Be of good cheer To the eye, the world appears to be spiraling towards human assisted self destruction. Politically, it appears that my country, the US, is presiding over an international coup for banker/corporate world government. Just today, I read that the Iraq Study Group has released it’s report suggesting an ordered US military withdrawal from the country. This should be good news for peaceful citizens for all nations, but is the world developing a heart of peace? (peaceful heart) Not in my eyes. Thankfully, I have learned to try to see beyond the images before my mind, and what I see ‘out there’ soothes my soul. Out there, I see other souls that long for true peace. I hear other voices out there which calmly tell stories of love and devotion to God. I feel contentment and even a satisfaction which comes from knowing that, It’s all good and there’s no need to worry for tomorrow because all we will ever need is contained in today. Because of all I sense out there beyond the shadows of the mind, I feel pretty good about things. In the end, the world is going to be Just, fine.

Out beyond the ideas of right and wrong, there is a field. I'll meet you there. - rumi

Phoenix And the results are in...

A mythical bird that periodically burned itself to death and emerged from the ashes as a new phoenix. According to most stories, the rebirth of the phoenix happened every five hundred years. Only one phoenix lived at a time. # To �rise like a phoenix from the ashes� is to overcome a seemingly insurmountable setback.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 50% on air

Link: The Mythical Creature Test written by littleitalian19 on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Bend It Like Beckham

whose life are you living

bend it like beckham presents a somewhat exotic take on the subject of coming of age with a bit of a go at interracial dating as a subplot. i found the direction somewhat incoherant but perhaps that is the quality which gives the film it uniqueness. still a watchable film, i was well engrossed into the story.

the picture focuses on an indian girl living in london named jasminder who loves soccer, beckham, and her family. the trouble is, her parents (particularly her mother) are devout hindus.

of course from my perspective, much suffering comes from fundamentalism and, there is much suffering to be had in this household. the contrast between the dogma from the bahmra family and the snobbery from jasminders field mate's family the paxtons is quite striking. it really highlights the idea that though western society is steeped in patriarchy it's the women who tend to keep the often abused traditions alive.

i'm only giving this one two stars because i felt that the emotional impact was lacking. if a film doesn't make itself present in the gut, why bother?

Shrek II

happiness is just a teardrop away

i suffered just about the same amount of pain this time around as i did the last time. it's not that the films are bad. quite the opposite. perfectly drawn in fact. beautiful. wonderful art. and funny.  it's just that philosophically, the symmetry is too perfect for my egoist mind. these films praise the idea of loving yourself and others the way you are (and the way they are). really, it's an important message. deep down i hope the young people who watch this are getting the picture, so to speak. i just, even though i give lip service to the concept, dont have that mindset yet. i still try to change the world and myself to fit a preconceived mold based on the shared dream of society. i want everything to look beautiful as the world will deem beauty. in short, i am shallow. these movies are a rebuke to me. i am ashamed. and i find my heart has difficulty changing. maybe theres redemption in beholding...

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I Heart HUCKABEES

everythings the same even if it's different

the age of existentialism continues for me as i ruminate a bit on another movie. in this one, we have a trio of existential detectives who are hired by another trio of highly motivated explorers playing the game of life. what's great about this film are the wonderful textures of differing opinions which intertwine and, at the end, create a large picture of the infinite and the roles that humanity, chaos, and consciousness play throughout the universe. the director played some intellectual games with the plot and delivered a fine product full of humor, crassness, and joy. this was great fun to watch and it was filled with one 'a ha!' moment after the other. i hearted it.

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i'm watching the sopranos from the beginning. i figure i might as well. i'm using the blockbuster system to to rent my videos by mail. i had been using netflix but blockbuster, believe it or not, sends me my films faster.

anyway, i noticed something interesting about the intro to all the soprano shows. it shows tony soprano driving home. home from work? who knows? in his business he's always working in one way or another, right? that driving home clip works well though for family issue based tv. and it has worked for family based cartoon for forever starting with the flintstones and the jetsons. but i love seeing it with the sopranos because it truly illustrates in a not so subtle way the total cartoonishness of the whole show even though the subject matter seems so serious and deadly in its heavyness. i thought i'd include a clip of homer simpson driving home from work shot in a new way. enjoy

in japanese it means literally 'seated meditation'. the swiss have created a car designed for exactly that, rinspeed's  zazen. the primary aim of zazen is to still the rational mind. if ever one could do it in a car (actually, i do it all the time though it frightens me a little) this is the one.

minimalist. sparse. uncluttered. it has a clear see through roof connecting the driver in a special way to it's surroundings. if they release it in america, i can't wait to test drive it. see for yourself the car which appeared at geneva's auto show today.

Fighting Tommy Riley

tis better to perish in that howling infinite than to be ingloriously dashed upon the lea; even if that were safety

hmm, is it really?

i guess it depends. i really didn't like this movie. truly, i didn't. it is the saddest happy ending i'd ever seen. i hope you see it, even if you end up hating it as much as i did because i illustrates the best and worst of human life. it shows the battles that all of us deal from one degree to another.

fighting tommy riley is about a young boxer who is discovered by an old professor who once was a boxer himself but missed his chance in his prime. this isn't rocky, folks but in some ways its better.< p>***