Youth in Prison

"When I Die They'll Send Me Home" - Youth Behind Bars

is a short about the Human Rights Watch Report on the gross injustice some youth offenders receive in the prosecution and sentencing of their crimes. Sometimes they receive even harsher sentences than their adult counterparts and co-defendants.

In the video Sara talks about killing the man who raped her when she was 11 years old and subsequently turned her out on the street as a young teenager. She is currently serving Life WITHOUT Parole in Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, CA.

You can read the entire HRW REPORT Here.

Art & Culture: Silent Film Goddess Lingyu Ruan

Lingyu Ruan was one of the most prominent Chinese film stars of the 1930's. Before her tragic death by overdose at age 24, she acted in 29 films, all of them silent. Her tumultuous life was dogged by massive pressure and gossip from tabloids, mostly resulting from an extended legal battle with her scoundrel of an ex-husband.

Maggie Cheung played her in the 1992 biopic Yuen Ling-yuk.

Below is a clip from her 1933 film 'Little Toys', one of only 8 of her films remaining in existence, the entirety of which, along with 'The Goddess' may be viewed on THIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL.



Part 1/8 of 'The Goddess' (Wu Yonggang, 1934) with English Intertitles

Books: The Know-It-All

The Know -It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World is a witty and educational tome about the year Esquire editor A.J. Jacobs spent reading all 32 volumes of the 2002 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, all 44 million words on 33,000 pages. Any you thought the final Harry Potter book was hefty!



While I have yet to read this book, I have previewed it online. What I read there was chock full of quirky, sardonic wit and random, oddball trivia (my favorite) as well as some genuinely enlightening information. I will be purchasing this book for my dear friend Elle, who is uber-intelligent and probably has already learned much of the information in this book, but never the less will enjoy the tidbits of new knowledge and jocularity. Then I will read it and will be able to give an accurate positive affirmation when people I know repeatedly proclaim that I know EVERYTHING, as they are oft to do. And it will finally be mostly true.

The book is available at AMAZON, or preferably, try to pick it up at your nearest locally/ independently owned bookseller.

Use Your Brain

If you are looking for a fun new game to workout your brain muscles and while away the time at work, try this timed Scrabble reminiscent style word game by DEEPLEAP.



I find it hard to come up with words longer than 4 or 5 letters and the Z and X are uber frustrating! Looks like I need to play it more myself!

Cool Website:

Soul Pancake was created by Rainn Wilson for the purpose of exploring, sharing and discussing creativity, philosophy and spirituality. Quite simply fantastic.

Here is a great art video from the Soul Pancake website:


MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Art & Culture: International Film

Gabbeh is a superbly arresting and visually stunning feast for the eyes. One of my top favorite films of all time.


Trailer for Gabbeh

Break

I will only be posting periodically during the next 2 weeks to allow for plenty of time to visit with a certain Aussie FFB while she is in LA.

So there you have it, and Bob's your uncle.