The tragic fire that killed over 200 people in Brazil

Today I went on Facebook and saw the following post from Lady Gaga: “My heart is with you Brazil. Sending my prayers to the families and friends who lost loved one in the fire in Brazil. I'm thinking of you today during this tragedy.” I scrolled down a little and saw all the other posts from my family and friends from Brazil about this tragedy, so I looked it up on Google. Sometime this morning a fire started in a night club in Santa Maria, Brazil. Updates came all day from websites and TV news about the number of the deceased, and as I write this the final report is on TV: 234 dead, over 120 injured. I can only imagine the pain of the victims as chaos took over. Most people died from asphyxiation, but some were burned and there were even some people who were stepped on by the crowd. It was such a huge tragedy that it touched the whole country. Most TV shows in Brazil changed their normal programming to give reports on the fire, and even the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, cut short her visit to Chile and flew in to Santa Maria to personally talk to the families of the victims.  There is nothing anyone can say or do that can ease the pain of the families and friends of the victims. My thoughts and prayers go to them at this very difficult time, and I pray that God gives them strength and the will to go on as they mourn their loved ones.

I’ll be forever grateful for Lionel Richie

Last year my admiration for the living legend Lionel Richie climbed several steps up, for one huge reason: he brought Shania Twain back. As the world knows, Shania Twain had been away from the limelight and hadn't done anything major in a long time. As a fan, I waited year after year for any kind of news of a new album or a new tour or a new video or anything. What none of us knew was that Shania had been having lots of personal problems, including losing her singing voice and the confidence to sing. But then Lionel Richie decided to recruit her to sing a duet with him for his upcoming duets album Tuskegee. The song was the Academy Award nominated classic “Endless Love”, which he originally recorded with Diana Ross in the early 80’s. Shania originally refused, but Lionel wouldn't take no for an answer and ‘stalked’ her. He personally called and convinced her to sing with him. They recorded the song in Lionel’s vacation home in the Bahamas, in a bedroom, because he said he needed to accommodate Shania and make her comfortable since she was so scared and nervous. This whole process was filmed and shown in Shania’s reality-series Why Not on OWN. Despite Shania’s lack of confidence and the limitations in her voice, she managed to sing beautifully and sound better than ever. The song was released as a single for Lionel’s album, and there was even a music video made! It was all Shania’s fans had been waiting for and it finally happened, after almost a decade of no new material from the country star.The song and the video came out in early 2012, and I have been frantically listening to it ever since. It’s good to see Shania back, doing what she does best, and Lionel Richie made this happen. That is why I feel so grateful for him, he made the impossible happen, and I believe I speak for all Shania Twain fans when I say it was about time.

About the Nightwish split from Anette

Last year, on September 17, 2012 I had the time of my life at a Nightwish concert at the Palladium in Worcester, MA. It was my second time seeing them, the first time being exactly 5 years and 17 days before that day, at the exact same place. But this time it was special, and much more meaningful.  In the past 5 years my love for the band had grown considerably, their latest album was a masterpiece, the set list consisted mostly of songs that I loved, and I had VIP tickets so I got to meet and interact with the whole band and a spot at the front row (where I took the picture above). It was truly a magical and unforgettable day for me.  But little did I know that less than a month from that day Nightwish would part ways with their lead singer, Anette Olzon. The news came as a shock for me, I surely did not see that coming, and I was disappointed and heartbroken. Still am. I avoided talking a lot about it because none of my friends really liked the band, so there really wasn’t anyone who could understand how I felt. Well, that’s what blogs are for, or so I like to think. Truth is, I’m still heartbroken and still can’t fully believe what happened, and I realize that’s just me being in denial, but I can’t help it. I haven’t listened to their last two albums because hearing Anette’s voice hurts. I have a lot of respect for Floor Jansen, who stepped in to finish the tour in Anette’s place, but I personally can’t bring myself to watch her singing the songs I was so excited to hear in Anette’s voice. It bothers me, and it brings back bittersweet memories that I can’t really deal with at the moment. I guess it is history repeating itself since Anette is the second singer to leave (or be fired, whatever) the band, but when they parted ways with Tarja I didn’t really know them, so I was neutral. I miss the band and their music, and I know that eventually I’m going to come to my senses and be able to enjoy Nightwish again. But at the moment, I’m still in mourning. I get it, sometimes what’s best for the artists may not be what the fans want, and that the band will keep on going despite who wants out. I just wish Nightwish (meaning Tuomas Holopainen) would respect their singers, and the fans who spend so much money to see them.

When You Have Much to Say But Don't Know Where to Start

I really have no idea how to start this blog. I have some things I want to blog about, but I need some kind of opener, like a post that kicks off this page. I've never been a blogger, though I tried it several times at different periods in my life. This time is different because my friend spent so many hours editing the picture of the open book that by not using this blog would be unkind, unthankfully rude, and just plain mean of me.  Anyway, I tried writing a thousand openers but nothing seemed good enough, so I thought the best approach would be to just say that I have no idea what to blog about and post that. So here we go: my first blog post. And may future posts be more, well, more anything than just me saying over and over that I don’t know what to blog about.