My really friend HaloJones, I JUST LOVE HER, asked me to answer these.  I will but I won't pass them along (I'm always at the bottom of every pyramid scheme).  This is for you HJ, even though I already declined Jaine's invitation but I gotta make this stop somewhere!  

1)  Answer the questions below in your blog.

 

2)  Delete one of the questions you don't like and add a new question.  There should be a total of 20 questions.

 

3)  Pass it on by listing some people you'd like to answer those questions.  Notify them by signing on their guestbook in their blog to tell them they've been picked.  Try not to duplicate people that have already been picked.  Those who choose to answer need to mention the name of the person who picked them so the game can continue.

 

Stargazer  picked me.   

1. Is reality in this world harsh?

Not for me, but for the vast majority on the planet it is.  But that doesn't mean that people won't find some happiness.

2. What is the happiest thing in life?

Knowing that my loved ones are healthy and taken care of.

3. How long has it been since you've thought about things quietly? (In this busy lifestyle)

I like not to think too much.

4. What country would you really want to travel to?

China and Cuba.

5. What annoys you most about yourself?

Procrastination.

6. What do you do if you're not happy?

Go to sleep.

8. What is your personal goal in life?

I don't really have any worth repeating. 

8. Any practical goals in the next 5 years?

Get fit.

9. Any habits you cant get rid off?

Being a mess of a housekeeper. (can you tell I'm finally cleaning today?)

10. What is your life currently like?

Disorganized.

11.  If you could pick a talent what would it be?

Become a Tai Chi Master.

12. If you can fulfill one wish, what would it be? 

Make us all just get along (another way of saying World Peace).

13. What are the things you'd expect in your other half?

Intelligent, enlightened, funny.  HJ - Sounds good to me.

14. What do you think you lack and how would you like to improve upon that?

Where to start.

15. What would be your dream job?

Be an architect for the green structures.

16. What's on your mind today?

Getting the place in shape for Easter Family dinner here.  What, was I crazy?

17.Say something honest to someone you're thinking of. (Say that person's name as well).

Dad, I miss you.

18. Any situation that you'd hate?
 

I hate being cold and wet.  So the Titanic would definitely not be a fun cruise for me.

19. What is the worst thing that can happen on this earth?

If we'd just self-destruct.

20. Any characteristics you hate?

Stupidity.

I just watched Lust, Caution on DVD last night.  It's a wonderful movie as you would expect from Ang Lee.  I was a bit put off by the inclusion of so much explicit sex in the film as I don't think it added to the plot.  Ok.  I got it.  As the movie progressed the female lead (Tang Wei portraying Wong Chia Chi in a character arc that's more like a full circle---an amazing performance).  But I really don't need to see so much genitalia or other body parts to understand a relationship based on lust which develops into something more.  This plot was possibly the only one which would require that much graphic sex but as beautifully filmed as it was it was my cup runneth over. 

I like to see what other people think about a movie after I've seen it, so first I searched AnD and read about the NC17 ratings in the US and the censorship of parts of the movie in China, and then I went to Metacritic to read some reviews. 

This is what I discovered is happening TODAY.  China is putting the screws to this fine actress.  Why?  Allegedly for protraying a traitor to her country.  If you see this movie you will see their point but it's not as simple as that.  They're making an example of her, NOT of Ang Lee, NOT of Tony Leung, but this young actress at the beginning of a wonderful career.  Her performance was amazing and BRAVE and beautiful.  SHE didn't write the damned part. 

And now SHE'S GOING TO SUFFER A BAN. 

From the Associated Press but it's reported everywhere, except I guess in China.  I hope that AnD resists this as an Artists' website.  She is being scapgoated here.  It pisses me off. 

[quote]Chinese regulators have ordered TV stations in Beijing and Shanghai to stop reporting on actress Tang Wei and to pull any advertisements featuring the star of the Ang Lee spy thriller "Lust, Caution," according to Chinese media reports.

The reason for the ban, which has not been officially announced, was not immediately clear. However, "Lust, Caution" has drawn attention because it portrays explicit sex and unpatriotic behavīor.

Lee on Monday criticized the ban on Tang, who became a huge star with her role in the award-winning film. In a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press on Monday, Lee praised Tang's performance in "Lust, Caution" and said he's disappointed by the reported ban.

"I am very disappointed that Tang Wei is being hurt by this decision. She gave one of the greatest performances ever in a movie that was properly produced and distributed. We will do everything we can to support her in this difficult time," he said.

Calls to a spokesman for the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television on Monday went unanswered.

Hong Kong's Edko Films, which represents Tang, did not immediately return a reporter's call seeking comment.

In the movie, Tang plays a student activist who seduces a Japanese-allied Chinese intelligence official in World War II-era Shanghai to pave way for his assassination, only to give away the plot at the last minute.

Lee edited the movie before it was released in China, where it became a box office hit.

Unknown before "Lust, Caution," Tang, who is in her late 20s, became a household name in the Chinese-speaking world with her portrayal of an undercover activist who falls too deep into a sexually charged relationship with the enemy.

"Lust, Caution" also won the top Golden Lion prize at the Venice Film Festival last year.

Chinese authorities recently banned the producer of "Lost in Beijing," another sexually explicit movie about corrupted morals in modern China, after a censored version of the film had been cleared and was released in Chinese theaters.

Lee, who won best director Oscar for the gay romance "Brokeback Mountain," was aware of Chinese worries about "Lust, Caution." He cut the movie's sexually explicit scenes and edited a line so Tang's character would appear less of a traitor to the Chinese cause.

Many Chinese are still sensitive about the Japanese military's atrocities during its World War II-era invasion of China. The Hollywood movie "Memoirs of a Geisha" was not released in the country.

Although the timing of the reported ban against Tang is unusual, it is not uncommon for the Chinese government to tighten media controls during key political events. China's National People's Congress is currently holding its annual meeting in Beijing.

Zhang Pimin, deputy secretary-general at China's Film Bureau, told The Associated Press in a phone interview he has n't seen any orders about a ban against Tang. [/quote]

Maybe I'm cheap but it really bugs me to waste money.    Even at my income level, I can rationalize an excuse like "I'm a busy person.  I can afford the extra dollars I have to pay for more electricity just to avoid the hassle of thinking about it, let alone doing something about it."

The stakes have become a little higher now.  If we all continue to consume more and more energy at a time when there's global warming and an energy crisis looming, well, that's just being irresponsible.

No one has to get nutty about it.  But I just read an article in the NYTimes, and it's not new news, but for some reason it finally sunk in.

Putting Energy Hogs in the Home on a Strict Low-Power Diet
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/14/technology/14basics.html?em&ex=1182139200&en=6ef50a693438d1b1&ei=5087%0A

How much energy are your electronic products consuming? Just by powering down your items or at least putting the system into a deep sleep can save you money and save the environment carbon spewing into the atmosphere.

Here are a couple of surprising tidbits:

-In the average home, 40 percent of all electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. Add that all up, and it equals the annual output of 17 power plants.  (Our local electric company just announced plans to construct another nuclear plant...great, no one does anything to solve the energy problem for the last 30 years and now our best fallback position is nuclear?). 

-Products that idle in what the industry calls low-power mode, or lopomo, consumed about 10 percent of total electricity in California homes. (I always thought lopomo meant like 1%, but 10% is huge.  I guess it’s just best to totally turn them off).

-Some of the larger big-screen TVs consume as much energy each year as a new refrigerator.  (There’s a reason for the frig to be operating overnight, but the TV?)

Whether or not we turn things off entirely or keep them on or do nothing...they're all just habits, habits that were developed, and habits which can change.  As with any bad habit, the question is do I care enough to change it?  Is it just harmful for me or for everyone?

It’s going to be hard for me to change my computer/electronics habits.  But now I realize it's not a victimless crime.  It’s bad enough that I have a crappy hot water heater consuming excessive wattage—that’s going to have to wait till I have money to replace it.  But this is something I can do today. 

Maybe I’ll put stickies on everything that say “OOO BABY, BABY, TURN ME OFF.” 

I noticed an old thread entry I wrote on the Jet Li forum and thought I'd repeat it here.  Peachey has blogged about her dreams and sought interpretation.  While the content of the dream is fun to analyze, just the act of dreaming is fascinating to me.  There are many adults who view dreams as irrelevant or as a means of processing information but if you think about it, dreaming is so much more. 

I think dreaming is something worthy of attention.  You spend so much of your life sleeping, and part of that is dreaming.  I think dreams are often a way to sort out the events of the day as well as to get at something troubling you or scaring you.  They have to inform your conscious if you'd be able to really analyze them.  

The other thing I find fascinating is, when you dream....
-aren't you making up dialogue?
-aren't you setting up the scene like a set designer?
-aren't you creating the color palette and the lighting like a DP?
-aren't you and your characters acting?
-aren't you actually creating characters, creating new faces, people you don't know?  
-aren't you really writing, directing, acting....making your own movie basically, writing your own novel, composing your own music, painting a scene.....???  

Isn't it sad then that people who do all this still say "I'm not creative," or "I can't draw, I have no imagination," or "I can't write, I wouldn't know what to say."  

We all have a creative side to us, and we can't all make it our business but we can at least allow ourselves to explore our creative selves in our waking moments.  

If you look at "dreaming" from that perspective, basically, we're all closet artists.  

We should make sure kids don't let this part of themselves fade away or be repressed.   

That's a pet theory of mine.  And I wasn't even tripping when I came up with it.  I'm sure some psychologist somewhere has explored this.  If they haven't, they should.   

Sometimes I lucid dream to the extent that I know I'm in a dream but I haven't thought about it much.  I'm going to look into that....sometimes I return to my dreams to finish a particularly fun scenario!   (edited from old thread).


So if you dream, don't ever again say, I'm not at all creative, because you are---you've just been told over and over that artists are different, and you're not an artist.  We ALL are artists to a degree, and it doesn't matter if your art is not commercially acceptable, it's the act that counts.  I think it's one of the reasons so many people are unhappy or say, 'is this all there is'?  That creative side is neglected.  And when it comes to the kids, encourage a fertile imagination.  I really think that to the 3-year-olds of this world, everything's kind of a dream, it's all a blend, and very quickly imagination is stifled.  Yes, teach the difference between fact and fiction but creativity allows "thinking outside the box" which allows innovation. 

Well, sort of since there's a bit of work I have to take along but it's still GETTING AWAY, and that's the first time in about six years! 

This will be my first time in St. Maarten (I've been to other Caribbean islands, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and some cruise islands).  Where would I really like to go?  CUBA. 

So see you guys some time after the 9th of September. 

I'm starting to feel like I'm going to AnD detox.  :SHIVERS: