The Return of The Headless Videos: 311 - "Love Song"

Wow, I can't believe it's been a whole year since I've uploaded a cover! It goes to show that I've just been that busy, and also I suppose, that lazy! However, since the last time I posted a video it was for T's birthday, I thought what better occasion to return to the musical scene than again on her birthday.

This isn't my usual style of cover, but I must admit it felt good when T suggested I cover it, and soon it grew on me. It's not the best quality because sadly my camera has suffered a series of unfortunate events and rendered it near inoperable. I will be setting up the "Raise Money For Gehan's Camera" fund shortly.

Anyway without much further ado, here it is: "Love Song"

PS: Dear T, wishing you a very, very happy birthday, and I hope you like this cover as much as you liked the last!

You can view it on Youtube here, and you can download the mp3 here.

Killing Fields: Why Are We Not Talking About It?

Last night, I sat and watched the Channel 4 documentary "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields".

If you haven't seen it yet (and there's a strong chance that you haven't) I urge that you click on the link above and set aside 40 minutes of your time.

I've had a good 12 hours for this information to digest before writing this post, so I'm trying my best to weigh my words as best as possible. As soon as I had finished the documentary I was filled with outrage; outrage that such inhumanity could exist so close to home, outrage at the very acts shown in the film, and outrage that no one was talking about it.

For those who are still clueless, the documentary shows the final few days and months of the civil war in Sri Lanka that ended two years ago when the Sri Lankan army stormed and wiped out the remaining LTTE resistance with one fell swoop. It was a great military victory, one that we were quick to portray as "the only military victory over terrorism in the world" and such, but one that nonetheless ended 30 years of a bloody, painful civil war. However, the documentary also shows the horrific conditions in which the fleeing Tamil civilians endured as they were shelled out of their homes, herded into supposed 'No Fire Zones' which were quickly shelled as well, while watching their injured loved ones being blown to pieces while being attended to in makeshift hospitals. The documentary also shows clips taken by Sri Lankan Army soldiers, on small cameras and mobile phones; clips showing Army personnel executing naked Tamil soldiers, laughing at dead bodies, jokingly calling them 'properties of the state' before shooting them in the head.

The images are much too disturbing to describe; you have to see it to understand.

The documentary goes on, detailing what it calls as grounds for war crimes, as well as detailing the inaction of the United Nations (especially Ban Ki-Moon, who apparently visited after the war by doing a fly-by, getting garlanded and leaving). It is a horrific documentary, not for the faint of heart, and something that just gripped me.

So, what now?

The reaction to these videos has been startling to say the least. Let's document them:

1) "The videos are doctored and fake".

Ridiculous. Anyone with moderate knowledge of technology can tell that these videos are real. The soldiers are clearly speaking Sinhala as they laugh, insult and mock the dead (or soon to be dead) Tamils. The idea that someone has digitally edited something to make it look like a Sri Lankan soldier is executing Tamils is mindless, idiotic thinking, and a train of thought that is apparently being held by the government. Yet, perhaps this is the only option for some, unlikely as it may seem. For the alternative is even more unthinkable; our so-called 'heroes' commited vile acts in our names.

2) "It's over, so what?"

Apathy seems to be the most common reaction. Many people, including some anonymous commentors on Youtube posts, blog posts etc, seem to think this is all irrelevant now that the war is over. They feel that this will just 'add fuel to the fire', so to speak, and that we should simply ignore this documentary as no good can come from it. I find this the most disturbing reaction of them all, because what kind of human being can be indifferent to the sort of senseless killing that is shown in this film? How can we, a supposedly 'Sinhala Buddhist Nation', allow these acts to go unpunished, and that too by our own troops? If after all this time, all this bloodshed, all this loss of life, we are still so unmoved by this, then the end of the war has achieved nothing.

3) "The LTTE has commited much worse, they've killed so many innocent Sinhalese people!"

According to this line of thinking, the soldiers in the videos are justified in commiting these atrocities because the Tigers commited much worse over the last 30 years. This includes using child soldiers, human shields, and suicide bombers. Yes, the Tigers did commit atrocious crimes, but how in the world does that give the army (who are NOT a rebel guerilla faction) the right to behave in the same way?? What kind of bizarre "He did it so I'm doing it" playground thinking is that?


Last night, I sat and watched the Channel 4 documentary "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields".

This morning I realised that it doesn't matter, and no one really cares. We're all free after all, and that's all that matters, right?

Have a nice day.

Another Confession

She always knew it would come to this.

As often as she had tried to ignore it, the fact remained within her mind, bursting at the seams of her subconscious like a relentless river against a rickety old dam. And now, here it was being realised before her eyes. She hated confrontation, but this was much worse; a goodbye long overdue.

How did she get here, she asks herself almost incredulously. But no, she stops herself from going down that road; that road leads to self-loathing, and God knows she has enough reasons to hate herself without having to add this to the list.

Her mind finally returns to the present. She sits at the edge of the bed, her sacred bedroom in total disarray. Drawers hang open, their contents upset or missing. With a heavy heart she takes it all in, not missing a single corner of the room. Well, that's not entirely true; she makes a distinct effort to ignore that space taken up by the person standing right in front of her, his hands on his head, his face an expression of total incomprehension.

She looks him in the eyes, and tries not to notice the pain behind them, the confusion that engulfs him. His things were neatly packed in a cardboard box at his feet, when minutes ago they were in her drawers, together with hers. His hands are clenched, when a few hours ago they would have been surrounding hers. Her heart is cold and empty, when a few days ago it would have been his.

"Why?", he says, softly.

She looks back down at the floor and sighs, gathering her thoughts, before speaking.

"I don't know. I don't know how to explain it in a way you would understand. I'm not entirely sure I understand it either. All I know is.."

She pauses. This will be hard.

"'You think we're happy, and even I did for a while. We were comfortable with each other, you moved in without any trouble, we never fought about a thing. But, you never fight about anything! You never question me, you never stood up to me, you let me steam roll right through your life and you assume that's what I want but it's not!"

Her eyes find his now; she wants him to understand this, more than anything.

"For God's sake, were you born to resist, or be abused?"

Silence.

"You probably think I'm just bored, just looking for something new to excite me, some new toy to play with; but - I've got another confession to make," she says, as her voice drops to almost a whisper.

She turns to face the window, taking in the last remaining light of day as it reflects off the city's skyline, before saying with finality:

"I'm getting tired of starting again somewhere new..."

---

This was part of the Indie Ink Challenge that many bloggers seem to be taking part in recently. It's pretty simple; you enter your name in a database weekly and you get to challenge and be challenged by other writers to write a post on a specific topic within the next 5 days. Mine was given by Sunshine , and I was supposed to use a line from my favourite song to tell a story. It's not my usual type of post, so I'm not sure how it turned out. The song is "Best of You" by the Foo Fighters. Hope you liked it! Also, in turn I challenged Catherine, and you can see her response here.

Liberation: A Rock & Roll Monologue

"I'm thinking here, in Rock n' Roll's great cathedral that is Madison Square Garden, thinking in this moment about all the pilgrims, all the pioneers that got us all here, the saints and the heretics, the poets and the punks that now make up the Hall of Fame. It's a dangerous thing, this business of building idols, but at least Rock n' Roll is not, at its best, about worshipping sacred cows; it's about the thousands of voices gathered in one great unwashed congregation, like tonight. For a lot of us here, Rock n' Roll just means one word: 'Liberation'. Political, sexual, spiritual - liberation, that's what it is." 
- Bono

I was watching a few videos on YouTube one night when  I couldn't sleep, and I stumbled across U2's performance at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Madison Square Garden, back in 2009. Bono, performing with Bruce Springsteen, is legendary enough; but then he opens his performance with this little monologue, and I found it mesmerizing that anyone could speak so passionately about music, live, and impromptu. The emotion in Bono's voice adds to the sincerity behind it, as does the Boss' little "Let's have some fun with that!" nudge at the end of it.


Magic. Give it a listen. Also, after hearing this, I can't believe I didn't see how perfect Bruce Springsteen's vocals are for this song.

You can see more here, and here.