What Am I Missing?

 

Pray tell, why do we have some much violence as entertainment?

 We’re good people. We love peace. I don’t believe we want to train our children to be fighters. Am I wrong in this? We lobby for gun control while using guns abundantly in movies or on television. Are we teaching that a gun is the way to solve a problem?

 

I don’t get it. What am I missing?

 We have no television in our house. Oh, we have a television set, we watch DVD’s, and download certain television shows primarily Gray’s Anatomy, and Glee. Project Runway ended a while back as did Americas’ Next Top Model, so we haven’t watched them for a while. Having no regular television or commercials has, however, heightened our sensibilities. Now when we watch we are appalled at what we see.

On the rare occasion that Daughter Darling takes Little Boy Darling to the movies I say, “Wait until after the previews, you can’t trust them.” We did go to the movies with him recently—husband and I regularly attend, but daughter and her son do not. I retrieved them from the race-car game outside, thinking the feature was about to begin, but still we were assaulted with about one half hour of commercials—of course the military was in there—and then came the previews of coming attractions. We were so rummy by the time the feature film came on screen we had forgotten what we came to see. (Oh yes, I remember. It was Parental Instincts. I love Billy Crystal and Bette Midler.)

When a particularly violent movie scene manages to hit me unawares, I sometimes I look around at the audience and notice that people are generally sitting with no expression or reaction. That strikes me as strange. Are people internalizing this activity? What am I missing?

People want to feel. We want to feel even if it is a bad feeling. I’m from the old school, I think angst is to show the hero overcoming obstacles and rising triumphantly. That way we believe we can also do that. Yes, yes, yes, I have heard ad-nauseam that without conflict you have no story. I believe that writers resort to violence as a convenient way to add conflict. Fight scenes reign supreme—even in so-called children’s movies. Okay, I know stories are to entertain, enlighten, or enrage. I guess the violence is doing its job—it is enraging me.

 

 

 

The Eagle and The Condor

 

My daughter in Oregon told me of this gift.

The Native Americans have given us many gifts one is a prophecy from the natives of the Andes.

They say that North America has the sign of the EAGLE, while South America carries the symbol of the CONDOR. The eagle signifies the mind. It is into technology and learning, and that is where we have resided for the past 500 years. The condor symbolizes the heart, intuition and spirituality.  Since October 12, 1992, we’ve been in the Fifth Pachacuti, which is said to be a time of partnership and union, where eagle and condor “fly together in the sky as equals.”

Now we have a blending of the heart and mind. Now is the time to ask for what you want, and to ask for what you want for the earth.

It is a time for newness, for celebration, for dreamers to dream, wishers to wish, and for askers to receive. The Oraibi, the elders of the Arizona Hopi Nation say the river has its destination. We must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.

They say it is a time in history to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we've been waiting for.

".... Remember that feeling as a child
When you awoke and morning smiled
It's time its time you felt, felt like that again
Come with me, leave your yesterdays, your yesterdays behind,
and TAKE A GIANT STEP OUTSIDE YOUR MIND!"
---written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, sung by TAJ MAHAL

  

"There are only two ways to live your life: one is as though nothing is a miracle;
the other is as though EVERYTHING is a miracle!" --- Albert Einstein

 

 P.S.

A book I must look into:

June 18, 2012 | Review by Bill Gates

The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined (Book Review)

How would you go about making the world a fundamentally better place? Eliminating violence, particularly violent deaths, would be a great start. Cognitive scientist Steven Pinker shows in his masterful new book just how violence is declining. It is a triumph of a book.

People often ask me what is the best book I’ve read in the last year. Steven Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined stands out as one of the most important books I’ve read – not just this year, but ever.

The Lady Still Stands

"Give me your tired, your poor

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp besidethe golden door!"

 

Excerpt from the poem The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus', engraved on the pedestal of The Statue of Liberty.*

 

The boy’s father was killed in a construction accident. The boy was 15 years old, the head of a household that consisted of his mother, two sisters, and a little brother. He grew corn for a living.

 

Every year the price of corn was going down, this year the co-op manager told him not to bother planting it. “Plant only what your family can eat,” he said, “Mexico will be buying American corn because it is cheaper.”

 

“But how can they sell it any cheaper than we do?”

 

“The government is subsidizing the farmers, to keep them in business.”

The boy’s family was barely scrimping by. His mother said they might have to move to the city. The boy knew what that meant—his mother would be another woman sitting on a corner waiting for hand-outs.  He didn’t know what would happen to his sisters. His little brother was always hungry. That cannot happen.
 
He wasn’t a brave boy, but what to do? He didn’t have coyote funds for smugglers to take him across the border like his friend did. He had to cross the border from Mexico into the United States where he could find work and send money home to his family… He had to make a run for it.

 …Tie his shirt around the ladder that extends up the outside of a freight train, so when his hands turned numb it would keep him from falling off.

Did he make it?

I don’t know. I haven’t yet finished Will Hobb’s book, “Crossing the Wire.”

 

* Ellis Island took a beating from Hurrican Sandy, but the lady stands firm, her torch lifted in freedom.

 

 

 

 

Screenplay Writers Unite, or is it More Fun to Play with Puppies?

[Don't miss the adorable pictures at the end of this post. I'm in love.]

As I attended a screen play writer's question and answer session in Los Angeles, Daughter Darling and Little Boy Darling cruised the mall where it was held. And guess who they saw?  Betty White.

You know that Betty White is much involved with animals, and a Pet store in the mall was encouraging people to adopt from Animal Shelters.  Daughter said the store had turned the pups loose in the shop and they were running, chasing, careening around corners, and generally having a ball, and there was Betty White in the midst of the chaos.

The Screen writing event was held in the inner sanctum of the mall. The sign inside the glorious mall was clear enough, “Community Room B” with an arrow. Okay, you open the door---creak---suddenly you’re outside.  Okay, follow the arrows. You walk along a dreary deck alongside a dreary long cement building. You step over puddles from a dripping over hang. There’s a door—whoops it’s a storage room.  Oh yes, there’s Community Room B. You step into it, decent room, it’s okay. You wonder if this is what they think of screenwriters—poke them into some obscure spot.  One participant commented that if you couldn’t find Community Room B, you didn’t deserve to be a screenwriter.

The agent/manager presenter, who probably chose the room, was illustrious enough, as was her moderator. The 20 or so attendees were a fun lively group.

Here are some fun facts:

An agent is the one who wears a suit. His or her focus is on making money.

A manager wears jeans, will listen to you, wants to develop your material, and is into a long-term relationship.

And some fun facts regarding whoever buys scripts:

“Can’t wait to read it,” is never going to happen.

It doesn’t matter if you are clever—that’s fluff.

If your query is more than 3 paragraphs, don’t bother.

Get to the point, don’t tell us how great you are.

Bottom line: Ask yourself, “Can I sell what I have and make a lot of money?”

According to this agent, here is what Hollywood is buying:

1.       Thrillers

2.       Horror

3.       Drama

Romantic comedies, she said, are almost impossible to sell. Comedy, don’t know about that—movies aren’t so funny anymore. (My comment.)

And why is Hollywood focusing on thrillers, horror and drama? It’s what sells overseas. The oversea market is where the money is. Think about it, how long is a movie in a theater in your town? A week?  If they are lucky. After their glorious week in US theaters, they go straight to the foreign markets.

Other fun facts: (Fun?)

If you are a minority and young—go for a staff position, they will hire you in a heartbeat.

White female—Pfftt.

Build your network—Facebook, Twitter, Linked-in. Here we go again.

 

And after the discouragement comes this:

"There's a market for everything, it's just how you go about doing it."

Let's talk about the greats, who wrote the marvelous movies staring Merle Streep?  Merle, I just love you, you are 63 years old, you sang exquisitely in Momma Mia, was a devil in The Devil Wears Prada, an uptight nun in Doubt, played Julia Childs in Julie & Julia, had two men fighting over your in It’s Complicated, spiced up your love life with Tommy Lee Jones in Hope Springs, and won the Oscar in Iron Lady. Talent prevails.

Yes, and how about Dame Judi Dench? These women just keep getting better and better. Doesn’t that give you hope? Oh, but these are the actors, who wrote their screenplays?

If you haven't see Judi Dench in The Exotic Marigold Hotel, rent it!

The following pictures have nothing to do with the content here. I just love them. They were sent to me by a friend in Oregon. Love, love, love.

Joyce

This Gypse Vanner horse lives in Oregon, and this is the first day of her baby's life. When the mother laid down, the foal trotted over and crawled into her lap.

 

 

  

Two Beers from Joyce

Here’s something I remember from college chemistry class: (This has nothing to do with beer.) First of all, we had a duck pond on campus and the professor decided to demonstrate that detergents (not soap) dissolve grease and that they work just as well in cold water as in hot. Ah, this was a time when we debated such things as soap vs. detergent. Anyway, the professor took a goose from the duck pond and bathed it in detergent. He then placed the goose in a tub of water. Poor goose, floundering in that tub, his feathers soaking up water. The demonstration was complete, the professor, however, being so smart, was stuck with the goose until it regained the oil necessary to keep him afloat. (Did this lead to sea birds rescued from oil spills by washing them in DAWN detergent?)

Why did I think of this? The following story did it. Well, mainly it was people’s response to the story. Some said a philosophy professor would never offer such a motivational demonstration. (An enlightened philosophy professor might.)

Originally I thought this story belonged to the blogger where I first saw it printed, however I found the story plastered all over the internet, so it seems fair game. This is from The Colorado State University site.

The Mayonnaise Jar & Two Beers

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and filled it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was...

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.

The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They agreed it was...

Next the professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.

Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full.

The students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed...

“Now,” said the professor as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

“The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

“The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

“The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

“The same goes for life.

“If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

“Spend time with your children.

“Spend time with your parents.

“Visit with grandparents.

“Take time to get medical checkups.

“Take your spouse out to dinner.

“Play another 18...

“There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

“Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter.

“Set your priorities.

“The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented.

The professor smiled and said, “I'm glad you asked.

“The beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers with a friend.”

 

P.S. I just noticed today’s date. December 1, 2012, exactly three years ago today we landed in Hawaii—supposedly our BIG MOVE. The BIG MOVE, though, was moving away.

And now being December and 24 days until Christmas, YIPES, you might have gifts to buy--and you might find something on our eBay stores, especially if you have need of a child's gift. Hint, Legos. 

1.   Daughter sells Legos—great Christmas gifts. ID = nbrancaccio

2.   Daughter and I sell Lego Duplo—that is the young child’s version of Legos, bigger pieces, easier to handle, no choking hazard, and cute, cute, cute. Also we are carrying children’s clothing and girl’s junior jeans. ID = wiggly wombat

3.   My site began with Lego Duplo’s, and has some miscellaneous listings as well. ID= douglasfir541

Look under SEARCH advanced (upper right), By seller (on left side of page)

Aloha from Joyce