ELIMINATED - Nicole Kidman in The Hours - 26% of all votes. The Hours was released in 2002. The film had one win, Best Actress for Kidman, at the 75th Academy Awards. Kidman was selected for Best Actress of the year in a lineup that also included Salma Hayek in Frida, Diane Lane in Faithful, Julianne Moore in Far from Heaven and Renée Zellweger in Chicago. Kidman also garnered nominations at the Critics' Choice Awards and SAGs, as well as wins at the BAFTAs and Golden Globes for her performance as Virginia Woolf.
Feel free to use the comments as an area for discussion. Votes will only be accepted through this Google Form.
• Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos (Monster)
• Hilary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald (Million Dollar Baby)
• Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II (The Queen)
• Marion Cotillard as Édith Piaf (La Vie en Rose)
• Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers (Black Swan)
• Cate Blanchett as Jasmine Francis (Blue Jasmine)
• Julianne Moore as Alice Howland (Still Alice)
• Brie Larson as Joy Newsome (Room)
• Emma Stone as Mia Dolan (La La Land)
• Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
• Olivia Colman as Queen Anne (The Favourite)
• Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
• Emma Stone as Bella Baxter (Poor Things)
RANKING:

1. Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf (The Hours)
   
2. Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany Maxwell (Silver Linings Playbook)
   
3. Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz (The Reader)
   
4. Halle Berry as Leticia Musgrove (Monster's Ball)
   
5. Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)
   
6. Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich (Erin Brockovich)
   
7. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter (Walk the Line)
   
8. Frances McDormand as Fern (Nomadland)
   
9. Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher (The Iron Lady)
   
10. Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy)
    
11. Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy (The Blind Side)
    

Everyone knows that Brooke Hyland just got engaged and will be married soon, but Brooke is NOT the 1st dance moms girl to be engaged/married. All info I found from IG (either their own accounts/the moms) :

1. Kamryn Beck from season 4 select team, got engaged in December 2021, but will be married this August. She is the first dance moms girl to be engaged. https://www.instagram.com/p/CYH7jYVLL6v/?hl=en&img_index=1 & from her moms IG post https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqxj0YgOFP?hl=en&img_index=1 + https://www.instagram.com/p/C3xOVi6OJiP/?hl=en
   
2. Payton Ackerman, goes by Payton Stork now, got married in September 2023 & gave birth to a baby girl 2 months ago. https://www.instagram.com/payyytonackerman/?hl=en Not only the 1st dance moms girl to be married but also the first dance moms girl to have a baby.
   
3. Ari Lopez from season 6 mini team, is engaged to Manuel Magana (I think in June 2023). On her recent posts you can see her huge diamond ring (https://www.instagram.com/p/Ct7iwQ\_pRNM/?hl=en&img\_index=1). https://www.instagram.com/areanalopez/?hl=en
   
4. BROOKE
   

Next... either Paige (who's been with her boyfriend since Fall 2018), Sophia Lucia (who's been with her boyfriend since September 2020), almost 17yr old Elliana (who's been with her almost 18yr old boyfriend since October of 2020 (her 13 & him 14) + they talk about getting married on their social media channels all of the time), Nia (who's been with her boyfriend since January/February of 2022), or Kendall (who's been with her boyfriend since May 2022).
Not for a while because... Maddie, Kenzie, Chloe, & JoJo have been in relationships but are now single. Kalani & Brynn have just started relationships with their boyfriends. Lilly is also now in a relationship but also focusing on being a somewhat typical teenager. Other singles include: Asia, Ava, & Sarah Reasons-busy being influencers. The rest of select team members Jade, Tia, & Sarah Hunt-living typical lives. Season 6 mini's Peyton & Alexus and Season 8 Sarah Georgina-focusing on high school & just being typical teenagers. Season 7 members Camryn Bridges-one of Usher's main dancers & Maesi-focusing on college & dance training. Season 8 cast majority (GiaNina, Pressley, & Hannah)-focusing on being influencers & Brady-professional ballet dancer. *all ALDC major cast members ages 15+

ELIMINATED - Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook - 27% of all votes. Silver Linings Playbook was released in 2012. The film had one win, Best Actress for Lawrence, at the 85th Academy Awards. Lawrence was selected for Best Actress of the year in a lineup that also included Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty, Emmanuelle Riva in Amour, Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild and Naomi Watts in The Impossible. Lawrence also garnered nominations at the BAFTAs and Critics' Choice Awards as well as wins at the Golden Globes and SAGs for her performance as Tiffany Maxwell.
Feel free to use the comments as an area for discussion. Votes will only be accepted through this Google Form.
• Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf (The Hours)
• Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos (Monster)
• Hilary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald (Million Dollar Baby)
• Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II (The Queen)
• Marion Cotillard as Édith Piaf (La Vie en Rose)
• Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers (Black Swan)
• Cate Blanchett as Jasmine Francis (Blue Jasmine)
• Julianne Moore as Alice Howland (Still Alice)
• Brie Larson as Joy Newsome (Room)
• Emma Stone as Mia Dolan (La La Land)
• Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
• Olivia Colman as Queen Anne (The Favourite)
• Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
• Emma Stone as Bella Baxter (Poor Things)
RANKING:

1. Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany Maxwell (Silver Linings Playbook)
   
2. Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz (The Reader)
   
3. Halle Berry as Leticia Musgrove (Monster's Ball)
   
4. Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)
   
5. Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich (Erin Brockovich)
   
6. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter (Walk the Line)
   
7. Frances McDormand as Fern (Nomadland)
   
8. Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher (The Iron Lady)
   
9. Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy)
   
10. Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy (The Blind Side)
    

hallmark of chronic pain disorders, including FSS, a recent consensus statement pointed out that the pathophysi- ology of chronic pain cannot solely be explained by sensi- tivity to acute noxious stimulation

ELIMINATED - Kate Winslet in The Reader - 24.1% of all votes. The Reader was released in 2008. The film had one win, Best Actress for Winslet, at the 81st Academy Awards. Winslet was selected for Best Actress of the year in a lineup that also included Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married, Angelina Jolie in Changeling, Melissa Leo in Frozen River and Meryl Streep in Doubt. Winslet also garnered wins at the BAFTAs, Critics' Choice Awards, Golden Globes and SAGs for her performance as Hanna Schmitz.
Feel free to use the comments as an area for discussion. Votes will only be accepted through this Google Form.
• Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf (The Hours)
• Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos (Monster)
• Hilary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald (Million Dollar Baby)
• Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II (The Queen)
• Marion Cotillard as Édith Piaf (La Vie en Rose)
• Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers (Black Swan)
• Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany Maxwell (Silver Linings Playbook)
• Cate Blanchett as Jasmine Francis (Blue Jasmine)
• Julianne Moore as Alice Howland (Still Alice)
• Brie Larson as Joy Newsome (Room)
• Emma Stone as Mia Dolan (La La Land)
• Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
• Olivia Colman as Queen Anne (The Favourite)
• Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
• Emma Stone as Bella Baxter (Poor Things)
RANKING:

1. Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz (The Reader)
   
2. Halle Berry as Leticia Musgrove (Monster's Ball)
   
3. Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)
   
4. Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich (Erin Brockovich)
   
5. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter (Walk the Line)
   
6. Frances McDormand as Fern (Nomadland)
   
7. Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher (The Iron Lady)
   
8. Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy)
   
9. Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy (The Blind Side)
   

The title says it all. Some of these might not be "underrated" in terms of engagement, but I feel like all of these webtoons deserve more discussion and attention than they currently get.

• Garden of the Dead Flowers - ongoing; thriller, mystery
  • Synopsis: Mila inexplicably gets transported to the 1940s. What's worse? She witnesses her usually kind grandfather commit a murder and bury the body in his garden. Unsure of what to do, Mila assumes the identity of her grandmother, with whom she has an uncanny resemblance, as she tries to figure out a way to return to the present-day.
  • I love this webtoon's story and how there's always just enough information to keep the plot engaging while maintaining enough mystieries for there to be incentive to continue reading. Every chapter seems to answer questions and cause more questions to arise simultaneously, which just gives more reasons to continue reading.
  • It's also really interesting how the story balances the main plot with sociopolitical issues during the 1940s and how the two affect each other. It's incredibly intriguing how the webtoon takes advantage of its setting and how the time travel aspect isn't just to create a "fish out of water" environment for the main character.
  • Speaking of the main character, she's not an idiot! She's a bit of an airhead and tends to not think things through, sure, but she's also really capable and strong despite her situation, and her positivity seems more like a strength rather than a flaw.
  • This isn't as major but the art style is really charming and it has some of the best "insane" expressions that I've seen.
• Nina's Magic Chest - completed; thriller
  • Synopsis: Nina finds a pink chest on the streets and decides to take home, not knowing that it has the ability to grant any wish. As Nina uses the chest to fufill her desires, her real life starts spiralling down a path of insanity.
  • The main thing that I find appealing about this webtoon is how it presents itself as an innocent story about a girl who discovers a chest that can grant wishes, but takes it to a whole other level by introducing consequences to every wish that is granted. The juxtaposition between the colourful art style and the violence gives a daunting contrast between the ideal world inside the chest and real life.
  • This webtoon does such a good job of creating high-stakes situations, and it does not beat around the bush with its pacing. In its 110 episodes, the story manages to add so many plot points without it feeling significantly rushed, which I'd have to say is an impressive accomplishment.
  • It's also interesting how the webtoon explores the very real issue of addiction, and how it can affect otherwise normal people. I'd highly recommend readers to also check out the afterword, even if you're usually the type to skip them.
• Like Mother, Like Daughter - ongoing; drama, thriller
  • Synopsis: With her perfect grades and polite manners, Somyoung is the perfect child that every parent would dream of having. However, when her brother is found drowned in the lake, she begins to believe that it was her mother who killed him. From then on, Somyoung only has one goal: escape the cursed household that she resides in.
  • This is one of those extremely plot-driven webtoons, but it does it in a way that doesn't compromise the depth of the characters. Every character feels authentic in their own way, which can be kind of rare to come by in the thriller genre (at least in my experience).
  • Something that I especially love about this series is how parallels between Somyoung and her mother are shown slowly in a way that even Somyoung herself is not aware of it.
  • The plot itself is also very interesting. It subverts the typical cat-and-mouse trope by having the "cat" and "mouse" be mother and daughter, which creates a big power imbalance. This adds so many layers to the series that would not be possible without the way that the story was set up.
• How to Become a Dragon - completed; supernatural, drama
  • Synopsis: A self-proclaimed imoogi named Bari shows up in Young's apartment one day, demanding that he pays for the sins of his ancestor by helping him become a dragon. With no choice but to help him, Young becomes Bari's tutor and teaches him the ins and outs of getting along with humans for the Nakdong River Dragon Exam.
  • Ok this one is probably the least "underrated" in the list but I included it mainly because I want more people to know that this wonderful webtoon exists before it inevitable becomes fast pass.
  • The mystery, the emotions, the relationships between characters, this webtoon has it all. One of my favourite aspects of the webtoon is how every major character is fleshed out in their own way and not one character feels one-dimensional or boring. Even the more antagonistic characters have their own stories and depth that makes it difficult to hate them.
  • The story starts out pretty innocent and slice-of-life-y but I promise you, it gets so good. This webtoon does a wonderful job exploring the implications that come with being immortal, and the emotions that come with reliving horrible memories.
  • A random thing that I really like about this webtoon is how little romance plays a part in it. Only one character (whose name I won't mention for spoiler reasons) has romance as a big role in their story, and there is a special emphasis on the friendships and familial bonds between characters.

Hola, traduje mi publicación a través de Google para llegar a una audiencia más amplia, así que perdóname. Vendía coloridos retratos al óleo de personajes famosos, muchos de ellos afroamericanos. Tenía al menos 40 años, era español, medía como 5'7 y podía haber estado descalzo, con camiseta y pantalones cortos. Estaba en una calle ancha y transitable. De hecho, estaba trabajando en una pintura de Nina Simone. Lamento no haberlo comprado todos los días. Todavía estaba mojado y tenía miedo de estropearlo o estropear alguna pertenencia, así que lo pasé y ninguno de los otros me golpeó el alma con tanta fuerza. Mencionó que también vende su trabajo a alguien en Nueva York.
¡Por favor ayúdame a encontrarlo! Gracias <3

Russian forces are making a push, animal testing ramps up for H5N1, and over 365 days of temperature records…
Last Week in Collapse: May 5-11, 2024
This is Last Week in Collapse, a weekly newsletter compiling some of the most important, timely, useful, soul-crushing, ironic, stunning, exhausting, or otherwise must-see/can’t-look-away moments in Collapse.
This is the 124th newsletter. You can find the April 28-May 4 edition here if you missed it last week. You can also receive these posts (with images) every Sunday in your email inbox with Substack.
——————————
Earth experienced its largest CO2 concentration increase over a 12-month period, scientists say, from March 2023-2024. It was a jump of 4.7ppm more of carbon dioxide, blamed on deforestation, fossil fuels, and El Niño. Experts are saying that El Niño has peaked, and will transition to La Niña within a few months. La Niña lasts about 1-3 years, and it generally cools the Pacific Ocean, and brings more rain to India & Bangladesh, among other changes. Earth also experienced its greatest atmospheric moisture for the month of April.
Venezuela has lost its last glacier, the Humboldt, which was reclassified into an “ice field.” It is the first modern nation to lose all its glaciers. Scientists believe Indonesia, Mexico, and Slovenia are next in line to see the extinction of their glaciers. Colombia is also rapidly losing its remaining 6 glaciers.
Wildfires in Chile have killed about a hundred people, and injured & displaced thousands. Flooding in Afghanistan. And climate change is ruining cotton crops, and livestock, in Chad. Plus, flooding struck the DRC, overflowing rivers and latrines—affecting some 500,000 people. And some climatologists think we have been underestimating how much climate change is driving greater rainfall & flooding; the worst is yet to come.
The first week of May saw so many temperature records broken; some are claiming that it might be the “most record breaking month in climatic history”—until June, that is. Earth has been seeing 13 months of monthly records being broken for global sea surface temperatures. Literally 365 days of record-breaking ocean temperatures.
A study in PNAS examined North Pacific “warm blob” heat waves from 2010-2020, and concluded that China’s reduction in aerosols, which cleaned the air but also removed the sun-reflective particles, incidentally probably caused marine heat waves which killed fish and resulted in algae blooms.
Bees are having difficulty acclimatizing their nests to rising temperatures. The dugong, while still rarely seen in parts of the world, has been declared extinct inside China, having gone 24 years without a known sighting. In Florida, the suburbification of land under development is pushing the Florida panther closer to extinction; some 100 panthers remain in the sunshine state.
Siberia’s Batagaika crater—I prefer its alternative title, “megaslump”—is expanding by about 1M cubic meters, every year. Scientists naturally blame the rapid permafrost melting on climate change.
A cruise ship entered New York City with an endangered 44 ft {13.4m} dead sea whale stuck on its bow (front). Investigators are looking into whether it was already dead when the ship hit it. A study in Conservation Letters looked at the 100 largest Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)—which cover 7.3% of all ocean area—and found that almost 60% of this area is not in range of meeting the 2030 preservation goals.
Part of India broke May records already; the Maldives, too. Eastern Ukraine ended a far warmer & wetter April than usual. And a heat wave in Mexico scorched previous May temperature records across 10 cities, as well as small regional blackouts. North America felt its all-time hottest May temperature...
——————————
AstraZeneca is pulling its COVID vaccine from the EU over a rare blood clooting side effect. Nevertheless, some experts claim that vaccine saved over 6M lives. Whatever U.S. CDC data on COVID is still available points to “a small rise” in cases later this summer, mostly from the growing KP.2 “FLiRT” variant.
COVID patients and immunocompromised individuals are still using lots of healthcare resources, and the rise of resistant superbugs is developing alarmingly fast. According to the article, “It only takes about a year on average for bacteria to grow resistant to treatment, when they used to take 21 years to evolve back in the 1960s.”
Engineers and medical professionals remain concerned about nanoplastics, between 1-1,000 nanometers wide. One grain of sand is about 500,000 nanometers, and one strand of DNA is about 2.5 nanometers. A single wavelength of light ranges from 400-700 nanometers.
South Africa’s water shortage is projected to worsen through at least 2025. Nairobi’s water shortage continues, despite the city’s dams being filled with floodwater. Costa Rica is facing a Drought so bad it’s rationing electricity. Mexico City—the second-most-populous city (by metro area: 21.8M; São Paolo is #1, at 22M) in North America— is seeing more than 20% of freshwater sources exhausted, and rationing is not enough. It’s almost like we’re living at unsustainable levels of consumption…
As Latin America warms (and suffers flooding), disease is becoming more common—as well as heat stroke & serious hunger. Benin is refusing Niger the permission to use its port to export oil, as a result of a border dispute.
A paywalled study in Nature Water tested a new method for removing PFAS foam particles in water, with “near-complete destruction of PFAS in various water samples contaminated by the foams.” The process involves “ultra-violet (UV) light, sulfite, and a process called electrochemical oxidation” and does not require heat or high pressure. The number of U.S. states phasing out PFAS is growing.
As forcible repatriations of thousands of Afghans continue, millions of Afghans are suffering from lack of humanitarian aid—aggravated by recent deadly flash floods in the beleaguered, landlocked, failed state.
Yeasty superfungus Candida Auris infections were detected in 77 cases in Germany last year, authorities say. Candida Auris was only identified 15 years ago, but its three separate genetic variants (each on a different continent) have stealthily and stubbornly grown to pose a stealth threat to humankind. It is incredibly resistant to antifungal drugs, and it survives at higher temperatures than most other fungi. The WHO has listed it on a shortlist of top fungal pathogen dangers.
3 cats died from H5N1 in the United States last week. Some health professionals are getting more worried about a future H5N1 jump to become human-to-human transmissible, and claim that we are not ready as a species. Experts say we are not doing enough testing, and may already be in the prologue of a much more devastating pandemic. Scientists still say it is unlikely that a strain will make the critical mutation necessary, but the similarities between human and cow (and other mammal) flu receptors present potential complications.
The world is supposedly being divided into three general trade blocs: U.S., China, and the non-aligned states. For better or worse, globalization is crumbling, and governments are imposing tariffs, attempting to reshore industries, and restructure debt & credit flows. What will happen when the people, long-trained to expect high returns, find their profits wanting?
——————————
Two camps for internally displaced people near Goma, DRC were bombed, killing 12+ and injuring 20+. The perpetrators and their motives are unclear.
Rising crime. Drinking water. Closing the Darien Gap. These were the issues propelling Panama’s president-elect to a victory last Sunday. The arrival of rain is also improving conditions on the Drought-choken Panama Canal, expected to return to normal for at least a month or two.
A wave of Chinese espionage, much of it several years old, is sweeping Europe. Of particular concern is a hack of British military personnel information uncovered on Tuesday—which China denies. Similar espionage against the U.S. has reportedly cost the economy hundreds of billions per year.
Kenya’s mission to stabilize Haiti is inching forward slowly. The Pentagon has ordered its 1,000 troops to leave Niger. At least one Saudi villager was killed to make room for The Line, and reports claim Saudi forces have been given the green light to clear other people who get in the way of the development. Germany’s Defence Ministry is seriously considering recommending conscription for its 18-year olds later this summer.
Displacement in Myanmar has spiked over the past six months—and now counts 3M+ people since the February 2021 coup which sparked more open resistance.
Tunisia ejected ~400 migrants into Libya. Kazakhstan is expelling Tajik migrants in far-ranging sweeps. In Lebanon, vigilante attacks against Syrians have become more common. Mauritania is conducting military drills along part of its border with Mali, after reports emerged of Malian soldiers attacking border settlements.
In Sudan, over 200 witnesses corroborated reports of a massacre last June, where RSF insurgents piled up and shot” at least 17 people, most of whom were children. A lengthy report from Human Rights Watch, complete with timelines, testimony, war crimes, and other horrors from Sudan is over 150 pages. I did not have the fortitude to skim much of it.
A Hamas attack on Sunday, which killed 4 Israeli soldiers, reportedly pushed the Rafah invasion ahead of schedule. The IDF took over the Egypt-Gaza border, and is scaling up operations in southern Gaza. In response, the U.S. paused arms transfers to Israel. Any chance of a ceasefire, if there was ever really a credible chance, will have to wait. Diarrhea is soaring in Gaza, due in large part to a critical water shortage, caused by the destruction of wastewater treatment plants, the damage to water infrastructure, and large-scale displacement. A new evacuation order has commanded over 1M people in Gaza to leave before a more comprehensive invasion of Rafah begins.
A day after President Putin was inaugurated for his fifth term, he ordered a wide strike at Ukrainian infrastructure across seven oblasts. Most of the missiles and drones were shot down. And another plot to assassinate Zelenskyy was foiled. Lithuania is considering sending military trainers into Ukraine. Putin announced that Russian forces would target Western soldiers deployed in Ukraine, and begin drills simulating nuclear weapons if Britain’s involvement grows. Already, Belarus conducted a military drill with missiles & planes capable of using nukes.
In addition to extending Ukraine’s mobilization by another 90 days, the government has also allowing some convicts to fight on the battlefield in exchange for reduced sentences. Poland is allegedly considering repatriating thousands of draft-eligible Ukrainian men, and Germany is emphasizing the need for Ukrainian refugees to work.
Japan is boosting investment in a hypersonic missile interceptor project with the United States. A large-scale Russian offensive has begun across the front-lines, particularly around Kharkiv. And Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is beginning talk of a “genocide” in Moldova, which could provide the pretext for another special military operation in Transnistria—and perhaps beyond.
——————————
Things to watch out for next week include:
↠ The IDMC is releasing their 2024 report on Internally Displaced People (IDPs) on Tuesday, with estimates for total figures by nation & region.
Select comments/threads from the subreddit last week suggest:
-High temperatures are going to ruin food—and a lot of people’s health. This thread about the contamination of bánh mi in Vietnam sheds some light on the interconnectivity of our problems. Add in some heat wave-induced power outages, loose government regulation, and hospital problems, and you can imagine how this slow-moving disaster can cripple a community.
-“Microforests” may help mitigate some of the effects of ecosystem collapse and desertification—as well as boosting your property value, judging by this thread and its comments.
-One Collapsenik published a free ebook & audiobook satirizing American Collapse—and I’m not just linking because this newsletter was apparently a source of Doom inspiration. If you write an 80,000 word novel about Collapse, featuring some 300 references, I’ll share it too. Maybe one day I’ll have the time to write one…
Got any feedback, questions, comments, complaints, upvotes, movie recommendations, good off-grid land deals, locust broth, etc.? Check out the Last Week in Collapse SubStack if you don’t want to check collapse every Sunday, you can receive this newsletter sent to your (or someone else’s) email inbox every weekend. What did I forget this week?

ELIMINATED - Halle Berry in Monster's Ball - 19.8% of all votes. Monster's Ball was released in 2001. The film had one win, Best Actress for Berry, at the 74th Academy Awards. Berry was selected for Best Actress of the year in a lineup that also included Judi Dench in Iris, Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge!, Sissy Spacek in In the Bedroom and Renée Zellweger in Bridget Jones's Diary. Berry also garnered nominations at the BAFTAs and Golden Globes as well as a win at the SAGs for her performance as Leticia Musgrove.
Feel free to use the comments as an area for discussion. Votes will only be accepted through this Google Form.
• Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf (The Hours)
• Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos (Monster)
• Hilary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald (Million Dollar Baby)
• Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II (The Queen)
• Marion Cotillard as Édith Piaf (La Vie en Rose)
• Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz (The Reader)
• Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers (Black Swan)
• Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany Maxwell (Silver Linings Playbook)
• Cate Blanchett as Jasmine Francis (Blue Jasmine)
• Julianne Moore as Alice Howland (Still Alice)
• Brie Larson as Joy Newsome (Room)
• Emma Stone as Mia Dolan (La La Land)
• Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
• Olivia Colman as Queen Anne (The Favourite)
• Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
• Emma Stone as Bella Baxter (Poor Things)
RANKING:

1. Halle Berry as Leticia Musgrove (Monster's Ball)
   
2. Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)
   
3. Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich (Erin Brockovich)
   
4. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter (Walk the Line)
   
5. Frances McDormand as Fern (Nomadland)
   
6. Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher (The Iron Lady)
   
7. Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy)
   
8. Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy (The Blind Side)
   

2.8. Saṅkhāra:

Saṅkhāra (Theravada glossary):
Formation, compound, fashioning, fabrication - the forces and factors that fashion things (physical or mental), the process of fashioning, and the fashioned things that result. Sankhara can refer to anything formed or fashioned by conditions, or, more specifically, (as one of the five khandhas) thought formations within the mind.

• Saṅkhāra: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and mental activities
• Saṅkhāra is construct. Construct is activity.
• Sight is a construct. Sight occurs as an activity composed of looking, seeing, light/image incoming, brain and mind functioning, etc.
• Sound is a construct. Sound occurs as an activity composed of listening, hearing, sound waves incoming, brain and mind functioning, etc.
• Smell...
• Taste...
• Touch...
• Thought is a construct. Thought occurs as an acivity composed of recalling memory, composing ideas, brain and mind functioning, etc.

Paramattha & Saṅkhāra

Existence is made of paramattha (reality, real things) and saṅkhāra (activity).
Four Paramatthas are Citta, cetasika, rūpa, Nibbāna.
Saṅkhāra is either natural or intentional.

The Four Noble Truths

The Catusacca (the Four Truths or Facts) are Ariya-Sacca (the Noble Truth, the Ultimate Truth). These four truths are the true nature (sbhāva) of paramattha and saṅkhāra.
The Catusacca Daḷhī Kamma Kathā composed by the Elder Revata (2491 Sāsanā Era) is a must-read:

The Buddha had to acquire the ten perfection (pāramis) over four asankheyyas and a hundred thousand kappas; a paccekabuddha, over two asankheyyas and a hundred thousand kappas; a Chief Disciple or Mahāsāvaka, over one asankheyyas and a hundred thousand kappas. To what end? To attain to the Four Noble Truths. Why? Because it is only knowledge of the Four Noble Truths that leads to the realization of Nibbana, which makes one secure against the hazards of repeated (birth), ageing, disease and death and the natural tendency of all worldlings to fall into the four miserable states (apāya). One should therefore follow the example of those Noble Ones who have entered Nibbana and strive for the knowledge of the Truth.

Two truths:

1. The paramattha-sacca (the ultimate truth, or reality that really exists in nature);
2. The samuti-sacca (the conventional truth, or the conventions and beliefs that really exist among us);

Sacca : truth; Truth also means a statement or speech is truthful or of a noble person.

TATHĀGATĀ
the Buddha uses to address himself. He is “thus come” (tathā āgata) in the sense that he is neither an emissary of any divine being (God, etc) nor prophets, but arises as the most highly evolved being amongst us as the natural process of spiritual evolution and awakening. He is “thus gone” (tathā gata) in the sense that, just like the truth he proclaims, he dies, thus authenticating the reality that he and we commonly are. (Sacca) Tathāgatā Sutta (Piya Tan)

Nāma and Rūpa

There are five aggregates of clinging.

• Nāma is the collective term for saṅkhata dhamma: citta (viññāṇa) and cetāsika (vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra). Thus, nāma is the four mental componets (vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra and viññāṇa). Citta is also known as mano and viññāṇa. Citta (mind) and cetasika (mental factors) rise and fall together.
• Rūpa is the four mahābhūta (solid, liquid, gas and heat) and space. Space is the gaps between the particles (mahābhūta). Thus, rūpa is the corporeal body. Rūpa is often translated as form; i.e. the biological body.
• A being is a nāma-rūpa complex or a metaphysical being.

Saṅkhāra as the three built environments:

• Satta-loka is lifeforms and their systems/activities—Avijja-paccaya sankhara (delusion conditions/supports constructs/activities).
• Okāsa-loka is large objects like plants, rivers, mountains, seas, oceans, rocks, galaxies, stars, planets, moons, etc. and their systems/activities. Okāsa-loka houses lifeforms.
• Saṅkhāra-loka is the particals (mahābhūta) and their systems/activities. Saṅkhāra-loka is of particle physics and chemistry existing inside and outside the biological beings (Satta-loka).
• The Satta-loka is made of the five aggregates. Okāsa-loka and Saṅkhāra-loka are made of matters (rūpa or mahābhūta).
• Everything in the three worlds (Satta-loka, Okāsa-loka, Saṅkhāra-loka) is saṅkhāra or a form of sight, sound, smell, taste, touch or thought.
• See Sabba Sutta (The All are these six senses only, no more.)
• Nibbāna is thus the other shore, relief from the burden of the natural activities (birth, aging, death) and intention (kamma saṅkhāra). Nibbāna is thus relief from the nāma-rūpa complex (the natural and intentional activities).

2.8.1. Three types of saṅkhāra:

• Mano-saṅkhāra (mental construct/formation/activity)
• Vaci-saṅkhāra (verbal...): words, comversation, cry, etc.;
• Kāya-saṅkhāra (bodily...): physical action and reaction (all physical activities, which are not vaci);
• These saṅkhāra can be natural or intentional.
• Kamma saṅkhāra (intentional activities) are led by the mind (viññāṇa and mano-saṅkhāra).

Kamma Saṅkhāra (Intentional Activity)

• Intention is kamma (mano-kamma).
• A mental activity with intention is mano-kamma.
• A verbal activity with intention is vaci-kamma.
• A bodily activity with intention is kaya-kamma.
• Intention forms in the mind, so it is a mano-saṅkhāra (mental construct).
• Intention is based on wholesome and unwholesome cetasika (mental factors)

In Samyutta Nikaya Sutta 12.25 the Buddha said “With ignorance as condition, either by oneself, Ananda, one wills bodily intentions (kāya Saṅkhāra), following which arises internally pleasure and pain; or, because of others one wills bodily intentions, following which arises internally, pleasure and pain.” [CONDITIONED ARISING OF SUFFERING (Ven. Dhammavuddho Mahāthera)]

• 'Bodily intention' (kaya-saṅkhāra): intention to act bodily;
  • Kāya: body, bodily;
  • Intention: mano-saṅkhāra
• Mental pain and pleasure; as intention is inside the mind, pleasure and pain are internal (inside the mind).

One casts three types of saṅkhāra (construct/activity) all day long.

• Kamma is volition, intentional action, which can be subtle or gross.
• The Buddha said, "Kamma is intention."

Saṅkhāra Examples:

Avijjā-paccaya saṅkhāra (ignorance conditions/supports construct/activity):

• Beauty is saṅkhāra (natural and with intent). Beauty exists because it is supported by other saṅkhāra-s, including but not limited to fashion, makecup, good health, young age, exercise, nutrition, perception, culture, cleanliness, and genetic conditions. Being propped up by various suitable supports, beauty exists. When suitable things come together, they create beauty. When these supports are affected, beauty is affected.

2.8.2. Cetasikas (Mental Factors):

Cetasika is a paramattha. It exists as it is.
A being is made of rūpa (solid, liquid, gas and heat), citta (viññāṇa) and cetāsika (vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra). However, one does not need akusala-cetasika (avijjā). By removing akusala-cetasika (avijjā), one attains kusala-cetasika (vijjā) and the binding (saṅkhāra) is unbinded.

• saṅkhārakkhandha (m.) the aggregate of mental coefficients

Sankharakkhandha (the fifty cetasikas which are not vedana or sanna) is real; it can be experienced. When there are beautiful mental factors (sobhana cetasikas) such as generosity and compassion, or when there are unwholesome mental factors such as anger and stinginess, we can experience sankharakkhandha. All these phenomena arise and fall away: sankharakkhandha is impermanent. [Nina Van Gorkom. Chapter 2 - The five khandas]

• Cetasika are vedanā, saññā and saṅkhāra (feeling, memory/perception, and construct/activity)
• 14 kusala cetasika (wholesome) and 14 akusala cetasikas (unwholesome mental factors) associate with saṅkhāra and Kamma Saṅkhāra.
• Viññāṇa (consciousness) is citta, one of the four paramatthas. Citta and cetasika occur together and stated as Aññamañña paccayo (explained below);

Aññamañña Paccayo (PAṬṬHĀNA)

Aññamañña paccayo: Paccaya RECIPROCATES WITH paccayuppanna
paccayuppanna : (adj.) arisen from a cause.
paccaya : (m.) cause; votive; requisite; means; support.

• Citta and cetasika (saṅkhāra and vedana/ayatana) arise together or mutually supportive. Details can be read in Pa-Auk Sayadaw's Sampayutta Dhammayatana.
  • Ayatana: sense
  • Vedanā: feeling
  • saṅkhāra: construct
  • Avijjā-paccaya saṅkhāra
• No matter how one is well-behaved, these Anusaya Kilesās will not die out. Either kusala or akusala cetasika (wholesome or unwholesome mental factors) will arise when consciousness (citta) comes in contact with a convenience. Our problems are the unwholesome mental factors.

[Ledi Sayadaw] Lokuttara, or supramundane consciousness, is the noble mind (ariya-citta) which has become free from the threefold desire, and has transcended the three planes, kāma, rūpa, and arūpa. It is of two kinds, thus: noble consciousness in the path (of stream-entry, etc.) and noble consciousness in the fruition (of stream-entry, etc.). [Ledi Sayādaw Mahāthera. The Manual of Insight Vipassanā Dīpanī; The Wheel Publication No: 031/032]

• By means of practicing vipassanā, one can separate citta from akusala cetasika. When akusala cetasika are eradicated from the mind, ariya-citta arises.
• Anupàdisesa-Nibbànadhàtu is the final cessation of the five aggregates of clinging (Upādānakkhandha).
• Nibbànadhàtu: Santisukha (the ultimate-peace element); Nibbàna is an element (paramattha).

Akusala Cetasikas (unwholesome mental factors)

Abhidhamma (Ashin Janakabhivamsa)

• Factor 1 - Moha (delusion)
• Factor 2 - Ahirika (moral shamelessness)
• Factor 3 - Anottappa (moral fearlessness)
• Factor 4 - Uddhacca (distraction, restlessness, wavering)
• Factor 5 - Lobha (greed)
• Factor 6 - Ditthi (wrong view)
• Factor 7 - Mana (conceit)
• Factor 8 - Dosa (hatred)

Factor 9 - Issa (envy)
Factor 10 - Macchariya (jealousy, selfishness)
Factor 11 - Kukkucca (remorse)

• Factor 12-13 - Thina and middha (sloth and torpor)
• Factor 14 - Vicikiccha (doubt, scepticism)

Among the akusala cetasikas are the ten kilesā (akusala cetasika) shown with bullet points.

Hetu paccayo

Lobha, dosa, and moha are called akusala hetus and alobha, adosa, and amoha are called kusala hetus. These latter 3 hetus if they arise with abyakata dhamma they are called abyakata hetus. Lobha is also known as tanha, upadana, samudaya and so on. Moha is sometimes called avijja. Alobha is sometimes refered to dana or offering but it is non attachment. Adosa is metta or loving kindness. Amoha is pannindriya cetasika and simply called panna and is sometimes called vijja. Htoo Naing. Patthana Dhamma: Chapter 5 - Hetu paccayo (or root condition). Htoo Naing. Patthana Dhamma (a different book): Hetu paccayo (page 15)

Kilesā occur in three levels:

1/ anusaya-kilesa: low level, latent, like sediments waiting to be stirred up. 2/ pariyuttana-kilesa: medium level arising only in the mind due to causes and conditions. 3/ vitikkakama-kilesa: coarse level, manifesting in unwolesome speech or action, breaking precepts. [Defilements (kilesā) (Thanh Huynh - Honolulu Dhamma Community)]

Anusaya Kilesas (latent tendency):

If you don’t remove or destroy [latent tendency or defilements (anusaya kilesā)] with Path Knowledge, the khandhas and samudaya (i.e., taṇhā) are always sticking together. [Buddhavada (Mogok Sayadaw); also see 4.2. ANUSAYA]

• Cetasikas are embeded in the formation of a being, including the arupa-brahmas.
• When something convenient (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, or thought) is present to consciousness (Viññāṇa), anusaya kilesā (the latent tendency) grows like seeds.
• At the contact with the convenience, Viññāṇa and the cetasika co-arise simultaneously according to Aññamañña paccayo (Mutuality or Reciprocity Condition)
  • To think, one must be conscious; and to continue thinking, one must be conscious.
  • To see a sight, one must be conscious...
  • To smell a smell...

Comparing with Mahayanist concepts:

• Anusaya kilesās are not based on discrimination and erroneous reasoning (Lanka)
• Anusaya kilesās are not in the Ālaya-vijñāna (the Universal Mind, storehouse consciousness), nor are related to the buddha-nature (Buddha-dhàtu, Buddha-svabhāva). The Mahayanist Ālaya-vijñāna and Buddha-svabhāva are neither citta nor cetasika known to the Vibhajjavadis.

2.8.3. The Role of Saññā

Saññā is a type of cetasika. Other cetasika are vedanā and saṅkhāra. Cetasika is a reality (paramattha).
Saññā is memory (events) and perception (a form of mano-saṅkhārā). However, saññā and saṅkhārā must be different. Saññā must not be saṅkhārā (construct). Saññā must be a raw material. Although saññā and saṅkhārā are similar, saññā must not be saṅkhārā or a product of saṅkhārā.
Saññā as the past events is memory. Events are not imagined. Events occur at the present are reality (not memory).
Saññā can exist as the future events or future memory, like a plan. If a plan is possible to be carried out, then some future events are predictable. In that sense, some future events are knowable.
A Buddha can analyse an individual's mentality and potentials. Based on that knowledge, a Buddha can know and prophesies some major events about an individual or the world. However, a Buddha cannot know the potentials of all the individuals with weak mind (Iddhipāda) and faculties (indriya) who travel randomly any direction into the dark.
This is what the Buddha said about those going into the dark:

The chance for a being in a hell to be reborn as a human is less than that of a blind turtle, surfacing once a century, to happen to put its head through a ring moved by the winds across the surface of the sea. Even if a human rebirth is attained, the person will be poor, ugly and ill, and will tend to do evil actions which will send him or her back to hell (M. iii.169; Bca. iv.20)

PETER HARVEY. AN INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHIST ETHICS: Foundations, Values and Issues. Page 30 University of Sunderland
The Buddha advised the monks to go into the relief from the burden of nāma and rūpa:

“Monks, that’s how rare it is to get reborn as a human being. That’s how rare it is for a fully enlightened Buddha to be born into the world. That’s how rare it is for the Dhamma and training taught by a Buddha to shine in the world. Now, monks, you have been reborn as a human being. A fully enlightened Buddha has been born into the world. The Dhamma and training taught by a Buddha shine in the world.

Iddhipāda

iddhiyā pādo iddhipādo, i.e., root or basis of attaining completion or perfection (success or potency). [79] [The Venerable Ledi Sayādaw. The Requisites of Enlightenment (Bodhipakkhiya Dīpanī), Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy • Sri Lanka, The Wheel Publicaton No. 171/172/173/174.]
4. Iddhipāda Sutta.-The path mentioned above should be practised, accompanied by concentration and effort, compounded with desire, energy, idea and investigation. S.iv.365.

Indriya

1. Faculty of faith (saddh’- indriya) [Nyanatiloka Mahāthera. Guide through the Abhidhamma Piþaka, Page 18]

Avijjā-paccaya saṅkhāra; Saṅkhāra-paccāya vinnānam;

• Avijjā and saññā condition the saṅkhārā. Avijjā is a type of kilesā cetasika (mental defilement). Avijjā exists in two forms: Delusion or the lack of right view; Heedlessness or the lack of mindfulness. Both forms of avijjā are always present in saññā (i.e. wrong view).

Saṅkhāra is construct and construction.

Mano-saṅkhāra can also be understood as percept.

• percept. noun. : an impression of an object obtained by use of the senses : SENSE-DATUM (Merriam-Webster)
• Percept: a mental concept that is developed as a consequence of the process of perception [Google/Oxford Languages].
• [percept:] Perception usually combines several sensations into one thought or percept. The percept, of course, is a mental state corresponding with its outside object. A Percept is the product of Perception, or in other words, our idea gained through Perception

Saññā and Vipassanā

Saññā can be understood as sense-datum, outside object, perception, and memory.

The sense-datum is an object immediately present in experience. It has the qualities it appears to have.
A controversial issue is whether sense-data have real, concrete existence. Depending upon the version of the sense-data theory adopted, sense-data may or may not be identical with aspects of external physical objects; they may or may not be entities that exist privately in the subject’s mind. Usually, however, sense-data are interpreted to be distinct from the external physical objects we perceive. The leading view, in so far as the notion is appealed to in current philosophy, is that an awareness of (or acquaintance with) sense-data somehow mediates the subject’s perception of mind-independent physical objects. The sense-datum is the bearer of the phenomenal qualities that the subject is immediately aware of. [Sense-Data (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)]

Lifeforms (nama-rūpa complexes) and the law of life (Paticcasamuppada) have existed in the past infinity. Saññā as memory can be recalled or accessed by anyone. Some arahants can recall the past 500 lives. Some arahants recalled several eons of the past Earths. A Buddha can recall with no limit in a very short moment. The Sakyamuni Buddha said, even if He spent His entire lifetime, He would not reach the beginning (of existence), which is considered non-existent.
Inthe Western thought, the natural memory can be improved by training [Javier Vergara / Procedia (Page 3513) - Social and Behavioral Sciences 46 ( 2012 ) 3512 – 3518)]. In the Theravada teaching, a liberated mind (which attained arahantta phala) can recall at least the past 500 lives.
Saṅkhāra and saññā belong to cetasika, which is a paramattha (reality). However, they are impermanent. That begs a question: How can the impermanent saṅkhāra and saññā be accessed? They are impermanent in theory, as they will be forgotten. The physical destruction of the memory of the past events might not happen.
As though written down into books, the memories (including sense-data) seem not to have disappeared. The fact is each of us can recall the memory, which stays with us for a lifetime. We are forgetful and cannot recall our memories whever we want to; however, they are present, and our minds revisit them sometimes. Our inability to explain how memories exist should not prevent us from admitting the fact that memories exist and can be recalled. These noble ariyas can know others' minds and access the past memories and forsee the future events.
Avijja-paccaya sankhara (ignorance conditions/supports a construct; e.g. sakkāyadiṭṭhi).

• Avijjā (ignorance) is saññā (as memory, misperception or wrong view).
• Saṅkhāra (as activity) is misunderstanding/misperceiving nama-rūpa complex as an I-being, I am, he is, she is, it is, they are... Misperceiving the nama-rūpa complexes as individuals or as beings (I-beings).
• Saññā and saṅkhāra are always together as one's problems.
• Saṅkhāra-paccāya vinnānam: when saṅkhāra (e.g. idea) is present, consciousness arises. One begins to know the construct. Saññā-Saṅkhāra are the subject to know (be conscious about).
• Saṅkhāra-paccāya vinnānam: Saṅkhāra bridges between saññā and viññāṇa—perceiving is made of saññā, saṅkhāra and viññāṇa.
• Sabbe saṅkhāra anicca—all constructs are impermanence;
• Construction: Saṅkhāra as activity (intentional or unintentional):
  • sankhara-paccaya vinnanam (Dependent on reaction (conditioning), consciousness arises);
  • Mano-saṅkhāra (Citta-Saṅkhāra), vaci-saṅkhāra, kaya-saṅkhāra—mental, verbal and bodily construct/activity which a being performs intentionally or unintentionally;
  • Cetana is also intention (volition).

Saññā (memory) is like the soil and fertilizer. Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, or thought acts like a signal (reminder).

• In vipassanā, one puts effort to block the reminder reaching the memory (saññā)—like a responsible person kills the fire before it reaches the gunpowder. Once a sense reminder (ayatana) reaches saññā, they give birth to kamma sankhāras. The sense reminder (ayatana) is too fast for the untrained minds to block. So one does not block it but avoid it. One must develop the mind to have this avoiding ability and skill through a gradual training which comprises the indriya-samvara-sila and vipassanā. Basically, it means to prevent mano-saṅkhāra (thought) because it leads vaci-saṅkhāra and kaya-saṅkhāra.
• As the kilesā are not fed or fertilised, they will become weak and suitable for jhāna development; however, they will remain as Anusaya Kilesās. Only the vipassanā-ñana can totally eradicate Anusaya Kilesās.

Indriya-samvara-sila and Vipassanā

"In seeing there is merely seeing. In hearing there is merely hearing. In sensing there is merely sensing. In cognizing there is merely cognizing. In this way you should train yourself. "Bāhiya, when there is only seeing in seeing, hearing in hearing, sensing in sensing, cognizing in cognizing, then you will not be 'with that.' When you are not 'with that,' you will not be 'in that.' When you are not 'in that,' you will be neither here nor beyond nor in between the two. Just this is the end of suffering." [The Bāhiya Sutta (Douglas C. B. Kraft)]

Four Types of Capacity for Path Attainment

It is stated in the Puggalapaññatti (the “Book of Classification of Individuals,” (p. 160) and in the Aṅguttara Nikāya (AN 4:133) that, of the beings who encounter the Sāsana, i.e., the Teaching of the Buddha, four classes can be distinguished, viz.:
A padaparama is an individual who [...] cannot obtain release from worldly ills during this lifetime. If he dies while practising samatha (tranquillity) or vipassanā (insight) and attains rebirth either as a human being or a deva in his next existence, he can attain release from worldly ills in that existence within the present Buddha Sāsana.
niyata : one who has obtained a sure prediction made by a Buddha.
aniyata : one who has not obtained a sure prediction made by a Buddha.
aniyata neyya individuals can attain release from worldly ills in this life only if they put forth sufficient effort [...] within the present Buddha Sāsana.

(The Venerable Ledi Sayādaw. The Requisites of Enlightenment (Bodhipakkhiya Dīpanī))

2.8.4. Our concern:

Our concerns are our own mental, verbal and bodily activities:
Due to delusion (avijjā), we do not know where we have been and what we should do during this lifetime. The purpose of life in general is to practice selfishness to ultimate level.
One builds a life only to lose it to the death. Nobody can reclaim his/her previous life, properties, wealth and works. Rebirth in dugati-loka does not allow rebuilding life. One must get another opportunity in sugati-loka.
Due to clinging (upādāna) to self, one cannot separate from the new life, which is now. One always clings to the new life because of sakkāyadiṭṭhi (sakkāya-diṭṭhi). The past life is like yesterday.

• Sakkāyadiṭṭhi: clinging to nāma-rūpa as I am—i.e. this body is me, mine; the major wrong view (mano-saṅkhāra)
  • Nāma: the four mental khandas (vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra and viññāṇa).
  • Rūpa: the corporeal body or the four mahābhūta.

Remember the following:

• Sakkāyadiṭṭhi is ego, egocentric and a very heavy burden to carry and climb uphill.
• Sakkāyadiṭṭhi extends beyond one's five aggregates.
• Sakkāyadiṭṭhi extends to others' five aggregates as well. So we can hear people say, this is mine, and that is also mine.
• Sakkāyadiṭṭhi only helps one to fall downhill.
• A chance of getting relief from this burden is rare.
• A chance to know true dana, sila, bhavanā is very rare.
• One day this body will be thrown away or buried somewhere; and that body, too.
• Truth is painful as long as one is clinging to the five aggregates.
• Thus, our true concerns are our own mental, verbal and bodily activities.

The Buddha warns us to reflect the following:

"The five facts that one should reflect on often, whether one is a woman or a man, lay or ordained..."
'I am subject to aging, have not gone beyond aging.'
'I am subject to illness, have not gone beyond illness.'
'I am subject to death, have not gone beyond death.'
'I will grow different, separate from all that is dear and appealing to me.'
'I am the owner of my actions,[1] heir to my actions, born of my actions, related through my actions, and have my actions as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that will I fall heir.'

[Upajjhatthana Sutta— AN 5.57 (Thanissaro Bhikkhu)]

Upādāna (clinging) manifests as mano-saṅkhāra (mental activity/construct):

We cling to live body and dead body. We have seen enough pain in society in good time and bad time.
Upādānakkhandha：[m．] the factors of clinging to existence．
The five upādānakkhandha: rūpakkhandha, vedanākkhandha, saññākkhandha, saṅkhārakkhandha, viññāṇakkhandha

We take the body for self; thus we cling to rupakkhandha. We take mentality for self; thus we cling to vedanakkhandha, to sannakkhandha, to sankharakkhandha and to vinnanakkhandha. If we cling to the khandhas and if we do not see them as they are, we will have sorrow.

Saṅkhārakkhandha (m.) the aggregate of mental coefficients

• Saṅkhāra among the five aggregates is mano-saṅkhāra. Saṅkhārakkhandha is also designated as upādānakkhandha as there is clinging.
• The upādānakkhandha rises from sakkāyadiṭṭhi (clinging to self and the five aggregates).
• Most beings cling to all these five. Some cling to either rūpa or nāma and are reborn in the arūpa-brahma worlds.
• Will is the intention to get a desired object. To will means to get something one desires. One wills, and as one is willing, one acts. In this process, will and dukkha (suffering) rise together spontaneously.

In Samyutta Nikaya Sutta 12.25 the Buddha said “With ignorance as condition, either by oneself, Ananda, one wills bodily intentions (kāya Saṅkhāra), following which arises internally pleasure and pain; or, because of others one wills bodily intentions, following which arises internally, pleasure and pain.” [CONDITIONED ARISING OF SUFFERING (Ven. Dhammavuddho Mahāthera)]

• 'Bodily intention' (kaya-saṅkhāra): intention to act bodily;
• Kāya: body, bodily;
• Intention: mano-saṅkhāra
• Mental pain and pleasure; as intention is inside the mind, pleasure and pain are internal (inside the mind).

Anusaya Kilesas: Bhava-Taṇhă to Bhava-Saṅkhāra

Three types of taṇhă: kama-taṇhă, bhava-taṇhă, vibhava-taṇhă.

'Wherever in the world, there are delightful and pleasurable things, there this taṇhă (craving) arises and takes root.' [...] By 'taking root' is meant that, failing to contemplate on the impermanent nature of pleasurable things, craving for them lies dormant, taking root to arise when favourable circumstances permit. This latent craving, lying dormant in sense-objects which escape being contemplated on, is known as ărammananusaya. [U Ko Lay. Discose on the Wheel of Dhamma - Part 5: Maha Satipatthăna Sutta. SukhiHotu Dhamma Publication,1998)]

The Effect of Anusaya Kilesās: Kāmataṇhā and Kāma-loka:

After the destruction of a world of beings, either by a cosmic fire, flood or storm, only darkness remains in space, completely empty and void.
After forever and an aeon, and after cosmic condensation and precipitation, at the same place another human world will be reborn as a body of liquid just like the previous ones. This water body, as big as a planet, will gradually become suitable to support life.
Some of the Brahmas, who have lived their lifespans, will be reborn as humans in that new human world. The first-ever generation of humans are sky-dwellers, with brahma-like body, brahma-like rays, brahma-like lifespan and brahma-like lifestyle. Their auras can shine like the moon and the sun.
Gradually, after passing forever and an aeon, the water mass will condense into physical nutrition. Seeing that beautiful physical food and breathing its nice smell for forever and an aeon, these beings will eventually lose control due to their anusaya kilesa stirring and rising in their minds.
One of them will taste it, eat it and persuade others to do the same—that is how eating is the first religion and politics.

1. ... It was endowed with colour, smell and taste. It was the colour of fine ghee or butter, and it was very sweet, like pure wild honey. [Aggañña Sutta (DN27 On Knowledge of Beginnings) (Pali Canon Online)]

All things must come to an end one day. This is the impermanent nature of everything, anicca. So also the world [...] During the destruction of the world, all living beings become Brahmas and dwell in Brahma which is not affected by [the destruction.] [Ashin Janakabhivamsa. Part 2 - How The World Came To An End.]

Veo la chapa de la puerta del conductor del S-Bahn...
Identica a el candado Austral tenia en la reja de mi departamento...
Rapido me empezaron a contar...
Erin a los 11 anos, era una nina introvertida... esta gente se dedicaba especificamente a mantenerla en un cerco, para abusar de ella... el desarrollo de su mente y de su conducta desde los 11 anos... a los 30... y que diga que la siguen ayudando...
QUITENSE gritan... en mi mente... ahi van a dejar un crater... de medio millon de habitantes...
A mi me vale verga... no van a ayudar, a lo logico... les rompo mas que el culo y la madre...
Pinche gente pasada de verga... es RIDICULO, que sigan con esas putas mamadas.
Ya sueltala hijo de tu puta madre.

De entrada esa mamada de una "Pediatra" en "Frankfurt" que no era la realidad, era una mujer que jugaba un rol. De lo que se imaginen...
Yo con razon, cambie varias veces mis sellos digitales del SAT, y firmas digitales, que es algo diferente. y Lo seguian armando de a pedo, de hecho mas.
La ultima ves, me pasaron en el SAT, aprox, entre el ano 2016-17 con una mujer en el edificio "Paseo de la Nina" de apellido Aleman, lo unico que recuerdo es que traia la mujer un colgijo en la mochila de una bola de pelos. como de mink...
lo vi... se me hizo extrano... porque no me atendieron en las ventanillas normales... no tenia sentido...
Luego conoci a la Lic. Carolina, esa buena onda... se ve que sabian todo o algo mas o menos de la situacion.
"Es que en Frankfurt habia un tranvia ahi estrellado en el piso..." Noooombre, esas eran puras mamadas, de una liga de menores de edad, de ancianitos... estos son unos jijos de reputisima madre... que creo que matan ninas...
Creen que lo mataron... "Lo que dijo Paul en el libro de Jeremy..." "Donde a mi me estes usando... no tienes ni la menor idea, de lo que va a estar pasando cuando descubran todas las putas madres..."
De entrada yo me voy a China...
O lo meten a la carcel... o DISPARO ESA MADRE.
Hay gente que va a ofrecer, quiere seguir con esto que no lo metan a la carcel... que chupe si no que lo ejecuten...
Que vengan de China a ensenarle a los gringos como mantener el estado de derecho, porque tienen esos pendejos sin poderlos controlar...
Todo el mundo tenemos que estar sorportando todas estas PUTAS MADRES...

ELIMINATED - Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye - 17.9% of all votes. The Eyes of Tammy Faye was released in 2021. The film had two wins, including Best Actress for Chastain, at the 94th Academy Awards. Chastain was selected for Best Actress of the year in a lineup that also included Olivia Colman in The Lost Daughter, Penélope Cruz in Parallel Mothers, Nicole Kidman in Being the Ricardos and Kristen Stewart in Spencer. Chastain also garnered nominations at the Golden Globes as well as wins at the Critics' Choice Awards and SAGs for her performance as Tammy Faye Bakker.
Feel free to use the comments as an area for discussion. Votes will only be accepted through this Google Form.
• Halle Berry as Leticia Musgrove (Monster's Ball)
• Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf (The Hours)
• Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos (Monster)
• Hilary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald (Million Dollar Baby)
• Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II (The Queen)
• Marion Cotillard as Édith Piaf (La Vie en Rose)
• Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz (The Reader)
• Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers (Black Swan)
• Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany Maxwell (Silver Linings Playbook)
• Cate Blanchett as Jasmine Francis (Blue Jasmine)
• Julianne Moore as Alice Howland (Still Alice)
• Brie Larson as Joy Newsome (Room)
• Emma Stone as Mia Dolan (La La Land)
• Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
• Olivia Colman as Queen Anne (The Favourite)
• Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
• Emma Stone as Bella Baxter (Poor Things)
RANKING:

1. Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)
   
2. Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich (Erin Brockovich)
   
3. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter (Walk the Line)
   
4. Frances McDormand as Fern (Nomadland)
   
5. Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher (The Iron Lady)
   
6. Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy)
   
7. Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy (The Blind Side)
   

Hola, necesito ayuda para recordar el nombre de un libro que adoraba cuando era nina pero desafortunada mente se extravió cuando nos tuvimos que mudar a usa; esto es toda la información que recuerdo de el. Me regalaron este libro nuevo cuando tenia aproximadamente 8-10 (2005-2007), el libro era tamano standard y muy delgado y las paginas en acabado gloss, el arte de la portada era hecho por computadora con intento de verse pintura estilo moderno pero viéndolo hoy se vería la tecnología muy anticuada, los colores principales eran gris negro y la espina del libro naranja. El libro en si era para ninos y adolescentes sobre un nino y sus amigos que vivían en un vecindario en el que ellos estaban convencidos que estaba embrujado, especialmente la casa de su vecina que el creía que era una bruja por todas las cosas peculiares que les pasaban. El libro tenia texto escrito en espanol y propio definitivamente no estilo infantil y también cada unas cuantas paginas una pagina de ilustración sobre lo que se trato el párrafo. He buscado en bibliotecas, tiendas de segunda mano, en linea por imágenes y publicaciones pero es casi imposible de encontrar sin el titulo por eso a la mejor a alguien le suena familiar este libro y me pueden compartir opciones o lugares donde buscarlo o con suerte alguien disfruto en algún momento este libro también y lo tienen o recuerdan lo mas diminuto puede ayudar y es agradecido. Muchas gracias.

(Previous post: [WEBTOON] Titles becoming Daily Pass in 2024 April)
Currently 10 titles with the banner, "This series will become a Daily Pass series on May 23, 2024" (All Asian so far.)

• Parallel City - 150 episodes, latest Apr 3, 2024.
• Act Like You Love Me! - 151 episodes, latest Apr 3, 2024.
• Dungeons & Artifacts - 149 episodes, latest Apr 21, 2024.
• The Final Raid Boss - 114 episodes, latest Apr 2, 2024.
• Nina's Magic Chest - 111 episodes, latest Apr 23, 2024.
• Class 1-9 - 55 episodes, latest Apr 7, 2024.
• Let's Get Divorced! - 67 episodes, latest Mar 31, 2024.
• A Heartfelt Andante - 71 episodes, latest Apr 29, 2024.
• Survive to Revive - 60 episodes, latest Apr 9, 2024.
• Super String: Marco Polo’s Travel to the Multiverse - 33 episodes, latest Apr 4, 2024.

"This series will become a Daily Pass series on May 23rd, 2024." (Added a few hours ago, while I was making this post.)

• Match Made in Hell - 87 episodes, latest Mar 11, 2024.
  • From the Philippines. Not sure whether that will be treated as Western or Asian.
  • One month late.

One surprise Asian title MISSING the banner:

• Wished You Were Dead - 134 episodes, latest Apr 5, 2024.

I will update if there are more. I plan to trigger a scan every day after 02:00, or (if I miss it) before 02:00 the next day.
Asian titles tend to lock at 07:00 UTC on that day (19 hours earlier, or 5 hours after the daily reset of the day BEFORE the banner). Western titles tend to lock the next day at 02:00 UTC (the time when Daily Pass resets). However, they might lock western titles hours earlier.
Tip: The day before a title locks, you can use the Download feature for all of the chapters, giving you thirty more days to read them. You won't be able to use the Like and Comment features, and the UI for downloaded chapters seems to be an earlier version (which you might prefer). Note that downloading takes time and can fail, so watch this process for failures.
I also crosspost these lock posts on my profile, if you want to have a way to get some notifications. I don't know how profile posts work, so good luck with that.
Watch out for a new Ad Binge event, which allows you to unlock a whole series with ads. They start Friday nights, around Saturday 02:00 UTC, just after the Daily Pass daily reset, and last 3 days. There will be banners, in-app notifications, and an event banner in the middle of the front page. Spanish also has this.
Ad Binge events may have been replaced by "Binge Read collection". See lower down in this post.
We are in a period of instability. Since 2023-09:

• The set of titles with lock warnings changed at least 5 times during the month.
• Western titles are getting banners again, after months of no locks, and one month of no-banner locks.
• They added the banners very late to western titles, with some titles getting the banner less than 10 days before the lock.
• "Cierra" got the banner, but the banner was later removed. It locked anyway.
• "Who's Mr. President?" (Indonesian) NEVER got a banner, and locked anyway.
• In 2023-09, Western titles locked at around 22:30 UTC (instead of 02:00 UTC, 3.5 hours later), which feels like someone did it manually when they realized the titles weren't locked yet.
• In 2023-09, some people who downloaded Dr. Frost on the last day reported that some of the chapters failed to download.
• 2023-09 and 2023-10 only got banners less than 19 days before the lock (instead of around 30 days).
• In 2024-01, "Lost in Translation" (western) was marked to lock a week earlier than the normal lock date. Also, western locks were announced two weeks before the lock date, before any Asian titles (which are usually announced first).
• In 2024-02, the titles were locked a day later than the announced date. (Mistake due to leap year?)
• 2024-03:
  • Two Western titles were marked only ~14 days before the lock, and no Asian titles were marked (despite many titles ending the month before).
    • The Western titles were (probably) locked at the expected time (7 PM Pacific), but immediately had ad passes. This hasn't happened before.
  • Then nine Asian titles were marked, ~10 days ahead of their lock, and the scheduled date was on a Monday instead of a Thursday, and went into the next month.
    • "You Will Love Me Again" ended within 2024-03.
    • The locking did not happen at the usual 12 AM Pacific, but started an hour before 7 PM Pacific (02:00 UTC).
    • The locking was staggered, and it seems they messed up several times.
      • 01:42: "Perfect Marriage Revenge" was locked and Daily Passed. "Kidults" and "You Will Love Me Again" are classified as DP but aren't.
      • 01:46: "Time Roulette" added to the DP list.
      • 01:51: "Ultra Alternate Character" locked and DP-listed.
      • 02:27: All but "How To Become A Dragon" locked. Half-Ghost is coin-only, because no DP was allocated.
      • 04-02 02:32: Half-Ghost finally gets Daily Pass.
        • "Half-Ghost" was still advertised as having Fast Pass instead of Daily Pass. (This might be a bug on my own device.)
  • "How To Become A Dragon" is still not locked.
• 2024-04: The announcement is ~21 days ahead, earlier than the recent usual. Did they feel bad for us?
  • "Cursed Princess Club" was announced ~14 days ahead.
  • "Lavender In June" locked over 26 hours earlier than the others.
  • The rest locked 2024-04-26 02:00 UTC, at Daily Pass reset time (what used to be the Western lock time).
• 2024-05: The announcement is ~14 days ahead this time.

WEBTOON isn't properly communicating about this, and aren't following any consistent set of rules. If locks matter to you, you may want to check in on this post during the month to see if I make any updates.
Please direct complaints to https://webtoon.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new . (Remember that customer service has no power to make these decisions, so be kind to the people you talk to.)

"Binge Read collection"

While you're here, there are 40 titles in the "Binge Read collection". It means you can unlock (almost) ALL episodes using ads (lasts 3 days) instead of Daily Pass. I don't know when this will end. Every Friday-Saturday (02:00 UTC Saturday) has added 10 more titles. See more info here.

ELIMINATED - Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich - 25% of all votes. Erin Brockovich was released in 2000. The film had one win, Best Actress for Roberts, at the 73rd Academy Awards. Roberts was selected for Best Actress of the year in a lineup that also included Joan Allen in The Contender, Juliette Binoche in Chocolat, Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream and Laura Linney in You Can Count on Me. Roberts also garnered wins at the BAFTAs, Critics' Choice Awards, Golden Globes and SAGs for her performance as Erin Brockovich.
Feel free to use the comments as an area for discussion. Votes will only be accepted through this Google Form.
• Halle Berry as Leticia Musgrove (Monster's Ball)
• Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf (The Hours)
• Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos (Monster)
• Hilary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald (Million Dollar Baby)
• Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II (The Queen)
• Marion Cotillard as Édith Piaf (La Vie en Rose)
• Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz (The Reader)
• Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers (Black Swan)
• Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany Maxwell (Silver Linings Playbook)
• Cate Blanchett as Jasmine Francis (Blue Jasmine)
• Julianne Moore as Alice Howland (Still Alice)
• Brie Larson as Joy Newsome (Room)
• Emma Stone as Mia Dolan (La La Land)
• Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
• Olivia Colman as Queen Anne (The Favourite)
• Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)
• Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
• Emma Stone as Bella Baxter (Poor Things)
RANKING:

1. Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich (Erin Brockovich)
   
2. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter (Walk the Line)
   
3. Frances McDormand as Fern (Nomadland)
   
4. Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher (The Iron Lady)
   
5. Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy)
   
6. Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy (The Blind Side)
   

ELIMINATED - Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line - 18.8% of all votes. Walk the Line was released in 2005. The film had one win, Best Actress for Witherspoon, at the 78th Academy Awards. Witherspoon was selected for Best Actress of the year in a lineup that also included Judi Dench in Mrs. Henderson Presents, Felicity Huffman in Transamerica, Keira Knightley in Pride and Prejudice and Charlize Theron in Night Country. Witherspoon also garnered wins at the BAFTAs, Critics' Choice Awards, Golden Globes and SAGs for her performance as June Carter.
Feel free to use the comments as an area for discussion. Votes will only be accepted through this Google Form.
• Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich (Erin Brockovich)
• Halle Berry as Leticia Musgrove (Monster's Ball)
• Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf (The Hours)
• Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos (Monster)
• Hilary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald (Million Dollar Baby)
• Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II (The Queen)
• Marion Cotillard as Édith Piaf (La Vie en Rose)
• Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz (The Reader)
• Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers (Black Swan)
• Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany Maxwell (Silver Linings Playbook)
• Cate Blanchett as Jasmine Francis (Blue Jasmine)
• Julianne Moore as Alice Howland (Still Alice)
• Brie Larson as Joy Newsome (Room)
• Emma Stone as Mia Dolan (La La Land)
• Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
• Olivia Colman as Queen Anne (The Favourite)
• Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)
• Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
• Emma Stone as Bella Baxter (Poor Things)
RANKING:

1. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter (Walk the Line)
   
2. Frances McDormand as Fern (Nomadland)
   
3. Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher (The Iron Lady)
   
4. Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy)
   
5. Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy (The Blind Side)