顧長衛的孔雀

Peacock won a prestigous grand prize in Berlin Film Festival in 2005. The film depicts three brothers and sister growing up in China after the Cultural Revolution. The story does not involve much about politics though the traditional Chinese culture is much affected by the revolution. It focuses on the people in the time. The script is written with a lot of wits. The photography is very beautiful and elegant without doubt as the director was the photographer for the films of Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige. I have a lot of bitter-sweet reflection after watching the film. (http://ent.people.com.cn/BIG5/42075/3189726.html and http://202.108.249.200/movie/20050307/100793.shtml).

P.S. Works of 顧長衛
2000 Devils On The Doorstep, 鬼子來了, Cinematographer
2000 Autumn in New York Cinematographer
1998 Hurlyburly Cinematographer
1998 The Gingerbread Man Cinematographer
1994 In the Heat of the Sun Cinematographer
1993 Farewell, My Concubine Cinematographer
1990 Ju Dou, 菊豆, Cinematographer
1990 Life on a String Cinematographer
1989 Hai Zi Wang Actor: Secretary Wu
1988 King of the Children, 孩子王, Cinematographer / Actor: Secretary Wu

(source: NY Times)

Food Force by United Nations

The United Nations has launched an advergame to educate people about its food-aid program. The game consists six missions from surveillance to food distribution. After playing the game, people will have a general idea about what the UN is doing. I like the idea of using games in education. I think it works particularly well for teenagers. I will consider to recommend the website to the environment students in the next semester.

史記

I read 史記 last night. It is really a very good book. The section I read was 剌客列傳, which composes five stories. The use of words is minimal but the detail is not sacrified. The description of the people in the stories is vivid. I also find that a good guidebook is necessary for the full appreciation of the book. The one I am using now is 史記評賞 by 賴漢屏, which provides the story background and the people relationship.

情, 理, 事, 態

朱光潛 has classified literature into four types: 情, 理, 事, 態. These four elements can also be intermixed in literature. I find that literature and photography have a lot in common, which suggests that one can learn the latter through the former or vice versa.

Believe What You Believe

A recent survey indicates Hong Kong people believe that the local economic outlook is good. It ranks second in the Asia region. The above statements are what I heard on the radio last week. Seems the future is getting rosy. When I read the same topic in the recent issue of the the Economist, the story is a bit different. The Hong Kong indicator is 0.9 (the world average is 1.0). Wow! A fact can be twisted so easily to distort the real.

Original Meaning

David Feldman's book "Who put butter in butterfly?" explains the original meaning of words. The book is interesting to read as it provides some smart-ass wits. I find his style is close to Lin Hang Tse's. The following are a few examples from the book:

G.I.: G.I. stands for government issued. As the US government issues the uniforms to their soldiers, therefore G.I. is equivalent to US soldiers.

Ladybug: The bug honoured with the title Lady. The bug is considered useful to humans because it eats "bad" insects.

R (in pharmacies): It is the Latin abbreviation for recipes.
Mistress (Mrs): Mrs is the abbreviation for mistress. In the past, mistress does not mean a concubine.

You are What You Read

The Apple Daily and the Oriental are the two most popular newspapers in Hong Kong. They have very diverse contents, thus the readers range from teenagers to senior citizens. Alas, they also mould their contents into the minds of their readers. In other words, the viewpoints of most Hong Kongers are the same as those of the two newspapers. Really a shame!

Purpose of Conversation

1. Killing time
2. Pleasing people
3. Gossiping
4. Obtaining information
5. Releasing stress
6. Stimulating in an intellectual way
7. Asking for support

Different people would have different priorities. What is yours?

City Landscapes Through Manga

The story of "Ghost in the shell", a Japanese animation, happens in Hong Kong. As a veteran Hong Kong citizen, I am very intrigued by the scenes depicted in the movie. Most of the shots accurately show the city landscapes as they are. Some shots are very imaginative and creative, for example, a canal with touring boats and sampans in the city center, an old building with glass claddings. These shots are very stimulating as they give us an opportunity to rethink our city again.

Jia Zhangke

Another new star of the Chinese Film Industry. Jia Zhangke has recently been awarded the French Chevalier honour.

Shopping Arcade

Atrim of Langham Place

China Cafe 中國冰室

This cafe is in the old district Mongkok, which may be why so many old persons gather in this place. Most of them may have retired; some of them work or live in the district. The cafe is open at 6 am - 7:00 pm. I have asked the owner whether the business was good at 6:00 am. She answered me that it was very quiet until 10:00 am. She explained that many people who had been living in the area had moved, also, the life-style was different from the past. The style of the cafe is very nostalgic. The small tiles for the wall and the floor are very original and rarely seen in the modern cafe nowadays. The fried chicken leg and the fried rice with beef are very yummy. This is a great place to visit or to spend a Sunday afternoon.

DIY Pinhole Camera

A cardboard pinhole camera costs HKD 500 at Kubrick. Thats extemely expensive!. A DIY method is available at http://www.pinhole.cz/en/pinholecameras/dirkon_01.html.

Cafe Lumiere

This is another splendid film by Hou. The film has thhe signature of the director - it is about nothing and it is about everything. The script may be boring to someone because the story is bland, but the message of life is delivered through the actors with minimal dialogues. The tension and emotions just penetrate into the viewer's heart. That really dfferentiates a great director from a good director. The soundtrack is first-rated, however, it is a pity that a CD is not released. The New York Times has a very positive review on the film. Another two Chinese reviews ( http://140.138.147.33/twlai/archives/000107.html and http://140.138.147.33/twlai/archives/000099.html) about Cafe Lumiere are worth to read. Here is another one by a Hong Kong author.

祥利冰室

祥利冰室

Exhibition on Impressionism Paintings

Gift from the Exhibition
I went to the exhibition on Impressionism today. I joined the guided tour during the viewing. The lady who guided the tour explained the selected paintings in detail. I remembered one saying by her - try to feel what kind of persons are the painters when you view their work. Very inspiring!

Meow!

3 Pacific Place

Three Pacific Place completes the last phase of the development. This phase has a prominent transparent-glass structure which is different from the other two phases. I find this building very attractive especially at night because its transparent structure is totally revealed by the lighting inside.

Muji's Timer

I had been looking for a timer for quite a while. You may say it is available everywhere. The reason that I spent several months to get the one I want because I could not find a user-freindly one until I saw one at Muji tonight. The time input is simple without pressing a minute or second buttons. In fact, the two buttons are not even on it. The selection of white colour is also in-line with the minimalistic design of Muji.

Franc Franc

Franc Franc's Business Card
I remember that I was very excited when I first walked in the Franc Franc shop in Causeway Bay. The shop sells products with a simple but functional design. I do not find another similar shop except the Muji. I especially like the items in the corner of traditional Japanese goods.