In Chinese shadow, Hong Kong fights for its future

From Associated Press: In Chinese shadow, Hong Kong fights for its future
From Drew:  People in this lovely city wouldn't have any issues had that bitch Margaret Thatcher acted like a decent human being and actually gave Hongkongers the choice over their future.  She wasn't a complete bitch, but this was a total foreign policy FAIL.

From AP:

HONG KONG (AP) — As skyscrapers around Hong Kong harbor erupted into a reverie of laser beams and giant digital displays during their synchronized nightly light show, one innocuous 28-story building near the water's edge had stayed dark for months, clad in bamboo scaffolding for a face-lift.
Then, in June, the renovated tower came to life, flashing giant Chinese characters that some in Hong Kong saw as a warning.
"People's Liberation Army," it said.
Many in this prosperous city had already feared that Hong Kong's future as an open society as well as a semiautonomous part of China was in jeopardy in the face of perceived growing intervention from Beijing. Tens of thousands of people had turned out days earlier for an annual vigil to commemorate victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, while an unprecedented policy "white paper" declaring Beijing's irrevocable control over the territory had generated furious debate about Hong Kong's future.
Now, after the Chinese military building had kept a low profile for years, its brief debut in the city's beloved "Symphony of Lights" felt like nothing less than a show of force 17 years after the British handed the territory back to Chinese control.
"It's a logo of red Chinese colonization," said Billy Chiu Hin-chung, one of four people arrested last year after storming the army building while waving Hong Kong's colonial British-era flag. Chiu's group was angry that, near the military building, in the heart of the harbor, a prime slice of waterfront had been fenced off for exclusive use as a dock by the Chinese navy's visiting warships.
"If Hong Kong people don't obey the Communist Party," Chiu predicted, "the army will come and fight us."
___
From the bustling streets of this legendary port city of 7.2 million people to its air-conditioned offices in sleek towers high above the harbor, Hong Kongers are indeed picking sides in a looming battle over what's to come.
People here have long prided themselves on providing what they consider a stable, sophisticated alternative to Communist China that despite its small population enjoys the world's 36th-biggest economy and runs the globe's sixth-richest stock exchange.
But now, Hong Kongers say the soul of their society is coming under attack as they grow wary of the Communist Party's rising sway with top officials and see the flood of cross-border Chinese shoppers (dubbed "locusts" for their voracious buying habits and supposed bad manners). Hundreds of thousands of residents have been fighting back in street protests, while others are already mobilizing to move rather than live under Beijing's influence.
All over the territory, which covers an area slightly smaller than Los Angeles, Hong Kongers see evidence pointing to historic changes to their liberal-minded way of life.
Much of the battle centers on democratic reform, with Beijing having promised to allow voters to elect their leader for the first time starting in 2017. But the lack of details about that plan has fed demands for genuine democracy rather than what many say will be a Beijing-manipulated government more worried about mainland approval than the well-being of Hong Kongers.
Last week, the city's leader, Leung Chun-ying, who was hand-picked by a committee of mostly pro-Beijing elites, kicked off the electoral overhaul by formally asking China's legislature for constitutional changes to allow residents to elect the next chief executive. However, his report said "mainstream opinion" wanted the elite committee to again pick candidates, setting the stage for a confrontation with democracy groups, who vow to freeze the financial district with protests if the public isn't allowed to choose candidates free of China's vetting.
Already, the pro-Beijing influence is threatening a disciplined civil service corps that had long upheld transparency and the rule of law, rather than political-minded favoritism, says Anson Chan, a democracy activist who was Hong Kong's chief secretary and No. 2 official from 1993 to 2001.
"If the government gives the community the impression that it doesn't listen," she says, "then the community feels that the only way of making this government listen is to take to the streets."
___
In the eyes of Chan and others, Beijing's influence has also hit the city's thriving private media. Most newspapers no longer run stories critical of the Chinese government, and even multinational banks HSBC and Standard Chartered recently raised suspicions by pulling advertising from the city's sole pro-democracy newspaper, the Apple Daily. HSBC said in a statement that the advertising decision was purely commercial, and Standard Chartered said it came after a review of their advertising strategy.
In a report released this month, Hong Kong's journalists' association called the past 12 months "the darkest for press freedom for several decades," citing among other events a cleaver attack in February that left an outspoken former editor at the Ming Pao newspaper in critical condition. Last year, the French press watchdog group Reporters Without Borders ranked Hong Kong 61st in press freedom, a steep fall from No. 18 in 2002.
"For someone who is used to an open society, that is something really alarming and concerning," says Shirley Yam, the journalists' association's vice chairwoman. "Hong Kong is a major financial center, and the reason that Hong Kong has been able to become a major financial center is freedom of information and press freedom."
For many, the most troubling blow came last month with the white paper.
It argued that Hong Kong's autonomy was entirely at Beijing's discretion and that "loving the country is the basic political requirement for Hong Kong's administrators," including its judges. In the view of Chan and other critics of Beijing, that policy violated Chinese promises to respect Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy, which mainland leaders famously dubbed "one country, two systems."
The expressions of outrage were immediate. Even Hong Kong's lawyers, a typically reserved group who dress for court in wigs and black robes in a system based on English common law, hit the streets by the hundreds to protest the white paper.
"We are definitely at a crossroads," Chan says. "Hong Kong people are growing increasingly angry and frustrated, and I think something has to give."
Trying to calm the lawyers' concerns, Hong Kong Justice Secretary Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung said the white paper wouldn't require judges to make any "political or other inappropriate" considerations while deciding cases.
Pro-government Hong Kong legislators also say critics are overdramatizing the Chinese threat to the city's way of life. Instead, they warn that protesters who plan to shut down the city center are the real danger.
"Democrats should not use fighting means to achieve their own purposes," says Christopher Cheung Wah-fung, a legislator and businessman who runs a stock brokerage firm.
"Keeping the dialogue," he says, "is better than confrontation."

Fuck you ISIS, ISIL, IS or whatever you want to call yourself!

And I add:  Murdering journalists that are trying to tell your side of the story AND aid workers that are trying to make your situation bearable.

You just perverted your faith to the point of being unrecognizable to most believers.  There is no room for extremism in any faith.  May your 72 virgins in Paradise end up being 72 pigs, because what you are doing is so haram, it's not even funny.

Yellowface in the context of "The Mikado" relevant? Yes!

From Angry Asian Man: Real Life Yellowface -- Now Playing In Seattle

I've read the link, and I keep thinking:  What a misinformed idiot.  Does he understand anything about theatrical history, Gilbert and Sullivan, or the history of ethnic performers in entertainment?  If he does, wow, he needs to be more informed.

As an Asian actor, we face the conundrum of all ethnic actors:  when are stereotypes unacceptable?

In the case of the Mikado, here are my thoughts:

Watch the movie Topsy-Turvy, as it should put this all in perspective as the original intents of Gilbert and Sullivan. As I portrayed Pish-Tush in a couple of productions of Mikado, I get the yellow face. To me, there are certain realities we will never escape. Like how 'our people' were perceived and portrayed 160 some-odd years ago when Mikado premiered in the Savoy Theatre in London. I let it go because it's a testament to how things have changed.

I even played Ito in Auntie Mame, and had no qualms about the stereotypes of his character (and in retrospect should have played it up, as he was supposed to be the comic relief in those scenes).

It would be nice if the casts were all API, but if it were, I think it would lose some of the G & S flavor and historical relevance. The Mikado was groundbreaking for many reasons, for one, a G & S theme that didn't rely on the supernatural or 'contrived' premise. It was one of a handful of dramatic works at the time that took place anywhere but Europe or English-Speaking North America. It was a statement of a time in Victorian England where anything Asian was en vogue and very popular.

They wrote another show "Utopia Limited", which was a commentary on British Colonial Imperialism, set on an Island Nation (most likely Hawaii). Since it is a bitch to produce, the show rarely sees the light of day, but when it does, will people complain about the appearances of the Natives? By the way, I also did that show, but as one Lord Dramaleigh, whose character represented the good that public works could do for a country. Was I offended in either case? NO!

And on the other hand, today one of my agents submitted me to be a stand in for a well-known Japanese golfer in a commerical. I'm Filipino. Should people be pissed? NO!

Taking the perceived Yellowface out of "The Mikado" would be like taking the N-word out of "To Kill A Mockingbird" or deleting derogatory words in other plays about other ethnic groups that came out before Civil Rights. Or sanitizing the "Rape" sequence in "The Fantasticks". Or making Aldonza/Dulcinea a misunderstood woman, rather than the uh.... "whore" in "The Man of La Mancha". Or Disney not making "The Song of the South" available for purchase or viewing (it is a movie that they totally regret making, but will never publicly admit that)? Or even yet, do people find "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" offensive because it's a commentary of Greek-American family life?

I'm neither defending nor condemning, I'm just saying that everything needs to be kept in perspective. There are times where being PC need not be a driving force in everything in our lives.

Nightmares at the Majestic -- A fundraising opportunity

Click here to help support Nightmares at the Majestic

From the original Terror of Church Street and Halloween Horror Nights, the reigning Father of Halloween in Asia, Alan Ostrander and his team of Theatrical Horror Experts are creating Orlando's Newest, Most Fatal Attraction!  Alan and his team have spent the last 13 years creating, designing, and directing the largest Halloween event in Asia -- Ocean Park Halloween Bash.  Now, the FrightMaster is back, home where his roots are, assembling his minions to create the Ultimate Scream Team this Halloween Season!

The Majestic Event Center (MEC) invited AEOStudios (AEO) to build a haunted house on their property.  In the arrangement, MEC administers food and beverage sales and other spaces on the property for event-related functions, while AEO produces and operates the attraction and event merchandising.  The revenue generated stays within their respective group.

We have a home, we have our wicked dreams, but we need you to help us make our Nightmares come true!!!

In order to get what you want, you have to leave a bit of yourself behind....

We are well underway with raising the majority of funding for the event...But, we still have a long way to go!  Here is how you can help be a part of this Frightening project:

• To continue our progress, we need a total of $35,000.  We hope to raise a quarter of it here.  Monies raised through Indiegogo go towards the initial design and buildout stages and insurance.
• Perks begin with a $25 sacrifice to us.
  
• If we are unable to raise the full amount here, we will continue to honor the perks, and we will continue with other fundraising efforts. 

Why?

Your contribution will make a difference in Orlando in many ways:

• It's time that Orlando had a Terror On Church Street-esque Haunt that is reasonably priced, with good entertainment value, and is centrally located.
  
• Our Ultimate Scream Team has a combined 150 years in event management/creation.
• Funding will make Nightmares a frightening reality, so we can start creating scary goodness for our guests.
• As Orlando is a Film/TV/Theatre school hub, the funding we get will help us hire and pay Student Interns, who will be getting real world experience that they won't necessarily get in class.

Risks & Obstacles

A Haunted House usually takes 3-4 years to show a profit, as the budget for the first two years are tied up in equipment, set building and venue costs.  We have taken steps to ensure that monies raised will be used prudently and wisely.

• Our design and creative team actively share resources and utilize those for the needs of the operation.
• The minions are THAT passionate and committed to the vision that Alan and the team have, they all agree on the deferred/low/slow compensation concept for their efforts, as it frees up much needed capital for more important things, like building the haunt and getting event insurance. 
  
• Through our networks. we have obtained equipment and supplies for free or minimal cost, rather than purchasing outright or renting equipment.
• Finally, MEC has given us the space to use to build the haunt, free of charge, and is assisting with some support staff and most importantly, marketing through their existing media network.

Other Ways You Can Help

We understand that people may not be able to afford to give to our pursuit of terror, but here's other ways you can help:

• Get the word out and make some noise about our campaign, via relevant social media (ie Facebook and Twitter).
  
• Don't forget to use the Indiegogo share tools!
• And if you want to be personally involved, please let us know! We can use volunteers for things like set building/buildout, support staff, and whatever the spirits think we need.

The Majestic....  A once noble and regal establishment where all the world's elite would gather.  Now, it's a home to a gathering of another kind -- Spirits, Evil, Dementia and Madness!!!  Many a person's worst nightmares and fears, WAITING FOR YOU!

WE appreciate your help in bringing Terror back to Orlando in the form of Nightmares at the Majestic.

A full prospectus is available upon request by emailing info@gonightmares.com.  Please provide mailing address.

Visit us at:  gonightmares.com
Facebook:  Nightmares at the Majestic
Twitter:  NightmaresHaunt

An open letter to the people who hate Obama more than they love America

From Daily Kos: An open letter to the people who hate Obama more than they love America

Here's the text:

I meet you all the time. You hate Obama. You hate gay people. You hate black people, immigrants, Muslims, labor unions, women who want the right to make choices concerning their bodies, you hate em all. You hate being called racist. You hate being called a bigot. Maybe if you talked about creating jobs more than you talk about why you hate gay people we wouldn't call you bigots. Maybe if you talked about black people without automatically assuming they are on food stamps while demanding their birth certificates we wouldn't call you racist. You hate socialism and social justice. You hate regulations and taxes and spending and the Government. You hate.
     You like war. You like torture. You like Jesus. I don't know how in the hell any of that is compatible, but no one ever accused you haters of being over-committed to ideological consistency. You like people who look like you or at least hate most of the things that you hate. You hate everything else.
Now, I know you profess to love our country and the founding fathers (unless you are reminded that they believed in the separation of church and state), but I need to remind you that America is NOT what Fox News says it is. America is a melting pot, it always has been. We are a multi-cultural amalgamation of all kinds of people, and yet you still demonize everyone who is not a rich, white, heterosexual christian male or his submissive and obedient wife.
You hate liberals, moderates, hell, anyone who disagrees with Conservative dogma as espoused by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. You hate em.
Well, here are the facts, Jack. If you hate the Government then you are unqualified to manage it. If you hate gay people more than you love America than you should take your own advice and get the hell out. There are several countries that are openly hostile to gay people, but they are full of brown people and you don't like them much either from what I understand. It looks like you are screwed, but that's not what I am here to tell you.
More rant below the fold . . .

Now that you have thrown everything and the kitchen sink at President Obama and it still hasn't worked you are panicking. Obama's approval ratings are still near 50% despite your best efforts to undermine the economy and America's recovery at every step you can. You tried to hold the American economy hostage to force America into default on its' debts, debts that YOU rang up under Bush, so you could blame it on Obama and it failed. You've used the filibuster more than any other Congress ever, going so far as to vote against providing health care access to 9/11 first responders. You remember 9/11, don't you, it's that thing you used to lie us into a war in Iraq, and then when Obama killed Bin Laden and ended the war in Iraq you told people that he hates America and wants the troops to fail. You monsters. You hate Obama with a passion, despite the fact that he is a tax cutting, deficit reducing war President who undermines civil rights and delivers corporate friendly watered down reforms that benefit special interests just like a Republican. You call him a Kenyan. You call him a socialist. You dance with your hatred singing it proudly in the rain like it was a 1950's musical.
Frankly, you disgust me. Your hatred nauseates me. Your bigotry offends me. Your racism revolts me.
Dear haters, I am openly questioning your patriotism.
I think you hate gays, Obama, black people, poor people, all of us, women, atheists and agnostics, Latinos, Muslims, Liberals, all of us, I think you hate every one who isn't exactly like you, and I think you hate us more than you love your country.
I think you hate gay soldiers more than you want America to win its wars.
I don't even think you want America to win wars, you just want America to have wars, never ending wars and the war profiteering it generates. You love that kind of spending, you love spending on faith based initiatives and abstinence based sex education (George Carlin would have loved that one), you love spending on subsidies for profitable oil corporations, you spend like drunken sailors when you are in the White House, but if it is a Democrat then suddenly you cheer when America doesn't get the Olympics because it might make the black President look bad. But oooh you love your country, you say, and you want it back. Well listen here skippy, it isn't your country, you don't own it, it is our country, and America is NOT the religiously extremist Foxbots who hate science, elitist professors and having a vibrant and meaningful sex life with someone we love if Rick Santorum doesn't approve of it. Rick Santorum isn't running for America's fucking high school dance chaperone, he should probably just shut the hell up about sex, but he can't because he has nothing else to run on.
Republicans can NOT win on the issues. They've got NOTHING. All they have is a divide and conquer class war that pits ignorant racist and bigoted people against the rest of us in a meaningless battle of wedge issues and the already proven to fail George W. Bush agenda again of tax cuts for the rich, deregulation, privatization and war profiteering and nothing else, so all they can do is blame black people, gays the government, anybody and everyone else for their own failings. The party of personal responsibility, my ass.
But they love multi-national corporations, just ask a gay hating and racist religious extremist if they think Corporations are people and they will gladly agree, but if you ask them if gay people are people they aren't so sure.
Dear haters, you are the cruel, heartless misinformed assholes who would sell America out to Haliburton in a heartbeat, you would rather pay ZERO taxes than you would see a newly born baby get access to quality health care, you cheer when we discuss denying health care to young people with preventable diseases, and you boo when we discuss the First Ladies plan to cut back on childhood obesity. You are a cross to carry and a flag to wrap yourself in away from being the people who Sinclair Lewis warned us about, but I guarantee that if Fox News told you to dress that way you would, because you are the same blind, ignorant and closed minded dunces who drove this country into a civil war years ago because you are bound to the notion that some men are more equal than others. In short, the reason I proudly wear my union army hat is because of seditious sell outs like you who constantly fuck over working class Americans so a foreign entrepreneur like Rupert Murdoch can get a bigger tax break. If corporations are people, they are neither American patriots nor capable of love. Just like you.
So stop wearing your hate with pride. Stop celebrating your anti-science, anti-math ignorance. Stop using code words to mask your bigotry like "family values", especially when you hate my family and when you stand on the same stage as a guy who has had three marriages or if you share a seat in the Senate with a guy who cheated on his wife with hookers while wearing diapers. You should be ashamed. I know that you are just doing this to motivate your misinformed hate cult base because if they actually knew that your ideas will make them poorer than they are now, they would never vote for you. You are doing your best to impoverish your countrymen so rich people can get bigger tax breaks and you can keep on delivering corporate welfare to the special interests who have bribed you, and I am disgusted by the way you gleefully parade your hatred with aplomb. I don't think you do love America. At least, not as much as you hate everyone in America who isn't exactly like you.
You should think about that, and maybe get some help.
And for the record, I do not hate you. I am embarrassed by you and nauseated by your cruel and thoughtless behavior and your all consuming greed, but I do not hate you. I forgive you and I hope you can change someday, but I don't hate you. You have enough hate in you for the rest of us as it is.

In gratitude

I am grateful for all those who helped and fought for me, past and present, known and unknown. I shall return such kindnesses by paying it forward, doing the same for others, to the best of my ability.

The Universe is trying to tell me something

Somehow I think the universe is trying to tell me that there is way too much change in my life already and my body, heart and soul can't absorb much more right now. It's raising its stop sign.

(I'm not saying this to be defeatist, rather, to acknowledge the reality, that I'm trying to do too much too soon, and that change is a process that takes time.  I've already rushed into two situations that I realize that I regret ever committing to, and don't feel like making this a pattern.)

Blatant Racism in Cheektowaga NY

Girl, where is your mouth filter?  Do you realize what's going to happen next?  Are you prepared to deal with the repercussions of your actions?  Are you really that stupid?  And why did you have to poison your kids with your tirade?

However, at least this idiot was open about her racism, so we all know what an evil bitch she is.

Fired or commended?

Actor Fired After Confronting Anti-Gay Heckler During CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF Performance; Says 'I'd Do It Again' (from Broadwayworld.com)

Instead of heckling, I would have walked out.  If I was bothered by what I was seeing so much, why take it out on the actors, who are doing their job, and the rest of the audience, who probably have no problem with the show they were attending to see?  Heckling is as bad as not putting one's phone on silent or off during a show.  Where the hell were his manners?  Instead of firing the actor, he should have been commended, as he reacted the way some actors have reacted when a cell phone goes off in the middle of their scene.  Distractions are inappropriate in any type of theatre or performance.

Getting away with erasing history

Central Government, if you think you can erase a major world event from the collective memory of your people, then you're delusional.  We will still speak out and force you to remember Tiananmen.  The world knows what you did.

These articles from CBC will serve as a testament of why it's important to keep remembering and reminding you, the Central Government, that you cannot erase the truth.  Even if you tell your own people lies.

Erasing The Memory of Tiananmen

25 years after Tiananmen, many of China's youth don't know their history

NEVER DO THIS TO A PERSPECTIVE EMPLOYER (Shawna Welter/shawnaleigh1d@gmail.com)

Follow this chain of emails.  Another winning job enquiry from someone who has the resources to make a good impression, but failed miserably.

From: Drew
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 12:45 PM
To: Shawna Welter

Subject: Re: Internships

Dear Shawna -- and sister,

Apparently you have missed the point about applying for internships.  They are for getting real world experience and education by professionals who are working in the industry.  I personally, have had 25+ years of instructing, coaching and mentoring individuals in various settings -- retail, entertainment in its various aspects, and legal. So, yes, as a professional, I am qualified to give feedback and advice.

One of the things we do for our interns is to help them sell themselves and their talents.  We also do this for those who are starting out and reached out, just like you have, and we are one of the few in the business in Orlando that will actually take the time to proffer feedback.  Lashing out because I had called you out on a few important details on how oneself should present themselves professionally is totally inappropriate.  Either say "Thank you for your time" or not respond at all.  The last response just shows your maturity level and how one deals with rejection, which is rather unpalatable.

Being a first timer to the internship hunt is no excuse for a)  not knowing how to search for internships, and b)  displaying such behavior and responses to our feedback.  You, Shawna, should have used the many resources available at your disposal to learn how to brand and market yourself effectively.

Which leads me to my next point:  Watch carefully what you say and how it is said.  Reviewing who this email was sent to, my business partners and I know either on a personal or professional level many of the recipients that you had sent your initial email of enquiry to.  What you did in response to our feedback, in the eyes of many in the entertainment industry, is career suicide, as we do talk.  And you have no idea if and to whom emails get forwarded.

Personal attacks on with your opinion as to how we present ourselves as a company and a business, are totally inappropriate.  Again, I repeat, if you didn't like the response, then either say "Thank you for your time." or not respond at all.

Finally, you are not only representing yourself, you are also representing the school you are attending.  This not only reflects on you, it reflects upon your instructors, your program and your school.  You might have spoiled it for your colleagues and classmates who are also trying to get internships.

Think carefully about the points I have made.  No response required or requested.  After carefully considering your email, my response should suffice for closure of this matter.

Drew

On Thu, May 29, 2014 at 1:28 AM, Shawna Welter <shawnaleigh1d@gmail.com> wrote:

Drew,

Thank you for taking the time to provide me with the gift of feedback. The e-mail was beautifully crafted, truly. I would expect nothing less from a creative individual at AEO Studios. A greater testament to your studio's repertoire, however, is your company website. Was that also a product of your own design? It is  impressive, to say the least. If a website like that does not "project a professional image", I don't know what does. Sure, it reeks of 1997, but hey! If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Before you condemn me, you should probably know that this is not Shawna speaking, but her older sister, a professional web developer. Allow me to offer you the "gift of feedback", no charge. You should really tidy up your own online presence before you offer unsolicited advice to college freshmen about the biz. Many words came to mind when I saw your site, but "professional" was not one of them. As a studio whose primary business is design and special effects - in other words, VISUALS - your site should be VISUALLY appealing, don't you think? As it stands now, the site does nothing for the studio's credibility. Had I seen your site before my sister contacted you, I would have told her not to waste her time.

Forgive me, Drew; I'm just blowing off steam. I know you were probably just trying to help. Shawna's just getting started, and she's allowed to be unprofessional for a little while. Next time, leave the advising to her professors. Just answer her questions, or don't reply at all.

Best,

Shawna's Big Sister

PS - I'm serious about the website. It's gross. You should really tell someone.

On Wed, May 28, 2014 at 11:33 PM, wrote:

Shawna,

Thank you for your enquiry.  Here is some important information that you need to know in order to land that ideal internship:

Do your research:  Sending a mass email to assorted people says that you know nothing about each individual company that you are making enquiries, which means you didn't make the effort to fine tune your search, therefore making you look either lazy or desperate.  Had you done your research about us, you would discover that we are a Special FX studio that caters to various elements of the entertainment industry, that we do not accept unsolicited submissions for interns, but if you choose to submit yourself, to send pertinent information by snail mail.

Contacting perspective internship opportunities:  Sending a mass email is also unprofessional.  Any enquiries should be catered to that specific company with the following in your correspondence:  what you know about the company, why you want to work with that company, your career goals, how your skills, education, and experience can benefit that company, and how we can benefit from what you offer.  If you are going to solicit for opportunities by email, at least have a list of credits and a sampling of work product attached to the email so we can decide for ourselves if you are worth approaching.  Finally, no one needs to know who else you contacted, as that can potentially lead to lots of drama, as there are rivalries in the industry and there are people out there that do love to bad mouth their enemies.  You don't need to know that, nor should you be subject to that.

It is rare in the industry to receive honest and fair feedback, and most likely this email would end up deleted or in the trash can.  We feel that it is important that people understand how to be professional and how to project that image, so we are taking the time to give you the gift of feedback.

Thank you for your interest.  We wish you luck in your search.

Very Truly Yours,

Drew

On Wed, May 28, 2014 at 3:14 PM, Shawna Welter <shawnaleigh1d@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello!

My name is Shawna Welter, I'm a student at Valencia College, and I was wondering if you offer film internships? What exactly do they consist of, and what other information would I need to know to possibly work with you all? Thank you!

     - Shawna W.

The Birth of Sosume

 

Please note:  I am not a drag performer or getting a demo audition reel prepared for RuPaul's Drag Race.  These are merely art pics done by my other half in our studio.

Rude is rude

Just because one may be older than I does not excuse them from OR entitle them to throw manners by the wayside. And that goes to foreign tourists as well, who should also know better. I understand some of the reasoning behind it, however, rude is rude. Just tired of calling people out in ordinary situations about their behavior, as it has happened a lot to me this past week.

Ambrose Lam is a douchebag

HongWrong.com: ATV News Calls Out Law Society's A…: http://youtu.be/kN5hqOFsxi4

What a lazy and ignorant fuck!  Forget that he's educated.

Even though English is the OTHER official language of Hong Kong, he refuses to be transparent to the English press.  "Translate it." 

It reflects the attitudes of many HKers now about the role of English in THEIR Hong Kong.  The Hong Kong that expats -- those who are white and those who are from other Asian countries -- have helped build and contribute to daily life. 

I wonder if he can be taken to court because he potentially violated the Racial Discrimination Ordinance.

English speakers -- Expats, Indians and those from other Asian countries -- have been feeling the pinch of exclusion and the opportunity to participate fully in HK daily life.  Especially since Hong Kong has been toting itself as a "World Class City".  WHATEVER.

At this point, I would rather go to SINGAPORE!  It has its problems, but at least I would feel more welcome and safer.

Don't get me wrong.  I don't hate Hong Kong.  I don't appreciate being treated like a second-class human being by people who think they are better than I, because of which language I use as my first language.  Or because of where my family is from.  Or because of which government issued my passport.

To the dude at WaWa that tried to make me smile

I do actually appreciate a smile or friendly banter from a stranger most of the time. Except for today, when my mind is so garbled and all over the place I have to concentrate on the task at hand so I'm not really not seeking additional interaction from anyone's peanut gallery. 

I am actually a happy person, though the events and drama of the last four months have made it challenging.  I have my good days and my bad days.  Moments of light and lots of moments of darkness.  So, dude, you have no idea.  I hadn't bothered to tell you about my terminal illness and how it affects my attention span, concentration, and it forces me to conserve energy so I can do important tasks, like work,  because frankly, it is none of your damn business, and I don't like playing the sympathy card, regardless of the reasons.

I don't appreciate being stalked at WaWa from register to gas pump by someone wanting to interact and being chased down the road for two miles, even to tell me in my rush of trying to evade this stranger, that I forgot to put my gas cap back on. I waited till I was no longer being followed by this moron to pull over and reinstall my gas cap, as I didn't want to risk additional drama.

When I ignored you, you should have taken the hint.  When I told you that you needed to back off and how you were being totally disrespectful, you started to swear at me.  You needed to be more perceptive of people's needs and frame of mind.

Sorry dude, you crossed the line, but someday, this will make a funny story about:  how good intentions can backfire AND how to read people -- particularly strangers -- in order not to offend them.

I'm back....

After two months in the hospital, a couple of months getting my bearings back in place, and a whole lot of drama in between.

Being diagnosed with a terminal illness unexpectedly changes one's outlook on things.  I am told I will live a normal life once things are under control, but one never really knows where life will lead them.

After losing 65 pounds, not knowing whether or not my days were really numbered, and trying to get the help and support I needed to get through the first couple of months, it has taken its toll.  I am feeling better day by day.  My appetite has returned.  I am starting to work out with stretch bands to regain my strength so I can start going back to the gym.  I went from a size 36-38 to a size 32-34, and trying to decide if I need to buy new pants and shorts, because I will gain some of the weight back, but not quite sure how much.  The meds have rendered me a total space cadet with major ADHD issues, running to the toilet, and at times, a major cranky grouch as side effects.  So I still have good and bad days.

But it's day by day.  Trying to be grateful for what I have, the time I have, the people who love me and support me, and what I have to offer the world.  As time goes on, I'll share progress and obstacles.

The next post will be an anecdote about something really messed up but does make a sick and twisted humorous story.

Happy New Year!!!

As 2013 becomes a distant memory, I can say that I'm glad that it's almost over, as the year has been an interesting adventure for me. I am grateful for friends and family that gave me the moral and emotional support I needed to get through the year. I can only hope that the New Year will bring bigger and better things in my life's journey. 

One final thought: wish for others, what you wish for yourself, it's one of the ways we can make the world better. 

Happy New Year everyone!!!