Choreography Subject to Change

I've always been a fan of Vanessa Mae. First heard about her during my first job after college (which isn't that long ago). Child prodigy, alternates between a 1761 Guadagnini and a Zeta electric violin, played with the Philharmonie Orchestra when she was ten, three classical albums by the time she was 13. Oh, and one of her albums showed her half-submerged in water, wearing a wet shirt and playing the violin.

I listened to almost all of her albums - from The Violin Player to The Classical Album to Storm to The Four Seasons to The Classical Collection. Things became interesting when the all-pop Subject to Change came out after a long break. I'm not sure whether to like the album or not. The pieces are very different from her usual work. Still impressive and powerful, but repetitive. Each of the tracks has its own style - as if Vanessa is experimenting or trying to satisfy everyone so she included all possible genres.

I get the same feeling with her latest album Choreography. Vanessa goes back to her classical crossover style with some multicultural world music thrown in for good measure. Check out the track listing and you'll know what I mean:

Choreography (2004)

1. Sabre Dance (new and ...)
2. Roxanne's Veil (by Vangelis)
3. Bolero For Violin and Orchestra (... improved ...)
4. Tango De Los Exilados (tango)
5. The Havana Slide (cha cha)
6. Emerald Tiger (Celtic?)
7. Tribal Gathering (potential soundtrack for Survivor)
8. Raga's Dance (only Raga knows)
9. Moroccan Roll (Mediterranean?)
10. Handel's Minuet (... now with beta-carotene)

I'm switching to Bond for the meantime.

Nokia 6680

After more than a year of using the Series 40 classic 6230, I've now moved on to the Series 60 smartphone 6680. I wasn't that happy at first because I've grown quite accustomed to the small 6230, which fits into just about anywhere. And that stereo FM feature is nice for long train rides. It's just so much hassle to transfer all those contacts, saved SMS messages, notes, to-do lists, profile settings, bookmarks, and WAP/MMS settings. But the 6680 comes with some much more:

• It's a 3G phone, which means browsing the Internet is way faster than 2.5G GPRS or EDGE.
• It has a 1.3 megapixel camera that comes with flash, 6x digital zoom, self-timer, night mode, and sequence mode.
• There's a VGA camera in front as well for video calls. (Suggestion: Don't take video calls if you're some place inappropriate.)
• The display is crystal-clear and supports 256k colors.
• It supports Push-to-Talk, like a walkie-talkie.
• The phone comes preinstalled with a couple of games, QuickOffice (for Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents), RealPlayer (for movie clips, audio files, and streaming video), a WAPxHTML browser, a photo editor, a video editor, etc.
• To extend the feature set further, I installed DorisBrowser (for real Internet browsing), OggPlay (to play my OGG files), AgileMessenger (to do Yahoo!Chat), eBook (to read Palm DOC ebooks on the train), Torch (for use in the dark), etc.

The only downside I see for this phone is the lack of an FM tuner. Also, IR is gone - replaced by Bluetooth. Good enough for file transfers, but you still need IR to make your phone function as a remote controller. It also lacks a dedicated volume control button, but that's ok.

Technical specs are here if anyone's interested.

Nokia 6680

After more than a year of using the Series 40 classic 6230, I've now moved on to the Series 60 smartphone 6680. I wasn't that happy at first because I've grown quite accustomed to the small 6230, which fits into just about anywhere. And that stereo FM feature is nice for long train rides. It's just so much hassle to transfer all those contacts, saved SMS messages, notes, to-do lists, profile settings, bookmarks, and WAP/MMS settings. But the 6680 comes with some much more:

• It's a 3G phone, which means browsing the Internet is way faster than 2.5G GPRS or EDGE.
• It has a 1.3 megapixel camera that comes with flash, 6x digital zoom, self-timer, night mode, and sequence mode.
• There's a VGA camera in front as well for video calls. (Suggestion: Don't take video calls if you're some place inappropriate.)
• The display is crystal-clear and supports 256k colors.
• It supports Push-to-Talk, like a walkie-talkie.
• The phone comes preinstalled with a couple of games, QuickOffice (for Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents), RealPlayer (for movie clips, audio files, and streaming video), a WAPxHTML browser, a photo editor, a video editor, etc.
• To extend the feature set further, I installed DorisBrowser (for real Internet browsing), OggPlay (to play my OGG files), AgileMessenger (to do Yahoo!Chat), eBook (to read Palm DOC ebooks on the train), Torch (for use in the dark), etc.

The only downside I see for this phone is the lack of an FM tuner. Also, IR is gone - replaced by Bluetooth. Good enough for file transfers, but you still need IR to make your phone function as a remote controller. It also lacks a dedicated volume control button, but that's ok.

Technical specs are here if anyone's interested.

Book 2005.04.25 - The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys

Why watch the movie when you can read the book? The blurb says it all: "Forgive me father, for I am 14." Chris Fuhrman's The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys is a bittersweet coming-of-age story involving a group of altar boys, who are inveterate pranksters in school.

The book makes an interesting read because the story is told from the point of view of a 14-year old kid. He notices a lot of details about things and talks about his fears, his hopes, his insecurities, which brought back memories. Not that I had hernia, or fell in love with this girl who slept with her own brother, or regularly shoplifted from the grocery store, or created a comic book depicting priests and nuns doing it on the church altar, or conspired to drug a bobcat and set it loose in school as a diversion. The book has no big plot. It's more like a month in the lives of four kids growing up. What makes the book interesting is how the story is told.

Too bad it has a sad ending. In their last caper as gangsters, one of the boys got bitten by a bobcat on the neck and DOA'ed when they got to the hospital.

Wollongong the Gong

It was a long Anzac Day weekend, so we decided to take the car to Wollongong for a spin. People here usually go farther than that, but 100kms to anywhere is far enough for me.

Going to Wollongong is no problem. Just take Princes Highway all the way south and that's it. Speed limits range from 70kph to 110 kph. We took a detour at Lawrence Hargrave Drive and headed for Stanwell Park. There's a nice park and beach, but that's just about it. Next, we went to the Bald Hill lookout, a known haven for hangliders. A few hangliders are set up and lying on the grass, but I didn't see anyone hangliding.

On our way back to Princes Highway, we stopped by the Sri Venkateswara Hindu Temple. I understand it's Australia's first Hindu temple. I took off my shoes and was able to take a look inside the temple. Unfortunately, picture-taking is prohibited inside.

Upon getting to Wollongong, we didn't explore the city centre anymore. We headed straight for Nan Tien Temple in Berkeley. It is said to be the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere. First thing you see is the temple main gate which looks similar to the archways you see in Chinatowns around the world, except that this one is bigger. Further on is the 8-storey pagoda, which is actually a resting place for the cremated ashes of devotees and their relatives. In the Pagoda's atrium are some Buddha statues and a wishing bell. Beside is the Pagoda is the main temple. The Front Shrine (a.k.a. the Great Compassion Shrine) looks imposing enough. Inside in a prominent statue of Guan Yin. Here, she is portrayed as having a third eye and multiple hands holding various instruments. Behind the Front Shrine is a vast courtyard, then the Main Shrine (a.k.a. the Great Hero Hall). On either side, you'll find the Drum and the Gong. Inside is a giant altar with the Buddhas of the Five Directions.

There's also a 190-seat auditorium, a museum cum tourist shop, a reception room, a dining hall serving vegetarian meals, a meditation hall, a lotus pond, and the 3-storey Pilgrim Lodge with 100 suites.

The Amazing Maurice and the Dog in the Night-Time

Finished a couple of books recently.

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents is my first Terry Pratchett book. I've always wanted to try Terry Pratchett, but kept postponing as I don't want to be reading his Discworld books out of sequence.

Anyway, I decided to read this one when I saw the cover - it shows this wise cat with parts of his ears chewed off. In front of him are five rats encircling a lighted candle. One is colored white, one has a hat on, and the others are holding tools. Should be interesting. The story is based on The Pied Piper but with a twist. You have this talking cat called Maurice, who leads a band of talking rats into towns being a plague, and their accomplice (a not-so-bright kid named Keith) comes along to lead them away. The town pays for his service, and they share the loot afterwards.

The rats decided they have enough money to buy a boat and sail away to some foreign land to start their own colony, but Maurice wanted more. They agreed to one last con. But things in the town of Bad Blintz, Uberwald is not as simple as it looks. The people are starving; the rat catchers are cashing in rat tails; there are no rats anywhere. Keith meets the mayor's neurotic daughter Malicia, and together they investigate what's going on with the rat-catchers. With the help of amazing Maurice and his educated rodents, they take on the guild of rat-catchers, a rat king called Spider and his army of keekee rats, Bone Rat - the rat equivalent of Death, etc. etc.

It's advertised as a children's book, but adults will no doubt enjoy reading it, too. The book touches on "heavy" subjects as what makes someone human, how we treat lesser beings, the importance of having a common language and shared history, life and death, the concept of heaven and hell, etc. One of the better children's books I've read so far.

One interesting thing about this book (hardbound children's edition) is that it has 271 pages, but 233 chapters. This is because Christopher Boone the narrator has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, and he likes prime numbers. He also like Sherlock Holmes, astronomy, playing Minesweeper, and solving difficult math problems. He doesn't like it when there are too many people, or when people shout or touch him. He has a photographic memory, and can remember every detail from events that happened long, long time ago. That's why he doesn't like crowds or new places because there's too much information for his mind to process, and he gets a headache. He would crouch down, sway back and forth, and groan to blank out the noise. Sometimes, he would do squares and cubes mentally to make himself concentrate.

One night, he discovers that Mrs. Shears' dog has been killed - speared by a garden fork, and he decides to investigate in the manner of Sherlock Holmes. He writes a book detailing all his discoveries and experiences, which became The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. (Incidentally, the title is a quotation of a remark made by Sherlock Holmes in The Adventure of Silver Blaze.) During his investigation, Christopher was told by a neighbor that Mr. Shears had an affair with his Mom. He also discovers a stack of letters from his Mom, who supposedly died from heart attack. The weekly letters tell him that his Mom is actually living in London with Mr. Shears. His Dad later admitted to killing the dog out of frustration and hiding the letters from him. His simplistic, logical mind tells him that if the only person he trusts can lie to him, then he might also be capable of killing him. Fearing for his life, he embarks on a difficult journey to London to seek out his Mom. He is probably unaware that he's the reason why his Mom left in the first place. Meanwhile, his Dad tries everything to make Christopher trust him again.

One can't help but feel for Christopher as the sneaks out of the house, holding a knife to protect himself from his sleeping Dad, getting lost in the train station, being chased by a policeman in the train, and ultimately reuniting with his Mom.

The Magpie and the Pigeon

Yesterday on my way to work, I saw this magpie, pecking away at something on the side of the road. I thought it was a piece of rag or something. I took a closer look, and it turned out to be a brown pigeon. I shooed the magpie away. The pigeon was actually still alive! The magpie had been plucking out its feathers one by one, to get to the meat I guess. I was so angry I could've struck out at the magpie if I had a stick or something. I mean, it's not even dead yet!

The pigeon was injured and couldn't walk/fly away. And the magpie was just standing there - staring at me, waiting for me to leave the scene of the crime, so it can continue its dastardly deed. I approached the magpie until it finally went away. I picked up the pigeon, and left it on a grassy lot. (Pets are not allowed in the office.)

Today, I passed by the same place, and the pigeon is still there. But it's not moving anymore. Goodbye, bird-eat-bird world.

Movie 2005.04.21 - Identity

Finished watching Identity on DVD just now. I was watching it so intently, it still gives me a slight headache from all the details and plot twists.

The opening part of the story tells us that convicted murderer Malcolm Rivers (who is due to be executed the next day) is getting a retrial because defense believes some evidence (his diary) has been illegally repressed. So the judge, lawyers, and the death-row murderer are meeting up that stormy night.

Cut to 11 total strangers, who for one reason or another, found themselves stranded in a desolate Nevada motel, right in the middle of an Indian graveyard. A prostitute on her way to her orange farm. A family of three (Mom, Dad, and Kid) suffered a flat. A cop-turned-limo driver (with his actress-passenger) accidentally ran over the wife. Another cop (actually a convict) transporting a convict (multiple homicide). A newly-wed couple from Las Vegas. And the hotel manager (who turns out to be an imposter). One by one, the 11 strangers die mysterious deaths. Everyone thought it was the convict who managed to escape, but later even he was killed, with the hotel manager's baseball bat shoved down his throat. They caught the hotel manager in possession of the dead actress' bulging wallet, so he's now the main suspect. They tied him up to a chair, but people are still dying like flies. With each death, they would find a room key on the victim. The room keys are actually in sequence, counting down 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, ..... And it gets worse, suddenly the bodies of the dead vanished without a trace, as if the murders never happened. They knew there had to be a connection somewhere. They later figured out they all had the same birthdate. Even more amazing is that their names are names of places and states.

Cut back to the judge and lawyer. The convict was wheeled into the room, and we see that he's not the convict being transported by the cop stranded in Nevada. What's going on?! MAJOR SPOILER ALERT! Read on at your own risk.

Three words: multiple personality disorder. Malcolm Rivers had a traumatic childhood - neglected and abused by his prostitute-mother, and this left him with 11 distinct personalities. His doctor argues that when the murders were committed, it was not Malcolm, but one of the personalities. His diary shows different handwriting and different viewpoints, which proves his case. Through therapy, all 11 personalities are coming to terms with one another, and that's why they're all in that Nevada motel. The doctor seem to be saying that the murders (the imaginary ones in Nevada, not the real ones) are actually a good thing. Once everyone has been eliminated (read: killed), the remaining one becomes Malcolm's only personality, and he becomes sane again.

Well and good. There's more killings in his head, and we are left with the prostitute who wants to become an orange farmer. Malcolm Rivers' execution was stayed by the judge, duly impressed by the movie plot. On his way to the mental hospital with his doctor, he thinks happy thoughts of orange harvests. While he (I mean the girl) was digging up the soil, she finds a room key from the Nevada motel with the number one. She starts trembling involuntarily. She looks behind her. It's the Kid from Hell. He didn't die from the car explosion. He was the one who did everybody in. And he was brandishing a nasty three-prong rake. And then there were none. Bye bye, doctor.

This movie is highly-recommended for lovers of suspense-thrillers and whodunits. The pacing is quick. Lots of clever shots, a few clues and hints here and there, an imaginative plot, great acting all around. I'm just peeved that I didn't figure out who the real murderer is. My bet was on the fake cop. When the cop-turned limo driver shot him, I thought that was it, and everyone will live happily ever after. Who knew the Kid from Hell would come back and continue the killings? Well, I guess that paves the way for Identity 2 (a.k.a Me, Too).

Of Breath Tests, Mobile Power and Lawnmowers

I got my second alcohol breath test yesterday. The traffic police flagged me down and asked me to blow on a portable breathalyzer. It's 9:30 in the morning! You're not getting any alcohol reading from me. (Not that you'll get anything even at 9:30 at night.) My first breath test works differently. Instead of blowing, the officer asked me to count from 1 to 10 into a machine. Afraid that he might find out that I was not drinking 8 glasses of water per day, I counted while holding my breath. (Is that even possible?) I was let off without any incident.

Ever notice that the battery of your mobile phone becomes flat just when you need to make that very important call? Forget about hand cranks. I saw this shop selling this nifty thingie that you attached to the port where you normally attach the charger. Apparently, it's an external battery that feeds power to your phone's battery, so you can at least make a few minutes (or hours) worth of calls. Why can't they just attach solar panels on the phone covers, huh?

The grass in the backyard is running wild, so it's time to look for a lawn mower. After going through the 2-strokes, the 4-strokes, mowers with mulchers, mowers without mulchers, etc. I decided to go for the simple hand mower. No, it doesn't mow hands. It simply means the mower runs on human power and not on petrol. I figured it would be good exercise, and it isn't that hard to operate when the shopowner demonstrated it to me. Ah, but things are different out in the real world. After an afternoon of handmowing, I think it's time to seriously consider a "real" lawnmower.

Movie 2005.04.10 - Orange County

Colin Hanks' first major starring role. As usual, Jack Black steals the show effortlessly. Story of an aspiring writer from a dysfunctional family who failed to make it to Stanford because his loony school counselor sent in the wrong transcript.

So surfer dude together with animal rights activist girlfriend and stoned drug addict brother goes to Stanford Admissions Office to plead his case. Brother has a one-night stand with the admissions office secretary and managed to burn down the building. Girlfriend meets this comparative lit major at a party and ignores her boyfriend. Wannabe writer chances upon his idol Marcus Skinner. They go to his place and have a long literary discussion.

Meanwhile, his rich Dad reconciles with his neurotic drunk mother. He offers to rebuild the burnt Admissions Office in exchange for his son's admission to Stanford. Not wanting to lose his girlfriend, our main character decides to stay at Orange County and continue being a surfer dude (and a writer on the side).

Typical teen flick with some insightful moments. Colin's a natural on-screen, and Jack Black's just outrageously funny. A short cameo from Ben Stiller, but he didn't do or say anything funny.

Movie 2005.04.10 - Harvey Krumpet

A depressing but touching story of Harvey Krumpet, who is originally Harvek Milos Krumpetzki from Poland.

Harvey doesn't seem to run out of bad luck:

• He has Tourette Syndrome since he was young. He twitches involuntarily, and likes to touch people on their noses.
• He Mom got mentally sick, probably due to exposure to lead while working in the mines.
• Their house burned down while he was out doing some deep thinking. His Mom and Dad was found frozen on a bicycle - nude.
• He touched a colleague on the nose, and got knocked out in return, requiring a metal plate inside his head to protect his skull.
• While working as a golf-ball picker, he got struck by lightning, magnetizing his skull plate in the process.
• He got testicular cancer, so one of them has to be cut off.
• He managed to marry the nurse from cancer ward, and adopted a thalidomide baby girl, but his wife died of a brain clot on his birthday.

Not everything is doom and gloom though. Locked away in a retirement house, and slowly drifting into senility, Harvey once contemplated suicide, but later decided he has more living to do. He goes back to being a nudist and spend his days waiting at the mock bus stop inside the compound. As he said, "Life is like a cigarette. Smoke it to the butt."

Are You Happy Now, Charles?

I normally don't do current events, but I think these are worth a mention.

Pope John Paul II, who headed the Roman Catholic Church for 26 years, died on April 2 of septic shock and cardio-circulatory collapse, but had been struggling with declining health for many years. His funeral was held on April 8, and his body will buried in the grotto of St. Peter's Basilica, where Pope John XXIII lay before he was brought up onto the main floor of the basilica.

The next day, April 9, Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles, his long-time love, in a civil wedding ceremony at a register office. Then off to Windsor Castle for a blessing ceremony attended by 750 VIP guests.

Que sera sera.

SecondHand Saturday

SecondHand Saturday is a giant neighbourhood garage sales held in individual households to promote reuse, on the Saturday prior to the Council's General Household Cleanup. Residents register with their local Council, who will then publicise all of the sales in the local media to maximise turn out. Participating households display signs out the front of their homes advertising their sales. Any items which are not snapped up by neighbours and bargain hunters are collected by the council's general household cleanup the following day.

Stuff I bought, was given, and picked up:

• a pair of Infinity desktop speakers for $10 (The lady is selling a perfectly working color Canon Bubble Jet printer including cartridges for the same amount, but who needs printers at home?)
• a Seiko Corona Melodia mantel clock (Wind it up and it plays Zigeunerweisen.)
• Happy Meal toys from The Muppets, The Incredibles, Monster Inc., McDonald's and Winnie the Pooh for $1 (The lady asked me to get another handful for free, but I don't want to be greedy.)
• a 5-level timber bookshelf for $25
• a suitcase travel alarm clock from Merrill Lynch for $1 (Some online stores are selling it for US$50.)
• a set of National Panasonic hi-fi speakers
• a Teac portable AM/FM radio with CD player
• a small particleboard table
• miscellaneous PC parts and books

Third Swatch Lucky

They say a watch says a lot about a person. I wonder what my Swatch Irony says about me?

I bought my first Swatch in Manila back in 2003. It's a Once Again, and I bought it at a discount. Swatch prices are pretty much the same everywhere, and they rarely give discounts. They had a sale that one time because it's their 10th anniversary in the Philippines. I liked the Once Again model because the design is very simple and classic. Black plastic strap and body, white face, black markers and hands. The hands and markers are glow-in-the-dark, and there's even a magnified day/date window. A few weeks later, the plastic groove holding the battery cover in place started to crack. There were more cracks after a few days, and the cover came off, rendering the watch useless. Thinking maybe it's an old stock, and the plastic becoming brittle, I had the watch replaced. After a few weeks of normal usage, the same thing happened again. Applying super glue on the affected areas didn't help. It took weeks of persistent nagging before Swatch agreed to a refund.

And it's not like these Swatches are cheap. For the same amount of money, I could've bought a pretty decent classic Seiko or Casio (with a metal strap too, although I prefer leather). But I have to have a Swatch. To make sure nothing breaks apart this time, I bought an Irony. I was supposed to buy a Twirl Black when I was in Kuala Lumpur, but I ran out of shopping time. It turned out to be even cheaper at the Changi Airport Duty Free. Solid stainless steel casing, black face, silver markers, luminous-white hands and digits, bright-red second hand, and date function. Hope this one lasts longer.

Stephen Hawking Special

Finished two Hawking-related books. I said finished, not understood. A lot of the stuff just went flying over my head.

First is Kitty Ferguson's Stephen Hawking: Quest for a Theory of Everything. It's not really a biography - more like an introduction to the man, his family life, how it all started, past discoveries and recent research. People who haven't read A Brief History of Time or had a hard time understanding it should probably start with this book. Kitty devotes most of the pages explaining in plain English Hawking's theories and how he arrived at them.

I would be surprised if Kitty really understood everything written in the book. I mean, I understand fermions and boson, strong and weak forces, the uncertainty principle, general relativity, quantum mechanics, singularities, black holes, event horizon, entropy, etc. But when the discussion starts going into arbitrary elements, the cosmological constant, wormholes, superstrings, four-dimension space-time, my mind just can't take it anymore.

I'm surprised to find out at the end of the book that Stephen later separated with his wife of 20+ years. Jane has always been a devout Christian, and Stephen, well, let's just say he believes the moment of Creation started with a singularity. Then, there were grumblings that Stephen has been putting more priority on international tours, media outings, and his research than his family, which ultimately resulted in the breakup. Oh well, you can't win 'em all.

I also finished The Universe in a Nutshell, Hawking's sequel to A Brief History of Time. Did you know that:

• Time is pear-shaped? Einstein's theory of relativity shows that time and space are inextricably interconnected. One cannot curve space without curving time as well. And this time is bent back by matter in the early universe. The whole universe we observe is contained in a region whose boundary shrinks to zero at the big bang, which gives time its pear shape.
• The universe has multiple histories? I myself didn't know this. I just know that it has something to do with uncertainty principle, anthropic principle, and the universe being inflationary. Next.
• We can actually predict the future, as postulated by Newtonian determinism. Even with Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, we still have to wave function to tell us how probable it is for something to happen. However, if information is being lost in black holes, then that would reduce our ability to predict the future. Question is, does part of the wave function get lost in black holes, does all of information get out again, as the p-brane model suggests?
• Time travel might just be possible. It has something to do with wormholes, cosmic strings, time travel horizon, time loops, negative energy flowing back into black holes, etc. Hawking didn't give a blueprint for a time machine.

Hawking also talked about the inevitability of DNA tweaking and growing embryos externally to speed up evolution. Pretty cool stuff, even if I didn't understand half of it.

Gmail Invites, Anyone?

Found out just recently that Gmail is slowly opening up its doors to the public. Gmail invitations used to be so hard to get that you have to be somebody or know a somebody to get one. They're so scarce, gmailswap.com was set up to facilitate exchange of Gmail invites from people who have them and people who'll do just about anything to get one.

So now what do I do with my 50 Gmail invites?