syrian bride: The movie

syrian bride
Originally uploaded by recyclingfan.

Amazing movie, set in Golan Heights, occupied by Israel. A story about a young woman engaged to her cousin, she has never met him, he is a movie star in syria, and he has only seen a picture of her. Once she leaves Golan, she will be syrian and not allowed back, unable to visit her parents. Her dad is an activist, spent time in an Israeli jail. Her Aunt is struggling to be a free woman, but is oppresed by her husband - and here is the theme, oppression. Oppression by religious leaders, by Israeli, by men, by tradition. The movie is supposed to be a comedy (what?) and there are funny moments. But this is a sad story. Sartre says we invent our world, and dear god what a world we have invented. The Syrians decide not to let her cross the border, and Israeli's won't let her back, so she sits in no-man's land (The UN Zone between Golan and Syria) waiting for a bureaucratic solution (an oxymoron). The ending is hopeful: Mona (the bride) solves the dilemma herself, with her strong will and determination...which will hopefully serve her well in syria in an arranged marriage. It took the director three years to work out the setting and scenes of the movie. Remarkable! BTW, Clara Khoury, the bride, is amazingly beautiful - she has the beauty of an Arab queen or princess (like a statue) but somehow conveys the sadness of a woman marrying someone she doesnt know, leaving her parents, never to return. Wow.

air america liberal radio show

air america
Originally uploaded by recyclingfan.

The liberal answer to Rush Limbaugh, Air America radio. Listen over internet or search for the local am radio station. here is a link that describes their programming.

Calypso

Calypso
Originally uploaded by recyclingfan.

Sad story about the ship Calypso, Jacques Cousteau's exploration ship, made famous through his films and john denver's song. Also the model for Steve Zouzou and the film The Life Aquatic. Hopefully the ship can be rebuilt. Cousteau's son died in a sea plane accident - is there no one to continue the ocean exploration legacy?

japanese girl in seal suit video

japanese girl in seal suit
Originally uploaded by recyclingfan.

Here is a clip from a japanese TV show, and a girl in a baby seal suit tries to get a polar bear to attack her. What? Yes, she tries to get the polar bear to attack her! Funny (I think), unless you are the polar bear.

ten things to do in Tokyo for Free

ten things to do in Tokyo for Free
Originally uploaded by recyclingfan.

Amusing site! Tells you ten things to do in Tokyo for free.

how to tie your turban

how to tie your turban
Originally uploaded by recyclingfan.

I don't know about you, but my turban often becomes loose during the day, and I have to tie it sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. Luckily, there is a video on how to properly tie your turban! This is not funny, just fascinating. It is 9 minutes long so just watch the first several minutes...

hemingway bar bimini

hemingway bar bimini
Originally uploaded by recyclingfan.

Oh the humanity! Hemingway's favorite bar in bimini burns down, and the son of the founder of the bar-hotel is killed in the fire. Ok, so it was a dump, but what a dump! All sorts of memorabilia from the Hemingway days. And it wasnt some theme museum - it was the real thing. Ever since I read Islands in the Stream I have wanted to go to Bimini. It was the location for Old Man and the Sea also. Of course there is still Sloppy Joe's in Key West, but that is a yuppie attraction now and Hemingway wouldnt be caught in such a place. His house in Cuba still stands, and contains the ancestors of his cats (really!). His house in Cuba is probably the only authentic Heminway hang out left. He would drink Pina Colada's but without the sugar because he said the sugar is what makes you drunk (what?) and he also would stand when he drank because he said he only got drunk when he drank when sitting down (again, what?). Trivia - where did Heminway die? (jeopardy theme song playing in background .......): ketchum Idaho!

WTF?!

My eldest son swears by this video, funniest video he ever saw. I agree - very very funny. I can't stop watching it - and the funny accent! WTF!

hunted by birds

hunted by birds
Originally uploaded by recyclingfan.

there is a 2 million year old child's skull (the Taung child) and researchers have concluded that a saber toothed feline probably killed the child, putting fangs in the eye sockets to drag it and move the corpse where it could be eaten. Turns out, researchers have studied birds of prey swooping down on monkeys, and they have watched as bird have speared monkey heads and carried them off. They re examined the Taung child, and now conclude that this child was killed, from the air, by a large bird. So this is why we find Hitchcok's The Birds so frightening, because it is deep in our DNA to fear being eaten by birds!!! Birds used to attack my outdoor cat, Rick, and I would help him defend himself by throwing pebbles at the birds as they would swoop down on him. "Fu**king birds!" I would yell, throwing pebbles in the air. My neighbors would stare at me. Rick would be on the ground on his back, trying to catch the swooping birds with his claws. Of course there was a reason why the birds were attacking Rick.....you can figure that out!

grave of the fireflies and japanese movies

grave of fireflies
Originally uploaded by recyclingfan.

There is a new movie out about the raid at Cabanatuan, where US rangers liberated American prisoners of war from the Japanese in the phillipines during wwII. Yet another movie from the point of view of Americans, depicting the Japanese as cruel monsters. The entire history of Japan's empire in the early 20 th century is told from an American perspective (much of their war was aimed at colonial european powers, incl England, Dutch etc). I realize, of course, that Japan was guilty of many acts of war crimes, including the genocide at Nanking, China, rapes in China and Korea, and of course the attack on Pearl Harbor. Very little is mentioned, at least in the US, about our behavior toward the Japanese. It is although the attack on Pearl Harbor allowed us to be ruthless and inhumane toward the japanese. Its more than that however: interviews with WWII vets from the pacific war talk about atrocities against the japanese (war trophies, saving body parts as soverniers etc). Stuff that would never happen against German soldiers. There was a racism involved in the war against Japan - the japanese were seen as inscrutable (lacking feelings and emotions), sinister (cruel, tricky) and sub human (at least not as human as Americans). our racism included acts of cruelty towards asian people in our own country - concentration camps (without the ovens, I know) on the west coast for Amer citizens of Japanese ancestry (they were born in the US). Little is mentioned of the firebombing of Japan by Gen LeMay. Curtis LeMay wanted to destroy japan's ability to wage war through air power - he was an early advocate of air power. And, yeah, he showed that air power can destroy nations (as with our recent strikes against yugoslavia - for decades they feared the USSR and wanted closer ties with the US - and in the end we bomb them!) LeMay is a pathological killer: of course, he was a general in the army air corps, so his pathology was consistent with his position. In another life time, he would be a murderer, or a criminal, but in this lifetime he found his place in the army air corp. The fire bombing of Dresden, Germany, and of japan is generally seen as a war crime of greater proportion than the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. of course, what is a "war crime?" Its a political definition: LeMay was never charged with war crimes, because his side won! Had japan won, most certainly LeMay would have been tried by the Japanese. Anyway, this movie, Grave of the Fireflies, tells about the fire bombing of Japan through the point of view (POV) of a young boy and his younger sister. Its an incredible movie - you need to watch the beginning again after the end, so you realize that there is a "happy ending." To this day, the fire bombing of Japan is still discussed in terms of the lives that it saved! Yes! do an internet search, and you will find many documents (written by academicians) all saying that the firebombing and the atom bomb actually saved lives by ending the war earlier. I think that is bullshit. Anyway, if you see Grave of the fireflies, also see the original Godzilla - incredible movie, especially the part where school girls lead the Japanese nation in a song of peace. Absolutely moving and beautiful. The war was the greatest disaster ever experienced by the japanese people - Godzilla and Grave of the Fireflies are two movies that show how the japanese have tried to emotionally deal with the horror of war, the aftermath of war. God help us all.

lslamic doll

lslamic doll
Originally uploaded by recyclingfan.

This Islamic doll is outselling Barbie in the middle east. It costs less than Barbie, but is very identical (both made in china). It is covered in a very attractive robe, her head, arms and legs covered. One mother said the doll respects Islam unlike "that Jewish Barbie." Barbie is jewish, I didnt know that! I think its great that young girls in the middle east can play with a doll that reflects their religion and culture. However, I find the comment about Barbie being Jewish to be both funny and sad: it reflects the hatred between the jewish and arab people. The movie Walk on Water explores the hatred we have for one another, and how it prevents us from being truly human. I am showing it in my film class this semester, and it is probably the best film in the class: beautiful, spiritual, highly entertaining. The spiritual message comes at the end in a twist (the best way!). Can't we all become pure, from the inside out, and walk on water?...

spaghetti monster and jesus

spaghetti monster and jesus
Originally uploaded by recyclingfan.

The intelligent design story of creation centering on the Spaghetti Monster has taken off on the web. Here is a stained glass window of Jesus, and above him is....could it be? For more information about the Spaghetti Monster story of creation check these links here and here .

subtle anachronism

subtle anachronism
Originally uploaded by recyclingfan.

This edited picture receives the "subtle anachronism" award. Can you see why? Check out some other pictures here.

stuff on my cat

stuff on my cat
Originally uploaded by recyclingfan.

My youngest son was notorius for putting stuff on his cat and then wanting me to look at it. Believe it or not, that is a hobby of many cat owners, and here is a site that shows you pictures of stuff people have put on their cat! Very funny!

giant squid and spaghetti monster

giant squid
Originally uploaded by recyclingfan.

here is a link that explains how the giant squid is actuall god's most perfect creature. It has to do with eyes of vertebrates (us) that are so poorly developed. Why would god allow such a poorly developed creature as humans to be the crown of creation? The answer: we were just a failed experiment. The Giant Squid is better evolved than us, and its eye is the key to the mystery of its superiority. Ocam's Razor? The Simplist explanation is usually right - the squid is a superior species. Thus, the flying spaghetti monster selected the squid, not humans, as the highest species on the planet.

Lazy Sunday

I dont know why this is funny, but evidently this video is an internet rage. So here it is, Saturday Night Live's "Lazy Sunday."