concert pictures

so, last night natalie and i played our songs which, i am glad to say, went really, really well. we were, however, the only group that actually sang songs on the relevant topic! i was quite surprised to find the other groups singing random songs like 'country road'. there was also some wacky experimental group with a laptop and a cell which didn't fit at all. all in all i was a bit disappointed with how everything was managed. there should have been a lot more publicity made for the event (only 40 or so people showed up) and perhaps some kind of discussions on the topic. if an event on such an important topic doesn't make you any wiser, what's the point in going? also, we were only asked to play two weeks ago. if they really want a good event they should start asking people at least a month before the fact. i could go on complaining but i think it would be better if i get involved with the group and help to make the next event better.

anyway, here are some pictures:

sleep, my child (lyrics)

sleep, my child

it's dark out, so i ask myself 'have you started to forget?'
close your eyes, close them tightly
the mood is rising slowly tonight

oh sleep, my child. no matter what may come now i'll be by your side
oh sleep, my child, i'll be by your side

your head is soft, so i ask my self 'what have you learned?'
close your eyes, close them tightly
the moon is rising slowly tonight

oh sleep, my child. no matter what may come now i'll be by your side
oh sleep, my child, i'll be by your side

sweet dreams you'll have tonight of who you'll be tomorrow
and when you wake i wish the world be rid of fear and sorrow

oh sleep, my child. no matter what may come now i'll be by your side
oh sleep, my child, i'll be by your side

live for a change (lyrics)

live for a change

living is for the change you want to see
share what you love 'cause only giving will ever set you free

the only truth is face to face
the only way is not to look away
it's right outside your door

live for a change

two for one (lyrics)

two for one

have you heard about the sales at the moment?
they're selling two for one!
why don't we go down and check it out now?
they won't be for long
c'mon it'll be a blast

everything i touch or do has got strings that lead right back to you

wake in the morning with strings attached
take a deep breath with strings attached
take a shower too with strings attached
think of you with strings attached

everything i touch or do has got strings that lead right back to you

how can you explain the prices at the moment?
they're selling two for one!
all the things we ever needed, ever wanted
they won't be for long
you know they're going fast

everything i touch or do has got strings that keep on choking you

show my love with strings attached
lookin' so good with strings attached
livin a life with strings attached
but it can't be true with strings attached

two for one
two for one
truth for once!
truth!

i don't want these strings attached
i don't need any strings attached
help me cut strings attached
and give them lives, no strings attached

'cause i know it's not impossible
so why is it not possible
to live a life
with no strings attached?
to live a life
with no strings attached?

imagine a life
with no strings attached
imagine a life
with no strings attached

imagine a life!

in a breath (lyrics)

in a breath

in a shock, brother, i could be where you are now
why, it's so easy to forget that i might be you
in a flash, sister, my blood could mix with yours on the ground
what is it that makes us so weak when speaking the truth?

don't let them rip out your heart
don't let them chain up your hands
you and i, we are far stronger than them
so get up and make a stand

hold your hands out, take a breath
listen to your voice
find your strength in the things that you love
while you still have a choice

in a shot, father, i could lose what you lost
why do we keep letting them tell us we could never be friends?
in a crack, mother, i could be weeping like you
why don't we use this moment for making amends?

keep your head up high and proud
never lose sight of your dreams
all of their power, all of their might
is bursting at the seams

let them know that we are watching
everything that they do
whatever their reason, whatever their excuse
their words will never ring true

in a spark, daughter, i'd believe we'd be better off dead
in a breath, my son, i could be alone like you

tell me people if you're free
what do you do with your freedom?
buy silly things 'till you're all sold out?
do you shop 'till they drop that bomb?

show me your concern for others
show me you still have a mind
'cause it's only your money
only your vote,
only your actions away

ai concert

tonight my flatmate natalie and i will be singing some songs for an amnesty international event themed 'artists against racism'. we only had two weeks to prepare so unfortunately we only got five songs together, but they are great! (if i may say so)
i don't know if anyone will be recording the even but if i get my hands on a video i will post it on youtube. for now i will just write down the lyrics to my songs in the following four posts. as is always the case with lyrics they seem a bit odd without the music but i think at least some of it could stand on it's own.

the walls

when i am not searching for coins in gutters i like to look at walls.

as an english teacher i have to do a lot of walking and traveling because my students work for various companies and institutions all over prague. on my journeys i often see lots of interesting things where i tell myself 'oh, i should take a picture of that' but then i never do.

but today i did!

one of the many things i love about prague is all the interesting 'graffiti'. i'm not talking about the usual big bubbly/wacky letters that no one can read but this kind of stuff:



i don't think i have ever come across anything like it in any city i have been to. here are some more:

(anyone interested in anime should recognize the character!)

just great!


wehey!

and my personal favorite:


all these pictures make me want to join in!

(more pictures soon!)

ups and downs with czech crowns

do you remember the last time you found a coin on the street?


i do. it was exactly 23 hours ago ( and that was about 20 seconds after i found the first coin that day making it 5 coins this week so far). in fact i find about three coins a week on average - and this has been happening for quite some time now.

the first time something similar happened i was in tokyo. i remember everything: within one week i found a one yen coin, then another, then a ten yen coin, and then a fifty. it was probably going to go on like that forever if there hadn't been that fateful day where i was too busy to stop and pick up the coin next to the trashcan. i can still see it in my mind... i didn't know it at the time, but by failing to pick up that one yen coin the whole chain of luck came crashing down.


it took a while before i found my first coin in prague. it must have been sometime in the winter. but since then i have kept finding coins in all kinds of places; trams, buses, metro stations, flower shops, dark alleys, hotels, parks and public toilet sinks. at first it seemed like what you might call 'luck' but after a while i became obsessed. it was nice to find a coin once in a while but then, if there was a period without any coins, i felt that something was wrong and so i started to search for them. if you had seen me you would have thought i was crazy because every few steps i would stop to inspect some spot or fleck on the ground. why am i using the past tense? i stopped to look in the gutter just a few hours ago! ( but then some guy came so i kept on walking). though i feel i'm over the worst part, my eyes still are constantly being pulled down to the ground as though by some kind of magnetic force.


i used to just put the coins in my wallet and spend them like any other money. but a few weeks ago i started collecting the coins. i told sue that i would buy her flowers when i have enough money but i have also considered giving at least some of the money to the homeless on the streets since, in a way, it actually is rightfully theirs.

here is a picture of the coins i have collected this month (without the three coins i found since i took the picture two days ago):