Today - ahhh... never have I felt so satisfied and contented.
Three events are worthy of note -
Talk by Sir David Attenborough
Have you heard of Sir David Attenborough? No? *smack!* Famous British naturalist, host of documentary series such as Life of Birds, the Blue Planet, Life of Mammals... etc etc... and imho the next best thing to Charles Darwin himself. Well anyway... today, he, himself, in person, gave a talk at the Royal Society, and I was there! 'Twas about 'Perception, deception and reality'... the online on-demand video of the lecture's available. It's extremely educational, full of good humour, selected video clips from his documentaries, and it makes you think. It has changed the angle from which I view nature documentaries.
The lecture synopsis reads:
"Once, technical inadequacies led natural history film-makers to distort events or even invent them in their attempts to convey an impression of reality. Today, film and video equipment has reached such perfection that most of those early problems have been solved. Now it is possible to show things that are not only invisible to the naked eye but that have never in fact occurred. How far can - or should - film-makers manipulate images and events in order to convey deeper truths?"
While waiting in the cloak room, a stream of VIPs came down the stairs. Xiyu and I were reading their name badges. Lots of famous people - Richard Dawkins, this-and-that Professor, the 'Tax Collector', and some other names which I've definitely seen before, either on T.V. or from books and journals. We felt so priviledged... hehe. Too bad we didn't take any photos.
-------------
The Last Samurai
At first I thought I had to sacrifice it to attend Attenborough's talk. But apparently the timing was just right - so we made it. Nothing much to comment on this one though... I don't know what to say. One part of me shouts out, "Hollywood fairytale-ending-type fiction story!" and the other gives a big nod. Gory (though still nothing compared to Black Hawk Down or Band of Brothers) and lots of people with bright red blood splurting out... shown in slow motion... it's a little too dramatic. A sea of Japanese Samurai... and one American in the midst. The whole cinema giggled when they saw Tom Cruise in the Samurai armour. And the Japanese couple behind me laughed at the simple, but overly-formal Japanese used in the dialogues. But it was still a good film... you come to feel for the Japanese, and for their Samurai culture. Cinematically-speaking, it was great. The themes are too common though - honour, the struggle between duty and personal beliefs... that kind of thing. The events and ending are all too predictable... the title says it all. It wouldn't have made it had Cruise not been in it.
-------------
It snowed in London!
Yep, it snowed last night, and it snowed again when we were waiting outdoors to get into the Royal Society! Little drops and specks of ice... "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..." ;) What fun! Our coats and umbrellas were covered with snow... my fingers were so cold, I could hardly feel anything. When they warmed up and turned red, I felt like I just went skiing. Brrr... everything was carpeted with snow - cars, statues, the pavement... the streets were so slippery that the snow actually started to get annoying. On the way back from the cinema, Lu, Wing Kit and I tried throwing little snowballs at each other. Hahaa... hope it'll snow again... and in the daytime. But just once will do. It's getting too cold.
Here's a shot of Prince's Gardens with my hall in the background:
[click!]
<< Home