JAI BHAKTI™ BLOG PRESENTS: Shánti The Cat's Lampshade Antics!

My beloved cat Shánti DeVai thinks it's funny to play with my bedside lamp in the wee hours of the morning. The lamp has since been taped to the table...that hasn't stopped her from batting the lampshade around with her paws:

"No...no...no...I did NOT touch the lampshade!"

Early in the morning, and too busy watching the birds, Shánti doesn't yet realize the lampshade has been removed, and will be removed every night henceforth.

"Wait...what?! No more lampshade antics at 5:30 a.m.? Seriously? How could you?!"

And so Shánti will simply have to forget the lampshade.

Don't feel bad...she still gets the satisfaction of knocking my bills off the table every afternoon!

Photos ©2015 D.L. BHAKTI BROPHY

All Rights Reserved

Jai Bhakti™ & Shanti The Cat™ Trademark D.L.BROPHY

ENGRISH!

The funniest website I have EVER found is called ENGRISH. I suggest you visit it often and a lot, whichever comes first.

http://www.engrish.com/

While there, you can learn how to create your own Engrish!

"Steve's vai is the electric guitarist where the world is best!!"

I hope this finds you all well and happy,
Love,
Bhakti

MILIIONS

During the past winter, I spent a lot of time watching movies. My plan had always been to write reviews of my favorites, such as DOUBLE INDEMNITY and BRICK, but my cramped hands wouldn't allow me to type and I never got around to it. This morning, however, I watched a movie in which the lead character, Damien, reminded me so much of me that it brought tears to my eyes (and no, it wasn't THE OMEN--even though, strangely enough, the lead character's name is Damien and he's a Christian mystic). Throughout the movie, Damien sees Saints everywhere: they are guiding him. His mystical experiences differed from mine in content, but his intention in life is the same: at one point in the movie he says to a Patron Saint--"I just want to be good."

The name of the movie is "MILLIONS". It's about this young English lad who's family thinks he's a bit loony because of his mystical inclinations (save for two scenes in the movie, they don't see or hear the Saints that Damien interacts with during the rest of the film and don't quite understand his being spiritually bent). That's not to say that he is not loved: MILLIONS is a wonderful story about familial love. The story unfolds with Damien, his older brother Anthony, and his father moving from one part of England to another.

One day, while sitting beside some railroad tracks in a cardboard fort made from moving boxes, a large bag of money comes crashing down from the sky and lands on his fort. Damien believes the money was sent to him from God and wishes to share his 'millions' with the poor. He shows his older brother the money and, right away, Anthony begins thinking of ways to invest the money to make a profit, for example by purchasing real estate. We are immediately introduced to the different personalities of these brothers.

The filming is extraordinary--eye candy if there ever was such a thing. Alex Etel, the young lad who played the role of Damien, is by far the most talented child actor I have ever seen. How do you get a child to look as though he sees everything everywhere as Divine? During the film's conclusion, the whimsical look in young Etel's eyes brought tears of joy to mine. Brilliant. Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) creates a visual story completely in sync with the story being told, yet he manages to leave enough room for the viewers imagination to take flight as well. There's one scene in particular where Damien crawls into bed with his father after stating "I don't like having my own room". I cannot recall ever seeing a scene in which the acting, directing, lighting, and music are so perfectly choreographed. I rewound this scene several times to catch every nuance.

(For a beautifully crafted, indepth review of MILLIONS, click here.)


This movie reminded me that it is vitally important to remember that we are all good; we should never allow ourselves to forget that--never allow ourselves to lie to ourselves. Goodness is an innate trait each of us carries within our hearts. Some of us get blinded by the 'vanities' of the world; and by the labyrinth of the caverns of the mind. It's so dangerous to give our power of knowledge away--and by 'knowledge' I am referring to the spiritual knowledge.

Yesterday; I received a catalog in the mail from the Vedanta Society. On the first page I found the following quote. It's relative to the movie MILLIONS in that it resolves the conflict between Damien and his brother in that no matter what actions nor paths either boy chose to take, they were still, ultimately, on the path to Truth:

"Right and Wrong Conduct: All ethics are merely a means to the end of finding God within ourselves. "Right" action is action which brings us nearer to the knowledge of God. "Wrong" action leads us away from that knowledge. Our ideas of "good" and "evil" are therefore only relative values and must not be used as an absolute standard to judge others. All of us have our own problems and our own path of development. But the goal is the same for all."

"'Wrong' action leads us away from that knowledge." That is the part of the quote that cheered me up. The medications I'm on make it difficult for me to think clearly, and I obsess over things that are not necessary--nor productive--to obsess over. The above quote reminded me that following and listening to this obsessive train of thought is a 'wrong' action. Listening to the 'chatterbox mind' is a direct train out of the town of freedom in our lives (both mental and physical freedom).

Getting back to MILLIONS; we all know children are blessed with innocence. This movie is a celebration of the many personality types that live together (or try to, at least) -- and shows the place and importance of the mystic within the scheme of things. While subtly addressing the loneliness of the mystic, it ultimately celebrates the joy of this open-hearted, compassionate person.

This movie has the power to remind us of our innate goodness; I believe it may also have the power to ignite the fire of this recognition in those who never believed it to be so.

MILLIONS illustrates the epitome of the word 'bhakti' (love and devotion).

Enjoy! And, as always, please let me know what you think about the movie.

Warm regards,
Bhakti

tags:Jaibhakti, Bhakti Brophy, Millions,Danny Boyle, Bhakti, Divine Love, Alex Etel, mysticism, Vedanta Society

Currently Reading: Currently Watching

I am currently reading Roger Ebert's great book of cinema aptly titled GREAT MOVIES. I've always been a cinefile, yet I haven't seen most of the films in this catalog of 'must see movies'. Ebert has done the film viewing community an incredible service by writing essays on films he views as classics, yet films that may be falling by the wayside, considering today's film students are (according to the introduction) no longer very interested in black and white film (not that all of the films written about in this book are black and white). I happen to think that most color films do not hold a candle to black and white when it comes to power and impact: think THE THIRD MAN or TOUCH OF EVIL. I'd be hard pressed for anyone to find a film more suspenseful than Harold Lloyd's SAFETY LAST--that's black and white and silent, to boot (see image above. NOTE: Despite losing half of his left hand in a fireworks accident, Harold Lloyd still did all of his own stunts.). Was there ever a more charming love story than Chaplin's CITY LIGHTS? I think not. Just because a movie was made over 50 years ago doesn't mean that it's a bad film: quite the contrary. Many people make the mistake of thinking black and white films are somehow boring. I think not, once again. I bet the only black and white films most people have seen is CITIZEN KANE. I thought that film was so boring; I was calling my friends and begging them to tell me who/what Rosebud was. I'm not joking. I'm not ashamed to admit that I didn't enjoy the CITIZEN KANE storyline; however, I did love the filming. I believe this was the first film where everything in the view of the camera was in focus (in other words, the backgrounds were not out of focus, as they normally would be to draw your eye to the subject in the foreground).

There are so many great films that have been forgotten about because, well, there aren't many places left in the world that show old films--unless, of course, you live in New York City or San Francisco (United States). Now, with Netflix, for example, most of the classic movies that Ebert writes about are available for your viewing.

I am going to be watching many of these old classics--some for the first time, and others for the second, third, or even fourth time--and then I am going to write my own review/essay regarding the film. I will also place a link to Roger Ebert's online review (when available). I am hoping to keep some of the films that inspired me to be a photographer alive for a very long time. (Yes, I used to watch old films to get ideas for modern day photo shoots when I photographed rock-n-roll bands, famous artists, and even lawyers, etc.)

I would like to invite anyone who has a NETFLIX account to become a 'Netflix Friend'--whereby we can view each other's queue and trade thoughts on movies we've rented and watched. Cousin Chrissy and Cousin G are already Netflix friends--it's pretty cool to see who likes what movies and why.

To sign up to be a Netflix Friend of Jai Bhakti, simply go to your Netflix account, click on the 'FRIENDS' tab at the top of the page, and send me an email invite. Here's my email address: jaibhakti@aol.com

Movies are a great pastime because they take us out of our own worlds and let us see the world through someone else's eyes and imagination. Don't be afraid of 'black and white': I can guarantee you that many of the classic black and white films are far superior to some of the crap that Hollywood puts out these days.

Happy Viewing!
Bhakti


tags: Jaibhakti, Bhakti Brophy, humor,movies, Roger Ebert, Harold Lloyd, Safety Last, Citizen Kane, movie reviews, Charlie Chaplin, City Lights, Touch of Evil, Third Man, black and white films,

Last Supper?

Hi friends--I am in the process of writing a post that will make up for the last two weeks of silence. In the mean time, I have a question: If you could only eat one more meal, what would you ask for if you could have anything you wanted (limit 12 different items)? Your meal doesn't have to be limited to typical dinner food; you can have a little bit of everything you love. Why not humor me and list your 'last supper' request in the comment section of this post.

Here's my 'last supper' request:

Saag Paneer (Indian dish: spinach and farmer's cheese)

Chai tea (homemade from Shree Muktananda Ashram)

Kichari (from Shree Muktananda Ashram)

Dunkin Donuts coffee (half-n-half and 1/2 packet of sugar)

Lindt Dark Chocolate Truffles

Cascadian Farms granola w/plain yogurt and strawberries

Mango 1 peeled and sliced

Mandarin Orange seltzer with 1/4 part cranberry juice and a splash of lemon juice

Edie's Slow Churned Coffee ice cream (pint) with hot fudge

*#^*#^*#^*#^*#^*#^*#*#^*#^*#^*#^*#^*#^*#

If I could only have one item, I would choose the mango.

What about you? What would you eat if you knew you could only have one more meal while living it up here on Planet Earth?

tags: Jaibhakti, Bhakti Brophy, last meal request, last supper, blogger polekti, humor, anthropology, food, fun,

The OFFICE Crossword Puzzles

'Just wanted to pop by the blogosphere and let you all know that I am still in the recuperation phase of my latest surgery. This last surgery was four hours; my doctors tell me that I am looking at a ten month recovery period before I'll know how much pain I'll be left with for the rest of my life (and, of course, we're praying for no mas mucho!).

I am HIGH-ly medicated (pun intended, of course), so I sleep a lot of the time away. Nevertheless, I must say that I spend my waking hours VERY wisely--as I'm sure you will agree: I have been watching season one of THE OFFICE (US) over and over and over and over...infinity. Oh my god! I have never seen anything this wryly funny on American TV before, and I challenge anyone to prove me wrong.


Have you seen this situation comedy? Every single character is worth their weight in a million bucks of gold. I wasn't joking when I said that I have been watching season one repetitively; I have. You can't possibly catch every facial expression and every crazy little nuance in one viewing. Besides, the story lines and actors are so incredible that I can't help but push the PLAY button again when the end credits begin to roll. Steve Carell kicks major buttocks in the category of comedic butt-kicking. Wouldn't you agree?

I went through roughly a week of not being able to read anything because the meds made it comepletely impossible for my eyes to focus on anything less than three feet away from me. That's a real shame because there's nothing worse than being stuck in bed and not being able to read. Now that my eyes have calmed down a bit, Ive decided to ease my way back into reading by casually flipping through magazines. Then--by osmosis--I found an incredible crossword puzzle in the back of New York magazine. I jogged my brain for most of the day figuring out the clues and then trying to find the corresponding numbers inside the puzzle to record my answers. When Cousin Chrissy came over to deliver some homemade dinner (she's so cool!), I talked her into filling in several answers. Hint: she's the crossword puzzle guru of the family!

All tolled, I ended the puzzle with only five empty spaces. As luck would have it, my mother brought me the latest issue of New York, which had the answers to the puzzle I tried to conquer, and I was able to check my answers against the answer key. I did pretty good! I only made up two words--and they seemingly only made up two (that I've never heard of)!

Needless to say, my eyes are freaking out again; not from the meds as much as from the crazy tiny crossword puzzle font and the crazily numbered boxes where the answers are to be written.

In a nutshell, I feel like I'm working again: I wake up, eat breakfast, do a bit of the crossword while eating, watch THE OFFICE, take a break for lunch, take a nap, watch some more of THE OFFICE, take another nap, wake up and do some more crossword puzzling, eat dinner, then I crash. It's as if I'm in New York City in the corporate world once again--only I have much more comfortable seating, I'm only awake and cognitive about four hours a day, and the bathroom is clean as a whistle (whatever that means).

tags: Jaibhakti, Bhakti Brophy, The Office, Steve Carell, humor, comedy, crossword puzzles,

Bad Hair Day #57

What happens when Bhakti pulls a rubber band ponytail out of her hair after sitting mobile on the Lazy Boy while watching four consecutive episodes of 24?

You guessed it: Bad Hair Day #57

tags: Jaibhakti, Bhakti Brophy, bad hair day, humor

BHAKTI IS BACK IN THE BLOGOSPHERE!!!!

LOOK WHAT THEY DID TO MY BEAUTIFUL MEDUSA TREE ROOTS!!!
BLASPHEMY!!!
THOSE DARN PUBLIC SERVICE ENERGY DOO-HICKY-WACKY PEOPLE!
NO RESPECT!




In other news, I just wanted to let you know that I've been crazy busy with doctor appointments up the wazoo! That's why I haven't been in touch lately. I switched doctors, and it appears to me that my new pain management doctor has me on the right track. Less meds, more meditation and acupuncture. We'll see what happens. I'm still in pain, but at least I have a better frame of mind and my new doctor gives me more hope. Chronic pain is a very weird experience; especially for someone like me who so easily find beauty in everything. I think I've met my match. How to find beauty in chronic pain? Recognizing chronic pain as just another manifestation of the great one, I suppose.

Thank GOD I have an incredible family, and great friends!

In some other news, I had to hand in my letter of resignation to the Board of Education that I worked for (I was on medical leave all year). It looks like I won't be able to go back in the beginning of the next school year, either. Oh well. I know something great is going to come out of all of this. I just have too much grace in my life for it not to be so!

In honor of my resignation--which I'll admit, did depress me for a couple of weeks. I mean, I LOVE teaching!!!--please say a prayer for me. If you're not into praying, then simply eat some chocolate in my honor.

In honor of the health of my body, I am currently on a no wheat, no dairy, no caffeine diet. That means no coffee, no chocolate. Can you believe it? Bhakti is NOT eating chocolate! I really don't miss the chocolate. I miss things like muffins and the occassional ice cream cone. That kind of stuff. Also, I miss knoshing on cookies and other junk food. Oh well, my body will thank me in a little while!!

Okay--I've said enough. Now it's YOUR turn. Please tell me what you 've been up to or at least tell me a good joke!

Thanks,
Much love,
Bhakti

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Ljowie? NI!!! kdnfwoiehanfwoene. ndofinm, thoseijetr; tiahotieniae--thaoginareitoe..!!! knfgwoethlatktn!

LDeoirtoegjn,

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FLATCAT To The Rescue!

This is, by far, going to get the FUNNIEST POST OF THE YEAR AWARD. It will definitely go down in history as ONE OF THE BEST OF 2006! in the official Blogosphere Daily Bugle Sunday ARTS Section.

What is it that I am referring to? None other than WHY I HATE FLYING, by flattest cat of them all--Flatcat!!

Laugh a lot and enjoy!


tags: jaibhakti, Flatlander, humor

KITTY ON COMPUTER ON COMPUTER

I love my little buddy. Don't you?

Do you have a kitty cat that you would like to be honored as JAIBHAKTI'S Cat Of the Month for March? If so, please email me a photo and a brief write-up telling me all about your precious cat.

--Thank you, Bhakti

tags: jaibhakti, Kitty, photography

Guest Writer: J.L.

Once upon a time, I DON'T KNOW!

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. Please leave me some comments, I am going to check the comments area every hour. Thanks. --J.L. (almost 9 yrs. old).

Happy Cat

Something went drastically wrong with my flash...

tags:jaibhakti, cats