I tend to love anything that is creative, whether that is; reading, writing, singing, dancing, communicating with people internationally from all different races etc! I also love creating new and innovative material for my websites for fans to enjoy and share!!!
I love reading philosophies and collecting quotes by world renowned artists such as; Confucius, Bruce Lee, David Blaine, Gandhi, etc...I have loads of them which offer a world of inspiration when it seems that my life is filled with turbulence...
I'd like to meet:
I would absolutely love to meet Michael Jackson!!! That would be my ultimate dream come true. I honestly believe 100% in my heart that it will happen someday - I truly do! Michael to me, embodies power, strength and beauty at it's best. I have never ever bought into the bullshit that people say about him. He is and always will be my hero!I would also love to meet David Blaine - this is mainly for 2 reasons; I would really like to see his magic up close and personal to see if he is really THAT good and I would also love to interview him for my website...that would be really cool!One person who I would have loved to have met was the phenomenal Mr Bruce Lee, his philosophies are really incredible to me - he was amazing! But, I guess that a true legend never really dies and his influence was paramount in combining the heart of the East into the mind of the West!Finally, I have got to say that; one day I would love to meet the perfect man...Someone who possesses truth, beauty, knowledge and wisdom....I know that it is hard to find someone that possesses all of these qualities, but I never lose faith in my belief that he exists somewhere in this vast universe!....But, God bless whoever has to put up with me for life!!! Hahaha!!! :0)
Music:
I am an eclectic soul - I love all kinds of music...but if I had to narrow it down, this is how it would go..
Michael Jackson is my favourite male icon!
Whitney Houston is my favourite female icon!
Mariah Carey has the most amazing vocals - I love her voice!
Janet Jackson is the funkiest chick EVER!
2Pac, Nas, Jay-z & Eminem are my favourite rappers, I tend to love rap music that is lyrically conscious because it continually strives to educate the ignorant - I also love Kanye West and Pharrell Williams too!
BoyZ II Men are my all time favourite Male Vocal Group!
The rest are in no particular order...
I love Usher, Justin Timberlake, Raja Hasan Sagar, Lupe Fiasco, Nitin Sawhney, A R Rahman, Mussarat Abbas, Himesh Reshammiya, Notorious B.I.G, AZ, Aswad, Mister Mister, Lisa Stansfield, Sukhwinder Singh, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Will Smith, Bruce Hornsby, Brand New Heavies, Incognito, Charles and Eddie, Adnan Sami, Bryan Adams, Duran Duran, George Michael, Queen, Mary J Blige, Celine Dion, Desree, Jamiroquai, Prince, Tina Arena, Alanis Morrissette, Eve, Alicia Keys, Tevin Campbell, Musiq, Anita Baker, Eric Benet, Jon B, Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, Seal, Lighthouse Family, Brandy, Beyonce, Sonu Niigaam, Enya, Lata Mangeshkar, Big Punisher, Hariharan, Udit Narayan, DMX, Joe, India Arie, Erykah Badu, John Legend, MF Doom, Stevie Wonder, SWV, I also love sultry instrumental Jazz music and Hindi film music (various) - the list of my favourite artists is endless!!! I also really love nature music by the amazing Dan Gibson whose 'Solitudes' music company churns out the most heavenly music!
Movies:
'Mrs Doubtfire' (This is a killer film!!)
'Hook' (I love this film to death!!)
'Edward Scissorhands' (Again, love it - these all take me back to my childhood)
'E.T' - I cannot think of anyone that didn't love this original extra terrestrial movie by the phenomenal Mr Steven Spielberg!
Any Disney films, they are all amazing!!!
'BIG' (My love for Tom Hanks began here!!!)
'Shawshank Redemption' (Very moving prison film, excellent!!!)
'American History X' (One of the most powerful and prolific films that I have ever seen!!!)
'Seven' (Incredible film!!!)
'Interview with the Vampire' (This is a visual masterpiece with excellent actors!!!)
'The Sixth Sense' (One of the best supernatural thrillers that I have ever seen, excellent!!!)
'The Mask,' 'Liar, Liar,' 'Dumb & Dumber' (and many others showcase Jim Carrey at his best!!!)
'The Others' (Another supernatural thriller which was excellently produced!!!)
All of Bruce Lee's films, because he kicks a** like no other!! There is a current martial artist who reminds me a lot of Bruce, he is an actor named Mark Dacascos! Check him out if you can!
Indian films - Any Amitabh Bachchan or Sridevi films because they are the best actors ever!!! I also love Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Sanjay Dutt (aka Sanju Baba) Kajol and Manisha Koirala...they are just fantastic!!!
All of David Blaine's work, he is a phenomenal artist, the best in the magical genre!!!
'Red Dragon' - (The film that was actually made last in the Hannibal trilogy but, was the best one out of all of them!)
'Rocky' (Oh man, who can forget the excellent Sylvester Stallone in all of these?? Fantastic!! His best work to date!!)
'Face Off' (Brilliant concept and acting by both John Travolta and Nicolas Cage!!!)
'The Butterfly Effect' (Excellent acting by Ashton Kutcher, different concept, brilliant!!!)
'What's Love Got To Do With It?' (WOW!!! An explosive film based on Tina Turner's life story - A MUST SEE!)
'Dennis The Menace' - (Simply love this!)
'Alive' - A real life disaster movie which depicted the harsh extremes of what people had to endure in order to survive..(Shocking, but, incredible!)
All of the 'Sister Act' Films - Whoopi Goldberg and the whole cast to these films were excellent!
‘Home Alone’ - Parts I and II (Who can forget the sweet Macauley Culkin in these films!?)
'The Basketball Diaries' - (Leonardo Dicaprio playing one of his finest roles!)
'Karate Kid' - (Who can forget this great movie and the classic Mr Miyagi's 'Wax on...Wax off!')
'Sleepers' - (Heartbreaking movie which starts off so innocently and then goes horribly wrong, as victims of child abuse take their revenge!)
'Disorderlies' - (This madcap caper is one of the funniest films that I have ever seen in my childhood!!! - Starring the larger than life rap outfit from Brooklyn, The Fat Boys, it is one killer comedy which will have you rolling around in stitches forever!)
Television:
I love the Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Kenan and Kel, The X-Files, Bottom, Sister Sister, Keeping Up Appearances, Friends, Martial Law, MTV Base, B4U, Oz, Goodness Gracious Me, New York Undercover, The Simpsons, Any Disney films, true life documentaries, The Thin Blue Line, Desmonds, I also love various Forensic Detective programmes, the daily news to stay informed and much more!
Books:
'I, PHOOLAN DEVI' - This autobiography by India's notorious bandit queen Phoolan Devi, is probably one of the best books that I have ever read in my entire life. This book highlights the plight of a young girl whose life was destroyed by her birth into a low caste family in India...The tyranny, oppression and injustice that she faced due to her poverty made me bubble with anger. After being brutally raped and tortured in many different scenarios including by the Police, she decided to take the law into her own hands and seek out vengeance alone...She decided that in order to survive in a man's world that she would have to become evil, just like man...This book is very, very highly recommended, although I must warn you that it is very hard to read in some parts...
'STRIKING THOUGHTS' - (Bruce Lee's wisdom for daily living) as it is one of the most thought provoking books that I have ever read. His whole outlook on life far exceeds, just the magnitude of his fame as the world's greatest martial artist. All of his philosophies and teachings are highly recommended!
'DANCING THE DREAM' - This is one of the most insightful and poetic books ever written by none other than the King of Pop, Michael Jackson himself, it shows the more prolific and knowledgeable side of MJ, which the media don't ever highlight.
'MOONWALK' - A personal autobiography written by Michael Jackson, this is also a delightful read and is highly recommended!!!
'MYSTERIOUS STRANGER' - David Blaine's autobiographical effort which sees him discussing his life and how magic has inspired and touched his life...the simple reason why I love this book is because it is so honest and frank, there is a beautiful simplicity to it, but, it also has a very deep and philosophical outlook which I really love and appreciate!!
'A CHILD CALLED 'IT' - This book was written by a child abuse victim named Dave Pelzer, it is not one for the faint hearted, it actually moved me to the point of tears, just reading about his daily struggle to try and survive in his own house...it is very heartbreaking. It is actually part of a trilogy that he wrote, which is very thought provoking and at the same time poignant and uplifting.
'THE DA VINCI CODE' - This phenomenal book is by none other than British author Dan Brown, this book, captivated the hearts and minds of many, mainly for it's controversial nature and religious implications. But, I thought that it was an incredibly daring book...I think that it is very important to have an open mind about things in life, because it betters your personal growth and heightens your sense of awareness of the world. If you are interested in a fast paced, action packed thriller, then this book is for you!
DON'T EVER TELL - This is an absolutely heartbreaking child abuse story by Irish victim, Kathy O'Beirne. It chronicles her horrific childhood which began with her abusive father. Labelled a 'problem child,' she was placed into the now infamous ('Magdalene' asylum) and went on to expose the daily torture which ensued there - these were institutions which were meant to take care of her, but instead ended up abusing her even further...This is one of those books where you think that it is going to get better once you get further into it, but, instead it gets more and more tragic as you turn the page. I was very moved by this book and was horrified to read about the depth of pain and anguish this child suffered before she was actually freed from her hellish nightmare. (Although, I truly believe that when a soul suffers this much, it can never really be freed from the psychological torture, the victims can only try and better themselves as much as possible by bringing their stories to the masses and exposing the truth, but, unfortunately, the innocence which has been stolen, can never be re-captured.)
'MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA' - By Arthur Golden. This phenomenal book depicts the harsh realities of a life as a Geisha - I cannot begin to tell you how amazing I think that this book is. I was so enchanted by each character and their introduction to the storyline. I have never been so absorbed in a book for a very long time - this book is highly recommended!
'THE ROSE THAT GREW FROM CONCRETE' - By arguably the Greatest Rapper that ever lived...Mr 2Pac Shakur. The book contains 71 poems that he had written when he was just nineteen years old, during this period, he began translating his poems into rhymes...To me, this man embodies poetry in motion...(R.I.P)
Heroes:
(Please note that there are many other heroes listed below!)
Again my ultimate hero is Mr Michael Jackson...
I became a huge fan of his, ever since his song 'Keep the faith' stopped me from committing suicide back in 1995...
I don’t think that any artist has ever influenced the world in such a profound and prolific way as Michael Jackson.
For him to single-handedly unite all races of the world through the beauty of song, to break every stereotype, every boundary, every record and still manage to remain so humble and sweet along the way.
I honestly believe that he is the most misunderstood, misrepresented and misquoted star in the world.
Everything he does gets so unbelievably distorted in the press, to such a degree that it is farcical…
It frustrates me because, everyone is so quick to point out all of the things which Michael has done ‘wrong’ that they often forget all of the sacrifices which he has made to bring joy to this world…
Even if he is a little eccentric and unpredictable, then it is due to the fact that there is absolutely nothing normal about his life, he has to live under extreme scrutiny and pressure on a daily basis, which would have a detrimental effect on any human being.
But I guess, that is the heavy price he has had to pay for being the:
BIGGEST SUPERSTAR THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN.
Other artists/people that inspire me include: Bruce Lee, David Blaine, Martin Luther King, Phoolan Devi, Mahatma Gandhi, Janet Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, 2Pac, Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Shah Rukh Khan, my best friend Farah...there are way too many to list - I am also inspired by any human being who has survived against all of the odds!
