As a connoisseur of fine horror and thriller films, I am very familiar with director Chan-wook Park. The second film in his revenge trilogy, Oldboy, has one of the best ending twists I've ever seen. Understandably, I had high expectations of The Handmaiden (not to be confused with The Handmaid's Tale). I was thrilled to find this on Netflix DVD Rental. 

Tae-ri Kim plays Sook-hee, an undercover thief, posing as a handmaiden for Lady Hideko (played by Min-hie Kim). Her task is to convince the rich Lady Hideko to marry a conman so he can steal her fortune and commit her to a mental hospital. Sook-hee eventually admits her part in the plot, but not before Lady Hideko marries the con man, and hatches a plot herself to commit Sook-hee in her stead. When they confide in each other, they also fall in love and eventually...well, I won't spoil the twist for you. 

The costumes and make-up were gorgeous, but the real visual coup were the facial expressions. I'm convinced that this story could have been told with no dialogue whatsoever. Each glance, each body movement, each hand gesture told a story. You can see Sook-hee and Lady Hideko falling in love even before they know it, and you can feel the twist coming a mile away - although it's not so easy to guess how it might play out. That being said, this movie is definitely not for children. There were a lot of abusive and risque scenes that did nothing to enhance the movie or move the plot forward. 

The Handmaiden is definitely no Oldboy. 

It feels like Park is using the premise of a film made about strong and vengeful women to instead make a movie for men. I felt the same about, "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance." I maintain that it's too hard for men to write a strong female character, and this movie is no different. The motivations and actions just don't seem real, although this movie garnered a lot of awards, including a BAFTA award for Best Movie not in a Foreign Language, and a nomination for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Park, at least for me, feels a lot like M. Night Shyamalan...he had a couple of great ideas that turned into fabulous films, and he's just trying to get that magic back. I won't stop watching Park's work - in fact, he has a TV Mini-Series coming out called The Little Drummer Girl that I'll be sure to catch.

#DVDNation #ad #ChanwookPark



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Proposed amendment:



Amend Article IX by removing the final two sentences in section (2) and adding a new section (8) at the end of the article. The revised text(deleted text, added text) is as follows:

(2) Every member shall be obligated to:

(a) Pay annual dues in such amount as may be fixed by the American Mensa Committee.Members shall be given due notice that a change in dues is being considered, either through publication in the journal or publication in the Agendas of two consecutive American Mensa Committee meetings. At least 60 days shall pass between first publication and any vote.

(b) Permit his/her name and address to be published in membership lists.

(8) Annual dues may only be changed by the adoption of a motion passed by the American Mensa Committee at two consecutive regular meetings. At the first meeting, the AMC shall adopt a motion in the form “Effective (date), the dues rate for single-year memberships shall be $(amount) per year” with the date and amount specified. The motion shall be published in the meeting agenda at least 30 days prior to the first meeting, may not be contingent on other conditions, shall specify a date at least 90 days and not more than one year in the future, and shall be accompanied by a description of the financial impact of the motion. At the second regular meeting, held not less than 60 days after publication of the motion as passed at the first regular meeting, an identical motion shall be adopted, provided that it is listed in the meeting agenda published at least 30 days prior to the second meeting. The motion shall not be subject to amendment or modification, shall not be tabled nor referred to committee, and shall not be subject to the provisions of Section VII(2)b.

Explanation: The text specifies the procedure for adopting a change in the dues which permits the membership to be fully informed about the motion.


Note: This amendment is about improving visibility into the dues change process, and giving members more information sooner. I believe this is in the spirit of the motion made years ago, to publish the changes in dues amount with enough lead time to give members to contact officers with their opinions. This does not guarantee that dues increases will not occur, just that they won't occur in the dark.

My vote is "yes" on Amendment #13.

From a comment on M-Leaders about Mensa's lack of relevance to society today:

For Mensa to have cultural relevance, our members have to feel like Mensa has relevance to them -- and I think that the best way to achieve this for this organization is to help Mensa members become relevant themselves. 

We try to achieve relevance by encouraging people to join who are already doing OK in that area - we try to recruit successful scientists, actors, children, business people, to pay their money and carry the card, so we can promote them....we try to put our references into Dancing With the Stars, or Big Bang Theory, or anything else we feel is already successful for being smart...when we are already sitting on the biggest PR goldmine every -- members who are already here who high intelligence and also have dreams and goals and desires that Mensa could, if we wanted, help them learn to achieve. We could be instrumental in some great things - some relevant things. 

Our purposes are "to identify and to foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity; to encourage research into the nature, characteristics, and uses of intelligence; and to provide a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members." What better way to do that than to take people who come into our organization wanting to achieve more, find an intelligent mate, write a book, plan a career, or find a place where their ideas and opinions can be turned into action. I know I'm not alone in coming into Mensa knowing that I was really smart, but underachieving - I looked to Mensa to find out how I could turn that into something relevant to me, to my family, to my career, to the world. 

What would Smithsonian Magazine think if, instead of coming to them and saying, "Hey, do an article about us because we have existed for 50 years and we talked a few successful people into putting their pocket change down to be members," we said, "Hey, do an article about us because we helped hundreds of people become authors, advance in their career, find love, start businesses, join think tanks, invent items on the market today, become artists, actors, viral web superstars?" 

So, in short, the best way for Mensa to be relevant to people today, is to BE RELEVANT TO PEOPLE TODAY!

From the American Mensa Firehouse, a question regarding dues increases:
Answer: I think we've already raised the dues too much in recent years. Count me as one more person who agrees with Mary Lee's statement, "I do not believe that our budget has received the proper cutting of fat that is due."

In addition, I think that the "Financial Impact" statements on most motions are sorely lacking in visibility and specifics. I would like to see actual numbers rather than just indicating that there will be costs, or that costs will be "negligible." 

I am also a firm believer that any financial impact statement with numbers must also include a statement as to where that money will come from. Where can we cut expenses to support the motion? If a dues increase is required to support the motion, or money is to be borrowed, or if it will be included in a current budget bucket, that should be known before any votes on the motion are cast.

(In response to an M-Leaders thread regarding the organization of Annual Gatherings )

We cannot make the mistake of thinking that Mensans don't have a hand in the problems listed in this thread. The fingers clearly point at a Mensa that is already "by Mensans for Mensans" in that issues listed above exist because a group of Mensa members - the AMC - created the policies that allow these things to happen...and they don't happen in a vacuum. 

For instance, from the ASIEs: " All contracts involving American Mensa, Ltd.'s money, its mark, name, or logo shall be signed either by the AML Chair or by the Executive Director only upon direction of the Board or the Executive Committee. "

Or, in other words, a majority of voting Mensa members elected a body of Mensa members who voted that all contracts (including AG hotels, conference organizing companies, and various consultants) will be signed by a Mensa member or the Executive Director upon direction of a group of elected Mensa members. 

The real issue we face is an AMC where the Mensa members on the board are afraid to go where other Mensans go and find out what they think. Many are afraid to enact policy in a way that reflects that thought. Many are afraid to stand up and say that the emperor has no clothes. Many don't bother to do the research necessary to make informed decisions. I did a presentation on SIGs last year when the AMC was making some hard decisions about the future of the program - and a MAJORITY of AMC members did not even belong to a SIG, and many had NEVER belonged to one.  

Don't let Mensans off the hook by pretending that issues are caused by some outside conglomeration of non-Mensans. "We have met the enemy, and he is us." 

From M-Leaders
Re: The 2013 Firearms Policy (no firearms at national events)

" I can definitely see how it was construed as a political statement, but I don't think it was meant that way. That being said, I do think that any kind of policy like this - especially involving something that can be dangerous, like weapons - should be left to the local laws, hotel policies, and professional police and hotel security. We have no business getting into the weapon-policing business. 

If someone can't handle being around people safely - whether that means manual battery or threatening with a firearm - that should be left to the authorities, not Mensan amateurs."

From M-Leaders: "Question for all of the national candidates...
If there was one thing you could change about how the AMC operates, what would it be, why would you change it and how would you change it?"

My answer: Technical operation: I'd love to see AMC meetings stream online. This would require working with the IT staff at the NO on implementation. Even better, if a member was close to an AMC meeting location and would volunteer to take on the task, including educating the AMC on what it entails, it would be worth a try...even for just a few committee meetings to start.

Social operation: I'd love it if most AMC members weren't afraid of participating online in more venues, seeking out member opinions prior to decision-making, and standing behind their decisions/votes once made. Only a few have stepped out and encouraged two-way communication on a consistent basis, and I think Mensa would be a different organization if there were a constant communication feedback loop. 

As to how - it's a matter of changing the culture by example, and providing more opportunities for that feedback to enlist change...perhaps "town hall" type meetings online to gather opinions about certain subjects. It would definitely be better for officers to reach out and solicit input rather than just posting an agenda online and hoping people notice it.