auradis

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

February 11, 2010 § Leave a comment

I went into The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus knowing I’d love it, and so I did. My thoughts:

1. In order to fully comprehend this movie, you need to know that Heath Ledger died midway through filming. I would recommend reading Roger Ebert’s review to prepare yourself for the revolving door of actors.

2. It’s a colorful fantasy film that is kind of along the lines of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Fall, two of my favorite movies.

3. Heath Ledger AND Johnny Depp?? HELLO? [And Jude Law & Colin Farrell if you’re into that kind of stuff.] We all know that Depp looks great with eyeliner, but did you also know that it’s not bad on Farrell, totally wrong on Law and almost unnoticeable on Ledger [probably because we’re used to seeing his Joker face]? Yet, the film does not focus solely on that character; it goes deeper than I expected.

4. My friend Joe didn’t like it because he thought too hard about everything. Just let go of logic and enjoy the journey. That way, everything is also hilarious instead of confusing.

5. Lily Cole plays her role memorably — much respect to the former model.

6. It was Heath Ledger’s very last film. He will never make another after this one. Enough said. [Can you tell he was my favorite actor?]

Things I Miss About Mizzou

February 9, 2010 § 1 Comment

BAD TECHNOLOGY.

1 The proliferation of Macs: Most of the computers at HKU are Dell, and they all seem to be at least a few years old — dusty and bulky. There are a couple of computer labs on campus, all of which are filled to capacity at any given hour. This wouldn’t matter to me but for the fact that remote printing does not exist at HKU. The only way to print is to log into a computer on campus, which might be near impossible depending on how many students are [infuriatingly] surfing Facebook in the computer lab. Additionally, the computers in the library take literally five whole minutes to log in, which is simply baffling. Is HKU hurting for money? Can they not invest in some better computers? The campus seems to be advanced, but this printing issue [as well as the completely non-centralized course registration process] reveals that HKU is still technologically lacking.
Anyway, the computer labs I frequent at Mizzou are much more advanced [and less crowded!] than the ones here, and I will no longer take that for granted.

2 ACF [Asian Christian Fellowship]: I’ve spent the past two and a half years building and attending the same fellowship, and recently it has started to feel like a genuine family. This kind of love is difficult to replace, especially in a place where the main Christian fellowship on campus is strictly Cantonese-speaking.

3 Wal-mart: Need I say any more? Sure, Hong Kong is definitely not lacking in shopping, but it’s so hard for me to find what I need in their stores. Not only am I unfamiliar with the places, most of them are crammed to the brim, which is bad for my attention span and also makes it impossible for me to find hangers. Seriously, the first time I went to Wellcome [deliberately spelled incorrectly? Don’t know, but it’s the closest equivalent], I found a bunch of cheap hangers, but the past three or four times I’ve been there, I cannot track them down again.
Thus, the majority of my clothing is still in my suitcase, which lies on the ground at the foot of my bed. This lifestyle is okay with me, but one of my roommates has expressed her dissatisfaction with its presence. Well, aren’t I entitled to the six square feet of space at the end of my bed? It’s not my fault it’s in the middle of the room; I didn’t get to choose my bed :(

4 Flat land: Mountains are cool and all, but it’s a bit ridiculous to have to take two long sets of stairs and then an elevator just to get from the entrance of campus onto the actual campus.

Quick Update

February 1, 2010 § 3 Comments

I’ve been to Shenzhen [mainland China] twice this past week, and I’ll post on them when I have more time to write. For now, I’ll make a quick list of advantages & disadvantages.

Pros:

+People speak Mandarin! I feel useful!
+Signs are in simplified Chinese instead of traditional. My reading abilities are still limited though.
+Food is almost unbelievably cheap.
+In fact, almost everything is cheaper. Transportation, services, shoes…
+The Metra system is similar to that of HK and is easy to use.
+Activities there don’t seem as cliché as HK because exchange students rarely go to Shenzhen.
+I have a multiple entry visa, which means I can go as often as I like [I think].
+Cars drive on the right side of the road.
+It has that familiar smell of the motherland.

Cons:

-English is no longer ubiquitous on signs.
-It’s not as clean as Hong Kong. People on the mainland allow their babies to run around with their butts hanging out…I’ve seen it in more than one city.
-SQUAT TOILETS :(
-The exchange rate from USD is not as advantageous as changing to HKD.
-The border closes at midnight, with the last train leaving at 11PM.
-It takes over an hour to get to the border & another 30 minutes to cross over.
-People say that pickpockets are common, though thankfully nobody I know has lost anything.
-Traffic is much less organized than in HK, and pedestrians are basically moving targets.
-The smell of the motherland is mostly pollution mixed with sewage, garbage and cigarette smoke.
-Some are still unused to foreigners and might ask to take pictures with white people if given the chance.

LOL WHAT IS THIS IDEK

January 25, 2010 § 7 Comments

My Facebook feed sometimes shows me the most unwanted things:

“Larry likes this”?!

This, of course, led to some nostalgia [and more creeping, naturally]. My brother is in 8th grade while Lisa, whose older sister I’ve known since middle school, is in 9th grade. That was around the age when a younger boy developed a serious crush on me…that had better not be what’s happening here! But if it occurs over Facebook, I’ll be here to witness it all [muahaha]!

Anyway, I have no idea what’s happening here: