The Chinese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

Marie Kondo wasn't there first with her mega-bestselling THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP: THE JAPANESE ART OF DECLUTTERING AND ORGANIZING--and TV show and modern celebrity. Anna May Wong was doing the same thing decades ago. Yes, Anna May Wong offered this advice in an article she wrote in 1939, "Why Waste Your Time?" We could call it, THE CHINESE ART OF DECLUTTERING AND ORGANIZING. Here is the beginning part of it:

Nancy Kwan...and eBay

This post is not really about Nancy Kwan but rather about certain eBay dealers. And it is not just Nancy Kwan, but many of the other photos I look at.

I need photos for a few reasons, one of which is that my book and magazine needs photos. I try to select photos that visually appeal to me, and that others would like to see. Having looked at many, I sometimes wonder at the prices a dealer sets. For many of these photos, the interest is passing, if that. Yet occasionally the dealer sets a price that is way too high. Of course, the photos do not sell, and just "sit there."

I understand the value of certain things, and I understand that a dealer can set any price that he or she wants. But...just to have a photo sit there with no movement from bidders? Again and again and again...

This leads me to a photo on eBay I received yesterday. It was reasonably priced, and even had Ms. Kwan's autograph on it. Apparently she is or was doing shows on the West Coast, and signed this and other photos. I bid on the photo because 1) I've never seen it, and 2) I thought it was an exceptional shot of Ms. Kwan. (And, yes, she does have freckles.)

Nancy Kwan is important for various reasons, one of which is that in certain photos she represents the post-Anna May Wong actress for an Asian (actually, she is half-Asian)....

The photo:

Definitions

Initially I was going to do a reference volume on Asian Actresses in America, but such actresses kept popping up all the time and I've changed my focus, though I still want to do the book I was mentioning. My new project will focus on topics, so that, hopefully, the book will be more engaging, reading-wise, than just an A to Z guide.

I also should mention that my focus is what we in America think of as Asian, though technically that is not correct. An actress from India is Asian, and so are many parts of what we consider as the Near East. Iraq, for instance, is part of Asia. If I was completely accurate, I would say "Far East Asian," as that is what I am thinking of and researching.

Of course, my objective, even with that definition, is wide and not just limited to Chinese American actresses. The Philippines, Japan, Java, etc., are lands that are in the Far East, and that is what I am researching.