Math Problem 14 x 5

Somebody I know told me he did the calculation in his head like that

(14/2) x (5x2)
=7 x 10
=70

I thought that was brilliant.  Mechanically I can do it in my head (yes, I actually can).  Or at most I would think OKAY, 14 x 5 = 10 x 5 + 4 x 5 = 70.  But I would never have thought about the first method.

Christmas, Lost and Remembered

As a child growing up in poor rural Hong Kong, Christmas was the big festival I looked forward to all year long and enjoyed through all my primary school years.  The apparently interminable mundane and boring school life all of a sudden got interrupted.  A nice pretty school girl got to pretend to be Mary looking radiant and serene while cradling a plastic baby doll wrapped in a blanket, a well behaved school boy got to play Joseph, the bland carpenter; and lesser boys and girls got to be a scholar or a sheep or even a tree.  The actual performance was fun but so were the endless rehearsals before the big day.  I wasn't much of a performer myself as I don't recall playing any characters in Nativity, I might have a bit part in singing reserved for the less lessor kids. But I guess I just enjoyed the spectacle and the chaos that was our Christmas party.  I remember there would always be that magic show from the Chus Magic Troupe and the magician and his assistant always seriously made sure there were nobody, us kids included, looking from the side or in the back, because nobody should know their ultra secretive and stupid rope trick or card trick except themselves.  And the obligatory Christmas boring speech from somebody high up in the church who had the good grace to come to see us perform in our make-shift stage and auditorium.  One (or every) year the church dude in funny robe and outlandish attire got particular annoyed by kids backstage.  Oh well, loosen up it was Christmas time.  The whole assembly hall was done by removing the partitions between classrooms and the stage was desks pushed together to one end.  Hey you had an auditorium right there.  I remember the teacher in charge, Fatty Som, always favored one kid and put him in charge of the project--he's a pilot now, I being one of the lesser kids would labor to push the desks together and received the underserved scorn should anything go mildly awry--Fatty was not always jolly.  No performers fell off the desks-pushed-together stage ever.  So we actually had a solid safety record, it was actually a minor miracle compared to how often mega stars fall off the stage injured or died prematurely.  The stage would have been a much safer place only if I were a stage manager.

After the big party all the pupils got their Christmas in a bag: a purple cellophane goody bag full of candies and carefully tied with a little tiny curly colored ribbon.  Please I want my purple cellophane Christmas goody bag (i.e. in addition to all the iStuff from Apple).

Merry Christmas, to all the Gentiles, out there.

An Education

Pentax as used by David, his suave manner and the world he seemingly inhabits mesmerize and fascinate the 16-year old smart but naive Jenny.  The story cannot be more predictable and tired.  But for some reasons, the beautiful Carey Mulligen definitely being one, the movie works spectacularly well.  Everything kind of falls into place effortlessly and it even has a satisfying happy ending.

If you don't want to appear sleazy, don't shoot with a Pentax.  Try Nikon, i.e St. Nikon instead.  On the other hand, Pentax is the way to go if you want to look suave and uber-sleazy.


image via image shack via vorobaz of pentax forum.  St. Nikon via Nikonrumors.com

A few words on camera ready stance:  It's not bad.  But I think it could be better.  The focusing hand should really cradle the base plate to give more stability to the camera when focusing and especially when depressing the shutter release button.  But this stance looks indefinitely better than some I see in recent movies--mouths ajar and elbows sticking out like chicken flapping its wings.

update due to reader request:
PS:  OKAY, my (after) thought about the movie itself.  It's well cast, well acted, well written, well directed, overall pretty well made. It's not a comedy or a tragedy, it's just a drama about a girl's coming-of-age story somewhere in suburban England in the soon to be radical 60s.  I don't think Jenny is a victim here, even at times, she tries to fool herself to be one.  I feel like she benefits from or at least a willing participant of this whole failed love affair thing in her life, her parents aren't all that innocent either.  She gets what she bargains for, her yearning for a trip to Paris was fulfilled, she got to see things and go places she and her peers could only dream of.  Whatever she loses, her virginity her innocence, is more than made up by the life lesson she learned from David.  What an education indeed.

Stephen Chow Tells the Truth

It's not political correct but it's the truth, not only in his movies but in general, around the world.  Most Hollywood movies or the whole movie industry are gratingly patriarchal.  Women only play secondary roles in the movie industry.  Few if any Hollywood female stars can open a movie.  Audience may even want to be politically correct and pay lip service to alternative cinema but when it comes to actually opening up their wallet and parting their cash it is an entirely different story.



Please note there are at least three movie clips played along in the video above, at 0.25" Appledaily mistakenly captions the clip as CJ7 while it should really be Kung Fu or Kung Fu Hustle.  The voice over commentary is largely forgettable.  I choose to listen to what Chow says only.

Despite what Chow says: to choose the female lead based only on looks.  His female characters, lead or support, aren't all that bad at all: smart, funny, hard working, independent and kind-hearted.  But the reality or indeed irony is if you aren't pretty you aren't going to be Chow's leading lady, even if the character is supposedly ugly looking--think Zhao Mei in Shaolin Soccer or Karen Mok in The God of Cookery or his most other movies.  Perhaps Chow's Kung Fu Hustle is by far Chow's most blatantly Chow's movie ever where Fong, the protagonist love's interest is made a mute, naturally not having any spoken dialogs to distract from her natural beauty and Chow can just concentrate on being Chow without even have to worry about what she has to say.  I think that's a stroke of genius.

We'll be back soon.

Not soon enough for those eager beavers.  If you want to buy shiny beautiful objects to prop up your self esteem or your image (I am totally talking about myself), and more importantly save a few bucks in the process, hey there is no better day than today--Black Friday, the day after we  cheerfully eat ourselves silly and forget we actually don't have any money to spend.  Today is the day we reaffirm ourselves and the whole wide world consumerism is still alive and well.

Thanksgiving Dishes

This year, I broke the tradition.  I used a chicken instead.

To be cooked and mashed potatoes.  If your mashed potato doesn't taste good, add more butter.  That's the best tip I can give you.

Garlic to be roasted for the mashed potato

Lobsters

Beet (and Goat's Cheese Salad)

That's it.  Enough over-sharing.  For now.

The Grand Master

Instant Noodle

Instant noodle and mountain dew.  Mr. Alex ate his own cooked instant noodle.

ESWN on Tsao Chip on Sontag

The beginning of a nerd feud: ESWN calls Tsao Chip out on his op-ed piece on Susan Sontag. ESWN accuses Tsao cherry-picks one or two lines out of Sontag's works and condemns the whole category of Tsao's so called "American leftist intellectuals," and gratingly, got "paid very well for doing that."  And what's even worse, the op-ed is "factually challenged"--Tsao says Sontag never visited China.

Sontag, of course, visited China, more than once.  And she herself was in all likelihood "Made in China."  Her parents lived and made a living in Tianjin, China; she was probably conceived in China and only later born in New York.  Her biological father died in China and the name Sontag was taken from her stepfather.

Tsao fail.

Before School

Instant Noodle

The last time I used a Tri-X was probably a thousand years ago.  This was taken when Alex first cooked: 2 packs of instant noodle, for himself and me.  The scan was exceptionally poor.  But who cares.

Facebook Rules the Internet

Finally, at long last, Facebook dethroned Google as the most go to site in America.  And, finally we can put a face or two on why the US economy is on a tail spin and unemployment stands at 10% or thereabout.  Because nobody is working at work anymore.    Blame it on Mark Zuckerberg.

Crazy Stuff I Let Our Kid Not Do

I let my kid not take the Hunter entrance exam because he doesn't feel like it.  Franky I was disappointed and I second guess my decision or rather non decision but who knows, I didn't go to Hunter and I turned out fabulous (though most people disagree this assessment.)  Not that he would automatically pass or be accepted just by being eligible to take the test but at least there is a chance (Hunter is harder than Ivy League or so I was told).  Oh well it's not meant to be.  There is always some other high schools like where kids would fight every day on the hallway and end up having the ugliest girlfriend imaginable--that's what I told my kid but still he wouldn't budge.

Things I Noticed And Crazy Stuff I Told My Kid

I went to my kid's middle school and I noticed most of them have already carried a cell phone.  Kids who just turned eleven years old or so.  If you don't catch up with the latest trend, the trend would just catch up with you.

We got him one of our old Nokia handsets with left over prepaid voice plan that has been lying sullenly in some closet of ours forever.  My kid asked me "Are we poor?"  My answer: "Absolutely."

Many kids have iPhone, iPhone Touch or iPad or all  ...  My explanation to my kid, which I don't quite believe I said it myself was something like this:  Some people can't define themselves and they need to buy shiny beautiful stuff to help define themselves and to feel belong.  I am sure you can do better than that.

Finally

Finally, at long last, a Chinese waitress, actually uttered the two magic words "Thank you" when she picked up the check.  Wow.  I never would have thought that would happen in my life time.  (I always feel like I am nicer to the wait staff than the wait staff to me.)  But it did happen.  Just like that I have my faith restored in Asian hospitality and humanity again.

Grade School Photo Retouching Front Page Material

Perhaps it is because it's a Saturday and everybody is sick and tired of bad news already.

This front page article talks about how modern photography can easily manipulate image, at a price and at the request of the parents.  It goes on to discuss should we or should we not do it just because we can and how it might affect the child's self esteem or some crap like that.  Personally I have never requested any retouching (or implanted false memories) because my kids are just perfect the way they are, period.  No, actually we have way bigger problems than that.  Because often times, the pictures came back blurry and totally out of focus.  What horror.  How the photographer, if he can call himself one, manages to take an out of focus picture in a studio kind of setting is beyond me.  I am ecstatic when the picture is actually in focus, forget about retouching.

西風的話

The inexorable passage of time.

This Week in Review

My scientific assessment to this comedification of wedding (or marriage) is this:  one might be an anomaly, two is a trend.  I got two here so it's definitely a trend.  To extrapolate, I think Prince William and Katie Middleton will succumb to this latest fad: wedding as a comedy which, if anything, is like a thousand times better than a tragedy, and if there is anybody who knows anything about gloom and doom marriage and tragedy, it got to be Prince William.  So comedy it is, and comedy it shall be.

鬼妹仔性格:  I guess this is really a catch-all (lazy) explanation to all behavior, good or bad, that is somewhat outside the norm or expectation of the general public.  Mostly applicable to girls who have a foreign upbringing.  It doesn't really explain anything but it's often used as an explanation like ... Oh, That's Why!  Like she is a slut or a whore, then naturally her behavior is attributed to her character--鬼妹仔性格 and hence explains her whole stupid whorish lifestyle, case closed.

Time Warner Cable Thinks Chrome is Not Good Enough

Or rather too good for them.

What can I say?  Just when I thought I can just use Chrome for everything, then bang!  Time Warner Cable says no.  Back to Firefox.

Where is my iPhone 4 White?

I thought yesterday's Apple big announcement was Apple finally comes clean and admits OKAY guys, we fail, the iPhone 4 white was just a joke, a total bullshit.  Instead Jobs gave us The Beatles or something.  The market didn't like the news too much.

Worse Bus Driver

Keep letting people get on the bus and complaining people don't move to the back.  He feels so much in power and so righteous.  Turning passengers against each other.  Just skip the stop.

Passive Aggressive Behavior

Taking your sweet time getting off the train then complaining people don't let you off first.

Everything is Just a Comedy Now

What can I say?  People need a good laugh.  In the beginning I thought it is only movies but wait, there is more, weddings too.  The comedification of wedding is gaining traction as eye-witnessed here.  It's probably a good thing.

Green Living, My Way

Or living on the straight razor edge

Before

Shaving Soap, got it creamy

Got to lather up

Strop the blade first ...

I tend to shave the sides first

Then above the lips and chin

Just like cutting grass ...

Against the grain

Not as clean as I wanted, poor eye sight and late at night all the excuses but hey, at least I didn't cut myself into pieces.  KIDS DON'T TRY IT AT HOME.

B&H

You'd think B&H knows what they are talking about when it comes to photography.  Wrong.  If you are confused with Nikon's alphabet soup of lens specification and thinks B&H can help you navigate the treacherous lenscape that's Nikon's lens lineup, you are out of luck here.  Because B&H is just as confused as you. Or apparently their huge Winter 2011 catalog is just like my blog, without any competent proofreading whatsoever.

Here is a scan from p.176

A trip to NikonUSA doesn't help either, if they have that piece of information anywhere I don't see it or at the very least their lame-o search says hey I don't know what you are talking about.  But just don't expect NikonUSA knows what they are talking about either, because they don't, just like me.  I just gave Google a chance after my previous failed search on NikonUSA, and Google was able to return the search I was looking for right from NikonUSA.  It says, on NikonUSA, and I quote,

 "G-type NIKKOR lenses have no aperture control ring and are intended for use on Nikon D-SLRs that allow the lens aperture to be adjusted via the camera's command dial." So you see, I wasn't making it up--NikonUSA really doesn't know what they are talking about.  G has really nothing to do with whether the camera is D-SLR or just plain old film SLR. In Rockwell's parlance, it just means gelded and he is right.  A G lens is a gelded lens that lacks  a physical aperture ring, period.  So my assessment of NikonUSA is again right on, they don't know what they are talking about.  And while we are at it, look at the DX explanation, do they really expect people to understand what they are trying to say?  Without clicking on the hyperlink?

Veterans Day

Veterans Day

The top and bottom ones have better white balance.  The middle and bottom ones come from the same frame, just different scans.

Technical details:  The negative (bottom) curves so much so that it presses against the glass in the middle.

People Are Serious About Their Kids' Grades

As a parent I can understand though it still surprises me that some parents react the way they reacted:  they got so upset that they kind of demand the teacher to change the grade and make an apology to the class or something.  And I am talking about fourth grade here.  Probably in part because of the "emotional damage" the low grade caused their child.  I say deal with it.  Most kids are dumb and I say give them all a low grade so they know how to deal with it in life later.  Because for the most part people are really dumb and they don't really deserve all the excessive praises now teachers dish out indiscriminately.

Postcard From France

This carousel just echoes with my oft posted pictures here.  I love carousel except the airport kind.  Thank you very much.

Technical Details for the anal retentive set:  Scanned at 300dpi using Epson V500 Photo via Ubuntu 10.10 64 Bit.  Flipped at GIMP.  Thumps up.

What Time is it?

Hong Kong is now 13 hours ahead of New York City.
If'it is 8AM Nov 9 in Hong Kong, it's 7PM Nov 8 in New York City.

How to Name a Movie in Hong Kong

From Hong Kong Yahoo movie.
Homonym still rules.  Every movie kind of becomes a comedy which is not bad actually.

精求有情人 (The Switch)
湊仔戀咁嚟 (Life As We Know it)
午夜來嚇 (Paranormal Activity 2)

Times Square

Kodak 160VC, Canon New F-1, Canon FD 28mm f/2.8, and yes with the ridiculously heavy motor drive too.

Sometimes I wish I were shooting with a 24mm on a real 35mm camera.  But other times, I was like oh the 24mm is just too "wide" for that shot.  You know I am just hopelessly good at coming up with lame excuses.

I got this roll of 135mm film developed some lab closeby.  It wasn't a good experience.  The fact that I used that lab knowing full well they kind of don't give a fuck of the negative is testimony to how lack of principle I am.  This was my third roll of film done there and might very well be my last roll.  In theory, any mini-lab can do a decent C41 development, that's if they take pride in what they do.  In practice, it's like nobody gives a fuck even some so called pro lab.  I got my film ripped and they had the ball to deny it.  Again, you got what you paid for if you are lucky.

I know this sounds absolutely ridiculous but I really find digital images too clean to look almost dull and lifeless.  I cannot believe I said that.  At the same time I hate to scan the images knowing it's really hit or miss to get a clean scan with no dust at all.  ICE is not 100% and plus there is no ICE with the software that I use.  So it's a pain to scan.

UPDATE 11/5/2010
I have received tons of emails regarding how I scanned what I scanned.  If it's a good scan, it's because of me and myself.  Nobody helped me in that department.  OKAY there is some online who selflessly shares his knowledge and thoughts on scanning.  And one of them is Mr. Wayne Fulton who operates a website called very humbly Scanning Basics 101 or www.scantips.com which I find to be most helpful though I don't understand most of them but it got me started.  I shall take all the blames for all the ugliness you see here, it's absolutely not a reflection of Mr. Fulton's fine website.  No guilty by association.

UPDATE 11/5/2010
I don't know how the heck I removed the picture hyperlink.  Crap.

Horsey

School

Kodak 160VC shot using a Canon F-1, 28mm f/2.8. Scanned at 2400dpi.

Election Day

Seeing Double

The bottom one is the original while the top is "color corrected."  Of course, I really don't know what I am doing here.  I just followed some cookbook to tweak the color.  This was shot using my blindly eye so the focus was off, the shutter speed was a bit slow--that is being my usual sucky photographer self.

How to Name A Movie in Hong Kong

Or how to give a sucky movie an even suckier name?  A clever homonym of course.  Homonym rules in the Hong Kong movie naming industry.  Because every single movie is named using homonym.  Very Clever.

Election Day Breakfast