I am Your Sunshine

On the Economist website, the article which wasn&#039t limited as premium content became premium content this week. Do they just open and close different articles to make it seem like an new issue!? Haha… :p

I guess there must be a more reasonable explanation. Yae~ I&#039m glad I read them before they close them!

好早好早以前我就想要看 De-Lovely,
然而那又是一片不需要去電影院看得片子, 於是拖到現在才看.

在De-Lovely的DVD出來之前,
我家附近的便宜電影院在演Beyond the Sea, 就先跑去看了

結果現在在看De-Lovely時不由自主一直拿它跟Beyond the Sea比較.
也許是戲院大螢幕跟12吋小螢幕實在有差,
總覺得 De-Lovely不大自然, 看起來沒有Beyond the Sea流暢愉快.
雖然有好多大牌穿插在片中 (RW,Alanis M…等), 感覺卻有點生硬
(對啦, RW 我就是覺得你不會演戲….11~)
年老的 Cole Porter 一顰一笑都很不自然, 裡面最棒的大概只有Ashley J.了吧

另外, De-lovely 跟 Beyond the Sea 有個相似之處,
由主角參與製作自己一生的 musical/movie 來說故事
Beyond the Sea 是在 De-lovely之後拍的, 所以不能說是後者學前者.

然而繼續看下去, 我漸漸地投入了劇情中
忽然之間, 故事跟音樂緊密地結合,
Cole Porter 跟 Linda 的互動, 兩人關係的變化
由音樂, Cole Porter的音樂, 傾訴出來
而當我聽到 Cole 對 Linda 唱出 Kiss Me Kate裡的 So in Love時
我就忍不住希哩嘩啦了
本來在 Kiss Me Kate裡面感覺浪漫的歌
在這裡卻讓人如此感動
Cole Porter 與 Linda 給 So in Love一種不同的詮釋
或者說, 他們的故事這才讓我清楚感受到歌裡表達的意境

哎…能讓我哭對我來說就是好片子
我喜歡藉著電影感染發洩我的情緒

So many fun things happened last weekend, but I was too tired to
write them down, and my PC got crazy at the same time….
(I&#039m still reinstalling it.)

Let me make it brief.

On Friday evening, Chun, Joanne and I went to San Jose State for
Cake&#039s concert. We arrived at 7 (it&#039s supposed to start at 7 :p) and were
forced to stay outside before we finished our M. There were 3 bands
performing that night in total. Robber on the High Street, Gomez and Cake.
Each intermission took 30 min and an hour -_-
We expected that the concert would end around 9:30 but we were so wrong.
Cake came out at 10! Can you imagine that? But at the end it all worth it!
Cake is awesome and it&#039s so great being able to be with so many Cake fans!

The other thing is Claire&#039s wedding at Stanford chapel on Saturday.
It was my 4th wedding in the States (and ever). It&#039s not as natural beauty
as the one by Lake Ontario, and not as warm and touching as the one
in a small Chinese church in Cerritos, but it&#039s a still beautiful one.
I was helping as gift attedent with Claire&#039s co-worker YuFen, so we&#039re
almost the last persons to be seated at the wedding and banquet. The
reception took place in a boutique hotel in Palo Alto called Garden
Court Hotel. It was my first Western banquet! It was really beautiful.
The flowers were delicately arranged (they cost $1600!), and the open
bar was just awesome! It&#039s a pity that I couldn&#039t get enough drinks
becuz I was attending the gifts :~ and the appertiser were like heaven!
and the same, I can&#039t get enough becuz they didn&#039t think it
appropriate (I assume) to serve me au dirves when people were handing
gifts to me (sad sad sad). The main course was not bad as well, but
comparing to the appestiser, it&#039s nothing. Another good thing about a
western banquet is…taking away the low games and bringing good
music and dance. I had a great great great time!

Though the story is kinda cliche, it still interests me! Gotta see this film!
I guess this is why Pitt and AJ ended up together. Relationships
between those famous people came so easy and are so fragile.
I guess it&#039s just eady to grow feelings toward people you
being so intimate with. That&#039s why I don&#039t think I can ever act.
Let alone the fact that I can&#039t act (:p), I can&#039t imagine
how I can be so intimate with someone for whom I don&#039t have
feeling (and I just don&#039t understand how can “they” kiss at
the third date! Come on…) I guess we just have different
values for intimacy.

I&#039ve always liked Jennifer A. and AJ, and couldn&#039t understand why
they all fall for Pitt. Pitt is so nothing for me.

I&#039ve been using this old saying to remind myself for a long time.
It&#039s one of my fatal characteristics that I always try to make
everyone like me, which, as we all know, is impossible.

Now I think there are at least 2 people who dont like me in the
company, and I dont know why. The guy, I sort of have an idea, but
the girl I have totally no clue.

Collective Soul $25
5/27(Fri)9pm The Grand At the Regency Center, San Francisco, CA

Def Leppard and Bryan Adams $45
6/3 (Fri) 6:30pm San Jose Municipal Stadium, San Jose, CA

Hot Hot Heat $29/49
(HHH is only one of the small band)
6/10 (Sat) Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA
Canadian band!!

The Wallflowers $45/50/55
6/27(Mon) 7:30pm Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA

Van Wrapped Tour $30
7/2(Sat)11:00 Pier 30/32, San Francisco, CA
North/South Main Stage Acts:
Transplants, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, The Offspring, Strung Out, Thrice, Dropkick Murphys, No Use For A Name, The Starting Line, Senses Fail, Hawthorne Heights, MXPX, All American Rejects, Avenged Sevenfold, Matchbook Romance, Atreyu

Hurley Stage:
Silverstein, The Unseen, Bedouin Sound Clash, Rufio, The Bled, Strike Anywhere, Billy Talent, The Explosion, Underoath

Volcom Stage:
The Matches, Hidden in Plain View, Plain White T&#039s, Stutterfly, The Twenty Twos, From First to Last, Juliette and the Licks, ASG, Valient Thorr

Smartpunk.com Stage:
Yesterdays Rising, GAD, Midtown, Emery, Boys Night Out, Hopesfall, Waking Ashlands, Greely Estates

Why Taiwan Matters

I don&#039t usually read Business Week. In fact, I don&#039t read it at all.
But today as I wandered on 長輩 ijliao&#039s blog,
I came across his article about this article on BW.

It&#039s interesting how it valued Taiwan so much that I can&#039t help
but wondering if some Taiwanes wrote it. I&#039m not looking down upon
ourselves, but I can&#039t quite believe that it is actually that good,
that hopeful. (well, it&#039s absolutely true that “The Sun Yat-Sen
expressway is as bland as any U.S. interstate….the key 70-km
stretch starts in Taipei&#039s booming new Neihu district of
high-tech office buildings and ends in Hsinchu, home to
two of Taiwan&#039s best universities…” 11~

本來以為 From Hell 會是驚悚片, 看到後來才發現其實是陰謀論 (conspiracy) 片. 現在想不太起來為啥當初會很想看這片.
It&#039s kinda dull.

Still, there&#039s something interesting in the movie. The inspector
Johnny Depp played was an addict. The movie meticulously
presented the way to have Absinthe (hope I wasn&#039t mistaken…
the color, the spoon and sugar all match the description I read
on wine board.) Moreover, he didn&#039t use ice water but add a few
drops of laudanum @_@

Style Guide

I came across this interesting article by chance. I&#039ve finished
Dos and Don&#039ts, but I don&#039t totally agree. Then again, who am I to
judge their point of view. I&#039m only an unimportant English as
second language user.

For those who&#039d like to write in beautiful English, this may be a good
resource to begin.

It&#039s such an enjoyment to be able to write beautifully in no matter what language.

I really love this movie.
I like the style of it, the idea it presented and how the
characters reflected on themselves and each other.

If you wanna know more, go rent the movie, check any movie
intro site, or read the reviews provided below. I&#039m thru with
repeating things, which is unecessary and a waste of time (and
resource).

Review by Brenda Sokolowski
Discussion Guide by Denis Haack and Jeremy Huggins

//I was debating whether I should put this under Music or Misc//
I first heard the “song” at the end of the movie Big Kahuna, and found it interesting. However, I didn&#039t look for the lyrics until now, and in the process of finding, I came across some critic articles as well.

Sunscreen Song

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of &#03999…..Wear Sunscreen

If I could offer you only tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; Oh nevermind; you will not understand the power of beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you&#039ll look back at the photos of yourself and recall in a way you can&#039t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked…You&#039re not as fat as you imagine.

Don&#039t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing that everyday that scares you.

Sing

Don&#039t be reckless with other people&#039s hearts, don&#039t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don&#039t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you&#039re ahead, sometimes you&#039re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it&#039s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don&#039t feel guilty if you don&#039t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn&#039t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don&#039t.

Get plenty of calcium

Be kind to your knees, you&#039ll miss them when they&#039re gone.

Maybe you&#039ll marry, maybe you won&#039t, maybe you&#039ll have children, maybe you won&#039t, maybe you&#039ll divorce at 40, maybe you&#039ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…whatever you do, don&#039t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either- your choices are half chance, so are everybody else&#039s.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don&#039t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it&#039s the greatest instrument you&#039ll ever own.

Dance… even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don&#039t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they&#039ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you&#039ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don&#039t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don&#039t mess too much with your hair, or by the time it&#039s 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it&#039s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

In any aspect.

whether it&#039s work-related or leisure. Programming language, system admin. Novel reading, other info consumption. Shouldn&#039t waste time wandering. But to read some short articles is one thing, to really learn something is another. Frustrating facing myself.

Another article on the Economist (I&#039m so glad that there are so
many interesting ones in this issue!)

Does Acupuncture work?

It talks about whether Acupuncture really works or it only
has placebo effect (refer to the article for more details.) In the
experiment Dr. George Lewith did, Acupuncture showed different
effect than the fake one while in another experiment done by Klaus Linde
, of Munich Technical University, the theory is not supported. I
guess there&#039s still a long way to go to actually find scientific
evidence for acupunture that can be understood by present people.
But I have faith in Chinese wisdom.

Mom must feel comforting that I&#039m actually reading it after several years trying to make me to.

But still I have little interests in global agenda, business and all that. All I read is still technology stuffs :p

I was reading this issue of the Economics. There&#039s an article
in Science and Technology caught my eye:

A convention for time travellers (subtitle: A party that&#039s never over).
It&#039s said that student of MIT is holding a party for future time
travellers on May 7, provided that the news of this convention
survives thru time before time machine is realized.

It&#039s even more fun on their “official” website
The Time Traveller Convention
Do pay a visit if you get the time ;)

I watched Alias last night cuz there was nothing else to watch.
Eye won&#039t be back til May 18. It&#039s sad. Tru calling was canceled
when I became really into it. Eyes decides to take a break. I&#039m glad
that DH and GA are still running as usual (But don&#039t forget, DH also
had a 3-week empty window period.

That&#039s why I watched Alias.
And the other reason is that the central character yesterday was
my beloved Jack. He&#039s so lovely to watch.

I also watched half of Conan&#039s show last night before I slept.

I kinda like the movie. As I said, I like things that
make me think. These are the movie that some might
consider dull. Another example is the Big Kahuna,
which I love love love. Some said that the original
book is 10 times better than the movie. Some essence
were lost in the movie. Therefore I&#039m determined to
read the original novel. We&#039ll see.

Ciling Fang, Guo Yang.
note

Write down what I saw/thought faithfully.

Having a TV in my room, it&#039s weird that not watching it all the
time. But when I try to keep it on, I realize how little good
shows there are (fortunately.) Yesterday there&#039s only one show
I wanna watch – Medium, but it&#039s at 10. Haven&#039t finished cleaning
up my room, which means no computer to use, (Well, that&#039s not fair
for my adorable slow iBook. However, it&#039s true that I dont have
music to listen to, small games to play on my adorable slow iBook.
though I have to clean my room anyway.) it seemed that there&#039s only
TV to fill the emptiness (while I&#039m working.) And that&#039s how I
discover how poor the TV really is. I didn&#039t ask for a show that
worth watching carefully. All I need is a show that is nice leaving
it on and let me peek some time when I wanna take a little break.
Is that too much to ask for?

Anyway, after a while I settled on Fear Factor, cuz though it&#039s
really disgusting sometimes, I still like some of their competition,
such as the first one they had yesterday which is actually fun
to watch. As I was thinking about posting “Fear Factor is actually
not so bad”, the next competition turned out to be really
disgusting (weird worm sausage), I couldn&#039t help but bursting out
“fxxk” and changed the channel immediately.

Now let me talk a bit about Medium. I wasn&#039t very focused yesterday
when I watched Medium because my landlord was discussing stuffs
with me and I dare not tell her “please come back later”, and I
was cleaning my room so didn&#039t really pay much attention to the show.
However, this episode is kinda light (or is it becuz I didn&#039t pay
enough attention? I think I got most of it.) But having watched
a few episodes til now, I feel that this show is somewhat inspiring.
It provides you an oppertunity to think about what&#039s right and
wrong, offer you different perspectives, and show you conflicts and
struggles you may encounter. I like things that make me think.

I don&#039t know which category should this belong to, so I
might just put it under music. This morning when I was
listening to the radio, I heard that Wicked is coming to
Bay Area in Aug. Though I&#039m not sure if the cast will be
as good (I have little faith in Tour cast, but then again,
shouldn&#039t hold this kinda of “discremination” toward all the
tour cast). Anyway, gotta remember to see it! Afterall, it&#039s
less possible that I can go all the way to NYC again for shows
only.

Oh darn, but in the original cast, the good witch is played by
Kristin Chenoweth. Wait a sec, well, she no longer plays that
role! Then there&#039s no difference for me now. But I do wanna see
Kristin Chenoweth in person once. It&#039ll be nice. :)