Beyonce vs Bonnie

I've been listening to Bonnie Tyler since before I was born. I've listened to Beyonce Knowles (not always intentionally) during my formative years. And, despite the extreme difference in their sound (many of Tyler's songs were produced by the extremely theatrical Jim Steinman, who also wrote for Meatloaf, while Beyonce is far more pop/RnB) it's amazing how similar some of the ideas they hold are. SSDD - Same Sentiment, Different Decade.

Look at Destiny's Child's 'Soldier', for instance. Specifically, the chorus;

If his status ain't hood,
I ain't checkin' for him.
Betta be street if he lookin' at me.
I need a soldier,
That ain't scared to stand up for me.
Known to carry big things,
If you know what I mean.

Is the sentiment expressed here - that the lady wants a strong man - so different from the following?

I need a hero,
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night.
He's gotta be strong,
And he's gotta be fast,
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight.
I need a hero,
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light.
He's gotta be sure,
And it's gotta be soon,
And he's gotta be larger than life.

Then there's Beyonce's latest solo effort, 'If I Were a Boy', which, despite its childish sentiment, is similar in title to Bonnie's 'If You Were a Woman'. Both express the same idea - that if gender roles between lovers were reversed, they would understand one another better. Compare;

If I were a boy,

I think I could understand,

How it feels to love a girl.

I swear I'd be a better man.

With;

If you were a woman, and I was your man,

Would it be so hard to understand,

That a heart's a heart, and we do what we can?

If you were a woman and I was a man.

However, while both discuss a personal relationship, and therefore, one specific person rather than all male or female kind, Beyonce's phrasing sounds more general. While Beyonce says, that 'if she were a boy';

I'd put myself first,

And make the rules as I go.

'cause I know that she'd be faithful,

Waiting for me to come home.

Bonnie Tyler asks;

How's it feel to be a hunter
How's it feel to be the prey?
Is there really a reason for
This game we play?
I look at you
You look away
Just one day.
Why do you say we're night and day?
I'd like to try another way.

This difference in phrasing the same sentiment may explain why Bonnie Tyler has never been the focus of an essay like this one.

Star Ocean III: Till the End of Time

First glitch: During the early 'escape from Hyda' scenes, I managed to have Fayt run right outside of the spaceship, and run around on space. And no, his head didn't explode.

Basically, I kept the camera pointing north, and ran towards the exit. This was when it was blocked by the huge crowd of people - you would need to exit and re-enter the screen before you could enter the escape pods, iirc. I got back in by running through the other side of one of the other doors.

Glitch 2: In the Maze of Tribulations, on Level 4, I used a Jewel of Refuge just before facing the floor's boss. The scene happened, but the enemy didn't walk towards my characters - the sound of his footsteps kept repeating, but he didn't move. I don't have it set to skip scenes, so I couldn't try that. Opening the disc-tray didn't work either. I turned the damn thing off, in the end.

Had been ages since I saved, too.

My So3 fanfic can be read here. It's a paired ending that was never included in the game - Maria x Luther.

Bella Italia

I love Italian food, and I've been to the Bella Italia on New Street (in Birmingham) a couple of times. It's nice there. They have candles (some tea-lights, some the drippy kind in wine bottles).

It was a fairly busy Saturday night this weekend, although the wait time was still under ten minutes (maybe under five, I didn't time). That was handy, since the weather outside was frightful. The rain was pelting down, and most of the stores that were still open had taken in their plants and things, for fear of them being blown over. Most of the signs had been, even the one that some forward-thinking person had chained to a fence.

So, Bella Italia. A few minutes wait for menus, drinks orders taken promptly. In fact, very little waiting in general. Starter came out quickly (unlike in the Pizza Hut down the road, where it was completely forgotten, and then, after reminding, was non-cheesy garlic bread, instead of as requested. Fortunately, that was only one waitress, who I wouldn't recognise, since we saw her for less than thirty seconds), and was yummy. Garlic grossini with cheese, for one. The three pieces were quite generous enough to share, considering the size of the actual meals. A margherita pizza was £6.10, and was about the size of a Pizza Hut medium, so pretty good value. My spaghetti napoli was good, as always. Deserts were yummy, although they were out of cheesecake, which the nice Polish waitress informed us of as she handed over the menus. Although this meant I missed the chance to persuade the boy to try the banoffi cheesecake (heaven), we did get to try the chocolate mousse thing (I forget the name, unfortunately, but, luckily, remember the taste) and The Godfather, which was, basically, hot fudge brownies, chopped up in a giant wineglass with ice cream on top, cream on top of that, chocolate bits and amaretto sticks. Calorie hell, taste heaven. The boy insisted on ordering the version for two, despite me reminding him that the garlic grossini was for one, and was quite enough for both of us. I was right - we couldn't finish it, and I wish I had the rest now. Anyway, we made up for the calories by walking six miles today. It was so worth it.

The total bill came to something like £38, and we left around a 12% tip (please remember, Americans, that in England, waiters and waitresses are paid the same minimum wage as everyone else, so that is quite generous). We weren't entirely sure which member of staff would get it - while they were busy, various other workers helped, although it was always clear who our waitress was - but we didn't really mind. They all deserved it.

Sushi

So, I tried sushi for the first ever time this weekend. I'd heard that it's best when from a restaurant, as the warmth of the chef's hands improves the taste - as opposed to say, it chilling in a freezer. But needs must. I went for a little £2 lunchpack thing from Tesco. I'd never noticed that they sold them before. It looked quite cute.

Since my packet contained tuna, which I don't like, I found that smell a little overpowering. The chewy, tail-end of the salmon-y looking fish was a little too chewy for my liking, too. However, the soft salmon-y bit was much nicer - if slightly flavoured with tuna.

The rice was a little too sweet for my liking, but this was set off nicely by the soy sauce, which came in the most adorable, dinky little fish-shaped bottle. All in all, I think my first foray into the world of raw fish was a success.

My boyfriend conceded to trying the soy sauce, on a single chip. He says it wasn't entirely horrible, which is quite a success for him.

Not Always Right

Not Always Right is a site which contains anecdotes about strange customers. I just read this one this morning;

Customer: “Excuse me…where is your dog cookbook section?”

Me: “Um…dog cookbooks?”

Customer: “Yes. Where are they located?”

Me: “We don’t have a dog cookbook section in the store. I don’t think we have any dog cookbooks at all.”

Customer: *stares blankly* “You can’t be serious.”

Me: “I’m sorry, miss. I might be able to order-”

Customer: *interrupting* “YOU DON’T HAVE ANY DOG COOKBOOKS? THIS IS RIDICULOUS! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO GET MY DOG FOR CHRISTMAS?”

Me: “Have you considered a nice set of dog cookware?”

Customer: *storms out*

Although it is a little weird to buy it for your dog, dog cookbooks do exist.

Snow

It's snowing!

The frost of the last few days was also quite interesting, though. One morning, we walked outside to find a spiderweb frozen across the wing mirrors of the car. It was beautiful - more beautiful than cobwebs in the early morning dew.