Hong Kong Random Eats

We decided to chill out in this European sounding American ice-cream parlor, Haagan-Dazs, in TST near the Star Ferry. I carried my MSI Wind with me just in case I can get some free wi-fi. Mostly I used it to suck out the jpegs from the camera's HCSD card. Yes, I got nothing better to do.

Hong Kong Random Eats

This is a chain store located in the sub terrain area of a TST shopping mall. The food, decor and service are all decent. It's not one of those top notched places or one of those small gems with plenty of characters. But it's good enough and decent enough for general consumption. If you need to impress and wow somebody this is not the place.

The State of The Internet In Some HK Hotel

With that many words, I don't think it's that easy ...

I need reading glasses to read the fine prints. The whole thing is written in fine prints.

Honestly I am pretty happy with the hotel. But honestly there are always something I don't like, like how come I am not a millionaire or a billionaire so I can stay in the Peninsula.

My only gripe is there is no wi-fi in the room, but that's really irrelevant as I can live with a RJ-45 connection. It's just that they need to charge you for the connection. I feel like I am Royally screwed (Stay in Royal, and be Royally Screwed, that's the slogan?) wherever and whenever a hotel charges for Internet connection. It's almost as bad as getting charged $25 for a bottle of Watson's water in the fridge. I think I really need to learn how to hack any wi-fi network.

Laundry Price List

This hotel only provides self-laundry service for their long term staying guests. Looking at the price list I figure I better off buying new underwear than letting them clean mine. Or better still, handwash them in the tub, go commando or simply just sun dry clean them in the balcony.

What to pack when traveling in HK in the summer ...
If you are a minimalist, all you need is really your passport and a stack of bank and credit cards, you can buy practically anything in Hong Kong, usually at a good price (except used camera equipments).
If you don't plan to buy any T-shirts or intimate wears when in HK, then I think you really should pack accordingly because there is no getting around changing your clothes as you will be soaked and drowned in your own sweats. So pack for daily changes at a minimum.

Hong Kong is a more powerful city, it uses some 240V and the power outlet has a different configuration from here in the US. Normally your portable electronics device can take 110 to 240V, so you don't really need a transformer except an adapter to allow you to plug it into the socket. But do check the input voltage. Case in point, someone plugged in a device that only takes 110V into the 240V outlet and the device went up in smoke and the suite fire alarm went off and the hotel burned to the ground .... Personally I can't wear jeans and long pants when I am in Hong Kong. I was able to do so once upon a time but not anymore.

Deja vu Laundry

I did a load of laundry yesterday and hung them on a clothesline outside. Unfortunately it got all rained up while I was enjoying an afternoon snap nap. I didn't bother to collect them back until this morning. So I redid the load just like yesterday except with minimum spin cycles and only a touch of detergent and hung them out again.

As if you really need to know.

Hong Kong

I thought they only made this in the ad. So I was surprised they actually made this M art drawing in production. I am a bit embarrassed as I don't think cappuccino is really a drink that associates with me, it's like the Pina Colada of coffee. Normally I just order coffee or espresso. Cappuccino with latte art seems too childish. Anyway, I was there for the Internet connection. Now I forgot if it's really 30 minutes or 20 minutes or 22.35 minutes of free connection.

Hong Kong

My old friends are treating me for dinner. One of them has the Nikkor 50mm f1.2 and a FM2/T. It just reflects how old he is. The guy is retired, living off his meager retirement fund and needs opening doors at shopping malls and carrying ball bags and racquets for others, an overaged ball boys if you will, to make ends meet. I warn my kids to study hard not to be like him. He is holding on his Nikons though as David Chan had told him film gears' values are holding up and appreciating nicely. What baloney.

Thank you guys for a nice dinner.

Omaha Steak

Omaha Steak given by a kind neighbor of mine. What a nice guy. Any person who just gives out free steak automatically becomes my best friend.

No, this picture has nothing to do with the recent trip I made. I just feel like to post it on the blog. Well crusted on the outside and pink on the inside.




For those of you who wonder why my kids look frail and tiny, wonder no more. Because I only feed them with white rice. Look at the table, it is devoid of dishes and practically empty.

A Room With A View

Alex: This is what my Dad gives me for breakfast. A slice of nutritious white bread. why does he have to be so cheap?

Hong Kong

Harry: I wish I was anywhere but here. Why Daddy has to be so cheap?
Photo taken in a Hong Kong styled tea restaurant in Tsuen Wan.

Hong Kong

This shot was taken in a Hong Kong Japanese tea/drink/noodle house kind of outfit near Champagne Court. My brother was the one behind the camera. My head is so heavy it needs all the support from my hand.

Random Musings

People love lists or simply I can't write in complete sentences and paragraphs ...

• I was going to scam one of my old friends to sell his good old Nikkor 50mm f1.2 lens. He may be old and senile but he smelled something rotten. So there was no deal.
• I was hoping I could snatch some nice used camera equipments in Hong Kong. Alas, Hong Kong got expensive and there was no way I would shop for used equipments in Hong Kong. The price is just insane. The desire to own yet another film camera seems to be fading.
• Some friends I missed. But that's OKAY we'll meet some day.
• I was hoping to visit maybe at least one fancy restaurant like I did two years ago but it didn't work out. I was just busy plus the weather was simply demoralizing.
• I brought a pair of Weejun slip-ons but never got the chance to wear them.
• I brought two pairs of jeans but never got the chance to wear them. Only on the occasion that I flew to Taiwan did I wear my jeans. It was just too darned hot. I remember I used to wear jeans in Hong Kong in the summer, now it's like How the hell did I do that? It's like impossible. I wore cargo shorts and a jacket onboard for their unlimited supples of pockets.
• When aircraft touches down and taxiing in the tarmac, people or some people invariably remove their seat-belts and busy opening the overhead cabins for their oversized carryons while the seat-belt sign is still on, purposely causing a commotion when none is warranted. Usually my fervent wish at that moment is the aircraft would make some sudden sharp jerks to throw them off their feet and the carryons fall on those people not on innocent passengers whose biggest crime is to be with those asshole passengers. I think that will teach them a lesson. Too bad that never happens. Plus, they also like to whip out their cellphones and yelp right away. Now I do wish the the air staff would confiscate every single one of those cell phones like they are authorized and supposed to do. Just throw those passengers together with their cellphones off the plane.

Olympus

This is the Olympus EP-1 a la Tokyo Camera Style shot. I bumped into this guy (this guy is also known as my brother) in Champagne court and he had this latest toy with him. I was able to scam him to take a few shots of the camera and even funner shot the EP-1 myself. The camera does indeed feel substantial and heavy when compared to the SD880 IS I was carrying at the moment. My first impression was the auto focus doesn't seem to be swift or decisive when shooting in available light indoors in the seedy shopping arcade.

Gate 8

Gate 8 kind of sucks compared to other gates. It's dark and is tucked away in a subterrain area from all the main gates. Though it doesn't seem to make sense it's subterrain but it certainly feels that way. A very different area from the otherwise airy and spacious airport.

I have really no complaint to the Hong Kong Airport. It has plenty of bathrooms, not that I really need to use all of them. They are clean and all. The wi-fi is strong and coverage is good. The only minus is given that's it's an international airport, it doesn't support the kind of plug that US uses. So the charging station wouldn't work if you don't have an adapter. But I guess if you are a professional traveler you are better prepared and equipped than me.

Bye Bye Hong Kong and Taiwan

Here is me waiting for my flight back to the Big Apple. Just came back from the smoking room fetching a can of Coca-Cola. I entered the smoking room twice, once thinking that it would take paper money, wrong, the next time with two $5 coins. A can of Coca-Cola costs $10 here. I don't know why the vending machine is hiding inside a hideous smoking room near gate 43. Now I guess I smell like a Marlboro man. The scary picture was taken with the MSI netbook webcam. For a while I thought I was out of camera as my SD880 is still in Taiwan in the capable hands of my wife.

I would like to thank everybody who have made this trip a great success. You know who you are.

No Bargains Here

Guys there are no bargains here. Look elsewhere.

If you insist or like window shopping like I do, you can check out the half dozen shops specialized in old used film cameras, antique or junk you decide, there on the ground floor of Champagne Court, 16 Kimberley Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Pilgrimage

Old cameras don't die they just sit on David Chan's selves and waiting to be picked up by yet another gullible amateur who somehow is obsessed with everything that's old and chrome. My pilgrimage had been pretty disappointing largely due to my own ignorance. I thought they would be of superb quality yet priced even lower than similar items found in eBay because they are in Hong Kong or simply I thought so. Superb quality is probably a yes but cheap is definitely not true. The items are priced like at least twice as much as what you would ordinarily find on eBay, and usually much much more. Granted you have the chance and joy to actually pick up the item and examine it yourself and that's something you can't do via eBay. This experience somehow totally ruined my obsession with old cameras. I lost at least temporarily all my desires to pick up any old used film camera. Thank you David Chan.

Star Ferry

It took forever to get the picture uploaded. Yet another minor masterpiece (yes, it sounds oxymoron but that's OKAY) from yours truly. The two things I don't like about the SD880 IS is that you can't set the aperture or the shutter speed, and there is no aperture priority auto. It would be nice to provide a square format as well. Other than those I think the SD880 is pretty solid.

Hong Kong

It's my experience and impression that it's almost impossible to find a hotel room that can comfortably accommodate a family of four. Two a resounding yes; three still good, but four, forget about it, you have to ask for extra cot or something. In New York or about, I can easily find a cheap hotel with two full-sized beds or even queen-sized beds. In Hong Kong, forget about it. The bed is just tiny. Even the "suite" we stayed in has two rooms but one only got a twin sized bed and other is a full-sized bed that can sleeps two ... barely. We have to open up the couch in the living room. So much so for a "suite." One night, the little one actually slept on the extra large extra spacious window sill in the smaller room. The suite does have a balcony I guess that somehow adds allure to the suite.

Notice that it's only my experience, if you are loaded I am sure you can find any size hotel suite with any size beds in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong

The Internet is melting down under the punishing sun here and so am I. My online experience hasn't been all that positive. First my hotel insists Internet connection is not an utility like water or electricity and hence I have to pay extra for it. Since I am a cheapskate so I refused to pay anything extra for the connection. I did end up paying $25 for a little bottle of Waton's water in the fridge. There was no wi-fi in the the room or actually the "suite" that we stayed in, it has to be a RJ-45 tethered connection, I guess that isn't all that bad, it's more reliable than wi-fi. For wi-fi, I have to haul my netbook to the lobby. I did see the connection but alas it needs to log in and a password. So I gave up. And I can see the importance of hacking skills in the face of such online roadblock created by the tyranny that's the Hong Kong hotel. The only free wi-fi I enjoyed during my stay in Hong Kong was the 30-min from a McDonald's in TST. Again, it's important to know how to hack to bypass this 30-min arbitrary limitation.

Oops, the picture can't get loaded into blogger. The picture still can't get loaded. OKAY, I gave up for now.

Tsimshatsui

Who Is That White Haired Dude

The captions shall purposely ignore non-essential persons and hangers-on.

The British simply don't care about Ralph Lauren despite the fact that the dude has been dressing the ball boys with ridiculously oversized pony emblem polo shirts for the tournament like two years in a row. Poor Ralph. Well they don't seem to care Mr. Allen's wife either. They seem to like the gladiator though.

UPDATE 7/27/09
I found out yesterday, one title and both captions were all updated with full mention of Mr. Allen's wife Soon-Yi Previn and Mr. Lauren.

Trip

July 6 - July 13, HK
July 13 - July 22, Taiwan

Wimbledon 2009

Live Blogging from the England Club ... as seen on TV from the living room.

Andy Roddick is out Federering Federer on Centre Court, hitting the kind of passing shots that Federer hits except better. Roddick is flashing strokes of genious just like when he ousted Murray a couple of days ago.

Wimbledon jetted Pete Sampras and his wife to witness history in the making. In some way it's like saying Federer is going to get his 15th Slam title. I wonder how that makes Roddick feel.

It's still early in the game and nobody should make the mistake of writing anybody off at this stage especially it's Federer that we are talking about.

Roddick's wife, Brooklyn Decker is once again donning a pair of Ray Ban aviator. She probably looks good in any shades but her style of choice is a pair of aviator, a frame that never really goes out of style. Any purveyors of style would come to it, it's just a timeless piece. Decker, instead of weakening the dude's legs, is largely credited for Roddick's resurgence.

Roddick took the first set at 7-5.

Federer took the second set. Inexplicably Roddick hit a few loose balls during the tie break and Federer leveled the game.

Now back to square one.

This is really a test for Roddick. Can he rebound, regroup and fight from scratch after losing a set. A true test of tenacity more on Roddick than on Federer.

******

Roddick lost Wimbledon but he still has Brooklyn

It's over now. Federer won the match. Roddick lost. Bottom line is Roddick lost to a superior player. His comeback was spoiled but at the same time he probably should feel proud about the whole ordeal, nobody would have guessed he would be going to a Slam final let alone facing Federer in the Wimbledon final and beating Murray on his way. He has some time to rest up and regroup and prepare for the US Open, the last Grand Slam event of the year. This should be Roddick's surface. A man that can hit a 140 mph ball, you would have thought he could easily hit more aces than Federer and win the last set. Alas, there's something wrong with his ball placement I suppose. If Roddick continues to let his game speak for himself--keep his mouth shut, and stay focused and work on his game, he stands a good chance in the US Open final.

E-P 1 In The Wild

Seems like everybody has caught some sort of serious compact camera bug. I should say there is always some group of extremely well-off people who prefer compact cameras to manly man gigantic SLRs with oversized lenses. The Olympus pen is emblematic and a continuation of this serious(ly expensive) digital compact camera trend represented by the Leica M8, D-Lux 4, Panicsonic LX-3, Sigma DP-1, DP-2, and Ricoh GR Digital II, Epson R-D1s. The Olympus E-P1 attracted tons of attention from serious amateurs and arm-chair photographers alike. Tokyocamerastyle has a couple of pictures showing the pen in the wild as carried by a woman. Oh well, the camera does look like a girly camera. But I don't think I would have any qualm wearing and using one. I would get one of those original half frame pen.

Wimbledon 2009

Live Blogging from the England Club ... err more like from the couch in front of the TV.

Mens Semi Finals

Haas vs Federer

31 year old Tommy is squaring off with Federer on Centre Court.

Federer took the first set. Haas didn't just give it away he forced Federer to go to tie break.

Haas just hit a few forehands into the net not enough top spins I surmise. Federer is playing well like you would expect from him. Federer is dictating his service game. Just impeccable.

Federer is dominating, taking the first two sets. Haas has no answer to Federer's Swiss army knife kind of plays.

Haas is frustrated while Federer is as cool as ever.

Federer finished off Haas with a flying smashed down hit. Federer really played a flawless match.

Roddick vs Murray
Each one got one set, and Roddick is leading the third set with 4 games to 2. Murray received a warning from the chair umpire for uttering an audible obscenity.
Both players are playing well. But I will give the edge to A Rod for his power serve and seemingly stronger mental stance. The body language of Murray at times seem not as positive as he should be. The last time a British won the Championship was Fred Perry in 1936.

The crowd is very appreciative for the two Andys.

Andy Roddick got the job done. It's just unbelievable for Roddick to pull this off. We have an all American women's final and we have an American in the men's final. What a way to celebrate the Independence Day on July Fourth. Once again, the British are disappointed again.

Haircut

I decided to clean up myself before I go home, to see my mom. The haircut I usually get from Flushing hasn't been all that satisfactory. It isn't exactly bad either as with a face like myself I simply can't have a bad hair cut--feel free to throw up on your keyboard. I avoid going to any salon with stylists I just need somebody to cut my hair with skills and patience and doesn't remind me how awful my hair is and I need to do highlight or a perm or other nonsense.

I checked out one on 10 Doyers Street. Don't let the name "beauty salon" fool you or embarrass you. It's just a barbershop perhaps with some service for women, but it's a barbershop no less. Once I saw a couple of old guys cutting hair for even older men I felt safe to go inside. The gent who cut my hair is in his 60s, speaks a mix of Shanghainese, Mandarin and Cantonese as I would expect from such an establishment. The shop is kind of shabby and around the shop are similar establishments which are equally seedy or if you prefer they have certain unadorned simplicities and old world charms. The barber cut my unruly mane short with a few different shears, a clipper and finished it off with a deadly vintage Henkel straight razor. The barber sat me on a plastic stool in front of a sink next to a bathroom, shampooed my hair just like how I remember it from way back. Since I just shaved with a straight razor in the morning, rare but true, so I declined the shave offered. He finished the whole experience with a blowdry prefaced with some oily hair product and finished with a fire breathing dryer that guaranteed my hair stays put for the rest of my life as god intended.

The whole deal was a cool $9. Any guy should be proud to have a cheap and good haircut. If you are anal and care a lot about cleanliness and personal hygiene then perhaps Hip Kee is not for you, but for $9 I am all for it.

Wimbledon 2009

The old men are still hanging around.

Tommy Haas, the oldest player around, at 31 is going to the semi-finals facing one of tennis great Roger Federer. Haas was good enough to beat Djokovic in the quarter finals. People are again questioning Djokovic's physical condition. Is the guy fit to play? Is he a quitter? Can he play in rough conditions? So far the guy hasn't proved himself to be a tough player. At times he could be funny and likable but sometimes he just turns spiteful and when that happens the fans are turning their backs against him quicker that he likes.

Roddick looks more matured and he always has something interesting to say off court. "We're just a couple of old married dudes." That's how Roddick describes himself and Hewitt whom he defeated on his way to the semi meeting another Andy, Andy Murray, Britain's only hope to win in like 1000 years, the championship. Andy was mostly quiet and his on the court persona seemed more matured. But old habits really die hard. At some point against Hewitt, he was arguing about a line call with the chair umpire. The line person was summoned. I don't like it at all. It's just distracting. He should just stay focused and played the match. Marriage and a new coach are helping Roddick.

The news just got in. We are going to have yet another Williams sisters final. BORING. I think they totally earned and deserved it. No other players can play as consistent as the sisters. Venus spent less than 51 minutes to dispatch Safina, the number one that has yet to win a slam title. Safina, what can I say? It was painful to watch her play the French final this year. The girl just gone bonkers and kept looking up for her coach for acceptance and guidance. It was awful to see her broken down like that in a Grand Slam event.

Got to go now...

MSI Wind

I got my MSI Wind U100 432US yesterday. It comes with Windows XP Home edition, the installation or rather the configuration was painless. And it didn't take that long either, 5 or 10 minutes top. The Wifi works flawlessly and it hasn't dropped on me once yet. The F11 function key toggles the browser to full screen by eliminating the menu and address bar, I find it useful espeically on this 10 inch netbook, though this F11 function are present in all of my computers I seldom use it until now. I inserted my 8GB SDHC card into the slot and it reads OKAY. I was able to switch between user accounts with no problem. The keyboard is a bit tight but I read it's one of the best in its class already, oh well. The comma, period and slash are smaller than usual. So when I meant to have the period I ended up hitting the slash. I normally type pretty fast. And except MSN and MS Mediaplayer, there is almost no junk ware on the desktop, it's very clean.

Windows 7

Are you 7 enough to have Windows 7? A dear friend of mine points out that 7 is not a good name. If you speak Cantonese you probably know what I mean. I never thuoght about it as I am no longer (or have I ever) as sensitive to the language as I used to be. I think that's a very valid and interesting point. I think the Cantonese speaking communities are going to have plenty of fun with this Windows 7 OS. Wow, you are so seven. My friend vouches to get a Mac if he were to get a new computer. I totally understand his sentiment. For me, if I were to get a desktop, I probably want to build one myself. For notebook, yes, it's gonna be a MacBook pro kind of a deal. Anyway, too many to buy. I understand there is some big push of Windows 7 on the corporate side, at least when compared to Vista. MS consulting shops are decending on companies to help conduct readiness studies. Look like they are going to really push the OS down the corporate environment. At the same time, most software vendors don't really have a solid plan or a statement one way or the other as far as compatibility goes. But my limited experience and knowledge is the apps seem to work just fine in Windows 7 if they have been working fine in XP. Of course, this is totally anecdotal.

D90

I think I am not going to get another DSLR any time soon (well there is no but, I still think I am not going to get another DSLR). D90 is like a glorified D80 with video capacity. Or a dumbed down D300 with video. Not that it is bad or anything it's just that it is kind of bland. I was not too excited when it was first introduced last year. Then I got the video bug and I started to look into the Canon HV30 and the current HV40. With the HV models one would have to get an adapter in order to use any SLR 35mm lens to create that dreamy shallow depth of field. The HV40 retails from $799 to $999. And a refurbised HV30 costs close to $500. I have already a handful of Nikon glasses but still it's a sizable outlay considering I also need to upgrade my desktop should I really go ahead to edit HD. Then there is the Nikon D90 which readily uses any Nikkor lenses I already have. I am sure there are differences between shooting a camcorder and using DSLR for video capture. Then I read from NikonRumors that a feature by the name of Reverie was shot entirely in D90. And the cinematographer even came up with a paper to explain how he came about choosing the D90 as opposed to picking the seemingly better specs Canon 5DMkII model, full frame sensor and full 1080p HD for two. Considering most broadcasts either do 720p or 1080i, the 720p that the D90 offers is actually not half as bad. I mean a good video, other than good quality, the editing and story are just as important if not more so. The D90 looks more attractive to me now.

Month In Review

This month everybody kind of just died. If you are still breathing, count your blessings already.

• Shih Kien. The one and only. He was the most loved bad guy in those serious and unintentional funny wuxia black and white features. In those Wong Fei Hung series, in the end, he invariably got beat up by Wong--the always serious and always (self-)righteous good guy played by the late Kwan Tak Hing, and cried for mercy and forgiveness. It was classic Shek Kin. He actually made the good guys look bad. In those days, the characters and the actors are almost indistinguishable.
  
• David Carradine. Everything was in slow motion. He was genuinely campy without the irony. He single-handedly made Kung Fu look bad and good at the same time.
• Ed McMahon. Hereeeeeeeeeeee's Johny. The sidekick that turned to a star.
• Farrah Fawcett. The hair was definitely bigger than the person.
• Michael Jackson. A guy who grew up so fast as a kid so much so that he refused to grow up when he became an adult. He was kind and warm before he was spiteful. His greatness was only matched by his total weirdness. He'd never stop entertaining dead or alive.
  

And they are all dead now.

YouTube Friday

It's hard not to like the guy in the video.

Miscellaneous

Usually picture this good is not taken by me. And it isn't.

UPDATE (11/18/09):
A critical analysis of the picture.
Two heads, two rice bowls, two cups, two napkins, two pairs of chopsticks, two chairs, two reading lamps, two picture frames on the wall.  They all echo one another very nicely.  The foreground has this pair of chopsticks directing our vision to the point of interest, that is the subjects who are naturally interesting.  A slice of domestic playfulness between brothers.

Random Excellence

Template Change

Since you guys have big screens it seems ridiculous to have some fixed width template that doesn't make good use of the real estate of your big screens. So here it is, a blog template that allows automatic stretching across the browser. At the same time, I hope it isn't too much of a chore to pan your head or eyes across the screen. Previously the blogpost is really narrow, so much so that I can't post big pictures but arguably easier to read.

Wimbledon 2009

Sharapova's Balmain jacket made an early exit in the second round. She put up a fight and saved a few match points but in the end no amount of shriekings and fist pumps were enough to save her from a three set defeat to Gisela Dulko from Argentina. The pundits are saying it's the shoulder surgery, not moving well, got a bit rusty on the court. Well, I agree. Once you got injured, you are in for a lot of troubles. Serena Williams on the other hand seems to be moving extremely well on the grass court, nimbly pounding the ball with enormous power.

Even The Biggest Bird Can Fit In Our Pants

R0011235
Originally uploaded by Duke of Aberdeen.

Winners of the following categories ...

Billboards and outdoor advertising.
Corporate identity design.

Mini Rant

My hp6910p continues to underperform or perform just as expected. There is no surprise on the upside only on the downside. I got myself a Kingston SDHC 8 GB card, and just as expected, it won't read it. So no surprise here as the reader only says SD. On another unrelated note, one of the keys on the keyboard just gone bonkers. So when I type, a letter just won't show up like it's supposed to be. I have to press it in a special way. It doesn't sound like a big deal but it actually is. It gets really annoying. On the other hand, my Linux cheapo hardware continues to surprise me on the upside. My super cheapo SOHOUSB reader/writer just reads the 8GB without any problem. And yes, the reader just says SD no HC there but it just swallows the card in whole and gives me an icon on the desktop that says 8.0 GB Media. It just works.

Kodachrome

I am not much of a photographer nor do I have a big collection of gears. I have a meager budget comparing to other big shots out there. You know everything is kind of relative. I have fun, now and then. I succumbed to the romantic vision of yesteryear and I ordered my Kodachrome (not the PKR, just KR) as yet another tribute to good old film photography. If, with any luck, my order actually goes through, I would be a proud owner of the now discontinued emulsion. But who knows? The site was crawling when I placed the order and I don't know if they actually have any stock in house. As most other major photographic super stores have gone out of stock already. And if you were to try eBay, it's just ridiculous. Oh well, everything old is new again. People in some twisted ways are longing for the good old days.

UPDATE 6/24/09: I JUST SAVED MYSELF A BUNDLE

Here is an email I got just now explaining that they actually don't have the inventory. Whoever built their website got lucky. The database doesn't support transaction? I have no clue but apparently something is amiss.

I received your order but unfortunately, we do not have the item in stock. You were allowed to place an order when we were out of stock. The last rolls sold Tuesday afternoon but the web-site was unable to keep up with the item status. I do apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. I will go ahead and cancel the order.

We greatly appreciate you thinking of us for your photographic needs. Please let us know if you have any questions regarding future orders. I hope to be assisting you in the future.

Sincerely,

[redacted]

Wimbledon Waistcoat

R Fed plays a Japanese Kamikaze, sort of ...

Cougars and senior citizens love R Fed, no doubt.

Is there a mirror somewhere? How's my hair?

Maître d': R Fed, please clean up table 10 and booth A complains the egg roll is too small.
R Fed: Gosh, not the egg roll again!

Federer fashion watch.

White military jacket and matching long pants with golden piping. Together with the oversized white headband, he looks very Japanese Kamikaze.

If you think the jacket is kind of ridiculous, wait till you see what's inside. It's a waistcoat, that Federer leaves on when warming up. God forbid, a white waistcoat in a tennis court worn by one of the tennis greats Roger Federer. I mean he is not waiting table, isn't he? It certainly tops Nadal's sleeveless shirt and clam digger pants. If Federer, for any reason messes up in the tournament, it's definitely the hideous waistcoat.

Balmain Jacket ...

Only whiter and tackier.

Nike also carries the military theme into the women's side. Sharopova wears what looks like a $10,000 Balmain jacket except whiter and tackier.

Mixed Signal?

The Dow went down more than 200 points. The pundits are citing economics concerns and other BS as what most pundits are expected to say having known what the direction the market moved. At the same time Goldman is expecting to pay out good bonus to its associates. So I guess the financial market is bouncing back or at least making good money again.

Apple's 3G Ass is selling more than 1 million in its debut weekend and Jobs has a new liver. So that's all good news? No, the stock price takes a beating along with the major market indice and closes down more than two bucks. I think Apple still has good fundamentals in this recession economy with or without Jobs. Another interesting thing to watch is would Apple kowtow to China's security concern if or when asked to install some filtering software like Green Dam to its hardware? Would Apple cry bloody murder or will it just oblige? If Windows machines are made to install whatever god awful filtering software I don't see no reason why Apple or Linux or whatever consumer machines can be exempted in the next phase after Windows machines. As if in the grand tradition of Chinese knockoffs, if you can pirate why buy originals; even the Green Dam filtering software is allegedly developed from stolen proprietary codes from another software company based on California.

Wimbledon 2009

This is a Wimdbledon without Nadal. I think nobody is really happy about it, except maybe some other players. Would Nike be happy about it given it pays Nadal some millions to wear its sports attire? Would the general tennis fans happy about it? Absolutely not. I didn't bother to Google the prize money but it's like Federer is having it in his pocket already. So where is the competition? Andy Murray has a pretty good record against R Fed but then again this is Wimbledon, an event that's kind of bigger than life. Murray still has yet to win a Grand Slam title. It would be interesting to see how well Robin Soderling is holding up in his post French final performance.

The state of American tennis? I think it's going down the toilet. Make it gone down the toilet already. James Blake just got ousted in the first round. I think it's going to take a miracle for Andy Roddick to win. The guy got some talent but I think he is not focused enough. On the court, he is ALWAYS distracted. Always.

Roger Federer just sent Taipei's Lu Yen-Hsun home by beating him in three straight sets.

Miscellaneous

Steve Jobs reportedly had a liver transplant according to the Wall Street Journal. It would be interesting to see how Wall Street responds to this piece of news on Monday. Personally I hope the stock price continues its upward trajectory.

Iran is still embroiled in social unrest as the election is seen to be rigged by the incumbent. Neither the supreme leader nor the security force can convince people to stay home and be good citizens. People are taking it to the streets. Meanwhile twitter is claiming much of the credit or receiving accolades from the mainstream media, in facilitating information outflow from Iran. Twitterati are going to pat themselves in the back for promoting freedom of speech and democracy.

One piece of good news from last week was two journalists Tahir Ludin and David Rohde were able to escape from the Taliban in Afghanistan after being held captive for some seven months. It's a triumph of the human courage and spirit. What's going on with the two US journalists held in North Korea? I hope somebody is doing something to secure their safe return.

Father's Day

Just in case you couldn't make out what the one on the right is, it's a tie-shaped card. The more traditional yellow card is from Alex.



I never thought I would have gotten an A+ for Driving around. Why driving around? I must be lost all the time when I am driving ... and yet I am always calm. I got a B in taking pictures. Oh well, that's an acquired taste. I don't think I run fast at all, not ever. Report card from Mr. Harry. The yellow card is from big brother and so is the Chinese homework.

My kids are still little so they still think I am kind of cool.

Happy face blueberry pancakes and Jimmy Dean sausage from wife.

Heir Apparent

What does this button do?

Sir, this will launch the nuclear warhead.

Good. I like bar-b-que.

Yes, me too, Sir.

The New York Times. Note: The permalink may now require registration.

Cutest Swine Flu Picture Ever

Panic of 2009--Swine flu
Two little piggies from pips
© Mike Clarke/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images. Taken from the Nytimes.com

This is the cutest swine flu picture ever. It made the front page of today's New York Times.

Email Pet Peeves

Emails that kind of demand a read receipt. Don't bother, I will never let the sender have the satisfaction. I read the email but I click no when prompted to send receipt.

Emails copied to sender's boss, your boss and a bunch of people who have no relevancy to the matter in hand. Can't we just solve the problem ourselves? Act like a grown-up? Or better, pick up the phone? Or still better, settle it mano a mano.

Emails with a philosophical signature. I don't need any enlightenment from any emails. It's just laughable if not downright annoying.

Emails with excessive formatting. Background, bold, italic, colors. Formatting won't make up for poor contents.

Emails that do bcc.

Re-Reading

Re-reading Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. I think of all the Jin Yong's novels, I like this the best.

Holy . . .

Holy crap! Apple is now shipping its MacBook Pro (previously unibody MacBook is re-branded as MacBook Pro, sly marketing) with a SD slot, a freaking SD card slot, a feature that's as groundbreaking as I don't know, maybe in 2001. But since it's implemented by Apple so it's going to be cool. Also iPhone 3G Ass is having video recording capability, a freaking video recording feature, that's as groundbreaking as I don't know, maybe in 2001. But since it's implemented by Apple so it's going to be cool. The stock has been up ever since taking a beating from the financial tsunami. I wish I had bought some when it was the lowest. Jobs was a no show at the WWDC though he is scheduled to return in June or something.

Federer

Federer, is he the greatest or what?

Soderling who ousted Nadal in the fourth round got soundly beaten by Federer in three straight sets in the French Open Final. Now Federer is tied with Pete Sampras' 14 Grand Slam titles. But Sampras never won at Roland Garros and Federer's run for this year and probably a handful more years is not over yet, Wimbledon and the US Open are just a few months away. And Nadal, due to his perennial knee injuries may not be playing in Wimbledon. There are plenty of good players out there, but, there is always a big but, none plays as consistent as Federer. There is really a good chance that Federer will pass Sampras' record in less than two months with another win on the grass.

Soccer

China's Forgotten Revolution

This is another rip-off from the New York Times. The original article published on May 30 was written by Yu Hua as an Op-Ed and was translated from Chinese to English by Allan Barr.

Alan Dye, Photograph by Stuart Franklin/Magnum Photos

抗戰二十年

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on the student pro-democracy movement in Tiananman Square 1n 1989. This song though not tailor made for this year's commemoration but is eerily apt and the music video just made it obviously so.

So here it is, the anthem for the 20th anniversary of the student pro-democracy movement.

一無所有

The 1989 student movement anthem.

Tonight Show

I can't believe Leno had been with the Tonight Show for 17 years. I always like Leno's opening monologues and I like Letterman's wackiness. Both of them are pretty entertaining with their unique brand of humors and I hate to beat up one or the other.

I have Conan's debut Tonight Show taped or actually DVR'ed. I like the opening how he ran from NYC to LA to host the show. But things went downhills from there. The monologue wasn't funny, it seems forced. And the guest Will Ferrel, he wasn't all that funny either. He has been doing quite well in the box office and I actually paid for some his DVDs when Circuit City went belly up but still him being a guest on Conan's debut wasn't all that entertaining and complementing. The debut show was a bit contrived and the pacing was a bit slow and a bit over run--the Universal lot tram car thing, the Taurus sedan thing.

Conan O'Brien is wacky like Letterman so let's see how the two square off at the 11:30 time slot.

French Open

The Sex Face of R Fed
Just don't come too soon now, the championship final has yet to come
Photo: Michel Euler/Associated Press. From The New York Times online.

Another Sex Face.
Prematurely Dejected after down two sets

© FFT, from Roland Garros online.

The New York Times print edition has the same article but runs a different perhaps more risque picture which is from Clive Brunskill for Getty. I can't seem to find the print version picture online.

More sex face sightings from our beloved tennis stars.

UPDATE 6/3/09: The FFT picture added seems close enough to the picture ran with the NYT print edition.

French Open

Not to take anything away from the Swede because he, Robin Soderling, did play a great match and was relentless but a French Open without Nadal can't be all that satisfying. I think I am not going to see Nadal's pink tennis shirt anytime soon. I am afraid that shirt might have done him in, making him a bit effeminate, less intimidating on the court. The Swede kept saying Nadal was just another player even he sure is not. Gee, I just took a sneak peek at the Roland Garros site, R. Fed almost got ousted by Tommy Haas. He was down two sets before digging himself out to win the match. All the players are tip top and if you aren't giving 110% on the court then you aren't giving 100%. Any match at this point can easily go one way or the other, no matter if you are number one or number two. Our A. Rod just lost, again. American men tennis is over.

Laodicean

Thirteen year old Kavya Shivasankar from Kansas took home the champion trophy by spelling the word laodicean correctly.

French Open

Nadal, ever since last year, probably under pressure from Nike marketing or something, like more matured perhaps, started wearing more conventional tennis attire. Out were the nobody-will-look-good-in clam digger and the sleeveless muscle shirt, in are the more saleable polo tennis shirt and above the knee tennis shorts. The cutting of both aren't loose like five years ago or from other don't have a clue manufacturers, they are more chest fitting and butt hugging. In this year's French Open, Nadal is outfitted with a hot pink top and a pair of gray shorts complimented with yellow wrist bands and wide tied-on head bands. He's smoking hot on the clay court.

This year, the line person uniform looks pretty horrendous, both man and woman wear gray pants, formless coat and white sneakers.

Alex

The Sixties

I fully expect a revival of anything sixties this summer. Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock is scheduled to release on August 14, 2009.

I Love Gap Again

I haven't done any shopping for a long time. And I really really needed to buy something not for utilitarian purpose (even if I were to buy things out of vanity, I won't admit it). There aren't anything going on in Gap, it's no longer a place you want to go to if you are kind of cheap and kind of fashion conscious, you probably rather go to H&M or other Euro-trashish retailers. However if you are just to buy some basic stuff, then Gap is not a bad choice. I tried on a pair of jeans and gee I thought I must have lost some weight, the waist was so over sized that they actually made you think you are like thin and happy. I think that's what clothings are supposed to do, make you happy by covering up your yucky body which is so abhorrent that not even Oprah or any daytime talk show host can come to its defense. I ended up buying the jeans even they aren't my usual kind of brand. The next day, I went to buy a pair of cargo shorts without trying them on. I think Gap is responsible for America's unyielding obesity trend. I might just sue them for my weight problem one of these days. I guess if I want a reality check, I should check out H&M, clothes there are more true to size, everything is tighter, fitter and slimmer. For now, I am happily wearing my Gap, totally oblivious to my horizontal growth. Ha ha. Let's have BBQ later....

Friday Afternoon

Terminator

I am glad I was able to enjoy the movie. Perhaps I simply expected the worst and it turned out not all that bad at least not as bad as Harry Knowles made it to be. Christian Bale, with zero per cent fat and a seemingly damaged vocal cord plays John Connor the leader of the resistance. Bale is just crazy and crazy good looking. The story is not impressive but then it's not bad. I still couldn't comprehend how John Connor could meet and save his Dad. Isn't there something in the universe to prevent that from happening? Back to the Future, Michael J. Fox or something? As far as summer movie goes, I think it's not all that bad. Plenty of good effects, both visual and audio. In certain scenes, I feel like I was watching The Transformer and still others, one of the three Matrix's triology, which is I think a high praise.

ICP

Cheap Friday. Got to see Richard Avedon's pictures. I can see most of his works online but I decided to have some face time with them. With his contribution to fashion, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that the man had helped define the fashion woman for several decades beginning in the mid 50s. His better works are all in black and white. I don't care much about his color pictures, especially those with the skeleton. I just don't see the genius in them. All of Avedon's shots were well choreographed, the models were sometimes ridiculously but always interestingly posed, which are markedly different from many of today's fashion photos--natural lightings and impromptu setups. A must see for those who are into fashion, photography or fashion photography.

Michael Clayton

Library movie DVD review time.

This time is a movie I long avoided simply because I was no fan of George Clooney. I guess to a certain extent which I actually meant totally, it's irrational. How can this good looking man be so popular among women? Right, it doesn't make sense. Well except it does and by viewing this movie I think I have come to accept him as a fine actor with a good look.

What can I say? This is not exactly your typical Hollywood kind of entertainment movie. This is not for 17 years old. This is an adult movie, with adult characters, about human existence, moral dilemma and some shit that adults have to deal with. It's a multi layered, multi faceted and multi threaded story. I think Tony Gilroy did a very fine job in writing the story and telling it on celluloid as a director. Was it a bit self indulgent? You bet it was. I think all self assured writers and directors are self indulgent. I was equally impressed with the second Bourne movie, of which he was the screen writer, the last three minutes when Bourne atoned his sins really gave the character a soul and Matt Damon a chance to showcase his acting chops. Even he was credited as a writer for the third Bourne movie, Ultimatum but according to an article in The New Yorker, he kind of disowned it and never saw it, no wonder it's selling for $5.99 now. I digressed. For some reason Tilda Swinton just looked real and surreal to me. She was all flesh, full sized, at times sweaty, woman in the movie. She is also captivating simply because she is there, with her out of this world look; a screen presence to be reckoned with. Equally impressive are the supporting cast, every single one of them.

I recommend. **** stars, only if you have nothing better to do at night.

Terminator - A Preview

Once in a while you got to watch a movie that changes your life forever. No. I am just kidding. Once in a while you got to watch a movie that you really really like. As I got older and wiser( more like stupider or at least jaded), the frequency of that happening is getting lesser and lesser. The original Terminator was one of those movies that wowed and shocked me. The story was totally ground breaking. The Terminator was relentlessly savage and I just loved him like that. The second one had more gloss and the Terminator aka Arnold Schwarzenegger was actually a good guy. It was different from the first one, but it was still good except it took the edge off Schwarzenegger which I didn't like but reluctantly accepted, he was mellow and humanly. The third one, I don't even remember what happened in the third one I guess that pretty much sums up how I feel about the third one. Now we are having the fourth one coming out today. I wonder if I can get the feeling back when I saw the first one a quarter of a century ago. I won't bet on it but I guess I will give it a shot.

UPDATE:
Harry Knowles of ain't it cool news calls it a flaming turd. Ouch! Seems to me I better watch the original Terminator. See how Arnold, before he was Twins, before he was the Governor of California, he was The Terminator, he was the ultimate unstoppable killing machine who would stop at nothing until he kills them all or get killed.

Big Picture

Scout

Top ten reasons why I wanted to be a boy scout:-

• How to tie all kinds of knots. I am sure the skill can be transferred or spilled over to tie other things. I mean tying papers for recycling.
• I look good in uniform though I despise all organized group activities.
• Go camping in the wood.
• How to start a fire in the wilderness with nothing.
• Play with camp fire.
• BBQ in the wood.
• Peeing and pooping every where, without washing hands.
• Wearing a kerchief around the neck and looks proudly ridiculous.
• Wear drab olive greens and be cheerful.

No 1 reason why I wanted to be a boy scout:-
So I can be a boy scout and bounce on a trampoline.

(My propensity to put out garbage post is relentless and unstoppable)

Bokeh

Personally I think Bokeh is overrated. Sometimes it's just a tired gimmick for those who can afford to buy nice lenses that have an f-stop of 1 or even bigger (or should I say smaller?). For an accomplished photographer like myself, I don't need to resort to these super fast lens.

(Come on god, give me one of those, I am begging you, someone somewhere just gives me one of those, please)

No Love For Love Land

Instead of another stupid Disneyland for dumb kids and miserable parents, Chungqing, China thinks out of the box and has Love Land, an adult theme park that's all about sex and naked bodies.

You have to see it to believe it. The decidedly sexy giant statue, at the entrance of the park, depicts the lower half anatomy of a female body slightly bended over with nothing on except a red G-string. Hot. If you ask me, I think the statue is like another piece of work from Jeff Koon when he is at his very best. To let people see it from faraway and from all angles possible, the sexy legs and bottom masterpiece was placed on top of a rotating pedestal garishly decorated with silk flower some ten feet or so above the ground. Alas, the sexy mannequin's life was short lived. It got torn down and the park won't be opened. I suspect and it won't be too far fetched, the sabotage might have been orchestrated by none other than Mr. Micky Mouse. But thanks to the almighty internet we still can catch a glimpse of its doomed glory on Google. Long live Love Land.

In China, a Sex Theme Park Loses Its Appeal. Reported by Edward Wong on May 18, 2009 on the New York Times. Video and still can be seen from this link (simplified Chinese) as well as inside the NYT article. Sorry, my blog is PG-13, the picture is a bit too risque for my (imagined) audience out there.

Deep Thoughts

Craigslist has been pretty great whether you like to kill or get killed while having sex, or simply want to scam or get scammed.  There is always something for everyone.  Anyway, I used to be able to find some good and reasonable short dated film offers.  But now just forget about it.  Some expired 120 films with a short date around 2003 are asking for $2 or $3 a roll.  What happened to $1 a roll?  I thought the economy is cratering and everything is on sale.  Good film is still ridiculously expensive, a Kodachrome is selling from $8.50 to $12.50 a roll.

Horoscope Explains All Human Behavior, Part II

梁文道是摩羯座，與毛主席同一天生日。冷靜理性的摩羯規律嚴謹，那是梁文道的公共一面。而同時他的上升星座是射手，是人的理性頭腦加上野馬的四蹄，高速往你意想不到之地奔去。 via ESWN

Horoscope is convenient and effective. It just explains everything.

Earlier.

人花爭嫣

I win
Elite Chrome 200. Resized to 1500 wide and increased green 20. An attempt to remove magenta. Photoshop wohoo. It was actually GIMP I can't afford Photoshop.

Dead Man Talking

Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang finally got to tell his side of the June 4 story on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the student movement that began with student protests clamoring for reform and ended violently and tragically with tanks rolling into the Forbidden City in 1989. Twenty years after June 4, and four years after his death, on May 19, a book called "Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang" based on the audio transcript of Zhao's secret memoir will be published by Simon & Schuster.

The New York Times has the story, together with excerpts of the transcript in both English and in Chinese (pdf) as well as the some of the actual audio. Read and hear it yourself.

UPDATE:
The book is available in print but not in Kindle, sorry e-book readers, from Amazon now.
The Washington Post also has the story as noted from one of the book's reviewers, Ian Kaplan on Amazon. Perhaps because of the original Chinese material and the likely intense interest from the non-English speaking Chinese populace, the article has a Chinese version as well.

Horoscope Can Explain Human Behavior, As If

慢慢就不會恨他，我是水瓶座，常常會忘記以前討厭過的人。以後，我會遇到另外一個喜歡的人，我會重新去愛，但一切看緣分安排。-- Copy and paste from an interview of Gillian Chung from mingpaonews.com

Every time I read someone using her or his (his would be much worse) horoscope to explain her behavior or actions, I find it incredibly convincing. Oh that's why. Why didn't I think of it?

Random Thoughts

I don't regret acquiring any of my photographic gears. I regret buying the tripod too late. I find it pretty useful. Though if I were to pay more for some fancy material I could have a lighter leg set. But as it is now, I think I am all right I don't climb any mountain with it. Some of the shots I won't be able to get without a tripod given that I just have steady hands and no VR on any of my lenses.

Sadly, my Nikon F5 and my full frame Nikkor 24-85 AF get least use nowadays. Unlike the D70, which is really a boy's toy, the F5 makes me feel like a manly man.

I like my FE, it's so unobtrusive. In terms of operations, it certainly doesn't obfuscate my "creativity" by giving me 51 focusing points or a bunch of Christmas lights like led indicators. This little machine just gets out of the way.

Well, I want a good point and shoot digital that I can easily carry around (think Ricoh GR II digital or Leica D-Lux or Sigma DP 2). A DSLR or (better and) even a dedicated HD camcorder that can do 1080P. Well the list shall go on and on to infinity and beyond.