“For all the kids who suffer in the world, for those who only think about today. I see a brighter future for you and I think about tomorrow because of you”

How can you mend a broken heart,
when only pain grows inside and
no matter how many stitches
or band-aids you stick to that beating-muscle,
the wound only gets bigger and bigger.

And how can you make sorrow go away?
If the pain lies beneath the skin and
no matter how many casts or bandages
you wrap the heart with,
tears will only keep spilling and spilling.

But if the heart is mended and
sorrow is no longer to stay, tell me
can you also bring a smile to her face?

Maider Izeta Dec. 22, 2007

Hallellujah! Hallellujah! I’m still excited about yesterday’s concert. Just like I’ve been doing for the past nine years, I attended, along with my mom, the annual Gospel concerts that the Kursaal auditoriums holds for Christmas Eve. I wasn’t really in the mood of going, for the last couple of years I’d left the theatre a little disappointed, but The Joyful Gospel Choir! made me enjoy listening to Gospel again. What a wonderful show and such wonderful people. Not only did we listen to traditional songs such as Amazing Grace (my favorite one!) or Can’t Nobody Do Me Like Jesus, but we also danced to some reggae and nearly cried listening to a beautiful, yet different version, of Silent Night.

I seriously had the time of my life last evening. I got to ’sing’ Oh Happy Day and ended up on stage ‘dancing’ to the rhythm of When The Saints Go Marching In (they also put the mic on my mouth and ’sang’ some verses lol). It was a fun night. Got goosebumps the entire time I was in the theatre. I got so emotional, Gospel singers surely know how to get within my soul.

And it doesn’t matter if you’re religious or not, if you’re a Christian or not, you just have to let go and enjoy. You get so into their beat that you forget you’re in an auditorium.

Bravo, bravo, bravo!!

What if I loved you just because…
and not because I wanted to show or seem something
or because I had to do or think something
but because I wanted to love you just because.

Because I wanted to see you breathe, I wanted to smell you, every now and then…
Because I wanted to feel you next to me
so that I could love you just because.
Unkown author

I’ve seen many movies in the past week and I thought I’d comment on them, since all of the films I’ve seen are good. I just noticed all four movies are of 4 different nationalities…

Becoming Jane (Anne Hathaway). United Kingdom

I saw a book entitled Becoming Jane last summer. I was at a Barnes & Noble on Fifth Avenue browsing books, big sales & stuff, when I read this title. I saw Anne Hathaway on the cover, an actress I have liked since I saw her acting on The Princess Diaries (yes, I still watch Disney movies!). A few hours later, at this theatre located a few blocks away from Union Square, I realized there was a movie called Becoming Jane as well. I was hoping the film would be released in Spain soon, since I’ve always liked that period of time.

Anyway, Becoming Jane talks about an adolescent Jane Austen, when she was still unknown but already had marvelous writing skills. The movie, as I understood it myself, explains how she began write Pride & Prejudice (another movie you MUST watch if you haven’t yet. And if you want it with some spicy/curry taste, I also recommend Bride & Prejudice). Turns out, the novel is based on her real life. Many scenes of the movie reminded me of Pride & Prejudice.

It’s a good movie and Anne Hathaway does a great job here. Plus, I really enjoyed watching those 19th century gowns and dances… if only I could turn back time and show up at one of those candle-lit parties…

Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi). Iran

I never thought I’d enjoy watching a comic-movie or a movie-comic this much. Another movie based on a real life story. Marjane Satrapi tells the story of her life in this film. About how the islamic revolution changed her country’s path. Satrapi was a lucky girl and managed to move to Europe to be educated in Austria and France. But not everyone had such luck… It’s a touching, yet funny & ironic film.

Guru (Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai). India

Bollywood likes to make long films, this one lasts nearly 3 hours… but it doesn’t seem like it. When I found out Aishwarya Rai & Abhishek Bachchan became engaged I wondered what Rai could’ve seen in him. He was ok, good for any woman, but Rai being Miss World I always thought she’d marry Mister World too. But I’ve learned something over the past few years that you can’t judge a book by its cover. And I know what Rai saw in Bachchan, or at least I can guess… When I saw Kuch Naa Kaho, I realized Abhishek Bachchan enjoyed being sorrounded by kids, something I got to see in Guru as well. The impression I’ve gotten of this man is that he is a kindhearted, funny and active person, which makes him attractive to 99.9% of women. Even I am starting to find him physically attractive. He’s got that something. Well, he had to gain quite a few pounds for Guru, so don’t take this movie as an example.

Anyway, Guru talks about this young man Gurukant Desai who dreams of becoming a big business-man in his country, India. He achieves that goal, but with many difficulties. I like this movie because it talks about the aspiration of a simple villager of becoming someone important. Breaks the rules, laws and cast system of his country to achieve his dreams. All throughout the movie, Aishwarya Rai portrays as his supportive wife, who even though he married for monetary reasons, can’t help falling in love with her.

PS: I loooove, love, love the soundtrack of the movie. If you have the chance, please listen to Barso Re and Tere Bina. I don’t understand a single word they say, it’s in Hindi, but the music is just beautiful.

Enchanted (Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Susan Sarandon) USA

I just got home from the theatre. I went to see Enchanted with my sister and I looooved it. Yes, I’m almost 24 but I still enjoy watching Disney movies. And Enchanted was a fantastic fairy-tale. Amy Adams plays the role of Giselle a villager from Andalasia who dreams of marrying prince charming. And she eventually finds him, but Prince Edward’s stepmother casts a spell so that Giselle doesn’t marry prince charming. She sends her to the place where romance has died, New York City. There she will have to face the fact that people in the big Apple are not nice, friendly or charming like Edward. But along the way, she’ll run into Robert Philip a nice lawyer who does not believe in fairy-tales or ‘ever after’ type of endings. What happens next, I won’t reveal.

All I can say is I missed watching these movies. Enchanted took me back to the late 80’s/beginning of the 90’s when going to the movies to see The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella with grandpa was fun. Thank you Disney for bringing back fantasy in such an original way.