The Plug
OK...This post is mainly for 2 things - one is to try and raise some more awareness about Earthrace (and their need for support at this stage) and second is try and convince you to support local theatre instead of spending that amount on some Hollywood blockbuster (you can do that too if you like but who would you rather have your money - some struggling but talented local artists or some moneymakers across the shores)
Earthrace - in it's bid to raise some money to keep the ground crew moving from port to port has started a promotion raffle with some pretty wicked prizes and top the deal off there are only 3000 tickets available, so the chances of winning something increases to 1 in 700. You should check out the
SALES PROMOTION RAFFLE DETAILS HERE. And do it quick as they are bound to go quick.
I am planning on checking out a play titled '
Hushabye Mountain' this weekend and I am excited as one of my classmates from the acting class is in it. And again, the play has only 9 shows left {1 show a day}, so I would suggest that if you get a chance and are keen to check out some local theatre - the artists will definitely appreciate your support.
Yesterday was my day off work but it disappeared into encoding the movie into various formats for further work - a quicktime file with dialogue only, a quicktime file with everything, an MPEG file with NTSC encoding, an MPEG file with PAL encoding. Plus uploading the quicktime files so that the music composer can download the files and authoring an NTSC DVD of the movie to send to film festivals for selection purposes. So yeah - long and short of it is that the day off was a day off from nothing at all. It is good to be busy.
A couple of days ago I did manage to watch '
No. 2' - a NZ movie which was adapted from a very successful kiwi play of the same name. It was a mixed bag - there was some stuff which was delightful while there was also a lot of missed opportunities. The movie says that it is a big hearted and exuberant story but somehow the heart is missing in a few places. It makes me sad because it was definitely trying to be different but the warmth and the exuberance just does not come across on-screen. And the other thing which annoyed me was the 'sanitized' shooting to the point where it was driving me nuts - when you go out on the streets - you don't find them empty - you always find it full of cars and people etc and when you remove those elements while filming it just feels artificial and a big setup. I wish NZ dramas didn't do that - I know it is hard and all with permissions and all but where there is a will there is a way.
There was another interesting meeting I had last week that I completely forgot to mention. It was with the director of a 'bollywood' movie that is shooting here in NZ. It stars Celina Jaitley and Ben Mitchell {a local TV star} among other known indian actors. Hmmmm.....i will leave that experience for a later post when I am a bit more fresh.
Till later,
Amit
Labels: Cause, Movies, Theatre
EARTHRACE
Continuing from the last post about clean sources of energy and all -
Earthrace is in a bid to break the world record for circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat using only renewable fuels.
The boat and team have been through some really tough times (which you can read on their blogs) but they keep on chasing that dream. They had a choice of abandoning the race because of time lost plus the depleted funds which depleted in Guatemala; but they decided to keep going even at the personal cost to each of them. The boat is now near Cochin (India), which will mark the half way point for the race but they are now without any money for the ground crew to travel to the next few stops. Someone has arranged for bio-diesel for the rest of the race but all they are lacking now is about US$ 15,000 odd - that would cover the ground crew's flights to the ports.
Now here is a chance that you show that you really care about the environment - I will simply quote what Scott , the Marine Engineer on earth race said on the ground crew blog:
"
I can't believe a three million dollar project is falling apart for the lack of the final air fares for ground crew. How much can that be?" John asks me. "Fifteen thousand dollars. One leg sale. Fifteen single thousand dollar donations, a few hundred tee shirt sales or maybe one good donation, or maybe one last sponsor that wants their logo shown around the world and in 100 of the worlds largest cities" John nods, "Who else can we ask" I think to myself. We have asked everyone we can think of. Maybe not I think. I can ask you, the reader. Earthrace is at the critical venture. She will continue with success only if you step forward and help. So many times on Earthrace the whole project has come down to one event, one idea or one person. Today that person is you. You may have the ability to donate a thousand dollars. Maybe more, maybe less, but you are the one today. Today you can be the person to make history, and be part of history, and allow history to continue. Earthrace is a cause working for our children's future, for the environment and for the good of the world. "Racing around the world for a better planet," they say. Everywhere we go we bring the word of alternative fuels. We are making a difference and change is happening, but that change may stop if you don't help today. You can be that part of history by visiting Earthrace.net and making a paypal donation. Or you can email me direct at yachtwork@gmail.com or you can post money by Western Union. If you want you can make it happen. You can call our Skype number at 415 287 3483. Today this adventure depends on you."
So as Scott has aptly pointed out - the individual amounts don't really matter - it can be as little as US$20 to as high as however much you feel like donating. In the overall scheme of things it is your passion about the future of this world that really matters. The race is not on to save the world literally but to raise awareness about alternative fuels - which is a step in the right direction. One can only solve a problem step by step.
Do help keep the dream alive and take a step in the right direction by donating to the
cause. And don't rationalize it too much otherwise you will stun yourself to inaction.
Till later,
Amit
Labels: Cause, Random
Light A Million Candles
The innocent victims of Internet child abuse cannot speak for themselves.
But you can.With your help, we can eradicate this evil trade. We do not need your money.
We need you to light a candle of support. The more candles we light, the more powerful our voice becomes.
This petition will be used to encourage governments, politicians, financial institutions, payment organisations, Internet service providers, technology companies and law enforcement agencies to eradicate the commercial viability of online child abuse. They have the power to work together. You have the power to get them to take action.
Please light your candle at
lightamillioncandles.com or send an email of support to
light@lightamillioncandles.com.
Together, we can destroy the commercial viability of Internet child abuse sites that are destroying the lives of innocent children. Kindly forward this to your friends, relatives and work colleagues so that they can light a candle too.
Labels: Cause
