What a beautiful 1st day of spring it is today – March 20, 2021! Blue skies and bright sun. Still cold but the resplendent sun and sky makes a whole world of difference. Aware of the coming warmer days, I am looking forward to finally bring out my potted plants which have been “wintering” (or is it winterizing?) inside the house since November 2020. Sadly, one of them did not survive. My fault. It was a lack of knowledge which, more often than not, spells the difference between life or death (or as my philosophy teacher calls it – recycling). It makes sense to call death recycling. After all, when a plant dies, it becomes something else. It seems to me that nothing is wasted in the world. Just like humans breathe out carbon and the trees breathe in carbon. The trees give off oxygen and we breathe in oxygen. I guess this is akin to striking the right balance.
Speaking of balance – I had watched some very interesting and enlightening documentaries online (some produced by National Geographic) on the do-ability of restoring the balance in nature, which mankind has drastically affected for the past decades (centuries, I believe). From what I have learned from viewing the documentaries, it is very possible, and do-able for people to reverse or restore the balance. For one, just planting a tree goes a long way towards that restoration. Imagine if each person, would plant a tree, just in the U.S.A. alone, that would mean the planting of 300 million trees. In Canada, it would amount to 37 million trees planted. In China, it translates to 1. 4 billion trees. In the Philippines, it means over a 100 million trees. So, each of us can do our part for sure. Easy. Of course, there are many other things which will help. But planting a tree, I believe, is one of the simplest, easiest thing to do by each and ever y human being. From what I have learned, the oxygen from one tree can mitigate the harmful effects of pollution from one car.
Trees, to my knowledge, clean the air and release oxygen into the air. Just by that alone, we, humans should rejoice and not waste time in planting trees. From watching the documentaries produced by David Attenborough with BBC and the many other enlightening nature films online, I have understood better what the terms “ecosystem” and “balance of nature” now means. Frankly, these buzzwords just seemed exciting, clever and impressive sounding to me before. I just had a vague, sort of amorphous understanding of what they meant. It is only now in my golden years that I quite fully understand (actually, not quite fully. I am still learning) the meaning and the impact on all of mankind of a healthy and sustainable ecosystem. It still goes back to one of my fave topics – that we are all connected. Even our thoughts are affecting us and all other things around you. Hay naku! Mahabang usapan yan. Let me not get started on the universal principle that “Thoughts are things”. First of all, I am not qualified to expound on this. Perhaps, you could do your own research on the different kinds of philosophy. Try chewing on that. Methinks though, that it will take a lot of research, study, thinking and thinking some more to even start the process of “chewing” on that principle. You may call it heavy and yet if you hit the right spot or you are lucky enough in this lifetime to have the right teacher, it is quite simple and understandable. The only thing that I find challenging is to change one’s mindset. Or to be open to new things enough to be willing to act accordingly. Oftentimes, we refuse to change our ways and are resistant to new and unfamiliar ideas and concepts. We would prefer to stick to the familiar beaten path instead of venturing out to new, strange places or ways of going on about life. Mea culpa. Old habits die hard. Only because we do not take the 1st step. In my experience, if one takes the first step, then the next, and so on, eventually, one gets to one’s destination.
Moving forward to the past article (ha ha. Instead of back to the future) I wrote – I mentioned the outstanding Chinese actor Chen Kun who starred and co-produced the Netflix Original series – The Rise of Phoenixes, I have good news for Chen fans (like me). There is a new Netflix Original movie on just a week ago, The Yin Yang Master, starring –ta da!- Chen Kun. Fascinating fantasy Chinese movie with English subtitles. I was mesmerized and stupefied for 2 hours or more of the movie. It certainly felt like I was in a different world. You will know what I mean when you watch it. Spoiler alert – When men and monsters meet is the core of the story. But with humorous human interest touches to soften things. And Chen Kun is also a definite heart-softener. If you do get to watch it, let me know what you think. The setting is, literally, out of this world and mind-blowing. For martial arts aficionados, you may not want to miss this.
Speaking of martial arts (and throw in Southeast Asian culture) – check out the latest Disney Plus animated movie “Raya and the Last Dragon”. We watched last weekend and it was quite interesting. In our family, it elicited mixed reactions. All in all, though, we really liked it especially since this is the first time that Disney used the setting of Southeast Asia and the story was inspired by its culture and way of life. The story though could have been structured better and the build up of characters was a bit muddled. What is outstanding though was that the production of the animated film was 100% done from home. This includes all the voicing and whatever else was needed to complete the film. That is the Covid Age for you. You can access it on Disney Plus for an added fee of $35 now, but come June it will be free. “Free” means that it will be part of the programming of Disney Plus, that is, if you are a regular subscriber of Disney Plus.
Have I told you lately that the new Netflix Original series “Vincenzo” with the so-cute and glowing alabaster-skin Song Joong-ki of “Descendants of the Sun” fame (among others) is exhilarating, nail-biting, but at the same time, heart-warming. Am loving it. The sad thing is that I have to wait a whole week for the next episodes. It airs on Saturdays and Sundays. I give up. I am, unabashedly, an Asian drama series addict. I cannot quite relate to Western content, except, as I have mentioned often, for British programs. I must have had a past life in those Jane Austen days. Or the Agatha Christie age. And sorry to say, Mr. Tony San Juan, chairman of the Filipino Heritage Council of Canada, of which I am a member of, somehow I am inevitably drawn to other Asian dramas but not to Filipino ones. I used to try to sit down and do my best to appreciate the Filipino drama series’ but it is just not my thing. I do hope and pray that someday I can come to a better appreciation of Filipino dramas. The last one I forced myself to sit down and watch in Manila, was “Ang Probinsyano”. After 2 episodes, that was it. For me, it was a waste of time. Never again. Yes, I am Filipino. Born and raised almost my whole life in the Philippines. But I know that there must be a better way to come up with meaningful, commercial and well-made content for movies or television or social media. I really wish they would produce movies about the victory of Lapu Lapu in Limasawa. Or the journey of the Sultan of Sulu to China (which they did starring Vic Vargas). That would be fantastic. Speaking of the film with Vic Vargas produced by the Philippines and Beijing, China in the 80s –(I forget the title. Will let you know in the next issue. Allow me to research it), I was in the middle of my quest to find a copy of this film with the Cultural Center and the Film Academy when I became quite busy with my move to Canada, being the only one left in the Philippines among my immediate family who were all here already except for one son who has settled in Tokyo, Japan. A new quest is in sight for me though. New ways to portray Filipinos to our other Canadian compatriots.
And so with that, hope springs eternal in the human breast! Enjoy the rest of the spring and stay safe.
Tessie O. Taylor
taylorteresita@gmail.com