Some Cell Phone Pictures

Sex And The City

Fashion Week Day 4

Fashion Week New York marches on without me. At lunch time, I was there at Byrant Park trying to rub shoulders with the rich and famous or the pretty and broke people. I saw a lot of big glasses and strobes with various dome-shaped add-ons. The weather is nice. I was thinking I should look the part and just walk through the back entrance you know just trying to help the models dress or something. I am sure they can use some help. On second thought, maybe not.

The official site is like me: miserable and not going anywhere fast. Mercedes Benz are better off doing that on Google's blogger for free I guess. It's just a waste of money as it is. How can people get away with that I can never fathom. Meanwhile, for a better browsing experience, one can try my website, or not, or http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/ for inside scoop of the show.

Novak Djokovich - Clown Prince Of Tennis

The new clown prince of tennis just ousted tennis "old" guard Carlos Moya in three straight sets. Djokovich, dark horse of this Open is wowing the Open crowd with his own brand of humor. If he keeps his concentration, he can probably meet reigning tennis great number one R-Fed in the final.

Breaking: Steve gives you back $100 Store Credit

To all iSuckers who paid full price for their iPhone, that is $599 cold cash, Steve Jobs gives you back $100 store credit.

To all iPhone customers:

I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.

First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to 'go for it' this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone 'tent'. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season.

Second, being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you'll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced.

Third, even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of iPhone, and even though the technology road is bumpy, we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.

Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple's website next week. Stay tuned.

We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.

Steve Jobs
Apple CEO

Now, that's one responsive and responsible company. We all kind of know Apple makes about 50% gross profit margin on its iPhone. So as long as your marginal utility of an iPhone is more than that of your $599, you are willing to part your cash. You know you are paying a premium for being an iSucker, so why bitch about it later? Well, I guess it pays to bitch now, you get a $100 store credit from Mr. Jobs, and an apology for exercising the maxim "you charge as much as the market can bear."

Fashion Week New York

Live reporting from the OUTSIDE ... oh well, you do what you can.

The official site is slow and badly Flash designed, see when you paid big money to build a site, it actually could turn crappy and useless.

Wall Street Doesn't Like What Steve Says

Wall Street is not happy with "The Beat Goes On" special Apple event held today. Apple stock dropped more than 4 or 5 or 6 (make it $6.90 at closing) dollars when Jobs was hawking more iPods and slashing iPhone price. NBC Universal has just given 90 days notice not to renew its contract with iTunes and takes its business to Amazon where nobody really buying, well maybe that would change with new contents added, or maybe not. NBC Universal always thinks iTunes should price their video offerings at a higher price, but for Apple, the iTunes Store is just a means to sell more expensive iPods, so the video is selling at 1.99 a price most content providers aren't happy but grudgingly go along because of the huge iPod user base. NBC Universal has just had enough with chicken shit Apple and decided to play hardballs. Let's see if other content providers follow suit. An iTunes store with no content is no store at all. But then iPod has this huge user base. It's going to be a great fight. Well, we can always go back to pirating if things don't work out.

The new iPodtouch comes with WiFi, it plays songs, video, browse the world wide web and do your dishes, okay, maybe not the last bit. But can it do VoIP? Guess not (because that would eat into the iPhone market and pisses off its wireless carrier at&t ... well maybe not so much on the last bit, let's just turn a blind eye to let hackers unlock the iPhone.). If it does then it would be fantastic. You have an iPod that can do phone calls without the phone company getting into the way between you and your callee. I hope Google can come up with something like that. They should, I would buy into that.

... iWhoring finished.

Apple slashes iPhone price.

Sperry Top-sider

Joining Doc Martens, Top-sider is enjoying some press and come back recently. Band of Outsiders is updating this classic and selling them at where else, Barneys for $190~300 a pair, and they don't even come with the leather laces. The original is selling for $64.95 a pair at Sperry's site and they do come with laces. My pair of top siders never got to walk on a boat deck, its purpose of existence was never fulfilled.

From men's style. From Gawker.

UPDATE: One of the most searched posts here. If you were to ask me what to buy, I think any sane person would opt for the orginal top siders which are like the original and they come with laces.

US Open Updates: Henin vs. S. Williams

Henin took the first set in a tie breaker.

The 2nd set, Henin is off to a good start taking the first three games. Williams has to figure out something quick to dig herself out.

UPDATE:
Henin never let up the pressure and finished off Serena Williams in two straight sets. Henin packs a lot of power in her 5'6" frame and it showed on this match. For some reason and probably not the nicest thing to say, after her divorce, she seems more personable. Now Serena can enjoy her early exit, probably can attend the New York Fashion Week at Bryant Park tomorrow.

US Open Updates

Feliciano Lopez took the first set from number one Roger Federer. That was a real surprise. Though no one expects Lopez can knock out the number one tuxedo man in the fourth round of the US Open.

UPDATE
Lopez is on fire, trading backhand with Federer and actually won the point.... Federer is slowly turning the game around, that's what a number one player can do, figure out your opponent on the fly and crack his game. Sharapova faltered when she couldn't come up with a plan B when played against Radwanska. As an aside, while plenty of spectators were rooting for Sharapova, her father-cum-coach is her toughest critic, he walked off the stadium before the match was over in total disgust, now that's some tough parenting. I totally digressed.

UPDATE
Lopez in the end was no match to tennis great Roger Federer. Federer, after losing the first set, regained his composure and rather quickly broke Lopez down in a four-set victory

Basement Jam

If I am not mistaken, this is the first time I can see the track in all its Chinese character glory. But my mobo kind of sucks. It has all the cheap components like onboard everything, so whenever I do anything the sound just cracks up. The system is so old that I can't remember how old it is. The other day, I have a hd that's from 1989 or from the last century. Anyway, after leaving it on for a few hours it actually crashed and burned literally, I can actually smell the burn. I savaged the RAM and the CD-ROM drive, because the CD-ROM drive in the "better system", read: one that hasn't burnt up yet, has a lousy drive that keeps giving me some hdc i/o error. So far the CD-ROM and RAM transplant have been a success, there is no rejection or burn yet.

Anyway, I am just happy there is some sound or noise when I am pounding away in the basement.

The Tennis Court As Fashion Runway

Lady in Red

Sharapova can just go clubbing after dispatching her opponent in 50 minutes in a two set victory, partly by blinding Roberta Vinci in her 600 Swarovski crystals encrusted little red dress. The dress is seamless ... is it a good thing? I don't know, probably it is.

Man in Black

Federer wears his tennis tuxedo. Notice the shorts has nice satin trimming on the side (not seen) and a much narrower leg openings.

The Nike stable has some very nice outfits for its top dogs.

Related tennis/fashion blog site. And here. And here. Americans aren't too crazy about tennis, but if you mix it up with good looking guys, gals and fashion, well you may have something here, at least for the fortnight that's called the US Open.

(The nice pictures are from Jonathan Fickies/usopen.org)

D3 From Guardian's Dan Chung

Here is a hands-on first impression from an award winning working professional as opposed to some armchair photographer in front of a PC monitor .... Dan's major complaint as a photojournalist is not on the D3 per se but rather on Nikon's lack of prime lineup like a 50mm f1.2 and a 35mm f1.4. Shooting wide and Shooting wide often in low light look like are requirements for journalists.

Dan Chung: Did you miss me? (Editor's note: what kind of a post title is that for a professional?). Also accompanying short D3 video in English English no subtitles.


Culled from Nikonwatch.com

Lust, Caution

The MPAA is giving "Lust, Caution" a NC-17 (no children under 17 admitted) rating. That should be interesting.

Ang Lee tackles forbidden love in steamy new film

Media attention ahead of the new movie's release this year will focus on the long, acrobatic and sometimes disturbing sex scenes between the main characters, which Lee hinted were real.

When asked in Venice about the authenticity of the sex, he replied: "Did you see the movie? Then why do you ask?"

In a recent interview Lee described his new film as "a scary place," and "like hell." But although lust is used to lure a man into a dangerous trap, love's power also offers a glimmer of hope to characters caught in a world of violence and fear.

Related Blog post here.

Blundstone

If for some reason you think Doc Martens is too grungy, too skin head, too polluted by the fashion crossovers like Chloe and Yohji Yamamoto, and thoroughly disgusted by their blatant ad of exploitation of dead people, fear not, there is still Blundstone, the unpolluted Aussie invention since 1870.

I can attest to its light weight, comfortable and durable construction as I wear a pair of 500 every day.

Related post.

Notes to Self

To Run Jar File

Ubuntu 7.04 has already JRE 1.4.2 installed but no go running a JAR file, gave me
java.awt.AWTError: Cannot loadAWT tookkit: gnu.java.awt.peer.gtk.GtkToolkit
....
Go to Application Add/Remove, Search Java for All available applications...
Download and install Sun Java 5.p Runtime.

$ java -jar some .jar

some's GUI comes out. It worked.

[just like most other things, I don't know why, but as long as I can get it to work, I am happy, if I know why that's better but I am not pushing it]

Notes to Self

Notes to self
You are an idiot, a masochist.
This is my n attempts to learn Linux ...
This is by far the easiest installation, Ubuntu 7.04

Ubuntu 6.06 did the live cd thing but crapped out on the harddrive installation, Error in removing some language packs.
Downloaded 7.04, burned a CD, live cd worked, harddrive installation worked, but wi fi didn't work.
The funny thing was in 6.06, the wi fi actually worked. I tried to boot Live CD from 6.06 but no longer worked. I have a PCI card from Trendnet TEW228PI, a discontinued product that uses the Realtek RTL8180 chipset.
Searched Internet on Realtek RTL8180 chipset and Ubuntu but to no avail.
Searched more, finally found the following instructions.
You need to be root to do edit the blacklist file.

From the terminal

sudo editor /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
rem out the line by prefixing the line with a #, like so
# blacklist r818x

Reboot system

And append a bogus character to the ESSID.

Now I am blogging using my Ubuntu.

The last time I got this card to work was years ago using Redhat, I think I used either a ndiswrapper or a Linux driver. But I am not sure anymore.

This is the easiest by far.

US Open 2007

David Nalbandian ...

Tim Henman, flaring his nostrils while serving. He's going to retire after the US Open, not giving any more false hopes for his countrymen. Nice fella off court, playful, good with his fans.



Jonas Bjorkman getting ready to return.

[All JPEGs shot handheld by yours truly using a Nikon D70 mounted with a 80~200 f2.8. Give attribution when used for non commercial purpose. All rights reserved.]

Nikon D300 @ ISO 6400?

Nikon D300 @ ISO 6400?
Originally uploaded by BKMD.

This is allegedly shot from a Nikon D300 at ISO 6400. It's not ISO 640, it's 10 times that, ISO 6400.

Picture via flickr via tinyrul.com/3xjapt via Nikonwatch.com

D3 Video Demo

This is a video I found via Nikonwatch.com, the video is in Spanish. A guy in white polo shirt with Nikon's emblem is seen demoing the Nikon D3. If you know Spanish that's great, if you know only English, then you can read the English subtitles. If you know none, then just enjoy watching the D3.


Source:
Nikonwatch.com


Another one from YouTube. In Japanese, No English Subtitles.

Doc Martens Are Back, Officially

jpeg from the New York Times.

It's official now. Doc Martens are back. Or did they ever go away? Every generation discovers Doc Martens. Every rebel without a clue at some point in his youth wears a pair of Doc Martens. If you haven't well you get the chance now ....

The Gawker
The New York Times

Back To Classics

Dan Martensen for The New York Times; styling by Susan Joy

Lanvin zip-up silk blouse, $1,090, and Alexander Wang wide-leg herringbone pants, $585, both at Barneys New York. Karen Walker leather belt, $132 at Mick Margo; LaCrasia leather gloves, $200; Patricia Von Musulin hand-carved ebony ring, $825 at Takashimaya; Kelly Christy felt fedora, $300 to order from kellychristyhats@hotmail.com; Chloé leather satchel, $2,595 at Chloé.
[above jpeg and caption copied from The New York Times electronic edition]


Fashion critic Cathy Horyn is predicting a more sober fashion fall outlook in her New York Times article"Après Rehab: A Lovely Sobriety" published on August 23. Basically fashion would be more classical and gasp more "wearable" which is, mind you, very different from affordable, see merchandise and price caption from above. To be in the fashion business is to be in the recycle business, after all, we all suffer quite a bit from Britney Spears and Paris Hilton fatigue, perhaps it's good to get back to more classical stuff like from the 60s and from an era when etiquette and underwear mean something.

Subway Reading

Subway Reading.
Parallel Play, by Tim Page, published in The New Yorker August 20, 2007 (it's free)

Nikon's Foray Into Full Frame

So all these years, Nikon has been feeding us Kool-aid, contending that 1.5DX format is the right format to go and digital noise doesn't matter, while secretly sweating and busying itself catching up with Canon's full frame development. This reminds me when Apple was still using PowerPC chips and seriously lacked in clock speed. What did they say, clockspeed doesn't matter, the whole is important than the sum of its parts, blah, blah, blah. Look what happened.

All things being equal, a faster processor is a better processor; and a bigger sensor is a better sensor. And I am not going to footnote my previous statement.

PS: OKAY, I am going to footnote. If you are a no talent photographer, no amount of technology and full frame can make that up. In some cases, a complicated camera can actually obstruct and hinder one's creativity. But in the right hand, a better camera does help produce better images.

UPDATE:
A thread at good old photo.net by Ellis Vener x Bjorn Rorslett. I thought Vener totally abandoned Nikon but was actually invited to attend the event in Tokyo. I just found out my invitation pass was mailed to my neighbor two houses down, oh well, there is next year. If you are NOT invited, then don't call yourself a Nikon pro, switch to Canon. Because Nikon doesn't give a F U C K what you have to say and think. Vener once answered some of my stupid questions at photo.net. Nice guy.

Nikon D3 & D300

They are either real or real fakes.

All hell broke loose after 1PM, August 23 Japan time ....

• Pdnonline.
• Nikonusa press release.
• From Land of the Rising Sun Press Release. Nikonusa's whole website is still same old same old, there has been no updates so far. I like to work there, everything is sort of slowly unfolds. There is no man made urgency to satisfy those silly hobbyists.
• Dpreview on D3 and D300.
• Rob Galbraith broke the news.
• Rob Galbraith made the new lens announcement too, all before the Nikon's official sites. The price is simply out of this world.
• Translated from a Korean site.
• Picture from dpreview forum.

I want one so I can shoot snapshots of my kids, my shadows, and what nots. VL2007, buy one so I can borrow it, it's only $5,000 for the body. I can only imagine how cool I'll look with that thing hanging over my shoulder or held in front of my eye.

Untitled

Untitled

I Need A Computer

I need a better computer to suck my photos out my Nikon D70. And to store and process them en masse.

I just tested UFRaw-batch.exe running from Windows, I think it's good enough for me. And with GIMP I can have a total graphics interface that rivals Photoshop minus the big bucks, somewhat I guess. Anyway, I need a computer first... If I have more processing power, I may shoot more in NEF and just batch them in one stroke. So far Mac seems to be the only one that can run OS X, Windows and Linux all together in one machine. But my Mac iBook G3 experience hadn't been exactly pleasant.

Let's see what Nikon has to offer tomorrow, if anything.

Blogger Just Crapped Out

For an hour or so, Google's blogger just crapped out. Thousands and thousands of readers were turned away by the come back in 30 second message. Gosh, I just need to apologize to all my readers, thousands of them, out there.

Now back to our regular program.

Mac Is PC Afterall

The new iMac is no longer tag lined "You can't be too thin. Or too powerful." Now it's just a very PC iMac.

9to5Mac kind of says that Apple has taken down its "You can't be" campaign because of public pressure generated from its site. And I thought it's all because of my post here on August 7. Self delusional grandeur reaffirmed.

Subway Commute

I don't quite remember since when the #7 in Main Street Flushing has this uniformed MTA guy standing on the platform every morning, yelling at the top of his lung to remind people to let passengers off first. The platform is at least 150 feet long and he is standing on one end of the platform, enthusiastically, tirelessly, incessantly yelling the same thing whenever a train pulls over much to my annoyance. My morning commute can't be quiet and peaceful any more. Somebody needs to find this guy another job at the MTA, like cleaning up the garbage on the track or on the platform or something.

******

We have this big platform island in Main Street Flushing Station where there are three tracks for either local or express trains. But the platform is narrow and to make matter worse, there are like zillions of garbage receptacles dotted along the platform right in the middle. Passengers are forced to walk on the side close to the edge of the platform wherever there is this huge garbage thing. I don't know what they are thinking. Are we supposed to carry our home garbage to the MTA? Do we need all these huge garbage receptacles there? Not put on the side of the platform but right in the middle? It's freaking mind-boggling. Even with all these garbage receptacles, animals still like to throw garbage around ....

New York Subway from Wikipedia

Reading

I think all my readings are now done on public transportations like bus and subway. At home, I either watch TV or get online, as unproductive as one can imagine. Some thing got to change. Or actually me got to change.

Canon Dropped The Bombs

Just when Nikonians are wetting their pants in their pent up anticipation of the soon to be (rumored) released next flagship DSLR(s), Canon dropped two much anticipated prosumer and professional DSLR models, namely the Canon EOS 40D and EOS 1 Ds Mark III today. The latter has a resolution of 21.1 million pixels that rivals medium format quality. The first leak of these two cameras from a respectable source was from Amazon on Sunday morning but the leak was as quickly removed as it first appeared. Finally, on Monday, today, from another Amazon's site dpreview.com the 40D and 1Ds Mark III are previewed.

Look like Nikon has some serious catching up to do. How Nikon is going to top Canon or at least match Canon remains to be seen the end of this week. Okay, I subscribe to the notion that the photographer is the one that makes the pictures, but all things being equal, a better tool or a wider choice of tools is a good thing. I shoot Nikon and I would like to see Nikon come up with some Earth shaking and ground breaking cameras, maybe not just in the mega pixel department but in something else as well.

Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III, previewed from dpreview.com
Canon EOS 40D, previewed from dpreview.com.

Nikon D3

***Those in the know aren't talking, so the below is just bull***
There has been a lot of noise about the impending introduction of the Nikon next generation flagship digital single lens reflex camera, probably between August 23 and August 24. Nikon D1 was the forerunner of the DSLR revolution when first introduced in 1999. But their leadership was later eclipsed by Canon when the full frame EOS 1Ds debuted in spring 2003. Nikon has been so far sticking to its only 1.5 DX sensor format for all its DSLR products. That might change with this D3 model as the pro market or some part of it really demands full frame sensor with lessor digital noise.

Though the majority of photo hobbyists can't afford the price of full frame DSLR, but I guess the upper echelon of that group likes to be associated with a brand that makes full frame. If I have any luck, maybe even I can afford a Nikon full frame in two or three years when the price really comes down to between two to three K. Meanwhile any full frame from Nikon would have to be from their film cameras.

Nikon, the choice of NASA, the space agency where killer diaper baby roams.
Nikon D3, the yeti of a DSLR.
Two links, Nikon procurements, and nikonwatch, sourced from Camerahobby.com

Thank God It's Almost Friday

The Dow continued its path of least resistance early on today but managed to recover most of the day's 340-point loss in the final hour of trading and closed at 12,845.78 down only 15.69.

Look like the worst has yet to come.

Week In Review

Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao's mom passed away after fighting cancer for seven years. She looked remarkably graceful and from what I read what a woman she had been, raising unbelievable children. Chinese media have full page coverage of her passing for three days.

Here are two obituaries I found from The New York Times.

Quote

The New York Times

August 8, 2007 Wednesday
Late Edition - Final

Paid Notice: Deaths CHAO, RUTH MULAN CHU

CHAO--Ruth Mulan Chu 77, wife, mother, Asian scholar, and
philanthropist passed away on Thursday, August 2, 2007 at
New York Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital after a seven
year battle with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Precious wife of
Dr. James S.C. Chao, Chairman of the Foremost Group of New
York, cherished mother of United States Secretary of Labor
Elaine L. Chao, Jeannette, May, Christine, Grace, and Angela
Chao; treasured grandmother of Ben, Tyler, Alexia, Penelope,
Miranda Mei and Jessica Ruth; and beloved mother-in-law of
Republican Leader in the United Senate Mitch McConnell,
Jeffrey Hwang, Jos Shaver and Gordon Hartogensis. A native
of Anhui, China, she came to the United States as a young
mother with three children in 1961, to join her husband who
had arrived three years earlier. At the age of 51, she
decided to return to school and earn a Master's degree in
Asian literature and history from St. John's University. She
has also established several foundations that provide scores
of scholarships annually in her native land of China. A
devout Christian and a lifelong church and community
volunteer, she is deeply mourned by friends and family.

CHAO--Ruth Mulan Chu. The Board of Trustees of St. John's
University joins with the entire University community in
mourning the passing of Ruth Mulan Chu Chao. An accomplished
alumna who returned to the University at the age of 51 to
attain a Master's degree in Asian Literature and History,
she was an esteemed member of our University community.
Along with her husband, alumnus and trustee emeritus James
S.C. Chao, her daughter, honorary alumna and U.S. Secretary
of Labor Elaine L. Chao, and her son-in-law, honorary
alumnus United States Senator Mitch McConnell, she
participated in a variety of University activities, where
she touched us with her grace and dignity. She loved and was
beloved by her husband and daughters. She and they are in
our thoughts and prayers in this time of sorrow. Thomas E.
McInerney, Chair, Board of Trustees Donald J. Harrington,
C.M., President

Unquote

What I Wore Last Week

I think people are begging for some detailed description (I made that up, of course). I will do my best, just for you people. Clockwise from top left:
Levi's 501 white jeans. I never thought I would wear any white pants after graduating from middle school but there they are. Another gray 501 underneath it, not shown.
Various briefs from American Apparel and Fruit of the Loom.
Day of the Week socks from H&M, Monday all the way to Sunday, though I don't wear them strictly by day of the week.
Various T-shirts from Gap, H&M and American Apparel. I try to avoid polo shirts. I do own some but I try not to wear them. And when I wear them, I make sure the collar is not up like some asshole would wear them.

Dow Just Shredded 387.18 Points

The Dow Jones Industrial Average nose dived more than 380 points because of credit woes, making it the second worst closing this year. Meanwhile there is a bidding war on Barneys New York, the premium retail chain that sells high end consumer stuff that comes with sticker shock like below.

Photograph by Kelly Shimoda for The New York Times

From left: $895 Marc Jacobs shirt, $530 Lanvin leather ballet flats, and $1,525 Proenza Schouler shift.

Picture and text from "When High Price Is the Allure" by Ruth La Ferla published August 9, 2007 in The New York Times.

Movie Opening This Weekend

There is really nothing going on this weekend movie wise. Should I even bother to see Rush Hour 3? I guess not.

From imdb.com (copy & paste)

# Stardust
# Skinwalkers
# Rocket Science
# Rush Hour 3
# Daddy Day Camp
# more ...

I Shoot JPEG

Being an <bs>accomplished photographer</bs>, I am often asked by admiring fans and discerning eyes whether I shoot RAW or JPEG. My answer is I shoot JPEG. I don't shoot RAW because my PC is very underpowered. If I have better hardware, software, I don't mind shooting RAW or in my case NEF files and batch process them into JPEGs. As of now, JPEG is kind of good enough for me.

Email

I think any email that demands immediate attention and screams urgent is a joke. Pick up the damn phone and call.

People behind that kind of email just don't want to get the job done and pretend they actually care.

New York City is Hot?

People around me have been saying that it's hot these days. After I came back from my trip to Hong Kong and Taiwan, I don't think New York City is that hot at all. Actually I don't have my air conditioner on at all. I just turn on the fan when I sleep at night. And it has been fine.

A Drop of Rain Crippled New York City

The morning commute was a mess. I should have stayed home, but I didn't. It's not like I am going to get an award or anything for showing up. But there I was at work despite the rain and chaos.

Some of the subway lines were still not at full service by the evening rush hour. Meanwhile meteorologists are still deciding whether the unusually strong wind touched down in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn can be called a tornado or not.

UPDATE: Yes, it was a tornado.

Apple

The real Steve Jobs today announced more real iProducts for it core iUsers as well as all the iWhores out there.

Just as rumored, the new and improved iMac is now housed in an anodized aluminum frame. Hence, no more Hard Plastic (HP) iMac, MacBook shall remain HP though. According to Steve (oh yeah, we are on a first name basis), aluminum is more recyclable, more like consumer products and yet looks more professional. All positive attributes no doubt.
Not only the frame is thin, the keyboard is getting thin as well, hope it's only thin but not flimsy. The new iMac tag line is "You can't be too thin. Or too powerful." Well, that's not going to help all the fat girls and guys out there. All the skinny bitches out there are going to love this.

From the horse's mouth. Steve, the CEO, looked tired, as he plowed through his presentation. Man, I haven't seen a CEO work this hard.

The New York Times Shrinks, more like WSJ now

Today the paper edition of The New York Times shrinks just like The Wall Street Journal. But unlike WSJ, it doesn't make a big deal out of it.

On the frontpage, in a very discrete box it just says

To Our Readers
Starting today, The Times is reducing the width of its pages by an inch and a half, to the national newspaper 12-inch standard.
The move cuts newsprint expenses and , in some printing press locations, makes special configurations unnecessary.
Slight modifications in design preserve the look and texture of The Times, with all existing features and sections and somewhat fewer words per page.

The paper retails for $1.25

I welcome the smaller format as it makes subway reading more manageable and less intrusive to others. You know, I am a considerate rider, I don't wear scents, comb my hair, cut my nails, taking up more space than necessary when I ride the train.

Eileen Chang

Se Jie (Lust, Caution)

From eswn.

The backstory of Se jie (2007) from somethingabouteileen.blogspot.com via eswn.

Movie Trailers from Apple.

Good Morning

I am just posting for the sake of posting. Just so if you check back here, you find something new, something worth reading, or not. I don't have any character. I just post for the sake of posting. What some people call K post, which I don't know what it is exactly but I guess it's not a good thing. The only K I know is the K in karaoke which was invented some time in the 80s or at least that's when I found out about it. I was never into it, because admittedly I am a no fun person. I am trying to change that, maybe next time I would sing some Karaoke if ever there is the opportunity in the future.

I did a load of laundry in the morning. It was a big load. The big difference between me doing the laundry and my wife is normally I don't separate the clothes, unless I am sure some color will definitely bleed. So I just load it up to the max and let the machine do its magic, no fabric softener or anything. White, colored, jeans, underwear, all mix together in one happy family. Just some warm water and some detergent. 20 minutes later, hang them up either in the basement or outside in the backyard. Today, we have plenty of sunshine so my clothes are in the backyard.

Ever since I don't need to wear proper business attire at work, I seldom wear shirt anymore. My daily wear is my work wear, that's jeans, T-shirt (don't know since when people like to call it Tee, I still like to call it T-shirt), and my Blundstones. It's really T-shirt, the sleeveless one, not even polo shirt with sleeve. I just don't like the whole idea of "business casual" or worse "smart casual" I shudder at the sound of them. It's either jeans or dressed up. If I wear shirts, I need to iron them myself. I don't send them out to do wash and iron. It's just not me. So I don't wear them because I don't want to iron them.

Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Bourne Ultimatum is the third and probably the last installment of the Bourne trilogy which debuted with Bourne Identity in 2002, then followed by Bourne Supremacy in 2004.

BU may be the last installment but in terms of story line and plot development it's more like an expansion of the second one, a two and a half if you will. BU only picks up where BS left off more than an hour into the movie when Bourne makes contact with Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) in New York City. A better half of BU actually traces what happened before Bourne finally comes back to New York City to come face to face with the source of all his troubles.

Towards the end of BS, the second Bourne movie, there is this five minute scene that seems unnecessary and anti-climatic. That is when Bourne finds the daughter, Irena Neski, played superbly by the achingly beautiful Oksana Akinshina, of his first kills and tells her the truth that her mother didn't kill her father nor herself, they were murdered by him. For the most part, Bourne's character is a no acting required job, but this last scene establishes Bourne's humanity and gives Matt Damon instant credibility as a bona fide actor that's indeed worthy of Oscar nomination. He has blood in his hand and there is nothing he can do to bring back the dead, the next best thing he can do at least is to confess, to unburden the truth, not to ask for forgiveness but to say sorry. The story and plot line can be convoluted but humanity cannot.

BU begins probably some night after (or even before) Bourne visits Irena Neski, when he is pursued by a couple of cops in Moscow. Bourne points a gun at one of the cops and the Russian pleads for his life. Bourne says "I don't have arguments with you." and walks away leaving the guy unharmed. This pretty much echoes what the Bourne character is toward the end of the second movie. He is not an indiscriminate killing machine even though he is capable of such. He is a retired assassin with remorse and guilt all over him.

Then the story unfolds in neck breaking speed with obligatory car chases, hand to hand combats, gun shots and more globe trotting to exotic locales. Anything you have in the previous two Bourne movies are boilertemplated here down to the hotel scene where Nicky Parsons (Julie Stiles) cut and dye her own hair. I won't say they are better but they are just as good and intelligently executed as those found in the first two Bourne films.

At the end of BS, we learned Jason Bourne is David Webb and was born 4-15-71 from the mouth of Pam Landy. What we didn't know then we know now, this message from Landy carries the code to find out where this whole Jason Bourne business begins.
Spoiler in white text follows if you so intend to know:
Landy tells Bourne the training facility where it all begins is at 415 E 71st Street. How Bourne figures out that is a code is anybody's guess. On his various passports, Bourne's birthday is printed as Aug 20, 1969 if it means anything at all. They didn't know the ending when they were shooting the second one, did they? So I am not surprised there is a bit of retrofitting the storyline of two into three. There is some inconsistency problem here as well; the end of BS as Bourne walks the street of New York City, it's obviously Spring or Fall. However when in BU, you see snow around street corners.

Foot Pursuits:
Very good. The one in London Waterloo Station is really tight. It very effectively shows London as a Big Brother police city. Everywhere is equipped with close circuit Tv.
Fight Scenes:
Every Bourne movie has a defining jaw dropping fight sequence. This one is preceded by a foot street pursuit, roof top jumping pursuit, then the showdown inside a Tangiers apartment. The fight and the final kill is similar to the second Bourne flick. In the second one, Bourne uses a magazine, and an electrical cord to fight and kill the guy. This time, he improvises using a book as a weapon and strangles the guy using a bathroom towel. Look like Bourne has a thing for strangulation. The first Bourne flick, Bourne doesn't exactly kills the guy in his Paris apartment, the guy flings himself out the balcony, gravity kills him.
High Speed Car chase:
Again the ending of the finale car chase is very similar to the second one. The bad guy crashed his car sideway. Bourne walks out, gun drawn, but doesn't shoot the guy. The crash kills the guy.
Warning:
Much has been discussed the deliberate hand held shaky camera work. It can be nauseating for some people. But I feel fine. Sometimes it can be overdone. I remember I think I could better appreciate a fight sequence or a car chase if only the camera was put outside of the action and not jerking vigorously inside the action. Oh well.
Bottom Line:
Fine piece of entertainment. If you like the first two, you will love this one as well. It includes some torture scenes in flashback. Kids younger than 13 or so may not feel comfortable. Definitely for older kids. Movie rated PG-13. Fast paced realistic violence, not much blood though.

What I Had For Lunch Part III

Beef soba. $4.95. The three of us enjoyed our take out at Byrant Park. We were probably the most handsomest guys in the whole wild park, across ethnicities. All eyes were on us the moment we stepped in the park. We were such chick magnets....Day dreaming finished. If I have noodle, I usually order udon, but today I decided to have a change. But the soba wasn't that good. Well, it was just a quick lunch and it wasn't all that bad either. Often times, those Japanese cashiers, make that cute Japanese cashiers, would "sing" me some greetings at the checkout and I am like speechless. Sometimes I wish I could speak a few conversational Japanese. Add Spanish, French, Italian and Taiwanese as well.

Talking about Japanese, this time when I was in Hong Kong, I found more Japanese influence in Chinese than it was years ago. Hong Kong was pretty close to Japan so I wasn't exactly surprised. Yet at the same time, it's hard for me to adjust. Apparently they are written in Chinese characters and yet I have to guess their meaning.

Cinema Friday

Amnesiac super assassin Jason Bourne is back to finish what he started five years ago, in search of his true identity. Bourne, played by Matt Damon, most probably leaves long trails of blood and a few bodies behind in the process of getting to the truth and avoids getting killed.

Bourne Ultimatum opens today.

UPDATE:
I was going to see the movie around 5.20 near work, but too bad, almost all shows were sold out, except those close to midnight. So I gave up and returned home ... to my notebook.

The movie got pretty good review.

YouTube Friday

I live in the presence but I belong to the past. This is the kind of Cantonese songs I used to listen to and dare I say liked.

What I Had For Lunch Part II

Foot long whole wheat ham sandwich with soda and chips, $7.95. Burp.

What I Had For Lunch

I had katsudon at my desk. It was from a neighborhood Japanese restaurant/mart. $4.95. I read consumer confidence is up, not mine though. Dow closed up more than $150 points.

Instant Ramen Is My Friend Part II

What's more appalling than eating directly from the cooking utensil? It's eating directly from a dirty cooking utensil. It's just there lying in the sink, soaked in tap water with grease and food residues from priors, then it got summoned to cook for another pack of ramen noodles.

Instant Ramen Is My Friend

I enjoy a good dining experience, a fine meal, who doesn't?
But there is a time when I would cook my instant ramen and eat it directly from the cooking utensil, that is, from an Ikea Sweden design made in China stainless 1 quart saucepan.

Music Consumption

All album jpegs in this post are from yesasia.com.

For all the six albums I bought, I only knew one or two songs (okay, it's three, all from Our Love Songs, namely CD1's track 2, 3, and 8) before I bought them. I bought them because I have blind faith on Mandarin songs from Taiwan and also I figured it's time to listen to some new songs instead of my ten or fifteen years old songs from way back. Or I was being adventurous. I didn't even know Summer Lei is a female singer until I played the CD. I probably won't buy another CD in three or four years.

Music and books are very personal. I mostly keep it to myself, or truth be told, I rarely listen to any music or read any book. Often times, beauty is really in the eye of the beholder. Sales and charts tell you a story but whether you personally like it or not, it's still no guaranteed. As to Cantonese songs, I could hardly listen to any new ones.

The album I listened the most, so far is the CD1 from Our Love Songs (2CD), the title is corny but I like it, top jpeg from above.
My favorite tracks are:-
3, Heard love have stopped by. I don't know the singer but I think she does the song pride and interprets it at least on par with the version by Lam Yik Lin.
5, Stranger. Tanya Chua.
8, Rewind. Jay Chou's song. Choi doesn't make it her own but it's a good song to begin with, you have to be pretty bad to mess it up.
10, Leave me. Nice melody and nice rendition. I only know her as a variety show host, doesn't know she can say. And sing she can.
All the songs are pretty nice.

Then there is DESERTS MY LIFE WILL ... (fifth jpeg from the top). I think she is a singer song writer. Oh yes she is, I just read from the pamphlet "All songs and lyrics written by Deserts." The only question I have now is where did she get her English name? I want one too. Not long after I bought this album, I found out she has a new album just came out. Oh well. It's new to me anyway. So she is a Chinese singing some English songs, I don't hold it against her as I am a Chinese writing in English (make it bad English) myself. Talking about the pamphlet, the centerfold showcases a collage of Deserts' snapshots, some in color and some in tastefully Ilford black and white, presumably on stage performing, driving, in the studio, and smoking as well. Call me a conservative, I really question the smoking poses. There are kids buying her album and I just don't think it's all that appropriate.
The overall sound of the album is good. It's pop, it's folk and it's rock.

The Three of Us

I was with Rambo and ultraman, circa April, 2007.

Inflight Movie Review

As a captive audience in the coach class of an airbus, I watched almost anything on the tiny screen on the back of the headrest in front of me.

Seung Sing(2006)
Seung Sing (Confession of Pain) starring human specimens Tony Leung Chi Wai as Detective Hei and Takeshi Kaneshiro as Bong.

It's hard not to like Leung and Kaneshiro, both are good looking which perhaps is the only saving grace of the entire movie. The rest are pretty forgettable. The major letdown was did Leung even voice his dialogs and were they dubbed over by someone else, if latter, then that's really appalling and totally off putting. The ambiance noise inside the aircraft prevented me from drawing a conclusion. Eye candy Shu Qi (Feng) delivered one of her worse performance ever. It was too cute to bear for my taste, I almost threw up my equally revolting inflight coffee as I had to watch her. I won't say it's entirely her fault, I just don't understand why the directors Leung and Mak thought it's a good idea to have her performed the way she performed.

As to Leung, I think it's a departure of his usual oh I am so charming movie starry performance. He tuned down a lot for this movie and put on a pair of spectacles which kind of fucked up his usual electric eyes. I happen to like this understated performance.

The movie as a whole is disappointing.

To Seek, Hold and Let Go

This dead tree publication is a compilation of various online posts from the same name Chinese (Cantonese) blog by famed blogger Charcoal who is a self-proclaimed nihilist with the good look of Daniel Wu. Charcoal, when not blogging, runs a small business in Jordan, arguably the biggest cesspool in Hong Kong.

Of course, the above can all be prefaced with the word "alleged," as I can neither verify nor debunk those claims except "famed blogger" which is my own assessment that I believe most people share. Charcoal has been pretty successful not to reveal his identity. Most if not all bloggers do not know his real world identity, myself included. But that's not important. What's important is his blog identity, that is, what and how he writes. Why he blogs is the least interesting part. He did say he uses blogging to alleviate tension from work. Or whatever. It boils down to because the guy can and do it much better than most people. About seven months ago, Sina did a similar compilation from Sina's own bloggers and gave the book a title "Why We Blog?" or "Why Weblog?" Anyway, I never bother to check it out, as I am least interested in why when it comes to writings. I am much interested in what people write and even more importantly how people write. Or I am simply turned off by the title.

What Charcoal writes Charcoal knows. He writes about his work, his team of staff past or present, his life, his musings on things happened around him. In short, everyday stuff that in lesser hands, can and will become extremely pedestrian and boring. I am not sure if he is a nihilist, but from his posts, I can sense he is an humanitarian. All his characters, real or imagined are ordinary people. Ordinary as in people can be found in nightclubs, in small offices, on the streets, the mentally challenged, unprivileged and underprivileged in the urban jungle that is known as Hong Kong. Charcoal, through his writings, give ordinary people a voice, a character in an otherwise mundane if not totally cruel and meaningless life. Charcoal reveals and praises humanity in his most ordinary characters. Some of his more distinguished blog posts are actually novellas written yet in another voice, like a Beer Girl or an Office Assistant. Charcoal is a blogger-cum-novelist. Personally I think how is more important than what one writes. Charcoal, like I said earlier, writes everyday life. But he always manages to find an angle, a voice, an opinion, a connection that he can make his own and makes things interesting. Now that is what I call talent or past hard work manifested as talent.

As to the dead tree publication, the comments are gone, so commenters don't expect to find your witty comments on the book. Like I said, the book is a compilation of blog posts from the past, so you can find all the contents online except for the book preface. The preface is typical Charcoal, well written, self deprecating, gives credits to people and fellow bloggers who have either inspired or helped him along the way. And finally he gracefully apologizes to Charlie Cho Cha-Lei for appropriating his picture as his online avatar and praises Mr. Cho's contribution to the Hong Kong cinema.

"To Seek, Hold and Let Go", like Charcoal's online avatar Cho is decidedly lowbrow in the best sense of the word, very assessable and enjoyable. If you are to read between the lines or bytes, you can definitely appreciate the humanity and dignity of his characters that are shared among human kinds in an otherwise meaningless and sometimes cruel existence.

"To Seek, Hold and Let Go" is the most important publication of this summer because I say so.

Bottom line: You don't have to get the book if you are already an avid reader of his blog. But then again, if you read his blog regularly and religiously you would like to get a hardcopy so you can read it anytime and anywhere online or offline. If you have been living under a rock or don't believe in blogging (I am truly surprised you are reading this then) you owe yourself to get copy of this exemplary Cantonese writing at its very best.

Disclosure: Yours truly got a signed copy with an accompanying note waiting for me when I checked in my hotel in the mildly dangerous and pleasantly decadent Jordan neighborhood, the same can be said about Mr. Charcoal's blog, mildly dangerous and pleasantly decadent.

In Search of Charcoal

If you can only buy one book this summer, this is the one you want to get.

Fashion Faux Pas

Crime committed as detailed from mad dog's post here.

I salute those who can slide in a pair of jeans in the 90F heat and act as if that's nothing in the middle of the day. I figure you just get used to the heat or something.
Just when I thought wearing jeans in the day was impossible, then another scene shocked me to the core. You can actually see middle school girls wear dark colored vest in broad day light, in the dead heat of the summer afternoon. I am not sure if they are made of wool or cotton or a mix of material. But come on, it's 90F degrees out there, the girls are putting on a vest. You just have to see it to believe it.
I took three pairs of jeans with me. I wore a pair on my way to Hong Kong. I wore one the evening me and my wife went to a decent restaurant in Central. The other pair I left in the luggage.

Hong Kong Tea Restaurant

The taxi driver who picked us up from the airport told me I should bring my wife to a Hong Kong tea restaurant. So I did. The food is a Hong Kong reinvention and reinterpretation, essentially a meshed up of Western and Chinese food. Only in Hong Kong.

B P International Hong Kong

I was told the room either has 2 twin beds or 1 full size bed. The four of us were stuck with two twin beds Our room was clean, especially before we moved in. Hotel staff was generally friendly and helpful except the one time I was misinformed that Ocean Park didn't offer water soaking rides or games. Ocean Park did offer various water games. If only I knew, I would have brought along swim suits for the kids.
The hotel is located next to Kowloon Park, an urban oasis in an otherwise overcrowded Kowloon Peninsula. The Park offers three swimming sessions every day and charges a nominal fee. The Park opens to the public for free. Temple Street is right there as well, the morning after our arrival, when we were still living in North America time, looking for breakfast, I spotted a few girls working the street corners already. Something's never changed.

[photographer in me: shot with a hand-held slave flash. It worked pretty well.]

My Boys

Studying Pokemon.

Before going out to see Transformers.

Can they not make the movies that long nowadays? Transformers clock in more than 2 hours. The first hour or so is pretty OKAY, then it just goes downhill. All the movies are getting longer and longer. Do people even edit their movies anymore? Or they just push everything onto the screen.

[picture notes: top, bogen 3021bpro, 488r2, nikkor AF 80~200. above: nikkor mf 24mm, set at f 5.6, on camera flash set at manual at 1/16 power, off-camera SB-50DX as slave full power. Camera D70]

update: 9/7/2010
I totally forgot I can set the Flash manual even when an AIS manual lens is mounted.  I just have to set it via the Menu system.  I think the flash exposure on the bottom picture was pretty spot on.

See You Soon

July 6 ~ July 14, B P International Hong Kong
July 14 ~ July 21, Tainan, Taiwan

iPhone whoring continues unabated

This is, ahem, from PCWORLD. Look like the iPhone stands up pretty well. (iPhone stress test)

I'm not the fartman, from 9to5mac.com

Tripod and Ball Head

Finally, finally, I got my first tripod legset and my ballhead. I can die a happy man now.

Lesser photographers talk about Nikon vs. Canon, better ones talk about tripods. I think there is some truth to it ....

(Tips for better writing: If you can't write or finish your thought, the punctuation ellipsis comes in handy. Also, if you can't write anything exciting or mildly interesting, try to use the exclamation mark like !!!! to perk it up. Or to kick up things even another notch, mix the punctuations, like !?!?!?, it sure helps.)

Readings ...

This is from Philip Greenspun's weblog. They are required readings for my intellectual or pseudo-intellectual friends, you know who you are.

Note for cheapskates (you know who you are)
The New Yorker's articles are free, you can print them out to read when you are driving (yes, driving), riding on a train, or doing your business in the confine of your bathroom.

Movie Review: Live Free or Die Hard

It's Friday late afternoon. I was off from work. It was a beautiful afternoon. Plenty of sunlight and it wasn't cold or hot. It's a perfect day to hang out in the city or one is so inclined, wait in line to get the iPhone. Since I don't like to wait in any line whatsoever, so I go to check out some cinematic old fart like Bruce Willis.

What can I say, it seems to be good but then again, never as good as I want it to me. I seriously think I have outgrown my love for any action movie.

I haven't seen a lot of movies, but the few I saw regarding computer hacking always leave me wondering Is it real? Are you fucking kidding me? Why the hell the screen is so fancy? With all these whirling bold face messages? I long for some hardcore hacking scenes with UNIX like terminal screen, not that I know a lot of what hacking is like, but those fancy screens are just way too fancy for me.

In Live Free or Die Hard, Apple spokeperson Justin Long is supposed to be the smartie pant hacker who acts as Bruce Willis' sidekick to foil a bunch of baddie cyber terrorists. I think Justin Long does a fine job as far as not coming across as off putting like he is in some Apple ads. But the movie just doesn't have the time or bother to show off any supposedly computer skills that earn him to be on the FBI's list. Kevin Smith plays Long's on screen buddy Warlock, another hacker, supposedly. Again, no hardcore computer skills are portrayed, just a caricature of hacker being someone who lives in his mom's basement.

Live Free or Die Hard is rated PG-13, so essentially is for teenagers or the like. And McClane doesn't curse nor does he smoke anymore.

iLine, iWait, iEat

I feel somewhat sorry for those Apple and at&t employees who have at 6PM to serve some iPhone whores who haven't taken a shower for days.

More photos for linesitter Greg Packer at Gizmodo.