NEWS:
I just signed a contract to score an upcoming video game. It’ll be my first time composing the score for a game, so I’m really looking forward to it.
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The legendary demo group Alcatraz contacted me recently, asking me if I wanted to join them (they’re aiming to have a rebirth at Breakpoint 2007. Their last release was in 1995). I’ve known about the demo scene for a while now, and I’ve always admired their creative approach to programming, graphics, music..etc. The limited footprint of their executable files always had me in awe, and I can totally see how the demo scene had influenced various developments in the mainstream video game industry. So, I said yes, and I look forward to contributing to the Alcatraz group.
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Here are some BJD (Ball Jointed Dolls) photography I did during a New Years party (click on pics to see the whole set):
Kitty Cat Diary updated:
WEBLOG:
New Years Eve is also my birthday (I turned 34), which can suck for some, because it’s so close to Christmas and you get only one present, and on your birthday the whole world is celebrating New Years–your birthday is the last thing on their minds. Luckily for me, I never celebrate anything, because I don’t believe in the whole concept of showing you give a shit on a specific day of the year–you should care all the time. Since meeting me, Elena’s adopted the same philosophy, so we never go out of our way to celebrate Valentines, Christmas, New Years, Birthdays..etc. We make an effort to be loving and understanding to each other everyday, and we spoil each other rotten without needing any excuse to do so.
None of this means we’d refuse other people’s invitation to festive get-togethers though. So when my bud Emory invited us to his New Years thing, we happily said yes. Here are some photos I took that night (click on pics to see the whole set):
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My brother Dennis got me a couple of books I’ve been wanting for my birthday–the Sonar 6 Power! book and Cakewalk Synthesizers book. I love it when I get new bathroom reading material. He also took us out to dinner–you can see the photos Elena took in her blog entry.
Speaking of bathroom reading material, I had finished reading two books I highly enjoyed recently–The Zombie Survival Guide and Blade Runner/Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. The zombie book is right up my alley since I’m a huge zombie fan–now I know some of my past zombie evading strategies were shaky at best. The Blade Runner book (I hate calling it that, because the real title is “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” and should remain so, no matter how popular the movie adaptation becomes) was awesome because I never knew the film version left out so many essential elements. The two are so different in tone and approach that I think of them as two very different entities. It’s hard to say which I enjoyed more, since I really loved both.
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So, what am I looking forward to in this new year? First, we need to move out of our temporary place and find a decent place that we can call home. Then, I want to complete the missing pieces of my home recording studio so I can be more productive music-wise. I also need to secure a steady stream of clients for my freelance work, or get a full-time job instead (I never got that call from Gentle Giant Studios to ask me to move down to Burbank–no one knows why the CEO never gave the nod to the managers–not even the managers). I want to take my photography up to the next level and shoot some magazine cover-worthy sessions. I need to help Elena get over her English learning difficulties and also help her get her driver’s license. We both need to get in shape–we’re soft and flabby right now, and we hate it. Man, that’s a lot already. Let’s see how much of it we can accomplish this year.
NEWS:
Autumn colors (part 2):
During the first two weeks of December, Elena and I noticed the colors of the trees in our neighborhood was changing rapidly–every time we go out, they’d look different (and absolutely gorgeous). We made a point to observe the weather condition everyday starting around noon. If by 3:30 PM the sun is still visible (instead of behind clouds), we’d grab our cameras and head out for about an hour and shoot all the beautiful trees in our neighborhood. We did it about five times in the span of two weeks, and managed to capture some great photos of the trees in various stages of changing colors.
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I’ve mentioned doing repaints for dolls in the past, and I’m now getting a bit more serious about it. Here’s a recent one I completed (click on picture to see the details):
The heads look like this before the face-up (paint job):
My buddy Emory runs a great place called Junkyspot for anyone who’s interested in BJD (Ball Jointed Dolls).
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Kitty Cat Diary updated:
WEBLOG:
Elena and I watched Children of Men today, and I really liked it. It’s probably one of the best films I’ve seen in a while, and I was just blown away by the sheer talent of the director and the cinematographer. There were some scenes that had me at the edge of my seat, and there were moments that made me think “That was a great camera move!” or “What a great job on the writing for that scene!” I was very impressed by how Alfonso Cuarón was able to establish the history and intimacy between Clive Owen and Julian Moore’s characters with so few scenes, yet the bond he creates by having that ping-pong ball scene in the car was totally effective and sets up the tragedy immediately later to be very powerful. Some of the chaotic combat sequences were just thrilling, without being overly flashy, yet very meticulously worked out in long takes. If you haven’t seen it, definitely check it out.
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I participate in quite a few forums, and anyone who spends time on forums know that at one point or another, you’ll get drawn into a flame-war or two. I typically try to be as diplomatic and civilized as I can force myself to be, because heated discussions spin out of control if everyone just lose their tempers. I love participating in forums because it allows me to get to know people from all around the world, in all walks of life–people I would never bump into under normal circumstances in real life, yet, we all share similar passions and have similar dreams; however, I do hate it when real jerks ruin the fun for everyone by being overtly belligerent. People like that will resort to name-calling, personal attacks, and essentially behaving like angry little children–it’s not pretty when it happens. After being involved with numerous forums over the years, I’ve learned to keep an open mind, try to put myself in the shoes of others, and approach discussions by addressing both sides of opposing views. I still find it hard to be totally neutral and unbiased, simply because I am human and have emotions and opinions, but the older I get, the better I’ve learned to control myself.
In a recent thread at cgtalk.com (where I’m a Forum Leader), the topic of photorealism came up again, and it’s something that generates a lot of heated debates in most art communities. I used to waste a lot of breath arguing for the side of painterly works against photorealism, because I just prefer paintings that look like paintings instead of being indistinguishable from a photograph. Now at this point in my life, I’m learning to be more tolerant and try to be more receptive to things that aren’t necessarily my preference. The reply I made in that thread probably sums up my current mentality the best (the background of the thread is that there was a previous thread of the same topic from a long time ago, where heated debate went on for pages and pages regarding photorealism and airbrushed art):
“Are we doing this again? Wasn’t the last thread about this long enough?
I’m at a point in my life right now where I see things in a very different light, essentially taking a big step back and looking at the world as the big picture, instead of having my nose so close to something where I lose objectivity.
This is my current stance on the matter (and all related matters):
1) The world is gigantic place, and there’s room for all kinds of people and all kinds of tastes. Even if you feel you have better taste/judgement than others, it’s most likely you’re out numbered anyway, as the majority of the human population have uninformed pedestrian tastes, and they really couldn’t care less about the subtleties, politics, struggles, and achievements in your given industry or chosen craft. Does this mean you’re right and they’re wrong? Not really if you go by popularity as the criteria. What about using authority as the criteria? Well, if you’ve been to a lot of museums, particularly modern art museums, you’ll see that just because someone’s a curator or have a masters degree in fine arts does not necessarily mean this person have talent or taste.
2) With the above established, the only thing I care about is if there are other people like me, with similar tastes, and if the things we collectively love have a lifespan in our industry or chosen craft (because it would be a shame if what we loved can’t survive in our world, while the stuff we detest flourishes and become successful). Fortunately, as obscure as some of my favorite artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers, photographers..etc are, there will always be some that have “made it” and established themselves as successful creative minds in their chosen craft. That, makes me feel reassured that the guys that represent my personal taste is out there, getting exposure, and thus generating more people who might like the same things I do. This makes me happy, because I love sharing my passions with others with similar tastes.
3) We all have the right to make a living with our passions, talents..etc. It doesn’t matter if you think someone is a hack, or a certain style is wack, or a particular medium is worthless..etc, because there will always be an audience out there for all styles and all levels of talent. Live and let live. Different strokes for different folks. Just be grateful that the stuff you like DO exist in this world, and IS reprented somehow. Maybe the stuff you like doesn’t get nearly as much exposure or success, and you feel there’s an injustice, but guess what? It’s been like that since the beginning of human civilization. The mainstream will always dominate, and the “Rubes” will always be the majority.
4) Even people with good taste and talent are often forced to do things they can take no pride in, for the simple fact that we all need to make a living. Cut everyone some slack.
5) Just surround yourself with the things you love, people you care for, and let everybody else live their own life and have their own taste.
And that’s all I have to say about these types of topics at this point in my life.
WEBLOG:
Are you tone-deaf? You can take a test and find out here.
I scored high (91.7, if I remember correctly) (see scores from other composers at the Northern Sound Source forum), and it makes sense since I’m a musician/composer. If the test had allowed replay of each segment during the test, I’d likely have scored 100%, since concentration is probably the hardest part of the test (the segments can be very long and at a fast tempo). Elena scored very low (I’m not even going to say what the number was), and even upon replaying the failed questions at the very end, she still can’t tell whether a segment had the same or different notes. I can’t even imagine how low my mom or my brother Dennis would score, since Elena can at least hum in tune, while mom and Dennis can’t do it to save their lives.
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Posted some recent family/friend photos. Yeah, these are boring to the people who don’t know anyone in your life, so if you don’t know the people in my life, skip them and move down to the next section.
When people think about California, they think about the sunshine and the beaches, but as Elena discovered in the last several days, the autumn leaves are quite beautiful as well. For a few days last week, we’d go for a drive around 4 PM and then snap a ton of photos of all the nearby autumn colors. Why 4 PM you ask? Well, any photographer worth his salt knows that late afternoons and early mornings are two of the best time slots for shooting scenery, since the sun creates a dramatic golden glow at a very distinct angle for beautiful shadows and sunlit spots. Click on the picture to see the whole set:
These autumn leaves inspired Elena to start a blog of her own. Unfortunately, it’s in Chinese only.
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Some mini-film reviews from recent viewings:
l’enfant (The Child) - This film is so similar in tone to Rosetta, a previous film that Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne worked on, that I can’t help but feel like they are retreading familiar waters. The moral of the story is quite similar (misfit committing a bad deed, but don’t feel remorse until the very end of the film–it’s all very existentialist a la Crime and Punishment, and frankly, a bit simple for today’s cinematic climate). The film itself isn’t bad at all, but having seen Rosetta years ago, this one just feels too similar.
Millennium Actress - I enjoyed this Japanese animated feature film, although it didn’t blow me away or anything. Breaking down the 4th wall in a film is usually interesting by default because you don’t see it often, and in the case of Millennium Actress, it’s done with a sense of humor, so the feat was both interesting and funny. The message of the film I can relate to (the journey is more rewarding than the destination), since I often feel that way when I’m doing something creative or simply out and about.
Tokyo Godfathers - Another animated feature film from Japan, and it was entertaining and heart-warming, but like the previous film, didn’t blow me away (then again, to be fair, it’s been a long time since I’ve been blown away by any Japanese animation. The last title I loved probably goes all the way back to Cowboy Bebop). The ridiculous number of coincidences in this film is something you have to just accept as a storytelling device that drives the plot, and if you can’t accept it, then you probably won’t enjoy the film.
Thank You For Smoking - Entertaining enough, but lacking the kind of impact I expect from these types of films. Even for a social satire, I expect some kind of emotional or moral resonance, but I never felt the main character was faced with any relevant conflict that would create enough tension for the film to make an impact.
The New World - This is probably highly subjective, but I think Terrence Malick is one of the most pretentious directors in film today, and all the monologues narrated by his characters feel heavy handed, contrived, bland, and annoyingly enigmatic. If he just cut back on all the pretentious narrations, he’d improve his films by ten folds immediately.
The Interpreter - The plot wasn’t anything I’d write home to anyone about, but Sydney Pollack is a good director, and the execution of the film is technically well done. This might sound a bit shallow, but I think the thing I enjoyed the most about the film is probably how beautiful Nicole Kidman looked in it. Although Kidman is the kind of woman that leaves me cold, it’s hard to deny that she’s a stunning beauty physically.
Heartbreakers - I love Sigourney Weaver as an actress, but I think in this role, it’s stretching it a bit. They should’ve gone with someone who’s physically more of a conventional beauty (not that Weaver is hard on the eyes–it’s just hard to sell her as some stunning middle-aged femme fatale). Acting-wise, there’s nothing to complaint about though–I think Weaver is an underrated comedy actor (she’s more than proved herself in Galaxy Quest). Why have I not mentioned Jennifer Love Hewitt? Well, what else can you say about her besides her being a tight little package? She’s never proven herself as a noteworthy actress, and all the roles she played have more to do with her cleavage (not that I’m complaining) than anything else. I always enjoy seeing Ray Liotta on screen, although I think it’s too bad he’s been typecasted ever since Goodfellas.
Last Days - I usually like Gus Van Sant, even when he’s going way out there doing his artsy thing (for example, I liked Elephant), but this one just didn’t work for me. It takes a very similar approach to Elephant, but lacks the genuine sincerity that I feel Elephant has. It’s also a far less coherent film compared to Elephant.
The 6th Day - Some of the film critics I respect gave this film a positive review, so I went for it. I couldn’t believe just how lame some of the dialogues were (for example, the one about the media don’t need more depictions of violence). For me, Arnie has lost all credibility as an actor (not that he was a real “actor” in the first place, and I bet that lame dialogue was his idea), and I guess it’s a good thing he picked up politics instead.
Gotti - Good story (this is the real life story that Goodfellas was based on), but I thought the directing was very vanilla. If this film had been directed by one of the more stylish auteur directors, it would’ve been a much better film.
The Fog (remake) - I only watched it for Maggie Grace, because I think she was really cute in Lost (despite the character’s outward prima donna personality), and I couldn’t even make it through the first third of the film. This is probably one of the worst films I’ve seen in a long time–horrible directing and writing–not in an incompetent way, but in an utterly ineffective and bland way.
Blonde (TV mini-series) - I don’t now just how much artistic license they took with the life of Marilyn Monroe, but the series was average. I think they way they glossed over the whole JFK connection was a cop out–I rather they’d have gone off the deep end Oliver Stone style and just boldly said “Yeah, this is what we think happened–that Monroe was murdered by the government, instead of hinting at it. Face it, if it wasn’t for her mysterious death, Marilyn Monroe probably would’ve been forgotten long ago.
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I had posted the first English panel that Olivia had at the PMX before, and I was already very giddy about that. Now, someone has posted the private press conference as well, and it’s got much better video and sound. I find it a little odd that Olivia’s not very articulate, and I don’t think shyness has anything to do with it. She seems to be a lot more articulate with her song lyrics, which I’m sure is how she prefers to express herself.
Olivia private press conference at PMX:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
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Now I’ll leave you with a little raunchy joke–something that happened today.
Elena gave me a vitamin B pill and told me to swallow it for the sake of combating stress (we’ve both been very stressed out lately). I asked her, “For combating stress, is it a specific type of vitamin B–like B12, B6, or as long as it’s a B, it’ll work?” Elena then proceeds to read off all the types of B complex that the bottle contained. When she was finished, I asked, “Does is also contain your mama’s B?” She just about died. (The joke is that in Chinese slang, B stands for vagina, and one of the most common swearing phrases that people throw around is “Your mama’s B!”)
WEBLOG:
My bud misterdna suggested we all post our amazon.com wish lists, so here it is, my Amazon.com Wish List (click on the little picture):
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This is brilliant. Payback feels great (I actually worked as a telemarketer before briefly many years ago, and I hated it).
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Finally got to see The Departed, and I have mixed feelings about it. It is certainly a good film–one of Scorsese’s most entertaining in years (probably since Goodfellas, although some might say Gangs of New York, which didn’t grab me all that much), but I just have issues with remaking popular films from other countries when the original film really isn’t all that old yet. I never agreed with remaking popular foreign films because in most cases, the remake destroys all that’s great about the original by Americanizing bits that don’t need to be Americanized. So if filmmakers can’t seem to do a better remake (or one that’s simply just as good) and choose to walk all over the virtues of the original, the only motivation left that I can see is greed. This is where I have conflicting feelings; I respect Scorsese, and I have never thought of him as someone who would remake a popular foreign film that’s from just a few years ago. I almost wish I had never seen Inferno Affairs so I could enjoy The Departed even more, but that would be a bit too biased towards Scorsese, since the original film was really excellent.
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My Speedlite 580EX flash has been acting up on and off ever since I’ve bought it in June last year. Basically, when I have it facing forward (or the notch below), it’ll blow out the subject even with the flash exposure compensation dialed down to -2. I’ve done plenty of research online, discussed the problem in pro photography forums, talked to Canon’s support..etc, and no one knows why this is happening. I discovered a quick fix though–just flip the 14mm diffusion panel down. I might just keep on using that quick fix instead of sending it in to Canon for service because it’ll cost me at least $150 to fix, and if the quick fix is working, I don’t quite feel like parting with $150 (and possibly more) just for that. You can read about the discussion here.
NEWs:
Kitty Cat Diary updated (this update contains a quick tip on black & white conversion for digital photography):
WEBLOG:
Elena and I really need to get an exterior antenna for our GPS unit (Magellan Roadmate 860T), because whenever we drive to the city (that’s what we call San Francisco in the Bay Area–”the city”), the GPS gets totally confused since it can’t lock onto enough satellites with all the tall buildings in the way. Our nickname for the GPS unit is “Gou-gou” (”doggy” in Chinese) because it’s like our seeing-eye dog when we need directions, and when Gou-gou gets confused in the city, our positioning on the GPS map starts to “swim” all over the place, going through buildings and doing all kinds of impossible maneuvers. Holding it out the window helps, but that’s a terrible solution since you can’t really read the screen or hear the directions that way. Like all electronic gadgets, accessories for the GPS is expensive, but in this case, it’s probably worth it.
