I am still exploring the functionality of my new phone Nokia 5800 Xpress Music. I love it! I can actually begin to practice writing Chinese instead of using pinyin (拼音) on a keyboard all the time. I can also taking decent pictures, listen to radio and music, or even shoot a video. I love the fact that I can edit the label for a phone number. Now I can have my frequently visited bus stops programmed into my phone. I also enjoy the calendar on the phone, much better than the Google Calendar.
However, AT&T's signal sucks! They are much worse than Sprint I used to have. Luckily, I can get by most of the time.
A few days ago, when I stop by the store in Chinatown to get this phone, I saw a very old Chinese lady, perhaps in her 70s if not 80s, digging a trash can for food. Her exposed legs were so thin that they are probably thinner than my wrists. It is extremely sad.
I dug into my bag, all I could find was an apple. I handed the apple to her. She took it and replied with a perfect "Thank you!" Her pronunciation tells me that either she is an American born Chinese or she has been in the US for decades.
Her image stayed with me for a long time. I wonder if she is warm tonight. I also wonder why there are so many homeless people in this richest US of A. China is poorer and have more people, but I have never seen as many homeless people as in the US. What gives? I wonder what would happen if the Chinese lady were in China. I doubt that she would have to dig a trashcan for food.
Okay, that's depressing.
Couple days ago, I read something ridiculous. Remember the guy who drove too fast on the Bay Bridge and flew off the bridge and plunge to his death? The family of this guy now blame the Caltrain for the accident. How predictable! Of course, people never take responsibility for their own action. If they drive exceed the speed limit, they blame on no extra measure is taken to slow them down.
WTF?
Why are these people drive so fast anyway? Hurry for what? To death?
The most irritating drivers I see every day on streets are those who run yellow lights, sometimes, red lights too. They see the light is changing, they slam on the gas to beat the light. Very likely they fly over the intersection risking of hitting a few pedestrians. What happen after they beat the light? They immediately slam on the brake so they don't hit the car that is stopped at a red light. So all they are rushing to is to stop behind a stopped car, but risking other's lives?
When Japanese invaded China, they committed horrific acts to Chinese people, especially to people in Harbin (哈尔滨), my hometown. When the War is over in 1945, many Japanese orphans are abandoned. Chinese people took these orphans in, and raised them as their own children, despite what the Japanese just did to the Chinese people during the war. That's humanity and empathy! After 1972, thousands of these orphans returned to Japan and started new lives. Now these orphans returned to Harbin to visit their Chinese parents who saved their lives and raised them.
Okay, that's also not very cheerful. So, let's cook.
Cooking something at home always make me happy. I am out of rice last week. With hesitation, I bought a big 50 lb bag of Thai rice from the shop outside the apartment. I took a chance hoping that I would like it, because it's very convenient. All I need is to get in the elevator and come up stairs. It's not the short grain I like. Despite its sweet aroma, I don't like the texture. However, they are very good for stir-fried rice.
Tonight, instead of normally stir the eggs in the rice, I put them outside for a change. I want to be different.
Ops! I forgot to sprinkler some seseme seeds.
There! Ops again, I dropped some rape. It looks like I need a maid.
Chilean director Sebastián Silva's second feature "The Maid" (La Nana | Chile/Mexico 2009 | 95 min.) is an absorbing character study about a fascinating maid. The film wins the Grand Jury Prize (World Cinema Dramatic) at 2009 Sundance Film Festival and continues to collecting trophies around the globe.
The film opens with the awkward celebration of Raquel's (Catalina Saavedra) 41st birthday. She appears to be shy, unhappy, grumpy, mysterious, and haggard. After 20 years as a live-in maid in a wealthy family and taking care of four children and the two adults in the family, she disappears in this family's life as if she is part of the family. Or is she?
Despite her falling health, she refuses to allow any new maid to step into her territory or to share the domain that she fiercely guards. She becomes the most difficult maid to work with. As a result, none of the new maid can work with her long, except an upbeat and free spirited Lucy (Mariana Loyola) who inspires her to find her life again.
Catalina Saavedra gives an outstanding performance as the intriguing protagonist. Her expressive eyes reveal her mind every time when she looks into the camera. She intelligently creates a rich and complex character—Raquel. Like Raquel's employer, the audience might be perplexed about where to place her in the heart. Appreciate her work? Love her dedication? Pity her life? Condemn her behavior? Admire her strong will?
There is simply no easy answer.
Raquel is perhaps the best maid in the world when it comes to keep a house tidy. However, actually having her in the house as a maid may not be as blessed as it sounds. One thing is certain though—she will be the maid that no one can easily forget.
"Would you like a clean towel?"—the girl asked me with a big smile when she was checking me in at the gym, emphasizing on the word "clean."
"That would be great!"—I giggled when I replied.
I appreciate more about her small effort to bring me smiles than her little humor. I enjoy the tiny little pleasant things when I interact with people around the city. Since people's attitude can be contiguous, I normally enjoy being around happy people more than grumpy ones. Maybe I am one of those who always see half glass full.
Here is another example. On Halloween night, on the bus to Castro, I saw these two cheerful couple who worn fabulous costumes made by that lady. They act like two love birds even they are quite mature in terms of age, and they are definitely happy, so are everybody else on the bus—maybe somebody else could hold a straight face when seeing these couple. I can't. My mouth was stretching from my left ear all the way to the right ear.
Speaking of Halloween, the party is indeed over. Since last year, the City is determined to crash the block party in Castro. They certainly succeeded. The crowd was quite small, if there is any at all. The fun is all gone. Oh, those old good days!
Although the Halloween is no longer fun on the street of Castro, luckily, the City still have plenty to offer. For one thing, the weather has been gorgeous like the true summer days.
Yesterday morning, I walked to a neighborhood cafe and sat outside on the sidewalk, just like traveling in Europe. I ordered my breakfast under the bright sunshine and the relaxing atmosphere.
Then I heard the lady at the next table describing her dog at her feet to her friend: "He is awesome, and he is pain in the ass." I wasn't sure she likes her dog or not, but I surely liked my egg and green.
I think it's a crime to stay indoors under this kind of weather.
Last Sunday, I spent like 5 (if not 6) hours in Marin Headlands. Not only I hiked very long distance, I also baked in the sun lying on the warm sand for a long time, reading a book, among other things.
Today, it looked like a carbon copy of last Sunday. I began to repeat the same route, and planned to lie on the beach again.
Well, to my surprise, the beach was missing. The giant wave and high tide pulled the spots where I used to lie down into the water. The wave was loud and powerful, as if it is very angry for my taking its spot last week...
It's spectacular!
After staring at the tides for awhile, I marched on to the top of the mountain, to see the City on the other side. Suddenly, everything is calm and peaceful again, without any trace of violent waves. The Golden Gate Bridge is just as elegant and fabulous as usual.
After each hiking, I am not tired. Instead, I am recharged and exuberant.
However, that doesn't mean that the entire week has been like this beautiful. On Wednesday night, it was quite chilly. I was craving for something warm. Besides, I was in a rush to go to a film screening, naturally a big bowl of noodle came to my mind. Since I had some leftover broth of winter melon, carrots, frozen tofu, tomato, and pork, so I poured it on top of the noodle and garnished with boiled egg, scallions, and jalapeno pepper.
That was delicious. I have to cook it again sometimes. Tonight, I cooked some juicy buns (小笼汤包), braised eggplant with black bean garlic sauce (豆豉蒜汁煸茄子), white fish miso soup, Japanese sweet potato 红地瓜. Darn! I think I ate all the calories back after I burned them today during the hiking.
And, I also ate so much yesterday after Jason and I cooked dozen dishes. It was a feast.
With all these food in my stomach, I hope I will have a good dream tonight, because I have a lot dreams lately. Hello, new week! And, hello November! (Do I really update so infrequently now?)
Like the whole month, this week vanishes quickly. Even the daylight saving time is going to be over tomorrow night. It's about time. I have been waking up when it's not as bright as it used to be. I am ready for the winter to come, when it's dark and raining outside, warm and cozy inside the apartment. But right now, I just sit back and enjoy the blue sky and green bay.
Speaking of governor, there is something in politics in California that provides a comic relief. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano from San Francisco yelled at the governor: "Kiss my gay ass!" However, Arnold didn't quite kiss his ass, he "fucked" it. He vetoed a bill that Tom Ammiano wrote and in his veto letter, "I fuck you" is imbedded in the first column. That's pretty funny. In respond, San Francisco Chronicle hides a message "Grow Up GirlIE man" in its Editorial piece. That's just so lame. It's not as direct, effective, and informative as "I fuck you." Plus, it's a shame for a newspaper to mess up its copyedit.
It was entertaining and fun, but of course, I don't believe a word the host was saying, holding a "Book of the Dead." I don't believe in ghosts, nor God.
Next week is the election day, which is a boring one. Just a few measures on the ballots, so I mailed in my ballot long time ago.
I already said, it's a boring election. But, I voted! I believe every single vote counts, and I won't waste my power.
That makes me wonder how I will vote next time when it comes to issues related to the bicycles. I was annoyed by Critical Mass today. They not only provoke drivers on the streets, they also block buses deliberately. WTF?
I have been a supporter for cyclers, and I don't drive a car to fight roads with them. But, when they purposely block a bus, that's turning their backs to their allies and turning their friends into their enemies. They lost my sympathy and support, right there. I will no longer support their causes because of their stupidity. They ask for it.
Fame has become such a hot commodity for some people that they are willing to go extra miles to be in the spot light. Remember the hoax about the 6-year-old boy flying away in a balloon a few weeks ago? However, how to explain the phenomenon if the fame does not involved appearing in talk shows but staying in a prison cell? That famed person is Charles Bronson, the most famous and violent prisoner in Britain.
Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn's operatic film "Bronson" (UK 2008 | 92 min.) might not provide answers to the question why Bronson behaves so violently through out his life, but it certainly presents a truly fascinating and deeply troubled individual, brilliantly (not British usage for this word) played by Tom Hardy.
The film begins with Bronson's fights with classmates at school. Before the "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves" finishes playing in the background, Bronson grows up into a young man (Tom Hardy) and is sentenced to seven years in prison for armed robbery of only £26.18 at a post office. His forgiving mother comforts him: "Don't worry son, you'll be out in four." That's not quite the way it turns out. After almost 35 years and a few hostage taking episodes in prison, Bronson is still in prison up to this moment, mostly in solitary confinement. In between jail cells, he is only freed twice, for 68 days and 53 days respectively, before being sent back to jail. In most scenes in the film, he is extremely violent and fighting with anybody in his sight. During rest of the time, he makes art. Who exactly is Bronson? What's in his head that makes him acts violently and peculiarly?
Nobody seems to know.
For any sane mind, certainly fame is not a plausible motivation for Bronson's behavior, although he has certainly achieved that status. Bronson has a personality that his body is too small to hold, and he must explode whenever he is with another human being. Perhaps that is also his unique way to express himself and his art.
You might have different interpretations about Bronson, but everyone can certainly agreen on one thing—you are fortunate to learn about him through a film, not in person. And, he indeed is somebody that you cannot forget easily.
Another weekend is here! I am so looking forward to it. I have slept much less than I should this past week. I can feel my blood is traveling through my scalp searching for relief. I think that pumping sensation is due to sleep deprivation. I don't know. What else?
I have been writing documentations at work, which requires even more concentration during editing. Therefore, I easily get irritated by noises others make. Or is that perhaps due to the fact that my mind is not at ease? Thinking too much?
I am really happy to get my new pair of "Monster Beats by Dr. Dre headphones." They do a decent job to block the noise and any sound that I don't want to hear—I have really sensitive hearing.
I think my agitated mind might due to some stress. But I cannot even figure out what is stressing me out, and I have been going to the gym regularly, this is very strange.
So, I am thinking about taking a vacation. I called the travel agent for tickets to Taipei and Manila, but they have not called me back to quote me a price. While I am waiting, the current H1N1 flu comes to mind which gives me a second thought about traveling. I called my doctor to see if I can get a H1N1 vaccine, they don't have it yet. I guess I will sleep on the idea of traveling till next week to figure out where and if I should go for a vacation.
On the other hand, I don't really need travel to relax. I can just take the bus and hike in the mountains in 20 minutes! Last Sunday, when I was walking on this quiet trail, suddenly that little dirt road profoundly moved me into tears. It's a very strange moment that nature connects to my emotion in such a direct fashion. I pulled out my camera and took a picture (of the road) to capture the moment.
I am glad the raining season is coming, so the mountain and the trails can be greener. Actually we've already got fair amount of rain. Last Monday, when I came home, I was pleasantly surprised how clean the exterior window in my living room is! The blue sky doesn't show any sign of heavy storm earlier.
Actually not only the storm washed my window well, it also caused severe flooding in some areas around the City. That night, this flooding video at the Van Ness station on Market was on every local TV station.
I am not sure if it's the latest storms related, Google's services have been lousy lately. Picasa always confuses Gmail to recognize who I am. Last night, Blogger was down unexpectedly. I found it ironic that the outage status was announced on Twitter instead of, say Google's home page. Although regardless where, it's embarrassing. More and more I feel Google is becoming another Microsoft. Their services start to lose the edge and cool, but mostly, lost common sense. Functionalities begin to behave stupidly. Is that what an evolution look like? When it gets big and overweight, it can hardly move efficiently.
It has been very evident from Google's products anyway, without requiring any deep thoughts.
Speaking of deep thoughts, today, when I was walking to my office, I fathom out a conclusion about myself:
When I do something as a hobby, I enjoy doing it enormously and find every opportunity to do it enthusiastically. However, if I do the same thing for a living or due to obligations, the enjoyment vanishes quickly.
Why is it?
I was a math wizard when I was a little kid, and I wanted to be a mathematician after I grow up. However, after I became a statistician, I started to buy lottery tickets—hopefully one day I can win and I don't have to sink in deep thoughts on the way to work.
Take the example about cooking. I love to cook, for family, friends, and for myself. However, if I were cooking in a restaurant for a living, I would hate cooking right the way.
Actually, I was about to write something about cooking in today's entry, but it gets too long so I will save it for next time.
Another example is film. I used to go to most of the movies I was invited. However, now I become more and more selective. Although I've already watched about 170 films so far this year, it's a significant drop compared to the last couple years. Also, after three years in a row on the Feature Screening Committee for the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, I am sorta glad and relieved that I am taking a break from that for next year's festival. My life is less hectic and less stressful, and I can save the time to watch some good films instead of some lousy submissions.
That being said, couple films I watched lately are somehow disappointing, even I already skipped a bunch comedy and horror films, which I know that I won't like them.
Thai martial art blockbuster "Ong-bak: Muay Thai Warrior" is not only a smashing hit, it also makes Tony Jaa a super star. Building on its success, Tony Jaa goes both in front and behind the camera in his directorial debut "Ong Bak 2: The Beginning" (องค์บาก 2 | Thailand 2008 | in Thai | 98 min.), a spectacular showcase of kung fu fights with little else in it.
This "Ong Bak 2" is supposed to be a sequel to "Ong-bak" (in case you miss the "2" in the title). However, the story and the time line obviously are not thought through when "Ong-bak" was made. As a result, this sequel becomes a prequel, because it is push back hundreds of years in time. Perhaps to indicate this detour, the phrase "The Beginning" is added to the film's title (why not just take the number "2" out?).
Does it matter? Not really. The film looks pale on both its story and characters, which can be replaced pretty much by any kung fu flick. What the film is really about is to show off all the carefully choreographed impressive fighting sequences, one after another one, from beginning to the end.
The film begins with Tien's escape from a genocide becoming an orphan. He falls into the hands of bandits who teach him martial arts. After Tien grows up (Tony Jaa), he seeks his revenge and fights off his enemies like a superman.
In the film, Tony Jaa appears to posses superpower. No matter how many enemies he is facing and how many times and how hard he gets beaten up, he will not only rise up miraculously, and he also can still fight like a "hero" during a pro wrestling performance.
And the show must go on, as well as the fighting.
Although it is hard to predict the next "Ong Bak 3" will be a prequel or a sequel to this film, one thing is quite certain: there will have plenty glorious fighting, no matter who beats up whom.
Can you imagine that Sarah Palin being a stay-home-mom wrestling with babies and house work or being a writer in front of her computer? No? What about let Uma Thurman put on a pair of glasses looked like Sarah Palin and playing that role? If you still cannot imagine it, you are in luck. That's what happens in writer/director Katherine Dieckmann's new film "Motherhood" (USA 2009 | 90 min.). In this comedy about big city moms, Uma Thurman tries exhaustively to convince us that she presents one of those moms, but she shows us anything but.
Eliza Welsh (Uma Thurman) is a fiction writer turning into blogger and cares her two young children at home. On her daughter's sixth birthday, she scrambles around the New York City to prepare her birthday party, and absolutely nothing can go smoothly. She constantly arguing or fighting just about with anybody she encounters during the day: agitated shoppers, snobbish neighbors, annoyed best friend (Minnie Driver), absent husband (Anthony Edwards), and of course, others moms in the playground. Will she be able to pull her daughter's birthday party off while reevaluating her dream and the meaning of her life? Try to predict the outcome before you watch the film, and I bet you will be correct.
The film could have worked if the casting were different. Uma Thurman tries very hard to be funny and to be an everyday stay-home-mom. However, I cannot shake off the image of her waving a sword in "Kill Bill," just like I can only see Sarah Palin shooting a defenseless deer instead of stuffing gift bags for a little girl's birthday party. I don't see much chemystry between Eliza and her husband—perhaps because they have been married for a while as the movie suggests. Everybody seems memorizing the lines and speaking those words simply because they are in the script. One exception is the handsome mail delivery man, who stands out as the most convincing and charming character in the film, before he starts to dance.
After the film, I want to say one thing to Uma Thurman, badly—what ever you do, don't be a stay-home-mom.
I am at lost to figure out what season it is right now. We got the record rainfall last week, almost like we were already in the winter. Then the rain vanishes and it gets quite warm, which brings me back to the summer.
The weather is also playing a trick on events around the city. Last Saturday, the low fog made Blue Angels to abandon their air show. I am quite happy about it—not only less noise in the sky, also much less pollution. I was actually at the water front on Saturday, so I walked over to the Pier 39 to visit sea lions.
There are thousands of them!
I know there are unusual number of sea lions showing up at Pier 39, but I am not expecting that many. I stood there for a long time watching them roaming on top of each other and smelling the fishy air. They just made me smile. I shoot a video as well, but I failed to load it to Youtube, because of "unknown error."
The next day, it was still cloudy, but the clouds were higher. Since the fighter jet were supposed to fly low to show off, so that worked. It's funny that year after year, even I hate the noise of these airplanes, but when they pass me over my head, I can help but to take pictures.
I cannot explain why. Although they are annoying, they are still cool. I actually began to take pictures since Friday from my office. On Sunday, I just looked out from my apartment window watching them come and go. At one point, they flew so low that my windows and floor were all shaking like during an earthquake. All the cars parking on the street started to scream after they passed. I just hope they are not burning tax payer's money.
As if that's not enough excitement, many streets were also blocked on Sunday for Italian Heritage Parade.
I enjoyed the parade and took these pictures till my camera ran out of battery, but I never think I celebrate Columbus Day, and never get this day off at work. I think there is nothing to celebrate about Columbus. I think one day, this "holiday" will be removed.
It has been a busy week. I have to skip a few films to be able to catch my breath and attend a few other things.
I was supposed to go double features on Thursday when Obama came in town for a visit—GQ cocktail reception at GUESS first then go to a film screening. I ended up having too many drinks at the event, where I met Brandon. So, the movie became a casualty.
I really enjoyed "New York, I Love You," although many critics think the characters are not diverse enough, and some other neighborhoods are underrepresented. I don't get it. This is not an election. Why should this movie cover every corner of the city or even represent the "true" New York City? It simply tells love stories, and I am a sucker for love stories, especially when they are entertaining.
New York, I Love You
Unlike many other tourists, I never bought a T-shirt or a coffee mug that prints: "I New York." To me, New York City is indeed exciting and fun to visit. However, I simply cannot associate this sleepless city with the word "love," because the city gives me the impression that everyone is in a hurry and they are too busy to slow down for love. That impression is changed by a delightful film "New York, I Love You" (France/USA 2009 | 110 min.).
Following "Paris, je t'aime", this film is the second installment of a series of "City of Love" that tells love stories in each city. New York City will be followed by Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai next year, then Mumbai and Jerusalem the year after.
Eleven directors (Jiang Wen, Mira Nair, Shunji Iwai, Yvan Attal, Brett Ratner, Allen Hughes, Shekhar Kapur, Natalie Portman, Fatih Akin, Joshua Marston, and Randy Balsmeyer for the transitions) and an all-star ensemble cast tells a sequence of love stories that happen in these neighborhoods of New York City: Central Park, Chinatown, Greenwich Village, SoHo, TriBeCa, Upper East Side, Upper West Sides, and Brighton Beach. Each director has 48 hours to shoot a short story about 10 minutes long in a neighborhood. Each story tells a love story that could be touching, or surprising, or charming, or poignant, or witty, or poetic, or enchanting, or simply fun. Although not all stories hit the mark, they certainly entertain me and change my view about love in the big apple.
Chinese director Jiang Wen's (姜文) segment opens the film with a story about a thief. Ben (Hayden Christensen) not only tries to steal a wallet, he tries to steal the heart of Molly (Rachel Bilson), but he ends up in a skill match with Molly's boyfriend Garry (Andy Garcia). The segment is sharp and precise, as if the characters are performing a three way tango.
French director Yvan Attal's segment brings back the talkative Ethan Hawke from "Before Sunrise". He plays a writer who tries to seduce Maggie Q's character when they share a smoke on the sidewalk outside a restaurant. Somehow I think this might just happening on the sidewalks in San Francisco, even people might not talk as these characters do.
The film closes with a heartwarming and hilarious story directed by Joshua Marston. Both over 80 years old, Eli Wallach and Cloris Leachman terrifically play an elderly couple who struggle to walk to the beach to enjoy their quiet moment. It truly tells me what a lifetime partner is like.
I am particularly delighted to hear Zhou Xuan's (周璇) "The Wandering Songstress" (天涯歌女) is played in director Fatih Akin's segment about an artist an artist's encounter with a young girl (Shu Qi) in Chinatown. The song strikingly transforms the Chinatown neighborhood back to Shanghai in 1930s.
Unlike "Paris, je t'aime," segments and characters in "New York, I Love You" are loosely connected throughout to make the film more like a feature film instead of a collection of shorts, even these segments have different styles from different directors. It works because it makes me feel like the city is connected by love from these neighborhoods.
After all, New York is a city filled with love, according to this film. The film makes me want to buy an "I New York" T-shirt while it warms my heart.
