The Voice of Tragedy

I don’t know much about tragedy.  In my mundane, everyday life, “tragedy” is TicketMaster malfunctioning, thus hindering my chances of going to a show.

I have a good life. I know it.

Then, disaster hits what is already one of the poorest areas of the world.   I can’t comprehend what it’s like to have the ceiling crumble during an earthquake.  Heck, I live in the earthquake capital of the world, right?  California has been bracing itself for the Big One for years.  But our infrastructures can handle a 7.0.   Haiti’s cannot.

Yes, SATC is a music blog.  But sometimes I veer to the idealistic.  At times In rare moments, there is more to life.  Like… life.

The one, albeit small, silver lining about this tragedy?

Haiti is getting attention.

Hopefully (though not guaranteed), the aid will not stop.  Not only will rebuilding efforts be needed for years to come, but the country and its people need relief from the poverty they were already in.  The majority of Haitians live on less than $2 a day. The country has had to endure plenty of natural (and political) disasters which have made life in the Carribean nation far from paradise.

A Haitian musician, Richard A. Morse of the mizik rasin group RAM, has been one of many who have taken to  Twitter to put a voice to the tragedy.  He has given a blunt play-by-play of the aftermath, while  offering his own commentary as well.  And that is one small part of why I love music.  It allows one to give a voice to so many things – good, bad, awful, silly.  It combines so many mediums – written and spoken word, instruments – and allows one to pour out their heart, and another to embrace it.

Since the quake, I took a crash course in Haitian music.   Mizik rasin and vodou drum beats are popular styles in Haiti, making RAM a staple since their beginning in the early 1990’s.

Incredible organizations are mobilizing efforts to get manpower and materials to Haiti. Add your voice by donating your money.
Here are three organizations you can donate to:

World Vision
Heartline Ministries
Doctors without Borders

And one more: text HAITI to 90999 and $10 will be charged to your phone bill, and automatically donated to the Red Cross.

(Back to regularly scheduled sarcastic music blogging.)

Team Kiptyn(‘s abs)

And this is where I lose any male readers I once had.  Please come back tomorrow.

I have two male roommates who dominate the living room television with Cartoon Network and any show that features explosions, blowing stuff up, or explosions (apparently, there’s a difference between the two).  Sometimes, a girl just needs a glass of wine or two or five, thirty gorgeous men, and a few girlfriends to yell at the tube with.

Last night was that kind of night.  During last night’s finale of “The Bachelorette”, poor Jillian Harris was stuck in Hawaii and down to two guys: Ed Swiderski, who admitted he was “married to [his] job” and briefly left the show when his wife cracked the whip; and Kiptyn Locke, who — well, I really don’t know much about him.  The guy is simply gorgeous.  And he smiles all the time.  And he is so.so.hot.  He also seemed like the more well-rounded of the two — the “works hard, plays hard” guy, while the Edster was  raioj;fdalsfjdal;s… oh sorry, I fell asleep at the keyboard again.  Bad habit.

All signs pointed to Jillian picking Kiptyn.  Meaning, of course, that she would pick Ed, who apparently has no desire to leave the 1980’s and purchase any shorts that fall below the knee.  Throw in a few “most dramatic rose ceremony EVER” twists and…

During a beautiful Hawaiian sunset, Jillian rejects this:

for this:

Aloha.

Download MP3: Meiko – Hawaii