I trust you all enjoyed your Canada Day long weekend. It was especially memorable for me because I now have a Japanese maple tree planted in our backyard. My wish come true – thanks to my family and to Vic, my husband who diligently researched and prepared for the proper planting of the tree seedling. And, mind you, did the actual digging (with a lot of help from our grandson Jeremy) and planting of the maple tree seedling. Also, a big thank you to Erik and Alex who made several trips back and forth to the nursery to pick out the tree. I only did the initial photo-op spadework but he and my grandson Jeremy did the rest. Thank you also to Alex, Erik,Tanya, Nikki and Nina. It is now planted and standing straight –a testament to the wonder of making your dreams come true (with the help of the people in your life. In this covid age, I am referring to my family bubble). It is not really a big thing by the standards of the world but that’s the thing. Most people, like me, take so many things for granted in life. Think of it.
Take, for instance, the fact that we are breathing, seemingly without our help. For all intents and purposes, we seem to naturally breathe without having to make a conscious effort. With the pandemic, it is very possible that many people realize that being able to breathe freely is something to be truly grateful for. And yet, this is a basic thing , most often, in the hustle and bustle of our everyday life, we forget to be grateful for. Just like many other things in life.
And with gratitude and the wonders of life in mind – coincidentally, I found myself watching an interview on television with Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic (or is it now Virgin Intergalactic?) who just arrived from a trip to the edge of space. It was supposed to have taken them an hour for a round trip. When asked by reporters what they brought with them on their quick trip to space, most said they brought with them photos of family, while one lady astronaut, if that is what they were called, just brought different kinds of flowers in her space suit. I thought that was cool!
What a refreshing piece of news! According to Mr. Branson, one ticket (I presume a round trip ticket) will cost $250,000. If I had that kind of surplus money lying around, I would go. I wonder if there is an age requirement?? Nevertheless, this bit of exhilarating news is a relief from all the dire events around the globe. It would be great if we could have more good news of this kind. Gives one hope for humanity. It reminds me of the fascinating online news recently regarding the Pentagon report on Unexplained Aerial Phenomena, or what we commonly know as Undentified Flying Objects (UFO). I did not quite get the long and short of that story but apparently it is now open season for talking about UAPs without being thought of as weird. Come to think of it, it would really be conceited of mankind to think that we are the only beings in this universe. If one does not believe it, then at least be open to the possibility of something else other than human beings. Then again, I guess there would be other implications or ramifications should we start on that premise. What premise? – that we are not the only beings in the universe. Maybe, it is a little too much for some of us take in. All I can say is that I believe it is better to approach things with an open mind. I find this especially helpful when solving a situation. I find that having an open mind helps you relax. And in that relaxed state of mind, ideas come easier to mind. For example, I find that when I am looking for my keys in an agitated and tense mood, I more often do not find them. But the moment I let go, forget about them, do something else, then, before long, they turn up. More often than not, one finds them in a place where you are sure you did look into. It was as if your eyesight was darkened and did not see them the first time. But all along, they were there in plain sight. Well, that plain sight was not plain only because you had dark thoughts in your mind. When I say dark, I don’t mean thoughts of sickness or dire things. Imagine that! Just worry, tension, anxiety does blur one’s vision. Just think about what I said. It bears some thought and more.
For those who are into Chinese historical dramas – if you would like to watch a well-acted and produced series, you can’t go wrong with Ming Dynasty (or sometimes called Empess of Ming) . The entire 62 episode is on You Tube. I know I have mentioned this series already but lately, I went through the series again and noticed a lot of other things which bear scrutiny. First of all, I just realized and appreciated the unique treatment of the director. I say “unique” because I have viewed many Chinese historical dramas but this was somehow different. A bit more artistic and heavy on the drama. Quite intense. Excellent actors Zhu Yawen and Tang Wei do justice to their roles. All in all, a thoroughly absorbing and exhilarating drama series worthy of going through all 62 episodes. The first time I watch it, I just sort of skimmed through most of the episodes and perhaps even skipping some. Even then, I found it quite fascinating. This second time, I went through each and every episode more thoroughly and was glad I did. I would recommend it very highly in the same vein as I would recommend watching Rise of the Phoenixes, an original Netflix with my all-time favorite Chen Kun (or is it Kun Chen?)
Hopefully, I can find others of the same caliber as these 2 outstanding drama series. Fortunately, there are so many Chinese movies and drama series online these days with (hurray!) English subtitles. By the way, if you want to keep abreast of good news reporting from Asia, check out Channel News Asia on You Tube. Excellent news reporting and documentaries from this channel keep me glued for hours on end. Recently they aired an interesting and well-produced documentary on 100 years of the Chinese Communist Party. They have other documentaries that are well researched and archived. Fascinating work indeed.
Speaking of Netflix – there is a slew of recently added content which are worth watching. One is 84 Charing Cross Road a 1986 movie produced by Mel Brooks and starring his wife Anne Bancroft, who won the BAFTA award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the movie. This is an extremely charming movie to watch on a rainy night comfy cozy on your sofa. Highly recommended by me.
Another movie is Ali and the Ratu Ratu Queens, an Indonesian movie (thankfully, with English subtitles) which is quite well-done and with a sterling cast of Indonesian actors. I thought it was well written and the direction was outstanding. It is not a spectacular movie but a film which touches the heart aside from making one understand other cultures. It has a heart warming story that makes sense and the way it was rendered to the viewing public made it humane and relatable, no matter what race in the planet earth you are from.
Jane Eyre is also noteworthy on Netflix. A 2011 movie of the Charlotte Bronte novel, it was produced by BBC Films and, for me, one of the best Bronte films made. I was not too impressed with the film Wuthering Heights based on the novel by Emily Bronte, a sister of Charlotte Bronte. This movie of Jane Eyre is in my list of good movies to watch on Netflix. Especially for people like me who love the works of Jane Austen, Agatha Christie and the Bronte sisters. I would say that these female British authors are my role models. Not only are they my role models, but I grew up with them as I voraciously read their novels throughout my young adult years. As a matter of fact, I still follow them. This time, through the films made based on their novels. One example is Sense and Sensibilty directed by Ang Lee, the entire 80 plus episodes of Poirot and Miss Marple of Agatha Christie on ITV. I can go on and on and be boringly redundant. So I stop here and now.
What more can I say? I wish you all a great summer and that you find my thoughts on paper useful and most of all, food for thought as well.
Tessie O. Taylor
Taylorteresita@gmail.com