ramblings of a mindful

THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS

2014-08-09T14:31:00.002+01:00

Cats are loved by thinkers, philosophers, dreamers, writers and revolutionaries simply because of the fact that they cannot be tamed and will not do as they are told. They remind our souls of our innate freedom.

Dogs are loyal and see only the best in people. Because of this they can be controlled. When they are not in the employ of a useful function, which sees them transcend from mere animals, they are easily abused and can become the weapon of fascists and fearful fundamentalists.

Tell the Truth

2014-03-08T12:04:00.001+00:00

Story demands both vivid imagination and powerful analytical thought. All stories faithfully mirror their maker, exposing their humanity or lack of it.

True character is revealed in the choices a human being makes under pressure. The greater the pressure, the deeper the revelation, the truer the choice to the character’s essential nature.

Pressure is essential - choices made when nothing is at stake mean little.

Choice under pressure strips away the mask of characterisation and gives insight into true character. The revelation of true character in contrast or contradiction to characterisation is fundamental to all fine storytelling.

Story is metaphor for life and life is lived in time. Film, therefore, is temporal art.

The source of all art is the human psyche’s primal, prelinguistic need for the resolution of stress and discord through beauty and harmony, for the use of creativity to revive a life deadened by routine, for a link to reality through our instructive sensory feel for the truth.

Therefore all artists have only one responsibility : to tell the truth.

Although an artist may, in their private life, lie to others, even to themselves, when they create they tell the truth. In a world of lies and liars, an honest work of art is always an act of social responsibility.

Why am I an Atheist

2013-10-01T09:15:00.004+01:00

Because it has dawned upon me that it is right to be so, and upon investigation I find no real evidence of the divine origin of the scriptures. And because I cannot, as a refined and respectable woman, take to my bosom as a daily guide a book of such low morals and degrading influences. Written by a lot of priests, I cannot accept a salvation that is based wholly upon the dreams of an ancient and superstitious people, with no proof save blind faith.

Everything that so many people think transpires from the supernatural, and many things that would really perplex the average mind, have a natural and material foundation in the workings of the human mind; that is, things that are not connected with our solar system.

It is ignorance of the scientific working of their own natures and mind that keep so much "mystery" in the air; and as long as there is a mystery afloat the people will ascribe it to the supernatural.

I am an Atheist because I know the Bible will not do to depend upon. I have tried it, and found it wanting.

In fact, I found in the scriptures the origin of woman's slayer, and that it was one of God's main points to oppress women and keep them in the realms of ignorance.

I am in the ranks of Liberalism because of its elevating principles, its broad road to freedom of thought, speech, and investigation.

MINNIE O. PARRISH
Leonard, Texas
Minnie became the first female doctor in Texas in 1905

words of advice

2013-06-24T13:15:00.000+01:00

This is your life. Do what you love and do it often.
If you don't like something, change it.
If you don't like your job, quit.
If you don't have enough time, stop watching TV.
If you are looking for the love of your life, stop; they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love.
Stop over-analyzing, life is simple.
All emotions are beautiful.
When you eat, appreciate every last bite.
Open your mind, arms and heart to new people, we are united in our differences.
Travel often; getting lost will help you find yourself.
Some opportunities only come once, seize them.
Life is about the people you meet and the things you create with them so go out and start creating. Life is short.
Live your dream and share your passion.

C'est tout

Nobody Knows My Pain

2012-08-25T11:06:00.001+01:00

Nobody knows my pain

I put in a contact lens the wrong way around.

Unless you wear contact lenses and have done that you wouldn’t know my pain.

Then I stubbed my little toe.

The little forgotten toe that only reminds you of its existence once it’s been stubbed.

So unless you put in your lens the wrong way around and stubbed your forgotten little toe you wouldn’t know my pain.

Then my angry titchy cat bit me.

She has life issues.

So unless you put in your lens the wrong way around, stubbed your forgotten toe, got bit by a cat with existential angst, you wouldn’t know my pain.

Then I got a final gas demand for a bangladesh family living in acton.

And got stuck in british gas’s automated phone system for 3 hours.

Only to be told that I was at fault for having the wrong meter number.

Then I got a call from a machine telling me I won a holiday.

To Darfur.

For a measly 4 thousand pounds I could have the pleasure of a terrorifying joyride chased by mobs of horseriding arabs.

Then the script I was working on decided to retreat to some unknown quarter within my documents hard-drive.

And I can’t find it.

So unless you put in your lens the wrong way around, stubbed your forgotten toe, got bit by a cat with existential angst, got stuck in a voice-jail system costing you 50 pence per minute, got offered a death-sentence holiday, lost the best screenplay in the western hemisphere, you wouldn’t know my pain.

Then I ran out of coffee.

The grains eloped back to the free-trade plains of Columbia.

R.I.O.T.

2011-08-13T12:15:00.005+01:00

See, like, innit, whatcha gotta know is I is deprived, innit. only got me a Blackberry & iPhone & 54" Samsung HD ready flatscreen & Bling watch & 8 gold chains & diamond earrings & 17 Nike trainers & 20 designer hoodies.
I is deprived!
I got noffink!
Wot da pigs did, right, see, innit, ain't right, innit.
Day gotta pay.
Bashing in shop windows & grabbing dem stuff & is how I make dem pay, right?
Respect.

KFC is safe.

Greece is the Word

2011-07-09T11:21:00.005+01:00

[sung to the tune of 'You're The One That I Want' from the movie Grease]

I've got bills....
They're multiplying...
And I'm losing control...
Of the interest your supplying...
It's mortifying....

You better pay up...
'Coz I need a plan...
The IMF counts on you...

You better pay up...
You're in no man's land...
Defaulting can't be true...

You're the one who's in Debt, Oh, Oh, Oh,
You're the one who's in Debt!

The Truth Will Out

2011-05-10T10:18:00.004+01:00

Soon, very soon, we will all know the full truth. Here are some gems to whet your appetite:

* He was a guest on Through The Keyhole. "Now who would live in a house like this?!"
* A great fan of Lady Gaga, 'Poker Face' was his mantra.
* He watched 'The Cave of Forgotten Dreams' over and over, nostalgically recollecting his time in Afghanistan.
* He had an addiction to Love Heart sweets, so much so that his henchmen spent countless hours trying to find his secret stash (hint: why was his beard so long?).
* Next to his bed was a well-thumbed copy of The Anger Trap: Free Yourself from the Frustrations that Sabotage Your Life.

more later

Revolting Times

2011-04-02T09:15:00.002+01:00

North Africa revolts with some success in Egypt & Tunisia & some distress in Libya. And now the Middle East has followed suit. I look forward to the day all those Idiocracies tumble and a modicum of democracy rises. May the House of Saud dissolve into its foundations of sand. I especially look forward to the day women in these regions are allowed to vote. Perhaps they'll be given the chance to read next.

Until then it's important to remain ever vigilant against the threat of terrorism.
I was on the train yesterday when a voice over the Tannoy system urged us to report anything suspicious to the station attendant. So I did. I said I've got this weird mole right under my arm....

The Elephant in the Room

2011-01-31T12:13:00.005+00:00

This is known in the business as an 'elephant door'. It is the enormous door to the hanger-size studio where sets are created for TV shows & movies.
I can tell you the door is large enough to accommodate two elephants standing on each other - or a pyramind of three elephants.
Just why it was decided that an elephant was quite the largest thing one had to move into a studio is beyond me.
Poor elephant.
Always regarded as the largest thing in the room.

Fly Tipping

2011-01-11T18:40:00.003+00:00

Fly Tipping is illegal in the UK.
I tried it once.
It's very difficult.
First you have to land the fly.
Then you have to make it stay still - I found that hypnotism helps.
Once it's still it's very important that you apply just the necessary amount of pressure to just 'tip' the fly over. Too much and you send it careening into the furniture.
I got it wrong and sent the fly smack into the wall, where it stayed, squished.
Fly squishing is not illegal in the UK.
So I face no criminal charges.

A Rose By Any Other Name?

2011-01-10T09:35:00.004+00:00

Why are footballers' wives or girlfriends called WAGs?
Surely it should be WOGs. Is that still a racist term?
My father was called a WOG when he first came to Britain.
They tried to justify it by saying it stood for: Worthy Oriental Gentleman.
I think it means anyone who isn't British - "The WOGs start at Calais!", because my father is about as Oriental as a tea cup... which actually originates in China....erm...

What's in a name? A lot actually.
If you called a rose a stink-bomb no-one would want to smell it in the first place.

So I guess WAG is quite apt. What wags? A tail. On a dog.

The Lambshanks Redemption

2010-12-18T12:36:00.003+00:00

It takes a big goddamn pot..... onions, potatoes, carrots, soaked chick peas, tomato paste & a few herbs & spices............. not forgetting the Lambshanks.

Time. It must be served.
If you want anything to be good it takes time.
[10,000 hours according to Mr. Gladwell. Guess how long it took him to figure that out?]

Pressure. Via vacuum or heat.

That's all. Time & Pressure.
And all will be redeemed

No Mail Intended

2010-12-10T12:55:00.002+00:00

I went to my local Post Office, which is run by Hobbits in Middle Earth.
They had hand-painted signs for "National" & "Intentional" mail.
Intentional mail?!
What's that?, I pondered. For I do a lot of pondering these days.
Much too much for my own good really.
What's Intentional Mail?
And what's Unintentional Mail for that matter?
Now I am familiar with Unintentional Email... You know, the times you type off some pissy message then press send and then go: "Bugger! Should NEVER have sent that!"
But I'm not familiar with Unintentional Mail.
How does one go about sending that?
And how does it present itself in the recipient's letter box?
Does it hang limpy half-way through, going "hmmm don't think you really want this...."

The Smell of It

2010-12-03T11:35:00.002+00:00

She gets up --------- late;
She showers --------- eventually
& dresses randomly;
She leaves her home late in the afternoon
& strolls in no particular direction;
She passes by many ------- seeing none;
She walks for miles ------ time passes
& darkness descends;
She finds herself on a bridge
& she stops;
She looks down at the raging current of water below -----

DEPRESSION by Kalvin Kline

Burka Barbie

2010-11-04T10:37:00.004+00:00

The Burka Barbie (patent pending) will be available in all non-reputable toy stores over the Christmas period.
Her burka comes in three colours:
Afghan blue for summer
Black for funerals .......... & weddings
Dark brown for potholing holidays in Kandahar

She comes with a necessary accessory:
Keffiyeh Ken.
Burka Barbie cannot be seen anywhere without him.

[N.B. not affiliated with Klaus Barbie]

Stripped Bare

2010-09-14T11:32:00.002+01:00

I used to be a stripper.
I specialized in the Gaza Strip.
That's the one where I give you all of my possessions, my house & my land.
And you don't tip me.

It's a one-off performance...

Mock Ye Not

2010-09-11T11:25:00.004+01:00

It is assumed by many that Arabs have no sense of humour.
We do.
We just play the long game.
Centuries ago we gave the West: medicine, mathematics & astronomy.
The West gave us: The Crusades, The Inquisition & syphilis.

So we gave you Saddam Hussein.

Only joking.........

The fact that hundreds of thousands of people died in the process only goes to prove how serious we are about our comedy.

Ethnic Cleansing

2010-09-06T13:08:00.006+01:00

It was the Bedouin Arabs who invented dry-cleaning.
A scarcity of water in the desert, they would sand-blast their clothes clean.
They later made the natural progression to chemicals.
Saddam Hussein was a great proponent of using chemicals to clean out stubborn stains, like the Kurds, for example.

Appropriate Arabs

2010-09-05T11:07:00.004+01:00

Most people don't know this: the hijab was just the result of a bad-hair day.
An Arab woman, let's call her Leila, was running late, there were no hair straighteners in those days [& have you seen untamed Arab hair????], she sees a piece of cloth & thinks, " that'll do!", throws it over herself & goes about her business.
Her Arab sisters, ever the followers of fashion, think, "Hey! Leila's onto something here!". So they follow suit, or hijab in this case.....
Then - years later, it is appropriated by the Muslims.

Many things have been appropriated from the Arabs. We don't much mind, it's the fact that we're never asked that pisses us off.

Making Your Mind Up

2010-06-29T12:27:00.000+01:00

"The time to make up your mind about people is never," says Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) in The Philadelphia Story (1940). In most contemporary films, however, the time to make up your mind is during the opening credits. Characters have become standards, symbols representing a social function or status (lawyer, policeman, student, executive, dad, computer geek, whatever). "No real people, just cops," as Mr. Pink would say (Reservoir Dogs). Actors are judged on their ability to assume the model & reinforce it.

Predictability (dramaturgy) has become the golden calf around which we dance. Having the characters' inner lives justify the plot is too complicated & the superficial movies are receiving all the praise.

For me, the heart of a film's appeal lies in the celebration of character — therefore actor. The essence of filmmaking is to provide favorable conditions for actors to find or create characters, favorable conditions to capture human movement. And, if you're very fortunate, recording a "happening".

As Hollywood players scramble to blow our minds (and blow up their budgets), let me remind them that cinema isn't just about thrills, spills and special effects — it's about telling a story and telling it well.
What happens to your story when you remove the music, fx & clever editing?
Are there any characters there to intrigue, inspire, interest, delight & cause us to reflect & question? No?
Can you make your mind up about a character in a split second? Yes?

There are no golden calves anymore. They've all been sold as Cash for Gold.
What's left is raw authenticity.
This is where art begins.

A CALL TO ARMS!

2010-05-18T08:17:00.000+01:00

Where we women have been free to pursue a profession, we have come a long way in many and nothing will stop our inevitable rise and success. This will take time and we have still got a long way to go but there is nothing a woman cannot do if she so chooses and is free to do so.

However, there is a dark cloud over two professions where it can be empirically proven that men do better than women:

Cooking
The best chefs in the world tend to be masculine. We’re not talking about the most prolific, or the ones that cook every meal. But when it comes to making you pay currency for a meal – men are significantly more successful at it than women.

&
Dressmaking
Think of a designer. Christian Dior, Halston, Gucci, Yves St.Laurent, Ralph Lauren, Versace, Christian La Croix, Tommy Hilfiger, Tom Ford, Calvin Klein, Jean-Paul Gautier…..
Pay attention. For every Coco there are a hundred McQueens.

We may have equality yet what we lack now is parity!

So I ask you, nay, I implore you,! Take up your pots and pans! pick up a needle and thread! Sear some beef! Crimp some silk!
Encourage your sisters, mothers and daughters!
The next time little Sara wants a toastie – tell her to make it herself!
The next time you wear through your negligee, grab yourself a few metres of wash & wear and a sewing kit!

Do not allow your man to do this for you! Stop him from entering the kitchen. Discourage him from the Singer.

We cannot allow this desperate situation to continue.

No longer will men be the cooks!

No longer will men be the dressmakers!

We women know our place!

TIME WASTER

2010-01-11T11:52:00.001+00:00

Time is defined as the indefinite progress of existence. What if you felt that there was no progress in your personal life? Would time, relative to you, stand still? Or perhaps you feel that you don’t have enough time to do all the things you need to do and could benefit from more time? Do you sometimes have the desire to repeat an experience so that you can make different choices?

A time loop or a temporal loop is a common plot device used in science fiction in which time runs normally for a set period and then skips back to repeat what has gone before. Most of the characters in a time loop forget all that has happened as their memories are also reset. The central character, however, (who is to be eventually transformed by this time loop) retains their memory and is aware of having to repeat the same experiences over and over again. The mythological tale of Sisyphus is one of the first recorded times this loop appears. For a crime against the gods, the specifics of which are variously recorded, Sisyphus was condemned to an eternity at hard labour. He was to push a great boulder to the top of a hill. This was eternally frustrating because every time Sisyphus managed to get the boulder to the summit the huge rock rolled right back down again.

The best known example of this device used in film is the 1993 comedy, Groundhog Day. In the movie, actor Bill Murray plays Phil, an arrogant weather forecaster who spends the night in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where he is to do a broadcast the next day about the annual ritual of the coming out of the groundhog. If the animal sees its shadow it is said to portend six weeks more of winter weather. Phil wakes up the next morning, does his story and is annoyed to discover that he is trapped in Punxsutawney for a second night because of a snowstorm that comes in after the groundhog ceremony. When Phil awakens the next morning, he thinks he is experiencing déjà vu. In reality, he is experiencing the same day all over again. As Phil relives the same Groundhog Day over and over again, he goes through a myriad of highs and lows.
Stories with time loops commonly centre on correcting past mistakes or on getting a character to recognize some key truth; only when this truth is known can escape from the loop follow. In Groundhog Day Phil is given opportunity after opportunity to get the day "right". Since no other character in the film remembers having lived this day before, he can relive it knowing more about what will happen than the previous time. After reliving the same day hundreds of times, Phil finally learns how to live it perfectly.

At first Phil responds with bewilderment, believing that he has a serious case of déjà vu. Then he despairs in the hopelessness of it all and gorges on food. Then, knowing that nothing he does has any consequences he begins to use the information he gains about others to his own advantage. Then he tries a myriad of ways to kill himself. As the days pass endlessly, over an over, into the same day, Phil finally figures out a constructive response: he begins to live his life on this day allotted to him to its fullest. He takes piano lessons, he learns how to sculpt ice, he becomes generous with everything he has because, he knows, he will still have it tomorrow. His final lesson is an encounter with death. When an old vagrant dies, Phil cannot accept the death at first and tries to be good and save the old man by feeding him and keeping him warm. To no avail. The old man still dies. When Phil finally stops trying to control death his final defences are broken and his compassion is extended to those who are living. He now is transformed and the day that was originally a kind of hell becomes a kind of freedom. For, having accepted the true conditions of life, having given up trying to use the weather forecast, by human or groundhog, to control events, he no longer fears life's travails.

How long this takes is open to discussion. Harold Ramis, the film’s director, states on the DVD audio commentary that he believes 10 years passes. However, a few years later, Ramis is quoted to have said: "I think the 10-year estimate is too short. It takes at least 10 years to get good at anything, and allotting for the down time and misguided years he spent, it had to be more like 30 or 40 years".

Groundhog Day allows us to experience what it would be like to make a breakthrough like this in our own lives. Here is a character who is self-absorbed and isolated who finds himself adrift in the hands of fate. Most of us go through our days semi-comatose, yet he has the luxury of being forced to stop, reflect and treat each day like an entire lifetime.

The phrase “Groundhog Day” has become a shorthand illustration for the concept of spiritual transcendence. The film can undoubtedly be considered a tale of self-improvement: look inside yourself and realize that the only satisfaction in life comes from turning outward and concerning yourself with others rather than concentrating solely on your own wants and desires. The film has been described as a film about Zen and is a favourite of Buddhists because they see its themes of selflessness and rebirth in accord with their own spiritual message. The transformation in the movie is a fictional counterpoint to a universal experience: A confrontation with death and an acceptance of the circumstances of life will lead to freedom of the self and a greater enjoyment of life.

ICH BIN EIN LONDONER

2009-06-28T11:02:00.000+01:00

How embedded are you in your heritage? Were you simply born somewhere that you no longer live? Do you still speak the language of that society?
If I am to use the definition of culture to mean the society from which I originate, my roots, ancestry, heritage then is that more or less what defines me as an adult? Or is it my choice of residence – the place, town, city where I choose to live and work and pursue my hobbies – my ‘cultural’ activities – art, literature, films.
My ancestry is Persian/ Scandinavian yet I choose to live and work in London UK in the medium of film - which in itself is the universal, commercial machine that began in Hollywood USA. Am I an amalgam of that? Or simply one disconnected from my genetic past?

The new American President is one of this new breed of identifiers – no longer identifying with his parents’ heritage and ancestry and religion. His father is Kenyan, his mother from Wichita, Kansas, of European descent. He is now simply identified as ‘American’.
American culture is relatively new – relative to the rest of the world in that the United States is a nation that is only a couple of hundred years old. Young in the scheme of things. I have lived in houses older than America. Despite its youth, American identity seems to be very apparent. Stand on any street corner in any city in the world and look at the tourists. I bet that you could easily spot the Americans. They could be of Irish or Scandinavian or African descent, no matter. You can spot them. They are distinct.
How quickly that nation defined for itself what to be American was. Perhaps because that identity is still so young that it undergoes regular scrutiny and redefinition. George Bush made it clear to the world what being Un-American was. Perhaps their new President will be the harbinger of a more positive definition: one of inclusion and responsibility; one of basic moral and ethical foundations that are forged not in ones religion or past but on ones choices in life and responsibility for what goes on in your name.
In my opinion America is still, despite recent history, the most coveted ‘culture’. It was built by immigrants from everywhere who still kept close to their language and rituals yet described themselves as Americans. ‘Melting pot’ is the term most often used to describe American society. A welcoming, inclusive society that champions hard work and ambition and allows you to overcome the weight of your past. After all, anyone born in America can become President. The same cannot be said of anywhere else to my knowledge. Isn’t that the best definition of culture? One in which you can assimilate all that you are – genetically, historically, and reinvent yourself as what you choose to be.

I have great admiration for this ‘chosen’ culture. I envy those who feel they have some form of identity, a sense of nationality, a passion for a place that supports an ideal that speaks to the very core of you. I never had such feelings.

What happened on London on 7 July 2005 changed all that. The series of coordinated bomb blasts that hit London's public transport system during the morning rush hour were carried out by British Islamists and were motivated by Britain's involvement in the Iraq War and other conflicts. I thought I had lost my sister that day. She was on London transport, only a couple of stops away from one of the trains that was bombed. After the blasts the cell-phone network was shut down and I presumed she was on that train and had died. I will never forget those two hours the rest of my life.
As the following days settled, a new form of consciousness enveloped London. Our mayor, Ken Livingstone, summed it up best when he stated, quite simply, that “We are one. We are London”. I felt a pride and a strength like never before to an intangible ‘place’. This is what defines me. This is my culture. I am a Londoner.

The Book of Secrets : Chapter One

2009-06-10T19:50:00.000+01:00

In order to make anything, we need a script.
Audiences pay or tune in to see actors, but actors need something to say. Directors bring everything together, but directors can't direct a blank page.
The closest there's ever been to a movie made from a blank page is 'Last Year at Marienbad.' It's a French film (say no more). It does have words, just not in any coherent order. It does have a script yet no known human understands it.
The film is infamous for its enigmatic narrative structure, in which truth and fiction are difficult to distinguish, and the exact temporal and spatial relationship of the events is open to question. The surreal nature of the film has fascinated and baffled audiences and critics alike. Oddly enough, like a case of the Emperor's New Clothes, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1963. [An auspicious year?!]
Even that incomprehensible piece of garbage / masterpiece (delete at whim) had to have a script.
Writers are also needed for non-fiction TV shows, because without a script a non-fiction show would just be like watching people at a bus station. Mind-numbing. These shows are promoted as supposedly being "reality." If they were not scripted, no-one would watch them. Even the choice of participants in this false reality is scripted.
Many foolish individuals regard a script as merely a blueprint. That is dismissively cold and two-dimensional. Never mind that the person who designs a blueprint is the 'architect,' which would make the director only the 'project manager.'
The script is the creation of the film's world, bringing the characters into existence with themes and structure. It is a bible.