Monday, January 19, 2009

Things that you may or may not know about Joseph…

1. Loves to eat spicy hot stuff… People always asks if I was a Indian or Korean in my other life…

2. Like to use my nose to smell things before eating it… cause by smell, there is a whole new dimension to “taste” it…

3. Only have a "3 min. attention span" for things, that's why I started to learn a lot of things but then give it up half way... piano, wing chun, drawing, guitar, books read half way though...

4. Have some strict rules for film...Really really hate ppl to talk or make noise or keep walking around during a movie, cause each film has its own dignity and they should be respected… Also, please don't comment on a film/book/music if you never really seen it or listen to it but have to criticize it...that's the worst thing to do, so insulting and arrogant...

5. Loves to read books of all types... I think it is one of the best things my dad passed to me is the reading habits... even though he rarely reads any books, but he brought me to the library every week when I was a kid... makes me know how to think and see the world...

6. Needs a cup of coffee everyday, got the habit when still in university, having to study at Tim Hurton's all the time... now coffee don't really do a thing for me, cause drink a cup and still go to sleep right away...

7. Love to take a hot hot shower first thing in the morning...it is a must... so that the memories from the day before, I can literally "sleep on it"... and get a fresh start the next morning no matter what, is like injecting energy into my soul with every drop of water...

8. Used to drink a lot…=P but now believe that drinking should only be done with good pairing up… beer and wings/chips, sake and sushi, red wine and cheese/chocolate/thousand year old eggs, drinking in general with good friends

9. A picture is worth a thousand words, that's definitely true for me. The best way for me to learn/remember is by seeing, cause I am a visual person, will learn someone’s name a lot faster by seeing a name tag then just hear them… It is both a strength and weakness for me…

10. I love to collect things... when I was young it was like stamps, then stickers, then move to Woodstock, little alcohol samples, CDs, DVDs, books... is like every time I have a collection, I have a deeper understanding into that subject and will look for people with a similar interest to share...

11. I like many different types of music, rock, pop, jazz, folk, I will give the CD or singer a chance for my ears first, if it doesn’t suit my taste, then will move on without regret, but will at least have a chance to be heard… as I believe everything/everyone should be at least given a chance…

12. Because Akira Kurosawa changed my life after I watched Rashmon and Ikiru, he is my goal and my aim...even though it is impossible...haha... my love for Japanese films still grows till this day...

13. Really admire people with creative talents… especially those singer/songwriters… Well.. of course the good ones… but they are not really being appreciated enough... so that's why I have to buy "legal" music and film even though don't have much money...to support them both money wise and spiritually =P

14. One of the proudest/happiest/important moments in my life was the time when I went to Taiwan alone to see Cheer… It showed me that I can actually achieve something that seems crazy/impossible to others if you really want it…


15. Used to bring my camera with me everywhere I go, to capture all there is in life… but then find that some things can only be capture with the mind and the eyes, not the camera… and the worst thing is, you already missed the chance to fully live out that moment cause was too busy fiddling with the camera…(I had to learn it the hard way...)

16. Believe that the “unseen” is all around us.. just a matter of having the heart and the sensitivity to feel it or listen to it… cause it does give us many great insights and reflections…

17. There is a ritual that I have... when I am really unhappy, I will have a glass of wine, turn the music on really loud in my room... and then... a big clean up of my room... (which only have a path from the door to my bed right now XP) after that, I will feel a lot better, with a sense of fresh feeling of how clean the room is, and feeling blessed with all the things I have...

18. Very tolerate and patience with people until they crossed a line, and once they have crossed this line of mine, it is very hard to go back…

19. Don't have much patience for attention seekers... will ignore them on purpose when met with one...

20. Don’t really like to talk much…(I guess everyone knows that…) Just think that it is not an “issue” or “problem” to keep silent when not much want to say. Really hate ppl to have to “make noise” or say things just for heck of it… Don’t you know that silence is “speaking” as well? And I guess not too many ppl understand about what comfortable silence is…

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Slumdog Millionaire!!!


This is just such a great film.
At the end of the movie, I can only say...WOW...
It is supposed to be just another typical star-crossed lover movie, but Danny Boyle gave it a bit time remixed, with a great story linked together by the game show "Who wants to be a millionaire?", embedded with such a rich culture from India and showing the brief glimpse of how Bombay had changed from a slum where the main characters came from, to the modern day city of Mumbai. The actings are great, especially the kids in the beginning of the film really set the tone and helped us build an intense emotional attachment to the characters.
The editing and cinematography is superb just like you would expect from Boyle, like the fast editing we have seen in Trainspotting. And the music score by A.R. Rahman was stunning and goes with the movie so well.

I really do appreciate how much work and understand Boyle had in the Indian culture and the tides of change it had experienced. If our Chinese Canadian history or culture can be told like it did in the film, then it will really really be something...

This is one of the best film that made me sit on the edge of my seat for quiet a while!!