Friday, September 24, 2004

Yoga - Part II - 5 minutes of undivided attention

In the end of my Yoga class, after an exhaustive section of stretching mixed with power exercises, the teacher asks for all the participants to lie down and try to relax all the muscles of the body. "Lift your feet and drop, lift your waist and heavily drop, lift your hands and drop". After we all release the stress with a mumbling mantra she finally says: "Try not to move one muscle in your body. Think of Nothing. Feel everything!" In the begning I admit I couldn't stay still for 30 seconds. I always had some itching. After three months I have reached the stage in which I stay still BUT "Think of Nothing" is just impossible. I have created this exercise in my mind where I see this very clean white sink, the images come to my mind and they immediately go down the drain. When the sink is white again it means that I am not thinking of anything but then my five minutes of "undivided attention are gone" Ugh! :O(
It starts with: "OKay, I will not move one muscle. Hum, I have to clean the bathroom today... Oh Nooo... What am I gonna have for dinner? Subway, Chinese or KFC. I can't stand the same options. I have to find something new, or maybe I should start cooking, I would save money, but waste time... Hum, Chinese tonight. He likes, he likes me not, he likes me, he likes me not. I am starting to like him a lot. Should I call him or should I wait for him to call? What about all these kidnapings on Iraq ? I hate the fact that the nations don't do anything just because it's only one or two people who are gonna be beheaded. For God Sake, what about the family of these people? Can these fucking chiefs of state stop thinking about numbers and start thinking about individuals who are in a horrific situation. What about the situation in Sudan and the Hurricanes Ivan & Jeane, the school in Russia... So much destruction... Okay, okay, calm down, I need to relax. This is time for my relaxation... Maybe I should write this on my Blog". Next thing I hear is "Turn to the side, sit down slowly. Thank you for this wonderful class".

Thursday, September 23, 2004

Michael Moore

Ever since I saw 'Bowling for Columbine' I have become Michael Moore's admirer. I know he can be very bias and controversial, but who told one could be heard with "sugarcoated" ideas? If one day I decide to be heard I will definetly take whatever I believe to an extreme in a way to shock the public opinion. And that is something that MM does it best. He presents his ideas with great impact and assertiviness, and as a documentarist 'to be' I give him a lot of credit. In my mind what makes him so special is not WHAT he is presenting but HOW he does it and that is what makes him such a great communicator.
I heard many people complaining about how his last piece - Fahrenheit 911 - is very unidirectional and partial. Many of these people stated that F911 does not work as a documentary because it could possibly carry incorrect facts and too much of someone's point of view. Back on my school days, during Film Classes, I remember learning that even documentaries were pretty much the reality seen through the director's eyes. The reality happens as it is but the film is shot and edited according to the Director's perspective. In this process, a new version of that reality ws created.
I wish one day I can achieve 30% of what Michael Moore has achieved as a journalist / documentarist.

If I were a cartoon...

Today I tried this cute test about which cartoon character I would be. I ended up classified as Tweedy - sweet, friendly and witty. I like that!
The link is http://www.expage.com/dreamsparklescartoon
It takes 5 minutes the most and it has nothing to do with the Political Compass, therefore it is not gonna tell which cartoon character Osama Bin Laden, Saddan Hussein or George W. Bush would be... Hummmm! Actually, That would be pretty funny! Well, I will use my imagination.