I've just realized this blog entry has been saved as a draft for weeks and it isn't published...
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Friends and I went skiing in Snowplanet recently. My only skiing experience before this was a trip to Mt Ruapehu two years ago. That time, I felt it took a lot of effort and time just to have a short time on the mountain. I found it difficult to move on the snow. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go skiing again.
This time, we cut most of the hassle. We went to Snowplanet, an indoor skiing and snowboarding venue north of Auckland. No 6-hour drive to the ski town, yay! We purely went there for skiing this time. It's a smaller and more controlled environment than the mountain. Maybe that was why I found it easier to ski this time. I still didn't have good control over the downhill motion. But the slopes were quite smooth and short so I reached the bottom without falling most of the time.
We then watched an All Blacks game in the restaurant and occasionally watch other people on the side of the window ski and snowboard.
In the end, I skied more this time than on the mountain. However, I still find skiing to be a lot of hassle. All the gear is cumbersome. It's quite expensive too. So I guess I'll stay with other activities which I can wear light clothes under the sun. Maybe I'll try snowboarding next time. But I'd say it won't be sometime soon. If I do go up the mountain, I'll probably admire the scenery rather than spending an hour just to rent all the gear.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
隨筆 2011-10-20
Blog 空了幾週，因為在做別的事。現在更覺得時間是重要資源，所以先做重要、想做的事，看橄欖球賽去。哈！
當然也是開始上班後，一些時間在做受薪工作，下班時間為自己的生活工作也要分配時間。
可能要想想要挑哪些寫，不然我腦中東西一堆，全部 dump 出來會花太多時間。
不過偶而還是該寫一寫，這像是閱讀、跑步、曬太陽一樣，是我的休閒，不一定常做，偶而來一下也開心。
當然也是開始上班後，一些時間在做受薪工作，下班時間為自己的生活工作也要分配時間。
可能要想想要挑哪些寫，不然我腦中東西一堆，全部 dump 出來會花太多時間。
不過偶而還是該寫一寫，這像是閱讀、跑步、曬太陽一樣，是我的休閒，不一定常做，偶而來一下也開心。
Sunday, September 18, 2011
上班第三週
本週繼續上幾堂課，有關架構、工具等等。更重要的是，我們七個新人開始做一個不緊急的 project ，(緊急、重要的東西不會交給新人練習。) 多少有在實際應用，在做真的工作了。
其中一個新人四處問同事要不要抽菸，因為沒有別的同事抽菸！沒人陪他。
週五有 All Blacks 的比賽，所以大家穿了一身黑來支持。
目前都不錯，只是有時候到下午精神會很差，要調整作息、運動、飲食，看看精神會不會好一點。
通勤時間每天總共約三十分，讚，再早一點上班看看交通會不會更通暢。
其中一個新人四處問同事要不要抽菸，因為沒有別的同事抽菸！沒人陪他。
週五有 All Blacks 的比賽，所以大家穿了一身黑來支持。
目前都不錯，只是有時候到下午精神會很差，要調整作息、運動、飲食，看看精神會不會好一點。
通勤時間每天總共約三十分，讚，再早一點上班看看交通會不會更通暢。
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
上班第二週
第二週上的課比第一週還多。最難的部分是要在自己的電腦上佈署公司的軟體、架環境。
世界盃橄欖球賽周五開幕，辦公室每個小區大約四到六人一組，抽籤選一個參賽隊伍，然後要在週五把自己的小區佈置為自己代表的國家。我們抽到俄羅斯，正好主管曾經去過俄羅斯，有一些紀念品，結果弄得像是以前的蘇聯而不是現代的樣子。
週五為了讓大家去參加開幕的各種慶祝活動，提早到三點下班。不過奧克蘭交通大亂，有些人想進市中心還是碰到問題。
Subway 和 bakery 各吃幾次。然後每次 Andy 找我一起吃飯，我上的課就會延長，無法準時。
世界盃橄欖球賽周五開幕，辦公室每個小區大約四到六人一組，抽籤選一個參賽隊伍，然後要在週五把自己的小區佈置為自己代表的國家。我們抽到俄羅斯，正好主管曾經去過俄羅斯，有一些紀念品，結果弄得像是以前的蘇聯而不是現代的樣子。
週五為了讓大家去參加開幕的各種慶祝活動，提早到三點下班。不過奧克蘭交通大亂，有些人想進市中心還是碰到問題。
Subway 和 bakery 各吃幾次。然後每次 Andy 找我一起吃飯，我上的課就會延長，無法準時。
Sunday, September 04, 2011
上班第一週
星期五第一天報到，再加上後來工作一週，共上班六天。包括我總共有七個新人，目前主要上一些課程，了解公司的人事、運作、產品、客戶。
目前感覺公司很注重人和溝通，不斷鼓勵新人問問題。每個新人有分配一個學長、學姊，有疑問可以問。每週還要跟上司和學長 review 一下進度和狀況。
我們這個辦公室都是研發人員，穿的很休閒。空調溫暖，我穿短袖 polo 衫、長褲、休閒鞋。
離家近我真的很高興。開車上班最塞的一次也沒超過半小時。順暢的時候大約十五分。
目前都很好。早起也還算適應，雖然偶而感覺很睏。午餐目前外食，待搞清楚環境後有時會帶午餐吧！
Sunday, August 28, 2011
找工作的進度
記錄一下找工作的進度。是給自己的紀錄所以有些長。
從七月中開始說起，看到 A 公司在人力銀行網站登了廣告，看起來還挺有趣，還說可以在Facebook 線上做個很短的性向測驗，看看你適不適合在他們公司工作。我做的結果，不適合。這什麼嘛？
不過我還是寄出正式的申請，反正不行就算了。廣告上說應徵會經過四個階段，還真長，能通過的機會可能不大吧。沒關係，有看到另一家 P 公司在公司網站寫著招募研發人員，寫的很籠統，但是我覺得很有機會，因為領域和我之前在台灣工作的公司類似，而且還寫說會一些外國語言是優勢，中文是其中一項，而他們也積極想進中文市場。我覺得在奧克蘭的所有軟體公司裡，這是我最有機會進的一家。
結果 A 公司回信，要先做一個線上的測驗，最先有邏輯測驗和數學應用題共一小時，再來性向測驗是問了七十幾題，後面還有一堆雜項比較不重要的測驗。我在家裡做，網路有時候很慢，總共花了我大概三個小時，讓我感覺其實是在考驗耐心。
之前的 Facebook 測驗根本不準，A 公司找我進行下一階段。這次，人事部門的小姐打電話給我談談，了解一下我的背景和經驗。我跟她感覺好像就是在聊天，雖然她的確問了我一些關於我之前求學、工作、甚至移民的事，我不懂他們用什麼方式來判斷通過與否，反正我就是誠懇地聊天囉。
為了準備應徵 P 公司，特地翻了以前工作的紀錄，看看自己以前做了些什麼，也研究 P 公司到底做些什麼，跟前公司有哪些類似。我修改履歷表，也花了功夫寫一篇不一樣的 cover letter ， 特別寫得比較深入，凸顯我有相關的經驗。好不容易把這亮麗的一篇寄出去。
八月初，A 公司找我進行第三階段，到了第三階段總算要進到他們的辦公室，要去當場重做第一階段的線上測驗的第一個小時的部分，避免前次是作弊通過的。考試之後要和人事部門經理面試。另一邊，P 公司也回信說去他們公司跟研發部的最高主管面試，變成我連續兩天去兩家公司面試。我認為 P 公司比較有機會，雖然後來研究一下發覺他們公司的方向和我之前公司做的很不同，幾乎像是學術研究，雖然表面都是同一個主題。不論如何，我覺得我之前的經驗比較有可能被看重，而且這家的應徵流程也直接多了。
週四在 A 公司，重新考試沒問題，跟人事部經理又是聊天，聊得更深，談了我的過去和為什麼選這個職位，他也解釋了這個公司的研發團隊大家的合作方式。週五在 P 公司，明顯得話不投機，他們找的比較像是人工智慧、data mining 方面的博士，主管她本身就是。我這個想應徵品管測試的人並不符合。嗯，你們徵才廣告沒這樣寫，所以我來了嘛。
原本覺得機會比較低的 A 公司居然繼續找我去，這次第四階段去和兩個研發部門的主管面試，先是拿一個應用軟體的畫面來模擬討論如何測試畫面上的功能，之後又是聊天，大家都好奇我為什麼應徵測試人員而不是程式開發人員，也要我說說我履歷上換了幾次的工作職位和學位。結束前也趕著問我一些好像他們面試時固定要問的問題，我只記得有問我為什麼選擇他們公司，我說離家近！哈！
到這個時候，我自己覺得我是已經表現我是有能力做測試人員，就不知道他們覺得我個性適不適合。他們每次面試都強調他們要找個性符合他們公司的人，尤其測試人員要挑出錯誤，又不要和寫程式的人員起衝突。就看他們的決定囉，我能做的都做完了。
八月中，人事部門的小姐打電話來說他們要做 reference check，要兩個推薦人。結果我又有事做了，因為我的其中一個推薦人是我碩士論文的指導教授，他出國了，年底才回來，無法電話聯絡，要再找另一個推薦人 。一番折騰後發現，副指導教授也同時出國大半年。還好在 Tessie 也要出國的幾天前，我找了 Tessie 當了我的推薦人。之前我們做中文電台上的交通安全宣導節目她是我們的隊長，所以就這樣請她幫忙。其實這可能是最好的結果，似乎他們還談了滿多，因為Tessie 很認識我所以能講得夠廣泛夠清楚，應該很有說服力，Tessie 又很會應對所以一定也都推薦優點，真的是幫了大忙！
我被錄取了，我去 A 公司上班了。
我媽留了這張紙條給我：
從七月中開始說起，看到 A 公司在人力銀行網站登了廣告，看起來還挺有趣，還說可以在Facebook 線上做個很短的性向測驗，看看你適不適合在他們公司工作。我做的結果，不適合。這什麼嘛？
不過我還是寄出正式的申請，反正不行就算了。廣告上說應徵會經過四個階段，還真長，能通過的機會可能不大吧。沒關係，有看到另一家 P 公司在公司網站寫著招募研發人員，寫的很籠統，但是我覺得很有機會，因為領域和我之前在台灣工作的公司類似，而且還寫說會一些外國語言是優勢，中文是其中一項，而他們也積極想進中文市場。我覺得在奧克蘭的所有軟體公司裡，這是我最有機會進的一家。
結果 A 公司回信，要先做一個線上的測驗，最先有邏輯測驗和數學應用題共一小時，再來性向測驗是問了七十幾題，後面還有一堆雜項比較不重要的測驗。我在家裡做，網路有時候很慢，總共花了我大概三個小時，讓我感覺其實是在考驗耐心。
之前的 Facebook 測驗根本不準，A 公司找我進行下一階段。這次，人事部門的小姐打電話給我談談，了解一下我的背景和經驗。我跟她感覺好像就是在聊天，雖然她的確問了我一些關於我之前求學、工作、甚至移民的事，我不懂他們用什麼方式來判斷通過與否，反正我就是誠懇地聊天囉。
為了準備應徵 P 公司，特地翻了以前工作的紀錄，看看自己以前做了些什麼，也研究 P 公司到底做些什麼，跟前公司有哪些類似。我修改履歷表，也花了功夫寫一篇不一樣的 cover letter ， 特別寫得比較深入，凸顯我有相關的經驗。好不容易把這亮麗的一篇寄出去。
八月初，A 公司找我進行第三階段，到了第三階段總算要進到他們的辦公室，要去當場重做第一階段的線上測驗的第一個小時的部分，避免前次是作弊通過的。考試之後要和人事部門經理面試。另一邊，P 公司也回信說去他們公司跟研發部的最高主管面試，變成我連續兩天去兩家公司面試。我認為 P 公司比較有機會，雖然後來研究一下發覺他們公司的方向和我之前公司做的很不同，幾乎像是學術研究，雖然表面都是同一個主題。不論如何，我覺得我之前的經驗比較有可能被看重，而且這家的應徵流程也直接多了。
週四在 A 公司，重新考試沒問題，跟人事部經理又是聊天，聊得更深，談了我的過去和為什麼選這個職位，他也解釋了這個公司的研發團隊大家的合作方式。週五在 P 公司，明顯得話不投機，他們找的比較像是人工智慧、data mining 方面的博士，主管她本身就是。我這個想應徵品管測試的人並不符合。嗯，你們徵才廣告沒這樣寫，所以我來了嘛。
原本覺得機會比較低的 A 公司居然繼續找我去，這次第四階段去和兩個研發部門的主管面試，先是拿一個應用軟體的畫面來模擬討論如何測試畫面上的功能，之後又是聊天，大家都好奇我為什麼應徵測試人員而不是程式開發人員，也要我說說我履歷上換了幾次的工作職位和學位。結束前也趕著問我一些好像他們面試時固定要問的問題，我只記得有問我為什麼選擇他們公司，我說離家近！哈！
到這個時候，我自己覺得我是已經表現我是有能力做測試人員，就不知道他們覺得我個性適不適合。他們每次面試都強調他們要找個性符合他們公司的人，尤其測試人員要挑出錯誤，又不要和寫程式的人員起衝突。就看他們的決定囉，我能做的都做完了。
八月中，人事部門的小姐打電話來說他們要做 reference check，要兩個推薦人。結果我又有事做了，因為我的其中一個推薦人是我碩士論文的指導教授，他出國了，年底才回來，無法電話聯絡，要再找另一個推薦人 。一番折騰後發現，副指導教授也同時出國大半年。還好在 Tessie 也要出國的幾天前，我找了 Tessie 當了我的推薦人。之前我們做中文電台上的交通安全宣導節目她是我們的隊長，所以就這樣請她幫忙。其實這可能是最好的結果，似乎他們還談了滿多，因為Tessie 很認識我所以能講得夠廣泛夠清楚，應該很有說服力，Tessie 又很會應對所以一定也都推薦優點，真的是幫了大忙！
我被錄取了，我去 A 公司上班了。
我媽留了這張紙條給我：
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Trail Running Extravaganza. Riverhead Forest
Ray and I went to a trail running event called Trail Running Extravaganza on Saturday 20th August. It was at Riverhead Forest. Ray ran the 9km medium course. I ran the 4km short course.
The trail was muddy at places. There were a few times that my feet were stuck to the mud and I had to pull them out with a lot of effort. In fact, Ray said that he once pulled his leg up and found his foot was out of the shoe and the shoe was stuck in the mud. Our shoes were covered and soaked with mud when we finished the run. [I should put a picture here. I will post it later]
The track I ran is shown on the map in this link.
It was a fun event instead of a competitive event. A theme was to dress up in 80s retro outfit. Some participants did dress up. There were a few men wearing the short shorts, not the type for running. I think they were called stubbies shorts. The runner who got the most attention was a lady who wore a vibrant two-piece. She looked great and she won the best retro outfit prize. And she ran the shortest time for all participants of the 9km course. Ray says now he doesn't believe in having the best gears. The lady is a proof that you can wear an outfit that's not designed for running and still run faster than everybody else. :)
The trail was muddy at places. There were a few times that my feet were stuck to the mud and I had to pull them out with a lot of effort. In fact, Ray said that he once pulled his leg up and found his foot was out of the shoe and the shoe was stuck in the mud. Our shoes were covered and soaked with mud when we finished the run. [I should put a picture here. I will post it later]
The track I ran is shown on the map in this link.
It was a fun event instead of a competitive event. A theme was to dress up in 80s retro outfit. Some participants did dress up. There were a few men wearing the short shorts, not the type for running. I think they were called stubbies shorts. The runner who got the most attention was a lady who wore a vibrant two-piece. She looked great and she won the best retro outfit prize. And she ran the shortest time for all participants of the 9km course. Ray says now he doesn't believe in having the best gears. The lady is a proof that you can wear an outfit that's not designed for running and still run faster than everybody else. :)
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Aotea 廣場的台灣夜市
前兩天週五週六在 Aotea Square 有個台灣的夜市。現在這些亞洲食物在奧克蘭已經比較常見，沒那麼稀奇了。週五下午去逛的時候我看到最特別的事情是居然是 Hone Harawira ，他是離開毛利黨然後自己組了 Mana 黨的那位國會議員。他穿著一件寫著 Lincoln University 的外套，在攤位區域走，看起來純粹是路過，來這邊看看。有個毛利人看到他，表情驚訝，伸出手跟他握手，講了兩句話之後 Hone 繼續前進。我去問了那個毛利人剛才那人是不是 Harawira 議員，他說就是。我還滿好奇，Harawira 常常表達強烈有民族主義的意見，一直招激進的毛利人的民意，不知道他對於這個場景有什麼感覺。廣場有個毛利名字，是歐洲人建造的，而亞洲人在上面擺攤賣飲食。
這次活動有一小區的台灣童玩，有夜市的打彈珠和射氣球，有捏麵人和扯鈴。最特別的有放了幾尊布袋戲偶，可惜沒有人表演布袋戲。
六點鐘的時候有個紐西蘭的台灣年輕人的樂團表演，一開始先唱了三首比較柔的音樂，原來是吉他手和貝斯手遲到，也許這也是表現台灣文化的一部分？團員到齊以後開始唱搖滾的歌，海角七號那首「無樂不作」。
後來晚上是跟朋友們逛到覺得天氣好冷，結果去隔壁的 Starbucks 喝一杯熱咖啡，坐著和朋友聊天。沒有遮蔽、沒有座位和要排隊會驅散我這種對吃東西很懶惰的人呀。
這次活動有一小區的台灣童玩，有夜市的打彈珠和射氣球，有捏麵人和扯鈴。最特別的有放了幾尊布袋戲偶，可惜沒有人表演布袋戲。
六點鐘的時候有個紐西蘭的台灣年輕人的樂團表演，一開始先唱了三首比較柔的音樂，原來是吉他手和貝斯手遲到，也許這也是表現台灣文化的一部分？團員到齊以後開始唱搖滾的歌，海角七號那首「無樂不作」。
後來晚上是跟朋友們逛到覺得天氣好冷，結果去隔壁的 Starbucks 喝一杯熱咖啡，坐著和朋友聊天。沒有遮蔽、沒有座位和要排隊會驅散我這種對吃東西很懶惰的人呀。
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Go Karting
I went go karting with friends on Sunday. That was my first time kart racing. The steering is different from a normal car. As Ray said, it doesn't have power steering. So it takes more effort to turn. I didn't realize that in the beginning so I bumped into the side of the track in the first lap. Another difference is that it is able to turn much more sharply than a normal car. So it's actually possible to accelerate towards a corner and turn without stepping on the brake much. And it goes faster than I expected. The outdoor extension of the track has a long straight section. I drove really fast there. It was rather bumpy to drive the kart, though.
Apparently I got my best lap time early in the race. It might be because I hadn't figured out that you need to step hard on the brake to decelerate. Also, there was once I was taken by Jest. Then I followed behind him. He was quick around the corners and I didn't manoeuvre well and I drove directly into the fence. My knee hit the kart and it hurt. After that, I drove quite cautiously for a few laps. Maybe that's why my later laps were slower.
I got third place out of six drivers. Not bad, as I don't see myself as a fast or sophisticated driver. The result showed that Jest was the fastest. Although he probably was more skillful as this was the third time he did kart racing this year, we thought he was inconsiderate/沒品 in the manner to get the win. He often bumped other people's karts. He also kept speeding and overtaking when the staff put on the yellow light to signal an incident and required the driver to slow down. Or maybe we're just sour losers :P
That was exciting and fun. However, it was expensive. Luckily we had vouchers so we paid $25 for 20 minutes of racing. The original price was $55, which we probably wouldn't have gone for it.
Apparently I got my best lap time early in the race. It might be because I hadn't figured out that you need to step hard on the brake to decelerate. Also, there was once I was taken by Jest. Then I followed behind him. He was quick around the corners and I didn't manoeuvre well and I drove directly into the fence. My knee hit the kart and it hurt. After that, I drove quite cautiously for a few laps. Maybe that's why my later laps were slower.
I got third place out of six drivers. Not bad, as I don't see myself as a fast or sophisticated driver. The result showed that Jest was the fastest. Although he probably was more skillful as this was the third time he did kart racing this year, we thought he was inconsiderate/沒品 in the manner to get the win. He often bumped other people's karts. He also kept speeding and overtaking when the staff put on the yellow light to signal an incident and required the driver to slow down. Or maybe we're just sour losers :P
That was exciting and fun. However, it was expensive. Luckily we had vouchers so we paid $25 for 20 minutes of racing. The original price was $55, which we probably wouldn't have gone for it.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Matakana Day Trip
We had a day trip in Matakana on 6 August, 2011. We went to Matakana Farmers Market in the morning.
I'm not into buying food from stalls. Nevertheless, I ate a very sugary crepe after waiting for 15 minutes or so. Then I bought a bottle of feijoa & apple juice after tasting a small glass of it. We then went into some shops selling exquisite goods. One that particularly interested me was a stationery shop. There was a man drawing a fairly large piece of paper with a pen. The lines of the drawing looks like they're printed instead of drawn. The man stopped and talked to customers when they were standing besides him and gazing at his work. I think that's quite a special job. He keeps alternating between drawing and explaining.
When we were about to leave the town centre, we walked past this sign and I suggested that people could plank there. Maybe I shouldn't mention that?
Ray got on it and a guy came out of nowhere and posed for the picture. He then told us that he'd plank another way.
After I took the photo, he crossed the road and got back in the car in the petrol station where his mate was waiting. Then they drove away. So he really came over solely for planking with Ray. hehe.
We went to Brick Bay Vineyard and had lunch there. The lunch was a few platters of 下酒菜. We had a bottle of white wine with it. I don't have a photo of that. I was hungry and I just wanted to eat. The food tasted nice but it wasn't filling. So I was light headed because of the alcohol in my still quite empty stomach.
There is a sculpture trail in the vineyard. Friends walked and I staggered (exaggeration) the trail after lunch. There were a few cute ones but not many big spectacular sculptures.
After we left the vineyard, we drove to Warkworth and had a short walk along the river. Then we went back to North Shore.
I'm not into buying food from stalls. Nevertheless, I ate a very sugary crepe after waiting for 15 minutes or so. Then I bought a bottle of feijoa & apple juice after tasting a small glass of it. We then went into some shops selling exquisite goods. One that particularly interested me was a stationery shop. There was a man drawing a fairly large piece of paper with a pen. The lines of the drawing looks like they're printed instead of drawn. The man stopped and talked to customers when they were standing besides him and gazing at his work. I think that's quite a special job. He keeps alternating between drawing and explaining.
When we were about to leave the town centre, we walked past this sign and I suggested that people could plank there. Maybe I shouldn't mention that?
Ray got on it and a guy came out of nowhere and posed for the picture. He then told us that he'd plank another way.
After I took the photo, he crossed the road and got back in the car in the petrol station where his mate was waiting. Then they drove away. So he really came over solely for planking with Ray. hehe.
We went to Brick Bay Vineyard and had lunch there. The lunch was a few platters of 下酒菜. We had a bottle of white wine with it. I don't have a photo of that. I was hungry and I just wanted to eat. The food tasted nice but it wasn't filling. So I was light headed because of the alcohol in my still quite empty stomach.
There is a sculpture trail in the vineyard. Friends walked and I staggered (exaggeration) the trail after lunch. There were a few cute ones but not many big spectacular sculptures.
 |
| Ray checks what card is at the bottom. |
After we left the vineyard, we drove to Warkworth and had a short walk along the river. Then we went back to North Shore.
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Captain America: The First Avenger [film]
Retro, simple and enjoyable
Nice retro setting. I like the romance between the leads. It's also fun to watch Tommy Lee Jones and Stanley Tucci's characters. The story is quite simple. It's fun and enjoyable. Plenty of action with good pace. Not too fast or has too many explosions like some other movies :P
LC rates: 4 stars
看過電影才讀以下的意見
Ray 你不用去健身房了，學 Captain America 可以速成，不過你可能會長到比姚明還高。
盾牌可攻可守超好用，像迴旋鏢總會飛回來或彈回來。
二戰時期的科技比現在還進步，一堆光束槍把人瞬間炸成灰。
我其實還滿喜歡 Captain America 當藝人。(唱一首「唸你」吧)
Hugo Weaving 又演看不到臉的角色，至少這次不像 V 怪客那次完全沒露臉。
這種電影裡，科學家太容易死啦！
這種電影裡，主角的好朋友太容易死啦！自從好朋友再度出現，我就擔心他撐不到結局，果然提早收工。
結局是法櫃奇兵？
Captain America 硬闖正門與一堆敵人纏鬥被捉住，結果隊友用繩索輕鬆破窗而入？
Captain America 到處硬闖，堡壘、基地、飛機都蠻力攻進去。
LC rates: 4 stars
看過電影才讀以下的意見
Ray 你不用去健身房了，學 Captain America 可以速成，不過你可能會長到比姚明還高。
盾牌可攻可守超好用，像迴旋鏢總會飛回來或彈回來。
二戰時期的科技比現在還進步，一堆光束槍把人瞬間炸成灰。
我其實還滿喜歡 Captain America 當藝人。(唱一首「唸你」吧)
Hugo Weaving 又演看不到臉的角色，至少這次不像 V 怪客那次完全沒露臉。
這種電影裡，科學家太容易死啦！
這種電影裡，主角的好朋友太容易死啦！自從好朋友再度出現，我就擔心他撐不到結局，果然提早收工。
結局是法櫃奇兵？
Captain America 硬闖正門與一堆敵人纏鬥被捉住，結果隊友用繩索輕鬆破窗而入？
Captain America 到處硬闖，堡壘、基地、飛機都蠻力攻進去。
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Squash, Food, Coffee
OK, I blog it with a bit of the style of twitter/microblogging, and some location "check-ins".
Played squash at the National Squash Centre in Unitec. I'd only played twice before in UoA and that was years ago. It's a much quicker game than I remembered. It was good that there were 5 of us so we could take turns to rest. Maybe I just hadn't played a racquet sport for sometime so I wasn't used to quick bursts of movement.
Dinner at Canton Cafe in Kingsland. It's an old restaurant but it's the only time I've been there. Several dishes tasted quite similar. The portion was quite large and filling. Good for ending the hunger after the squash game.
Had a flat white at Circus Circus in Mt Eden. A cosy place.
Played squash at the National Squash Centre in Unitec. I'd only played twice before in UoA and that was years ago. It's a much quicker game than I remembered. It was good that there were 5 of us so we could take turns to rest. Maybe I just hadn't played a racquet sport for sometime so I wasn't used to quick bursts of movement.
Dinner at Canton Cafe in Kingsland. It's an old restaurant but it's the only time I've been there. Several dishes tasted quite similar. The portion was quite large and filling. Good for ending the hunger after the squash game.
Had a flat white at Circus Circus in Mt Eden. A cosy place.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Notes
AA Traffic - Roadwatch
http://maps.aa.co.nz/traffic/roadwatch
Map with information on congestion, incidents, roadworks etc.
Mapnificent. Auckland
http://www.mapnificent.net/auckland/
A map to estimate how far you can go by public transport within a certain time.
----
Txt a phone number to 300 to find out whether the number is on the same network. It's a free service. This works on 2degrees and Vodafone NZ. Not sure about Telecom. Numbers can be ported between networks nowadays so the 021 or 022 prefixes don't always match the networks.
http://maps.aa.co.nz/traffic/roadwatch
Map with information on congestion, incidents, roadworks etc.
Mapnificent. Auckland
http://www.mapnificent.net/auckland/
A map to estimate how far you can go by public transport within a certain time.
----
Txt a phone number to 300 to find out whether the number is on the same network. It's a free service. This works on 2degrees and Vodafone NZ. Not sure about Telecom. Numbers can be ported between networks nowadays so the 021 or 022 prefixes don't always match the networks.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The Reluctant Infidel [film]
The Reluctant Infidel (在有些地區命名為 The Infidel) 是個有關宗教、種族的英國喜劇片。好像不算主流電影，在播藝術電影的戲院才有放映。
電影演一個中年男子是不怎麼虔誠的回教徒，有一天他發現自己是被收養的，而且自己的生父母是猶太人！身份錯亂。一方面想學著當猶太人去見生父；另一方面兒子要結婚，他要表現成虔誠的回教徒給基本教義派的親家公看。
整片一直在搞笑。我自己是覺得比較淺的身份混亂的橋段滿好笑的。可惜的是我對回教和猶太教不熟悉，有一些跟這兩個宗教相關的特定符號和刻板印象的笑點我就不太懂了。
LC rates: 3 stars
電影演一個中年男子是不怎麼虔誠的回教徒，有一天他發現自己是被收養的，而且自己的生父母是猶太人！身份錯亂。一方面想學著當猶太人去見生父；另一方面兒子要結婚，他要表現成虔誠的回教徒給基本教義派的親家公看。
整片一直在搞笑。我自己是覺得比較淺的身份混亂的橋段滿好笑的。可惜的是我對回教和猶太教不熟悉，有一些跟這兩個宗教相關的特定符號和刻板印象的笑點我就不太懂了。
LC rates: 3 stars
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2) [film]
Finally it all ends
After a somewhat slow part 1, part 2 is very eventful just like it is in the book. A lot of things happen. Hogwarts turns into a battleground. People die, probably more than you expect from a "children's book". Secrets are revealed. It's hectic. I guess non-fans probably don't understand bits and pieces in this fast-paced finale. Nevertheless, it's a satisfying conclusion to the film series.
Again, the strong element of the film is that it visually presents the magical world. There's the shield they weave around Hogwart, the deep vault of Gringott, the hidden storage room, and the battle between the good and the evil.
Finding the Horcruxes are relatively easy to understand. Interestingly, Harry has the ability to hear and sense the Horcruxes when he's near them. He doesn't have that ability in the book. In the original story, Dumbledore told Harry the objects that were likely to be Horcruxes.
The fights between Harry and Voldemort are harder to understand. The outcome is clear. But it's hard to explain what exactly happens and why.
The film adaptation and the books
Maybe the Harry Potter story as a whole is unsuitable to be adapted as eight 2-hour films. Maybe a 60-hour TV series would be better ;-) In the film series, a lot of the backstories are absent. The books have more stories about the older generation, including Harry's parents, Sirius and Remus. Voldemort's upbringing is detailed in Half-Blooded Prince. And we learn about Dumbledore's less honourable past in Deathly Hallows. The person who gets the most backstory explained in the films is Snape.
Some themes and emotional struggles that I really enjoy in the books are not shown in the films, either. There simply isn't room for that. It's also harder to present those visually than the writing Harry's thoughts in precise words. There is the theme of race relations between wizards, muggles, (house) elves, goblins, giants and creatures in the Dark Forest. Some are mentioned in the movies but most are not deeply explored. In Half-Blooded Prince, Dumbledore's lessons to Harry includes an element to mentally prepare Harry to voluntarily fight against Voldemort. I was really impacted by that part when I read it, but it was left out of the movie. Those are some of the good parts of the story in my opinion. You have to read the books to find them, though.
Random talk
- The basilisk's teeth are so handy.
- Neville with a sword is pretty helpful too.
- A good question from my friend: Why is the Room of Requirements full of old furniture?
- I like the scene with the fire in the Room of Requirements.
- Bellatrix's final duel looked too short. She was the second biggest villain but it didn't feel like a big thing.
- Who are those people that are on the evil side but are not Death Eaters?
- FYI. Luna and Neville are not a couple. I think that's what Rowling said.
- It's the end!
- Where's Dudley?
LC rates: 4 stars
After a somewhat slow part 1, part 2 is very eventful just like it is in the book. A lot of things happen. Hogwarts turns into a battleground. People die, probably more than you expect from a "children's book". Secrets are revealed. It's hectic. I guess non-fans probably don't understand bits and pieces in this fast-paced finale. Nevertheless, it's a satisfying conclusion to the film series.
Again, the strong element of the film is that it visually presents the magical world. There's the shield they weave around Hogwart, the deep vault of Gringott, the hidden storage room, and the battle between the good and the evil.
Finding the Horcruxes are relatively easy to understand. Interestingly, Harry has the ability to hear and sense the Horcruxes when he's near them. He doesn't have that ability in the book. In the original story, Dumbledore told Harry the objects that were likely to be Horcruxes.
The fights between Harry and Voldemort are harder to understand. The outcome is clear. But it's hard to explain what exactly happens and why.
The film adaptation and the books
Maybe the Harry Potter story as a whole is unsuitable to be adapted as eight 2-hour films. Maybe a 60-hour TV series would be better ;-) In the film series, a lot of the backstories are absent. The books have more stories about the older generation, including Harry's parents, Sirius and Remus. Voldemort's upbringing is detailed in Half-Blooded Prince. And we learn about Dumbledore's less honourable past in Deathly Hallows. The person who gets the most backstory explained in the films is Snape.
Some themes and emotional struggles that I really enjoy in the books are not shown in the films, either. There simply isn't room for that. It's also harder to present those visually than the writing Harry's thoughts in precise words. There is the theme of race relations between wizards, muggles, (house) elves, goblins, giants and creatures in the Dark Forest. Some are mentioned in the movies but most are not deeply explored. In Half-Blooded Prince, Dumbledore's lessons to Harry includes an element to mentally prepare Harry to voluntarily fight against Voldemort. I was really impacted by that part when I read it, but it was left out of the movie. Those are some of the good parts of the story in my opinion. You have to read the books to find them, though.
Random talk
- The basilisk's teeth are so handy.
- Neville with a sword is pretty helpful too.
- A good question from my friend: Why is the Room of Requirements full of old furniture?
- I like the scene with the fire in the Room of Requirements.
- Bellatrix's final duel looked too short. She was the second biggest villain but it didn't feel like a big thing.
- Who are those people that are on the evil side but are not Death Eaters?
- FYI. Luna and Neville are not a couple. I think that's what Rowling said.
- It's the end!
- Where's Dudley?
LC rates: 4 stars
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) [film]
I read the book and felt that the first half of the 7th book was rather slow. I'd hoped that they put more stuff in the part 1 film but they didn't. So the film has the same feeling of "I see them going to places but they don't seem to get anywhere".
I don't think anybody who hasn't watched the previous movies can understand what's going on in this movie. In fact, I wonder if people who haven't read the book would enjoy it.
The Good:
It visually present the world of magic. It's more vivid than reading.
The Bad:
Even though it's more than 2 hours long and it only deals with the first half of the book, it still feels it's compressed. I guess it's because the book is complicated in the first place. So the story is very condensed.
There are so many rules, spells, and objects in the magical world that are unusual to us. It is hard to understand everything that happens unless you've read the book thoroughly or you have really good memory and watched all the previous films carefully.
And then by the end, it feels unfinished. Because it is really setting up for part 2.
The WTF moment:
Harry and Hermione dancing in the tent… What was that about? No, it isn't in the book.
LC rates: 2 stars
I don't think anybody who hasn't watched the previous movies can understand what's going on in this movie. In fact, I wonder if people who haven't read the book would enjoy it.
The Good:
It visually present the world of magic. It's more vivid than reading.
The Bad:
Even though it's more than 2 hours long and it only deals with the first half of the book, it still feels it's compressed. I guess it's because the book is complicated in the first place. So the story is very condensed.
There are so many rules, spells, and objects in the magical world that are unusual to us. It is hard to understand everything that happens unless you've read the book thoroughly or you have really good memory and watched all the previous films carefully.
And then by the end, it feels unfinished. Because it is really setting up for part 2.
The WTF moment:
Harry and Hermione dancing in the tent… What was that about? No, it isn't in the book.
LC rates: 2 stars
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Cube [film]
Most people probably have never heard of the film Cube. I read its synopsis many years ago and I was interested. It's like this. Six people wake up and find themselves in a giant maze. The maze consists of many interconnecting rooms. Each room is a cube that has a door on each of the six faces. The doors lead to other rooms. The trapped people include a policeman, a doctor and a mathematics student, etc. They have to cooperate to find a way out. They also have to avoid the death traps in some rooms and try to keep their head cool. Yup, that looks like a geeky sci-fi movie that has some brainwork involved.
It's not a mainstream film so I don't see it on TV or see it mentioned. Surprisingly, I saw the sequel of Cube on TV in Taiwan. The sequel "Cube 2: Hypercube" is one of the worst films I've ever watched. It makes no sense at all. I easily give it my lowest rating: 0 star.
Anyway, I rented the original Cube movie and see if it satisfies my geeky curiosity. Although I'm not a fan after watching it, I find it engaging and interesting. The puzzle solving is geeky enough. The mathematics make sense (I think) and the correct decoding can lead them a escape route. The characters also surprise me when they reveal their hidden sides over time.
I am disappointed of the ending, though. It comes out of nowhere. I feel the twist is just there to make it more shocking. However, I feel that the story is less believable because of it.
LC rates: 3 stars
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A note on Cube 2: The original Cube focuses on figuring out how to escape and the conflicts between the trapped people. Cube 2 focuses on presenting unusual rooms and death traps. The puzzle has no significance and makes no sense even when the story ends. It just kills people again and again. The movie is so terrible and disappointing that I'll always remember it.
Films with numbers in the title
I've written my thoughts on Super 8, District 9, and 500 Days of Summer. I was going to write about 3 Idiots next but I haven't watched it. Never mind. I'll just break the streak of films with numbers in the title and talk about what I've watched.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Salesperson at My Door
A salesperson came to my door recently. I've got some thoughts as I reflect on this event:
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Originally I wrote out what the salesperson was selling in detail. Then I thought it wasn't necessary. So I put it here as an "appendix". So I don't throw away my writing… :P (Although a lesson from Project Runway is that editing is critical.)
A salesperson came to my door recently. He first told me that Vodafone has upgraded the lines in this neighbourhood and they'll upgrade our modem. This confused me. We didn't use Vodafone for our ADSL Internet. Anyway, he tried to sell me a Vodafone Internet plan. He kept emphasizing the new modem. That rubbed me the wrong way. He wanted me to sign up right that moment. I told him that Orcon had a cheaper deal for the same data cap. Then he said if I wanted to sign up Orcon, he can do it too. He doesn't represent just one Internet company. Apparently he can get customers for a variety of companies. What?! It was weird.
Anyway, he kept trying to make me sign up something. I got irritated after 15 minutes or so. I was just about to go out when he came to our door. I told him that I can get all these information myself. I haven't made a decision to switch ISP. I don't want somebody to come to my door and push me to make a decision this moment.
Eventually we settled on that I'd think about it for a day. He would come back the next day. But he didn't.
- Several times after I refused him, he asked me "what's your concern?", "what's on your mind?" I think that's a pretty good sales tactic. Whatever I say, he can then respond to my answer and suggest why his service is better.
- On the other hand, I probably should answer as little as possible. Maybe just say I'm happy with what we use now.
- I stayed firm and didn't succumb to pressure. I told him that I can get all these information myself. I haven't made a decision to switch ISP. I don't want somebody to come to my door and push me to make a decision this moment. Good on me. 我好欺負可是我更摳，不要來叫我付錢。
- Mum answered the door first and she let him took a step inside the door. That made it a bit more difficult to make him leave. Otherwise I'd just shut the door.
- It's a pity that I wasn't rude to him. I should learn some swear words that I can yell out but won't get me sued. It's a chance to direct all my anger in life towards the guy without feeling guilty. :P
---------
Originally I wrote out what the salesperson was selling in detail. Then I thought it wasn't necessary. So I put it here as an "appendix". So I don't throw away my writing… :P (Although a lesson from Project Runway is that editing is critical.)
A salesperson came to my door recently. He first told me that Vodafone has upgraded the lines in this neighbourhood and they'll upgrade our modem. This confused me. We didn't use Vodafone for our ADSL Internet. Anyway, he tried to sell me a Vodafone Internet plan. He kept emphasizing the new modem. That rubbed me the wrong way. He wanted me to sign up right that moment. I told him that Orcon had a cheaper deal for the same data cap. Then he said if I wanted to sign up Orcon, he can do it too. He doesn't represent just one Internet company. Apparently he can get customers for a variety of companies. What?! It was weird.
Anyway, he kept trying to make me sign up something. I got irritated after 15 minutes or so. I was just about to go out when he came to our door. I told him that I can get all these information myself. I haven't made a decision to switch ISP. I don't want somebody to come to my door and push me to make a decision this moment.
Eventually we settled on that I'd think about it for a day. He would come back the next day. But he didn't.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
500 Days of Summer [film]
"It is not a love story," the film itself says so. Well, it isn't a formulaic Hollywood romantic comedy. It's still a story about love, though. The film follows a young man, Tom and his memory of his time with the girl he loves, Summer. Tom believes all the romantic notions like love at the first sight etc. Summer doesn't have much faith in love.
Even though Tom's younger sister doesn't have a lot of screen time, I like her character. She seems older than her age and makes Tom look naive. While Tom insists that Summer is the love of his life. His sister tells him that she may not be his best match. And I agree with her. Maybe I just think more like Summer.
One interesting aspect is the story isn't told in chronological order. The film uses a number to indicate which day it is since Tom has met Summer. Sometimes the film jumps forward and back to different days to show contrast on the different stages of their relationship. It's quite unusual that the audience is shown that they're going to break up early in the film.
The film uses various styles in some scenes. There is a sequence that shows Tom's expectation and what actually happens in two split screens. There is a sequence with singing and dancing. There is a scene that turns into a hand drawn sketch. Besides the plot, the various styles keep the movie interesting.
I enjoyed it. Though I probably don't relate to Tom and Summer's relationship as much as some other audience does, I like the story, its style and its pace. I like the female lead, too. Zooey Deschanel has lovely eyes.
LC rates: 4 stars
Even though Tom's younger sister doesn't have a lot of screen time, I like her character. She seems older than her age and makes Tom look naive. While Tom insists that Summer is the love of his life. His sister tells him that she may not be his best match. And I agree with her. Maybe I just think more like Summer.
One interesting aspect is the story isn't told in chronological order. The film uses a number to indicate which day it is since Tom has met Summer. Sometimes the film jumps forward and back to different days to show contrast on the different stages of their relationship. It's quite unusual that the audience is shown that they're going to break up early in the film.
The film uses various styles in some scenes. There is a sequence that shows Tom's expectation and what actually happens in two split screens. There is a sequence with singing and dancing. There is a scene that turns into a hand drawn sketch. Besides the plot, the various styles keep the movie interesting.
I enjoyed it. Though I probably don't relate to Tom and Summer's relationship as much as some other audience does, I like the story, its style and its pace. I like the female lead, too. Zooey Deschanel has lovely eyes.
LC rates: 4 stars
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
District 9 [film]
In the movie District 9, the aliens don't come to destroy life on Earth. They are not a natural loving tribe like the Na'vi in Avatar, either. The aliens are refugees that live in a segregated area, District 9. It's a chaotic place. It's run-down and full of trash. There's even a gang of human who reside there and take advantage of the aliens. The idea is interesting to me. It has some social implications, too.
Of course, human is greedy again, just like in Avatar. They want to use the alien weapons instead of mining this time, though. The main character is much more unlucky than the guy in Avatar. He accidentally becomes the most wanted subject. He runs and hides and loses everything he once had.
I guess whoever produced this movie like to play with makeups and special effects. There are gruesome alien body parts and exploding people. When the alien weapons are at work, they zap people. Zap, zap. Explode! Juices flow!
Besides the unusual setting, the story itself is rather simple. However, it does intrigue me to think about how people would react if we do have this type of migrants of outer space. Also, how are the refugees in the real world treated by the countries that accommodate them? Are some people afraid of them and some try to advantage of them?
I enjoy the film. However, because it has been compared with Avatar, I feel it is overshadowed by Avatar visually. I guess it's also because I watched District 9 on DVD instead of in the cinema. That made the zapping less impressive. :P On the other hand, I do feel that the story of District 9 is more original. The Hollywood heroism and love story in Avatar makes it more sensational but it's also more conventional. The ordinary and not always selfless protagonist in District 9 is somewhat more believable.
LC rates: 4 stars
Of course, human is greedy again, just like in Avatar. They want to use the alien weapons instead of mining this time, though. The main character is much more unlucky than the guy in Avatar. He accidentally becomes the most wanted subject. He runs and hides and loses everything he once had.
I guess whoever produced this movie like to play with makeups and special effects. There are gruesome alien body parts and exploding people. When the alien weapons are at work, they zap people. Zap, zap. Explode! Juices flow!
Besides the unusual setting, the story itself is rather simple. However, it does intrigue me to think about how people would react if we do have this type of migrants of outer space. Also, how are the refugees in the real world treated by the countries that accommodate them? Are some people afraid of them and some try to advantage of them?
I enjoy the film. However, because it has been compared with Avatar, I feel it is overshadowed by Avatar visually. I guess it's also because I watched District 9 on DVD instead of in the cinema. That made the zapping less impressive. :P On the other hand, I do feel that the story of District 9 is more original. The Hollywood heroism and love story in Avatar makes it more sensational but it's also more conventional. The ordinary and not always selfless protagonist in District 9 is somewhat more believable.
LC rates: 4 stars
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Super 8 [film]
Watching Super 8 feels like watching a movie when I was 12 years old. The setting is in the 1970s and the atmosphere has that vintage feeling. There's danger looming in the background. You don't know what it is. There are human stories involving the young characters and their parents, though some are simplistic and a bit of a cliché. Overall, it was an exciting cinematic experience. I kind of wish I were a 12 year old, though. I would be more fascinated by the movie. It'd be like watching Jurassic Park when I was a kid.
The story focuses on a group of kids in the 1970s. They are at a small train station to film their zombie movie using a Super 8 camera one evening. While they are shooting, a train derails. Lots of explosions and large flying objects remind us that it is actually a 2011 movie. Since this incident, strange things begin to happen in this rural town. Strange things… I better not spoil it. I'll leave you to watch it.
One thing that added to the thrill was that changes may happen abruptly at anytime during a scene. There were times when a character was speaking, a loud noise of some sorts cut the speech in mid-sentence. It then led to the next sequence. It made the pace exciting and made it feel more real too. (Note to the final film of Harry Potter, I expect something similar from you!)
The fast pace has its downside. Sometimes it felt like it was too easy. Especially because the main characters are 12 year olds, they seemed to have accomplished a lot in a short time while avoiding the adults and the danger. But it's a minor issue. It's fiction. Use a bit of imagination. And I'm sure I wouldn't find it odd if I'm 12 years old. Ah, I'm wishing I were young again.
Some scenes reminded me of Jurassic Park. There were weird noises and objects thrown into the air. You knew the danger was nearby but you didn't see it yet. I wished somebody would ask "where's the goat?" and a T-rex would appear. It didn't happen.
*spoiler alert*
The ending was the main thing that I felt let down. It was a Spiderman ending. Yes, I knew it was explained that they could do telepathic communication. But still… a Spiderman ending just made me feel that the situation was resolved too easily… sigh.
While I'm still in the spoiler section, I should take the chance and babble some more.
How unlucky can the sheriff be? By the way, his scene at the petrol station looked like Jurassic Park. Hehe.
"Drugs are so bad." Hahaha. That line made it even more like an old movie that was giving a lecture to the young audience.
One thing in my mind wasn't answered when I left the cinema. Where's Lucy? Did they find the boy's dog, Lucy?
*spoiler alert ends*
By the way, stay behind when the movie ends. The kids' zombie movie is shown when the credit rolls. Also, that kid who likes explosives is pretty funny for the whole movie. Hehe.
LC rates: 4 stars
The story focuses on a group of kids in the 1970s. They are at a small train station to film their zombie movie using a Super 8 camera one evening. While they are shooting, a train derails. Lots of explosions and large flying objects remind us that it is actually a 2011 movie. Since this incident, strange things begin to happen in this rural town. Strange things… I better not spoil it. I'll leave you to watch it.
One thing that added to the thrill was that changes may happen abruptly at anytime during a scene. There were times when a character was speaking, a loud noise of some sorts cut the speech in mid-sentence. It then led to the next sequence. It made the pace exciting and made it feel more real too. (Note to the final film of Harry Potter, I expect something similar from you!)
The fast pace has its downside. Sometimes it felt like it was too easy. Especially because the main characters are 12 year olds, they seemed to have accomplished a lot in a short time while avoiding the adults and the danger. But it's a minor issue. It's fiction. Use a bit of imagination. And I'm sure I wouldn't find it odd if I'm 12 years old. Ah, I'm wishing I were young again.
Some scenes reminded me of Jurassic Park. There were weird noises and objects thrown into the air. You knew the danger was nearby but you didn't see it yet. I wished somebody would ask "where's the goat?" and a T-rex would appear. It didn't happen.
*spoiler alert*
The ending was the main thing that I felt let down. It was a Spiderman ending. Yes, I knew it was explained that they could do telepathic communication. But still… a Spiderman ending just made me feel that the situation was resolved too easily… sigh.
While I'm still in the spoiler section, I should take the chance and babble some more.
How unlucky can the sheriff be? By the way, his scene at the petrol station looked like Jurassic Park. Hehe.
"Drugs are so bad." Hahaha. That line made it even more like an old movie that was giving a lecture to the young audience.
One thing in my mind wasn't answered when I left the cinema. Where's Lucy? Did they find the boy's dog, Lucy?
*spoiler alert ends*
By the way, stay behind when the movie ends. The kids' zombie movie is shown when the credit rolls. Also, that kid who likes explosives is pretty funny for the whole movie. Hehe.
LC rates: 4 stars
Sunday, June 12, 2011
The King's Speech [film]
我一直覺得英國王室很可憐，一出生下來就注定一輩子被大家關注。感覺起來很不自由，沒有什麼自己的選擇。不能穿著拖鞋到便利商店買茶葉蛋。
之前全世界放映威廉王子和凱特的婚禮，我覺得他們結婚也要結給全世界看真是辛苦。
The King's Speech 這部片更是印證我的想法，英國王室的成員沒有權力，沒有自由，孤獨。戲裡幾句話精簡地點出他們的無奈：沒有權力收稅，沒有權力指揮軍隊，只有責任在一些公眾場合講講話，看起來體面，就像是演員一樣。
主角 King George VI 就是這麼衰，生在王室，唯一的工作就是偶而在公眾場合講講話，偏偏他口吃，就是做不好這唯一的工作，而他也不能像平民自由換工作。
太太 Bellatrix 看 Mr Darcy 演講這麼吃力很想幫他忙，所以找了 Captain Barbossa 來幫他治療。[1] 喔，角色搞錯了，不過這部戲還真的有一堆在別的電影裡出現的英國演員。其他還有演 Dumbledore 的，還有 Guy Pearce。連 BBC mini series 版本的 Pride and Prejudice 裡的女主角都來了。Colin Firth 和 Jennifer Ehle 隔了十五年又合演一部戲。我都懷疑讓他們碰面的那一幕是編劇故意放進去給我們這些 Pride and Prejudice 的 fans 看的。
Anyway，這部戲真的主要就是看 Colin Firth 和 Geoffrey Rush 演戲。故事本身簡單、溫馨。不過由於主角口吃，有時會覺得步調慢，要有耐心。
國王總算有個平民好朋友讓我覺得溫馨。皇后一路支持國王也真是好妻子呀！(按個讚)
香港翻譯片名叫「皇上無話兒」真是會讓人聯想到別的東西。
是齣好電影，不過我不覺得特別好，我自己是不會選它為奧斯卡最佳影片啦！
LC rates: 4 stars
Notes:
[1] Bellatrix 是 Harry Potter 的角色；Mr Darcy 是 Pride and Prejudice 和 Bridget Jones's Diary 的角色；Captain Barbossa 是 Pirates of the Caribbean 的角色。
之前全世界放映威廉王子和凱特的婚禮，我覺得他們結婚也要結給全世界看真是辛苦。
The King's Speech 這部片更是印證我的想法，英國王室的成員沒有權力，沒有自由，孤獨。戲裡幾句話精簡地點出他們的無奈：沒有權力收稅，沒有權力指揮軍隊，只有責任在一些公眾場合講講話，看起來體面，就像是演員一樣。
主角 King George VI 就是這麼衰，生在王室，唯一的工作就是偶而在公眾場合講講話，偏偏他口吃，就是做不好這唯一的工作，而他也不能像平民自由換工作。
太太 Bellatrix 看 Mr Darcy 演講這麼吃力很想幫他忙，所以找了 Captain Barbossa 來幫他治療。[1] 喔，角色搞錯了，不過這部戲還真的有一堆在別的電影裡出現的英國演員。其他還有演 Dumbledore 的，還有 Guy Pearce。連 BBC mini series 版本的 Pride and Prejudice 裡的女主角都來了。Colin Firth 和 Jennifer Ehle 隔了十五年又合演一部戲。我都懷疑讓他們碰面的那一幕是編劇故意放進去給我們這些 Pride and Prejudice 的 fans 看的。
 |
| Top: The King's Sppech (2010); Bottom: Pride and Prejudice (1995) Picture source: here |
Anyway，這部戲真的主要就是看 Colin Firth 和 Geoffrey Rush 演戲。故事本身簡單、溫馨。不過由於主角口吃，有時會覺得步調慢，要有耐心。
國王總算有個平民好朋友讓我覺得溫馨。皇后一路支持國王也真是好妻子呀！(按個讚)
香港翻譯片名叫「皇上無話兒」真是會讓人聯想到別的東西。
是齣好電影，不過我不覺得特別好，我自己是不會選它為奧斯卡最佳影片啦！
LC rates: 4 stars
Notes:
[1] Bellatrix 是 Harry Potter 的角色；Mr Darcy 是 Pride and Prejudice 和 Bridget Jones's Diary 的角色；Captain Barbossa 是 Pirates of the Caribbean 的角色。
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Karangahake Gorge Day Trip
We went to Karangahake Gorge on the 14 May, 2011. It was a beautiful place and the weather was sunny too. Nice!
When we met up. We had two surprise guests, Jack and his girlfriend Ivy. We told them that we were going on this day trip. But we didn't expect Jack to actually turn up. As somebody said, Jack starts showing up when he's about to leave for another country.
Karanagahake Gorge is near Paeroa. There are a number of tracks in that area. The Karangahake Historic Walkway may be considered as the main track. It takes 2 hours one way. We had three cars so we could park cars at both ends of the track so we didn't need to walk the same way back. However, we still hesitated to take such a long walk. So instead, we started with the Tunnel Loop Walk which took about an hour.
We walked along the river. The scenery was beautiful. After sometime, we reached a bridge that leads to the tunnel. The tunnel is an old railway tunnel. It is about 1.1 km long. It's a really long tunnel to walk! We walked into this dark, chilly and damp place. It was quite eerie. Thinking back, I'd be scared to enter the tunnel if there were fewer than four people in our group. There were nine of us so I felt fine. We had about five torches so we could see enough to walk ahead. After a few minutes, it started to feel endless. We just kept walking and walking and the end of the tunnel didn't seem to approach us. A common estimate of walking time is 15 minutes per kilometre. So we probably walked more than 15 minutes in this dim tunnel. Eventually we emerged into daylight again. Too bad Ming wasn't left behind. :P
After we returned to the world with daylight, we took a break and had our lunch and snacks. We walked back to the car park after lunch and decided to do another short walk. Yay~ The second walk was the Windows Walk. It took about an hour round trip too. The "windows" refer to the small openings in a few locations along the tunnel in this walk. Gold mining was in this area in the early 20th century. There were remnants of the gold mining on the Windows Walk. At first, we walked along a tramway track. Somehow, Ray sat in this old metal basket/tram.
We then went into the tunnel section. It was dark. You really need a torch to walk inside. After walking for a couple of minutes or so, we reached this window. Here is what it was like to look outside. You can see a path on the other side of the gorge. We walked that path later and appreciated the nice scenery.
After we went out of the tunnel, we continued on to find a nearby "underground pumphouse". We didn't know what it was. It turned out to be a few short, interconnecting tunnels that led to a chamber with old equipment. I suppose that was used for pumping. The equipment was locked behind bars so we could only view from a distance. Mind you, the chamber was pitch black. We could only use our torches to light it up dimly. In this dim light, we saw… Ray impersonating a zombie, like it's a shooting video game. He looked too happy to be a zombie, though. I've never seen a zombie that wears glasses, either. I don't know why. Anyway, there was a another surprise in the dark. We saw a few glow worms on the ceiling when we switched off our lights.
After we finished Windows Walk and returned to the car park, we set Owharoa Falls as our next destination. We drove there, and it took us less than a minute to walk to the waterfall after we parked. The waterfall looks quite short, doesn't it?
I'd been directing the group pretty much all day. I then drove onto a nearby unpaved road/driveway and led our group to Victoria Battery. It was a site that remained from the age of gold mining. There was this abandoned structure. Somehow, Ray stood on top of it. The copycat Jack climbed up too. But the kitten was scared of heights and he was stuck up there. Ray came down first and he messed with Jack. He initially thought Jack was just acting. After a long while, Jack finally came down. The structure really wasn't very tall, you know.
That was pretty much it. We drove in the sunset and headed back to Auckland.
When we met up. We had two surprise guests, Jack and his girlfriend Ivy. We told them that we were going on this day trip. But we didn't expect Jack to actually turn up. As somebody said, Jack starts showing up when he's about to leave for another country.
Karanagahake Gorge is near Paeroa. There are a number of tracks in that area. The Karangahake Historic Walkway may be considered as the main track. It takes 2 hours one way. We had three cars so we could park cars at both ends of the track so we didn't need to walk the same way back. However, we still hesitated to take such a long walk. So instead, we started with the Tunnel Loop Walk which took about an hour.
We walked along the river. The scenery was beautiful. After sometime, we reached a bridge that leads to the tunnel. The tunnel is an old railway tunnel. It is about 1.1 km long. It's a really long tunnel to walk! We walked into this dark, chilly and damp place. It was quite eerie. Thinking back, I'd be scared to enter the tunnel if there were fewer than four people in our group. There were nine of us so I felt fine. We had about five torches so we could see enough to walk ahead. After a few minutes, it started to feel endless. We just kept walking and walking and the end of the tunnel didn't seem to approach us. A common estimate of walking time is 15 minutes per kilometre. So we probably walked more than 15 minutes in this dim tunnel. Eventually we emerged into daylight again. Too bad Ming wasn't left behind. :P
 |
| That's a long tunnel ahead. |
After we returned to the world with daylight, we took a break and had our lunch and snacks. We walked back to the car park after lunch and decided to do another short walk. Yay~ The second walk was the Windows Walk. It took about an hour round trip too. The "windows" refer to the small openings in a few locations along the tunnel in this walk. Gold mining was in this area in the early 20th century. There were remnants of the gold mining on the Windows Walk. At first, we walked along a tramway track. Somehow, Ray sat in this old metal basket/tram.
We then went into the tunnel section. It was dark. You really need a torch to walk inside. After walking for a couple of minutes or so, we reached this window. Here is what it was like to look outside. You can see a path on the other side of the gorge. We walked that path later and appreciated the nice scenery.
 |
| View from one of the "windows" |
After we went out of the tunnel, we continued on to find a nearby "underground pumphouse". We didn't know what it was. It turned out to be a few short, interconnecting tunnels that led to a chamber with old equipment. I suppose that was used for pumping. The equipment was locked behind bars so we could only view from a distance. Mind you, the chamber was pitch black. We could only use our torches to light it up dimly. In this dim light, we saw… Ray impersonating a zombie, like it's a shooting video game. He looked too happy to be a zombie, though. I've never seen a zombie that wears glasses, either. I don't know why. Anyway, there was a another surprise in the dark. We saw a few glow worms on the ceiling when we switched off our lights.
After we finished Windows Walk and returned to the car park, we set Owharoa Falls as our next destination. We drove there, and it took us less than a minute to walk to the waterfall after we parked. The waterfall looks quite short, doesn't it?
 |
| This photo looks badly composed and fake. That's why I put it up. Ha |
I'd been directing the group pretty much all day. I then drove onto a nearby unpaved road/driveway and led our group to Victoria Battery. It was a site that remained from the age of gold mining. There was this abandoned structure. Somehow, Ray stood on top of it. The copycat Jack climbed up too. But the kitten was scared of heights and he was stuck up there. Ray came down first and he messed with Jack. He initially thought Jack was just acting. After a long while, Jack finally came down. The structure really wasn't very tall, you know.
That was pretty much it. We drove in the sunset and headed back to Auckland.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Source Code [film]
It was quite interesting to me. I felt the situation was resolved more easily than I thought. However, what happened after that was unexpected. The movie was short relative to some over-long movies nowadays. It moved in a pretty good pace.
The protagonist lives through the same 8-minutes over and over again. It has a bit of Groundhog Day, but not really. (Groundhog Day is a classic!)
I guess it has a bit of The Matrix too. In fact, I imagine the sequels should be named like the Matrix. The second film would be Source Code Refactored. The third film would be Source Code Rewritten. (Excuse my geeky humour.)
I felt there were some flaws in the logic. For example, how do you make phone calls in a memory? How do you interact with the people and environment anyway? I thought it would be like the "pensieve" in Harry Potter. You can only observe past events but cannot interact with anything. Anyway, it's science fiction so we can assume it just worked that way. The ending made the possibilities much broader, anyway. It kind of answered my questions too.
The actor that intrigued me the most was the lady who played Goodwin. She looked familiar but I didn't know who she was. I found out that she is Vera Farmiga. I watched Up in the Air which she played. No wonder she looked familiar. That was a very different role, though. No wonder I couldn't recognize her.
The actor who plays the comedian on the train is a real comedian, Russell Peters, who was quite popular on YouTube a couple of years ago. Oddly, I didn't watch his videos and I saw him in a movie.
Interesting. Better than Déjà vu.
LC rates: 4 stars
The protagonist lives through the same 8-minutes over and over again. It has a bit of Groundhog Day, but not really. (Groundhog Day is a classic!)
I guess it has a bit of The Matrix too. In fact, I imagine the sequels should be named like the Matrix. The second film would be Source Code Refactored. The third film would be Source Code Rewritten. (Excuse my geeky humour.)
I felt there were some flaws in the logic. For example, how do you make phone calls in a memory? How do you interact with the people and environment anyway? I thought it would be like the "pensieve" in Harry Potter. You can only observe past events but cannot interact with anything. Anyway, it's science fiction so we can assume it just worked that way. The ending made the possibilities much broader, anyway. It kind of answered my questions too.
The actor that intrigued me the most was the lady who played Goodwin. She looked familiar but I didn't know who she was. I found out that she is Vera Farmiga. I watched Up in the Air which she played. No wonder she looked familiar. That was a very different role, though. No wonder I couldn't recognize her.
The actor who plays the comedian on the train is a real comedian, Russell Peters, who was quite popular on YouTube a couple of years ago. Oddly, I didn't watch his videos and I saw him in a movie.
Interesting. Better than Déjà vu.
LC rates: 4 stars
Thursday, May 19, 2011
A popular game (for now)
In case you haven't played Angry Birds and you want to, there's now an option to play it on a Chrome browser.
http://chrome.angrybirds.com/
http://chrome.angrybirds.com/
Monday, May 16, 2011
給 Waipa Delta 按個爛
今天 Waipa Delta 又在 GrabOne 特價，提醒我應該來個反廣告一下。
我們一行人在三月時用了GrabOne voucher 去搭 Waipa Delta 的 harbour cruise。 船慢，航行路線比我預期的短，GPS 記錄了這個路線。
那時買多了一張GrabOne voucher，後來在拍賣網上賤價賣了。
隔了一個月，Waipa Delta 的人員打電話給我，跟我要我賣掉的那一張 GrabOne voucher 的號碼，還跟我說不可以轉賣他們的 voucher ，"that's not very good"，他們現在要兌現 vouchers，但是搞不清楚到底哪些 vouchers 是誰使用的。
我正好在電腦前，不太高興但是還是好心幫他查了一下。一邊查的時候我說我讀過 GrabOne 的 terms and conditions，並沒有禁止轉售 vouchers。他說這是他們 Waipa Delta 的 terms and condition，跟 GrabOne 無關。我心想有嗎？應該是臨時編的。GrabOne 不能轉賣的 vouchers 會在賣的明白地寫在 conditions 裡。
唸給他賣掉的那一張的 voucher 號碼後，他又問我當天用的 vouchers 都是我的名字嗎？我告訴他其中有兩張是我朋友的名字，他又要問我朋友的名字。到了這時就更惹惱我了，我大概知道是怎麼回事了，這根本就是他們行政上散漫無序，只依賴訂位的人的名字，卻沒考慮訂位的人跟 voucher 上的名字可能不同，也不需要相同。乘客上船的時候也沒去對voucher和訂位的人的名字，而且，其實上船時收票的人員很隨便，根本沒看 vouchers 一眼，也沒數有幾張，我覺得隨便給他一疊影印紙他都會讓我過。
一開始隨便，結果事後弄不清楚，還要一一打電話去問這些訂位的人。實在太糟糕，明明自己行政、票務沒做好，麻煩顧客去查資料還指責顧客。而且，那已經不是他們第一次在 GrabOne 賣 vouchers，我就不懂他們怎麼還能做這麼差。
我被他們煩到了。所以，我很壞心的希望這個公司被這些爛員工拖垮，早日關門。希望大家不要去光顧呀！
我們一行人在三月時用了GrabOne voucher 去搭 Waipa Delta 的 harbour cruise。 船慢，航行路線比我預期的短，GPS 記錄了這個路線。
那時買多了一張GrabOne voucher，後來在拍賣網上賤價賣了。
隔了一個月，Waipa Delta 的人員打電話給我，跟我要我賣掉的那一張 GrabOne voucher 的號碼，還跟我說不可以轉賣他們的 voucher ，"that's not very good"，他們現在要兌現 vouchers，但是搞不清楚到底哪些 vouchers 是誰使用的。
我正好在電腦前，不太高興但是還是好心幫他查了一下。一邊查的時候我說我讀過 GrabOne 的 terms and conditions，並沒有禁止轉售 vouchers。他說這是他們 Waipa Delta 的 terms and condition，跟 GrabOne 無關。我心想有嗎？應該是臨時編的。GrabOne 不能轉賣的 vouchers 會在賣的明白地寫在 conditions 裡。
唸給他賣掉的那一張的 voucher 號碼後，他又問我當天用的 vouchers 都是我的名字嗎？我告訴他其中有兩張是我朋友的名字，他又要問我朋友的名字。到了這時就更惹惱我了，我大概知道是怎麼回事了，這根本就是他們行政上散漫無序，只依賴訂位的人的名字，卻沒考慮訂位的人跟 voucher 上的名字可能不同，也不需要相同。乘客上船的時候也沒去對voucher和訂位的人的名字，而且，其實上船時收票的人員很隨便，根本沒看 vouchers 一眼，也沒數有幾張，我覺得隨便給他一疊影印紙他都會讓我過。
一開始隨便，結果事後弄不清楚，還要一一打電話去問這些訂位的人。實在太糟糕，明明自己行政、票務沒做好，麻煩顧客去查資料還指責顧客。而且，那已經不是他們第一次在 GrabOne 賣 vouchers，我就不懂他們怎麼還能做這麼差。
我被他們煩到了。所以，我很壞心的希望這個公司被這些爛員工拖垮，早日關門。希望大家不要去光顧呀！
Sunday, May 15, 2011
The Social Network [film]
The literal title of the film would be "The Facebook Founders". There were probably hundreds of social networking services with at least 10,000 users. I was more interested to see how Facebook prevailed and became the most popular service with more than 500 million users. What did they do that made they different? But the story wasn't about that. It was about the friendship of the founders turned sour. It was about the smart, socially inept and ruthless Mark in one way or another used other people to build up Facebook.
It looked like a good film with a good story. But it didn't "feel" right to me. It felt like a fictional story pretending to be a true story. The real Sean Parker said it was all fictional. Justin Timberlake played a character that happened to have his name. He said he wished his life was that cool.
I tried to view it as a fictional story, but the name Facebook was mentioned all the time. Also, all the characters had names of real people who I had seen on the TV and the Internet. I tried to view it as a real story, but then Justin Timberlake entered the film. It was hard to believe a computer hacker would be so charismatic. It was even harder when this character was played by a pop singer.
The picture, story and acting were good. But I just didn't enjoy it very much on the whole. I didn't understand all the hype about it at the time. I wouldn't have chosen it to be the best film for Oscar.
LC rates: 3 stars
It looked like a good film with a good story. But it didn't "feel" right to me. It felt like a fictional story pretending to be a true story. The real Sean Parker said it was all fictional. Justin Timberlake played a character that happened to have his name. He said he wished his life was that cool.
I tried to view it as a fictional story, but the name Facebook was mentioned all the time. Also, all the characters had names of real people who I had seen on the TV and the Internet. I tried to view it as a real story, but then Justin Timberlake entered the film. It was hard to believe a computer hacker would be so charismatic. It was even harder when this character was played by a pop singer.
The picture, story and acting were good. But I just didn't enjoy it very much on the whole. I didn't understand all the hype about it at the time. I wouldn't have chosen it to be the best film for Oscar.
LC rates: 3 stars
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
雜記 2011-05-10
高個紙片人朋友讓我知道：
-- 小蜜桃姊姊嫁的不是西瓜哥哥。
-- L&P 已經在 Auckland 生產三十年了，Paeroa 還是打著名聲招搖撞騙。
-- 我自稱 jogger 但是跑不過他，還是打著名聲招搖撞騙。
或許我改打 orienteering 名聲。
Orienteering 中文叫野外定向。
查了查跑步 events，參加費用都不便宜，多個賺錢的目的。
10月的 Auckland Marathon，half marathon 名額已經報名滿了 @@
不知道下雨的話這些戶外 events 會怎麼應對？
奧克蘭冬季常下雨，後院泥濘，前院長菇。
SoundHound 是很神奇的手機 app，我哼的走調它還是辨認出來我在唱什麼歌。
新兵日記一集下來放了很多歌，軍歌之外SondHound 大都認得出來，連高明駿的歌都認得。
有一陣子沒看小說，從圖書館借了一本中文小說。
Google Code Jam Qualification Round 過關，21日、22日再來玩正式 Round 1。
-- 小蜜桃姊姊嫁的不是西瓜哥哥。
-- L&P 已經在 Auckland 生產三十年了，Paeroa 還是打著名聲招搖撞騙。
-- 我自稱 jogger 但是跑不過他，還是打著名聲招搖撞騙。
或許我改打 orienteering 名聲。
Orienteering 中文叫野外定向。
查了查跑步 events，參加費用都不便宜，多個賺錢的目的。
10月的 Auckland Marathon，half marathon 名額已經報名滿了 @@
不知道下雨的話這些戶外 events 會怎麼應對？
奧克蘭冬季常下雨，後院泥濘，前院長菇。
SoundHound 是很神奇的手機 app，我哼的走調它還是辨認出來我在唱什麼歌。
新兵日記一集下來放了很多歌，軍歌之外SondHound 大都認得出來，連高明駿的歌都認得。
有一陣子沒看小說，從圖書館借了一本中文小說。
Google Code Jam Qualification Round 過關，21日、22日再來玩正式 Round 1。
Monday, April 25, 2011
Just Go with It (film)
Romantic Comedy? I felt it was just comedy without the romance. The plot was about faking a family. There were some moments of laughters. However, as the story went on, the characters and their actions got so implausible. It felt like a fake movie to me.
Best things about the film:
I now know "Brooklyn Decker" and I can Google her swimsuit photos.
Jennifer Aniston with her charm.
The song Every Car You Chase. It's a mixture of Every Breath You Take and Chasing Cars.
So, don't worry if you don't get to see this film. Just look at some Brooklyn Decker swimsuit photos, watch Friends re-runs, and listen to this song on YouTube.
LC rates: 2 stars
Best things about the film:
I now know "Brooklyn Decker" and I can Google her swimsuit photos.
Jennifer Aniston with her charm.
The song Every Car You Chase. It's a mixture of Every Breath You Take and Chasing Cars.
So, don't worry if you don't get to see this film. Just look at some Brooklyn Decker swimsuit photos, watch Friends re-runs, and listen to this song on YouTube.
LC rates: 2 stars
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Fast Five (film)
I'm not interested in car chases, but it was surprisingly entertaining. I'm not going to comment on the plot or the characters etc. I'll just comment on some random details.
The film features:
- Federal agents who wear Under Armour compression t-shirts all the time.
- A battle between two bald burly men. One grows a goatee and bigger biceps for you to distinguish who's who when they are fighting.
- The usual "hard working government agent chasing 'good' fugitives then realizes the bad guy is somebody else in the last half hour of the film".
- A swimsuit scene that's no competition to Brooklyn Decker in Just Go with It.
- A police station in Rio de Janeiro that is owned by a drug lord.
- Some flavours of Ocean's Eleven and The Italian Job.
LC rates: 3 stars
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