A taste of the 90's musicals

I finally had the time to watch a movie last night; kind of made the time because I did not want to return yet another movie to the library that I haven't watched. So, this week's movie was West Side Story which is a musical.

It is a brilliant movie, put together by creative and ingenious minds. For those of you who do not know West Side Story, it is a classical American musical based on the plot of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. However, it is set to be in the 1950's in Manhattan, New York and instead of having the Montagues and Capulets, the feud is between two street gangs, the Sharks who are Puerto Rican and the Jets who are American. Below are 2 of my favorite numbers from the musical I thought of sharing :)

The first song is of the Sharks and their Puerto Rican girls, they have just come back from the dance and Maria (Juliet) a Puerto Rican has danced with Tony (Romeo) an American. The main male character here, Bernando is Maria's brother and gets furious about that. Anita, his girlfriend is arguing with him here about giving Maria some freedom.



This one here is about Officer Krupke, who keeps an eye on the two street gangs as they make trouble. In that scene the Jets are waiting for the Sharks to have a war council, i.e. meeting so after the officer leaves they sing about what they would say shall the officer show up again.

My new home

I did tell you that I found an amazing place to stay off-campus and knowing how anxious you all are to see my place…(I like thinking that you are) here it is.

The white door is the entrance
to my place and the apartment
is right above the basement;
you can see Crystal's room from
this side, my window faces the garage.


Colours are not so coordinated, but will be soon. I love my room; it has LOTS of light opposed to the dorm room. I have attempted to clean my windows to the best of my ability :p

This is my plant in its perfect spot. I love it...it is beautiful and it had pretty purple flowers when I first got it. I guess they will bloom again next summer. It also has unique leaves; they are purple on the back.

Living room

The kitchen is my next favorite thing about the apartment after my room.

To the left is my room, Anne's is right in front and the bathroom is on the right, between the two walls. The door to the right of Anne's room is just storage space, mainly cleaning supplies.

Door to the apartment on the right. Storage/coat hanger closet on the left and Crystal's room in front.

What makes my place even more so great you ask??..There is a park close by, a community centre, my bank, the library, supermarket and Yonge street. It is 15mins walk to the subway station, 20mins by bus to campus (given that the bus is on time) and a 12mins bike ride to campus.

When I first moved in Crystal and Alicia were in the other 2 rooms. Amazing and fun girls. Then Alicia moved out and Anne moved in, and it was the three of us for a while. Currently Crystal moved out and it is Anne and I and we’ll be having Anne’s friend joining us for the month of August. And it is an international home; Alicia is French, Anne is Korean, Crystal is Canadian and our one month roommate is Japanese.

However, I also did promise some people to show them pictures of my Rez room and how their gifts helped make that room of mine a home for 8 months.

The papyrus is from Zol and the stone craving from Malik, they got them on their trip to Egypt summer 2008. The drawing below is by Malik, he drew it for me before I left for Canada. It was difficult finding frames for their actual sizes in Ikea, however these worked out fine, I just made the inner frames.

The placard here is from Malik, from his trip to the U.S., summer 2007 :)

I am planning to hang everything up in my new room, but I'm still trying to decide on where exactly they should go.

Out Now: Armin van Buuren-A State of Trance Year Mix 2009

What a year for the A State of Trance radioshow. Not only did it celebrate its 400th episode with three events in three different countries, covered by a 72-hour live broadcast, it also supplied the listeners their weekly fix of trance minded music, with hundreds of tracks by renowned producers and new talent. The man behind it all, is Armin van Buuren.


With an unabated enthusiasm and ever-growing passion for music, Armin selects the best and latest in trance and progressive on a weekly base, no matter how heavy his tour schedule might be. For 8 years already has the A State of Trance radioshow been the perfect guide through all new music out there. With 28 million listeners on a weekly base, divided over 40 radiostations worldwide, A State of Trance is one of the most popular radioshows of the dance scene. Created, spread and backed up by the number one DJ in the world, A State of Trance is ready for another year with fresh and exciting trance music. But not before 2009 is being closed down in style.

As an annual tradition, Armin van Buuren lets his listeners vote for their 20 favourite tracks in the Top 20 poll, of which the result influences the tracklisting of the A State of Trance Yearmix. You’ll find the complete Top 20 mixed in with another 65 key tracks of 2009 on the ‘A State of Trance Yearmix 2009′ album. Mixed and selected by Armin van Buuren, ‘A State of Trance Yearmix 2009′ provides you the perfect way to relive and remember the year 2009.

Tracklist:


CD1:

01. Intro - Revolution 2009
02. The Blizzard with Gate - Iselilja (Sunn Jellie & The Blizzard dub mix)
03. Fabio XB & Andrea Mazza - Light to lies (Gareth Emery remix)
04. Ferry Corsten feat. Novastar - Because (the Remix)
05. Jerome Isma-ae - Hold that sucker down
06. Moonbeam feat. Avis Vox - About you
07. Matt Darey pres. Urban Astronauts - See the sun (Aurosonic remix)
08. Dakota - Johnny the fox (Barnes & Heatcliff remix)
09. Sebastian Ingrosso - Kidsos (Wippenberg remix)
10. Wippenberg - Pong
11. John O’Callaghan feat. Audrey Gallagher - Take it all away (Marcus Schössow remix)
12. Arnej - Dust in the wind
13. Above & Beyond - Anjunabeach
14. Armin van Buuren feat. Jacqueline Govaert - Never say never (Omnia remix)
15. Ron Hagen & Pascal M - Riddles in the sand
16. Mat Zo - The Fractal Universe
17. John O’Callaghan feat. Lo-Fi Sugar - Never fade away (Andy Duguid remix)
18. Nic Chagall feat. Jonathan Mendelsohn - This moment (Prog mix)
19. Armin van Buuren feat. VanVelzen - Broken tonight
20. John O’Callaghan feat. Sarah Howells - Find yourself (Cosmic Gate remix)
21. Armin van Buuren feat. Cathy Burton - Rain (Cosmic Gate remix)
22. Paul van Dyk feat. Johnny McDaid - Home (Cosmic Gate remix)
23. Chicane - Poppiholla
24. Josh Gabriel pres. Winter kills - Deep down
25. Monogato - Miami vibe (Omnia remix)
26. Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren - Beggin’ you (Armin van Buuren remix)
27. Rank 1 - Symfo (Sunrise festival theme)
28. Above & Beyond pres. Oceanlab - On a good day (Above & Beyond club mix)
29. Gareth Emery - Metropolis
30. Paul van Dyk - Nothing but you (Super8 & Tab remix)
31. Rex Mundi feat. Susana - Nothing at all
32. Marco V - Unprepared
33. Nadia Ali - Love story (Andy Moor’s remix)
34. Sean Tyas & Simon Patterson - For the most part (Marcus Schössow remix)
35. Sander van Doorn pres. Purple haze - Bliksem
36. Ohmna feat. Nurlaila - Key of life (MarLo remix)
37. Arnej - They need us (club edit)
38. Andy Moor & Ashley Wallbridge - Faces
39. Lange feat. Sarah Howells - Let it all out (Ronski speed remix)
40. Nitrous Oxide - Magenta
41. M.I.K.E. - Sunrise at Palamos 2009 (Gareth Emery remix)
42. Lange & Andy Moor - Stadium Four
43. Markus Schulz - Do you dream
44. Dash Berlin feat. Emma Hewitt - Waiting

CD 2:


1. Cressida - Onyric (Stoneface & Terminal remix)
2. Claudia Cazacu feat. Audrey Gallagher - Freefallin
3. Filo & Peri feat. Aruna - Ashley (Alex M.O.R.P.H. remix)
4. DJ Eco - Lost Angeles (breakfast remix)
5. Dash Berlin with Cerf, Mitiska & Jaren - Man on the run
6. Bobina - Invisible Touch (Ferry Corstens touch remix)
7. M6 - Opus Sectrum
8. Oceanlab - I am what I am (Lange remix)
9. Oceanlab - Lonely girl (Gareth Emery remix)
10. Super8 & Tab - Irufushi
11. Daniel Kandi - Venice Beach
12. Sied van Riel - MME
13. Gaia - Tuvan
14. Fabio XB & Ronnie Play feat. Gabriel Cage - Inside of you (Cosmic gate remix)
15. Roger Shah & Signum - Healesville sanctuary (Roger Shah remix)
16. Ram - RAMsterdam (Jorn van Deynhoven remix)
17. Philippe el Sisi feat Aminda - You never know (Aly & Fila remix)
18. Breakfast - Remember
19. Jochen Miller - Brace Yourself
20. Gareth Emery - Exposure
21. Tritonal feat. Soto - Piercing quiet
22. Ummet Ozcan - Timewave Zero
23. Neptune Project - Aztec
24. Ilya Soloviev - Universal universe
25. Thomas Bronzwaer - Look ahead
26. Andy Blueman - Everlasting
27. Heatbeat - Vergatron
28. Armin van Buuren - Face to face (Martin Roth remix)
29. Ferry Corsten - We belong (Tritonal up there remix)
30. John O’Callaghan feat. Josie - Out of nowhere (Stoneface & Terminal remix)
31. TyDi feat. Audrey Gallagher - You walk away
32. Alex M.O.R.P.H. feat Ana Criado - Sunset Boulevard
33. Sander van Doorn - Bastillon
34. Paul Webster feat. Angelic Amanda - Time (Sean Tyas dub mix)
35. Rank 1 - L.E.D. There be light
36. W&W - Mainstage
37. Vast Vision feat. Fisher - Everything (Aly & Fila remix)
38. Simon Patterson - Thump
39. Sean Tyas - Melbourne
40. 3rd Moon - Monsun
41. Outro - The Revolution has only just begun

Punjabi Jingle Bells

Here is something I received on Christmas and it has been entertaining everyone for quite a while...it is a good laugh and the song will most likely be stuck in your mind for the rest of the day. A different flavor of Christmas...I like it. Enjoy!

Remembrance Day

I joined the Glendon Musical Ensemble in September, and today was our first concert. We sang at the Remembrance Day ceremony and we did a great job! We sang In Flanders Fields and O Canada (Canada’s national anthem). I love creating music in an ensemble, it feels rewarding :)

What exactly is Remembrance Day and why it is on the 11^th of November? a little Wikipedia search says:

Remembrance Day, also known as Poppy Day, is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed on 11 November to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918 (major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice).

The poppy's significance to Remembrance Day is a result of Canadian military physician John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields. The poppy emblem was chosen because of the poppies that bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War 1, their red colour an appropriate symbol for the bloodshed of trench warfare.

International Music Festival and my highlight for the day

With dear mum always being upto date with all the musical events happening here, I got an email from her about this event which took place in Madinat Jumireh. And you always say enough to get us there by mentioning Dubai Drums.

As you can see my highlight for that day was the haircut I got done, before getting there :D so I was super happy.

So you know us, being ALWAYS very *prompt* with our timings, we made it fairly early there, giving us a handful of time to take the following random snapshots.






Some of us were hungry, with still much time, we made it to Dome cafe for some food.

A very intense political/social discussion took place...yes Malik?!


we were all into the discussion, the waiteress kept coming back and forth, asking if we decided on the order yet.

The show begins

Dubai Drums started off inside and drummed their way to the amphitheatre. Other bands were stationed inside...those two were good. Although the band on the left had more crowd just because they are white!! It is typical given that we were in Jumiereh.



Here is the amphitheatre that Dubai Drums were heading to and here is us anxiously waiting for them. So I had no idea that it was going to be "outdoors" literally everyone was cursing at the weather and running inside, back and forth for water and tissue. It was hilarious, especially the guys, given that they tend to sweat a lot more.


I just made my way to the drums :) lol... way too hot hmm ? I think they were giving me a "you're going to pay for this" look.


I love my drum!


but some people were busy with something else :p



Here they come....


happily drumming then clapping

End of the show, getting some cool air indoors.

More pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/rama.isaac/InternationalMusicFestival?feat=directlink