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Movie - Collateral
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3/28/2005
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(The following are comments of movie "collateral". Please stop reading if you haven't seen this movie and do not want it to be spoiled.)
Through word of mouth, this is a must-see. That's right. The duo of Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx did not let me down. The story is about two people who belong to two dramatically different worlds bumped into each other on a single night. Tom Cruise acts as a killer-for-hire, who is cynic and callous. Jamie Foxx is a cab driver, who dreams of owning his own limo business one day. They are different on multiple levels like black and white (Literally and figuratively). This collision gives them both a chance to take a peek at the other world. The highlight of this movie is when these two are on the way to Tom's last target, a girl that Jamie falls in love with on first sight. (He does not know she will be the next victim at that time). When Jamie blames Tom for his cold-blooded killing, Tom teased back as following:
Some day? Some day, my dream will come? One night you wake up, you will discover it never happened. It all turned around on you. It never will. Suddenly you are old. Didn't happen. It never will. Because you were never gonna to do it anyway. You will push it into your memory, then zone out in you lounge, being hypnotized by day time TV for the rest of your life.
Don't you talk to me about murder? All it ever took was a down payment on a Lincoln town car or that girl. You can not even call that girl. What the f??? are you still doing driving a cab?
References:
[1] Yahoo Movie, Collateral
(What follows is comment for movie "Ray". Please stop reading if you haven't seen this movie and don't want it to be spoiled.)
Jamie Foxx is gorgeous. His rendition of Ray Charles Robinson rocks on many levels. Congrats for his Academy Award.
However, by and large, this movie is so ... Hollywood. It reminds me of another Hollywood heavyweight Rossell Crowe and his "A Beautiful Mind". To me, they are from the same stencil plate with different color. A genius, struggling with his own defects, inspired by someone in some way, and scored big in the end. You are deeply touched by their misfortune, their ingenuity and their success. Hollywood is very good at this kind of setting. That's also foreign press' favorite flavor.
References:
[1] Yahoo Movie, Ray
[2] Yahoo Movie, A Beautiful Mind
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Linux Ordeal (1)
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3/20/2005
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I had a hard time with Linux, and learned my many lessons in a hard way. This serial is just to help me keep these lessons in mind because I don't have a strong memory to begin with. Now my memory retention is even worse than it was ten years ago. I have to jot down things from time to time. Once again, I am not a Linux guru, never was.
*) A Book to recommend
Linux Server Hacks, Rob Flickenger, O'Reilly & Associates Inc, 2003
ISBN 0-596-00461-3
Great book for Linux Server Setting
*) A site to recommend
Tip for Linux http://www.geocities.com/tipsforlinux
Nuts and Bolts for Linux operation
*) Most used tar option
compress a directory (with gzip) :
tar zcvf xxxx.tar.gz directory_name extract .tar.gz :
tar zxvf xxxx.tar.gz
Yesterday night I had a get-together with some friends at a local restaurant in the neighboring city. After I left the restaurant, I walked into the parking lot to get my car. A man in his fifties dashed out in front of me, asking for help. According to him, his car is out of gasoline and he has no cash with him at all. He claimed he works at the local Safeway and will return the money ASAP. With his budget, he needs 4 bucks for gas and another $14.85 for gas tank.
To tell the truth, my best guess is that he is another con artist I ran into after I landed on this continent. His story line raised too many questions, none of which could be verified in a short period of time. Apart from that, he looked disoriented and helpless. If he is an actor, he is way beyond amateur level to my judgment. But his playwright gives him away. This is not the first time I was in this situation. People approached me sometime in the gas station. But the often-used line was "Could you spare some change?", that costs you 5 bucks usually.
Since when do they change the script? Obviously my hesitation worried him too. He started to explain to me how he was questioned and distrusted at all the gas stations, rejected and disappointed.
His acting was good, I'm telling you. Theoretically, what he said is still possible and I have no evidence to disprove him. There is a slim chance that I may reject a hapless man. Given the time and the setting, he could turn violent if... I took a look at him again, I couldn't see any flaw from his face or his words. If this is acting, his acting alone may be worth that price.
I gave up finally, disgorged 20 bucks, out of safety concern and out of his words.
I am not quite sure if I would do the same thing next time. I do wish what he said is truthful in any sense and I did help a guy fill in his gas tank. If I didn't, good luck to him on next year's Oscar nomination.
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Movie - Sideways
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3/09/2005
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(The following are comments for movie "Sideways". If you haven't seen this movie and do not want it to be spoiled, please stop reading right here.)
Bald, unshaved, potbellied, divorced, no-kid, career-crashed, car-outmoded, Miles is the epitome of what a mid-age intellectual loser ought to be. His buddy, his fresh year roommate Jack, is every bit a punk(old though), who is another way to describe "irresponsible and reckless". These two went on a trip to the wine country around Santa Babara, California to enjoy Jack's last week as a free, unmarried man. The trip is pretty much what this movie is about.
This movie did a great job to successfully conjure a comedy out of the misery of two unsuccessful guys. I laughed, every moment when their mishap turned worse, then I reflected, after I walked out the cinema. I do feel for them, especially Miles. This story does present me and many other peers one of the possible endings we might have at that age. I said ending 'cause we all know life has already passed its prime time at that age(like the 1961 wine Miles had), the rest is mere struggle and fighting a losing battle.
I do sense my own life is projecting in that miserable direction as well. A friend of mine once said that life is actually a program coded by God, the flow is pretty much pre-determined. Some of us, might try to alter the if-condition at every branch, re-order the sequence of execution or even desperately skip some lines that God put there. The outcome could be a complete crash or something unknown/unexpected. I told that friend that I would tweak God's program as long as I had the chance. I don't want to be Miles or Jack, even sometimes it seems inevitable.
References:
[1] Yahoo Movie, Sideways
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May He Rest in Peace
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3/05/2005
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God giveth and God taketh away.
It deeply saddens me, knowing that a young soul from China was lost due to a car crash. The car rammed him was chased by police at that time. It proves again the fragility and capriciousness of life.
Deepest condolence to his family. May he rest in peace.
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Intel Developer Forum
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3/04/2005
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It is good to be in the city, especially that city is San Francisco. This year's IDF provided me a legitimate excuse. The schedule of this conference is loose, with most of the show case half a day each day. There is even a three hour break on the second day show case. The food service and the gourmet dinner is another side benefit of this trip.
Intel is truly one of the shakers and movers in the industry, who can rally so many companies around it. TI exerts similar clout on the DSP business, with numerous third party partners. Many small companies, no matter how intimidating they might look like, are merely foot soldiers and chicken fighters for tech behemoths like Intel. I do wish China would have her own "Intel" some day in the future.
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Grand Opening
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Why HAHAHAHA
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Notebook
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