"Music Is The Art Which Is Most Nigh To Tears And Memory" - Oscar Wilde

The idea to write this blog came whilst I was driving home from work yesterday, listening to the radio.

I remember those days long gone by where I would sit by the radio everyday with a cassette tape right in place in the cassette player, finger all set to press the “record” button as soon as I heard my favourite songs being played over the radio. I had a wacky way of making my own songs compilations that was taught by my sis. (So now you know who’s the wackier of us two). Of course, the recorded songs were always far from perfect as the dee-jays always had this tendency to yak through the start of a song. Oh well, that was the best I could get at that time, living on a student’s allowance and with Mom watching me like a hawk each time I tried to dig out a dime from my piggy bank to buy cassettes. CDs were out of the question for they cost a fortune back then, comparing what we could get with RM50 then and now. Mom was strict money-wise, amongst other things, and she didn’t want us growing up thinking that money grew on trees. Fine. Point taken.

As I grew older, I took my wackiness with me to college. Being a little smarter and “resourceful”, I often spent days penning down a list of about 10 to 12 of my favourite songs and then headed on down to the record store nearby and had them make the compilation into cassette tapes for me (I even had a list of backup songs just in case the store didn't have what I wanted!). No dee-jays talking through songs, no poor quality music. Just perfect! Smart eh?

And now with new technological advancement and innovations, I got even smarter! (if you catch my drift!).

Here’s a list of some of the songs that I had loved growing up – in no particular order. Surely there are more that I fancied but which I just couldn't recall for the time being.

1. Adrian Gurvitz – Classic
2. Gazebo – I Like Chopin
3. Johnny Logan – Hold Me Now
4. Roy Orbinson – Only The Lonely
5. Glenn Medeiros – Me-U=Blue
6. Glenn Medeiros – Lonely Won’t Leave Me Alone
7. Brian May – Too Much Love Will Kill You
8. Patty Smyth & Don Henley – Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough
9. The Everly Brothers - All I Have To Do Is Dream
10. Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
11. Dennis De Young – Desert Moon
12. Captain & Tennille – Do That To Me One More Time
13. Jason Donovan – Every Day (I Love You More)
14. Harry Belafonte - Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)
15. Loverboy – Heaven In Your Eyes
16. ABBA - Chiquitita
17. Indecent Obsession – Lady Rain
18. Jose Mari Chan – Please Be Careful With My Heart
19. Kenny Loggins – Meet Me Halfway
20. Paul Anka – Put Your Head On My Shoulder
21. Southers Sons – You Were There
22. Santa Esmeralda – You’re My Everything
23. Tears For Fears – Sowing The Seeds Of Love
24. Tears For Fears – Shout
25. England Dan & John Ford Coley – Just Tell Me You Love Me
26. Sonia – You’ll Never Stop Me From Loving You
27. Teen Queens - I Love How You Love Me
28. Debbie Gibson - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
29. A-Ha - Crying In The Rain
30. Phil Collins - A Groovy Kind Of Love
31. Roberta Flack & Peabo Bryson - You Are The Love Of My Life
32. The Jets - Make It Real
33. Exposé - I'll Never Get Over You Getting Over Me
34. Rick Astley - Hold Me In Your Arms
35. Mike Reno & Ann Wilson - Almost Paradise
36. Taylor Dane - Love Will Lead You Back
37. Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson - To All The Girls I've Loved Before
38. Barbra Streisand - Evergreen
39. Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine - Here We Are
40. Elvis Presley - Can't Help Falling In Love
41. Barbra Streisand - Woman In Love
42. Bertie Higgins - Casablanca
43. Escape Club - I'll Be There
44. Mike & The Mechanics - The Living Years
45. Sa-Fire - Thinking Of You
46. USA For Africa - We Are The World
47. Da Buzz - Wo Ai Ni (I Love You)
48. Indecent Obsession - Come Back To Me
49. Dan Hill & Vonda Shepard - Can't We Try
50. Marc Almond & Gene Pittman - Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart

Will The Real Slim Shady Please Stand Up!

Something doesn't quite make sense. I've been scratching my head trying to comprehend these two scenarios - a married woman in an on-going affair with a married man is trying to convince meat-eaters into becoming vegetarians; and a married woman who proudly and frequently loudly proclaims herself to be downright religiously faithful and who attends every mass her church ever holds is adulterous. Ironic? No? Hypocrites? No? Does one minus one equal zero? Yes?

I may not have chosen to embrace Christianity but I do know that the seventh of the Ten Commandments reads "Thou shalt not commit adultery". Similarly, in Buddhism - which I have embraced not too long ago - one of the five fundamental precepts of the Buddhist moral code forbids adultery. It is believed that the adulterer's soul would be fried in oil in the 5th level of hell, also known as the Chambers of Oil Cauldrons.

Seriously, I don't see how becoming a vegetarian could make the adulteress more compassionate as compared to the hurt she will be inflicting on the respective spouses should the infidelity surfaces one black unlucky day. I don't see how refraining from meat could make her less sinful than engaging in an amorous extra marital affair that she's presently involved in, covered with lies upon lies. Does she really think she will be forgiven without repent? Is meat-eating more sinful than a heart gone astray? What happened to her wedding vows? "..... to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part."

Don't give me that God-hates-sins-but-loves-the-sinner and the to-err-is-human-to-forgive-is-divine preach. It's just the lamest excuse suited to an adulterer to commit adultery without feeling remorseful. Nothing comes close to being more despicable than a two-faced two-timing scumbag who is trying to be angelic with a phony halo above his/her head while at the same time being Lucifer's closest comrade. C'mon! Do you seriously think we would fall for that?

Before these hypocrites go on a quest to save the animals or to change the world or go all holy moly on others, perhaps they should take a look at themselves in the mirror and change their philandering ways before trying to change others.

Religions do not forbid meat-eating. Religions forbid adultery! Get that in your head, you cheaters!