Joyce Ma shall remain nameless ...

You run a picture with the lady taking up half the frame and you can't or don't bother to id her? I don't get it.

Joyce Ma.

CREDIT:
Photo by Greg Kessler. Original JPEG from Style.com

Balenciaga Fall 2007 Ready to Wear

Preppy looking fitted jacket with white piping. Ethnic scarf. Low-riding fitted cargo pants. Lego-colored snowboard binding inspired high heels. Very street smart collection.

The clothes are so wearable on the street that NY Times Cathy Horyn declares that Nicolas Ghesquiere of Balenciaga has not done his job ...

We should always ask ourselves when looking at the new fashion of a first-rate designer if these are clothes we want to wear on the street. If the answer is an enthusiastic yes, then the designer has not done his job. All he has done is to meet the most meager of our expectations.

CREDITS:
Photo: Marcio Madeira, Model: Kim Noorda of VIVA. Detail heel shot by Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse. JPEGs from style.com

How to light a Runway Model

Viktor & Rolf spent all their money on fascinating fabrics, design, models, venue and what-not they simply couldn't afford professional lighting on their Fall 2007 Ready to Wear runway show. Models were made to carry their own lighting in addition to say like just walking around. See models can be pretty strong too.

Regarding the lighting arrangement, I don't know if it's done right at least from the still photography standpoint. I have been reading dpreview and the likes for quite some time (you know I am sort of a desktop photographer), and I haven't seen any self-respecting member who would light the head that way, so this is totally new to me. I mean four hot lights on the same plane just aiming at the head, you got to be kidding me, right? Isn't it supposed to be one 45 degree in the front, one from the back ...

I am perplexed.

More...
These folks are genius, bet Viktor & Rolf could learn a thing or two from them.
Lighting forum for the desktop photographer in you.

Picture by Marcio Madeira, Model Olga Sherer of NATAHLIE

Dow Closes down more than 400 points

Dow closes at 12,216.14, down more than 400 points. Can I call it Black Tuesday? Maybe not.

PS: Vince, what did you do man? Just because some idiot trader from NY asked you to change some Japanese trade commission, you didn't have to tank the market like this.

The Departed

"Are these high waist baggy jeans that you're wearing? you fashion moron." Leo asked the rhetorical question before throwing the first punch to the sartorially challenged Matt.

WARNING: VERY BAD MOVIE REVIEW from yours truly

The Departed won the Best Picture, Scorsese won the Best Director and William Monahan won the Best Screenplay Based on material previously produced or published . And you are dying to read my opinion on this.

I didn't see any of the nominated films so I am totally not qualified to say anything. But then again, it's my blog I can say anything I want.

It's hard not to compare The Departed with the original Japanese Hong Kong version of the movie Mou Gaan Dou (2002) or Infernal Affairs. Personally I like the Hong Kong version better. The details, the tone, the pace, the little touches here and there. How the two male leads cross path in a Mongkok audio shop playing Tsai Chin for audio reference. The Morse code was a nice touch as well. It is the detail that counts, the freaking minute details that matter that transcend a good movie to a great movie. It all comes down to the color of the table cloth.

As to "The Departed," I think both the leads do a good job. Matt Damon's performance is understated and I for one has no problem with it. On the other hand, I think the Hong Kong leads very often overdo scenes, too cute to watch and too self conscious of their movie star quality; in a way, their on screen persona very much mirrors their off screen star status. If there is such a thing as "too cool" that must be it.

I don't know how William Monahan can win the Best Screenplay, but he does. To his credit, I think he did an excellent job in ditching Sammi Cheng's role, the novelist or something who plays the love interest of Andy Lau. In The Departed, there is only one supporting actress, the female clinical psychologist or shrink, played by relatively unknown (to me only) Vera Farmiga, who ends up sleeping with both male characters. The fact that this character is screwing both male leads who are adversary should have created some tension in plot development but surprise, it didn't.

I think the Hong Kong version really have some nice touches and some defining scenes which The Departed sorely lacks. It's probably not Scorsese's best but hey it's about time to give the guy an Oscar.

More Departed from me.

WSJ on Donald Tsang

WSJ Asia editorial page editor Ms. Mary Kissel had a sitdown with Hong Kong Chief Executive Sir Donald Tsang. And the result is a piece entitled "The Weekend Interview with Donald Tsang: Tsangfroid" on this past weekend's Journal.

The article states it as a matter of reality that the upcoming election is rigged and Beijing still picks the winner.Ms. Kissel goes on to ask Tsang on topics related to the economy (Open up), disavowing "positive noninterventionism" (You were wrong), universal suffrage (city already enjoys freedom of assumbly, freedom of religion, freedom of the press), opposition candidate Alan Leong (single issue man "universal suffrage") ....

As to the "I'll get the job done slogan," the article thinks it's apt, as Tsang has been a civil servant for almost 40 years, of which the first 30 under the British rule and the recent 10 under Beijing. Ms. Kissel finally concludes and implies that Tsang's ability to "get the job done" very much depends on the limits set by Beijing.

I guess there is really nothing new from that article.

Oscar, where is the fact checking

The Departed's William Monahan just won the best screenplay based on material previously produced or published. And the introduction goes "Mr. Monahan based his Boston mobster screenplay on the Japanese film Infernal Affairs." Please... This is the freaking Oscar, get the fact straight at least. Apparently Mr. Monahan was too overwhelmed to correct the mistake when giving his Oscar acceptance speech.

After all, Oscar can't tell the difference between Hong Kong and Japan.

New iPhone Spot on Oscar

Apple just released its iPhone TV spot during the first Oscar commercial break. It does say "Coming in June," so I think there won't be an April release as some rumor has it.

The commercial probably can be called "Hello." It's a collection of movie and TV scenes where famous characters say Hello to the phone.

UPDATE:
By my count, the TV spot got played twice, the first and the last commercial break. The message is like the iPhone is going to change the way people talk over the phone. Apple is perhaps emphasizing the phone aspect of the device, the angle, or at least in this stage or in this ad, is really just the phone. No pda, camera, text, audio or video iPod. It's a phone that's going to change Hello for good. It's a bit nostalgic and I don't think it's catered to the gadget freak type.

UPDATE:
Straight from the horse mouth. Actually I was a bit surprised I didn't see the ad on Apple's site right after the spot got played on TV. The iPhone belongs to John Appleseed.

Plus the name iPhone wasn't mentioned at all, I guess it's either aesthetic or simply the 30-second spot was developed and finalized before Apple settled with Cisco on the use of the name iPhone.

Shawnee Ski Trip

Mr. Harry

Mr. Alex and Me. We were heading up the black diamond trail. NOT. I think that was one of the easiest slope we are heading up to. Seems like I am forever stuck in the beginner's level. It's hard to make any break through. That pretty much sums up my life.

Lok Bok Go

Recipe here.

Untitled

Breaking: Cisco and Apple settled

In a purposely vague statement, both Apple and Cisco agreed to settle any disputes arising from the use of the name iPhone.

The Apple iPhone is supposed to ship in June but rumors have it that it may even ship earlier say in April. So it's in Apple's best interest to settle. As to Cisco, the iPhone name is best identified with the Apple's iPhone anyway and Cisco probably got some big money from Apple for using the name so why not settle.

If you are as big and as powerful as Apple, you can break the law and settle later.

More from the New York Times.

Jeans therapy

I just had my jeans therapy at Dave's New York today... I always have a weakness for jeans.
When I was 22 I thought I was probably too old to wear jeans. And I started to wear khakis which I thought was a step-up. What did I know?
I still wear jeans but now I think khakis are boring especially those style favored by IT people in the 80s, worn with a French blue shirt. I never got into that premium jeans thing. Probably I am too old for those over designed and if not over priced jeans, oh yeah, things are always overpriced if you are not willing to pay the price. I simply don't get them. For years, I've just bought unwashed 501s and worn them to death. I bought the irregular ones from outlets and the regular ones from Canal Jeans before Bloomingdale's took their space on Broadway in lower Manhattan. Now I shop at Dave's New York on 6th Avenue if I need a jeans fix. Good thing is they just carry basic stuff just the kind that I would actually buy and wear. They carry unwashed 501s for $30 each which I think is of incredible value. The challenge is you actually have to wear them to age them to make them yours. I am old school I don't like those overly pre-washed and pre-whiskered jeans. Sometimes I do like things that are authentic and genuine. I like the good old Wrangler #13MWZ jeans but I just look terrible in them. And I can't find any Lee jeans I used to see when I was a child, those with cross-tabbed back pockets and with a very nice shade of blue. I just simply can't find them and the regular Lee jeans that one can find are just hideous, the wash is terrible to say the least and the back pocket is just single tabbed instead of the original crosstab. I believe Levi's, Wrangler and Lee all have their "premium" lines or some presumably more fashion forward lines that only got sold in Europe or something, but in my mind their best models are always the true originals, but that's just me.

(PS: I am not crazy enough to buy vintage jeans)

Dave's New York

Chinese New Year Resolution

As a Z-list blogger (you can't go lower than that), I will continue to blog the only way I know how by substituting substance with shallowness, facts with fictions, in-depth analysis with ill-informed opinion and absolutely refuse to use the exclamation mark.

Got to go to party now.

UPDATE: Just came back from the swamp that's called New Jersey. We were invited to have dinner. You know I will go anywhere there is free food, and be grateful and thankful that we are actually welcome. I won't take that for granted.

Chinese New Year, Manhattan Chinatown

Chopper man wasn't in the mood for pictures or he simply knew his old man wasn't much of a photographer. I didn't bring my D70. These were taken with my old Canon G3. The lens was smudged up. I guess the white balance wasn't working too well either, too bluish. I tend to blame on my gears except myself.

Twist and fire ...

The parade started around 11AM. We bought 6 packs of party snappers and a couple of fake firecrackers. They were fun.

Big Wong on Mott Street. Chopper Man and Mom.

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year.
This is the Year of the Pig. I have no idea what it's supposed to mean, I hope it will bring me good luck.

1983 吉澳

My thanks to Uncle Ng. He's always the best. I owe him again. Without him, I won't have all these pictures. Without him, I probably would never have taken up picture snapping hobby. My favorite picture from this batch.
The Chinese characters are again my handy copy and paste job from Uncle Ng's CD. I have yet to learn how to type Chinese on a computer... I guess I'll never learn how to do that.

1983吉澳

I like this picture, probably taken by yours truly. I really like it, photos look better with me behind the camera, just kidding. And what's the deal with track pants? Look like everybody's wearing ones, except maybe me and Leung Ka Fai. I guess we were totally oblivious to any form fitting track pants fashion trend.

Uncle Ng was the one with the bucket hat. Man, he was probably fashionable without even knowing it himself.

Back then the glasses were like bigger than our face. Most people have long hair, very bad long hair. Well I am not complaining as long as I still have a full head of hair. My hair "style" has stayed the same for these years.

From left: Ng Chi Ming, Leung Ka Fai, Lau Ka Fai and me. For some reason people named Ka Fai are pretty damn smart.

Clockwise from top: yours truly, Lau Ka Fai, Janet, Mok, Tung, Winnie, Chi Ming and Egg.


Camping. I wasn't an outdoor kind of guy, but my friends were so I ended up going camping and hiking pretty often. All to Uncle Ng's credit.

Look, windbreaker, the ubiquitous windbreaker of the 80s. My friend Chi Ming on the left.

What I was wearing ... corduroy car coat bought in Shatin. Chinese gray slacks. Nike running shoes. Man, I definitely looked cool.

I would like to think my best days are still ahead of me, but then you never know...

Happy Valentine's Day

♥

The Pianist

Week in Review

Fashion Week has come and gone. New York is done with fashion for now.

Global warming is real except not for the past few weeks in New York City. My parka is like surgically attached to my body now.

Anna Nicole Smith, dead at the age of 39.

Global Warming

Global warming, what global warming? New York City has been in a deep freeze since two, three weeks ago. And I am seeing no end to it. Well maybe next week.

How do you measure up as a Blogger?

How do you measure up as a blogger monetary wise?

WSJ provides some insights. Here is the excerpt:-

THE JOB: Blogger
THE PAY: Most self-employed bloggers take in between $2,000 and $10,000 a month from ad sales, says Henry Copeland, founder of BlogAds.com, a web advertising concern based in Carrboro, N.C. ... During election time, for example, a political blogger can bring in $20,000 to $30,000 a month....

I am truly humbled.

PS: My futile and rather delusional attempt to be a paying blogger was quickly shattered as my alleged fraudulent clicks quickly got my Adsense account canceled. My single digit readership wouldn't help anyway.

Source: PAYGRADE | Blogging for Web Sites by Sarah E. Needleman and Aja Carmichael published Tuesday, February 6, 2007.

Edgy Product Placement

This is the type of edgy product placement that money can't buy. One of the four convicted attackers on the Albert Ho case. Apparently a big fan of Chanel.

Self reference here.

Linked from http://www.zonaeuropa.com/200702.brief.htm#019

Sketch by Hong Kong Police. Product logo looks Chanel to me.

Apple got the name from Apple Records

What Steve wants, Steve gets. Once again, Steve Jobs got the job done.

Apple is getting all the rights to the the name Apple. Apple Corps, the Beatles' company now needs to license to continue to use the name Apple.

It won't be long before iTunes is going to sell Beatles.

2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics can be such a killjoy.

Beijing has decided enough is enough and made plans to rid the nation's capital of bad Chinese to English translations. This could be very well the beginning of the end of the genre.

What's possibly funnier than "Chinglish" is perhaps seeing nonsense Chinese characters got permanently tattooed on some clueless English speaking skins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinglish
http://www.chinglish.de/
Tired of Laughter, Beijing Gets Rid Of Bad Translations, The Wall Street Journal, Monday, February 5, 2007 by Mei Fong

I've written my fair share amount of Chinglish and definitely will continue being a Chinglish practitioner, so you may laugh with me or at me. It's just too funny not to laugh.

Articulate

From http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/articulate

Main Entry: ¹ar·tic·u·late
Pronunciation: är-'ti-ky&-l&t
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin articulatus jointed, past participle of articulare, from articulus
1 a : divided into syllables or words meaningfully arranged : INTELLIGIBLE b : able to speak c : expressing oneself readily, clearly, or effectively articulate teacher>; also : expressed in this manner articulate argument>
2 a : consisting of segments united by joints : JOINTED <articulate animals> b : distinctly marked off

Or it can be such a loaded word when used toward colored people.

The Racial Politics of Speaking Well by Lynette Clemetson, Sunday, February 4, 2007, The New York Times.

New York Fashion Week Feb 2-9

Fashion Week is underway. I should check out Bryant Park more often if not because of the shivering cold (and the job that actually pays me and keeping me busy even during lunch hour). I saw them building out the space about a couple of weeks ago, I was just thinking how come The Pond was gone and in its place some auto show from Mercedes? I didn't know Mercedes took the place of Olympus to be the Fashion Week sponsor.

Talking about fashion (do I need a reason to justify what I write? It's my own god damn online diary, I write whatever I so please bottomline), I read from the WSJ paper edition that designers of mens fashion are actually turning to more average looking models to sell their clothes. Buff, metrosexual, and waif looking guys are shown the door. It's the average looking dude that get the job these days. Since it appears on the Journal, so it must have a business angle. The rationale of using average looking guy is men, as opposed to women, are actually doing the shopping these days.

Here is an excerpts from the Wall Street Journal article "You should Be So 'Average'" by Ray A. Smith on Friday, February 2, 2007.

Last year, 75% of the men bought their own clothes, compared with 52% in 1995, according to Marshal Cohen ... At middle-of-the-road J.C. Penney, men now make 70% of the purchases of men's clothes, a reversal from about five years ago when women made 70% of the purchases.
That means nowadays the model can make or break a buying decision for male shoppers.

And one of those average looking guy is called Terron Wood, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound model who appears for Dolce & Gabbana. Apparently the fashion industry has a very very different definition of average from you and me.

Official Fashion Week site here.
No picture man, I am not a paid subscriber of the WSJ, so no picture here. If you want to see what Mr Wood looks like, do a search and find out what the fashion world means by average or regular....Well we all need the fashion industry to remind us how ugly we all are.

Thank You for Smoking (2005)

Hi guys, this is a movie review again.

I saw this at home from my free DVD collection at one of the Queens public libraries. The disc was clean so there was no stuck scene or any technical glitches. So overall it was a pleasant viewing experience.

I like the movie and Aaron Eckhart does a good job in playing Nick Naylor, a lobbyist for big tobacco. Katie Holmes plays a reporter who sleeps her way to get the dirt out of Nick and the industry. Yes, back then Katie Holmes was really known as Katie Holmes instead of the ugly moniker that's called TomKat. It's interesting to see how Nick works. His job is to protect and promote cigarettes, the deadly consumer goods that's legally sold every where.

Good dialogue and story.

Week in Review

New York City has been so cold that I want to buy a SUV to contribute to global warming ...

New York City has been so cold that Paris Hilton and Britney Spears finally put some underwear on...

(heard those jokes from either David Letterman or Jay Leno)

Boston took guerilla marketing very seriously, got 2 dudes arrested for placing bomb-like billboards around the city. New York City being the city got actually attacked and yet got less terrorist funding knows better. We blissfully ignore all bomb threats real or not. As reported here.

Michael Dell is back behind the steering wheel. After Kevin Rollins quit the CEO job, founder Michael Dell is back on the job again. Things don't look that rosy, Dell is facing shareholder lawsuits for manipulating financial numbers. Both Michael Dell and Kevin Rollins were named defendants. More here.

Vista is here and Gates wants you to have a copy or two. More importantly Gates is on Apple's bitchy freaking lying ad campaign which portrays PC users as some dullards.

Here are a little excerpt from the Newsweek article:

Are you bugged by the Apple commercial where John Hodgman is the PC, and he has to undergo surgery to get Vista?
I've never seen it. I don't think the over 90 percent of the [population] who use Windows PCs think of themselves as dullards, or the kind of klutzes that somebody is trying to say they are.

How about the implication that you need surgery to upgrade?
Well, certainly we've done a better job letting you upgrade on the hardware than our competitors have done. You can choose to buy a new machine, or you can choose to do an upgrade. And I don't know why [Apple is] acting like it’s superior. I don't even get it. What are they trying to say? Does honesty matter in these things, or if you're really cool, that means you get to be a lying person whenever you feel like it? There's not even the slightest shred of truth to it.

Again, Apple is the freaking lying son of a bitch. Notice this is from MSNBC, a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC.

Apple releases more eye candy or ear candy that is known is iPod Shuffle. Also Apple is shipping its Airport Extreme base station with 802.11n support. More hardware upgrades from Apple is on the pipeline according to ThinkSecret and myriads of Apple rumor sites, probably a LED notebook is in the work.