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Haliburton awarded oil drilling contacts in Southern China Sea, but by whom?

2011-03-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

I don't usually post about corporate dealings but this press release caught my eye because the way it's worded, makes me ask questions.

Halliburton Awarded Contracts for First Ultra-HP/HT Oil and Gas Drilling Project in Asia
Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) has been awarded several contracts for the provision of equipment and services on two offshore blocks in the South China Sea. This is the first ultra-high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) oil and gas drilling project in Asia.

The exploration campaign calls for two firm wells and one potential well. Halliburton will provide directional drilling, measurement-while-drilling and logging-while-drilling (M/LWD) services; well completion equipment and services; surface well testing and downhole drillstem testing (DST) equipment and services; and cementing equipment, fluids and pumping services. Drilling is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2011.

You can read the rest of the release here.

Three things I found interesting in this innocuous press release' wording:

Haliburton was AWARDED the contracts
The releases never mentions WHO awarded the contracts
The drilling takes places in SOUTHERN CHINA SEA

Who do you think awarded these contracts to Dick Cheney's company to drill in China's seawaters? And why aren't they telling us?

Injustice

2011-03-21T12:24:00.000-07:00

Injustice:
Whatever Gaddafi is doing to his people; or whatever Obama is doing to the American people (that is, starting another non-defensive military attack without consulting the will of the people who live in this ransacked country known as the United States of America).

Why didn'we do anything in Myanmar
or Sudan, Darfur?
Let's see
maybe it's because Libya's got shit tons of Petroleum reserves
but those aforementioned countries are stuck in poor geographical locations who have been victims of colonialist abuse for ages, that the western countries today simply don't give a fuck. Let those savages die in their desert and their jungles, say the leaders of the G7.

A romantic traditionalist's view on today's photojournalism

2011-02-28T16:38:00.001-08:00

Here is an article by a Russian photojournalist, whom I have never heard of before, that is his views on today's 'winning' photojournalism. His lamentations and critique sum up quite well how I feel about much of today's popular photojournalism as well (including, but limited to, the over usage of a Canon 5D and 24mm 1.4 wide angle lens).

Obviously our Russian man here is a lover of art, and he speaks like Tolstoy in his authoritative, and bemoaning tone. This is purely an article of emotions, not of facts. You should not try to debate with him on photography. Either you agree with him, or you don't. I agree with him.

Some memorable lines

The unifying theme [of winning World Press Photo] is the monotony of photographic forms, most of which are in a style of unconscious naivety and primitivism, series without beginning or end, lacking any generalization and categorizing but with a focus on exotic images from distant third world countries untouched by 21^st century civilisation...Classic culture and art have been replaced by tawdry mystifications, exotic rites and vacation photos.

Happy Valentine's Day, for all interspecie introverts

2011-02-11T12:28:00.001-08:00

The end of Nostalgia

2011-02-10T01:44:00.000-08:00

Childhood is only beautiful for those adults who can't remember.
--Francois Truffaut

Ever since the first time I went back to Beijing in 2003, I have my head wrapped in a never ending stream of nostalgic inflections. The things I was most nostalgic for were: Hutongs, Slow Beijing buses, Empty Subways, Oddly placed, but landmark buildings that served as knowledge bank for my childhood's many curiosities. At least, these were the things I thought I was nostalgic for, and as a result, I took many pictures of them when I visited China. At a well known Art School interview, I event professed that my main interest was in "Culture in Transition." Meaning an old country shedding its old architecture and culture to be absorbed into a profit-driven, capitalist culture with a plethora of shiny buildings and cars that replace the traditional, undeveloped methods of living and moving around.

However, this time when I was in Beijing, I found myself no longer enchanted by the objects and places driven by nostalgia. I still went to the first apartment my family lived in, walked around the streets that my parents used to bike me through in the 80s, and snapped pictures of brick walls and blankets hanging on strings, as such. But the pictures came out crappy, and from them I could only see a reflection of my personal disinterest, in these so-called 'nostalgic' locales. The bare fact as it surfaces now, is that I no longer have any interest in the Beijing of my childhood. I was not in love with the city when I lived there, I only began to love it when I left, after I had gained a comparative knowledge of urban and suburban life.

Beijing is an old city becoming very new due to the people who have moved there and the buildings that have sprouted up. Life in old Beijing was cramped, dirty, moist with human waste. Life in new Beijing is cramped, sweaty, dusty, but if you can afford it, a nice secluded, high-rise apartment that offers tranquility not before possible. In essence, Beijing is more Western now, and it has matured to a point that one can enjoy a Western-style living in Beijing without experiencing any clumsiness customary in the painful transition from a third-world to a first-world. All that happened while I was gong and in the first half of last decade (hence the last two times I visited I deeply craved a nostalgic Beijing). Of course this is not to say all of the city enjoys this convenient, comfortable and protected Western style of life, but I can unashamedly say that I enjoyed it, and this is how I intend to live if I do move back to Beijing.

The effervescent world that exists at the end of a person's nostalgic vision, is it really paradise? Or is it just a mis-colored blotch of what we call 'unsophisticated youth' where the adult, mature thinker substitutes the memories of his youthful ignorance with more pleasing, but also more theoretical terms such as 'innocence,' 'simplicity,' 'spirituality,' and the worst of all, 'purity?'

I am not an expert on purity and I dare not claim so because there is something impure in everything I do. As progressive as I am I take a lot of the privileges of a developed world for granted and indulge in its excesses. Maybe this is why my father's life seems happy, because he is doing the exact same. There is no need to hold back on one's enjoyment of life's pleasures if one's economic situations allow for a status upgrade. Beijing has become a city where if you have money, you can live a wonderful life, and if you don't have money, life is not very different from fifteen years ago. There is no need to be 'nostalgic' when one is in Beijing. That is only non-existent for the rich who have allowed themselves to live accordingly to their wealth, or for those who use 'nostalgia' as an excuse for their failures to ride the changes to get ahead.

Nostalgia is easy to summon when the person is not burdened by the actualities of the imagined, nostalgic past.

Happy year of the Rabbit! 兔年了。。。

2011-02-02T10:28:00.000-08:00

Video courtesy of Edwin Li.

Let The Bullets Fly (让子弹飞) Review

2011-01-31T00:32:00.000-08:00

Jiang Wen is an acknowledged genius of Chinese cinema, if not for all of cinema. Anyone who has seen Devils at the Doorstep should attest to that. There had been no other film like it, and there very well may not be another film like it either. The greatness of that film has solidified Jiang Wen’s stature, even if he has not been very prolific since then (partly due to government restrictions, no doubt) His latest blockbuster, Let The Bullets Fly, has broken all sorts of Chinese box office records. But despite its success, I feel with certain regret that the idiosyncrasies of a genius ended up proving to be hindrances in the construction of this film. I simply left the theater, feeling that it was a fun movie with many mis-directed attempts at genius.

Jiang Wens brilliance is exuberant, and he may have become a filmmaker very much aware of his brilliance, and he makes a conscious effort to emulate and duplicate that brilliance. In this sense, he has become a Tarantino instead of Jiang Wen. And the very film he decides to do that in, is a mix-genre film. Mix-genre blockbuster is a new territory for Chinese cinema. The film encapsulates American western, Chinese martial art, slapstick, and contemporary action. However, I don't believe Chinese cinema has acquired the right filmic language or culture, to imitate a multifaceted Western production successfully in a Chinese manner. Even for American filmmakers this is a difficult task, and only a few directors can successfully manage the creation of such a film.

Jiang Wen’s obsession with Tarantino is apparent in many aspects of Let The Bullets Fly. Story has it that Jiang has a picture of him and Tarantino in his office, no doubt serving as cinematic inspiration for what can be achieved as top entertainment in today’s film world. This obsession has produced some good results. Case it point, the film’s perfect casting: every supporting character brings a unique set of looks, physical ability, and cunning to his role. All together the set of characters brim with a whimsical perfection that rivals Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds. In a way, this is the Chinese Inglorious Basterds. There is masculine ruggedness, there is cinematic self-reference, urban wit, and there is Tarantino-like vibrancy and exaggeration, abruptness, and all the while, top-notch intensity in every act.

A high production value, glossy, ostensibly Western art direction is sure to please Chinese audiences spoiled likewise by Hollywood imports. When it comes to looks, you can trust that Jiang Wen assembles the best in the Chinese film industry (although the CGI work is a bit shoddy). However, much of the wit is superficial, and his normally biting, satirical gags here come of only half as successful as those from Devils. With the material at hand, the film feels to be lacking simply, a soul. A style similar to Devil at the Doorstep, more down and dirty instead of the too-pretty-to-get-dirty, could have created a deeper resonance with both thinking and non-thinking audiences. China is not a bright sunny place like the American West. Jiang Wen is naturally a more sensitive and political figure than Tarantino, but I feel that in the creation of this film, he watched too much Kill Bill, but too little of his previous work.

The convoluted politics is handled by too much exposition, the more charismatic characters are killed too fast, choreography of gun fights seem abrupt and inadequate. Fast paced, but shoddy editing doesn't negate the problem completely, and finally, Jiang Wen seems to have become a director who believes that repetition of his favorite shots is a gift to the audience. Tarantino knows when he has pushed a scene to the edge of intolerance, while Jiang Wen marches on. One get the feeling that he is in too much of a rush to say too much, but couldn't find an eloquent way to tell all the stories and ends up sputtering. There’s plenty of spits and grunts, but not a lot of articulate words. A clumsy but energetic lover is this film.

First Solo photo exhibit at Inter Gallery inside 798 in Beijing

2011-01-26T15:55:00.000-08:00

By now, some of you may know that I had my first solo show, titled "Accidental Square" at Inter Gallery in Beijing. The opening was held on Saturday the 22nd and it was quite a fun time. A number of people came, even if they were mostly friends of the family and my parents. Surprisingly, even the Gao Brothers dropped by as well (apparently they are friends with the gallery owner and he told them). I emailed Jia Zhangke, but of course, he did not show up or insofar as respond.

Also heard some interesting feedback from people, the most helpful one being that the collection of photos at hand was a bit disorganized and could have benefited from further editing, as some of the more 'mainstream' photos took away from the emotional impact of the ones that represented more purely "Ian Wang's" vision. Very helpful indeed, even if I still can't quite articulate what my vision is, except what my eyes tell my mind to tell my finger to click the shutter.

The Gao Brothers were kind enough to drop by and hear me blabber a bit about "shadow and light."

To see the photos on display at the exhibit, you can view them in this Flickr gallery I set up.

Some thoughts on Coppola's Tetro

2011-01-11T00:03:00.000-08:00

Tetro is a film that no one would have made. And I am glad someone made it. Coppola did. Maybe only he can get away with material that young or even mature filmmakers wouldn't touch, or find plausible to even imagine.

Tetro is a movie about art, the making of art, and the struggle of those who pursue art. Every character in the film is an artist, either with words, music, lights, or love. Unfortunately the end product doesn't quite reach the level of art itself. It is artsy and even gutsy with its ambition to create art, and there are very successful moments, and there are some moments in which the melodrama could not hide itself more playfully. However, the moving force of the film comes from the visible effort with which the film is put together. Its experiments (black and white photography, its static placement of the camera, and the leisurely editing that allow an actor to perform and perform) are put together with pain and visible deliberation, and from this, I can see a director letting a film breathe and find its own life through the process of making it.

Other reviewers have called this film unashamedly theatrical. Maybe this is a technical comment, as surely most of the scenes are staged in small dimensioned spaces. Rooms are often spottily lit, shadows fall on the actors faces as if there are spotlights from above, cluttered interiors, and transitions are not accompanied by the usual cinematic devices nor exposition, but simply, by straight forward, chronological shifts that heed no telegraphing or foreshadowing. And from a story perspective...well I am not going to say much about the story, except that I find Tetro a film that beautifies choices but is not concerned with consequences. Similar to the filmmaker's sentiment, I assume. Things will happen inevitably. Maybe it is this inevitability of resolution that makes the film theatrical?

By now we all know about the films black and white photography, and in my eyes, the monochrome palette adds gives the film a novelistic, lore like effect. It dilutes the harshness of reality and everyday burden, and places the viewer in a part of the brain that only concerns itself with making art of memories. Quite fitting for a movie about making art.

Finally, I'm happy to see that the film has a very positive user response on IMDB.

If You Are The One 2 (非誠勿擾2) Review

2010-12-30T21:15:00.000-08:00

In Feng Xiaogang's new film, the wealthy in urban China are modern, emotional, sentimental, desirous of goods which lots money can buy, and are fully in grasp of the irony and paradoxes of contemporary China and its effects on personal relationships on a society that merely 15 years ago, still seemed to exist in a naive and restrained age.

This is why the main supporting character has a daughter with an ex-wife from a previous, seemingly more innocent age, while his latest one, after he has made his money, ends in halfhearted discontent and self deprecating dismissal.

The Chinese are changing, and most importantly the mature, pre-

midlife crisis generation urbanites who are seeing reflections of a lost time in the money they are making. It is as if the stack of RMBs they pull out of their pockets with indifference have become mirrors, mirrors that only reflect hard truth. And they want out, either free from it all, or find protection in the form of stable marriages that makes money a secondary concern in the belief that love gives money a comforting purpose. To serve love, that's money purpose.

Much of the humor and laughs of this film come from understanding the subtext in the conversations, which are both smart and playful, often filled with traditional idioms and misdirection. No surprise that this is very Beijingnese sounding film is written by Wang Shuo and Feng himself, and you can't find better people at using Chinese to its wittiest.

One can sense than Feng Xiaogang has a great relationship with his actors because the film's strongest scenes usually involve the actors at their most naturalistic, speaking as if they are truly at home. No doubt the fact that this is a sequel-Ge You and Shu Qi already have great chemistry helps, but their feisty and combative exchanges go up a few decibels compared to the first one. Stakes are higher, and there's even genuine anger in these characters, because getting to know another person always raises unexpected challenges, and it is usually at home where one drops the carefully constructed grace that one carries out on a date or a trip (the idea of grace is not standard but exists in all). Feng allows his actors to play out this dynamic exchange perfectly, and the tension in the movie is always centered around how the two lovers over come each others imperfections as they are discovered one by one.

We all know about Ge You, but Shu Qi is now quickly rising to be someone who I think can challenge Gong Li as the queen of Chinese cinema. She has the face of a beautiful woman

constantly in distress. Confident of her beauty but always needy of further flattering, a perfect woman for a man of longing ready to offer his life and love. She has certainly matured more in this film, and stand up to Ge Yous charming non-chalance with strength and fragility at all the right moments. Best of all, she is perfectly self-conscious and not at all pretentious, like Gong Li in most of her recent outings...

Finally, I wouldn't call Feng Xiaogang a man of subtlety but he

is a man of unexpected observations and usually carries out his sharpest observations in the actions of minor characters--pilots, military, cashiers, TV hosts. They are the one showing the

change in Chinese people as their country grows toward a consumer, service based economy.

On a technical level, Feng has proved himself to be a master of

genres of the highest level, and in a year in which he has two major film releases (the other one being Aftershock), I would proclaim him now a major force in world cinema with a perfect sense of the ironic construction of melodramatic moments that's been rarely seen since Douglas Sirk. For the mainstream audience, they are brought to tears, for the critic in me, I'm stunned at his carefully orchestrated mise-en-scene that's full of depth and sophistication.

If You Are The One 2 doing well in the U.S.

2010-12-29T12:27:00.000-08:00

Seems like the idea by China Lion Entertainment to release If You Are The One 2 concurrently in the U.S. and China is a smart (and brave) one, and has paid off well. Earlier today, I saw this press release come through:

On only 13 screens in NY, LA, SFO , DC and Boston, [If You Are the One 2] was the 26h biggest picture in the US over the weekend and achieved the #8 Per Screen Average nationally of some $7475 per screen. At AMC site Atlantic Times Square in LA the film was # 1 for the weekend and was a top weekend film at AMC locations in New York & San Francisco. Most LA locations sold out for prime night sessions each night.

In Canada on just 7 screens the pic finished # 15 pic nationally for the weekend and was # 2 Per Screen Average with a whopping $12,160 per screen, with AMC site Kennedy Commons in Toronto and Cineplex site Station Square in Vancouver recording the pic as the # 1 film for the weekend.
Read more

Obviously this is a sign that the Chinese living in the U.S. are thirsty for more home produced cultural products. I personally feel that there has always been a restless sense of longing in the minds of well to-do Chinese immigrants as they look across the Pacific from the comfort of their garaged houses and see China shining with glamorous lights they'd never before seen in their adopted country. Expect more big Chinese-produced blockbuster releases to come state-side, but only from established directors (Feng, Zhang, etc). Will there ever be a market for indie Chinese films beyond the Western art-house crowd? Now that's a fascinating question. (Probable answer: never)

Thoughts on recent developments in the Chinese film industry

2010-12-22T14:58:00.000-08:00

Seems like two things are happening in the Chinese film industry.

1. Established directors are making blockbusters and more blockbusters. The budgets are rising accordingly, and it was just announced today that Zhang Yimou has cast Christian Bale in his upcoming film on the Nanjing massacre. Budget is supposed to be 80 million US dollars. Now that's quite a budget for a Chinese film. Only thing left to wonder is if I can somehow get a job on that production, ah ha! Interestingly enough, this is Bale's second film in China, and also about WWII (first one is Spielberg's Empire of The Sun, which I'm sure needs no introductions).

Some examples: Every film by Zhang Yimou in the last 10 years, Aftershocks by Feng Xiaogang, Let The Bullets Fly by Jiang Wen, Red Cliff by John Woo. All these directors have taken certain periods of Chinese history and found stories worth retelling in the cinema. Even Jia Zhangke is embarking on a period-martial art production set in the late Qing dynasty. The idea that "We have the money, and we are gonna make big movies" is certainly welcome, because I don't see any other country's film industry staging a commercial fight against Hollywood like China is doing. Yet what Chinese still lacks, is a commercial film identity. There is too much imitation in terms of production design, and too much borrowing when it comes to stories (all the blockbusters are based on historic episodes). But this is not a problem to be solved by pontification. Only more productions can help pave the way for a distinct, national commercial cinema. Maybe in 3-5 years.

2. Upcoming young directors, many of them with American educations in filmmaking, are finding creative ways to churn out money making romantic comedies. This seems to fill an urgent need for a society much deprived of contemporary, urban love stories. Maybe it's a sign of the growing spending power of a restless young consumer class, who are not interested in art or social studies, but instead have a desire to see their favorite Asian celebrity faces placed into catchy, Hollywood-esque productions, with the requisite wide angles, camera movements, and thrilling sound editing. This is all fine because where ever there is a demand, there is a supply. The goal? An enjoyable theater going experience for people who want enjoyable experiences as a middle class young citizen, and going out to a theater (instead of watching pirated movies on a small screen) is one of these essential experiences. I certainly enjoy it. It's a life style change and the growing movie industry in China is supplying that cinematic night-life element hitherto missing in many Chinese cities.

Some examples of these films: Waiting Alone, Sophie's Revenge, If You Are The One (This is by Feng Xiaogang though, not really a young ex-pat), Au Revoir Taipei (although it's not a mainland film, one can't deny that mainland youth would be attracted to its minor, situational comedic bits). I'm sure there are many more to come. The Chinese are a voracious bunch when it comes to taking in things-food, stories, music, pretty faces, laughs, sex. Romantic comedy is the perfect genre for this society right now.

After the game

2010-10-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

I'm not normally a fan of sentimental photos, but somehow, I like one a lot.

Fake movie posters

2010-09-20T23:59:00.000-07:00

The definition of my vocation

2010-09-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

A great photo shows the relationship between the photographer and the object being photographed, so great that the viewer is immediately transported into the emotions that took place during the moment of the shutter-click.

A master photo not only shows the relationship between the photographer and the object, it takes the viewer to the emotion of that moment, and of that specific time, culture and society that made the photo happen.

A mediocre photo, is one that shows none of the photographic process, that is laden with expository context, and full of artistry.

A few photo blogs I like to read

2010-09-10T00:42:00.000-07:00

Figure I'd share this with the world. Here are some of the photography related blogs I read on a daily basis (or just have in my RSS reader):

Watch Impress Digicam Watch. All in Japanese. Great for shots of the latest products, and more
A Photo Editor. Intelligent, well-thought out posts and essays on the career of a photographer. Great source for hearing some ins and outs of the industry.
DPReview. No explanation needed, although nowadays I'm getting really sick of their nit-picky criticisms and cliched review keywords
PhotographyBlog. Once again, just for product reviews. However, I don't think these guys are photographers in any sense. I read them simply because of my need for camera-porn
Shanghai Street Stories. I really cannot stand this girls' photos. If she's gonna shoot in black and white, use fucking film. I don't need your corny compositions and post-produced with a sentimental filter. But why do I still keep visiting it? It's always interesting to know what people with worse taste than you enjoy.
.one too many. Frank Canepari's blog. Sometimes I think this guy is a genius, sometimes I think he's full of shit. But most geniuses are full of shit, so I give him a pass.
Street Level Japan. Just started following this blog. Not quite sure what he's about, but the last few posts have featured a report on an Araki opening, a Herzog quote on images, and a half-hearted defense of Daido Moriyama. Guess this guy is good in my book.
Wired Raw Files. Geeks with money who love photos of crazy shit.

Don't blame the economy. Corporations are not patriotic

2010-09-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

The economy is bad, American jobs are shifting overseas, American middle class life is disappearing. Then why aren't the teapartiers doing anything about it?

Instead, they want to restore American values (aka blind faith in Christianity), and champion slogans such as low taxes, pro business, smaller government.

The fundamental problem is that corporations are not patriotic. They want everything configured for them to turn a bigger profit, while ignoring the will, or the well being or their workers, who in this case, used to be mostly Americans. These are American capitalists who are hell bent on destroying American lives, not because they hate America, but because it is expensive to feed American lives, and the expenses should be conserved for bigger profit margins on their annual reports instead. This is why corporations are shifting jobs overseas. They have no allegiance to America or to any Americans, even though their mode of communication is in a fundamental American concept--the Dollar.

This following NY Times article brings up nothing new, but it angers me that the writer is not pointing fingers at the real culprit of the problem, and that the victim is not voicing her anger at the real culprit as well, which I'm sure anyone with her brain, can easily see:

The chief hurdles to more robust technology hiring appear to be increasing automation and the addition of highly skilled labor overseas. The result is a mismatch of skill levels here at home: not enough workers with the cutting-edge skills coveted by tech firms, and too many people with abilities that can be duplicated offshore at lower cost.

And more, including the naming of HP in this massacre of jobs for Americans:

Corvallis was once a hotbed for tech start-ups. But Ms. Mann said that with layoffs from other tech companies in the area, including Hewlett-Packard, the city now has a glut of people like herself: unemployed engineers with multiple degrees. “I apply for everything I can find, but there are just not that many jobs out there,” she said.

And there are people who actually want to vote for Fiorina?

Here's the real evil, but veiled behind flowery language and the words of an analyst in the pocket of the big corporations, so he won't speak the truth:

But economists who follow highly skilled employment say that some of the most prominent companies that laid off workers during the recession, like I.B.M., are expanding their work forces abroad.

“Certainly a lot of these I.T. services firms plus the core software firms like Oracle are globalizing their work, or, as they put it, ‘rebalancing’ their work forces,” says Ronil Hira, an assistant professor of public policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

'Rebalancing' work force can be roughly translated into expanding a workforce while distributing the salary across the workforce so there are more workers, but the overall payroll remains the same, further deducing this complex trend, what we see is that (American) corporations are adding workers to help them make money, but are paying less to these workers because they take advantage of the low-cost of living of IT hotbeds such as India and China. Meanwhile, American students take out massive amount of loans, but because they are not significantly better than foreign workers, but still require a relatively high salary, are being eschewed by American corporations. Because American corporations don't exist to serve Americans, they exist to serve the amounts in their oversea bank accounts.

Face it, most Republicans are too stupid to realize what is going on, yet they shout the loudest when it comes to 'restoring' American values. Why not take a machete, and chop some heads off their corporate friends first. How do we restore American value? By giving jobs back to Americans, a generous gestures that friends of the Republican party are all too unwilling to make.

A Tropical Love Story

2010-09-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

The sublime blue of the ocean shimmers teasingly in the low resolution pictures scoured to my eyes via Google. Where does my next lazy ambition take me to?
A tropical love story.

Championed by Wong Kar-Wai.

Continued by no one.

But should exist, in a form, in perpetual

A dearth of shyness,
lovers who love and sweat
why mention what happened
three years ago in the heat
of our petulance, I bit
as well as kissed the scar
between your mouth, vanquishing
source of little promises.

Tell me,
for the lack of better caresses.
If it means lying, a ballad of
fear, coughs, I love you so-s.

From news to narrative, defining the convergence of multimedia journalism and documentary filmmaking

2010-08-12T01:02:00.000-07:00

What exactly are multimedia journalists accomplishing, or aiming to become? Recently, as I plug myself into the Bay Area blogosphere, I’m also seeing more and more video projects, taken upon by multimedia journalists, some of them trained from the highly-respected Berkeley graduate program in Journalism, that has such a huge focus on digital media.

Yet to me, as I watch these videos, I have an uneasy feeling that these often amount to no more than an aural slideshow. Not to be offensive, but some of these have neither the penetrating insights of the best documentaries (it doesn’t even have to be the best, we can just take the first half of Errol Morris’ Gates of Heaven as an example), or the artistry of a dramatic production. I don’t know why this is, but I feel the aesthetic values of these productions are overly kitsch in its hi-tech, ubitiquous web pretensions.

The reason I’m having these responses can be attributed to my training and my interest in film. When I view anything in video form, it is the painterly visuals, the compositions, the very filmic elements that I scrutinize first. This does not mean that I don’t understand what a video newscast is. I perfectly do and I know what their purposes are. However, when we have videos that appear on the hyperlocal blogs, and whose stated purposes seem to be rather a profile than a purely news segment, the film critic in me naturally awakened as these images enter my eyes. And here, is where I find these productions problematic and I will try to define my apprehension through the following points:

If you think I am looking at these from too much of an art perspective, then feel free to correct me. But I am. The underlying aesthetic value of these productions are undermined by the following:

A lack of fluency with the medium of video. HD, 24fps, 60fps, progressive scan--these are not the technique of a film or videomaker. These are just specs that camera makers put to make one think one can achieve what is sold in theaters.

Just like how in journalism class students spend tons of time perfecting the opening line to entice the reader into a story, most of these videos have not found quite a way to visually engross the viewer. Too much of the same is being churned out, but with the editorial pressure of news, I guess this is expected. I don’t think, and I don’t propose ever, that one can just place a camera in front of a subject and expect the subsequent video to generate any kind of visual excitement. If we are using video, why not really use it? But if we really use it, then do impromptu effects spring up based on how we receive videos and derail the journalistic intent of a production? Sure, because visuals and sounds are very much evocative arts, sometimes, more so and immediate than words, and this leads to my next point:

Message, agenda, theme. These are the questions we ask of every film. Yet you can't not not ask these questions for multimedia productions as well. The convergence of media production means the available critical inquiry needs to be consolidated and expanded.

Then again, if we keep trying what I've suggested, then are we training journalists or filmmakers? Are multimedia journalists following the traditional of a documentarian, say Charles Ferguson, or a nowadays video artist like Godard in his 70s?
All these doesn't matter. What we have to find is an answer, that which profession has a greater capacity to influence, inform, and engage us intellectually and emotionally? Well, one can say that a well made video will engage us no matter what. Sure.

Lastly, these videos, I feel, seem to be inheriting souls from the art of photojournalism, but I believe it is the wrong approach. Contemporary photojournalism, the most popular (note 'popular') ones, always seem overly melodramatic and sentimental to me. Dramatizing triviality to the point of numbing our senses to all but the most cruel, violent, and graphic events. Almost anyone with a wide angle lens today is equipped to produce usable photos. But the permanence of these photos? Very much debatable.

So how can videojournalists that's graduating from Journalism programs, not film schools today, equipped with their video capable dSLR, produce focused, penetrating, and aesthetically valuable work, without falling to the excesses of present day photojournalism? And produce effective work that match written reportage? I believes these videos, and their makers, need to define a creative identity and purpose. I don't think we can do that yet, with the great number of videos populating youtube today. Look at the reportage videos on 60 minutes, is this what our journalists aim to make? Internet TV?

Load, Tag and Go...not!

2010-08-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

I hate to be a jerk, but if you want to give a shout out to FUCK CLIPPER CARD FOR EVER AND EVER, please leave a comment below

Oakland on 27

2010-07-31T00:51:00.001-07:00

July 30, 2010

in Beijing, it is

July 31, 2010

A birthday that I no longer find memorable except for the first six. No celebration tonight, but I had fun taking photos of Oakland on a cellphone.

Photos from the Caravan Palace

2010-07-29T11:12:00.000-07:00

Some photos from Caravan's Concert two Sundays ago, just published on SF Weekly. The $200 dollar Pentax is working well.

And yes, Caravan Palace is an awesome French electronic/jazz/swing band. I first heard about them in the movie Triplets of Belleville...check it out on Netflix, it's a woozy.

The irony of Green living

2010-06-28T13:32:00.000-07:00

20 years ago China was among the poorest nations in the world. Everyone biked and walked, and everyone worried about saving energy.

20 years later China is still among the poorest nations in the world (per capita). Everyone still bikes, but now drives cars like landowners with donkeys, and no one knows how to worry about saving energy when there are other things at stake, such as the lack of drinking water, severe weather, etc etc.

Here comes a video that is brilliant in some ways, but also gives me nostalgic airs about living in poorer, simpler times when conservation was a natural aspect of survival, instead of a luxury concept for the developed world:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTc3NDMzNjEy.html

A Tenderloin Collision

2010-06-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

A trip down Geary Blvd, from Powell St to Franklin

Formula for Photographic Success

2010-06-06T09:46:00.000-07:00

After going through so many journals and websites and having seen what get published, what people gush over when it comes to photographs today, here's what I think, a fail-proof formula, for photographic success:

1. Go to a place of historical/social importance
2. Take photographs of the place or its current inhabitants in a dignified way (unsentimental but stately, this is important!)
3. Success

However, if you were a conflict photographer, be sure to be on the look out for these visual motifs. It is absolutely a requisite that you have one of these in your photos:

1. Guns
2. Blood
3. A wound, an injury
4. Fire or explosion
5. People screaming
6. People crying

These are what image-consumers in non-violent countries want. So you better produce them!

It's a Top Down World

2010-06-02T23:32:00.000-07:00

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A Dennis Hopper eulogy

2010-06-01T01:13:00.000-07:00

On the day Dennis Hopper died, I can only think of Easy Rider. It is not among my favorite movies, but there is one shot that is embedded in my memory like no other. What I remember is not just its composition, but how what it showed penetrated me emotionally at a time when I did not quiet yet grasp the cultural significance of cinema. After I saw it, I believed.

Has there ever been a shot filled with more brilliance and love than this one (and somehow Google Image search fails to turn up a single screen shot!), where the camera pans inside the tent of a commune, and slow reveals for us, the faces of a generation, as if great poetry was being painted onto a canvas at that very moment?

The very first time I saw this shot, I patiently waited for it to end. After some point I realized the point of this shot was not for it to end, but for it to continue, until every face had been given a chance to speak to the audience, whisper a badly remembered song, blow a kiss, etc. Whatever it was, I had never seen a daring shot like this attempted in cinema (outside of Godard), and its raw, unapologetic power pierced me right away, and had me at its disposal like a cowardly POW. Although I had no connection with the hippie movement, I had a connection with any works of cinema that chooses to linger on the faces of those who have soul (Another example: Masculine & Feminin). Like many have said, Easy Rider was a film for us, it was a film for love, and this shot, was an aria of the greatest romantic power--not just love for that generation, but love for everything that takes place in the process of making a movie. It was not a sentimental shot. In fact, its color and the excruciatingly slow pan was stark and ominous, but if there was an ever a shot to signal the essence and the disappearance of a generation, this was it.

In an documentary I watched on the making of Easy Rider, Laszlo Kovacs said that they shot this in a hurry, as the shoot for the day was wrapping up and they had to leave in a hurry. This could all be hearsay, but it also made sense. Genius is usually born in these hurried moments, where certain particles collide in the mind of one, or a few, and create things of lasting power.

Exactly what went on between Dennis Hopper or Kovacs I cannot know, but, why ask anyway?

A poem from the bus

2010-05-30T03:14:00.000-07:00

Plutonic

Plutonian revolution
the hang glider of
our neighborhood
hooked on a top
of a mount
of frozen gods.

Do not think about
your pain

it's insubmittable

A top-ten list for on-going metapain

2010-05-28T00:58:00.000-07:00

As I am writing this, I feel like I should re-read Eugene O'neil. Maybe in the torment of geniuses, I will find respite for my incantations.

I've never read a top ten list from a genius, but here I will try to fill out the top three, with the rest to follow via complete randomness:
1. Drink better wine
2. Convince yourself that it is okay to lose everything
3. Learn to pack very lightly
4. Learn to make a sustained impression
5. Treat the power of America lightly
6. Dispose of your dollars
7. Find anyway you can to make love to the woman you love
8. Espresso instead of coffee
9. Let money takes it own course, but master your own sailing
10. Plot a course for dissatisfaction, then avoid it.

Apple Boycott

2010-05-26T23:09:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to lie. I love Apple products. I check Apple Store's refurbished page on a daily basis to look for deals, even if I can't afford them. However, what's happening recently, or rather, the news of employee suicides leaking out of the Foxconn manufacturing enclave in Southern China, is making me reconsider my stupid, whorish obsession with Apple products.

Apple is milking its wildly popular brand recognition to the fullest by unabashedly charging American consumers exorbitant prices for its ornamental internet devices, while turning a blind eye to the working conditions of Chinese workers in its factories. Just because I can surf the internet where ever I want, does not justify that there are workers who have to work like slaves, my countrymen too! In fact, I'd rather not see the internet again, as long as the workers can enjoy the same financial freedom as I do (which is minimum wage in US dollars in San Francisco, but still a lot more than what they are making over there!)

I was close to buying a new iPhone and a MacBook Pro to help with my increased video editing efforts. But now I realize the shortened rendering time for my amateur mp4 files is not worth the consumer guilt I will have, knowing that I've contributed money to Apple's pockets so it can keep on exploiting foreign workers to please American tastes--which are really not worth that much, if you carefully think about it.

Quick wine review: Trader Chilenas 2009 Cabernet

2010-05-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

I like wine a lot. While my recent economic hardship hasn't been hard enough to force that habit out, but it has forced me to buy the cheapest wine possible. This usually means Two Buck Chuck. However, I might have to raise my spending by 30% now because I just discovered the $2.99 Trader Chilenas, once again from you know where. This particular bottle is a 2009 Cab. I was first of all most attracted to its pretty label. Usually, for wine in this price range the labeling sucks. Not for this one. The paper was well textured and the artwork showed real craftsman ship (or maybe I'm just a gullible cheapo) Even then, I still had to debate whether this was worth the extra DOLLAR.

Well, it definitely was. Upon immediate de-corking I was able to discern a weak, but still noticeable hint of oak that is completely missing from Charles Shaw wines. I took my first sip with trepidation, and was pleased to find none of the sharp acridness that is associated with cheap S. American wine. To be honest, it was quite smooth, and you even get a pleasant kick of tannins. Again, completely surprising for this price range. I had the wine with pomodoro pasta, which makes any cheap wine good, so it was no surprise that I ate and drank happily (not happily: alone).

I can't make any judgment on acidity of depth because I was too busy snacking and drinking, so busy that I drank the whole bottle within the first hour. Which, never happens for Charles Shaw. In a nutshell, for $3 dollars, this is the best wine I have had, and from now, I will continue to buy it! And why is this related to the theme of my blog? I don't know.

The quietest 25 minutes at Church & Duboce

2010-05-22T02:26:00.000-07:00

48HR magazine party at the Coffee Bar

2010-05-20T00:38:00.000-07:00

Late into the afternoon I was informed of a launch party for the 48HR magazine. An ex-coworker worked on the magazine and she said this "would interest me." Of course! And off I went, back to the Coffee Bar, which coincidentally, I came to two night ago to meet a friend.

This is a shot of "the post-it board" which editor Mat Honan brought. When he came the board was empty, by the left I was leaving at 8pm, it was filled with these stickies. (I contributed my word as well, can you guess which one?)

It was good times, despite the almost too absurd irony of getting a cease-and-desist order from CBS in the morning, regarding the name of "48 Hours." People were happy, proud, as they should be. Talked to some of the contributors, and it was great just see everyone coming together. The magazine's creation is very organic and spontaneous, as was the energy at the party. Since I didn't know too many people I couldn't score any interviews, so here are some (boring) panning shots of the cafe, for those of you who wanted to, but could not make it.

Panel discussion on Asian American Comedians, featuring Samon Koletkar, Tina Kim and Edwin Li

2010-05-19T01:09:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, last week I went to SOMArts to listen to this interesting panel discussion on the work of some emerging Asian American stand up comedians. Well, I'd like to discuss it in a bit more detail.

Much of the discussion focused on stereotypes surrounding Asians in America in general, and how these comedians, whose vocation is to use words to pick apart the often unspeakable and viscous pretensions, as well as matter-of-fact but acutely mundane encounters of a minority, whose existence in any country that is not in his/her native ethnicity, carries unwelcomed, but inevitable baggage.

For the most part, the comedians articulated very well some of their personal stories and how they choose to deal with these impediments. Tina was especially blunt, and in her words I detected a kind of angst that has an origin far deeper than a panel can reveal. On competing with Bobby Lee for a spot on MadTV, she said (my memory is not clear so wording may not be exact) "why would the producers pick me, an Asian woman, when they could have Bobby Lee, who is short, fat and ugly to play a woman. That's funny." And that kind of typecasting of an ethnicity, of a gender, a kind of cruel retrofitting to tender to the lowest common denominators, still rules over emerging, minority entertainers. Samson and Edwin took more mild stances to stereotypes, although you could always hear a tone of acrid resignation, especially in Edwin (Who provided us with another example of jokes involving Asian males' genitals. You know how those things go, I won't say more). He is nice a guy, he doesn't like to be funny through hurting people, he likes to turn subjects of discrimination, into objects of cuteness and desire, an effort I appreciate, and I hope he'll find a greater audience to support his cause. For Samson? Well, you'll have to return to this blog to keep updated on what he has to say. :)

The way I see it, producers are cowards. To them, there are too much money at stake, too many powerful people to please, too big of a crowds to please, and too scared to attempt something new just because nothing new has been demonstrated before that guaranteed success. What does this mean? Producers still cater to a white American audience. Let's see what the new Census offer us in terms of a new demographic break down. Certainly, it is not enough for emerging Asian American entertainers to simply wait for their compatriots to catch up in numbers.

One rather surprising finding that I came across today, was that the top two subscribees on YouTube, are both Asian American. In fact, Asian American teenagers, namely Ryan Higa of nigahiga, and Kevin Wu of KevJumba. (Not gonna link to them, do your own searches)

Both of these kids have huge subscribers base because they make funny videos. What kind of funny videos? Well, mostly self-deprecating and slapstick videos that tether on constant self-parody and media parody, and worst of all, jokes that reinforce stereotypes about Asians without having any informed undercurrents that allow them to derail the omnipresence of these stereotypes. One video featured KevJumba constantly making fun of his father's bad English pronunciation, for the sake of cheap laughs to the video's demographic audience--kids between 13-21 who live in a world of conformity and reinforced, stereotypical social ladders. I wonder if KevJumba ever realizes what his father went through in China to move to the US and raise a family. I wonder if Kevin ever thought about his father's intellectual complexity if he was given a chance to express himself in his native language. No, obviously Kevin hasn't because he got famous very quickly, and to feed that fame he needs props that reinforce what got him famous in the first place--Asian kid being funny. Thus, his father will forever remain the token dopey middle aged Asian father, who is the butt of his son's jokes only because he can't pronounce the words that his sons can. This is such a cruel component to the power of language.

For nigahiga? Well, he's not a first generation/second generation like Kevin, so no jokes about his parents not being able to speak English. What I did notice a lot with Ryan, is his constantly exaggerated facial expressions. They were fun when he was 16, and even back then, most of his expressions were exaggerated, they were simply high-school stupidity transposed. Nowadays, with producers and PR people managing his work and requiring him to maintain audience expectations, Ryan has to put on a face that simply look way too unfitting for a man emerging out of his teens. He's taller and more muscular now than before, so when he puts on a wig or does those eye squints, Ryan displays neither masculinity, or burlesque femininity, if this was his goal--hey Asian men are so sexless let's make him look like neither a man or a woman! In a nutshell, Ryan's acts are getting old and tired. He better develop some acting skills, or fire his management team and start over, this time, as a man who has grown, so have his comedic sensibilities. For Kevin? Same thing. Get rid of your entourages, go back to yourself, and most importantly, respect yourself, not your followers.

The final question I want to ask is, would Ryan and Kevin ever be funny and honest on stage, compared to Samson, Tina or Edwin? This is what I'd like to find out. And this, may lead to something else I'll talk about down the line. A project called "Am I funny enough for your advertising dollars?" or "Am I funny enough to get laid?"

Stuff you see on the streets

2010-05-16T22:05:00.000-07:00

And here we have the latest blockbuster, called Avatar, from the director of Titanic, James, CAMERO!

Also, I've been thinking alot about the merits of video journalism, maybe even write an article on it. Not the traditional kind as you see on 60 Minutes or Dateline, but the ones by people who have video-capable dSLRs, ala those being done at Mission Local. Anyone know other video-reportage heavy blogs that I can read upon for references?

A mini tour of SOMArts in San Francisco

2010-05-15T00:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I dropped by SOMArts to check out a panel discussion organized by my friend Carlos Cajilig, called Next Generation Asian American Comedians. This was my first time to SOMArts, in fact, I ashamedly admit, the first time I had heard about it. I always knew that SOMA was an area where artists thrived in post-industrial spaces, kind of similar to other warehouse art spaces, such as the 798 in Beijing, which I had frequented somewhat when I was living there.

Little did I know that SOMArts is in the same complex as Trader Joe's, which happens to be the first TJ's I'd ever gone to. As soon as you turn into the little driveway off Brennan street, you enter the courtyard that leads to SOMArts, which is really quite a charming space, with neat and tasteful garden decorations and installations. Once inside, it was rather what I expected--high and wide vertical spaces, perfect for large scale art exhibition, a kitchen that's great for receptions, and a little stage.

The panel took place on the little stage (which I think would just be so, so sweet for film showings, comedy shows, theater, gosh, possibilities are endless!), and before that, I got to tour the current exhibition a little bit, and took some photos. If you've never been into a warehouse art exhibition space, then you owe yourself to check out a place like this. I'll save comments on the art for later day, for now I'm just happy to be in a liberating space like SOMArts, after eight hours of sitting in an office. (Although my general take from the displayed work, is that Asian American artists seem to be shouting in unity one sentence: Why The Fuck Am I Asian and Why The Fuck Am I In America?! Or, Why Am I Asian in America. Well, this I completely agree with!)

Anyway, slideshow below:

Protest against BP outside my office!

2010-05-12T20:26:00.000-07:00

Came out of the office at 5, and guess what I saw? A protest, against whom? BP!

Lady in the elevator told me that BP has an office, just a floor above ours. Of course, my response to the Gulf Spill has been one of fear, despair, anger, frustration, and a sense of grave catastrophe. Well, nothing so far in the past two weeks have qualmed my fears either, thanks to the countless mishaps and setbacks encountered by the clean up team.

Well, this was not my first protest in San Francisco, but it's always good to see people voicing their opinion about something, especially a historic, tragic event like this spill. Worst of all, British Petroleum's executives are shifting the blame to the "other" with the hope that through constant evasion, they may just get out of this mess unscathed. Well, I really hope, that karma is a bitch. Let's all pray for that.

There are...Tonight

2010-05-11T23:53:00.000-07:00

Once I read a poem by a mate during my first year at UMass Amherst, titled "There Are Dogs Tonight." For some reason, I find it fitting for this picture. There are many things tonight. In my room, smell of blown candle, soiled socks, cable clutter, belching hard drives, of course no dogs, but outside some organism is jumping over the fence of the yard seeking something to nibble on.

Even if this picture was taken in the morning, it was bound to go forward, move, assault, and delve. To become night again is to admit to spoken verses, to pass through night is to turn hemorrhage into cachet.

Do you drink the sample coffe at Trader Joe's?

2010-05-11T00:02:00.000-07:00

Okay. Pretty much everyone does. Why not? It's delicious, it's hot, and it's free. Why spent $1.50 to get a cup you can't finish, when you can stroll through TJ's and get an instant kick of energy?

The free coffee is one of my favorite things about the store. Today, when I made my usual stop on the one at Geary & Masonic, I noticed something I'd never noticed before - spilled coffee and cream on the serving pedestal (is that what they are called or am I just making this too complicated?)

Anyway, you be the judge. I think they look interesting.

A review of "Still Walking" by Hirozaku Kore-eda

2010-05-09T01:34:00.000-07:00

I can't think of another recent film that resembles too much the culture that it attempts to meditate upon, that the end result becomes a formless mass of polite inaction. Politeness and inaction, two things Godard would never approve of, nor would I.

Here we have a very well reviewed film from Japan, from a very respected, and relatively young film director. Unfortunately, for a film that draws intensely from minute (thus invariably) petty family dynamics, it falls under the weight of its own over-elaborateness. Case in point, the luscious shots of food which open the film, continue throughout, but their existence serves no purpose of conflict or drama, unlike food in Ang Lee's Eat Drink, Man Woman. If this was coming from a western director, I'd be willing to make excuses, but from a Japanese? Does he not understand that his carefully photographed images end up, embarrassingly, as mere cultural porn? As if we don't find enough images of Japan to go ga-ga over already. ( Just so you know, Flickr's most tagged item, is Japan) This is where I think Takeshi Miike, at least with his work from 1998-2002, deserves to more recognition than Koreeda--Simply, he does not make movies to appease naive eyes and minds.

At the same time, I also question, whether Kore-eda had simply made too much of a "Japanese" film, and within the rigid cultural restraints that he venerated and was all too aware of, cinematic possibilities were sacrificed in order to make the film conform to what Japan "should" be. Sadly, by putting all his eggs into one basket and showing us the truest of the truest details about family life in Japan (and I would know!), Kore-eda concedes his work to make it comprehensible to the hollow expectations of those who read travelbooks. (Although even then, I don't know what they get out of it).

What also saddens me, is the visual virtuosity displayed in Nobody Knows, which excited me so much (especially the 400 Blows homages) has been replaced completely by a very cringe-worthy, perfectly composed, I-love-my-dSLR, postcard cinematography. There are moments in the film where I cry out for a long tracking shot as an ominous rhythm in the soundtrack suggests, but too bad, as Kore-eda edits his transitions as if we are watching a slideshow at an antique shop. Again, Kore-eda acts as if he's been watching too many NHK travel specials.

To reinforce this sense of responsibility for his mother-culture, Kore-eda has sacrified his auteurship for curatorship. I won't even go to the big betrayl in the story that happens at the end. Because once again, the grounds for this problematic film is in Kore-eda's elevated mission to keep carrying the flag as Japan's most important film maker.

You can smell the smell of it

2010-05-07T00:28:00.000-07:00

I read this from an AP news article about the oil spill in the Gulf:

"You can smell the smell of it."

Some unintentional wisdom right there, don't you think? It sure reminds me of the same kind of unintentional brilliance in Errol Morris' Gates of Heaven, specifically this clip below:

On an unrelated note...

I went on a photo binge today. Walked from Market to Van Ness, then bused to Masonic, Irving & 25th, then back to my pad. Along the way, about 240 photos were snapped. I think I should forget about ever shooting with my OM-1, because at the rate my camera shutter clicks, I'll be broke before I get to develop a single roll of film.

While I had some interesting photos, nothing fascinated me more than the typography of bus stops on the side walk here. See for yourself if these are cryptic alien codes or not! They sure don't look like Ma's letters to me!

A romp in the MoMA

2010-05-04T23:09:00.000-07:00

Today was Tuesday, the first Tuesday of the month. This meant free admission at the San Francisco Museum of Art. I went. Of course, I'd been meaning to go for a while, especially as its 75th anniversary Muse campaign series slowly grew on me over the weeks.

I arrived at 5:35pm, and was told that I only had 25 minutes left. Somehow I thought it closed at 8. No matter, it was enough time for me to absorb something interesting, something different from the daily office reports.

For 25 minutes I was very impressed by a piece of work, from an artist in the so called Mission School. A little search on MoMA's site tells me that it's an installation by an artist named Barry McGee, called Untitled. All I can say is that this piece of work is visually impactful, and in its imposing physical installation, true emotions can be felt. In fact, I loved it. (I was surprised to find out that this was made in 1996. Somehow, the pictures of the Al Qaeda baseball jersey immediately gave me the impression that this was a post-911 production)

Anyway, pictures below, from my little 25 minute romp at the MoMA.

Made in the U.S.A.

2010-05-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

6 years ago, I feverishly assailed a thirty-year old film school graduate, for wanting to make movies that only reflected artistic impressions. At that point, I was very much story focused, very much confident of my ability to create and deliver my stories.

Six years later, as I approach thirty, I find myself more and more drawn to impressionistic video making. Partly, this comes from the struggles of commercially delivering a story, and even, the struggles of living a financially viable life.

How things change, how ashamed I am sometimes of the zeal of youth, the short period of infallible belief that sustains the age between twenty and twenty-two. Now, three months before I turn twenty-seven, I sit alone, wordless.

May Day protest in San Francisco

2010-05-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

Today was the International Workers Day. Back when I was living in China, this was a day of celebration. I remember gigantic marches that blocked all of Tiananmen Square, fireworks, plenty of bonuses for my parents who took home eel and other exotic foods. The reason for this was simple. The Communist Party's message has always been that it is a party of the people, and the fundamental group of people who make up China and its future, is always the workers. Thus, on May 1, workers are being celebrated.

14 years since my last May 1st celebration, here we are in America, in a democratic society, and instead of a festive mood, we rather have brooding anger, passionate rage, and outright tenacious hatred, not to mention a gigantic oil spill that is about to cripple the whole southern coastline of this country and destroy its already battered environment for GOOD.

Thus, with the stars aligning, a May Day protest took place in San Francisco, not to celebrate the workers, but as a call to action to fight for workers rights, because in America, workers ain't got any. (To be honest, I don't think workers ever had any rights in China. It was, and still is, all rhetoric) Also on the agenda is the big gorilla dominating American politics of the past week, the SB1070 Law that just passed in Arizona, which gives police the right to stop anyone they see fit (read: any non-caucasians, naturally) and check for their legal papers. Personally, I find this law absolutely repulsive, and so do many people. I don't have much more to say on this because the fight against it is already taking place at many places across the country, but what I do have, is a video I made of the demonstration, especially for those of you who are not in San Francisco and have never participated in an immigration parade.

One thing surprised me: ice cream and tamales vendors. You had guys pushing coolers and old ladies with their 3-pack tamales, both making an killing with the crowd. Really economic enterprise.

Here's a video of the demonstration:

Unfortunately, most of the speeches were given in Spanish and no translation was offered, and the few times an English speaker talked, very few from the crowd actually responded. As much as I am supporting this cause, I felt alienated because of the apparent barrier in language and communication. But what you gonna do?

Faulkner is rolling in his grave, and my heart is bleeding

2010-04-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

As if the world is laughing roaringly at me even though my heart is still bleeding, I wrote a very long post, and then my browser crashed, and the autosave was not timely enough and I lost everything...

Back to where the heart was bleeding, The Wild Palms, as you may know, is my favorite novel. What is happening in the Gulf of Mexico now is destroying my belief in many things, and most terribly, I feel as if the steamy and salty coastline of Mississipi and Louisiana that Faulkner gave his genius to, will no longer be the same.

Now, we are all forced to choose grief over nothingness. There is no choice, no Cyanide for everyone, we can only continue, but not because we want grief over a love that has no equal, we accept grief over a desire that has no equal.

What does love have to do with desire? Sometimes everything, sometimes nothing.

He crossed the hall to the bedroom door. There was still no sound save the wind (there was a window, the sash did not fit; the black wind whispered and murmured at it but did not enter, it did not want, did not need to). She lay on her back, her eyes closed, the nightgown (that garment which she had never owned, never worn before) twisted about her just under the arms, the body not sprawled, not abandoned, but on the contrary even a little tense. The whisper of hte black wind filled the room...

--The Wild Palms (1939), William Faulkner

My feature in San Francisco Weekly

2010-04-29T23:54:00.000-07:00

As some of you may have noticed, I was a Local News item on The Snitch yesterday. All thanks go to Joe Eskenazi!

I'd be lying to say that I am not in the least excited. I mean, this is my first ever public appearance as a photographer!! Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

Read all about it here:

San Francisco Shadows Enchants Ian Wang

2010-04-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

More I think about this video more I dislike it. Unethical or bad taste? I don't know. But trying to hard to convince a cynical public? Sure. Nike has literally turned a person's privacy (we are talking multiple levels here: spouse and parents) into a brand. Is this what happens when a celebrity signs a big sponsorship contract? No wonder the dam bursts all the time.

How to Save San Francisco

2010-04-06T21:52:00.001-07:00

An Attempt to edit a bad poem into another bad one.

2010-03-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

Her moans brightly spread out of the window
and excite the man on the grass

He records them, with shimmering silver
that's sturdier than chemicals.

Nothing else is to happen now. Round
headlights come on. The nation is
hungry. We refuse a mistake.
We mark out a path to logic.
Collectively, here's
a comedic good night.

Announcing the new blog by Ian Wang

2010-03-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

I contemplated on buying up my own domain, but due to my current dire financial situation, a free blog just work much more in my favor. So book mark this, and forget the UMass Blog forever!

The Road To Kewalo

2008-08-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

This first post is only to contain texts for us to know what will come later.