end, when they sang We Will Rock You. At the back of my mind I wanted to stand and shout and jump and sing the way I would had I been given the chance to attend a Queen concert. But of course,I could only do so much. The music got to me. So much so that I willingly overlooked the story…and that was only “We Will Rock You”…when the finally sang “Bohemian Rhapsody”, I was blown away. I have never heard anyone sing this song live --- nor have I seen anyone (TV included) perform the entire song live. Queen themselves, never performed everything live after they recorded it. And I heard it. LIVE. And I was so happy and so excited, I thought I would suffer from whiplash from headbanging, or sore throat for singing along.

We Will Rock You rocked my night. And I really didn’t need the musical to have an unforgettable night. All I needed was the music, played live.

A year ago I was somewhere else....

I went through my little notebook last night and realized that it's almost been a year since I last went to the US. I spent a month away from work so I could help my mom out in a business venture that turned out well (but could of course have been better).

I think that was the same time I started to delude myself into thinking I can actually escape from the things I have been trying to escape from simply by being someplace else. Its become a habit. Now everytime I'm about to leave the country, I keep saying "This is it."

And of course its never "it".

But I digress. Last year was San Diego, California, a three-day Greyhound ride from the West Coast to the East Coast, and two glorious days roaming around Manhattan on my own. More pictures here

Last Sunday, I watched Someone Like You Twice on Star Movies. Yes, I've seen it before but I obviously do not tire of watching it. Romantic comedies just stir up a lot of memories, both wanted and unwanted. They make me hate, love, believe and disbelieve all at the same time. Yes, I take my formula romantic movies seriously. I'm a sucker for the predictable story line and the ouch-I-can-relate lines.

Yes, the lines, I can never get over their lines. I dont think I'm the only one even. Try googling and you'll find countless sites devoted to movie lines (most of which are from this genre). And ahem my blog is going to be one of them....

At the top of my head, here are some lines I can remember from these type of movies and my take on them...I may not have the exact lines, but then again, the main ideas are there anyway...

1. ...There is the dream of someone --- "You've Got Mail"
This was Meg Ryan's reply when asked if she were breaking up with her on-screen boyfriend because of someone else. It made me smile. It made me sigh. It made me think, hell! There's always been a DREAM of someone, will someone wake me up already??!!


2. Sometimes you don't see things until you're ready to see them, in a particular way --- "Keeping The Faith"
...and most of the time, some people end up not seeing what you want them to see at all. Maybe they're not ready? Or maybe they never will be? More importantly, maybe they're never supposed to be ready?

3. The truth is less than 5% of all male organisms are monogamous. The other 95% are f***king Penelope Pope. --- "Someone Like You"
To this I have only one thing to say.....F***k Penelope Pope!
And if you happen to be a Penelope Pope...Wake up girl! Face facts, and realize that yes, that is the only thing happening, you are getting f***ked, nothing more. Easier said than done though.


4. When you love someone, you say it out loud, then and there, otherwise, the moment just passes you by --- "My Best Friend's Wedding"
This is the mantra of all who, at one point in time, felt something for someone and never had the guts to say it. To all of you I offer you this insight, in the movie, do you think it would have made any difference if Julia Roberts blurted it out at that perfect moment? Sure, we would have been spared from the rest of the chaotic events in the film (and hence, there would be no point in the film) but really, do you think it would have made a difference?? The guy does not love jell-o, he loves creme brulee. The blond has the engagement ring, and remember, he ran after her. He loves her. Not the big-haired redhead from New York. You may argue, "at least he knows"...yes he knows....so what??!!

5. Because if this theory is wrong, then men don't leave all women, they leave me. -- "Someone Like You"
I'm stumped. I think this needs no further comment.