Yesterday I went to Alan's house for the first time ever. He was throwing a little Hong Kong movie soiree, showing his copy of Twins Effect and my copy of Twins Effect II. Many other high definition video wonders were shown, but Twins Effect was the impetus. The supplied links give detailed and reasonably fair reviews of the two movies. I for one laughed myself hoarse.
These are a pair of cheesy fantasy action movies starring a couple of cute pop stars and their male counterparts. It's funny that I watched these so soon after New Police Story, as it seems that the stable of 'actors' in all these movies came from the same pool, the Emperor Entertainment Group, a multimedia conglomerate that is pushing it's pop stars into movies as fast as it can.
I won't be doing this sort of gathering in another blue moon. I was only able to do it this time as Jean and Kelly are in Michigan visiting Jean's parents. On the plus side, I have the flexibility to go to an all day impromptu film festival. On the minus side, I dropped them off at the airport on Wednesday, and I miss them a whole lot about now. And there's five more days to go!
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Ketchup Experimentation
I recently re-read an essay by Malcolm Gladwell, one of my favorite non-fiction authors. The essay in question is The Ketchup Conundrum. In it, Gladwell explores why there are several successful variations on the theme of mustard, but the standard model for ketchup, Heinz, reigns supreme. I don't think he really answered the question, what makes mustard different, to my satisfaction. But his explanation for ketchup makes at least superficial sense. Ketchup (and here I mean the mainstream variety we generally think of when we hear the word) has nearly equal parts of each of the five basic flavor notes: salt, bitter, sweet, sour and umami (protein). In addition the Heinz formulation carefully blends these notes, so that no one stands out so much higher than the others that we can instantly recall it -- and grow tired of it.
Does this mean that specialty ketchups are inferior to mainstream ketchup? As a condiment, perhaps. If you think of them as sauces, they stand on their own, like a spaghetti sauce. But since we almost exclusively think of ketchup in the condiment role, specialty ketchups labor under a handicap. In fact, when considered solely as an artisan food, some of these ketchups seem quite appetizing. Consider Gladwell's signal example, World's Real Ketchup:
I might not drop several bucks having a jar shipped to my doorstep, but it does make me want to try cobbling together an artisan ketchup myself! Since Gladwell mentions a renowned tomato historian who also has written books on tomato cooking, I looked him up at the library, and found Pure Ketchup: A History of America's National Condiment, with Recipes by Andrew F. Smith. So look for my experiments in the near future!
Does this mean that specialty ketchups are inferior to mainstream ketchup? As a condiment, perhaps. If you think of them as sauces, they stand on their own, like a spaghetti sauce. But since we almost exclusively think of ketchup in the condiment role, specialty ketchups labor under a handicap. In fact, when considered solely as an artisan food, some of these ketchups seem quite appetizing. Consider Gladwell's signal example, World's Real Ketchup:
[..] He starts with red peppers, Spanish onions, garlic, and a
high-end tomato paste. Basil is chopped by hand, because the buffalo
chopper bruises the leaves. He uses maple syrup, not corn syrup, which
gives him a quarter of the sugar of Heinz. He pours his ketchup into a
clear glass ten-ounce jar, and sells it for three times the price of
Heinz, and for the past few years he has crisscrossed the country,
peddling World's Best in six flavors--regular, sweet, dill, garlic,
caramelized onion, and basil--to specialty grocery stores and
supermarkets. [...] The ratio of tomato solids to liquid in World's
Best is much higher than in Heinz, and the maple syrup gives it an
unmistakable sweet kick.
I might not drop several bucks having a jar shipped to my doorstep, but it does make me want to try cobbling together an artisan ketchup myself! Since Gladwell mentions a renowned tomato historian who also has written books on tomato cooking, I looked him up at the library, and found Pure Ketchup: A History of America's National Condiment, with Recipes by Andrew F. Smith. So look for my experiments in the near future!
New Police Story
Lazy getting around to writing this one up. I watched most of this movie on the plane back from Expo, then finished it up Thursday afternoon. I also watched most of the DVD extras Thursday too (a behind-the-scenes feature, a making-of short, trailers and music video).
There are two kinds of Jackie Chan movies. Serious and comic. In both veins you'll see stunts and martial arts to one degree or another. The Police Story movies have been Jackie's big 'serious' works, and feature drama, stunts and some martial arts. This is not so say that humor is banned from these films, as Jackie Chan made his name with his signature humor. But he tried to establish himself as a serious actor as well, here.
Nailing down a filmography of Police Story movies is difficult, as Jackie Chan and others freely relabel his cop movies, both into and out of this franchise. So it's hard to say how many are 'really' part of the Police Story universe. But the Love HK Film review of the original Police Story links to four films, not counting New Police Story. While hardly definitive, I pretty much agree with this list:
To date, I'd have said that Police Story and Supercop were the two best movies in the cycle, and I haven't seen anything to change my mind. New Police Story is entertaining enough, to the mind of a Hong Kong action movie fan like myself, but it is not a sterling example. Read the linked reviews for more detail, but I think Jackie is finally stepping back from his stuntman, martial arts glory days. The movie is as much an ensemble cast as any he's ever had. True, some of his early work with Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung depended on teamwork, but here, the reliance is on pretty faces and hammy pose striking.
Interesting, though not surprising after all these years, were the behind the scenes documentaries showing Jackie wearing harnesses for every stunt (which were then digitally removed from the film). Jackie works with a net! Now I'm feeling my age.
There are two kinds of Jackie Chan movies. Serious and comic. In both veins you'll see stunts and martial arts to one degree or another. The Police Story movies have been Jackie's big 'serious' works, and feature drama, stunts and some martial arts. This is not so say that humor is banned from these films, as Jackie Chan made his name with his signature humor. But he tried to establish himself as a serious actor as well, here.
Nailing down a filmography of Police Story movies is difficult, as Jackie Chan and others freely relabel his cop movies, both into and out of this franchise. So it's hard to say how many are 'really' part of the Police Story universe. But the Love HK Film review of the original Police Story links to four films, not counting New Police Story. While hardly definitive, I pretty much agree with this list:
- Police Story (1985)
- Police Story 2 (1988)
- Police Story 3: Supercop (1992)
- Police Story 4: First Strike (1996)
- New Police Story (2004)
To date, I'd have said that Police Story and Supercop were the two best movies in the cycle, and I haven't seen anything to change my mind. New Police Story is entertaining enough, to the mind of a Hong Kong action movie fan like myself, but it is not a sterling example. Read the linked reviews for more detail, but I think Jackie is finally stepping back from his stuntman, martial arts glory days. The movie is as much an ensemble cast as any he's ever had. True, some of his early work with Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung depended on teamwork, but here, the reliance is on pretty faces and hammy pose striking.
Interesting, though not surprising after all these years, were the behind the scenes documentaries showing Jackie wearing harnesses for every stunt (which were then digitally removed from the film). Jackie works with a net! Now I'm feeling my age.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Ugh
My modus operandi is to attend Jean's family reunion on even years, and Anime Expo on odd years. This means that the next Expo I've got in my queue is Anime Expo 2007. But now I learn that AX2007 will most likely be held at the Long Beach Convention Center. My gripe is that it just ain't as friendly a location. The pedestrian opportunities are less (no Downtown Disney, for instance) and the staff of the LBCC is pretty rude. So just 'ugh'.
Who got the Anaheim Convention Center for 2007? According to a post on the Anime News Network forums by someone claiming to be on the SPJA staff, nicknamed xstylus [okay, a little Googling turns up:Troy Williams (XStylus) -AX2004 American VIP Relations Mgr. - troy.williams@spja.org], the Shriners booked the ACC for 2007 as early as 2003. So the message is "don't mess with the Shriners."
Who got the Anaheim Convention Center for 2007? According to a post on the Anime News Network forums by someone claiming to be on the SPJA staff, nicknamed xstylus [okay, a little Googling turns up:Troy Williams (XStylus) -AX2004 American VIP Relations Mgr. - troy.williams@spja.org], the Shriners booked the ACC for 2007 as early as 2003. So the message is "don't mess with the Shriners."
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Hostess with the Mostest
At the request of Dawn, I present this cropped picture of Adam and friend, in the lobby of Ariel's Grotto. Adam gets the full, uncropped originals, and if he wants to show Dawn, she can ask him nicely.
And while I have a few other pictures with Adam, they are not with "hottie chicks". That would be a job for his "official biographer". <smirk/>
And while I have a few other pictures with Adam, they are not with "hottie chicks". That would be a job for his "official biographer". <smirk/>
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
NCLEX
While everybody I know pretty much knows this by now, I'll make it official. Jean took her NCLEX test last Wednesday, and found out the following day that she'd passed! In all the confusion of my trip, I forgot to write an entry informing my scant readership. So it's official. Jean is a recognized professional nurse.
Jean, I thank you for all the hard work you've put in, and I'm immensely proud of you!
Jean, I thank you for all the hard work you've put in, and I'm immensely proud of you!
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