The Reader (Movie, 2008)

The concept of guilt is a fascinating subject; and The Reader is all about guilt. I have never been a particular Kate Winslet fan, but her courtroom testimony took the film to a new height, complicating the idea of guilt to her perspective of responsibility, and furthered by her sacrifice in the face of her pride. And all of this is interestingly contrasted with the pain (and quilt), yet form of cowardice, expressed through the former lover (Kross/Fiennes) character.

This film is about pain and characters that have perpetual pain and sadness. It also takes you to places deep within and asks you to have sympathy for a character that is a victimizer and is guilty of unspeakable acts. Based on an award winning novel by Bernhard Schlink, a German law professor and judge, which deals with the comprehension of the generation who grew up in the shadow of the Holocaust to understand what happened in Germany under Hitler and how it could have happened so effortlessly.

This is a story of an innocent young boy who is seduced by a much older woman and finds himself desperately in love with her. The fifteen year old boy is played by German actor, David Kross, who lends a feeling of innocence and sensitivity to the role few actors of his maturity are able to convey. Kate Winslet plays a woman who is incapable of feeling true love.

It begins with a uncommon but life changing love story and ends with an uncommon but life affirming love story. In between lies a catastrophe of horrors and injustices. Ralph Fiennes is excellent as the conflicted former lover who has difficulty accepting Winslet's guilt as the evidence accumulates against her. This is a story not easily forgotten.

IMF says world economy in severe recession

By Lesley Wroughton

The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday the world economy has fallen into a severe recession, cutting its forecast for global growth and calling for forceful action to spur a recovery.

In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF said the global economy would likely contract 1.3 percent this year in the deepest post-World War Two recession by far.

The Fund warned that the turnaround depends on efforts by governments to nurse the global financial sector back to health by cleaning banks' balance sheets, and on additional fiscal and monetary policies in advanced economies.

EPICENTER OF CRISIS

The IMF said the United States remains at the epicentre of the crisis and said it is critical U.S. authorities address mounting toxic debt and uncertainty about banks' solvency.

It revised down its forecast for the U.S. to a 2.8 percent contraction this year and no growth in 2010 as the ravages of a credit squeeze, falling house and equity prices and high levels of uncertainty play out.

Cinderella Man (Movie, 2005)

I watched this movie knowing nothing about Jim Braddock, "The Bulldog of Bergen," whose riches-to-rags-to-riches career inspired the movie.

What is remarkable during both the highs and the lows is that Braddock, as Crowe plays him, remains level-headed, sweet-tempered and concerned about his family above all. Perhaps it takes a tough guy like Crowe to make Braddock's goodness believable. Mae is just the wife he deserves, filled with love and loyalty, and so terrified he will be hurt that she refuses to attend his fights and won't even listen on the radio.

Braddock gets a job on the docks in Hoboken, slinging sacks of grain and coal, using his left arm because of his injured right hand, and although that job is a low point, it is also the secret to the left hook that will eventually get him named "Cinderella Man" by Damon Runyon.

Crowe's understanding of this character is complete, and his performance outstanding. In look, "Cinderella Man" provides a one-way ticket to the early 1930s.

Mark Twain (Movie, 2000)

This exhaustive profile from master documentarian Ken Burns took almost three years to complete. Burns made Twain and all of those around come to life and jump out of the screen with their humanity.

This documentary on Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, provides the audience with a remarkably realistic sense of who Samuel Clemens was and how he lived. An intense family man, he might not have been able to share with us his sense of America without his family's support. His style of writing was truly devoid of any European flavor and one of the greatest contributions to American literature.

Before seeing this I didn't appreciate the value of his commentary on race relations. It was a joy to meet the man.

Teaching on Karma (Cause and Effect) by Shamar Rinpoche, 042009

His Holiness the 14th Shamarpa came to Menlo Park and gave us a teaching on Karma, plus Refuge and Bodhisattva Vows. Rinpoche used '12 links' and 'eight consciences' to explain how karma is initiated and ripen. This topic is an important basis of every meditation practice.

How is karma completed? By 6 qualities:

1. full consciousness
2. action
3. no regret
4. no remedy
5. definite result
6. not mistaken

The above 6 qualities depend on the strong mind. Positive minds result in positive karma. What are positive minds? There are 11 of them:

1. right faith
2. being cautious
3. completely accustomed
4. equaling; not longing for something to happen
5. good regards
6. regard for community
7. not greedy
8. control rage
9. not ignorant
10. not harmful to any living
11. diligent

Negative minds result in negative karma. There are 6 main negative minds:

1. ignorance
2. grasping enjoyment of life
3. strong anger
4. ego
5. doubt
6. clinging on wrong views

Each karma gives 3 different results:

1. Harmful to other's life results in a suffering realm;
2. Good deed to others results in a heavenly or comfortable human life;
3. Addiction to have intention to repeat it, i.e., engages in either positive or negative intention.

The remedies: Bodhichitta (Bodhisattva's Attitude of Mind), which is enlightenment.

Powerful Methods: (relied on Bodhichitta)

• Dorje Sempa
• Meditation of selflessness

Bliss Wisdom Foundation Trip, 032009

福智之旅

• The Luffa Farm in Nipomo:

Nestled on the hidden mesa of Nipomo, California, The Luffa Farm is one of the few growers of Luffa (Loofah). From a first crop of 8 luffas grown outdoors on dog-eared fencing in the Northern California area over 20 years ago to the current greenhouses full of luffas now open to the public for tours, their story-like their luffa vines, has grown, and like the plants is ever changing with the seasons. In addition, there are products made from backyard herbs, e.g., lavender, spearmint, mulberry, peppermint, chamomile, rosemary, eucalyptus, roses. Each herb suggests its own benefits, from relaxation, energizing, to calming, memories. All products are lightly scented, never overwhelming. Very soothing place!

• Holiday Inn Express & Suites of Atascadero:

It's so nice to stay at a new upscale hotel! It's only 7-month old. Clean, well-appointed, large rooms. Very nice public areas. New hot bar in town....the breakfast bar! The beds were decent like a typical hotel bed but with ample pillows and plush bedding all. All we needed was a wonderful night's rest. They say it's the Gateway to the Best the Central Coast has to offer.

• Mt. Olive Organic Farm:

A family farm in the truest sense of the term, Mt. Olive Organic Farm in Paso Robles is operated by around two dozen relatives -- parents, children, siblings, and cousins. Their strategy includes maintaining an earthworm farm that produces organic fertilizer. Worm casting introduces rich organic matter into the soil and gradually releases nutrients while inoculating the soil with healthy bacteria and fungi. They combine these efforts with EM technology (Effective Microorganisms), a complex culture of selected beneficial microorganisms which includes photosynthetic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, and yeasts.

Amazingly, you will find a whole bunch of volunteers coming up during weekends to work on the fields. We even walked a steep trail up to the top of the mountain to visit their holy church. We enjoyed the scenery, clean air, fresh food and friendliness. What an unforgettable tour!