Meanwhile, enjoy yourselves by watching the video. And for the entire series continue watching on the link:  VIDEO: 9/11 – The Secret Rulers of the World.

Do you also think it’s quite boring if people ask you what your occupation is or what you do in daily life? Well, I do. People are not always aware of the fact what they really mean by asking this question. Sometimes they are just interested and want to get to know you better. That is a good thing, I guess. But isn’t it more interesting to know why people do the things they do? Let me invite you to have a real conversation next time, starting with the inspirational talk of Simon Sinek.

Simon Sinek teaches leaders and organizations how to inspire people. He created a simple model, The Golden Circle, that codifies what makes the most inspiring people and organizations so successful and influential. The concept is so powerful that it is changing the way people think, act and communicate. From the Pentagon, to the United Nations, to Hollywood. Simon has been invited to talk about The Golden Circle across the United States and around the world. He advises a wide variety of leaders and organizations, including small businesses and entrepreneurs, corporations like Microsoft, non-profits, government and politicians. More and more people are learning to become more effective, more efficient and more inspiring by discovering how to start everything they say and do with WHY.

Hari Tea, the new horizon of tea en Shoti Maa, the comfort of tea.

Beide theelijnen zijn met de grootste zorg en aandacht samengesteld om niet alleen je smaakpapillen te verwennen, maar zijn er ook om je te ondersteunen in je dagelijkse bezigheden. En deze thee gaat nog een stapje verder: het biedt steun aan je individuele behoeften die per dag, moment of situatie anders kan zijn. De kunst en wetenschap die in de theemélanges samenkomen met als doel een thee die jou van dienst is!

Mijn eerste ervaring toen ik het eerst kopje thee nam, voelde direct heel aangenaam. Geen zweverige materie, want als je de thee drinkt zul je merken dat er “iets” met je gebeurt.

HARI Tea, the new horizon of tea, is een exclusieve theelijn die uit 11 verschillende smaken bestaat. Elke smaak bestaat uit een mix van biologische kruiden en specerijen, geformuleerd volgens de kennis, ervaring en het erfgoed van yogi’s en de gezondheidsleer van Ayurveda. De theeën zijn zodanig samengesteld dat deze volledig passen in de hedendaagse hectiek en dynamiek.

Om de verschillende behoeften te kunnen ondersteunen, zijn er vier categorieën:

• FYSIEK
• MENTAAL
• INSPRIATIONEEL
• SPIRITUEEL

Met de theelijn komen niet alleen oud en nieuw samen, maar zijn ook de invloeden van verschillende culturen, wijsheden uit het Oosten en kennis uit het Westen merkbaar. Juist in deze nieuwe tijd met een grote behoefte aan rust en balans en veranderende behoeftes die aansluiten op het individu is het van groot belang om een hulpmiddel te hebben dat ongeacht tijd, plaats en stemming tot steun kan zijn.

Aanvullend op HARI Tea is SHOTI MAA Tea, the comfort of tea, samengesteld, met als doel een andere benadering van de eenheid van lichaam, ziel en geest. Deze theelijn biedt 7 verschillende smaken en brengt dezelfde filosofie en kennis mee. Anders dan de HARI Tea is, dat deze theelijn gebaseerd is op de werking van de 7 verschillende chakra’s.

Beide  theelijnen bieden voor elk wat wils, omdat we allemaal verschillend reageren op de dynamiek waarin we leven.

WAT MAAKT DEZE THEEËN ANDERS?

De theeën zijn in eerste instantie smaakvol en prikkelt alle zintuigen, maar de werking van de thee gaat dieper en richt zich op de individuele behoefte. De missie is dan ook om de geest en ziel te dienen.

Alle ingrediënten zijn 100% biologisch en zijn vrij gedurfd bij elkaar gebracht, zoals bij Mysterie Of Desire van HARI Tea waarin chili en chocola de grenzen van het dagelijkse en gewone overtreffen. Bovendien is bij alle smaken veel onderzoek aan vooraf gegaan, om de werking van de theesoorten te testen. Ze werden in verschillende dagsituaties ingezet met allemaal de intentie om verlichting op alle niveaus te brengen.

Het mooiste is natuurlijk om de thee zelf te proeven en je eigen thee-sensatie te creëren. In mijn volgende blogitems zal ik elke smaak apart bespreken met een anekdote van een theeliefhebber die deze thee heeft geproefd. Tot gauw en … enjoy your tea-moment!

In gratitude,

Claudia

(source and film review by Julie O’Yang)

On 16 December 2010, actor-turned-director Jiang Wen (Hibiscus Town) presented his fourth directorial creation Let the Bullets Fly, which is packaged as an “early present for the Chinese New Year”. Originally planned to be released in September, the film was pushed back only by a few months. Hitting the screen nationwide, immediately it broke several box office records as well as received critical acclaims – which leaves you wonder: who are the guys that call themselves critics?

Budgeted at $18 million, Bullets is yet another story that tells about a bunch of gangsters from a faraway rural area. Instead of daggers, this time it is advanced gunshots that cast the lethal Oriental charm.

During the tumultuous 1920s, the control of the country is divided between a number of bandit leaders, among whom the notorious Pocky Zhang (Jiang Wen). When Zhang marches into the remote Goose Town one day, posing as their freshly installed mayor, he is accompanied by a hustler named Tang (Ge You), the latter being the originator of the scam. However, Zhang’s endeavours are soon to be met by hindrance from a local crook, Huang (Chow Yun Fat) who lives in his fortified citadel overlooking the town. The boisterous drama plays out centred around men aspiring for wealth and power. When Zhang, the counterfeit bureaucrat has no intention of sharing his ill-gotten gains with a villain he despises as much as he reveres, tensions between the two camps quickly explodes into bloodsheds. All of a sudden, the picturesque Goose Town bathes in the terror of power struggling film stars, and the one woman (Carina Lau) in the company doesn’t seem to care either whom she wants to marry as long as he is rich and knows the knack to make a rain of romanticised bullets. Very Chinese indeed. Or at least this is Hollywood – who is the producer of the Oriental Western – wants to see from China these days. However, the gunplay story is whispered to bear a deeper layer about social problems, wealth problems, and many more hidden messages on things that would otherwise never be said. But yet even with the noble intent in mind, the 2 hours and 40 minutes exploit seems way too long and could just as well be cut to less than 2 hours for the same – if not a better – result.
Alongside scenic violence, Chinese flavoured legends, “Chow Yun Fat playing Chow Yun Fat” plus a forward display of star power, Jiang Wen did add a refreshing element to the tried and tested formula. Bullets is meant to be a comedy, and the fast-paced sequences are littered with pitch-black humour throughout the entire good, old-fashioned entertainment ride too risk-free and comfortable to cause any commotion in Beijing.

Within two and a half days after its launch Bullets has grossed 100 million RMB, allegedly chiefly through social media marketing. Glad to know that Facebook users could access their account again after the Chinese Internet police is blocking Twitter and other social media networks on and off ever since the day of their birth.

• 160 min | Historical drama | Comedy
• Directed by Jiang Wen

About Julie O’Yang:  Julie is a novelist and visual artist based in The Netherlands. Born and brought up in China, she came to Europes in the 90s, studying first at University of London, then she read Japanese Language and Culture at University of Leiden, Holland, and Tokyo, Japan.

Her previous publications include short stories and three novels written in Dutch. Besides an author, Julie also works as a screenwriter and illustrator. Currently she is working on her first novel written in English. www.julieoyang.com.

Summer Palace is the fourth feature by writer-director Lou Ye. Lou is a less celebrated name of the new Chinese cinema – the so-called Sixth Generation – among whom Lou is by far the most adventurous and bold in his narrative style as well as his chosen subjects. Lou Ye’s films have proven controversial in their content, and often deal with issues of sexuality, gender, obsession, and politics. Since sex and politics still are two magic taboo words in the PRC, it is the quickest way for an artist to garner the eschewed but much sought-after “Banned in China” label, which more often than not grants a shortcut to a puff of  international excitement. The Chinese have a say for the Butterfly Effect set in motion by foreign media: Qiangnei kaihua qiangwai xiang. Blooms are by the wall, sweet smell is off the wall.

Summer Palace is a story of girl meets boy. The girl, Yu Hong grows up in a north-eastern city near the Korean border. Being admitted to  a prestigious university in China’s capital, the young independent heroin is determined to lead an intense, self-fulfilling life. However, at a disco party on campus she meets Zhou Lei. It didn’t take the two very long to know that they are the “one” for each other. But we should know upfront, this is not a love story. Down the line of confused fall outs sparking off heady lovemaking, peacemaking scenes that follow, the roaring Chinese eighties is rendered in stylish anarchy that is yet spunky and full of sweet promises. Chinese reforms on full throttle, in tandem with wannabe intellectuals enjoying short-term freedom of speech. Nevertheless, the golden age of Chinese democracy is yet to be brought to a tragic end by state-sponsored terror in the summer of 1989. The June 4 Massacre on Tiananmen Square marks the turning point of Chinese history. This is a story in which both sex and politics are set to rise to high flames only to become cinders. What’s left is a whole nation devoid of hope on the threshold of the age of “Made-in-China” capitalism.

The film doesn’t stop at the nadir both amorous and political, however. The second half of the film deals with familiar Chinese themes, which in turn are placed in a broader historical context. A  much more ambitious frame of mind is on display. It is for this I admire Lou Ye’s work. Yet subsequently the established narrative seems to suffers from scattershot references and comments, and the story as a whole fails to hold and falls into rigmarole.

In spite of its flaws, Summer Palace remains a satisfying experience that has succeeded to capture a period of transformation. The era of old bicycles threading through the authentic streets of Peking, which, towards the end, are replaced by Volkswagen racing on 4-lane expressway, and hand-written love letters by e-mail. Longings for things lost wriggle up stealthily, told in an atmospheric language instilled in a breathless, female sense of beauty.

The film shows some shocking moments as well when civilians are taken down by armed forces. The scene of carnage has been condensed to a short mention but long-winded enough for Beijing to ban the film, imposing a censorship of five years on its maker. For five long years Lou was not allowed to work. Democracy didn’t rock on. Up until today Party autocracy stays unchallenged in the state controlled Chinese life. The only thing that enjoys genuine freedom is the blatant laissez-faire with its typically “Chinese” characteristics. Like the heroin of the story, China seems lost in the limbo without purpose.

Trailer Summer Palace (Yihe yuan) 140 min Drama | Romance

About Julie O’Yang:  Julie is a novelist and visual artist based in The Netherlands. Born and brought up in China, she came to Europes in the 90s, studying first at University of London, then she read Japanese Language and Culture at University of Leiden, Holland, and Tokyo, Japan.

Her previous publications include short stories and three novels written in Dutch. Besides an author, Julie also works as a screenwriter and illustrator. Currently she is working on her first novel written in English. www.julieoyang.com.