Saw it on FlyerTalk forum. The shorthand came from the small print in automobile commercials in the 70’s and 80’s. It has come to mean an acknowledgment that the opinion of the poster may not be shared by everyone.

=D

Agincourt is about the battle took place in 1415 that shocked Christendom. The Battle of Agincourt, or Azincourt in French, was of little real significance in the hundred year war. For Henry V, it had not been a successful campaign since he marched his army onto Upper Normandy. However, the fact that the sickness stricken and exhausted English army was able to defeat the healthy, well-equipped French who outnumbered the English probably 4 to 1 (even 6 to 1) makes the battle fascinating. Shakespeare’s play Henry V which centers the battle doesn’t hurt, either.

In Agincourt, Cornwell tells the story not from the King, not from the gallant Sir John Cornewaille, who was a real Agincourt hero, but from an archer’s point of view. Because of that, we are able to experience the battle in closeup. Not on a horseback in shiny armor, but really see the nastiness and fear of the battlefield. While telling the riveting story, Cornwell manages to delivering a great deal knowledge on battlefield maneuver and medieval war technology, which doesn’t interrupt the story but make it even more engaging.

I thoroughly love it.

the ones that I haven’t seen and not intended to see are:
Avatar, Precious, The Lovely Bones, The Hurt Locker, Fantastic Mr Fox, A Prophet, The White Ribbon and District 9.

watched and liked watched but did not like so much wanna watch

Actress in a supporting role
Mo’Nique in Precious
Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
Peneope Cruz in Nine
Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart

Actor in a supporting role
Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
Matt Damon in Invictus
Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones
Woody Harrelson in The Messenger

Actress in a leading role
Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia
Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
Helen Mirren in The Last Station
Gabourey Sidibe in Precious
Carey Mulligan in An Education

Actor in a leading role
Morgan Freeman in Invictus
Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
George Clooney in Up in the Air
Colin Firth in A Single Man
Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker

Animated feature film
Up (Pete Docter and Bob Peterson)
The Princess and the Frog (Ron Clements and John Musker)
Coraline (Henry Selick)
Fantastic Mr Fox (Wes Anderson)
The Secret of Kells (Tomm Moore)

Foreign language film
Ajami (Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, Israel)
A Prophet (Jacques Audiard, France)
The Secret of Her Eyes (Juan Jose Campanella, Argentina)
The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, Germany)
The Milk of Sorrow (Claudia Llosa, Peru)

Directing
Avatar (James Cameron)
The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
Up in the Air (Jason Reitman)
Precious (Lee Daniels)

Writing (adapted screenplay)
District 9 (Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell)
An Education (Nick Hornby)
Precious (Geoffrey Fletcher)
Up in the Air (Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner)
In the Loop (Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche)

Hornby!!!!!

Writing (original screenplay)
The Hurt Locker (Mark Boal)
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen)
Up (Pete Docter and Bob Petersen)
The Messenger (Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman)

Best picture
Avatar (James Cameron and Jon Landau, producers)
District 9 (Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, producers)
An Education (Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, producers)
The Hurt Locker (nominees to be determined)
Inglourious Basterds (Lawrence Bender, producer)
Precious (Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, producers)
A Serious Man (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, producers)
Up in the Air (Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, producers)
The Blind Side (nominees to be determined)
Up (Jonas Rivera, producer)

Art direction
Avatar (art direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; set decoration: Kim Sinclair)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (art direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; set decoration: Caroline Smith)
Nine (art direction: John Myhre; set decoration: Gordon Sim)
Sherlock Holmes (art direction: Sarah Greenwood; set decoration: Katie Spencer)
The Young Victoria (art direction: Patrice Vermette; set decoration: Maggie Gray)

Cinematography
Avatar (Mauro Fiore)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Bruno Delbonnel)
The Hurt Locker (Barry Ackroyd)
Inglourious Basterds (Robert Richardson)
The White Ribbon (Christian Berger)

Costume design
Bright Star (Janet Patterson)
Coco Before Chanel (Catherine Leterrier)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Monique Prudhomme)
Nine (Colleen Atwood)
The Young Victoria (Sandy Powell)

Film editing
Avatar (Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron)
District 9 (Julian Clarke)
The Hurt Locker (Bob Murawski and Chris Innis)
Inglourious Basterds (Sally Menke)
Precious (Joe Klotz)

Makeup
Il Divo (Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano)
The Young Victoria (Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore)
Star Trek (Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow)

Music (original score)
Avatar (James Horner)
Fantastic Mr Fox (Alexandre Desplat)
Up (Michael Giacchino)
The Hurt Locker (Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders)
Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer)

I didn’t know it’s Hans Zimmer’s work! Since A Single Man is not nominated for this one (WTF), I’m rooting for Zimmer.

Music (original song)
Almost There, from The Princess and the Frog by Randy Newman
Down in New Orleans, from The Princess and the Frog by Randy Newman
Loin de Paname, from Paris 36 by Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas
Take it All, from Nine by Maury Yeston
The Weary Kind, from Crazy Heart by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Ah, this is the Conan I so love. I hope he can continue to do what he loves with whichever network that respects the work. :)

But as I was sitting quietly, trying not to be desperately wanting to join the conversation which was honestly quite dull even though spices were added to make it lively, the other quiet girl spoke. “Never used powerpoint in my life.” She paused, savoring the sudden attention mixed with amazement, and then continued with the languor she’d been posing all morning, “We didn’t use that in high school. I’m 24.” I almost bursted out laughing while the others exchanged murmured exclamation like “we thought you’re our age!” and thoughtful declaration like “you get that every once in a while.” oh my oh my…

I’ve been wanting to watch this movie because of this poster. It intrigued me somehow. Yeah, it looks lame; nothing more than a bizarre love triangle. But I was curious how it would be portrayed and processed.

But it turned out to be a movie about “love at first sight” and “the one”. It said that there’s the one person for you in the world, and when you meet “the one”, you’d know it right away. Personally I think it’s shit. If you fall for someone and it turns out to be fine, or more than fine, you just get lucky. However, I know those firm believers who never stop looking would argue that I don’t believe because I never have the experience. But honestly, what I think doesn’t have anything to do with you, unless you’re the kind of person who needs constant reassurance from others to keep your feet steady. or… unless I’m the subject of your love at first sight!? But wait, doesn’t this thing have to be mutual?

(要找 8 1/2 來看)

我們自己吃了玩了:
SF: Branda’s French Soul Food, 逛 Fillmore Ave.
A Single Man, Nine.
Bill’s Cafe, Santana Row, Valley Fair, CPK.
Sonoma: Cafe Citti, Artesa, Imagery, Chateau St. Jean, Ledson
SF: Lombard St., Le Charm
Los Gatos 逛街, Main Street Burger.

今天餞別晚餐後, 還拿了一盒土雞蛋(叔叔家養的雞)跟手工香皂回家 >////<

(跟狗狗玩了一天, 現在一直覺得狗狗怎麼沒有跑來我腳邊 XD)

cutting off sweater puffs is not as calming as drawing. my mind wanders.

the rest I’ve seen:
Walk the Line (2005)
Dreamgirls (2006)
Across the Universe (2007)
Sweeney Todd (2007)
Moulin Rouge (2001)
Mamma Mia! (2008)
The Producers (2005)
Hairspray (2007)

music oriented movies:
Once (2007)
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008)
The School of Rock (2003)
Ray (2004)
Shine a Light (2008)
Coyote Ugly (2000)
Hustle & Flow (2005)
Music and Lyrics (2007)

這個星期六下午還頗有人氣
我寧願它如同以往像全世界只剩我一個人那樣安靜
真是吵死人了!

Highly anticipated.
Just look at the cast!
Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Fergie, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren

Nine (AMC, Cine@rt)

另外還有一大堆片, 都在Xmas跑出來了!
包括廣告超久的 Sherlock Holmes (AMC), Isherwood的A Single Man (Cine@rt), The Young Victoria (Cine@rt), 還有好像很厲害的 Up in the Air (AMC)

12/27
IMAX Screen Showtimes More Info
* 9:45am * 1:15 * 4:45 * 8:15 * 11:45

I am wide awake

trying to at least create calmness in my imagination
perhaps I should turn off the lights
but still, I know it’s not there
the absence of the night, or the essence that constitutes night, is incredibly immense
where has it gone?
how can I get it back?

the characters in The Private Patient are less likable and hard to identify with, thus are a drag from time to time. The most interesting part is where Emma’s father quotes Wilde and the depiction of Kate.

Shows I watch:

Tuesday, Jan. 5
The Good Wife returns (CBS), 10 PM

Wednesday, Jan. 6
Modern Family returns (ABC), 9 PM

Friday, Jan. 8
Medium returns (CBS), 9 PM
Dollhouse returns (FOX)

Monday, Jan. 11
Chuck settles into regular 8 pm timeslot (no Casey? Hmm..)
The Big Bang Theory returns (CBS), 9:30 PM
Castle returns (ABC), 10 pm s2e22

Wednesday, Jan. 13
Leverage returns (TNT), 10 p.m.

Sat, Jan. 17
The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards (NBC)

Sun, Jan. 18
The Human Target (Brad Chase XD)

Jan. 21
The Deep End (ABC) young lawyer

Wednesday, Jan. 27
Psych returns (USA), 10 PM

Feb 11
Past Life (Fox)

Feb 12-28
Winter Olympics (NBC)

Tuesday, April 13
Glee returns (FOX), 9 PM

I decided that it’s a guy thing, just like the much-praised, stupid Field of Dreams, ’cause, quoting Morales in A Chorus Line, I feel nothing.

I’m not saying it’s not good (plus some of the shots are spectacular); I simply felt nothing toward this father and son thing. I wasn’t shocked by what the movie portrayed, and I wasn’t touched. I can imagine some, if not most, guys feel the same way toward films touch upon female identity recognition issue and etc.

Men and their fathers… it’s taking care and depending on each other, it’s passing down the legacy, it’s a power struggle. It’s complicated.

seen / plan to watch

Best Motion Picture – Drama
Avatar (2009)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
Up in the Air (2009/I)

This is honestly a surprising list

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
(500) Days of Summer (2009)
The Hangover (2009)
It’s Complicated (2009)
Julie & Julia (2009)
Nine (2009)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (2009)
George Clooney for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Colin Firth for A Single Man (2009)
Morgan Freeman for Invictus (2009)
Tobey Maguire for Brothers (2009/I)

Seen the Danish original of Brothers, thought, from the trailer, the remake was made too melodramatic

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Emily Blunt for The Young Victoria (2009)
Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side (2009)
Helen Mirren for The Last Station (2009)
Carey Mulligan for An Education (2009)
Gabourey ‘Gabby’ Sidibe for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Matt Damon for The Informant! (2009)
Daniel Day-Lewis for Nine (2009)
Robert Downey Jr. for Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt for (500) Days of Summer (2009)
Michael Stuhlbarg for A Serious Man (2009)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Sandra Bullock for The Proposal (2009/I)
Marion Cotillard for Nine (2009)
Julia Roberts for Duplicity (2009)
Meryl Streep for It’s Complicated (2009)
Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia (2009)

Julia Roberts for Duplicity. Are you freaking kidding me?

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Matt Damon for Invictus (2009)
Woody Harrelson for The Messenger (2009/I)
Christopher Plummer for The Last Station (2009)
Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones (2009)
Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Penélope Cruz for Nine (2009)
Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Mo’Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
Julianne Moore for A Single Man (2009)

Best Director – Motion Picture
Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2008)
James Cameron for Avatar (2009)
Clint Eastwood for Invictus (2009)
Jason Reitman for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
District 9 (2009): Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
The Hurt Locker (2008): Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Quentin Tarantino
It’s Complicated (2009): Nancy Meyers
Up in the Air (2009/I): Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
Avatar (2009): James Horner, Simon Franglen, Kuk Harrell(“I Will See You”)
Brothers (2009/I): U2, Bono(“Winter”)
Crazy Heart (2009): T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham(“The Weary Kind”)
Everybody’s Fine (2009): Paul McCartney(“(I Want To) Come Home”)
Nine (2009): Maury Yeston(“Cinema Italiano”)

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Avatar (2009): James Horner
The Informant! (2009): Marvin Hamlisch
A Single Man (2009): Abel Korzeniowski
Up (2009): Michael Giacchino
Where the Wild Things Are (2009): Carter Burwell, Karen Orzolek

Best Animated Film
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
Coraline (2009)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Up (2009)

what a boring list. What a boring year for US animation.

Best Foreign Language Film
Los abrazos rotos (2009)
Baarìa (2009)
Das weisse Band – Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009)
La nana (2009)
Un prophète (2009)

Best Television Series – Drama
“Big Love” (2006)
“Dexter” (2006)
“House M.D.” (2004)
“Mad Men” (2007)
“True Blood” (2008)

Only one of them is a network show XD

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
“Entourage” (2004)
“Glee” (2009)
“The Office” (2005)
“Modern Family” (2009)
“30 Rock” (2006)

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Georgia O’Keeffe (2009) (TV)
Grey Gardens (2009) (TV)
Into the Storm (2009) (TV)
“Little Dorrit” (2008)
Taking Chance (2009) (TV)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Kevin Bacon for Taking Chance (2009) (TV)
Kenneth Branagh for “Wallander” (2008)
Chiwetel Ejiofor for Endgame (2009)
Brendan Gleeson for Into the Storm (2009) (TV)
Jeremy Irons for Georgia O’Keeffe (2009) (TV)

Kevin Bacon!

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Joan Allen for Georgia O’Keeffe (2009) (TV)
Drew Barrymore for Grey Gardens (2009) (TV)
Jessica Lange for Grey Gardens (2009) (TV)
Anna Paquin for The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (2009) (TV)
Sigourney Weaver for Prayers for Bobby (2009) (TV)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Alec Baldwin for “30 Rock” (2006)
Steve Carell for “The Office” (2005)
David Duchovny for “Californication” (2007)
Thomas Jane for “Hung” (2009)
Matthew Morrison for “Glee” (2009)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Toni Collette for “United States of Tara” (2009)
Courteney Cox for “Cougar Town” (2009)
Edie Falco for “Nurse Jackie” (2009)
Tina Fey for “30 Rock” (2006)
Lea Michele for “Glee” (2009)

please no Toni Collette or Courteney Cox

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama
Simon Baker for “The Mentalist” (2008)
Michael C. Hall for “Dexter” (2006)
Jon Hamm for “Mad Men” (2007)
Hugh Laurie for “House M.D.” (2004)
Bill Paxton for “Big Love” (2006)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama
Glenn Close for “Damages” (2007)
January Jones for “Mad Men” (2007)
Julianna Margulies for “The Good Wife” (2009)
Anna Paquin for “True Blood” (2008)
Kyra Sedgwick for “The Closer” (2005)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Michael Emerson for “Lost” (2004)
Neil Patrick Harris for “How I Met Your Mother” (2005)
William Hurt for “Damages” (2007)
John Lithgow for “Dexter” (2006)
Jeremy Piven for “Entourage” (2004)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jane Adams for “Hung” (2009)
Rose Byrne for “Damages” (2007)
Jane Lynch for “Glee” (2009)
Janet McTeer for Into the Storm (2009) (TV)
Chloë Sevigny for “Big Love” (2006)

上次的整理.

Reds:
(Cab)
2002 Robert Mondavi Stag’s Leap Dist Cabernet Sauvignon $55(?)
2004 Simi Landslide Cabernet Sauvignon $40
2005 Ashley Capricious Blue Cabernet Sauvignon $90
三瓶都不會變的東東 XD

(Other)
2005 Masi Campofiorin Ripasso $16 新進(註)
2006 Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo $9 新進
2005 Vicent Arroyo Petite Sirah
2003 Valley of the Moon Estate Old Vine Zinfandel (便宜, 但非常好喝. 2004 VOTM 的 Old Vine Zin 就差很多. 當初買了兩瓶, 這瓶一直捨不得開.)

White:
2007 Karl Joh. Molitor Riesling Spaetlese $14 (喝掉囉)
2008 Hermann J Wiemer Frost Cuvee (from Moni)

Dessert:
2005 Mayo Late Harvest Gewurztraminer $26
2004 Peller Estates Icewine (Vidal Blanc) $$$

註:
Masi Campofiorin Ripasso 這支其實已經買過兩次, 之前都是 2004 的. Ripasso 可說是窮人的 Amarone, 比較便宜 (很多), 適飲期也比較早. 這支 Ripasso 大概是除了 Robert Mondavi 的Stag’s Leap unfiltered Cab 之外 (還有那支西班牙白酒), 唯一一直買的酒了. 每次都喝得很開心. 但也希望有朝一日我可以下定決心買 Amarone. XD (明明跟那些 overpriced的加州酒差不多錢…)

喝掉了的紀錄:
2004 ARCENO PrimaVoce $17 好喝! 一開始喝起來很像merlot, 害我超後悔的. 但我喝了兩周… 越放越好喝!
Korbel Riesling Champaign $16 中秋豪華夜烤時喝掉了, 很好喝.
2007 Can Feixes Pened’es $13 不錯喝的清爽白酒 (第二次買)
2006 Benziger Muscat Canelli $20 一如往常的好喝

2008 Hermann J Wiemer Frost Cuvee 清爽香甜
This unique white wine has a new composition every vintage, with a varying blend of Riesling and Gewürztraminer, accented by our cuvée of Pinot Noir. Between the first autumn frost after the harvest is over and the last spring frost, this exciting fusion gradually takes shape in the winery as all our other estate wines are blended to perfection. Out of this evolution, the Frost Cuvee emerges as a refreshing off-dry wine suitable for many occasions.

* Appellation: Seneca Lake AVA, Finger Lakes

* Varietal Composition:: Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Cuvee of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

沒印象:
2007 Andre Andrieux Gigondas $20 (Rhone. bigger 單喝ok)
2005 Château Haut Nadeau Reserve; Bordeaux Supérieur $12 (a good year)

And I found one I like online and printed it out in the library.

We were doing a characture drawing. It isn’t meant to be proportional. First we divide the original image into a 4*3 grid. Then, randomly put 3 dots on the left side of another piece of paper and 3 dots (not aligned) on the right, and 2 dots on the top and 2 on the bottom.

so instead of this we have something like this

and this is what I did (it’s unfinished though.)

who do you think this is?

Then we ventured a new medium – crow quill pen + ink. This time, Paul taught us to create different values using hash marks. Our goal is to recreate our breakfast and put it in a setting that makes sense.

Today, we drew small portraits of our classmates on tiny pieces of some fancy paper Paul gave us. We were to make a wash (add some ink to a dish of water to create a shade that we like), make some organic shape on the paper and then draw our partner with a crow quill pen.

Here are some of mine.

People are wired differently, mysteriously. Matthew Bellamy’s hell to some’s ears but redemption to mine. Brian Aubert sounds unbearably childish to him while it get me completely and whole-heartedly addicted.

But even though he touched me with lines like you’re my muse with simplicity and desperate sincerity that he’s always good at, I’m intoxicated with your timid smile and persistent gaze and I think that possibly maybe I’m falling for you.

hilarious. exactly what I’d expected and then some.

The first two chapters can be cut. All the relevant information can be obtain via characters’ dialogue or quick flashbacks that come later. You can easily see what the author is trying to do. You can tell that she wants to make the male character idealistically perfect but misunderstood and the female defensive but kind. But the thing is, it doesn’t come naturally, nor convincingly. Instead, we feel her intention rather than seeing those characteristics to be real.

Something to keep in mind.