posted May 25, 2006 08:54 AM              

Yeah definately girl.....you are in !!!!

The striptease would add a touch of glamour to the business.

And mystical dream...phone sex business...isnt that a bit like sex therapy, which I was thinking doing after training.

Hmmm....I could start with the phone sex first, just for research purposes and to make a bit of cash...

posted May 25, 2006 08:57 AM              

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hetaerae
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution http://soiuser.hyperchat.com/madameblackrose/courtesans.html http://music.uchicago.edu/html/courtesan/proceedings.html http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=0300107633

posted May 25, 2006 09:30 AM              

Cast: Gong Li, Cao Cuifen, He Caifei, Jin Shuyuan, Kong Lin, Ma Jingwu, Zhao Qi
Director: Zhang Yimou
Producer: Chiu Fu-sheng
Screenplay: Ni Zhen based on the novel Wives and Concubines by Su Tong
Cinematography: Yang Lun and Zhao Fei
Music: Naoki Tachikawa and Zhao Jiping
U.S. Distributor: Miramax Films
In Mandarin with English Subtitles

*Raise the Red Lantern* is one of the more sublimely beautiful and openly disturbing films of the 1990s. It is also the best work to date turned in by the actress/director combination of Gong Li and Zhang Yimou -- and this includes other impressive films like Ju Dou and To Live. Raise the Red Lantern is one of those all-too-rare motion pictures capable of enthralling audience members while they're watching it, then haunting them for hours (or days) thereafter. With its simple story and complex themes and emotions, Raise the Red Lantern hints at the kind of film a great director like Ingmar Bergman might have made had he attempted a story set in mainland China.

The difference between Songlian (Gong Li), the fourth wife of a rich landowner, and the other three spouses, is that she is educated, and has been married (by her mother) against her will. Now, her whole world is reduced to one small compound, and the only people she sees are her husband, his family, and their servants. She is given a maid (Kong Lin) with whom she doesn't get along, and finds her new home to be a cheerless place, despite all the bright colors that adorn the inside walls.

It's the master's tradition to light lanterns outside the house of the wife he intends to join for the night. Since Songlian is new to the compound, it is expected that he will spend much of his time with her. However, on their first night together, the master is called away to soothe his pampered third wife (He Caifei), who complains of an ailment. From then on, Songlian realizes that she'll have to resort to deceit and manipulation to retain her husband's interest. And, while she doesn't necessarily appreciate his attentions, she realizes that her status in the household is directly proportional to how highly she is favored.

Within days of her arrival, Songlian's relationships with her "sisters" are established. The first wife (Jin Shuyuan), an aging woman with a grown son, does her best to ignore Songlian's presence. She is tolerant -- no more, no less. The third concubine, a beautiful ex-opera singer, is fiercely jealous of Songlian, worried that the master will find his new, educated bride more enticing. However, the second concubine (Cao Cuifen) offers friendship and kindness to the newest member of the family -- or so it initially seems.

The Chinese government didn't approve of Raise the Red Lantern, and, if you look just below the simple-yet-effective surface story, it's easy to understand why. As structured, this film can be seen as a parable for the corruption of modern society in China. Songlian is the individual, the master is the government, and the customs of the house are the laws of the country. It's an archaic system that rewards those who play within the rules and destroys those who violate them. And, when an atrocity occurs (as it did in Tiannamen Square), not only is culpability denied, but the entire incident is claimed not to have happened.

Looking beyond the political meaning, Raise the Red Lantern offers a view of life within a closed, dictatorial social community. Much of the film deals with the ever-shifting balance of power between the various concubines. Beauty and sexual appeal are secondary attributes in a battle of wits that demands guile and duplicity. Bearing a male child is more critical to each woman's standing than possessing a pleasing countenance. While the master's favor determines which of his wives commands the most power, Zhang illustrates how easily he can be manipulated.

The acting is effective enough to illuminate the multi-faceted personalities of the concubines. Gong Li shines as Songlian, who struggles to be as cold and calculating as her "sisters" in playing the "game" until a tragedy destroys her composure (and possibly her sanity). Gong's performance makes it easy to sympathize with Songlian; she is our guide through the strange, ritual-saturated world of Raise the Red Lantern.

The film is beautifully photographed using a process that captures the vividness of the many colors employed by the director. Raise the Red Lantern is visually stunning, and the appeal to the eye only heightens the movie's emotional power. The fullness of reds, oranges, and yellows is unlike anything that has been seen in an American film for years. Zhang clearly understands at least one of the fundamental rules of film making: that a great-looking picture will enhance a superior story.

Songlian's ultimate fate is wrenching, and the closing scene represents a sad epilogue to a unique motion picture experience. I don't think I've ever seen a movie quite like Raise the Red Lantern, and, since I consider it to be a defining example of Chinese movie-making and one of the best films of the '90s, I doubt that I ever will again.

by .. James Berardinelli

posted May 25, 2006 10:03 AM              

apart from the shakeup in the uk "home office" and related political fallout ..
and .. .. the aussies have evidently landed in east - timor

uk .. vice .. human traffic .. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/england/5015434.stm

posted May 25, 2006 12:26 PM            

Pidua -
I don't understand why you're on this board, when everyone here seems to drive you into a long screaming rant.

Well, when you become in charge and you feel you have the right to kick me off, then be my guest. I think your perception of me screaming is humerous since I did not have my posts in all caps. THAT and I use capitals for words that I emphasize.

Get over it Leyla - I've been here for 4 years and have contributed a hell of alot, so before you start judging who should be here and who shouldn't you might want to get your facts straight - IF you can bend your mind around them. Besides, get a new line, not every post in a rant LOL... And don't you think you are being a WEE bit dramatic by saying EVERYONE drives me into a long rant? Puhleeeeze....

posted May 25, 2006 12:32 PM            

It has to put out a selfish vibe, in my opinion, when one can only derive pleasure through the pain inflicted on another or through the humiliation of such an act.

I realize to each their own, but there has to be some karmic and auric vibration felt through various acts.

Take the act of rape, pedophilia or beastiality. All actions are taken against the will of another entity (man / woman, child, animal). What type of angry wavelength results when that goes into the Universe. For every action there is a reaction- it has to be felt somewhere.

posted May 25, 2006 01:17 PM              

4444!Cool Pidaua!

posted May 25, 2006 02:20 PM            

Would you consider a Sun Venus and Mercury in Pisces with a Leo Asc and Sag Moon and Mars - no emotional or sexual hang ups although I do have my own 'personal boundaries' but beleive, these are a million miles down the line from lots of people.

I am willing to share my toys and am superb at full body massage.

I would rather be paid to work in a brothel than be in some financial trap of a marriage as I beleive so many marriages these days are legalised prostitution lol

I assure you I will get on well with all you Scorp girls, two of my closest female friends are Scorps.

Waiting in anticipation for a reply.

posted May 25, 2006 03:10 PM              

Now ladies I must warn you that the type of clientele we may attract may be somewhat challenging....Ireland is or was a somewhat repressed country in parts and so the men here can be a little shy.....

So gently does it okay girls.....

posted May 25, 2006 03:45 PM              

Miss Sue, may I also join your Gentlmen's Club? I have a most lovely collection of fantasy shoes (:

posted May 25, 2006 03:55 PM              

Of course you may join,,,,,cant wait to see yer collection of fantasy shoes.....

posted May 25, 2006 08:22 PM              

It's Linda-Goodman.com not Pidaua.com

I've been here two years, and I don't expect newer people to bow down and kiss my foot.

This is exactly the pushy behavior me and the other person were discussing. You're on some kind of power trip.

posted May 26, 2006 03:07 AM              

all the energy you are spending could be used on

L O V E

seems such a shame to be wasting it on bickering......

dont ye think ???