Mar 30, 2002

Passover
  What troubles you now,
    that you have all gone up on the
      roofs,
  O town full of commotion,
    O city of tumult and revelry?
  Your slain were not killed by the
      sword,
  nor did they die in battle.


Recent events in Israel have really made me think. There's so many things we take for granted here, like being able to go out at night and being able to expect to come home alive.

Mar 24, 2002

Letters to the editor
Well, emails and ICQ, not exactly letters, but many of them say:
"What's with the name of your webpage?"

According to Merriam-Webster:
Main Entry: con·cep·tion
2 a : the capacity, function, or process of forming or understanding ideas or abstractions or their symbols b : a general idea : CONCEPT c : a complex product of abstract or reflective thinking d : the sum of a person's ideas and beliefs concerning something
3 : the originating of something in the mind

Now it seems like some people got preconceptions, since the first definition is the unintended one:
1 a (1) : the process of becoming pregnant involving fertilization or implantation or both
Hope that clears up the misconception.

Oh Milla
Resident Evil (2002)
While significantly better than other video game inspired films such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, this flick doesn't do much to improve the average viewer's impression of the genre. While I was tense during quite a few moments of the film, it was still riddled with cliches, flashy but sloppy effects, incredibly poor acting, and shallow characters. Following the cue from Tomb Raider, the producers obviously realised that hot chicks sell. Viewers are given a heaping serving of Milla, and we're thoroughly reminded that she's indeed a babe. Entertaining enough for a video game flick.
2.5/5

What happened while the grandmother was asleep...
Yi Yi (2000)
Edward Yang's 173 minute film is a test of viewers' endurance and patience. While excellent in many aspects, every aspect of the film strives to be slow and pensive. Charactes, while very well acted, were tepid and sterile, despite the understated suggestiveness of many of the plot elements. The plot, while sufficiently complex for an hour-and-a-half movie, dragged over the almost three hour length of the film. The artistic style reminded me of dramatic anime, like Only Yesterday. While the cinematography was beautifully framed, the long, slow, drawn out shots with almost no action or camera movement not only emphasized the reflective nature of many of the shots, but also dragged the pacing to a painful crawl. Characters openly waxed philosophical in monologues that were overly dramatic for a film whose pacing reflects the repetitive nature of real life. During the screen time, the viewer joins the life of a family dealing with life's share of ups and downs. There's a wedding, a birth, an accident, a funeral, a murder, and a number of romantic trysts, yet the film reflects the mother, Min-min's, problem with her own life: nothing really happens. The saving grace came in the form of Yang-yang, the innocent yet precocious boy character, representing the screen device for presenting classic ageless wisdom that only comes from the cuteness of children. A great film, but probably more enjoyable if you had something (or someone) else there to occupy your time during those long droughts between interesting patches.
3/5

Mar 17, 2002

Online community
In response to Wongoz' 3.11.2002 post, I wasn't sure if AbraHAM's nickname was kosher, but Sheepie has had it posted in her long running weblog for quite a while. Speaking of Abe, here's what men really want to know about sensitivity. Need more information? Ask a girl.

Movies...
Jules et Jim (1961)
This Truffaut classic explores the classic conflict of love and friendship. The film follows the story of two friends, a German and a Frenchman, and Catherine, a tempermental libertine they both fall in love with. Jules marries Katherine, but after the first World War, Jules allows his friend to replace him in hopes of quelling Catherine's other infidelities. Connoisseurs of fine Hollywood fare would probably find this a dud: the plot is cliche, the pacing slow, the characters flat, and the subtelties of New Wave editing shine dimly against the sophistication and technology modern camera work. And above that you need to read subtitles.

On the other hand, if you stop to think, the content - the state of relationships between men and women - which earned the film an X rating when it was released (there's no depiction of sex or nudity), doesn't lose any relevance. The utopian alternative lifestyle of the threesome proves unfeasible. The image of a triumphantly unrestrained Catherine, perhaps as a feminist heroine, is likewise shattered. What seems to be a film about liberal ideals seems to return to traditional structure as the only viable recourse.
3/5

Il Postino (1994)
Nominated for five Academy Awards, this Italian release has an ambience typical of European films, where the plot is not particularly intriguing as it is simply entertaining. A simple slacker in an Italian village finds a job as a postman when the famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda moves there in exile. The senior poet mentors the young man in art and literature, which the disciple uses to woo the buxom village beauty Beatrice.

While it contains little to rave about, the wonderful score enhancies the rustic tale, and when you're done watching you turn of the DVD player with a great sense of calm satisfaction.
4/5

Payback (1999)
I had no idea what was in this movie. I had guessed a crime drama, but that seems a lacking description. I can say it's typical Hollywood. Betrayal, money, revenge, and a dash of romance thrown in. An 'uncoventional' hero, fighting for honor, kicking ass, and getting the girl. Highly entertaining.
4/5

We Were Soldiers (2002)
I expected American propaganda, but after watching Black Hawk Down (which was great), I was suckered in by the Toronto Star review. Bad mistake. While not horrible, as a movie it was certainly nothing like Saving Private Ryan or BHD. It wasn't even much like Thin Red Line. Sure it seemed like it wanted to make you understand what it was like to be a soldier fighting for some ideal on the grimness of battlefield. It even seemed to try convince you that the Vietnamese were people too. But what it really tried to do was convince you how great Yankee soldiers were, convince you that it was real sad to be a widow, and convince you that Mel Gibson's a manly man, just like John Wayne.
2.5/5

... and a dinner
We finally found a decently priced place to eat at Sushi Maru. You can get dinner for $10, with miso, salad, tonkatsu, salmon and tuna sashimi, california rolls and rice (actually, instead of the tonkatsu and sashimi, there's quite a wide variety of items to choose from). All the food's pretty decent, and for $1.75 more you can add an order of unagi (yum!). For a city where it costs $7 to get BBQ-pork-on-rice, it's a great value. And it's run by Japanese people too.
4/5

Mar 3, 2002

Wisdom
My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you prosperity.
Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favour and a good name
in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.
Honour the LORD with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be fille to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.
My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline
and do not resent his rebuke,
because the LORD disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
the man who gains understanding,
for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.
She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honour.
Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.
She is the tree of life to those who embrace her;
those who lay hold of her will be blessed.
By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations,
by understanding he set the heavens in place;
by his knowledge the deeps were divided,
and the clouds let drop the dew.
My son, preserve sound judgement and discernment,
do not let them out of your sight;
they will be life for you,
an ornament to grace your neck.
Then you will go on your way in safety,
and your foot will not stumble;
when you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
Have no fear of sudden disaster
or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
for the LORD will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being snared.
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it,
when it is in your power to act.
Do not say to your neighbour,
"Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"—
when you now have it with you.
do not plot harm against your neighbor,
who lives trustfully near you.
Do not accuse a man for no reason—
when he has done you no harm.
Do not envy a violent man
or choose any of his ways,
for the LORD detests a perverse man
but takes the upright into his confidence.
The LORD's curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the home of the righteous.
He mocks proud mockers
but gives grace to the humble.
The wise inherit honour,
but fools he holds up to shame.

Mar 2, 2002

Time machine
I've been reading a Photoshop book, in hopes that I can make up for my lack of camera skills. Most of my Saturday disappeared playing with adjustment layers and layer masks. Not much actual photo manipulation so far, just adjusting tonality and colours for more pleasant images, or to make up for bad exposure.

For those of you who like pictures, I've updated the Big Sur post with pictures from last weekend. I love lazy Saturdays.