Red Means Stop, Do Not Go!

Last night, we watched the film "Run Lola Run" and had a great discussion afterwards which helped me understand it better than I ever had (this was my 4th time seeing RLR). We talked a lot last night about Lola seeming to have control over some situations, and definitely how her choices and actions had a domino effect on the world around her. In her discussions with Manni, you get the impression that she's the kind of person who always relies on herself and her ideas to solve all her problems, and has no doubts about the power she possesses. Manni asks her "What would you do if I died?" Lola responds "I wouldn't let you die."

The scenario of 20 minutes kept playing until the 2 characters got the desired result. They made a conscious decision (lying on the pavement thinking about prior conversations with each other) to not leave each other. What's interesting to me is that the last scenario is the only time when she (and Manni, with the blind woman) really opens herself up to outside intervention, and renders herself helpless w/out it (running w/ her eyes closed). In the first 2, she relies completely on herself to try to get what she needs, and it doesn't work. But then, after her options are exhausted, she opens herself up for serious help. she gets the message, goes into the Casino (the place of blind luck) to win the 126,000 in 3 minutes. But, did she realize that she needed outside intervention in order to get the ball to fall on 20? No, she screamed louder and longer than ever, once again believing that if she just wanted it badly enough, the world would bow at her feet and give it to her. and in the movie, it did.

This movie maker (Tom Tykwer) touched less on what he thinks actually makes everything happen, and more on how your perceptions on those matters change the way you behave. One could argue that it wasn't true intervention when the bus almost hit her in front of the Casino, that it was actually just another occurrance that had the effect of making her go to the Casino. On the same token, one could argue that it was actually intervention that made the ball fall on the 20, and that Lola just believed it was her power that was making that happen. These things are not the point of the movie, but it's fun to think about.

So how does our perceptions on these matters effect the way we behave? Anybody? This goes to the core of how we perceive actions and decisions, so how does it effect us... and how can we learn if our perceptions are correct? Any examples of times we would make decisions differently if we interpreted the world in a different light? ready... go
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Icelandic Beauty

There is such a thing as beauty. It's real, and it exists today. Where does it come from? What causes it?

Last night I attended a Sigur Ros concert in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It made me stop to remember things. They were singing in Icelandic so I couldn't understand any of the words, yet the feeling I had was with perfect clarity. It's not often I can silence myself in order to receive this sort of feeling. Can anybody out there relate to this experience? I don't want to trivialize it with a lot of words, but I knew something real during that concert.

Please, I want to hear about the beauty that we know and experience. It doesn't have to be a concert, just think about it and talk about it. It's good to remember things.



P.S. This Saturday (25th) at 7 PM is the next gathering. If you need directions, get in touch with me. All are welcome

And the winner is....

I was speaking with Benjie the other day, and he brought up a good point. Why are the grammy's such a joke? Why is it that almost every award winner also happens to be among the leaders in sales for their albums? Is everything that's mainstream better than the bands that are not? And, most importantly to me... why does anybody still care about an awards show based more on popularity than on the art itself? Some ladies tell me that they actually watch it to see what everybody's wearing. This reason seems more legitimate to me than anything else at this point.

Are all awards ceremonies based more on popularity than on celebrating great art? I used to think that the Academy Awards had a lot of integrity, and there was a point in my life where I found out all the Best Picture winners for the last 60 years so I could watch them all. Then something happened. Bjork's performance in "Dancer in the Dark" lost to Julia Roberts in "Erin Brokovich" for best actress. This changed me in a profound way. Honestly.

I hadn't always agreed with the Oscar selections in the past, but there was something significant I realized after that moment: Award ceremonies are about making money. From start to finish. All the stars arrive to be scrutinized by the fashion police, making money for fashion designers every time one of their names gets dropped. Don't forget about ratings for the networks an hour before the ceremony has even started, it's a big plus. Then the long drawn out ceremony, putting in more special guest appearances, cameo's (don't forget commercials, we need our sponsors happy!), making you tune in for hours and hours to finally get to the culmination moment that they've been building up to for weeks, with talk on radio stations, newspaper articles speculating on the winners, etc. oh, and the ratings are still going strong.

What I needed to know was this... it's not about popularity necessarily, it's about money first and foremost. What's more popular just happens to help make them more money, b/c people are more interested in the lovely Julia Roberts winning an award than the kind of freakish Bjork stepping up there. People don't care what Bjork is wearing to the Oscars, b/c nobody knew that she would even be there, b/c nobody saw her movie. Therefore, change the channel. Right?

Basically, whatever is going to make them money will be recognized as such. A day may come when a film like Dancer in the Dark can make them money, and then they'll include it. Until then, there's the Sundance Channel and many other organizations that attempt to celebrate art for art, not just for money. But then there is us. The public. What is our role? Thoughts, anyone??



Bjork