beauty and ugliness

In the past month, I've done a lot of things, and I'm exhausted physically and mentally, but the days go by, as if I haven't done anything, I can't do what I want to do, and there are many avoidances in my life, this is not enough, that is It's not right, and I can't always calm down in my heart. I just hope that this small town that has lost its light will not be tossed again.

On July 18, I stayed at home and never left the house except to take out the rubbish. At noon, I cooked fried macaroni with beef in tomato sauce, and roasted a chicken at night. They are all simple and lazy dishes. I really don’t want to spend more effort. In the afternoon, I vacuumed and washed the floor while I had time. Cleaning the home was also one of the actions to cooperate with the fight against the epidemic. In this regard, I asked myself that I did a good job, but at the cost of others not necessarily understanding why I was sometimes tired. When I was doing housework, I couldn't help thinking: The plague has been out for a full month. What have we gotten during these 30 days? Lost what? Who can explain clearly?

People are discussing whether the lockdown will be lifted next week. Some people think it must be lifted, and some people think that the epidemic situation is repeated and it is not optimistic. Some friends are also imagining what they want to do most after the lockdown is lifted, but others have begun to worry that once people gather in revenge and go out to spend, the plague is likely to come again. Now I don't want to pay attention to these hypothetical discussions, because there may be some uncertain situations every day, and it is useless to think about it too much. Once it comes, you will be at peace. If you have no expectations, you will not be disappointed, right?

Because I suddenly wanted to watch a movie, I specially selected a big production filmed in Macau, "Ma's Court is a City", adapted from Yan Geling's novel of the same name, directed by Li Shaohong, starring Bai Baihe, Wu Gang, Huang Jue, and Geng Le. The story is about the love-hate entanglement between the VIP room jumbo played by Bai Baihe and several gamblers. The film is a bit long. It not only wants to explore the operation of the casino and the warmth of human feelings, but also describes one or two ambiguous love scenes. Although the filming is not ugly, it seems that it can only be clicked and stopped, or it may be too much to say.

Because I am not interested in the subject of casinos, I have deliberately avoided the book and movie "The Ma Pavilion is a City" before, and frankly speaking, I was dismissive. Now let’s look at how these gambling halls entrap gamblers and lure high-rollers to “betting on the bottom”, and how those guests who gamble to the point of losing their minds lose gold and silver to casinos and gambling halls, it is more clear that gambling not only harms people but also really does affect many people. The film describes how Macau's VIP halls have been dug up after 1999, how gambling halls set up rules to grab business, how gamblers lose money and borrow money and then spend all their wealth to steal and rob, but they can't pay off their gambling debts. The story is about 2014. The ups and downs of the year are over. Among the many characters, there is a new owner who started as a gangster, secretly attracts guests, and quietly annexes and integrates the casino business. He is the dazzling villain in the play. He later commits a heinous crime and ends tragically, which is really amazing now. It was an interesting experience to watch this movie at a time when Macau's gambling industry was facing a huge dilemma, because everything was so close and so far away, and all kinds of gambling scams inside and outside the scene have now vanished into thin air.

There is no doubt that Macau has a beautiful side, but it also has an extremely ugly side. Which side are we facing now?