How did I not hear about this? Why did none of you tell me? :-)
For those of you who aren't as into baseball as I am, Moneyball is a 2003 book by Michael Lewis that chronicles the baseball draft through the eyes of Billy Beane, the general manager for the Oakland A's. It attempts to explain why the Oakland A's were so successful in the late 90s and early 2000s despite having a payroll the size of a peanut (especially compared to teams like the Yankees and the Mets). It's a great read, and what's even better about it is that it ended up causing such huge controversies in the baseball world. It really shined a light on sabermetrics, which now is like one of the big wedge issues that divide baseball people. Sometimes it seems like you're either familiar with VORP, Win Shares, DIPS, OPS, and so on -- or you're stuck using antiquated measurements like AVG and RBI to measure a player's worth. And each side thinks the other is crazy. Just like so many other things in life :-)
Anyway, I'm not convinced the book will make a great movie, because it has no real plot. Soderbergh even says flat-out, "It needs a gimmick." That's not exactly a promising sign. But Soderbergh is a great director, so I'm really curious to see what he can do with it, and what kind of movie it ends up being.
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
January 28, 2009
The Wrestler
There's a bunch of movies that came out in 2008 that I need to catch up on. I did see many of them, but some I missed, especially ones that came out later in the year. So last night I saw The Wrestler with some friends at the Alamo Drafthouse Village. I liked it, but I wasn't blown away by it. It was a little predictable, but the performances were solid. And, to be honest, I don't have much more to say about it than that :-)
I have heard a lot about Slumdog Millionaire, so I'd like to see that soon. I also want to see the new Frank Miller film The Spirit.
Also, the move-in date is set for February 9th! That's when my lease starts and I can occupy the house I'll be renting. (My cousin and his wife are currently living in it.) At that point I can finally start unpacking. Living out of a suitcase (or in my case, four or five of them) is getting really old.
Oh, and I sold my DSC-H50 today -- and no, it wasn't to a Nigerian scammer (who, by the way, threatened to "report" me to some unknown entity for reneging on our "deal") ;-) I hope to put the money towards a nice lens for my Canon! A nice macro lens that can double as a low-light lens might do the trick.
I have heard a lot about Slumdog Millionaire, so I'd like to see that soon. I also want to see the new Frank Miller film The Spirit.
Also, the move-in date is set for February 9th! That's when my lease starts and I can occupy the house I'll be renting. (My cousin and his wife are currently living in it.) At that point I can finally start unpacking. Living out of a suitcase (or in my case, four or five of them) is getting really old.
Oh, and I sold my DSC-H50 today -- and no, it wasn't to a Nigerian scammer (who, by the way, threatened to "report" me to some unknown entity for reneging on our "deal") ;-) I hope to put the money towards a nice lens for my Canon! A nice macro lens that can double as a low-light lens might do the trick.
August 7, 2008
The Olympics, The Number 8, and Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda has taken China by storm. Seriously. Everyone I talk to says it's the best China-related movie they've seen, even counting Chinese movies. Everyone feels that it really portrays Chinese culture and society very accurately. Themes in the movie are traditional themes from Chinese life. And it's just a well-done film. Citizens are now pointing fingers at Chinese moviemakers and saying things like "Why can't you make a movie this good! You're Chinese, for Pete's sake!" (Okay they probably don't use that idiom.) They're amazed that Americans could do this good of a job. (As am I!)
I've seen it twice myself and think it's really good. But from my point of view I was like "Oh this is terrible, so stereotypical China, with the pagodas and the martial arts and the mysticism and the dragons and the animal characters and what have you. I can't believe Americans have the nerve to put this stuff out." So elitist. But it turns out that these stereotypes are accepted and embraced by native Chinese, as detailed above. So does that mean they're really stereotypes? After all, that word has a pejorative connotation.
Sooo many interesting things going on there.
***
After years of hype and speculation, the 2008 Beijing Olympic games are finally upon us. The opening ceremony is tonight at 8 PM. For those who don't know, 8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture. Its pronunciation (ba) sounds like another character (fa) which means to get rich, to be prosperous. That's why the most prominent buildings have 8s in their addresses. The Jin Mao Tower is at 88 Century Ave. The glitzy Radisson New World hotel is at 88 Nanjing Xi Lu. The more 8s your phone number has, the more money you will pay for that SIM card. The hotel that my relatives are staying at has a phone number that ends in 8888. I shudder to think what they must have paid for that.
Thus it was inevitable that the Chinese would bid for the games in the summer of 2008. Not only that, because of the year, but because the summer games start in August, the 8th month. And it's beginning on Friday the 8th. Starting at 8 PM.
The Olympics will start on 8/8/08 at 8:08 PM. This is not an accident.
The Games are China's coming-out party. The unveiling. The dropping of all pretense that China is still the China of the past 150 years, the China of the Opium Wars and concessions to foreign governments and the fall of dynasties. China is using the Games say to the world "We are a new world power; before this century is out, we will be the world power. Recognize us. Accept us. Our prominence is inevitable."
It's not in a threatening way. It's not in an intimidating way. It's in a factual way. 1.3 billion people. An economy with a double-digit annual growth rate. Cars. Oil. Internet. Cell phones. Plastic packaging. More skyscrapers in Shanghai than on the entire West Coast of the US. A projected population in this city alone of 40 - 60 million during the next century. If so many people still have an image of China as a backwater, they will soon drop it in favor of the glitz and modernity, the glamour and pomp, that the games will showcase.
At least, that is the hope of the Chinese government, that the world will recognize it must come to terms with what's going on over here. That the US no longer will stand as the world's unquestioned superpower. It can't. There's no way. 300 million people? Pshaw. That's nothing. A drop in the bucket. That isn't even enough people to ensure the quality of the English language. Yes, our standard of living is higher. But it won't be for long. It can't be, given the trajectories of both economies. This isn't malicious or spiteful or aggressive. Again -- it's just a fact: death, taxes, and China has a shitload of people who collectively will soon wield unheralded economic influence.
This isn't the decline of Western civilization. It's important that nobody see if this way. Because that line of thinking lends itself towards grasping, clutching, clawing attempts to hang on to perceived place in the world. That line of thinking leads to violence, which is a nothing more than an outward manifestation of deep-seated insecurity and other fears. We're better than that.
Rather, it is the rise of Eastern civilization, which was well on its way at the turn of the century but was derailed by WWII (as was much of the world outside the US). In the modern age, this rise started 30 years ago with Deng Xiaoping opening up the Chinese economy to foreign investment and a capitalist way of thought. That's why he's revered here. But in another sense, it really starts tonight. Tonight, the world will begin to see what the Chinese have known for quite awhile now. And you can even watch it on TV. How post-modern.
***
Here in Shangers, we feel the Olympics personally. One of my favorite music venues has been shut down until the games are over, actually, until September 6th. (The music will simply move to another venue.) People's flights (including mine to Macau!) are being randomly canceled or moved. I would not even want to THINK about flying to Beijing for the next two weeks. It will be bad enough flying to Macau and Tunxi. Restaurants and other venues near the Shanghai Stadium, which is hosting the soccer portion of the Olympics, also have been shut down. I see uniformed police officers much more than before, especially in the metro and along well-traveled streets like Huaihai Zhong Lu and Hengshan Lu. If you're carrying a large bag or package, expect to be searched as you enter the metro turnstile. And don't even think about shopping at any of Shanghai's 1,080 metro station stores. They're closed for a month. People are acting up. There was an attack in Xinjiang last week, and there was some nutcase with a knife out on Nanjing Dong Lu.
Here's hoping we all get through the craziness of August in one piece.
I've seen it twice myself and think it's really good. But from my point of view I was like "Oh this is terrible, so stereotypical China, with the pagodas and the martial arts and the mysticism and the dragons and the animal characters and what have you. I can't believe Americans have the nerve to put this stuff out." So elitist. But it turns out that these stereotypes are accepted and embraced by native Chinese, as detailed above. So does that mean they're really stereotypes? After all, that word has a pejorative connotation.
Sooo many interesting things going on there.
***
After years of hype and speculation, the 2008 Beijing Olympic games are finally upon us. The opening ceremony is tonight at 8 PM. For those who don't know, 8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture. Its pronunciation (ba) sounds like another character (fa) which means to get rich, to be prosperous. That's why the most prominent buildings have 8s in their addresses. The Jin Mao Tower is at 88 Century Ave. The glitzy Radisson New World hotel is at 88 Nanjing Xi Lu. The more 8s your phone number has, the more money you will pay for that SIM card. The hotel that my relatives are staying at has a phone number that ends in 8888. I shudder to think what they must have paid for that.
Thus it was inevitable that the Chinese would bid for the games in the summer of 2008. Not only that, because of the year, but because the summer games start in August, the 8th month. And it's beginning on Friday the 8th. Starting at 8 PM.
The Olympics will start on 8/8/08 at 8:08 PM. This is not an accident.
The Games are China's coming-out party. The unveiling. The dropping of all pretense that China is still the China of the past 150 years, the China of the Opium Wars and concessions to foreign governments and the fall of dynasties. China is using the Games say to the world "We are a new world power; before this century is out, we will be the world power. Recognize us. Accept us. Our prominence is inevitable."
It's not in a threatening way. It's not in an intimidating way. It's in a factual way. 1.3 billion people. An economy with a double-digit annual growth rate. Cars. Oil. Internet. Cell phones. Plastic packaging. More skyscrapers in Shanghai than on the entire West Coast of the US. A projected population in this city alone of 40 - 60 million during the next century. If so many people still have an image of China as a backwater, they will soon drop it in favor of the glitz and modernity, the glamour and pomp, that the games will showcase.
At least, that is the hope of the Chinese government, that the world will recognize it must come to terms with what's going on over here. That the US no longer will stand as the world's unquestioned superpower. It can't. There's no way. 300 million people? Pshaw. That's nothing. A drop in the bucket. That isn't even enough people to ensure the quality of the English language. Yes, our standard of living is higher. But it won't be for long. It can't be, given the trajectories of both economies. This isn't malicious or spiteful or aggressive. Again -- it's just a fact: death, taxes, and China has a shitload of people who collectively will soon wield unheralded economic influence.
This isn't the decline of Western civilization. It's important that nobody see if this way. Because that line of thinking lends itself towards grasping, clutching, clawing attempts to hang on to perceived place in the world. That line of thinking leads to violence, which is a nothing more than an outward manifestation of deep-seated insecurity and other fears. We're better than that.
Rather, it is the rise of Eastern civilization, which was well on its way at the turn of the century but was derailed by WWII (as was much of the world outside the US). In the modern age, this rise started 30 years ago with Deng Xiaoping opening up the Chinese economy to foreign investment and a capitalist way of thought. That's why he's revered here. But in another sense, it really starts tonight. Tonight, the world will begin to see what the Chinese have known for quite awhile now. And you can even watch it on TV. How post-modern.
***
Here in Shangers, we feel the Olympics personally. One of my favorite music venues has been shut down until the games are over, actually, until September 6th. (The music will simply move to another venue.) People's flights (including mine to Macau!) are being randomly canceled or moved. I would not even want to THINK about flying to Beijing for the next two weeks. It will be bad enough flying to Macau and Tunxi. Restaurants and other venues near the Shanghai Stadium, which is hosting the soccer portion of the Olympics, also have been shut down. I see uniformed police officers much more than before, especially in the metro and along well-traveled streets like Huaihai Zhong Lu and Hengshan Lu. If you're carrying a large bag or package, expect to be searched as you enter the metro turnstile. And don't even think about shopping at any of Shanghai's 1,080 metro station stores. They're closed for a month. People are acting up. There was an attack in Xinjiang last week, and there was some nutcase with a knife out on Nanjing Dong Lu.
Here's hoping we all get through the craziness of August in one piece.
July 11, 2008
Chunky Air
I'm not sure if the following observation is a consequence of living in a big city, living in China, or some unholy combination of both factors. But some places in this city really stink. And I don't mean "stink" as in "are not fun or enjoyable". I mean stink as in "What the fuck died here, did it poop everywhere while doing so, and how long have the remains been lying around?"
For instance, the corner of Dingxiang and Changliu, just outside my apartment complex, routinely smells like butt. (Strangely enough, Dingxiang means "Fragrant flower.") I'm not sure what it is, but I've never felt the urge to investigate, and so it remains a mystery (that I actively try to avoid). And there are many times walking around the city that you'll accidentally get a whiff of something rotten, foul, or just plain nasty. (I'm not even talking about stinky tofu here, but smelling that in certain places doesn't really help things. There used to be a stall that sold it outside the Zhangjiang Gao Ke metro station, which meant my olfactory senses were bludgeoned repeatedly every single day after work, but I don't smell it there anymore, which either means the stall closed or my nasal receptors have shrivelled up and died, but I don't think the latter is the case, because I smelled it in the Yu yuan area about three weeks ago and, unfortunately, the scent came through just fine.) But really I'm making this post because I exited the Pudong airport yesterday at the ground level, looking for a taxi after my flight back. As I stepped outside, I was greeted with two unpleasant sensations:
A really stinky cake.
Whence did this foul odor originate? I have no idea. And it because the stench permeated the cab stand area, I had no choice but to ride it out while I waited. (I didn't want to haul my luggage into and off of the MagLev.) Luckily I have learned to vent my frustrations (perhaps an unfortunate choice of words there, but there is no pun intended, I assure you) by learning how to say "Too smelly!" in Chinese: Tai chou le.
For those readers whom I convinced to visit me, well, I hope this doesn't dissuade you. Just be aware.
I will say that flying China Eastern airlines was great. They gave us really good food and were very nice. Because I was like the 4th person to check in (yay for 4-hour layovers at LAX) I got to sit in the exit row, which meant extended leg room on the A380 they used for the flight. The flight was not full - several people spent the whole flight supine across the six seats in the middle aisle. Lucky.
I read (it's now standard for me to start and finish an entire book in one flight), listened to some music, talked to my seat-mate a bit, and watched a movie whose only saving grace was the presence of John C. McGinley, which meant it was easy to pretend like I was watching Scrubs. Actually I lie, it was also fun to ponder the irony and sociological implications of one of gangsta rap's originators acting in a derivative suburban family comedy.
It's 7:30 AM and it's really muggy in my apartment. Because I don't have central A/C, only the unit in my bedroom is on. When I open the door, it's like diving into a bowl of tomato soup. Yes, the air feels chunky.
Delicious.
For instance, the corner of Dingxiang and Changliu, just outside my apartment complex, routinely smells like butt. (Strangely enough, Dingxiang means "Fragrant flower.") I'm not sure what it is, but I've never felt the urge to investigate, and so it remains a mystery (that I actively try to avoid). And there are many times walking around the city that you'll accidentally get a whiff of something rotten, foul, or just plain nasty. (I'm not even talking about stinky tofu here, but smelling that in certain places doesn't really help things. There used to be a stall that sold it outside the Zhangjiang Gao Ke metro station, which meant my olfactory senses were bludgeoned repeatedly every single day after work, but I don't smell it there anymore, which either means the stall closed or my nasal receptors have shrivelled up and died, but I don't think the latter is the case, because I smelled it in the Yu yuan area about three weeks ago and, unfortunately, the scent came through just fine.) But really I'm making this post because I exited the Pudong airport yesterday at the ground level, looking for a taxi after my flight back. As I stepped outside, I was greeted with two unpleasant sensations:
- The intense humidity making it feel like I was swimming in vat of lukewarm Jello
- The overpowering smell of poop
A really stinky cake.
Whence did this foul odor originate? I have no idea. And it because the stench permeated the cab stand area, I had no choice but to ride it out while I waited. (I didn't want to haul my luggage into and off of the MagLev.) Luckily I have learned to vent my frustrations (perhaps an unfortunate choice of words there, but there is no pun intended, I assure you) by learning how to say "Too smelly!" in Chinese: Tai chou le.
For those readers whom I convinced to visit me, well, I hope this doesn't dissuade you. Just be aware.
I will say that flying China Eastern airlines was great. They gave us really good food and were very nice. Because I was like the 4th person to check in (yay for 4-hour layovers at LAX) I got to sit in the exit row, which meant extended leg room on the A380 they used for the flight. The flight was not full - several people spent the whole flight supine across the six seats in the middle aisle. Lucky.
I read (it's now standard for me to start and finish an entire book in one flight), listened to some music, talked to my seat-mate a bit, and watched a movie whose only saving grace was the presence of John C. McGinley, which meant it was easy to pretend like I was watching Scrubs. Actually I lie, it was also fun to ponder the irony and sociological implications of one of gangsta rap's originators acting in a derivative suburban family comedy.
It's 7:30 AM and it's really muggy in my apartment. Because I don't have central A/C, only the unit in my bedroom is on. When I open the door, it's like diving into a bowl of tomato soup. Yes, the air feels chunky.
Delicious.
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