LANTERN FESTIVAL

I TOOK THE TRAIN TO PINGXI…..The first time I sent a lantern to heaven to honor my mentor, film director Kurosawa Akira…..The second time I thanked Taiwan for the peacefulness of Pingxi, Tamsui, Hsimenting, Taipei 101, the Non-Violent Transfer from a 50-Year Old Dictatorship to Democracy, Hands Across Taiwan, and the Million-Person Sit-In, instead of Hajj, the Ganges, and soccer riots,….The third time I prayed that Taiwan would have a visionary, humanistic, effective President who would not sell Taiwan to China, developers, bankers, or controlled media corporations…..

NEW 228 PEACE PARK

THE SACRED & THE PROFANE

END AND BEGINNING

落日餘暉

DIFFERENT REALITY

HAPPY V-DAY !

LOVE AND PAIN

The loss of love, fast or slow, (by death-boredom-horniness-betrayal-bitterness-blame-fighting-hatred), is the most painful thing in life, other than physical torture. It happens to almost everyone, often several times. Yet without experiencing such pain, we can never love, and that is much worse.

TRANSIENT ART

吳洛纓

TONY SCOTT. FILM DIRECTOR

Personal Quotes.....

[on Ridley Scott] Nobody does toga movies like my brother.

[on Tom Cruise] A magnet for women.

[on Days of Thunder (1990)] The problem was, we started on the movie without a script. Tom [Cruise] was already part of the line-up when I arrived and they said: "Tom can sit behind the wheel of a race car and smoke a cigarette and this movie will make a fortune." And that was the attitude we went in with. Robert Towne would be writing the scenes at night, we would shoot in the morning. It was a dangerous way to work. But we really thought, "Look - it's racing cars and it's Tom Cruise!" But you always have to get a story and you've got to get character first, and we hadn't.

CU

niusnews 妞新聞

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR & HAPPY TET

GONG XI FA CAI - 恭禧發財 - CHUC NUNG NAM MOI  !

I just spent a wonderful, difficult, challenging, magical, moving five months in Taiwan, teaching again. ....My TNUA graduate and undergraduate film and theatre students have made this semester happy and meaningful for me, even when they peacefully sleep in class, dreaming of girlfriends and boyfriends! I've given them the chance to practice English, and they've given me a chance to speak English. Almost fair.

We talked about creative passion, real and imaginary artistic blocks, fear of failure and losing face, taking risks in filmmaking and life, interesting and clear unique storytelling, communicating with an audience of over 2, impoverished International art cinema vs. greedy Hollywood entertainment, personal taste and critical judgement, learning from films you hate, and, most important, the best restaurants.

I will deeply miss Taiwan and Taiwanese lovers, friends, students, teachers, and MRT (best in the world), but not Taiwan politics and bureaucracy. As famous General Douglas MacArthur said, "I shall return!" (But he was fired.)

Have the warmest, most intimate, loving, kind new year 2013 with your family, friends, and cute snakes!

Ron

POSTERS & PUPPETS

 Great classic Taiwan films and puppets.....

CULTURAL EQUALITY

All cultures are NOT equal, all people are. Cultures can be spiritually and intellectually insane. Insanity, even when shared by an entire culture, is not exotic or charming for tourists to visit. It is tragic and devastating, destroying generation after generation, dooming a nation and its people to everlasting human hell.

FULONG, N.E. COAST

A GOOD WOMAN

February 3, 2013

Sotomayor, a Star on the Book-Tour Circuit, Sees a New Niche for a Justice

By JODI KANTOR

CHICAGO — At her Wednesday night book talk here, Justice Sonia Sotomayor glided through her audience of 700, dispensing homespun wisdom through a cordless microphone, interrupted by impromptu applause.

When the moderator read a question from Tabbie Major, age 7, about which books Justice Sotomayor loved as a child, she found the girl, locked her in an embrace, held on while reminiscing about Nancy Drew mysteries and then called out for a photographer to capture the moment. No need: a good portion of the crowd was already snapping pictures.

Welcome to another night in the life of Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court justice, current queen of the best-seller list and suddenly the nation’s most high-profile Hispanic figure.

TV IS SERIOUS

One of the greatest moments ever on television.

Not 100% true about "old" glorified America, 

but as close to the political Truth as you can find on TV.

(The Wire" was even closer social truth.)

Pilot: "THE NEWSROOM" (2012, HBO). 

Created and written by Aaron Sorkin ("Studio 60").

Starring Jeff Daniels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16K6m3Ua2nw&feature=youtu.be

LOVE VIGNETTES

純攪和創意手工皂

HSIMEN VIGNETTE 1

(Hsimen/Hsimenting is the very crowded, noisy, energetic 12-square block historic center of lower-cost nightlife in Taipei, Taiwan for teenagers (and ages 12-22)….popular movies,  few art flms, restaurants, fast food, food stands, coffee, convenience stores, young clothes, cute gifts, stuffed toys, karoake, street performers, street artists, gays, people-watching, love.)

Saturday night I saw a 17-18 year old couple happy in love in Hsimen, Then I saw them together on the MRT later, still happy in love. The boy got off first. The girl’s expression instantly changed from happy to sad. The boy’s expression was sad as the MRT sped passed him….The swift change from happiness to sadness was stunning.

STRANGE SOCIETY

Workers and Students on campuses live in 2 completely different worlds, never communicating or even acknowledging each other.

It is the 5000-year-old caste system - those who use their intellect and mouths vs. those who use their hands and muscles.

KINDNESS

LUCK

There is no such thing as Luck....

There is hard work, skill, patience, trust in yourself,

courage, creativity, playfulness, wonder, and love.

You need all, and love, to succeed in your dreams 

and feel there is meaning in the hard struggles of life.

Money doesn't save souls.

[Art by Oaehyun Kim]

CHILDHOOD

LIFE OF PI

สมาคมนิยมสาวม.ปลาย

MONEY AND THE SOUL

Mr. Kalayanasundaram worked as a Librarian for 30 years. Every month in his 30 year experience(service), he donated his entire salary to help the needy. He worked as a server in a hotel to meet his needs. He donated even his pension amount of about ten lakh rupees to the needy.

He is the first person in the world to spend the entire earnings for a social cause. In recognition to his service, United Nations Organization adjudged him as one of the Outstanding People of the 20th Century. An American organization honored him with the ‘Man of the Millennium’ award. He received a sum of Rs 30 cores as part of this award which he distributed entirely for the needy as usual.Moved by his passion to help others, Super Star Rajinikanth adopted him as his father.

JOYOUS CHAOS

Art by Peter Liu Wan-Wei

EELS CIRCLING

Art by Peter Liu Wan-Wei