Monday, June 25, 2012

On Disasters and Catastrophes (Helpless tears are falling....)

I've heard about another disaster happened yesterday. Here, for example, one of the multiple articles found on the web.

The "rarest animal alive today", according to the Guinness Book of World Records, has been found dead. The conservation icon named Lonesome George passed away on Sunday of unknown causes, according to the Galapagos National Park.
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He was thought to be about 100 years old, which is not a venerable age as far as tortoises are concerned.

"Sunday morning the park ranger in charge of looking after the tortoises found Lonesome George; his body was motionless," the head of the Galapagos National Park, Edwin Naula, told Reuters. "His life cycle came to an end."

Lonesome George weighed 88 kilograms and touted a 102 cm long shell. He was the last member of a species of giant tortoise from La Pinta – one of the smallest islands in the north of the Galapagos archipelago. Now the Pinta Island tortoise subspecies is officially extinct.

The Galapagos National park plans to carry out an autopsy to determine what may have killed the tortoise.

Up until 1971, the last reported sighting of a giant tortoise on Pinta Island had been in 1906. In 1971 a scientist studying snails on Pinta Island saw a solitary tortoise in the distance. However, it was not until 1972 that National Park wardens found Lonesome George on the island. From that point on he became a symbol of Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, which attracted some 180,000 visitors last year.


The tortoise was called "Lonesome George", a name that derived from being the only surviving specimen of his species, and "George," after the US actor George Goebel, who called himself "Lonesome George" in a TV program.

Many years later, Lonesome George was placed in a corral with female tortoises from Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island. The idea was that by placing these animals together, Lonesome George would pass along at least some of his genes into future generations. Despite laying eggs twice, they were all infertile.

Since then, zoos around the world have been offered a reward of $10,000 dollars for a Pinta Island tortoise female, but the reward has not been claimed.

The Galapagos National Park is now considering embalming George's body so that it can be displayed in the park.


Also, I learned today that rived dolphins existed some time ago....

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

The lyrics that were rejected (or maybe they weren't?)

Once again, I was asked by a friend to help him with writing lyrics for his songs. Once again I went through the pictures and images that are not of my style and not of my interest, but I should be paid for that. "OK, what to do. Give me the direction so I can start", I said. So in a couple of hours total the first song was finalized. The lyrics should be provided for a young female singer in the USA, so we looked through my text together, and lots of words and lines have been changed (EVEN MORE simplified, dulled and dumbed, I would say) in order to "sound accordingly", i.e. if a line ends with "day", the next one MUST end with anything that also ends with -ay; or if the voice on the demo record I based upon sings "nai-nou-lai-nou-nai-nou-baby-yeah-nai-nou" the final version MUST read "I know, I know, I know, baby yes, I know". The whole concept/idea/attitude/subject/implementation/working style look 180-degree opposite to my understanding of writing songs, but why should I say "no" if I am promised to be paid (in the times when it is needed very much)? So I said "OK, let's do it!"

Once I was trying to get some material result doing the same kind of stuff, following the same "production flow", guided by the same person and according to the same principles. In the end (when that song was actually wrote), I was told "No, the customer didn't like it", and I forgot about that.... Now I understand that I shouldn't. The same scenario worked for this time as well, so before sending the lyrics for the second song I asked "Are you sure, and can you guarantee that this time it will work fine?" and I was told "The customers are the people I respected the most and any kind of fail is impossible!", I kept in mind that I MUST be ready for the unsuccessful result. And this was the only thing in this whole story that I had clear idea about!

"The lyrics are wonderful, they said, but unfortunately the songs are written not by an American young girl, hence they don't reflect a US-teenager point of view; we need to write our own lyrics, sorry...." This is what I was told by my friend today. I asked "and what about the music? Did they reject it as well?" I knew he would say "No, they're fine with the music."

Was I fooled? Maybe. For the second time? Maybe. Wanna more? Surely not! :-)

And the lyrics? Oh, since they are "rejected" (and since they are actually weak) I am throwing them off.... in the cyberspace (the original versions, of course).



The Way I Go

The summer night has gently fallen down
The people there are waiting – it is Now
The stage before me is calling and I go
I’ve been waiting for so long
The lights are shining brightly over me
The faces are looking gently right at me
I am looking forward and I sing
To the Magic that I bring

And it changes night to day
And my fears run away
All the troubles disappear and I feel so strong
I truly hope this magic can do same to you
With all my heart I believe this can’t be wrong
That’s the way I go

I remember clearly when I was a child
I was told “that’s silly, don’t make a try”
But my heart kept singing, so I tried.
I’ve been trying for so long.
So I will remember this magic night
And how this magic feeling made me fly
The key to all my troubles is my Song
‘cause the Magic that it brings

Will surely change my nights to days
And will wipe my tears away
And will make my troubles look so tiny in my way
I truly hope this magic can do same to you
With all my heart I believe this can’t be wrong
That’s the way I go

In our weakest moments we lose our minds
Thinking none can help us – and crack inside
Truth is that we still can rise again
Just believe in Magic that happens every day

And it will change your nights to days
And will chase your fears away
And will make you happy and we will celebrate
I truly hope this magic can do same to all
With all my heart I believe this can’t be wrong
That’s the way I go



Hope you understand

I can see from my open window how
Fast the life rolls
People ‘round me dance to the rhythm of life
That’s how it goes.
But I’ll tell you what I think
I hope you’ll understand
Just look at the picture in my mind.

On the way I go all this fuss will just
Pass me by
Up above my head birds will fly in blue
Dome of the sky
Life is not just money bringing
I hope you understand
But if not then please just take my hand.

And we’ll walk outside
And through day and night
Will try to make things right.
Nothing changes by
itself, we must try
Support each other’s life.

Why we think of fright in the dead of night
And not of love?
Why destroy what has proved to be so right
And not wrong?
It’s so hard to explain my feelings
I hope you’ll understand
And I want to tell it with my heart.

And we’ll walk outside
And through day and night
Will try to make things right.
Nothing changes by
itself we must try
Support each other’s life.

This feeling lets us learn
About things we don’t know
About what we will meet on the way we’ll go.

And we’ll walk outside
And through day and night
Will try to make things right.
Nothing changes by
itself we must try
Support each other’s life.