[Photo] Jang Keun Suk Lotte DFS behind the scenes .

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12:27 AM | 0 comments

Reverend's Reviews: Two Spirits, One Brief Life

Traditional Navajo culture used the word nadleehi, or "two-spirit," to refer to male-bodied persons who possessed a feminine nature. Some today may call them "effeminate" or "transgender," often in a disparaging sense. There was a time, however, when such people enjoyed an honored position in North America.

Sadly, Fred Martinez, Jr. was not one of them. The 16-year old from the border town of Cortez, Colorado became one of the youngest hate crime victims in modern history when he was brutally murdered in 2001. Martinez's only "offense" was to put on make-up and dress in female attire, which led his assailant, Shaun Murphy, to abduct him from a local rodeo one night. Murphy would later brag to friends about having killed "a fag." Martinez's body laid in the desert for five days before it was discovered by two boys at play.

An insightful new documentary about the Martinez case will make its premiere in June. Appropriately titled Two Spirits, it will air as part of the PBS series Independent Lens. The film will also have several special theatrical screenings in California and elsewhere. Please visit the PBS website for more information.

Two Spirits, directed by Lydia Nibley, utilizes gorgeous location photography (by David A. Armstrong) and an effective mix of interviews with those who knew Martinez, archival footage, and recreations of moments from the young nadleehi's life and death. It doesn't take viewers long to agree with one commentator who remarks, "The place where two discriminations (in this case, against Native Americans and transgender people) meet is a dangerous place to live."

Efforts by some to eradicate two-spirit people began long before 2001. The Spanish conquistadores were horrified to discover nadleehi in America, and fed them to wild dogs as a form of entertainment. Later, the post-Civil War schooling system established by the US government for Native Americans "sought to rub their culture out of them," according to the film.

Martinez's mother, Pauline Mitchell, is interviewed extensively in Two Spirits. Sad but dignified, she recounts her experience raising her unique child and trying to protect him from a prejudiced society beyond their community. Martinez didn't have to travel far from home (just a few miles) to discover how vicious the outside world could be. Mitchell continues to mourn her son-daughter's loss nearly ten years later, despite several mystical experiences she says she has had wherein Fred has appeared to her.

As illustrated in the film and by Martinez's life, ours is "a many-gendered world." Navajos have traditionally believed that there are four genders among human beings: males who identify as males, women who identify as females, men who identify as females and women who identify as males. The term "two-spirit" is often applied to the latter two, but it ultimately describes the entire spectrum of gender and sexual expression among Native Americans.

Two Spirits has been recognized by the American Library Association (ALA) as one of 15 Notable Videos for Adults released in the past two years. The documentary and the educational outreach efforts of the Fred Martinez Project have also been awarded the Monette-Horwitz Distinguished Achievement Award "for outstanding activism, research, and scholarship to combat homophobia." With or without such kudos, the film should not be missed.

Reverend's Rating: B+

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

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11:00 PM | 0 comments

[Photo] Jang Keun Suk in Japanese magazine 'Woman’s Weekly'

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10:46 PM | 0 comments

[Photo] Jang Keun Suk Lotte DFS behind the scenes .

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10:46 PM | 0 comments

[News] JKS being chased by fans when shopping in Tokyo, reveals girlfriend is Japanese.

[News] JKS being chased by fans when shopping in Tokyo, reveals girlfriend is Japanese.
cr:jangkeunsukforever

Tengxun Entertainment (1 June 2011, 00:06 hours) – Korean star Jang Keun Suk’s television drama “You are Beautiful” set the record in Japan for being the Korean drama with the highest number of repeat broadcasts, and the excellent sales of debut single “Let me cry” released on 27 April ignited his soaring popularity in Japan. JKS has become a hot focus of interviews for the competing mass media. Two Japanese magazines released on 31 May, Woman’s Weekly and Woman Herself (rough translation), have made JKS their cover model, and in an interview by Woman Herself, JKS unwittingly reveals that he has a “girlfriend”.

“Last year after the filming of ‘Marry me Mary’, I only rested for around 10 days. From then to now, I have not yet taken a break.” During the interview, JKS said that his schedule was so packed that he had no time to rest. “My girlfriend … is a Japanese …. Kidding!” His sudden revelation gave the reporter a shock! JKS also revealed that he had been chased by a primary school fan while he was shopping in Shibuya on a previous trip.

Recently, JKS is busy with the filming of movie “You’re my Pet” (YMP), and also with his fan-meetings in Thailand, China, Taiwan and Shanghai. On 31 May, Korean media reported that on 30 May at a café, JKS had a confidential meeting with renowned Korean drama director Yoon Seok-ho who has the intention of inviting JKS to act in KBS2′s new drama “Our Happy Days of Youth” (tentative title) to be aired in September 2011, which will be a similar pure romance story like the movie “The Classic”. TOP of Big Bang was reportedly the strongest candidate for the male lead of KBS2′s new drama, but he could not due to conflicting schedule.

According to a source, including YMP filming and overseas events, JKS’ schedule is full until August, but Yoon Seok-ho was very keen to contact JKS, hence the possibility of their collaboration being realized is pretty high. The new drama will be filmed in Japan in the initial stage, and there are plans to have a Hallyu star as the male lead. The producers are eyeing JKS due to his recent immense popularity in Japan. If JKS agrees to this drama, it will attract advance investment funds of US$150,000 for each episode. Just this factor alone makes the producer feel assured and not worried about making a loss. Japanese investors have expressed that compared to Hyun Bin, they prefer JKS as male lead. Recently, many television dramas have JKS as their first choice for male lead and hope that he can act in their drama. JKS’ popularity in Japan nowadays is almost surpassing the “Hallyu pioneer” Bae Yong-joon. JKS can attract big amounts of Japanese investment, so it is natural for many major productions to compete for him. After all, the Japanese market is an enticing factor.

Here is a look at Yoon Seok-ho’s works:

1992 KBS “Tomorrow Love”
1994 KBS “Feeling”
1994 KBS “Love Greeting”
1997 KBS “Wedding Dress”
1999 KBS “Invitation”
2000 KBS “Autumn in my Heart”
2002 KBS “Winter Sonata”
2003 KBS “Summer Scent”
2006 KBS “Spring Waltz”
2011 KBS “Our Happy Days of Youth”

From this list, we see that out of the four Hallyu “heavenly Kings” Jang Dong Gun, Lee Byung Hun, Sung Seung Heon and Hyun Bin, three have acted in Director Yoon’s dramas, and also Bae Yong Joon later in “Winter Sonata”. These are testament to Yoon’s status in the Hallyu entertainment scene. But undeniably, the dramas after “Winter Sonata” such as “Summer Scent” and “Spring Waltz” did not receive as much success in terms of ratings and reviews. Some mass media comments that if Jang Keun Suk takes on a role in the proposed drama, it is hard to guarantee his future success, firstly because Director Yoon’s style of tragic and innocent love is more suited for reminiscing and no longer the main theme of modern Korean dramas, and secondly, although “You’re Beautiful” (YAB) received overwhelming response in Asia, it is a fact that YAB was not widely accepted by the Korean audience. Including “Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do” and his latest work “Marry me Mary”, JKS is always hovering on the edge of “idolized roles”, which does not always bode well for a long-term acting career as such characters easily give people a sense of repetition and lack of break-through.

Although JKS is leading in Japan in terms of his popularity, it is undeniably the truth that as an actor, JKS still does not have any representative work to date. A collaboration with Yoon Seok-ho will definitely be cause for much attention, but after all the hubbub, whether this turns out to be a blessing or a bubble is up to the judgment of the audience.

Source article http://ent.qq.com/a/20110601/000015.htm

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9:54 PM | 0 comments

DEATH OF ROSHEN

ROSHEN’S DEATH COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED IF THE POLICE ALLOWED HIM TO BE TAKEN TO HOSPITAL WITHOUT ANY DELAY
The Katunayake FTZ demonstrations were responsible for the death of an innocent youth. The most important question to be asked is to find out the person who gave instructions to shoot. It is a subject to be debated. The IGP’s sudden decision to send his retirement papers is probably to reduce the anger of the public. This action is typical to what happens in Libiya. This message will be known to all countries in the world. This will be reported as another human rights violation.
The Katunayake FTZ worker Roshen is a native of Minuwangoda and hails from an innocent family. He is the 4th child in a family consisting of 5 children. He was shot for not taking part in a political or in an illegal demonstration.

AT THE TIME HE WAS SHOT THE POLICE PREVENTED HIM FROM TAKING HIM TO HOSPITAL QUICKLY.
The police had attacked those who tried to take injured Roshen to hospital. Injured Roshen was left alone with his injuries inside the vehicle. It was only later that he was taken for treatment to the Ragama Teaching Hospital .The hospital authorities and the Police post had been warned not to divulge information about Roshen to the media. The Police had forcibly asked to delete the pictures taken by the media cameramen. Some reporters from the island newspapers had even been arrested.


PRESIDENT HAD ORDERED ROSHEN TO BE TAKEN ABROAD FOR TREATMENT
It was revealed by Minister Anura Priyadarshana that President had given orders for Roshen to be taken abroad for medical treatment. But his serious condition did not permit it.

WAS THE NEWS OF HIS DEATH DELAYED PURPOSELY?
The news of the death of Roshen was not known to the media and the public until 8 p.m yesterday. It is learnt that his death occurred at 7 p.m. It was revealed by the Police media that he had died a few hours earlier.

RESIGNATION PAPERS TENDERED BY THE IGP

Although the IGP resigned on the grounds of the attack on the demonstrators, he was officially due to retire in just 2 months.

 During the CID investigations carried out 2 junior police officers were found guilty and were arrested. No one had given orders for them to fire. They only had powers to use tear gas and fire rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators. It is been investigated whether a Senior DIG who received injuries may have given orders to fire. This unnecessary incident may not have occurred if this matter was well studied and discussed and passed by a Bill in the parliament.

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6:04 PM | 0 comments

WOUNDED KATUNAYAKE FTZ WORKER HAS DIED

  BREAKING NEWS

THE YOUNGSTER HAD SUCCUMBED TO HIS INJURIES  A  LITTLE WHILE AGO

NEWS RELEASE AT 8 p.m
It was reported by a Police media personnel that the 22 year old Roshan Shanaka who sustained gunshot injuries during the day before yesterdays Katunayake FTZ demonstrations had succumbed to his injuries a little while ago.
Although several media personnel made desperate efforts to find out the condition of Shanaka, their efforts proved futile as no news was reported to anyone. Although the Katunayake FTZ was scheduled to be opened tomorrow, reliable Union spokesmen could not predict what course of action would take place tomorrow.

NEWS RELEASE AT 8 a.m
During the day before yesterday’s demonstrations by the Katunayake FTZ employees, 8 of those injured were treated at the Ragama Teaching Hospital. The hospital sources revealed that the condition of one employee was very critical.
He is Roshan Shanaka a 22 year old worker whose kidney was damaged had to be operated on to remove the kidney. His right leg too had to be amputated, the doctors revealed. He is a resident of Minuwangoda, who had joined the service at FTZ only 4 months ago. Owing to the injuries caused 29 had to treated at the hospital in ward No 7.
When the IGP was questioned whether the law permits to shoot at will, and under who’s instructions shooting was done, the answer given was as they did not disperse when gun shots were fired into the air, the next alternative was to shoot them. However to probe into this the CID had been instructed to conduct investigations. It was also revealed wasp nests were disturbed by the gun shots and they in large numbers had scattered around the area.
An employee who had made a statement to the BBC ‘Sandeshaya’ had added that he with a few others were dragged into the factory premises were beaten by a barrage of batons after being asked to line up.

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3:30 AM | 0 comments