A True Talent: Jason Mraz

I just need to let the whole world know how talented this man is and that without a doubt, Jason Mraz is one of the greatest artists I've known. First, let's take a peek of his life and find out how he started his career from an ordinary "dude" who loves cats to a renowned song writer, singer and a guitar-enthusiast.

Biography

Jason Mraz, his life-altering journey began with a single word: no. No touring, no recording, no work for a year: "I said, I want to go the grocery store again. I want to do my own laundry. I want to tend to a garden. I want to raise a cat."

Mraz came to the decision after a remarkable four years where he had seen his major label debut, "Waiting for My Rocket to Come" explode off the success of such hits as "Remedy (I Won't Worry)," "You and I Both" and "Curbside Prophet." Shortly thereafter, he returned with his Grammy-nominated, critically acclaimed "Mr. A-Z," which continued his chart success with "Wordplay." Throughout, his reputation as a tremendous live act soared.

But when he took a well-earned break, something unexpected happened: he rediscovered himself. After a few months, "I suddenly woke up and real songs started coming out of me," Mraz recalls. "Songs that I didn't plan on writing. But that just became a reflection of how I feel and the mood that I was in and these awakenings that I was having," he says.

The result is "We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things." his most self-assured effort to date. In true Mraz style, the 12 tunes are wrapped in clever, observant lyrics and strong, engaging pop melodies, but this time they are inspired "by these moments of self realization, self empowerment and self improvement. I was happy to be able to write an album at the same time I was coming back to earth."

Highlights include first single, "I'm Yours," a warm breeze of a song about finally giving into love and life's possibilities set to lilting island tempo. A demo of the song leaked out into the world a few years ago and has developed a cult following. "I didn't realize how powerful it was until we went to Sweden last summer and 6,000 people sang every word," Mraz says. "I'd never been to Sweden in my life. I thought, it's already got a life of its own from the demo, let's give people a great version of it. I feel like we finally got it right on this album."

Another highlight is "Lucky," a simple, endearing duet with new platinum singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat. "I got word that she was a fan and wanted to work together, so I immediately demanded her phone number," Mraz says with a laugh. He sent her segments of a love song that she and her guitarist Timothy Fagan completed.

Caillat then joined Mraz in a London studio where he recorded the album with producer Martin Terefe, best known for his work with Coldplay and James Morrison (who guests on the intricate "Details in the Fabric").

Terefe, along with songwriter/pianist Sasha Skarbek (who co-wrote james Blunt's "You're Beautiful"), also played a hand in co-writing some of the tunes with Mraz, including "Love for a Child," a searing autobiographical tale of Mraz's parents split when he was five. "I didn't want to share the lyrics," Mraz confesses, "but I just let it rip and it wasn't until playback that I realized how important it was that I needed to write it."

While Mraz and Terefe deliberately kept the music stripped down, they added flourishes that distinguish "We Sing" from standard pop fare, including a gospel choir on "Live High," and operatic embellishments and a children's chorale on "Coyotes."

"Martin is such a funny guy," Mraz says. "He loves the quirkiness and loves to keep the pace going with little surprises so he's always willing to try my goofy ideas," such as bookending "Details in the Fabric" with real voice mail messages from Mraz's good friend and sometime co-writer Bushwalla.

The album takes its title from a piece of art by Glasglow-based doodle artist David Shrigley that Mraz saw in Scotland while traveling... (end of biography).

There you have it. While I was searching for his songs, I stumbled upon this piece that caught my eardrums' attention. A Song for a Friend is a different kind of love song. "It's a love song from a man to another man, in a good way. And that I have a lot of dudes I totally respect and so inspired by this piece," he claims. It's awesome that he sings for his mates. I don't actually hear about it much these days.

I guess this song is literally dedicated to a friend of his whom he treasured so much. The melody and the wonderful imagery -- I just love how a poet like Mraz can put his words to life!

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Cringe-inducing typo outside N.C. school

Well, here's something to make your old English teacher gasp in horror: A road contractor hired to paint the word "school" on a freshly paved stretch of road near Southern Guilford High School in North Carolina rendered the traffic area in question a "shcool" zone.

[Verizon can fix $1.7 billion typo, court says]

But fear not for the (surely confused) youth of Greensboro! The contractor, a company called Traffic Markings, has already corrected the error, the local Fox TV affiliate reports.
This isn't the first such mishap on record. Last year, for instance, a Miami-area road crew offered the variant spelling of "schohol," while in 2007, a team in Kalamazoo, Mich., managed the same "h" and "c" reversal.

Chalk it all up to a bad day's wrok.

(Photo via AP/Greensboro News & Record, Joseph Rodriguez)

Source: Yahoo! News

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Paradigm shift

Imagine you're in an Airport. While you're waiting for your flight, you notice a kiosk selling shortbread cookies. You buy a box, put them in your traveling bag and then you patientlysearch for an available seat so you can sit down and enjoy your cookies.

Finally you find a seat next to a gentleman. You reach down into yourtraveling bag and pull out your box of shortbread cookies. As you do so, you notice that the gentleman starts watching you intensely.He stares as you open the box and his eyes follow your hand as you pick upthe cookie and bring it to your mouth. Just then he reaches over and takesone of your cookies from the box and eats it! You're more than a little surprised at this. Actually, you're at a loss for words. Not only does he take one cookie, but he alternates with you. For every one cookie you take, he takes one.

Now, what's your immediate impression of this guy? Crazy? Greedy? He's gotsome nerve! Can you imagine the words you might use to describe this manto your associates back at the office? Meanwhile, you both continue eatingthe cookies until there's just oneleft. To your surprise, the man reaches over and takes it. But then he does something unexpected. He breaks it in half, and gives half to you. After he's finished with his half he gets up, and without a word, he leaves.

You think to yourself, "Did this really happen?" You're left sitting there dumbfounded and still hungry. So you go back to the kiosk and buy another box of cookies. You then return to your seat and begin opening your new box of cookies whenyou glance down into your traveling bag. Sitting there in your bag is your original box of cookies -- still unopened. Only then did you realize that when you reached down earlier, you hadreached into the other man's bag and grabbed his box of cookies bymistake.

Now what do you think of the man? Generous? Tolerant? You've just experienced a profound paradigm shift. You're seeing things from a newpoint of view. Is it time to change your point of view?

Now, think of this story as it relates to your life. Seeing things from anew point of view can be very enlightening. Think outside the box. Don't settle for the status quo. Be open to suggestions. Things may not be what they seem.

Photo by =IsaiahS, DA

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Globe-ing

After centuries of being disconnected from the virtual world, alas, I'm finally back in full throttle to dominate the vast world wide web. LOL Wish it was that easy to say. Patience was the price paid because this idea of having internet connection at home had been going on for 3 mos and without luck from Smart's Share-It Unlimited program (which they claim the router out of stock and China was momentarily out of the materials needed for the router), I decided to go for Globe's bundle treat (internet + landline). It was Monday last week when I went to their office in SM to secure an application form which I waited for an hour. I looked around and checked on each customer service agents who were assisting people from all kinds. Unfortunately, out of the 7 agents, only 1 was smiling while maintaining composure talking to her customer. Believe me, I felt the old man who was complaining about his daughter's Globe Tattoo which was no longer getting signal, the young lady who never got her bills for the past 2 mos, and the list goes on... Scary, but I had the feeling that I'll be the next one in the list. Haha. The lady who assisted me ensured it will only take 3-5 days to install the line to my place. I nodded in relief and went out with full enthusiasm while holding the application form in my left hand. I walked around the mall like a king. LOL.

I waited for 8 days and nothing. No internet, no landline, just a note in my head from the lady carrying a large banner saying "3-5 days only". It was 1pm the following day when an agent from Globe customer service called informing me that there was a miscalculation regarding the I-don't-know-what-on-earth-line-she-was-talking-about and that the facility assigned (?) was also incorrect. Straight-faced. I got really annoyed when she offered me the greatest deal they could offer -- CANCELING my subscription. I wanted to start World War 4 and put a bomb under the agent's desk and sue Globe for making my hopes high. I took the deal and had them feel how frustrated I was.

30 minutes after, 2 men knocked on the gate. They were looking for someone named Ken Michael so I gave them a wicked smiled. An hour later, I was already enjoying downloading movies using utorrent. I got my phone line and my 1 MBPS internet connection which came with a prolink modem and wifi bundle. So here I am enjoying the bundle which only costs 1290 pesos a month. Goodness.

Lesson: Miracles happen when you least expect it. Be patient and you'll be blessed.

(I'm sorry I can't go into details. I am sleepy, I need to cut this post short.)

Bye for now.

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A 10-second reading

Written on the wall of a small church in the Pyrenees: "Lord, may this candle I have just lit make light, and illuminate me when I have problems and make decisions. May it make fire, so that You can burn away my egotism, pride and impurity. May it make a flame, so that You can warm ny heart and teach me to love. I cannot remain for long in Your church. But in leaving this candle, a bit of myself remains here. Help me to extend my prayer to the activities of this day. Amen."

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The Other

Man runs into an old friend who had somehow never been able to make it in life. "I should give him some money," he thinks. But instead he learns that his old friend has grown rich and is actually seeking him to repay the debts he had run up over the years.

They go to a bar they need to frequent together, and the friend buys drinks for everyone there. When they ask him how he became so successful, he answers that until only a few days ago, he had been living the role of the "Other".

"What is the Other?" they ask.

"The Other is the one who taught me what I should be like, but not what I am. The other believes that it is our obligation to spend our entire life thinking about how to get our hands on as much money as possible so that we will not die of hunger when we are old. So we think so much about money and our plans for acquiring it that we discover we are alive only when our days on earth are practically done. And then it's too late."

"And you? Who are you?"

"I am just like everyone else who listens to their heart: a person who is enchanted by the mystery of life. Who is open to miracles, who experiences joy and enthusiasm for what they do. It's just that the Other, afraid of disappointment, kept me from taking action."

"But there is suffering in life," one of the listeners said.

"And there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it's better to lose some of the battles in the struggle for your dreams than to be defeated without ever even knowing what you're fighting for."

"That's it?" another listener asked.

"Yes, that's it. When I learned this, I resolved to become the person I had always wanted to be. The Other stood there in the corner of my room, watching me, but I will never let the Other into myself again -- even though it has already tried to frighten me, warning me that it's risky not to think about the future."

"From the moment that I ousted the Other from my life, the Divine Energy began to perform its miracles."

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Forever young

I'm 20.

I wish I could stay young forever. I mean I know this song was before me but until you listen to this song and start to cry, you haven't even begun to understand the meaning. Twenty has never been so great and all but I just wish I could go back to when my parents were still together.

Back in the days when my grandpa and I used to sit together in a table outside the veranda, exchanging worthwhile conversations and having coffee and not minding time. If I could pick an age it would be seven back when I was safe and felt loved.

A life of 19+1, and it has only begun. Thank you, Lord, for showing me how wonderful it is to be young. =)

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