A Play of the Universe

Snippet of David Letterman’s August 22, 2007 interview with Richard Gere, regarding Gere’s meeting the Dalai Lama for the first time. This is what Gere said:

“The Dalai Lama said, ‘I hear that you’re an actor.’”

“And I said, Yes.”

“And the Dalai Lama asked, ‘When you’re doing this acting thing that you do, and you’re laughing, are you really laughing? When you’re angry, are you really angry? And when you’re crying, are you really crying?’”

“And I gave him an ‘actor’ answer, and said, ‘Well, it’s more effective when you really do it. When you’re really doing the emotion, yes, it’s real.’”

“And he looked very deep inside of me, and he just burst out laughing hysterically. That I would be taking these emotions so seriously.”

“But also, I think the deeper point was, is that we all are manufacturing emotions constantly. They’re not really part of our minds, or really part of our hearts. They’re just, they’re a play, they’re a play of the universe. They’re a play of our own minds.”

There was a long pause, after which David Letterman mumbled, “…I don’t know…I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s beyond me. I went to a state college.”

Poll: Family ties key to youth happiness

I got this article from my cousin:

Poll: Family ties key to youth happiness

Snippets:

You might think money would be clearly tied to a general sense of happiness. But almost no one said "money" when asked what makes them happy, though people with the highest family incomes are generally happier with life. However, having highly educated parents is a stronger predictor of happiness than income.

And sex? Yes, we were getting to that. Being sexually active actually leads to less happiness among 13-17 year olds, according to the survey. If you're 18 to 24, sex might lead to more happiness in the moment, but not in general.

When asked what one thing makes them most happy, 20 percent mentioned spending time with family — more than anything else. About three-quarters — 73 percent — said their relationship with their parents makes them happy. After family, it was relationships with friends that people mentioned most.

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL: Alcohol users are slightly less happy than those who don't drink. The differences are more remarkable among 13-17 year olds; just 40 percent of those who drank in the last seven days reported being happy with life, versus 68 percent of those who didn't. And 49 percent of illegal drug users reported being happy with life, compared with 66 percent of those who didn't use drugs.

The AP-MTV poll was conducted by Knowledge Networks Inc. from April 16 to 23, and involved online interviews with 1,280 people aged 13 to 24. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.


...MTV poll?

I went to the MTV web site and took a quick look at their shows. Here's a list of MTV shows according to how the web site listed them today, August 20, 2007:

My Super Sweet 16
See Savannah's trip to the jewelry store, tribal dancer auditions and more on the 'After Party.'

Check Out 'The Hills' Premiere Now!
It doesn't matter if you missed it or want to see it again, cuz we've got every second of the action and drama right here!

Wild 'N Out
Having conquered most of the cups and awards professional tennis has to offer, Serena Williams works on her comedy game with the Black Squad as they try to snatch Nick's belt and victory.

Watch The 'Real World' Drama Down Under!
There's never a dull moment in Sydney as Trisha takes time off from her boyfriend and starts insulting Parisa. Check out the latest episode!

Welcome to 'Newport Harbor'
New town. New kids. New drama. Watch the premiere episode and get to know 'The Real O.C.'

Who Do You Think Should Make The Band?
Meet the 10 finalists of Making The Band 4 in these exclusive interviews, then vote for who you think should join Diddy's elite hip-hop force

Room 401
A careless construction worker gets a nail gun facial, plus three more terrifying and unreal stories.

Engaged & Underage
Watch Cassie & Emmelie's struggles to make it down the aisle.

'MTV Cribs' Extras
Face it, we can't always fit everything into one TV show. If your jonesing for more 'Cribs,' check out bonus clips featuring Bow Wow, Don Omar and Rudi Johnson.

Scarred
Oh Snap! CJ's arm broke clean in half when he fell off his skateboard and into the sewage drain.

Kaya
What happens when a pop star gets the runaway success she's always dreamed about? Watch the trailer for the new MTV scripted drama and get to know Kaya.

Ten-Minute Jolt

Take out envy, take out greed. Take out ten minutes of each day.

I watched the end of the movie “Cool Hand Luke”, where Paul Newman, the escaped prisoner named Lucas, is once again caught, shot in the neck and taken away in a police car, where he supposedly dies. The end credits roll over a black and white photo of him standing in the middle of two beautiful showgirls, his arms around them. In the photo, he looks as if he is having a better life than anyone on Earth. I want that life, I think to myself.

I change the channel, and see a show with a pretty bikini model. The lighting is perfect, her bikini is perfect, and her makeup is perfect to the point that she doesn’t look like she’s wearing makeup. I want that model, I think to myself.

I change the channel again, and see a baseball player hit a home run to win the game. It’s a sports highlight show, and for two minutes the commentators rave about the baseball player. I want to be that baseball player, I think to myself.

Out of every twenty-four hour period, I spend probably ten minutes in a state of envy and greed. For ten minutes every day, I forget the fact that I have just spent the last twenty-three hours and fifty minutes at peace with myself. I forget the fact that I have been and continue to build a healthy life surrounded by good people and laughter.

It’s amazing how powerful those ten minutes can be, how they can seem to overcome everything else. For ten minutes, the world reinvents itself. My mind and perception change so that the other twenty-three hours and fifty minutes aren’t good enough anymore. I want out, I think to myself. What the hell am I doing living this boring life, I think to myself. This goes on for about ten minutes.

Given only ten minutes of perceiving their existence, I have no choice but to stretch that time into a whole day, into a whole life. Given only ten minutes, I have no choice but to fill the rest with my imagination. And then I would have to compare their ten minutes of perfection with my twenty-four hours of normal. And if I do that, I will never be as good as they are.

It’s funny how I don’t really think about what those people are doing the other twenty-three hours and fifty minutes of their lives. Are they in a constant state of perfection? Do I know anyone who lives in a constant state of perfection? The answer is no, but I seem to forget that for about ten minutes every day.

I’ve never stopped to think that there might be people who look at me, during my very occasional intermittent ten minutes of public grandeur, and think, “I want that life.”

Metaphysical Days of Our Lives

At a mansion, in the middle of a cocktail party during Happy Hour.

Town Crier: Oh my God everyone--Luke shot Laura!

Ashton: How did it happen, Town Crier?

Town Crier: Luke saw Laura driving a white Toyota. Since Luke knew that Laura’s favorite car was a metallic azure sky Mercedes convertible, Luke assumed that Laura was cheating on him. He followed her to Fashion Island and shot her in the parking garage.

Bellamy: I can’t believe Luke was so impulsive like that! Didn’t he think it through before committing such a crime?

T.G.: I don’t think he was thinking at all. I saw him earlier today, and he wasn’t having such a good day. His office Starbucks was closed and he was late for a meeting that was going to discuss a project that he hadn’t finished, with a boss that he didn’t like very much. He told me that he didn’t get enough sleep because his building’s central air conditioning unit broke during the night. And he ran out of cigarettes.

Bellamy: Who is this guy?

Ashton: That’s T.G. He’s from abroad.

Bellamy: Oh. Okay. What else, T.G.?

T.G.: Luke had also heard that Laura has stopped worrying about losing weight.

Everyone (mumbling and nodding): She’s in a comfortable relationship…

T.G.: And since Luke’s self-esteem is low to begin with, it didn’t take much to make him think there was another guy. There was also a lot of traffic on the 405 this morning.

Bellamy: But I thought they loved each other?

T.G.: She has recently reassessed her thoughts on love, as well as other things. Laura changed doctors last month, and her new doctor prescribed her new medicine. The old medicine, she realized, was making her irritable and prone to fits of delusion. The old medicine also caused her to gain weight, which she counteracted by taking another set of pills that helped her lose weight. But that combination made her unbalanced. The new medicine cleared her up a bit, and she stopped gaining weight. She then stopped taking the weight loss pills, which brought her weight back up a little. But she was okay with that. She has since started reconciling with her past girlfriends, most of whom have also gained weight since having children.

Town Crier: Oh my God, she’s gaining weight? How tragic!

T.G.: As for Luke, he also changed his medicine recently. His old medicine gave him more stamina to work harder and get to where he is on the corporate ladder. But after his old doctor died, his new doctor reassessed his health and prescribed him new medicine. The new medicine lowered his blood pressure but it also affected his energy level. Luke isn’t the dynamo that he used to be, and isn’t really the same man that he used to be, but he hasn’t accepted that yet, nor has he adapted to it. He’s forcing his life to return to how it used to be.

Town Crier: I wouldn’t blame him for wanting to go back. That new medicine sucks for both of them! I know if I had to change my medicine and also gain weight, I would kill myself!

Ashton: Okay, back to the shooting. How did it happen, Town Crier?

Town Crier: Well, I heard that Luke fired the first shot near Laura’s feet, because he saw that she was wearing Payless Shoes, instead of her usual Ferragamos. The shot ricocheted off the ground and put a hole through her Fashion Island bag. She then screamed at him, “What’s wrong with you, I was going to return these!” I think that made him even angrier, because he saw a Cartier box fall out of the bag, which had a necklace that he gave her to celebrate their paying off one of their credit cards. Then he fired a second shot, which hit her in the arm. He also fired a third shot, but that strayed to the right and chipped a parked BMW 6-Series. After seeing the 6-Series hit, he put the gun down, and the Fashion Island police came and took him away. Oh my God, can you imagine hitting a 6-Series?

Ashton: How are they doing now?

T.G.: Laura called me from the hospital. The bullet only grazed her, so she’s fine. She said she understands Luke’s actions, and she’s not going to press charges. Laura said she will probably move away from here.

Ashton: In Luke’s condition, don’t you think he’ll follow her?

T.G.: I asked Laura the same thing. She doesn’t think Luke will leave the area. She doesn’t think Luke is able to leave the area.

Ashton: Why?

T.G.: She said, “So far, Luke hasn’t been able to change his life, and no matter what kind of new medicine he takes, he keeps going back to his old ways. As long as I move to a new, better place for me, he won’t follow. Because he won’t understand that new place.”