30 June 2005 – 11:59 pm +0800
The humorous story is American, the comic story is English, the witty story is French.
— Mark Twain, “How To Tell A Story“
29 June 2005 – 11:59 pm +0800
“Here, drink, and stop imagining things. I love life,you know. I’ve come to love it so much, in fact, that it’s really quite disgusting. Enough! Here’s to life! Drink up. Why am I so pleased with myself? I know I’m vile, but still I like being what I [...]
29 June 2005 – 12:20 pm +0800
According to Billy Boyd, there’s going to be a sequel to Master & Commander. In fact, according to him, Peter Weir has at least three of the things planned:
There are like 21 books of Master and Commander, and Fox already own the ship so a lot of people, I think were confused as to [...]
29 June 2005 – 12:15 pm +0800
The poster for V for Vendetta.
Sah-weet.
28 June 2005 – 11:59 pm +0800
Then Nick acted.
Like a flash of lightning he was upon his feet.
His fist shot out like a cannon-ball, and John, who was a little in advance of the others, fell back like a stricken bullock.
With cries resembling the roar of wild beasts, the others then threw themselves forward with uplifted knives and murderous hearts.
But again [...]
28 June 2005 – 1:28 pm +0800
Looks like Peter Jackson isn’t trying for a realistic look, and I’m glad of it.
Kong is King.
Feast your eyes, baby.
27 June 2005 – 11:59 pm +0800
Unless you have lived in a live town in the Middle West—say in Michigan, or Indiana, or Nebraska—you cannot have a very adequate idea of how ugly, and dirty, and neglected, and disreputable a town can be when nobody loves it. The railway station is a long, low, rakish thing of boards, painted a muddy [...]
27 June 2005 – 9:51 am +0800
In my obsessive walking, I have now traversed nearly half of Shanghai on foot — I’ve walked the east-west axis completely (except for crossing the river — had to take the Metro to do that), even going off the east end of my map.
On those walks, if it is daytime, and if I’m on a [...]
26 June 2005 – 3:19 pm +0800
Men who get smashed and vomit on the sidewalks, especially on weeknights, are not drunks. They are artists practicing abstract expulsionism, and their numbers are legion.
— The Misanthrope’s Guide to Shanghai, 3rd. ed.
26 June 2005 – 11:45 am +0800
Is there anything more life-affirming or entertaining than observing the group dynamics of half a dozen sixteen-year-olds dealing with increasingly adult emotions using strategies learned as children? (Note: This is not condescension; I’m always amazed when watching the learning process in action.)
Yes, there is: watching three—to—five-year-olds chasing each other about and squealing [...]
25 June 2005 – 3:16 pm +0800
A “yes-no” question — especially from a foreigner — is a clear and obvious invitation to soliloquy. Take the opportunity to expound upon whatever is on your mind at the moment. A good soliloquy is a minimum of five uninterrupted minutes — any interruptions set the clock back to zero. The only [...]
24 June 2005 – 11:59 pm +0800
“‘In a world — where comedy was king— ‘”
“Uh, no ‘in a world’, Jack.”
“What do you mean, ‘no “in a world”?’”
“It’s not that kind of movie.”
“Oh?” Pause. “Okay. ‘In a time— ‘”
“No ‘in a time’, either.”
“‘In a land— ‘”
“Uh, no.”
“‘In a land — before time!’”
“Uh-uh.”
“‘When everything you know is wrong!’”
“That’s wrong.”
“‘When your [...]
24 June 2005 – 12:54 pm +0800
The AFI Top 100 lists are, of course, largely nonsense. If you’re not a film geek, they can serve as a crib sheet for movies with which you should catch up (the very, very basics for the most part, with some disposable options thrown in). Apart from that, meh.
For instance, in this list [...]
24 June 2005 – 12:25 pm +0800
Jay & Deb (Solo & Yoder, that is), are expecting another little monster brat squirt.
Congratulations, guys!
(PS: “Jie Jie” is “big sister” in Mandarin.)