I have seen SOME of the online hype. Not the case. NOT THAT FUNNY. Very forced, predictable & hackneyed. No real originality.
ONLY one funny line in the whole movie as far as I was concerned. That was when a white guy tries to say he is not all white by claiming that his … “23andme showed that he was 3% Sri Lankan“. That obviously tickled I — given that I am around 92%Sri Lankan. Never done ‘23andme‘. So don’t know whether they actually REPORT percentage of Sri Lankan. Problem is that ONLY ONE STRAIN of Sri Lankan’s are pure — a true race. The rest of us are hybrid. But, that is another topic.
I BECAME A DAD (at 56) OLDER THAN ALL THREE OF THE IDIOTS PORTRAYED!
As far as I am concerned this movie was TRIPE.
Don’t bother watching it. The IMDb rating of 6.3 (out of 10) indicates I am not alone.
Today. On my walk. By a retired doctor! But, he probably doesn’t even realize. Click to ENLARGE. Taken in January 2022, at the ‘Co-Op’ Supermarket in Hanover (‘Dartmouth’), New Hampshire. Click to ENLARGE & study here. From an achieved post from 2016.
What I find intriguing is that Buddhists don’t object to such desecration in anyway. I find that amazing.
Yes, that folks think it is also OK to disrespect the image of the Buddha, especially his head, is another matter. BUT, if there was even SOME push-back some might think BETTER of making and/or buying these products.
Can you see the image of any other religious leader being disrespected in this manner.
What I saw today was a PLANTING POT!
The Buddha’s head being used as a planting pot!
Come on. That is NOT right.
I am NOT a Buddhist. I am NOT even religious. As some of you know, I am a Refined, Born-Again, Heathen. But, I respect those that are religious. I know a few Buddhists. That they don’t seem to CARE confounds I.
PLEASE, PLEASE do NOT tell me that Buddhists are pacifists. Please, don’t make me laugh. Look at the Buddhist instigated violence in Sri Lanka, Myanmar & Thailand.
I had NOT been to ‘Meredith‘ since July 4th. That is my loss. I lived in Meredith for nearly 3 years & then used to go there ALL the time. But, in the last 5 years or so I would be lucky if I visit 5 times in the year. MY LOSS. I really must make an effort to visit. I am sure this mural wasn’t there when I visited on July 4th. It would have stopped me in my tracks.
I saw it for the first time yesterday. It BLEW ME AWAY. It is brilliant. Colorful, vibrant & symbolic. So magically & marvelously captures THE MAGIC of Meredith.
Bravo. Kudos.
I think (but I can’t be sure) that I have heard of this ‘Veggie Art Girl‘.
I am now humbled by her talents. I need to get to know her work. I have a CRAZY idea to ask her (more like BEG) IF she could do a piece for one of my books. She probably is (as she should be) way too busy & most likely WAY OUTSIDE my meagre budget. C’est la vie. This is great. I love art. This was so refreshing & inspiring. I want to SHOUT about is brilliance from the roofs. But, alas, this is the best I can do.
Click image to access her Website & get to know her amazing work.
Try & visit Meredith just to see this mural.
[Then TREAT yourself to some calamari, spinach rolls & pizza at “Giuseppe’s” — THE BEST PIZZERIA IN THE U.S. — which is just around the corner. That is how I ended up walking past this wonderful mural. I was going to Giuseppe’s. Most of the time I go to Meredith is to visit Giuseppe’s. SMILE. [I don’t eat the pizza BUT I eat TONS of the calamari + spinach rolls.]
I grew up during the time Ceylon had STRICT import restrictions (due to the lack of foreign currency). Only essential items could be imported — & comic books sure did not count as essential.
I was, however, lucky. We had ‘contacts’. SMILE. I had a steady supply of American comic books — many ‘Archie’.
Archie was MY HERO. I thought that he represented America.
40-years later I was lucky enough to meet & interact with two of the daughters of ‘Bob Montana’, the gifted artist who created Archie. He, like his daughters, lived in Meredith. Hence the statue — opposite where his studio was.
Yes, it was wrong. But this was THEN. Colonial times. Lot of bad things happened. They stole LAND — for cripes sake! Are they going to return the LAND?Of course NOT.
In the case of Sri Lanka & the Netherlands we are only talking about a FEW SMALL pieces — though one of them is this exquisite GOLD model of a canon. It is special & beautiful. People need to be able to see it, appreciate it — enjoy it.
In this case we are NOT talking about the ‘Elgin Marbles‘ or a unique jewel.
Hence my dilema.
The Dutch have these pieces, on display, in TOP museums. Lot of people get to see them — though to be fair, not as many Sri Lankans.
So …
That is my only point. Access & visibility. Are they better off on display in Holland, clearly marked as coming from Sri Lanka, or in a museum in Sri Lanka. Enough said. I have NO say in this. Just voicing my {useless} opinion.
{Aside. Way back, in the early 1960s, one of the many ‘acting’ roles my adoptive father had was as the Director of the Colombo Museum. He was also the Director of the Colombo zoo. Fun days.}
Yes, yes, I appreciate that this is BUT a ‘Tripadvisor’ poll & their polls are not that representative. It also, of course, depends on the number of people writing reviews & taking part in the poll. With COVID the financial crisis tourism to Sri Lanka has dropped in the last few years & that also has to be a factor.
I haven’t been to Sri Lanka, the Maldives or Thailand of late, but I know that they have some world-class & duly celebrated beaches. Hence my skepticism on seeing this list.
I used to write a LOT of reviews for Tripadvisor BUT I stopped when I saw that they were reluctant to post bad reviews. That is not right. That is not cricket. So, their lists no doubt are skewed.
I am interested in seeing what you think. Yes, I am sure Brazilian beaches are a LOT of fun. So, I have no gripes with that. ICELAND? Do you have to wear a parka & gloves? Interesting.
I am fortunate enough to have met & spoken to the charismatic ‘Jawaharlal Nehru‘. He, as Prime Minister of India came to our house for dinner during his official visit to Ceylon in 1962. {Smile. What can I say? My father was in charge of that visit & I guess he wanted something other than a very fancy, state dinner for at least one night.} I still remember meeting him. I would have been 9. He towered over me, all dressed in his trademark white. He GLOWED. He was so tall. So erect. Wow. What a man.
I have nothing, whatsoever, against Nehru. He was a GOOD MAN. One of my third-tier heroes. Under any other circumstances I would have applauded Sri Lanka honoring him with a flag.
But, this is so, so shameless. Political pandering, bordering on political prostitution.
Yes, Sri Lanka is so, so desperate for India to bail it out of its dire financial crisis. But, this is so obvious & pathetic. It will also annoy the Chinese. The Indians must be falling over themselves laughing at the weak, groveling Sri Lanka. Not good. Very sad. We were once a proud nation.
I am too far away & too divorced to see the supposed ‘dire economic crisis’. From what I see on ‘Facebook‘, cricket match coverage & occasionally here from the one Sri Lankan that I am in regular contact, things don’t look that bad. Life seems to be proceeding much as usual. But, I am willing to believe that there are some — maybe MANY — who are suffering. That is a shame. I wish we, in the West, would get MORE visibility of those in crisis, those in need, those in dire straits. All I see on Facebook is people living it up & enjoying the good life.
I had a quick look at the above YouTube. Looked like the usual, ex-British colony, Independence Day celebration. Yes, it could have been scaled down. That would have been appropriate. Would appear that it would have been appreciated by some too.
But, this is Sri Lanka — that has always loved marching to the beat on a different drummer.
Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Facebook’. Appeared on my timeline.
MODERATION. MODERATION. MODERATION.
Moderation was Buddha’s byword. He advocated moderation in everything — the Middle Path. Overeating was one of the indulgences that he often railed against.
So, forget everything else. Do you think the Buddha would eat 9 Donuts in one go. Remember, he was the Buddha, NOTDonald J. Trump.
This is so INSULTING.
Insulting to the Buddha, insulting to Buddhism & insulting to the Buddhist who know something about Buddhism.
I am not even going to harp on about the ignorance of making food offerings to a person who made it extremely clear that he will cease to be — cease to exist — in any form — after his death. I have already done multiple posts on that — quite recently too. See here & here.
This post is about stupid, mindless EXCESS.
What we see in this picture is VANITY. Pride. The need to show-off. Extravagance. A love of food, i.e., gluttony. ALL things that the Buddha was AGAINST.
Ironically, a few minutes earlier I had see this post also on Facebook. This one made me VERY HAPPY (& humble).
Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Facebook’. Appeared on my timeline.
The Buddha would have been so happy with that. That is all so much in line with HIS teachings.
This post talks about 100 hungry kids. In a country of 22 million (& yes, they can’t keep it in their pants either), undergoing severe economic hardship, there has to be tens of thousands of kids going HUNGRY.
Don’t make stupid food offerings to an image of the Buddha. Use that money to feed hungry kids. Jesus!
Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Facebook’. Appeared on my timeline.
Click image to access my earlier post from this August.Click to ENLARGE. From ‘Google’. Do your own search.
The Buddha would be aghast. He would have realized that he failed, failed miserably.
They, i.e., the Sri Lankan Buddhists have failed to grasp the most basic concept in Buddhism.
The Buddha does NOT exist in any way, shape or form. Other than his legacy there is NOTHING. There is NO Buddha in heaven. There is NO spirit of Buddha. No Holy Ghost. NOTHING. NOTHING. NOTHING. But, that is what HE wanted. NOTHING. No rebirth. State of NO EXISTING. Jesus Christ! Can’t they get this into their skulls.
Don’t WASTE food offerings to something that is NOT there. Jesus wept!
Making any offering to the Buddha is beyond pointless! Unlike the Abrahamic God, the Roman/Greek gods or the Hindu gods, the Buddha does NOT exist in CURRENT TIMES. He is gone. Gone forever. No spirit, no sign, no life. NOTHING. GONE. Poof. That was his goal. The attainment of nirvana he cased to exist — utterly & completely. NOTHING. He is GONE. GONE. Poof. No Holy Spirit. No spirit in the sky. He is GONE. NOTHING. You can’t interact with the Buddha. He is gone. Yes, there are supposedly relics but the relics can’t do much IF there is NOTHING behind them (or above them).
So, making a food offering to someone (or something) that no longer exists seems ‘funny’. I could use stronger words BUT these folks are genuine in their … (SMILE). Hey, when I was a kid I subscribed to all of this.
[[Offering flowers to the Buddha is different! The flowers are NOT for the Buddha per se. The flowers are really for US. They are to show us — to remind us — of the impermanence of life. The fresh flowers offered, will in time wilt & die — just like all of us. That is what offerings of flowers is all about. Time to think about the impermanence of life.]]
So, there is that. This is also why it is so crazy to pray to the Buddha. He is NOT there. You are praying to NOTHINNESS. [[My mother, a QUEEN of Prayer, at least had this part right. She never prayed to the Buddha. She, though a Buddhist, prayed to the Christian God. She believed that he existed. But, her go to ‘guys’ were the Hindu gods. They are supposed to be around. So, she prayed to them shamelessly & incessantly. But, at least there was some logic to that. She was praying to gods who never said they were going BYE-BYE for good.]]
