"The aim of art is to project an inner vision into the world, to state in aesthetic creation the deepest psychic and personal experiences of a human being. It is to enable those experiences to be intelligible and generally recognized within the total framework of an ideal world."
Expansion on "Enter The Dragon" with Paul Heller commentary
by Mike Bruce Sullivan (no login)
In the ETD DVD with the Paul Heller (co-producer) audio commentary, (which I commented on in an earlier essay) a young-sounding guy comes out of nowhere on the audio, he doesn't even introduce himself.
In the beginning, this young guy says "Bruce said yeah, why doesn't somebody pull a 45 and bang, settle it?" (in order to justify, non-armed martial arts combat in the movie.)
Later, this insensitive young guy said that "Bruce was the 1st 3rd world actor to become internationally famous" (or something very much to this effect).
Let's clarify one thing. In our contemporary world, (the world, the young guy was in when he said this short-sighted thing) to use the term "third world" is both politically incorrect, insensitive, and not factually true.
1st of all, Bruce Lee was a natural-born American citizen born in San Francisco, California, USA. He was by no means a "third world actor". Neither was the bustling, booming island of Hong Kong, third world. At the least, HK was filled with many "non-third world Brits" who worked and enjoyed a lucrative lifestyle in HK.
2nd of all, the term "third world" is not used anymore and has negative connotations, sociologist and political scientists refer to such countries as "developing countries".
This re-affirms Bruce's belief that one must question and examine closely things and not to accept things blindly as truth.
Again, like many parts of "Dragon, the Bruce Lee Story" people overseeing products bearing Bruce Lee's name and his creative, intellectual property, are doing a disservice to Bruce Lee.
Honestly, when I saw Dragon, the BL story, I thought, he was getting headaches because he was portrayed as overly-angry and resentful in that movie. (I personally, didn't think Bruce was as angry or resentful as that movie portrayed him.) Further, before I did my own extensive research, and shortly after viewing that movie in the early 1990's, I thought such anger was taking a toll on his temples and the nerves surrounding his brain and gave him headaches and the "cat screams" that were simultaneous with his martial arts moves, unlike the Tae Kwon Do "Kea!", gave him a cerebral edema or stroke.
Please somebody get it right and let's make a NEW movie that does the Great Bruce Lee justice.
And, please in the late 1990's and early 2000's, there's no justification for such blatant callousness and misinformation.
and, if you don't already know, don't insult Bruce Lee and call him a "third world" anything.
Thank you. I hope this clears things up for my hero's reputation.
MBS
Posted on Aug 12, 2008, 3:42 PM from IP address 24.193.249.217
Thanks...I finally knew what killed one of my heroes.
by Ernest Goldberg (no login)
Like a lot of people, I've had a lot of somewhat sleepless nights regarding what killed Bruce Lee. I was fortunate to be a pre-teenager when Bruce was still alive in 1973.
Your essays on this website, notably: "Abbreviated Version of Closure" and "Interesting Information from a Cannabis User's Website" and other shorter essays like "July 20, 1973, Friday, July 20, 2008, Sunday", FINALLY, finally removes ALL doubt in my mind as to what killed Bruce Lee.
As you state, he was ingesting powerful hashish, that in and of itself, was the chief factor in his death, and on a minor note he might have also developed an allergy to the 1973 Nepali hash he ate.
Can you still believe that in some circles, people say they thought that Bruce Lee was shot. I've heard this on 3 different occassions, I've even heard this from a few Asian Americans in New Jersey where I live. I always respond by saying there was no gun shot wound anywhere on his body and also there was NO MOTIVE IN KILLING BRUCE LEE.
The other less informed people say, that he might have had a brain tumor or developed epilepsy. But, the cat scans he took at UCLA medical campus after his May 1973 attack showed nothing--no tumors, no signs of the onset of epilepsy.
He was given a clean bill of health in L.A. because he was afraid of smuggling with him, (even if it was for his own personal use), hashish and the negative publicity that would cause him. Therefore, since he had abstained for a while during the medical tests, the doctors only treated his symptoms--gave him medication for epileptic seizures.
His own wife, Linda Lee, was quick to sue on behalf of her son, Brandon Lee, the makers of "The Crow" for wrongful death litigation as a result of not having a gun tested before firing "blanks", BUT, Linda Lee was pretty much as meek as a lamb, after Bruce died, making a public statement that she held nothing or nobody liable, other than natural causes. This alone shows that she knew that the hashish Bruce took was killing him, but was hiding it to protect his good name. It's a natural, human need to know what killed someone you care for. It is definitely not a morbid fascination.
Perhaps, like Jim Morrison of The Doors, or Jimi Hendrix, Bruce subconciously knew that he could die, and was proud in sometimes stating that he did not fear death. He wrote feverishly, perhaps knowing that his writings would do a lot more if he had died at a young age and could be published later on. His own wife stated that Bruce perhaps dreaded growing old and losing his physical capablilities. One of his Asian martial arts friends, I forget who, even said that Bruce seemed suicidal in his last days.
Good luck with your career as a writer, and you do write well, leaving no stone uncovered. Bruce Lee fans all over the world owe you a debt of gratitude.
Ernie Goldberg,
New Jersey, USA
Posted on Aug 20, 2008, 12:34 AM from IP address 24.193.250.15
Yes, thank you! I agree will someone make a movie about Bruce that is ACCURATE...
by Ying Choi (no login)
Good job, dude.
I'm from San Francisco, CA and I'm in the tech field, so I'm not really good with words, but I agree.
The movie that was supposed to teach and introduce Bruce Lee to the 1990's generation of young people, Dragon: The Bruce Lee story is WAY out of the truth.
Whenever someone asks me what I think killed Bruce, I just plainly tell them DRUGS! Roids were legal I think back in the early 1970's, they were even given to holocaust survivors after they were rescued.
Why didn't Linda Lee sue the makers of Equagensic like she sued the filmaker of The Crow? Because she knew Bruce indirectly killed himself.
With drugs like strong hash, pain killers for his back, steroids for his weight loss (I think he was only 135 lbs when he died), and to small degree--even equagensic.
This was a cocktail for his demise and had something to do with messing up his kidneys and his adrenal glands which caused excess water and his brain to swell up.
The DRagon movie is a total upset. Personally, I don't think Jason SCott Lee's face looked anywhere near Bruce's face, among other complaints I have about the movie.
There's even a website "ChasingtheFrog.com" that has 2 columns, one column has the a lot of the bull-Sh that the 1990's Dragon movie tried to pass off as "true", the other column is the truth.
I've copied & pasted it for others to see and to get some clarity.
Peace.......from the birthplace of the Dragon--Frisco.
Chinatown, San Francisco represents, yo! Heil to Jackson St., S. F., USA (see below)
REEL FACES HOME
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)
Starring Jason Scott Lee, Lauren Holly Directed by Rob Cohen
based on the books "Bruce Lee: The Biography" by Robert Clouse and "Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew" by Linda Lee Cadwell
Reel Face: Real Face:
Jason Scott Lee
Born:
November 19, 1966
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
Bruce Lee
Born:
November 27, 1940
Birthplace: San Francisco, California, USA
Died: July 20, 1973, Hong Kong (cerebral edema)
Lauren Holly
Born:
October 28, 1963
Birthplace: Bristol, Pennsylvania, USA
Linda Lee
Born:
March 21, 1945
Birthplace: Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Questioning the Story (Bruce Lee's Death):
Were demons the real cause of Bruce Lee's death?
No. The movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story suggests that a family curse was the cause of Bruce Lee's demise. The movie shows Bruce (Jason Scott Lee) battling an all to real demon that comes to him in his dreams. Was the real Bruce dreaming about this demon shortly before his death, as he lay unconscious on the couch in Betty Ting Pei's Hong Kong apartment? Likely not.
In reality, Lee's rumored mistress Betty Ting Pei claims that on July 20, 1973, Bruce lay down on her couch to take a nap after she gave him a prescription analgesic (painkiller) for a headache. When Bruce failed to show up for a dinner meeting, producer Raymond Chow, who had been at Betty's apartment earlier, came back and tried to wake Lee up. Chow was not successful and a doctor was then summoned who spent close to ten minutes trying to revive Lee. When he could not be revived, Bruce Lee was then taken by ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He was dead before the ambulance arrived.
An autopsy revealed that Bruce Lee most likely died from an adverse reaction to an ingredient in the prescription Equagesic tablet given to him by Betty Ting Pei. The presence of cannabis (marijuana leaves) was also found in his stomach, but not in an amount that could kill him (it is believed that he chewed it). Yet, it may have been this combination of cannabis with one or more of the ingredients in the Equagesic tablet that caused his brain to swell from 1,400 to 1,575 grams (13%), leading to a cerebral edema, a condition that is defined as an excess accumulation of water in the intra- and/or extra-cellular spaces of the brain. The condition can be brought on by an allergic reaction, such as in Bruce's case.
Although it is uncommon, it is possible that Bruce was allergic to cannabis (marijuana). This allergic reaction could have been heightened by the Equagesic tablet that he ingested. Doctors officially declared Bruce Lee's passing as "death by misadventure," but the doctors who had treated Bruce for a similar prior incident (see below) believe that Bruce died from the marijuana he ingested. The type of marijuana he was taking (Nepal hashish) was one of the most near-lethal strains of unrefined hashish.
(The analgesic known as Equagesic is a painkiller that combines Aspirin and the muscle relaxant meprobamate. Some forms may contain the opioid ethoheptazine. The drug can be taken to relieve tension headaches, however it was banned from use in the UK in 2002, as less toxic alternatives became available.)
Had Bruce Lee been previously taken to the hospital for the same condition that led to his death?
Yes. On May 10, 1973, a little over two months before his death, Bruce passed out at Golden Harvest Studios in Hong Kong while dubbing his voice for Enter the Dragon. The air conditioners at the studio had been turned off, because the noise they made interfered with the dubbing process. The extreme heat was a likely factor in Bruce's collapse. He was taken to the hospital where he was treated by his family doctor, Dr. "Don" Langford and neurosurgeon Dr. Peter Wu. Both physicians believe that the cause of Bruce Lee's death approximately two months later was the result of his use of cannabis (marijuana leaves), particularly through his preferred method of consuming the substance, not by smoking it, but instead by chewing it or eating hash brownies and cookies.
-Fighting Words
Could foul play have been the reason for Bruce Lee's death?
There is no evidence to support foul play as the reason for Bruce's death. However, Bruce's younger brother Robert Lee believes that some sort of foul play was involved in his brother's death. Robert believes that his brother's eroding physical condition and emotional symptoms were evidence of poisoning. Others have raised the idea that competing professional interests and dealings with Raymond Chow may have led to Bruce being murdered. Still, evidence has yet to surface to provide support for these theories. -Fighting Words
Was Bruce Lee's death the result of a family curse, as implied in the movie?
The movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story implies that a family curse was after Bruce for much of his life, and that he was given the American name Bruce to help evade the evil spirits. In reality, at the time of Bruce's birth a physician by the name of Dr. Mary Glover thought of the name Bruce, and she suggested it to his mother Grace Lee. His father was away performing in New York at the time. His mother liked the sound of the name and it stuck.
Shortly after his birth, Bruce's parents gave him the additional feminine name Léi Saifung Pinyin: Li Xìfèng, which literally meant "small phoenix". It was Chinese custom to give such names to children in order to hide them from evil spirits. The name was used throughout Bruce's early childhood. The filmmakers embraced the notion of this Chinese custom and exaggerated it for the story. Many people who saw the 1993 film left the theater believing that a family curse took the life of Bruce Lee. It didn't help, of course, that the film failed to investigate or focus on any other possible causes for his death.
Was Bruce Lee on steroids?
Linda Lee's second husband, Tom Bleeker, believes that it was Bruce's abuse of anabolic steroids that damaged him both physically and emotionally. Tom Bleeker makes these claims in his book Unsettled Matters, which he wrote after his divorce with Linda. Bleeker believes that Bruce's steroid abuse may have begun in the late sixties. He is the only one to ever make such claims, and in his book he attempts to defend his accusations, "The issue of Lee's steroid use is complex," says Bleeker. "But the main thing that I wanted to get across was that steroids damaged Bruce physically and emotionally. Like so many other athletes who have used them Bruce paid a heavy price. I know that there will be those who will scream and yell that never in a million years would Bruce use steroids." Steroids however, may be one explanation for Lee's often erratic behavior and violent outbursts (roid rage) during the final years of his life. Tom Bleeker concludes that in the end, he believes that Bruce was either poisoned or suffered a massive adrenal failure from steroid or drug abuse.
Where is Bruce Lee buried?
Bruce is buried next to his son Brandon Lee in Seattle's Lake View Cemetery. The pallbearers at Bruce's funeral included his younger brother Robert Lee, and actors James Coburn and Steve McQueen. At the Hong Kong funeral ceremony over 25,000 mourners gathered in the streets. Bruce's four-foot red marble headstone reads "Your inspiration continues to guide us toward our personal liberation." Engraved on his son Brandon Lee's tombstone is a passage from Paul Bowles' book The Sheltering Sky. It is a fitting excerpt for Bruce as well (Brandon had originally intended it to be on his wedding invitations):
"Because we do not know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you cannot conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless..."
________________________________________
Questioning the Story (Bruce Lee's Life):
Did a childhood nightmare really prompt Bruce to begin his martial arts training?
No. Unlike what we see in the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Bruce actually began his martial arts training at the age of thirteen after being beaten up by a street gang. He took Kung-Fu lessons and began to train under Sifu Yip Man, a master of the Wing Chun system of Kung-Fu.
When did Bruce Lee's acting career really begin?
In the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, a producer discovers Bruce after witnessing his martial arts abilities. In real life, Bruce had acted sporadically since his early childhood. He first appeared in The Golden Gate Girl (1941) when he was only 3 months old, showing up in a scene where he is carried by his real life father, Lee Hoi-Chuen. Bruce's family connections to the world of show business originated through his father, who was a native Hong Kong actor and a singer with the Cantonese Opera Company. This is the reason why Bruce was born in San Francisco and not in Hong Kong, because his father was on a one-year U.S. tour with the Opera Company.
When Bruce was six-years-old the director of one of his father's films offered Bruce a part, telling Bruce's father that there was something very special about his young son. This marked the true beginning of Bruce's career as an actor, which led to roles in over twenty films, including the 1957 Hong Kong movie The Thunderstorm (Lei yu), in which Lee is pictured above.
Did Bruce Lee really have a passion for dancing?
Yes. When Bruce was fourteen he discovered dancing and he immediately fell in love with the art. His natural agility and grace made it easy for him to learn all of the popular dances of the day. He preferred the Cha Cha, and he eventually became the Hong Kong Cha Cha champion. He would later reveal that dancing helped him with his movement and his footwork when he was developing his fighting style.
Why and when did Bruce Lee come to America?
As a teenager, Bruce continually found himself in street fights. In high school, he was picked up by the police for fighting. His mother Grace could not take anymore of her son's unruly behavior, and in 1959 she shipped him off to America to live with friends of the family. It was in America that Bruce finished high school and continued to nurture his love for the martial arts.
Did Bruce Lee really work as a dishwasher when he came to America?
This part of the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is somewhat true.
After finishing high school in the United States, Bruce attended the University of Washington, and it was then that he worked nights as a busboy and waiter at Ruby Chow's, a Seattle restaurant (in the film he worked at the fictional Gussier Yang's restaurant in San Francisco). In real life, Bruce lived in the restaurant's attic and worked there as a way to pay rent. Although, it wasn't long before he quit the job to start teaching Kung-Fu for a living.
Where did Bruce Lee and future wife Linda Emery go on their first date?
On October 25, 1963, Bruce took Linda Emery to dinner at Seattle's Space Needle (See Space Needle Google Map). They were married the following year on August 17, 1964.
Had Bruce previously proposed to someone else before Linda?
Yes. Around the summer of 1963, at age 23, Bruce proposed marriage to a Japanese woman named Amy Sanbo. She turned him down. Rejected, he returned to Hong Kong with friend Doug Palmer to visit his family, before having to resume his education in the fall at the University of Washington, where he had been studying philosophy.
Did Bruce open his own kung-fu school at Linda's suggestion?
No. Contrary to what is shown in the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Bruce had opened his school sometime around March of 1961, close to a year and a half before he started dating Linda. His early teachings to students at the University of Washington were the beginnings of his creation of a new version of Kung Fu that he would later name "Jeet Kune Do". Other instructors only taught people of their own race, while Bruce welcomed anyone who was willing to learn. In late 1963, around the time he and Linda began dating, Bruce moved his Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute into a building at 4750 University Way in Seattle (See Google Map).
Who were some of Bruce Lee's celebrity students?
Perhaps the most well known teaching relationship that Bruce had was with NBA star Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who co-starred with Bruce in his final film Game of Death. Bruce Lee also taught Steve McQueen (who Lee vowed he would one day be more famous than), actor James Coburn, film director Roman Polanski, and Oscar-winning screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. His private students included his first ever Los Angeles student Ted Wong, in addition to karate champions Joe Lewis, Mike Stone, and Chuck Norris (who co-starred with Lee in Way of the Dragon (1972) and Enter the Dragon (1973).
I heard that Bruce Lee was nearly drafted by the army, is this true?
Yes. In 1963 Bruce appeared before the U.S. Army Draft Board. They deemed him unfit for military service due to an un-descended testicle along with the fact that one of Bruce's legs was an inch longer than the other.
Did Bruce really get into a fight on the set of The Big Boss (aka Fists of Fury) like we see in the movie?
No. In Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story we see a staged fight on a movie set turn real and a director scrambling to get the action on film. In reality, there was no real fight on the set of The Big Boss (aka Fists of Fury). Bruce was, however, challenged several times on the set of Enter the Dragon. He mostly declined, but he would occasionally accept an opponent's challenge, only to toy with the less skilled martial artist.
Was Betty Ting Pei really Bruce Lee's mistress?
It is almost universally believed that Betty Ting Pei was in fact Bruce Lee's mistress. The press quoted Bruce as having said to his wife, Linda Emery, that Betty was "the one shining light on an otherwise dull film set". He was also quoted as saying: "Betty quite makes my day. She's a revelation with her cleverness". Betty Ting Pei's notoriety skyrocketed after the public discovered that it was at her apartment where Bruce had been found unconscious.
On the evening of his death, Betty and Bruce were supposed to have a dinner meeting with Raymond Chow and James Bond actor George Lazenby to discuss Bruce's upcoming film The Game of Death, in which Betty supposedly had a role, even though some people believe that she visited the film set only to see Bruce, not to take part in the film. Betty's friends openly supported the idea of a love affair between Betty and Bruce, as Felix Dennis states in his book King of Kung Fu. In 1976, Betty attempted to clarify her intimate relationship with Bruce by producing and starring in Bruce Lee and I, a film that was scrutinized for it's inappropriate sex scenes.
Did Bruce Lee really suffer a severe back injury during a fight like in the movie?
No. Though a similar fight to what we see in the movie did happen at Lee's school, he did not hurt his back during the fight. Instead, Bruce suffered the severe back injury in 1970 while exercising with weights. He injured his back doing Good Mornings, an exercise where you place a barbell on your shoulders and lean forward until your torso is at a ninety degree angle with your legs, repeating this motion for multiple reps. Doctors told Bruce that he would never be able to practice martial arts again. Confined to a bed, Bruce began to formulate his ideas into a series of notes encompassing eight two-inch thick binders. These writings were eventually published after his death (with the help of his wife Linda Lee) as The Tao of Jeet Kune Do. Bruce also spent his recovery time looking after his son Brandon and his new daughter Shannon. He began to train again at six months, and after about a year he appeared to be fully recovered. In private however, he continued to suffer from chronic back pain.
Was the role of Bruce Lee originally offered to his son Brandon Lee?
Yes. The role of Bruce Lee was originally offered to Bruce's son Brandon Lee, who turned the part down. Brandon had been establishing himself as a rising action star at the time. He had starred in films like Showdown in Little Tokyo with Dolph Lundgren and 1992's Rapid Fire. However, Brandon Lee is most remembered for his role as Eric Draven in 1993's cult hit The Crow. With only eight days of shooting left on The Crow, Brandon tragically lost his life after being shot with a prop gun that accidentally had a real bullet stuck in the chamber. Brandon's mother Linda and his Fiancee Eliza Hutton told director Alex Proyas that they both supported his decision to complete the movie. Proyas shot the remaining scenes using stunt double Chad Stahelski. A computer was then used to digitally render Brandon's face over Chad's.
Did either of Bruce Lee's children have a cameo in the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story?
Yes. Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon Lee has a cameo appearance as a singer in the party scene where Linda tells Bruce she is pregnant (with Shannon).
________________________________________
Posted on Aug 20, 2008, 3:15 PM from IP address 24.193.250.15
"...to be formless like water..."
"...you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup..."
You see that I must add that water is formless, YET, it has a structure, the structure or form of whatever it is put into (i.e., a tea pot).
This means that even water is not absolutely formless.
To be absolutely formless, means that you live life with absolute freedom (to do anything you want to do); You live in a consequence-free environment--this is morally and logically wrong.
Linda Lee Cadwell, Bruce's widow, also said in the "Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey" DVD, copyr. 2000, that "over the years [Bruce's "Using No way as Way, Having no limitation as limitation"] has been misinterpreted to mean "I can do anything I want, or anything I do, is my way".
Water is formless, able to adapt, yet it has a structure, a set of principles or rules, the rule of taking the shape of whatever it occupies. These set of rules are universal truths--to stay away from recreational, harmful drugs that put the user in a haze and make the user make bad decisions. Or, to stay away from the vice and pitfall of an adulterous affair (with Betty Ting Pei).
If I were to learn from a definitive, authoritative source that Bruce indeed used hashish and indeed had an affair, it would not put Bruce's life in a negative light. It would make me see that Bruce was a human being, capable of making mistakes.
Posted on Aug 12, 2008, 3:25 PM from IP address 24.193.249.217
"Water can penetrate the hardest substance like granite, yet water is insubstantial by that I mean it is formless and able to adapt and cannot be grasped."
I'm sorry if I got the exact wording wrong. However, water is "formless and can penetrate anything like granite" was used by B.L. either on the tv show "Long Street" or in an interview with Pierre Berton.
Water however, can't penetrate a substance that is "water-proof". I think Lee meant water in its usual or frequent sense. Water doesn't often or frequently go against the opponent of a waterproof substance. So what happens to water when it faces a waterproof substance? Does it die? No, it merely changes form from one substance to another (it evaporates over time on top of the waterproof substance).
Listen, don't merely hear, the message Bruce states in the Longstreet tv series in 1971.
"....when tomorrow comes, you must free your ambitious mind, and LEARN THE ART OF DYING." (emphasis added).
Water is a microcosm or life shown to us through symbolism. You and I are like water. When we die our states will pass on to another form like water.
F.Y.I.
I am now known as Mike Bruce Sullivan
My first name is now only one syllable instead of 2 and my middle name is now the Celtic word for the strong one and for the greatest man ever to have lived thus far.
Best regards readers,
MBS
Posted on Aug 6, 2008, 8:01 PM from IP address 65.88.88.252
What happend to the BL movie we were promised, that spoke more of his philosphy?
by Michael Sullivan (no login)
A reliable internet news site promised a BL movie to come out ON the 35th anniversary of his death--July 20, 2008. It would speak more of his philosophy (the lion's share of which came from Lao Tzu and Taoism) and it was to be produced by his brothers and sisters.
Does anyone know what happened? Is it behind schedule? To date, no such movie has been either in television commercials or in movie theatres.
Gung Fu Panda is all the martial arts movie that came out here in the U.S. circa the 35th anniversary of his passing.
Posted on Jul 28, 2008, 6:52 PM from IP address 65.88.88.252
July 20, 1973 was a Friday; July 20, 2008 was a Sunday
by Michael Sullivan (no login)
July 20, 1973 fell on a Friday; July 20, 2008 (35th anniversary) was a Sunday.
All the more reason for Bruce Lee to say forget the meeting with George Lazenby & Ray Chow, I'm going to get extremely intoxicated with potent cannabis (just for the weekend) and reschedule the meeting later, or "Betty, you drive me with my mercedes benz to the meeting, I'm too high to drive--can you blame me?! It's Friday, the start of the weekend" (my guess--no direct quote.)
All the more reason to believe the death by cannabis theory.
If Bruce's personal doctor (Don Langford) said he would've changed the autopsy report to reflect "allergic reaction to cannabis, then why is this equagensic theory still active?
The statute of limitations for insurance fraud by Lloyds of London has passed a long time ago! We Bruce Lee fans deserve to know the truth.
"Now You Know the truth...when you get to the city, pay your respects to your sister and your mother"....
"I will old man"
--from Enter The Dragon.
Posted on Jul 28, 2008, 6:43 PM from IP address 65.88.88.252
Sorry for my late up-date, but here are some recent news about the progress:
------------ RECENT NEWS 8TH JULY 2008 ------------
Recent news by Mrs. Vivienne Chow:
Billionaire and philanthropist Mr. Yu Panglin has reviled that he has BIG plans for the site of Bruce Lee’s last home in Hong Kong. The owner has said that only a complex of "great scale, great space and great content" could properly tell the story of Hong Kong’s Number One Son: Bruce Lee. "We have to make it the best" said Mr Yu.
Mr. Yu Panglin not only wants to build a Bruce Lee museum, but to also include a martial arts training center, a library and a cinema on the 41 Cumberland Road address property – and to do this he would need a much bigger building complex and bigger site to make this happen.
The original two-storey 5,699 sq ft house on the 9,000 sq ft property site is not enough for his plan. He said this would require an extension of the land use from residential to other purpose, and he has estimated that the bigger complex in his plan that would occupy 30,000 sq ft, which require a new building with 25,000 sq ft of floor space. The Hong Kong planning rules only allow a house of 5,350 sq ft on the 9,000 sq ft site, so this means that Mr. Yu need the government to allow him to construct a 25,000 sq ft building on the 41 Cumberland Road and extra property sites.
Mr Yu said he would form a taskforce with us Bruce Lee fans to raise funds and discuss the details of the future plans of 41 Cumberland Road !
---------------- RECENT NEWS ON 9TH JULY 2008 --------
Journalist Mrs. Vivienne Chow reports in South China Moring Post:
Family members of Bruce Lee may get involved in the museum complex proposed for the site of his former Kowloon Tong home. Bruce Lee's widow, Linda Lee Cadwell, and daughter Shannon Lee have asked a Hong Kong law firm to make contact with billionaire philanthropist Yu Panglin about his future plans for the 41 Cumberland Road. They have been following the news reports and they are very curious to find out what is being proposed. Bruce Lee's other family members - his younger brother Robert Lee and older sister Phoebe Lee - were prepared to make donations of Lee's belongings to the museum. "They will include clothes, family photo albums, furniture that Bruce Lee used during his childhood," said Wong Yiu-keung, the chairman of the Bruce Lee Club in Hong Kong, for which Robert Lee serves as an honorary chairman.
--------- MORE RECENT NEWS 9TH. JULY 2008 --------
Recent news by Mrs. Olga Wong:
Bruce Lee's Kowloon Tong home should be saved, members of the town planning and antiquities advisory boards agree, but they voiced doubts about the owner's proposal to expand it to house a museum. Ng Cho-nam, who sits on both boards, said the proposed development was well-intentioned but excessive. Kowloon Tong was a garden city and allowing the six fold expansion of floor area that owner Yu Panglin proposes could set a precedent. Adding structures above the house would undermine its character, he said.
Greg Wong Chak-yan, vice-chairman of the planning board, said: "The house is not a monument, but the fans might want to retain its original appearance." Further he said the planning board might have to seek the views of the Antiquities and Monuments Office before approving any development.
But a heritage conservation expert at the University of Hong Kong, Lee Ho-yin, said the house, built in 1965, was of little architectural or historical value and under the grading system for historic buildings it risked being torn down at any time. That was because the system was not fully applicable to intangible heritage such as kung fu star Lee's life and work, he said. The only reason to preserve it was for its social value and community attachment to the place, factors the system did not consider.
---------------- NEWS 19TH. JULY 2008 -----------------
By South China Post (SCMP) journalist Ms. Vivienne Chow:
There is now a ten days Bruce Lee exhibition going on in Hong Kong – between the 18th and 28th of July – to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Bruce Lee’s passing on the 20th July in 1973. This exhibition also is to rally a public support for the conversion of his former 41 Cumberland Road, Kowloon Tong residence into a museum. The organiser of the exhibition is Mr. Wong Yiu-keung who also is the president and chairman of the Bruce Lee Club. He said he hopes that the exhibition and future memorial museum would allow people to learn about Bruce Lee as a person and a human being. "It is important that people like him not just because he was a great martial artist and international movie star," Mr Wong said. "The museum will allow memories of Bruce Lee to become accessible." He said the government should try to restore Lee's former home to its original look, including the gym, park, main gate and interior design.
The owner of Lee's former residence, Mr. Yu Panglin, who recently met the government and proposed turning 41 Cumberland Road into a museum complex, said a HK$100 million trust fund should be set up by the government to pay for operation and maintenance. Mr Yu said Lee's widow, Linda Lee Cadwell, and daughter Shannon have now been in contact with him.
---------------- NEWS 20TH. JULY 2008 ----------------
By SCMP reporter Ms. Vivienne Chow:
Former close friend to Bruce Lee and Hong Kong movie actress, Ms. Betty Ting Pei, agrees with those who say the two-storey house at 41 Cumberland Road, Kowloon Tong, where Bruce Lee spent his last years should be preserved. “This house has its value and it should be kept because he was such an important and unusual character," said Ms Ting, who dated Lee for more than a year before his death in 1973. "In fact, all the buildings that he spent time in and all the paths that he walked on should be preserved.” She continued that the Chinese people first earned international recognition because of Bruce. He has an important place in history. Ms Ting also says she has been leading a quiet life since giving up her movie career in the 1980s. But the debates about Lee's legacy and proposals to turn the house into a museum complex have caught her attention. "Bruce had a great impact on my life," she said. "I'm a responsible person and I'm willing to take up the responsibility. I hope to try my best to make some contribution. Now we just have to wait and see how this will develop. I hope people can co-operate and work together to come up with a perfect solution. It's all about promoting the spirit of Bruce."
More recent news to follow...
Peer, Norway
Posted on Jul 21, 2008, 8:08 PM from IP address 84.208.252.67
If you actually want to see what Bruce Lee's last ever residence (the Crane's Nest) looks like now as a love hotel, two South China Morning Post reporters took this footgae inside...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbJwThCLSi8
Posted on Jul 18, 2008, 5:46 AM from IP address 203.218.36.199
I'd pay the hourly price just to be where BL once lived, but it's really a Lust Motel
by Michael Sullivan (no login)
I'd pay the hourly price, just to walk where the Greatest Human Being who ever walked the earth, thus far, walked and breathed and worked out, but who can love in one hour?! Most of the couples in there would be doing what led Bruce to lose weight and sex energy (training energy).
(having an affair with Betty Ting Pei) --and that's disgraceful.
It should've been made into an hourly museum, the proceeds of which should have been paid to The Bruce Lee Estate and/or The Bruce Lee Foundation, or the Bruce Lee movie we were told (by one internet posting from a reliable source) would come out ON the 35th anniversary of his passing, but never did. Such movie was to reveal more of his JKD philosophy.
Thanks for the pics, though.
--M
Posted on Jul 28, 2008, 6:35 PM from IP address 65.88.88.252
Bruce Lee (CA to HK, HK to CA) & Miscellaneous Topics
by Michael Sullivan (no login)
Buddhist is often mocked and thought by the West in the US, especially as something that doesn't make sense.
That when you die, your next life you come back as a cat.
Buddhism, through the teachings of Buddha, says that the next reincarnation is at a better level, and then the next reincarnation after than is an even better level. So, how can a human being be reincarnated into a cat--a cat is not a better level. Or if not a cat, how can one be reincarnated into a shorter life expectancy of 7 years, as a mangy, dirty junk yard dog, loud, uncomfortable, miserable dog?
So one always reincarnates into a better level, not a worse level.
Buddhism, I think has no God, it is a flexible religion which leaves a lot of matters after death to science. That is why it is one of the best religions in the world.
Like Bruce Lee's philosophy, it "has no style, but able to adapt". Buddhism is simple. Bruce belived that what was not flexible would soon snap and break.
Finally, I've had enough with Bronx and Manhattan, New York in particular. The people snarl and give prolonged dirty looks when you smile briefly and friendly like Buddha or Gandhi or Lee; they think either you're crazy or a homosexual. All the New Yorkers care about is money and material possessions.
It's true in a lot of places, but LIFE IS A MATTER OF DEGREE, New York has MORE heartless, criminal-minded, unfriendly people.
Los Angeles, California (CA) and California in general on the other hand is the land of Artists. Liberals who often are not good at math and science, but art like performing arts or motion pictures. The latter of which they can make more money than a doctor or lawyer without being either "detached without a personality" or "angry and over-indignant" in that order.
I will make my short pilgrimage today to THE EDGAR ALLAN POE park in the Bronx, a short distance away on 175th street at Grand Concourse, Bronx, I believe. I will meditate on Bruce Lee, on how Edgar Allan Poe, another Bronxite Irish-American artist wrote about a Mohammadan among his other stories and poems. On how I wrote and will write about an international, influential man, Bruce Lee. I will then venture forever to Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, July 16, 2008, stay at a low-rent apartment and do what I do best--nonfiction and creative writing. Bruce said "do what you do like and you will do it best and it will provide you happiness and financial security". I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but I will do what like and do best-Art. And in that regard, and influence I thank you Bruce, for your writings on self-actualization. It's influential in choosing a career.
California is not what New Yorkers call them--fake people who get plastic surgery. But like "God" any God, they respect beautiful things, so they themselves try to become more beautiful on the inside and outside. I will move to Los Angeles, Long Beach, Long Beach is within Los Angeles, CA, because that is where Bruce Lee won one of his main martial arts tournments. Plus, minorites are more respected in California (ever heard that saying Move West Young Man)? Many streets in California have Spanish names and New Yorker's don't respect hispanics or other ethnic people as much as Californians.
I don't hate New York, I don't hate anything. I constructively dislike New York. The women here are not really friendly and they're snobby and mean. I spoke to a beautiful girl at a chinese restaurant telling her I can teach her FREE English language, Tae Kwon Do, and Chinese philosophy and she basically said "Thank you, but I'm very busy right now. I have your number. Don't call me, I'll call you". It's been 5 days since- (no word) She'd rather drop hot fried foods in a hot oven than spend some time with a good man like myself trying to help her better her life, withoutr anything in return but a possible friendship and/or relationship?! It broke my heart, especially after she smiled at me, later leading me to believe that the smile was to return for more Chinese food.
At least in California no one will give me prolonged dirty looks. It is the equivalent of leaving CA (San Fran) at Bruce's birth, for HK, then returning to CA (to try acting), then returning to HK to make some influential movies (movies which Like SGt peppers lonely hearts club band, are still being analyzed today), then returning to CA for a brief visit with friends and some of his schools and then returning to HK., before passing to a better level.
This back ward and forward revealed Bruce's flexibility. But remember this, BOTH HONG KONG AND CALIFORNIA are liberal, tolerant, open-minded, artistic places, one within the USA, one near mainland China.
I'm glad I'm going. Please wish me luck. At least no strangers will consistently stare at me with dirty looks (without provocation) like they do here in New York.
Soon I will be in one of the Little Dragon's home state...
Posted on Jul 10, 2008, 8:45 PM from IP address 65.88.88.252
Please Listen, Mike & Listen ALL (helpful information)
by Keith Roberts (no login)
mike sullivan, i'm 73 years old, i wish you the best of luck in your move to los angeles. i feeel your pain and emphatize with you. you have written so many passionate says without expect of an award--like Confucious. Thanks for your free gifts.
Women can be destable people always rejecting men and driving them to drink.
but remember, it could've been bruce lee's best friend Taky Kimura who advised Bruce to go to visit is family in Hong Kong and then return to SEattle after Amy Sanbo rejected him, when he was proposing marriage to her on a daily basis and even made arrangements for his grandma and his grandma's wedding ring to be delivered to Amy.
He must have cried because like all humans we have tear ducts and rejection, especially constant rejection can destroy a human being, even one like superman--Bruce Lee.
Instead of giving up. He transferred the pain of loneliness and put his chin up high and pulled back the tears and rebuilt his life and met Linda Emery. Don't give up, Mike. I talk from many years of experience. My wife died at 43 and for the last 30 years no women have said yes to my many respectful "flirtations" or "asking them out on a date". That's because at 45, while drunk and depressed over the losss of my wife, I fell asleep with a ciggy in my bed. The colour, among other things on my face is grotesque. Plastic surgery cannot completely make me look normal, I've tried it many times.
If I die lonely, it's o.k. at least the cravings of human relationships, a good career and good friends would be quelled and ended. These unsatisfied cravings and necessary things like having to pay rent/mortgage are a strain on life enjoyment. Albert Einstein wondered why there was this constant need to fill the stomach. Why would a merciful God create lonely people who, by implication, cry out/or pray for God's help by literally crying with tears running down their cheeks at their plight of loneliness.
I've come to resent women a little because of their rejection. I have money, but my looks are gone. So looks are important, it's not if you're passionate about your job or if you make a lot of money.
But you must resist resenting women and becoming bitter at them. This can be both self-destructive and destructive to women (which can send you to prison for assault). Women are like stupid, cats and flowers, weak and quiet. The only way you get a good looking to look at you is if you have a camera on your shoulder and you're filming for a t.v. or movie. I used to be a black belt and know about Wu Shin. I don't use Wu Shin on a woman because there's no need for a woman to be a threat, much less noticed with the wu shin eye move or wu shin frame of mind. women aren't a physical threat, so you can ignore them, when it comes to wu shin, unless they're a muscular, lesbian, in need of money, and looking to rob you.
I hope to read both of the books that you said you would write, hopefully, before I die. When you die at the very least, you don't have any cravings. that's why some crystal meth addicts sleep constantly for 3 days (awaking only to urinate or eat lightly) until the drug is out of their system. This works also for ciggy addictions (after 3 days, it's much easier to quit and the cravings are less). The cravings of hunger, human relationships, need for money, are all ended at death & that is the greatest peace. So Einstein if you can hear me, there will be no need to fill your stomach each day in the after life.
And Mike "When you get to the city [lad] pay your respects to your sister and mother" from Enter the Dragon. Because there shouldn't be any pornography to encourage rape like the one in ETD. Women, in the final analysis have to be respected to a small degree
Then you can tell me "I will Old Man", like Bruce said in that particular sequence.
Thanks for your essays, Mike, and Mike Sullivan, "Walk On!"
Posted on Jul 11, 2008, 7:17 PM from IP address 65.88.88.252
In every BL movie BL used the concept of Wu Shin which is like seeing the forest & the trees. Like ETD, awake, yet not sleeping (something to that effect, I don't remember BL's exact words) Wu Shin was made up by ancient philosopher Lao Tzu. In combat you see BL moves his eyes from right to left slowly IN ALL 4 BL MOVIES. This is what means by Wu Shin and seeing all, but not getting worried or spending too much thought on one particular enemy or thing. BL was told in ETD by his master" that now you have passed the physical level and you're at the SPIRITUAL level. BL was born beautiful, both inside and outside, he had a beautiful face & body. BL also said "discard the ornamental" (ONE OF JKD'S RULES) But what about if discarding what is ornamental means continuing to be ugly and lonely and sensitive and depressed/SUICIDAL. That's why I believe in plastic surgery (except the questionable one's on armpit sweat glad removals: please see my other essays. But it also means discarding what is "theatrical jeet kune do" which rhymes by the way a lot with Tae Kwon Do, Bruce like GMaster Jhoon Rhee did about 200-500 pushups a day. the "do" in the 2 LANGUAGES I think means "Tao" or study or way of life. Discarding the ornamental also means being efficient and anticipating your opPonents moves by hitting the closest target. I believe Discarding the Ornamental doesn't mean accepting baldness or a big nose. When you're attractive, less people make fun of you and lower your self esteem, especially at a young, formative age.
I'm, a very busy man, but 9 months ago, and to a degree recently, have had free time to meditate and think about BL. That's how I finally knew (after research, contemplation & meditation) how he died. Also, that's how I knew that Wong Jack Man never put Bruce in a hospital and kicked his back and caused Bruce to stay in a hospital. But it was the unprepardness in warming up for "Good-Morning" exercises back lifts. This lack of warming up back injury gave him a spiritual, intellectual, rebirth and energy when he read many non-fiction & fiction books on his bed after his back injury.
Anyway, even though I'm busy I make time for spreading good words about an outstanding role model, one unlike JK Van Dam who went to bars, and beats up and breaks the photographers cameras and acts like a punk. Even though he was very much a BL fan. I write these lengthy essays for you- The Bruce Lee fans and BRUCE LEE SAHN :). I hope you enjoy and learn from them. The Confucious Way is doing something without expecting reward or even a mere thank you. So, when possible I will contribute respectfully with essays. The way Bruce's presence and writings inspired a slowing down of Protestant & Catholic Sectariansim in Ireland. Then I stop my essays on Sunday July 20, 2008, even though it was a Friday, July 20, 1973 when Bruce Lee left this mortal world. A Friday (The Week-End), is an even more of a corroboration that BL wanted to "party" a lot at a questionable woman's apartment & ingest a lot, a lot, a lot of potent hashish. You will notice my 2 books in the future written by Michael Sullivan by it's dedication page to Thailand:
"Thai people are very peace-loving, friendly people. But we don't like it when people take liberties with us" (I'm part Thai)
This above dedication has been copyrighted in Washington, DC USA to show my distinction of future promise & hope embodied in 2 books: "Outrageous Fortune", the book on loneliness will be published, through the regular, difficult publishing channels. My BL book will be expensively self-published-because I want to make sure the info. on BL is out there for the public. Like the end of "War" with Jet LI, there closing song: "Did you ever wonder...what happens when we die?" She's an asian girl singer. This BL book of mine will also include a chapter on "Sullivan's Theory of What Happens When We Die" After July 20, 2008 I might write some essays in NOvember 2008, the anniversary of his Birthday. Until later, my fellow Bruce Lee friends. Take care. And watch at least one of his movies every day or read a little about his philosophy or the philosophy of Ancient China which he helped to popularize.
Michael Sullivan
Posted on Jul 9, 2008, 10:27 PM from IP address 65.88.88.252