Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Chinese president's photo is WRONG!
I scanned this from the new issue of MacLean's. Found anything wrong?
You got it: The text is about HU, but the photo is Lien.
Below is my letter to the editor:
"Deat Editor,
When I read the new issue (April 24, 06) of Maclean's, I found there was a wrong photo.
This photo is at the top right corner of page 13, beside the title "THE WEEK AHEAD...HU'S in WASHINGTON", so I suppose the photo is to show Chinese president Hu Jintao and his wife. But, unfortunately, what is really there are Lien Chan, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang(KMT) party, and his wife. This photo was very likely taken during the couple's recent high profile visit to mainland of China.
Considering the huge Chinese Canadian population in Canada, especially in big cities like Toronto and Vancouver. A mistake like this is really disappointing and embarassing. I only knew that some people who never saw foreigners before had diffuclty to tell individuals of other races, but it seems that professional journalists are no better than them, even in such a multicultural country.
J
North York , Ontario"
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Is "Brokeback Mountain" funny?
Today, first I read this from Yifan BBS:
A while later, I read this from Savage Love
What's wrong with those people? I guess they were just a bunch of lame guys (str8 or gay) who were so afraid of showing their emotion that they could only fake some laughters to conceal it.
Before I came to Canada, I always thought people in North America respect individualities and promote being true to oneself. That assumption has changed long time ago after I saw so many young people comply to the peer pressure. When you are sitting in a subway car, almost every youngster has an iPOD. iPOD used to be a symbol of coolness, now it looks so lame to me.
直人看断臂山--我们这儿今儿放断臂山。看的男女人数差不多，都是学校的学生。我以前在电影院看过，在网上当过，今儿是想重温一下大屏幕的感受。可是自开始，怪音，大声的评论不断，大声诡异的笑更是几乎每分钟都有。很多感人的，或揪心的场面观众一概报以发自内心的怪笑。我看到一半，实在忍不住，就走了。心情变得很糟。......
A while later, I read this from Savage Love
I know this is a little late, but I want to complain about watching Brokeback Mountain in a theatre full of gay people.
My wife and I went to a screening in L.A. The place was packed. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of other people there were gay men. They laughed through the whole movie! The more poignant parts brought the house down. Especially the scene where Jack and Ennis first reunite and are caught kissing by Michelle Williams. The whole theater just thought that was fucking hilarious. They couldn't stop laughing as Ennis rushed around gathering up clothes and his wife choked back tears.
As you know, the movie is about two repressed homosexuals. Every time one of the actors allowed that tension to show on his face, the queers in the audience found it hysterical. My hypothesis is that these incidents remind gay people of their own coming-out process, and therefore struck them as ridiculous since they themselves had gotten over those hang-ups long ago. Nevertheless, they seemed to display a real lack of empathy.
Or maybe it was nervous laughter; the effect of the movie was more pronounced on the gay audience members than it likely was on me.
Anonymous Straight Into Film
What's wrong with those people? I guess they were just a bunch of lame guys (str8 or gay) who were so afraid of showing their emotion that they could only fake some laughters to conceal it.
Before I came to Canada, I always thought people in North America respect individualities and promote being true to oneself. That assumption has changed long time ago after I saw so many young people comply to the peer pressure. When you are sitting in a subway car, almost every youngster has an iPOD. iPOD used to be a symbol of coolness, now it looks so lame to me.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Brave little thing
I found this set of photos on Pbase. Following are the words of the photograher Christina Craft: "I was in the park and this squirrel came up to me. I bent down to see how close he would come and the little thing put his tiny little hands right on my camera lens and took a peek. It was a very funny moment."
Here are the comments from the visitors:
* That is just too wonderful! I have to try that. Those little guys love me for some unknown reason. They follow me, jump onto my shoulders when I'm sitting and generally seem to acknowledge my presence. That being so, I have never done anything, even close to as constructive as this, with 'my gift'.
* lol, looks like he's adjusting the camera for a self-portrait.
Great pics, I like the shots kept together too.
* i love this picture! the squirrel has so much character!
Here are the comments from the visitors:
* That is just too wonderful! I have to try that. Those little guys love me for some unknown reason. They follow me, jump onto my shoulders when I'm sitting and generally seem to acknowledge my presence. That being so, I have never done anything, even close to as constructive as this, with 'my gift'.
* lol, looks like he's adjusting the camera for a self-portrait.
Great pics, I like the shots kept together too.
* i love this picture! the squirrel has so much character!
Sunday, April 09, 2006
我写的“长城平台”支持信
To know the whole story, please visit here
如果您也支持，请去下列政府网站在线发表意见。
下面是支持信的全文：
I support the proposed addition of nine non-Canadian Chinese-language services for the following reasons:
1. A FREE COUNTRY DOES NOT NEED CENSORSHIP.
Media censorship is what a Communist government does. I never thought Canada, a country with freedom, would even discuss this topic. It is surprising how easily a free country would drop its principle of freedom when it comes to letting a truly different voice in. It seems to me that democracy and capitalism has little self-confidence when there is a tiny face-off against autocracy and communism.
2. CANADIANS HAVE RIGHT TO CHOOSE WHAT THEY WATCH.
Maybe the elites don’t think Canadians are capable of making their own judgement about the materials and opinions broadcasted on television. But I beg to differ. It is a good thing that Canadians are not afraid of different voices and always want to hear the other side of stories, but it does not mean we are lack of judgement. The ironic truth is, when a democratic government tries to screen “non-democratic” information from its people, it always ends up to compromise freedom and democracy itself. After all, Canadian people have right to choose what they want to watch even if some insecure people don’t like it.
3. ALLEGATIONS OF HATRED AND GENOCIDE ADVOCACY ARE RIDICULOUS.
I had been living in China for many years before I came to Canada, so I almost laughed out aloud when I read those allegations that Canadians Against Propaganda put against Chinese television stations. I bet they made those assumptions about Chinese media just like some Chinese believe white people watch pornographic channels all night long. Chinese media "propagate communist ideology, attack democracy and incite hatred against minority groups"? Come on, are those accusers still living in cold war times! “Advocacy of genocide”? Wow, they enjoy demonizing China even more now, maybe because they cannot stand the rising of China in the past 20 years. I strongly demand Canadians Against Propaganda to show solid evidence to their allegations!
4. CHINESE GOVERNMENT DO NOT WANT TO SHOW ITS BAD SIDE TO THE WORLD. SO, DON’T WORRY.
Even if Chinese government really do some bad things such as the controversial treatment to Falun Gong practitioners, the last thing they would do is to broadcast those things to western countries like Canada. Chinese government is not stupid. If they want to attract foreign investors and tourists, they do know how to show their good side to the world. In one word, the reasoning of Canadians Against Propaganda is either too naive or completely irresponsible. The fact is, today’s Chinese television is so focused on entertainment and business that it has much fewer political programs than CBC.
5. THOSE CHINESE CHANNELS ARE NOT CAPABLE OF DOING ANY SORT OF PROPAGANDA.
Some people are worried about so called “communism propaganda”. Please! First of all, most of those “nine non-Canadian Chinese-language services” are in CHINESE, which more than 95% of Canadians don’t even understand. Secondly, I am sure 90% of the viewers will be new immigrants from China. If they were so vulnerable to the communism propaganda, they would have been brainwashed long time ago already when they were living in China! Lastly, those nine services will be paid channels, which means they are not even available to regular TV subscribers, not to mention general public. If a paid channel can be called propaganda, we should worry about the propaganda of immoral sex in those adult channels first.
6. TAKE IT EASY, IT IS JUST BUSINESS AND ENTERTAMENT.
There are so many good things those nine Chinese channels can bring to Canada. First of all, it opens a window for Canadian businessmen who want to find opportunities in China’s economic booming, for Canadian tourists who want to see China, and for regular Canadians who want to learn Chinese language and culture. Secondly, it provides information much needed by Chinese-Canadian community to keep them connected with where they were born. Most importantly, this is a time for cultural openness and dialogue, not segregation. The odds are, refusing to let in an unfamiliar thing will only make us miss out the opportunities that we don’t see in the beginning.
7. SKY DOES NOT FALL IN U.S., CHICKEN LITTLE!
As we know, those nine Chinese channels have been aired in U.S. for a couple of years. Surprisingly, there is no evidence showing American people are leaning left politically or getting cozy with dictatorship. Canadians are well-known for our open-mindedness, so why do we have to wait any longer for such a wonderful service that can only do benefit to Chinese and non-Chinese Canadians?
***End of document***
如果您也支持，请去下列政府网站在线发表意见。
下面是支持信的全文：
I support the proposed addition of nine non-Canadian Chinese-language services for the following reasons:
1. A FREE COUNTRY DOES NOT NEED CENSORSHIP.
Media censorship is what a Communist government does. I never thought Canada, a country with freedom, would even discuss this topic. It is surprising how easily a free country would drop its principle of freedom when it comes to letting a truly different voice in. It seems to me that democracy and capitalism has little self-confidence when there is a tiny face-off against autocracy and communism.
2. CANADIANS HAVE RIGHT TO CHOOSE WHAT THEY WATCH.
Maybe the elites don’t think Canadians are capable of making their own judgement about the materials and opinions broadcasted on television. But I beg to differ. It is a good thing that Canadians are not afraid of different voices and always want to hear the other side of stories, but it does not mean we are lack of judgement. The ironic truth is, when a democratic government tries to screen “non-democratic” information from its people, it always ends up to compromise freedom and democracy itself. After all, Canadian people have right to choose what they want to watch even if some insecure people don’t like it.
3. ALLEGATIONS OF HATRED AND GENOCIDE ADVOCACY ARE RIDICULOUS.
I had been living in China for many years before I came to Canada, so I almost laughed out aloud when I read those allegations that Canadians Against Propaganda put against Chinese television stations. I bet they made those assumptions about Chinese media just like some Chinese believe white people watch pornographic channels all night long. Chinese media "propagate communist ideology, attack democracy and incite hatred against minority groups"? Come on, are those accusers still living in cold war times! “Advocacy of genocide”? Wow, they enjoy demonizing China even more now, maybe because they cannot stand the rising of China in the past 20 years. I strongly demand Canadians Against Propaganda to show solid evidence to their allegations!
4. CHINESE GOVERNMENT DO NOT WANT TO SHOW ITS BAD SIDE TO THE WORLD. SO, DON’T WORRY.
Even if Chinese government really do some bad things such as the controversial treatment to Falun Gong practitioners, the last thing they would do is to broadcast those things to western countries like Canada. Chinese government is not stupid. If they want to attract foreign investors and tourists, they do know how to show their good side to the world. In one word, the reasoning of Canadians Against Propaganda is either too naive or completely irresponsible. The fact is, today’s Chinese television is so focused on entertainment and business that it has much fewer political programs than CBC.
5. THOSE CHINESE CHANNELS ARE NOT CAPABLE OF DOING ANY SORT OF PROPAGANDA.
Some people are worried about so called “communism propaganda”. Please! First of all, most of those “nine non-Canadian Chinese-language services” are in CHINESE, which more than 95% of Canadians don’t even understand. Secondly, I am sure 90% of the viewers will be new immigrants from China. If they were so vulnerable to the communism propaganda, they would have been brainwashed long time ago already when they were living in China! Lastly, those nine services will be paid channels, which means they are not even available to regular TV subscribers, not to mention general public. If a paid channel can be called propaganda, we should worry about the propaganda of immoral sex in those adult channels first.
6. TAKE IT EASY, IT IS JUST BUSINESS AND ENTERTAMENT.
There are so many good things those nine Chinese channels can bring to Canada. First of all, it opens a window for Canadian businessmen who want to find opportunities in China’s economic booming, for Canadian tourists who want to see China, and for regular Canadians who want to learn Chinese language and culture. Secondly, it provides information much needed by Chinese-Canadian community to keep them connected with where they were born. Most importantly, this is a time for cultural openness and dialogue, not segregation. The odds are, refusing to let in an unfamiliar thing will only make us miss out the opportunities that we don’t see in the beginning.
7. SKY DOES NOT FALL IN U.S., CHICKEN LITTLE!
As we know, those nine Chinese channels have been aired in U.S. for a couple of years. Surprisingly, there is no evidence showing American people are leaning left politically or getting cozy with dictatorship. Canadians are well-known for our open-mindedness, so why do we have to wait any longer for such a wonderful service that can only do benefit to Chinese and non-Chinese Canadians?
***End of document***
Friday, April 07, 2006
Movie: Happy Endings
K and I rented this DVD last Sunday because all other main stream good movies were gone. Suprisingly, it turned out to be a great film.
"Bizarrely funny and emotionally poignant", said Candace Moore on AferElton.com.
Produced by LGF(Lion Gate Films), which also made this year's Oscar best picture "Crash", "Happy Endings" has similar multiple story structure as "Crash". Those individual stories and characters seemed parallel at the beginning but eventually interwinded into each other. After many tears, fights, and smiles involving trust, betrayal, love, and blackmail, it finished with happy endings as promised at the beginning.
It is a comedy that makes you think and a drama that makes you smile, with six gay/lesbian characters and equal amount of straight ones.
By the way, there are two sweet guys in this movie:
Jason Ritter:
David Sutcliffe:
He was born June 8, 1969 in Saskatoon but he was raised in Grimsby and St. Catharines, Ontario. He began acting while attending the University of Toronto when a lower back injury forced him to quit the basketball team.
Obviously, he played another gay character in the movie "Testosterone".
When we watched the bonus features of the DVD, we found that even the director Don Roos is kind of cute.
"Bizarrely funny and emotionally poignant", said Candace Moore on AferElton.com.
Produced by LGF(Lion Gate Films), which also made this year's Oscar best picture "Crash", "Happy Endings" has similar multiple story structure as "Crash". Those individual stories and characters seemed parallel at the beginning but eventually interwinded into each other. After many tears, fights, and smiles involving trust, betrayal, love, and blackmail, it finished with happy endings as promised at the beginning.
It is a comedy that makes you think and a drama that makes you smile, with six gay/lesbian characters and equal amount of straight ones.
By the way, there are two sweet guys in this movie:
Jason Ritter:
David Sutcliffe:
He was born June 8, 1969 in Saskatoon but he was raised in Grimsby and St. Catharines, Ontario. He began acting while attending the University of Toronto when a lower back injury forced him to quit the basketball team.
Obviously, he played another gay character in the movie "Testosterone".
When we watched the bonus features of the DVD, we found that even the director Don Roos is kind of cute.
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