Hello Stranger, Do You Have Shiny Toy Guns?

This is my take on the music that I still appreciate despite of the deluge of musical creativity that emerges year after year. Creativity and the excess it creates can get overwhelming, and, unfortunately, even tiresome. But there are always those that stand out from the rest.

Hello Stranger: Hello Strangers
I gave a copy of this album as a Christmas gift to my older sister and also to a former friend in 2006, and glad am I that I did. Great music is timeless, and I consider this album as one to remain a classic. I play it whenever I need a different kind of boost in a day needing a stimulant other than the usual coffee, tea, candy, and, yes, even friends—you get the point. It’s a treat for one’s self on a personal retreat. It’s a different kind of chocolate. It’s music that evokes inner strength during difficult times, less the sophomoric angst. It exudes youthful fun, yet is lyrically mature. It’s profound and inspiring, minus the gloom. It’s laidback without the stupor. It’s a fine cup of tea without the English pomp. (Anyway, this is a group from L.A., I thought I might add, but you might have known that already.)

This album is coherent from track to track and the solid vocal, which is simultaneously angelic and raspy, is nicely complemented by melodies that are upbeat enough to dance to, or soothing enough to serenade and carry you away. The point is this: Hello stranger is as cool and comforting as a breeze and, of course, a box of fine chocolates like Lindt’s, sans the calories of course. My favorite is “Learn Again to Feel”, along with “Robody”, “Her in These Lights”, “Which Side Is Mine”, “Plain and Simple”, “Dancing for No One”, and “Let It Ride”.

Shiny Toy Guns: We are Pilots (v3)

This is another album I still listen to, though it debuted in 2006 also. While this music is a bit angst-ridden, it’s definitely armored with an ample supply of funky, electronic beats to counter the anguish being sung about. Their music, supported by poignant lyrics and strong vocals, grants integrity to what the group wants to portray in their looks. This band’s offbeat style (image), music, and message are cohesive. It’s convincing. I bought it and, surely, many others have too.

Apparently, the band has released their new album, along with a new muse. I don’t know the story behind it, which is definitely somewhere out there on the net just clicks away for the curious. My take is this: This album is another awesome music to have around, especially when one is thirsting for a louder self-expression, literally. Shiny Toy Guns screams the message that it’s okay to voice out what you think every now and then, with or without a latte, or an Earl Grey for that matter. My favorites are “Don’t Cry Out”, “Jackie Will Save Me”, and “Shaken”.

Unrequited (poeTry)

by amica paige



Love doesn’t reciprocate
Loving acts and kindness
Then it’s mere repayment
And a social merriment

Love turns up unexpected
In the deepest sorrow
And the darkest hour
Unrequited.

The Heart Becomes a Butterfly (poeTry)

by amica paige



The heart becomes
A butterfly
When the ego dies

Love lowers it down
To the ground
Only to lift you up

The soul thrives
And the spirit flies
When the Love that transcends
Descends.

Presidents 2009... A definite class A...wkward !

Have you seen this? The presidents' meeting. There are other sources, but this one's from The Washington Times Could this scene be any more uncomfortable? I’ve seen and been in difficult situations before, but this surely tops them. You could almost sense this great unease. And they seem to be murmuring “Awkward!” behind their good, old, jolly, strained smiles. Actually, across the line from left to right, one mutters “difficult” and the second one “problematic”, then the middle one mumbles “knotty” and the next “complex”, and the last one is just plain "ill-at-ease". And here’s a "longer" "short" version of what they seem to be saying: Father Bush: One-tenth of my son could outdo you anytime, you big-headed… Big O: Hogwash. You taught him everything he knows and he doesn’t know a whole lot. It will be great when this whole act is over, then I can take some serious respite in Kai… Junior: This is incredible! I new we can all get along and be friends in the end. It will be a blast at the ranch when I get my guys together to ride the bulls… Old C: And I thought I committed the worst… I’m a celebrity compared to these dunces. Heck, I'm a wild thing... Plain Old C: Why am I even here again? I can't believe I allowed them to pluck me from my slumber. This is so distressing, I'm starting to feel nauseous. Or maybe it’s all just my imagination. I need to relax my reservations and reassure myself that things aren’t as bad as they seem…

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is no fairy-tale

Another enchanting book is The Tales of Beedle the Bard, an accompaniment to the last of the Harry Potter series, The Deathly Hollows, created by no other than, J.K. Rowling of course. This time she gave her creative pot half a stir more for a more fanciful take on an otherwise typical fantasy book and brewed a whimsical read with a twist, just like she did with the books Quidditch through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. As if Harry's world truly existed alongside ours, yet unseen by us muggles, us commoners who are bereft of any magic like the Dursleys of Privet Drive, we are given a peephole to the wizarding world's children stories, which are comparable to our fairy tales. It's all good. There's nothing wrong with a great imagination.

Anyway, The Tales of Beedle the Bard is rather profound for a brief read. Though concise with only five tales—however, it is, again, a supplement to the Harry Potter story—it certainly isn't lacking in moral depth. Instead, it probes into humanity's heart and soul, as it examines more deeply the same morals which we, common folks, are all too familiar with and oftentimes neglect.

• Tolerance for our differences and compassion for the meek are the underlying lessons in The Wizard and The Hopping Pot.


• The Fountain of Fair Fortune depicts the importance of an active pursuit of ones dreams, wherein real fortune lies, contrary to our fairy tales' princesses, whose inclinations are "taking a prolonged nap or waiting for someone to return a lost shoe" in the words of the author—no, not Beedle, but Rowling. (This role-play is starting to get a bit confusing for my intention.)


• The Warlock's Hairy Heart warns of the dangers of protecting oneself from the pain that goes with loving someone. As in the words of Professor Dumbledore, "To hurt is as human as to breathe." To see love as a weakness makes the heart cold, or worse, leads to destruction.


• Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump exemplifies how blind obsession and ignorance can easily lead to gullibility.


• Lastly, The Tale of the Three Brothers epitomizes what could be perhaps the most difficult truth in life that "wizards and muggles alike…with a lust for power" dare deny, that death is inevitable and that it is futile to even attempt to elude it. (Even Dumbledore, by his own admission fell prey to the temptation of trying to avoid death, when he admitted that he "[remains] just a big a fool as anyone else".)


• But at the core of this book is the hard truth that virtue, not magic, can overcome problems and that "magic causes as much trouble as it cures."

J.K. Rowling has done it again and cooked up a delightful creation. How The Tales of Beedle the Bard is cleverly and meticulously woven into the Harry Potter plot is remarkable, and the clues are certainly brewing in this book. And while Professor Dumbledore's commentary definitely provided the meat, Hermione Granger's translation of Beedle's tales was surely an essential ingredient in this concoction. I must warn you though that The Warlock's Hairy Heart is quite gruesome even for a mature reader like me. So, to the adults with children to share this book with, you've been forewarned.

Hocus Pocus: A Tale of Magnificent Magicians is clearly no hokum

Wouldn't you just love to use magic to tweak your circumstances to your advantage to slip out of tight and sticky situations and move ahead, or just completely zap the nasty nuisances away with a wink, a spell, or even a wave of a magic wand, such as in magical movies like Harry Potter? Well, I sure would like for my house bores, or chores, to be instantly done with a murmur or a flick of my finger, like when Mrs. Weasley gestured her hand from a distance for the ladle to stir the pot, while she engaged herself in a conversation, or when the Leaky Cauldron tidied itself up, with the chairs hauling themselves onto the table and a sweeping broom independent of any actual hands, save for a spell uttered, or a hand, or a wand flicked upon it by the pub's staff, if my memory holds clearly. However, while magic could be very appealing to some, a lot of us know better, and others consider it as nothing but hokum. Even so, magic certainly makes for great amusement, such as in Paul Kieve's book, Hocus Pocus—that is, only if you don't get enchanted entirely by it, as in the case of a young wizard.

Paul Kieve, who was the magic consultant in the making of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, had apparently captivated Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry Potter—a piece of trivia for those of you who are still uninformed to this day, with his tremendous knowledge and skill in magic that the idea for a book started to brew.

There was indeed a Hocus Pocus book formerly written in 1634. It was considered the first comprehensive book on magic in English, from which lessons on magical skills still fascinate to this day. Paul's book, however, is not just a compendium of magic tips and tricks, but an enthralling tale of a nameless novice who inexplicably finds himself in the tutelage of the greatest of magicians who ever lived and performed at the legendary Hackney Empire Theater in London during the "golden age" of magic in the early 1900s. The master magicians, including The Man Who Knows, The Great Lafayette and his terrible tragedy, the couple, Servais Le Roy and Talma, Robert Houdin, David Devant, Chung Ling Soo, Ionia, and The Great Harry Houdini, not only present their fantastic feats, but also reveal the secret behind magic which sustains it. With Houdini capping the protagonist's beguiling encounters with history's most brilliant magical acts, he eventually discovers the ultimate lesson in magic, which can be applied to life in general. Here's a dash of magical morsels, something of "prestidigitation" and perspiration, along with the other magical secrets in this spellbinding book. Experience the magical realm of Hocus Pocus for mere entertainment or real passion.

Scream for Screamfree Parenting, or applaud it rather

Are you a parent? If so, then you must be familiar and/or even guilty with one, or more, or all of the following expressions and/or actions, or reactions rather, you’ve directed at your child at some point of madness or another.

1. “…or I’m going to sew your butt off with a spoon.”


2. “You won’t like me when I’m mad”


3. “You’re always/never…” (continue with your own unique verbal ammunition)


4. use laser eyes to melt the opponent, which is your child in this case


5. attack opponent, which is still your child, verbally


6. attack opponent—your child still—non-verbally (silent treatment)


7. recall (take back) things given such as toys, promises, praises, etc., to the undeserving brat, or imp, also known as your child in this case too


8. scathingly grind teeth at opponent—you know who this is—in combination with numbers 1 through 10


9. banish opponent—same person still—to his/her room


10. and countless other ways to battle the opponent—your child still, of course—with strategies I’d rather not mention…well, one of which is to justify your normal temporary attack of raging insanity clearly out of anger and naturally blaming it on the little devil that is your child of course

Well, quite shamefully, I’ve said and done them all rather shamelessly, and perhaps even a bit more—which I truly hope that I'm honestly mistaken about—except the first one, which is really an original by another mom. But I probably would have saved myself, and incidentally, my family, from a lot of unnecessary chaos, if I had only encountered this book much sooner. But regardless of where you are in your parenthood, this book is a tool that can help you navigate your way through the difficult places, or mazes, of a parent/child relationship and perhaps even assist you in building a safe haven for you and your child’s psychological and emotional health, because it's never too late to start making a change.

Clear and concise, Screamfree provides actual examples of those difficult parent/child interactions and effective strategies on dealing with those situations. Hal Edward Runkel sensibly reminds us, parents, that the only way to positively influence our children is to reclaim control of ourselves and focus on our behaviors, because we are not responsible for our children’s behaviors, but we are responsible to them for how we behave. Remember that.

Pick up this book if you honestly can’t remember the last time you had balance, structure, consistency, calm, and connectedness in your family as you got lost in the its usual madness. Pick up this book even if you’ve never screamed before, verbally or emotionally. You never know when something really trying comes along to make you suddenly stop breathing, even if only temporarily. You'd know how to put on your oxygen mask first to be able to help the one(s) who look to you for help and guidance and love.