I am a big slacker now on blogging. That’s okay. I do what I can and I do more important stuff first. It’s called priority. Obviously this should be multiple entries. Oh well.
There is no way I will buy a condo like that…
On Tuesday evening, I went to Infinity for the reception hosted by the Academy of Friends. Between the drinks and hors d’oeuvre, I took a tour of the models at the condo.
The view was good, but I wasn’t impressed by the condo and the location. It was small and noisy, and of course, expensive. I wonder why in the world I would even consider to get a place at that price at this location.
People always ask me why I don’t buy a place in San Francisco. I think the reason is too obvious—it’s not worth it. Why should I put money in some over priced boxes hoping that there won’t have an earthquake, the property value will go up, and nothing is gonna break in the house? Even the property value does go up, so what? Am I going to sell the place to cash in and then move into a hotel?
I want to live a worry free and relaxed life. Let somebody else deal with the uncontrollable ups and downs, even a plumber problem.
Even I know the result by instinct, couple years ago, I input a few numbers at the online tool from New York Times: "Is It Better to Buy or Rent?" The answer was just as I have expected: NEVER BUY.
So there, case closed.
Dim sum is good
On Thursday, I had a dim sum party at work. We turned our conference room into a private dinning room, with beer and champagne. Although we probably should not drink at work, wait, says who?
I hope we will do it again, soon. I am always up for a party.
New bathhouse?
When I got home on Friday evening, I noticed the fog was making a scene lingering underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. I decided to change the routine to go for a walk before dinner.
It’s peaceful and pretty as always. There were some crazy swimmers in the freezing cold water. They were wearing wet suits of course, otherwise they would be freezing to death. I think that’s too much trouble to swim in the bay. I would just go to a swimming pool.
Then I notice a giant sign for a bathhouse!
There is a bathhouse here? How come I never heard about it?
Sea urchin has the safest sex: the guys release the sperm to the ocean and girls release the eggs into the ocean as well. Then, the eggs and sperms are on their own.
Feeling cold and warm is pretty much an illusion from the brain.
It’s easier to balance if the weight is higher—those amazing acts in a circus, such as put a table on the top of a long stick, prove that.
Organisms are restless when they can be observed under a microscope. Do they ever sleep?
A turban snail releases sperms into the ocean and a sperm keeps swimming until it finds an egg. Talking about tough life, what if it never finds an egg? It must be exhausted.
…
There are so much that I need to learn. But first, my body needs some water:
This entry is getting awfully long, I will post the dinner pictures next time, and I have a few films to finish. Here are couple more reviews.
Guillermo Arriaga is well known for his nonlinear and fractured story telling as the writer of "21 Gram" and "Bable." He continues this style in his directorial debut "The Burning Plain" (USA/Argentina 2008 | in English/Spanish | 111 min.) to tell love stories which are filled with pain and suffering. One should not be surprised when sitting through a good portion of the film and getting lost in the multiple threads of the story. As expected, of course, these subplots will all come together, if one is patient enough.
The film opens with mysterious Sylvia (Charlize Theron), who is a house manager at a fancy restaurant. Before one can make any sense of Sylvia, other subplots already jam the screen as if they are competing with each other for screen time. One story is about a K-mart shopper mama’s (Kim Basinger) burning urge to carry out an adultery affair. Another story is about forbidden love between teenagers Mariana (Jennifer Lawrence) and Cristobal (Diego J. Torres). Meanwhile, the film also travels to Mexico to shows the life of a little girl, which counts for another story.
These stories shuffle together like a deck of cards in a magician’s hands, even everybody already knows that the shuffling just to create an illusion for the audience—the magical truth behind the shuffling is already there. However, a magician does not reveal that truth in the end; otherwise he would ruin the magic. Unfortunately, when a movie reveals everything in the end, the shuffling of these subplots leaves an impression nothing more than ostentation.
While many characters in the film are unconvincing and uncomprehended (Sylvia should immediately comes to one’s mind), the love story surrounded between Mariana and Cristobal is the most captivating and best performed. It would have been better if their story did not get interrupted randomly and constantly by other subplots, despite how relevant they might be.
When style of story telling overpowers the story, it becomes a distraction to the story. It would have been different if it were a magic performance. However, this is a motion picture and it reveals most the secrets in the end.
Is it possible to reconcile with a man who causes tremendous lose and suffering?
Based on a true story, British film "Five Minutes of Heaven" (UK 2009 | 90 min.) exams two men’s extraordinary journey to meet each other in hoping of seeking the truth, finding a closure, and reaching a reconciliation. Although the film is the winner of World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award and World Cinema Screenwriting Award at 2009 Sundance Film Festival, it also deserves to be awarded in acting categories for finely calibrated performances from lead actors Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt.
The story begins in Lurgan, Northern Ireland, in 1975 during the conflict between the IRA and the British government. 17-year-old Alistair Little (Mark David) becomes a foot soldier and kills a 19-year-old Catholic James Griffin, witnessed by James’s 11-year-old brother Joe Griffin. This tragic incident has a lasting impact on the lives of both the killer Alistair and horrified Joe. Three decades later, through a social service program and documentary crew, Alistair (Liam Neeson) decides to meet Joe (James Nesbitt) for the first time after the killing to reconcile. The meeting becomes an intensely emotional ordeal for both grown men.
German director Oliver Hirschbiegel ("Downfall") masterfully creates incredible suspensions in each scene. It is both gripping and terrifying. Two great actors Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt give brilliant performances to reveal both characters’ complex emotional struggles. It is quite operatic.
The film does not answer the question if or how two enemies can reconcile; it simply shows the fascinating development in the minds of these rich characters. That makes the film a human story regardless which side one stands during that period of unsettling British history.
Silky Tofu, 味道好极了! 