Archive for August, 2004
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IKEA-like periodic table.
By Karen | Monday, August 30th, 2004 | 1 Comment »
Want to buy this for me? It’s only $40-80K USD…
Hero
By Karen | Sunday, August 29th, 2004 | No Comments »
Finally saw a movie worth writing about on Karl’s Entertainment Division.
I walked into Hero with as little knowledge as possible of what I was about to see. Knew it was produced by Tarantino and that Jet Li was in the midst of it all. So steeling myself for another violent film, I sat through the 20 mins of dumb trailers and commercials. Boy, was I taken by surprise.
It was fantastic. Captivating on many levels. I think “beautiful” is the best word I could use to describe it. The cinematography and symbolism were breathtaking; the sparse dialogue was well-written and demanded emotionally moving performances by the actors; and the fight scenes, while technically impressive, struck me more by the beauty and elegance of the movements. The plot pays tribute to Kurosawa and Rashomon, but doesn’t overdo it. When there is violence and bloodshed, still, the only appropriate word is “beautiful”.
I’m planning on seeing it again. There was a great deal of colour symbolism in the film that I couldn’t fully comprehend; perhaps from a lack of cultural perspective. Kurt and I argued for a solid hour about the meaning of the colours. Was it Eastern symbolism? Western symbolism? Just plain asthetic? (shrug) You’ll see what I mean when you see it.
I’d like to say a lot more but it would give too much of it away. Just go and see it. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it as much as we did.
Movies and senility.
By Karen | Sunday, August 29th, 2004 | 5 Comments »
Went to Metrotown yesterday to see Hero. It was amazing! Go and see it. If you want to read more about why I liked it, read my post on Karl’s Entertainment Division blog.
Before the movie, I went to Chapters to pick out a random book for my home library. Decided on Flowers for Algernon. LFAers might remember that we read an excerpt of this book in high school English; it had been that long since I had thought about this book, too. Well, back then I was emotionally moved by the story and thought that maybe it was time to read the whole book.
I’m a little scared about finishing it. It’s about Charlie Gordon, an intellectually stunted man in his 30s who volunteers himself as a guinea pig for a neuroscientific experiment. If successful, his below-70 IQ would increase to genius levels. He’s asked to write progress reports almost every day of the project. The book is written as the collection of Charlie’s reports as the surgery occurs and the results unfold. From the high school excerpt, I already know that the experiment will only work for the short term before his intelligence regresses and who knows what else. This is the part that scares me.
I guess most of my childhood has been marked (traumatized?) by my loneliness at being different. And most of what made me different was my knowledge and precociousness. Blame my parents that I read the 6 blue Popular Science encyclopedias before I reached grade 4. And that I loved to learn and that it didn’t take me long to grasp a new concept. Anyhow, my classmates didn’t like it. I was ostracized for being a know-it-all and a goody-two-shoes, which I fueled by being hostile and giving silent treatments when I got mad. I thought, better to be mad first than to be hurt first by their ridicule. It got worse when I needed glasses and braces and neck gear, and topped off when my mom gave me a ridiculous perm. Oh man, I was an ugly duckling.
Since everyone thought I was too smart, I focussed on taking pride in being knowledgeable and resigned myself to sucking at anything physical (which is inaccurate, now that I turned out to be good at salsa & swing dancing). Even in high school, where academics was highly valued, I felt like a pariah whenever I didn’t study and got a high mark on a test. (I especially remember the grumblings after one senior chemistry test, where I got the top mark and everyone knew I totally forgot to study for it. Someone even told me to stop flaunting it, which was funny because I had learned by gr 9 not to show my marks voluntarily.)
The point is, what I consider to be me became very closely linked to my mental abilities. In university, I sought the company of opinionated intellectuals, who talked about topics I was ignorant in, such as history and politics, so I could just sit back and listen to the conversation, rather than talk too much about my own opinions. I didn’t want to feel like a know-it-all or be left out anymore. In the work force, I chose a field where knowledge capital is respected and essential, rather than ridiculed. I wanted to be a “nerd” and be accepted for it.
So anyway, back to the book, which is all about the rise and fall of one man’s cognitive awareness. I REALLY don’t want to go out like that. As much as I am scared of drowning, suffocation, war, and overexposure (um, death, really), the worst thing I could imagine for myself is to die with the mindset of a child. To look at my family and friends and not remember everything that made me love them and cherish them. I hope I never get Alzheimer’s or get senile before I pass away. I hope my loved ones don’t have to hurt because I look at them like they were strangers. That would be terrible!
I will still read it, though, and hopefully get a deeper appreciation of the abilities I was given, and root out some more of that guilt from childhood from being “too smart”.
Need something for my large rack.
By Karen | Tuesday, August 24th, 2004 | 2 Comments »
Never thought I’d be the one to say that, but yes, I need help finding a draining tray for a dish rack we bought at IKEA.
The bottom is 20″ by 12″. Superstore in Metrotown doesn’t have anything, nor does IKEA itself (well, they do have one, but it’s gigantic). If you or your folks have any leads for us, please post a comment. Thanks.
On another household note, Kurt just finished the 2nd coat of blue paint in our bedroom. Will post pics in the gallery once we’re done sprucing up the place. There’s a lot to do, so don’t hold your breath.
New photo gallery…again.
By Karen | Saturday, August 21st, 2004 | 1 Comment »
Last time, I signed up for Sony’s ImageStation photo gallery, which offered unlimited space and is free to use. Everything was going well until Mel and the other Hamiltons told me that they had to create an Imagestation account to view the albums. I knew there had to be a catch!
So now I’ve found fotopic.net, which is the gallery that Jonny has been using for a while. The space quota is 250MB so that should last us until I start making the bucks to afford their premium service. Here it is. You can visit it from my main page as well as through the “photo gallery” link on the sidebar. I will post more pictures as I locate the photo CDs in our still-packed-up boxes.
Settling in.
By Karen | Monday, August 16th, 2004 | 2 Comments »
It’s been almost 2 weeks in Vancouver (Burnaby). We are starting to settle into a routine…I’m full-time this month with BMO Bank of Montreal, at a branch 10 mins away on Hastings & Willingdon. It’s a small branch with really great people. I surely lucked out, since they were willing to hire me before they even met me, and are also willing to have me part-time during my last SFU semester. So if you need someone to take care of your banking / investment / borrowing needs, think of me!
Kurt is doing fine. He’s been the one unpacking and cleaning house while I’m at work. Still job hunting for a nice, friendly CA-accredited accounting firm. He’s got a lead through his dad’s network of contacts, and when he spoke to her today, she seemed very excited that he’s interested in working for them. This afternoon, a client of mine heard about Kurt’s job hunt and gave me his card. My client is not in accounting but as a consultant, happens to know a few firms in Vancouver that may be hiring. We exchanged cards; hopefully Kurt will gain some more leads from that conversation. Yay networking!
We finally got our furniture last Thursday afternoon. My dresser top is worse for wear, as the tape the movers put on the boards tore off a huge chunk of beech veneer. Our red IKEA chair has a giant black scuff mark and the fabric along the mark is also roughed up a bit. One of our picture frames of Winnipeg scenery is AWOL–they apparently forgot to tag it and now could be anywhere in Western Canada. Ah well…it’s OVER, and our electronics are safe and sound, so I guess we got through the move alright.
We have already started socializing. Hung out at Mountain Shadow and with Jay and Erik in our first week. Then with Ching-Yin and Kevin to Rugby’s the next evening. Went to visit (worship?) IKEA twice! This past weekend was mostly family time. Said hi to half the Clement Clan and shared amusing stories about our childhood. Hung out with my dad on Saturday. On Sunday, watched his Kathara performance on Granville Island. It was pretty neat. They should think about the Folk Fest; Kurt says they’d fit right in. And he thought his dad was a hippie 
Also had lunch with Lola. It was really nice to see my grandmother again, and she of course is her usual hyper self. We went to her favourite Vietnamese place on Main and King Edward, where she introduced us to the owners and filled us in on Clement family goings-on. In between conversation she busied herself with piling more food onto Kurt’s plate. He was soooo full after that meal!
Another thing about Lola…she really likes to spoil her grandkids. She took advantage of every opportunity to bestow us with something. When we picked her up, she had a few pairs of shoes and a bag and some blouses ready for me. Kurt received a welcome-to-vancouver card with some money in it. Before we left for lunch, we waited for my aunt to come by with some “ulam” that Lola made for my little brother (who’s renting from my aunt). When the lunch bill came, she insisted on treating us, then gave us each a “tip” to buy “candy” at Granville Island. Finally, as we drove her home, Kurt noticed that she was shuffling around in her wallet…sure enough, she pushed another $20 at us for “ice cream” at Granville Island. She’s so funny.
Tonight, we’ll be hanging out with Nicole from Winnipeg while she’s in town for a family reunion. Probably going back to Rugby’s for dinner. If you’ve never been there, I highly recommend it. That’s it for now!
Cool King’s Quest-y game.
By Karen | Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004 | No Comments »
Again, a neat link from Justin’s blog.
If you get stuck like I did (stupid hay bale) you can check out a walkthru here. But don’t use it unless you’re really stuck, cause that’s just cheating.
If you get the meatball sub, try it on the naked man and tell me what happens. Hmm, interesting sentence. Anyhow, enjoy.
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