Banff World Television Festival - 2008 Master Class Lineup

[via BWTVF] (links added)

Banff World Television Festival [June 8 - 11, 2008] Announces 2008 Master Class Lineup to include:
Doug Ellin, Creator/executive Producer, Entourage;
Hart Hanson, Creator/showrunner, Bones;
Michael Poyres, Creator/exec Producer, Hannah Montana;
Stephanie Savage, Executive Producer/co-showrunner, Gossip Girl;
Craig Wright, Creator/showrunner, Dirty Sexy Money

All these master classes are great chance to learn. For me, the "must see" is the one with Doug Ellin, Creator/executive Producer, Entourage.

Master-Class with Allan King

I had a wonderful experience taking part in the master-class with the documentary filmmaker Allan King this past Saturday. If you love documentary film making and have a chance to take Allan's master, I highly recommend taking it. Allan has been making documentary films for over 50 years! You can check out his website for his filmography, bio, and his collection trailer.

Meeting Michael Geist - Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Just learned that Michael Geist, the man who makes Copyright "sexy" in Canada (and probably the world) will be in Calgary this Wednesday to give two talks. So I immediately contacted Michael and he was wonderful in agreeing to a "meet up" so Calgarians can have a chance to meet and chat with him.

Please sign up at the Facebook event so we know how many people are coming.

Date: Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: Starbucks Coffee at the downtown Westin Hotel
Address: 320 4th Ave. SW, Calgary

Canadian Girls Kick Ass

Canada's Jennifer Jones team had a great game today and beat China's Bingyu Wang team 7-4 to win the world curling championship. And I agree with Kent Gilchrist that we should "welcome global growth of curling, not fear it". I think it is too narrow-minded to stop teaching other countries and helping them to be better players. Reminded me of the Bruce Lee character in the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story being scolded and disowned by other Chinese Kung Fu masters for teaching Chinese martial arts and giving away the "secrets" to foreigners. I think Canadians are more generous in our hearts and are willing to risk losing in order to see the general level of game improved.

Congratulations to team Canada skip Jennifer Jones, lead Dawn Askin, second Jill Officer, and third Cathy Overton-Clapham. I am so proud of you ladies.

For more info, see Team Jennifer Jones website.

P.S. It should be noted that the Chinese team was really good but the Canadian team was simply better on Sunday.

*******

March 31 update: CBC attracts record audience for curling final.

Tales of a Chinese Purchaser, Episode 7 (買手的故事, 第7集)

In episode 7, we talk about

• Case: The metal enclosure of a central vacuum cleaner system (案例：中央吸塵系統的金屬外殼)
• The advantage of using smaller and less automated factory (較小規模和較少的自動化工廠的優點)
• The making of a rather unique stainless steel key (生產特別的不銹鋼鑰匙)

You can click here to listen to episode 7 of the program in mp3 (or you can download or stream the program here).

*******

Program Info:

My friend Simon has worked as a Hong Kong-based purchaser for over 30 years before his retirement. Simon has agreed to record a series of Chinese audio shows/podcasts call “Tales of a Chinese Purchaser 買手的故事“ to share his years of experiences and insights in purchasing and working with Chinese factories.

(Note: This program has been recorded in the Cantonese dialect.)

“Lust, Caution” actress Tang banned in China

No one knows for sure if it was the sex scenes in Lust, Caution or being “unpatriotic” (to play someone “beautifying” those who had collaborated with the enemies in war) that caused actress Tang Wei to be banned in China (see news reports here, here, here, and here). What we know is the devastating effect of being deemed a “non-person” by China’s state censor (emphasis added),

“An order also went out banning any promotion of the actress, and newspaper websites were told to remove stories mentioning her. Websites also took down discussions of the ban, while attempts to search for her name on Google News were also blocked.“

Here is a trailer of Lust, Caution.

We in Canada shouldn’t be so smug as the Harper government is also trying to use Bill C-10 to censor artists’ creative freedom.

Chinese Girls Kick Ass

In the world of curling, a sport that has been spoofed as "silly" in film, Canadian girls are the ones that kick ass. Now, a team of "newbie" Chinese girls are kicking our Canadian girls' asses. Oh no, that hurts! I am not going to look for any excuses, the Chinese girls, in particular China skip Bingyu Wang, were simply better in the game yesterday.

Now, Canada just have to win this afternoon against Japan (we beat Japan 7 to 4 in the round robin on March 26) so we can have a rematch against China tomorrow. I am rooting for the Canadian girls (the home team and underdogs this time around). My better half is rooting for the Chinese team. (big smile)

May the better team tomorrow wins.

*******

Update: Canada beats Japan 9-8 to face China again tomorrow.

Paranoid Passion

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay launches a new restaurant in Versailles, but an acid review from famed French critic threatens to sour the occasion. See news from The Age, AFP, and an AFP video. Plus a quote of the day by head chef Simone Zanoni,

"May be paranoid passion to achieve perfection in every single thing that you do."

Adobe Photoshop Express Beta

Worth trying out the online and free Adobe Photoshop Express Beta. It stores up to 2 GB of images, with some limitations.

[via dpreview]

My Sassy Girl Trailer

The original Korean film My Sassy Girl is one of my favourite romantic comedy with a different twist. Hollywood is remaking it starring Elisha Cuthbert. Quoting Moriarty at AIC, “If Elisha Cuthbert can pull this off, she’ll change her career, and if she doesn’t, the film won’t work. Tall order, if you ask me.” I think the film is also difficult to “translate” culturally too. Will see.

Here is a trailer of the original Korean My Sassy Girl. A film that I highly recommend.

Here is a trailer of the Hollywood remake.

P.S. Writing this entry lead me to think of “The Lake House” which is the Hollywood remake of the Korean “Siworae” (a better film if you ask me).

P.P.S. The Korean filmmakers are probably feeling proud, just as Hong Kong filmmakers (when Scorsese remade HK's "Infernal Affairs" into his Oscars winning "The Departed").

Marie So and Carol Chyau, co-founders of Ventures in Development, at Kempton’s Virtual Cafe

It was a great delight to chat with Marie So and Carol Chyau, co-founders of Ventures in Development, after I blogged about their ventures in early March. My chat with Marie and Carol on air and off air gave me a great sense of their devotion and joy of being social entrepreneurs (helping people via a profit generating sustainable business). I really admire their effort in helping some very impoverished people in remote western China where there aren’t running water and most basic amenities.

The chat was Kempton’s Virtual Cafe’s first Skype conference call, where Marie called from Hong Kong, Carol called from Shanghai and I was in Calgary. We start our chat with my virtual cup of Tim Horton’s coffee, and Carol and Marie had some tasty yak butter tea (酥油茶) where we chat about their businesses - Mei Xiang Yak Cheese and Shokay (maker of luxury product using yak down (the Tibetan word for yak down is “Shokay”) and there personal experiences.

Please click here to listen to my chat with Marie and Carol (in mp3 audio) (or you can download or stream the program here).

*** Note: My apologies for the poor audio quality in parts of the chat. I have applied some audio magic to try to improve the listening experience but small parts of the chat are still tough to hear (drop outs and time delay, etc). Fortunately, most of the chat has good quality audio.

Links: 2008-03-26

1. Jim Cramer is still putting random words in random order
2. Companies that use Gmail abroad break the law because PATRIOT makes it possible for US spooks to spy on Google
3. Photos from rotting Chinese theme-park in Orlando - a series of 200+ rather sad pictures
4. Wing On, Hong Kong’s Great Department Store
5. India's Tata Motor to Buy British automakers Jaguar and Land Rover for $2.3 Billion
6. Ta, Ta, Jaguar
   

Guardian: Seven days not in Tibet

Nice video reporting by UK Guardian's East Asia correspondent Jonathan Watts: Seven days not in Tibet.

Something about Meryl

Found this group of old wonderful videos.

Jim Carrey at Meryl Streep’s AFI tribute - Wonderfully Hilarious!

Robert de Niro at Meryl Streep’s AFI tribute

Tracey Ullman at Meryl Streep’s AFI tribute

Meryl AFI Speech

Canada’s Next Great Prime Minister

CBC prime time show Canada's Next Great Prime Minister was fun to watch (see their blog). And now you can download the video as a DRM-free (Digital Rights Management-free) file using bittorrent.

Quoting Michael Geist in his Toronto Star column,

The CBC notes that this marks the first time that a North American broadcaster has released a prime-time program in this manner. In doing so, it is demonstrating its willingness to experiment with alternative forms of distribution as it works to meet its statutory mandate that requires the public broadcaster to make its programming "available throughout Canada by the most appropriate and efficient means."

My Starbucks Idea

After founder Howard Schultz came back to be the president and CEO of Starbucks in January to put some magic back, I hope the ideas at mystarbucksidea.com can add some needed love and $$ back as well.

Since the Starbucks blog has only been launched for days, it is particularly nice to see the two things customers want most - some freebies (although not quite free coffees for frequent purchaser) and complementary Wi-Fi will be added soon.

Here is an excerpt from Brad Stevens’ March 24, 2008 entry, (note: why is the entry not linkable and the blog doesn’t have an RSS feed?) (emphasis added in the following excerpt)

So, starting in mid-April, when you pay with your registered Starbucks Card here’s what you’ll get at participating stores:

• Complimentary customization (add selected syrups or modify your milk – soy or breve), on us. For instance, a Tall Vanilla Soy Latte will be the same price as a regular Tall Caffè Latte. A 70-cent savings in most places.
• Free refills on brewed coffee.
• Tall beverage of your choice with the purchase of 1 lb. whole bean coffee.

And in the near future, we’ll be adding complimentary Wi-Fi access—another hot topic on this site.

Links: 2008-03-25

1. Patent Troll Tracker & Cisco's New Blog Policy
2. Courts Resist Using the Term Patent Troll
3. The Complexities Behind JPMorgan’s $10 Bear Offer
4. Is JPMorgan Getting Too Clever?
5. JPMorgan and Bear Test the Limits
6. Bear-JPM: Legal News and Views
7. Judges Released in Pakistan, Chinese Land-Rights Activist Jailed
8. Anti-CNN and the Tibet information war
   

China, Olympics, Tibet, Dalai Lama

I love the above logo and t-shirt design, a real smart twist on a well-known brand.

I truly hope the human rights record will be improved in China. Will see how things change in the months to come.

1. Protesters interrupt ceremony for Beijing Olympics - CBC News with videos
2. Protests overshadow lighting of China's Olympic flame - AFP
3. Protesters disrupt Olympic flame lighting - International Herald Tribute
4. The Dalai Lama's moment of truth - Salon
5. China attacks Dalai Lama - Toronto Star via AP
6. Video from CP: Tibetan supporters denounce China
7. As Tibet Erupted, China Wavered - NYT

Taiwan presidential election ad

The charismatic and handsome Ma Ying-jeou was elected as the new Taiwan president over the weekend. Here is a YouTube video of an election ad (馬蕭競選廣告＊你準備好了嗎？).

This is a fun video clip to watch even if you don’t understand a word of Chinese. The clip has a cheesy look and score of a upbeat movie trailer! It is night and day compare to the style of election ads often used in North America.

Five years of the Iraq war

A powerful production from Reuters - Bearing Witness: Five years of the Iraq war

[via Sacred Facts]

Tales of a Chinese Purchaser, Episode 6 (買手的故事, 第6集)

In episode 6, we talk about

• How to handle new product — Case: Alloy case for motor of garage door opener (如何處理好新產品 — 案例：車房門電動馬達的合金金屬外殼)
• The technical challenges of using a new motor (用新電動馬達技術上的挑戰)
• Economic benefit of sourcing this particular motor in China (在中國購買這電動馬達的經濟利益)

You can click here to listen to episode 6 of the program in mp3 (or you can download or stream the program here).

*******

Program Info:

My friend Simon has worked as a Hong Kong-based purchaser for over 30 years before his retirement. Simon has agreed to record a series of Chinese audio shows/podcasts call “Tales of a Chinese Purchaser 買手的故事” to share his years of experiences and insights in purchasing and working with Chinese factories.

(Note: This program has been recorded in the Cantonese dialect.)

Louise Arbour - Thanks and welcome home

After having a lengthy back and forth discussion with a reader about my last post about Louise Arbour, I am so glad to have found this great audio interview (27:17 minutes mp3 file) of Louise Arbour by CBC's Carol Off (author of a wonderful book about Arbour). Watch the TV edited video interview, also by Carol, here.

Here is the CBC program intro,

"In June, Louise Arbour will come to the end of her term as the U.N.'s High Commissioner of Human Rights. Carol sits down with Ms. Arbour to talk to her about her remarkable career and some human rights concerns around the world."

This may seem a small thing but I think it also shows how small minded the Canadian government seems to be (have a listen to the interview Q&A from 23:22).

While I admire the US Ambassador to UN, John Bolton, in showing some common courtesy when the news of the UNHCHR is leaving was announced, I am actually ashamed of how my small-minded government has disrespected the UNHCHR.

Canada top court tackles Gitmo

1. Top court tackles Gitmo - Toronto Star
2. Guantanamo detention under scrutiny in Canada
3. Guantanamo inmate wins hearing at top Canada court
4. Top court OKs hearing

Spectrum Auction: Google played to lose to win

It may be too early to analyze but Google's willingness to bid the minimum $4.6 billion in the recent 700MHz Spectrum Auction to ensure open wireless access for the C-block of specturm. Quoting Google, "As a result of the auction, consumers whose devices use the C-block of spectrum soon will be able to use any wireless device they wish, and download to their devices any applications and content they wish."

Looks like Google played a nice game for itself and the government. Only time will tell if the win is good for Verizon.

Here are some interesting news to read,

1. The end of the FCC 700 MHz auction - Official Google Public Policy Blog
2. Spectrum Auction: Google wins by losing - CNET News blog
3. Verizon Wins Spectrum Prize
4. Verizon, AT&T win FCC auction, Google wins open spectrum - AFP
5. Verizon's Airwaves Victory May Prove Risky, Goldman Sachs Says - Bloomberg

Canadarm stays Canadian - for 30 more days

Vancouver-based MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. is an amazing world class company. I know from personal experience as I worked there for a few years in the early part of my career. So it was sad to see negative news of MDA planning to sell its Information Systems and Geospatial Services business (including technical teams and know how that built the iconic Canadarm, the newly launched Dextre, and the Radarsat 2 satellite) to Alliant Techsystems (an advanced weapon and space systems company).

Here are some news about the recent delay and an interesting and seems valid legal opinion from Rideau Institute,

• Ruling on sale of Canadarm delayed - TorStar
• Time to ground space firm's sale - National Post
• Ruling on sale of Canadarm, Radarsat to U.S. arms-maker delayed 30 days - Canadian Press - "Nobel laureate John Polanyi delivered a devastating critique of the sale this week: "There are many forms of short-sightedness. Selling your eyes is a rare form," observed one of Canada's most decorated scientists."
• Legal Opinion from the Rideau Institute - ACCESS DENIED: U.S. Law Will Limit Canadian Access to RADARSAT-2 Data if Sale of MDA’s Space Division Proceeds - PDF file
• Access Denied: U.S. Law Will Limit Canadian Access to RADARSAT-2 Data if Sale of MDA's Space Division Proceeds - from Fox Business of all places
• as an aside and for the record, here is a link to MDA Shareholders approve proposed sale transaction

When asked about this potential MDA divisional sale in Calgary recently, the well respected Senator Roméo Dallaire answered that it will be worst than the sale of the Canadian Avro Arrow. Here is an excerpt from the Arrow Wikipedia entry,

Following the Canadian government's cancellation of the Avro Arrow project in 1959, CF-105 Chief Aerodynamicist Jim Chamberlin led a team of 25 engineers to NASA's Space Task Group to become lead engineers, program managers, and heads of engineering in NASA's manned space programs—Projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. This team would eventually grow to 32 Avro engineers and technicians, and become emblematic of what many Canadians viewed as a "brain drain" to the US. Many other engineers, including Jim Floyd (whose design studies at Hawker Siddeley (Avro Aircraft's UK parent) on the HSA.1000 SST design studies were ultimately influential in the design of the Concorde^[20]) found work abroad in either the UK or the United States.

*******

March 23rd update: Marc Garneau, first Canadian astronaut and former head of the Canadian Space Agency, against sale of space technology - from CTV with video.

March 25th update: Here is a 1st March, 2008 CBC Quirks and Quarks program about Dextre (mp3 audio).

Money can buy you happiness - if you spend it on others: study

From CBC news with video,

People are happier when they spend money on others than when they spend it on themselves, a new study by researchers in Canada and the United States suggests.

“Our results suggest that how people spend their money is at least as important for happiness as how much they earn,” co-author Lara Aknin, a master’s student at the University of British Columbia told CBCNews.ca via e-mail. “Therefore, small alterations in your spending choices — even small amounts — can have a significant impact on your happiness level.“

Dr. Randy Pausch’s Congressional testimony

Dr. Randy Pausch’s Congressional testimony [via Randy]

The erosion of Rule of Law in Hong Kong

My better half and I think that criminals should be caught, put on trial, and punished according to law. At the same time, we were forced to wonder if the rule of law in Hong Kong had really been eroded to such a terrible extend as demonstrated in the recent case of the murders of three sex workers. Has the presumption of innocent until proven guilty become such a foreign concept in Hong Kong? Due process? What due process?

News here and excerpt from this article here,

[Nadeem] Razaq's lawyer said his client had been beaten up by Macau police and that he was denied access to legal representation until yesterday morning.

The court was also told no interpreter was provided and that Razaq was forced to make a statement in Cantonese.

Just to be clear, Mr. Razaq may well have been guilty as charged but the way how he had been treated by the police (according to him) just seemed wrong.

China, Olympics, Human Rights, Tibet

I have no doubt China will be changed as a result of the 2008 Olympics (the triple 8 Olympics -- 8th August (the eight month), 08 (number eight for prosperity)) with the spotlight from around the world. It is just difficult to say will it be for the good or bad. I hope it will be for the good but the pessimistic side of me thinks that something good can only happen if key senior Chinese leaders willingly give up some of their power at least in the short term. May be they won't, may be they can't. I just hope they will, and I still hope they can.

Based on news like the following, it is unlikely that things will suddenly quiet down.

• Beijing admits riots spread to provinces, arrests made
• China in 'life and death' battle with Tibetan dissidents, party chief says - from CBC with video
• China: Olympic Torch Route Won't Change
• China Terrorizes Tibet - NYT editorial
• Authorities in Lhasa parade 'repentant rioters' on TV - UK Guardian - with video report
• UK PM Brown tells China he will meet Dalai Lama during London visit - UK Guardian - with video report
• 蘋 論 ： 最 需 要 解 放 思 想 的 是 掌 權 者 - paid subscription required
• More Chinese troops to Tibet
• Harper urges China to 'show restraint' in Tibet - from CBC with video
  

Bill Gates’ Daughter - chain mail hoax

Do you think the above young lady is Bill Gates' daughter? Many people seemed to think so and the photo has been forwarded around the internet via emails and posted on blogs. I think it is purely a time-wasting hoax and I am betting a shiny dollar that it is just a hoax.

First of all, Gates' eldest daughter Jennifer Katharine Gates is not quite 12 years old yet (born in 1996). (Note: see bottom of this Taiwan MSFT page, interestingly the US site has no such info.) And according to this blogger, the charming lady in the above photo is the actress Alyson Stoner and the photos in her official site do show some resemblance.

I think the photos have been forwarded because Bill Gates is rich, the girl is cute, and the act of forwarding the pictures seem so harmless.

May be I am too allergic to chain emails and internet hoaxes, I think the act of forwarding chain mails is harmful as it waste our time, spread lies, and teaches us to be very uncritical of things we read, believe, and then pass on. And in this case, a hoax that involves a 12 years old child just seem so wrong, regardless of who the child's parents are.

The one "possible" side benefit, assuming the lady in the photo is indeed an actress, is that her agent may now have a slightly easier job in getting her new acting assignments as her face is now more familiar with thousands and thousands of people. Even that, if the girl is indeed Alyson, I wonder how she feels about all these misguided attentions?

P.S. Feel free to correct me if I am mistaken in this post. Thanks.

Ryerson student won’t be expelled over Facebook group

As an update to a previous post, it is good to read that the Ryerson student won’t be expelled. May be a good lesson for everyone (not only students at Ryerson) to think about what is acceptable and what is not.

Loving your MacBook Air this much?

I thought I would find something in the news about Charlie’s black eye but I had no idea he got it from saving his MacBook Air. (big smile)

Tales of a Chinese Purchaser, Episode 5 (買手的故事, 第5集)

In episode 5, we talk about

• How to handle new product - Case: Home security system control panel (如何處理好新產品 — 案例：家庭安全系統的控制面板)
• Rejected engineering samples (reasons and solutions) (不可接受的工程樣品（原因及解決方案))
• Cooperation between U.S. engineering and HK purchasing (美國工程部與香港採購的合作)
• A creative solution (有創意的解決辦法)

You can click here to listen to episode 5 of the program in mp3 (or you can download or stream the program here).

*******

Program Info:

My friend Simon has worked as a Hong Kong-based purchaser for over 30 years before his retirement. Simon has agreed to record a series of Chinese audio shows/podcasts call “Tales of a Chinese Purchaser 買手的故事” to share his years of experiences and insights in purchasing and working with Chinese factories.

(Note: This program has been recorded in the Cantonese dialect. And I hope to add the ability to subscribe to this show soon and make it a truly “podcast”.)

*******

Note: Sorry for the delay in posting episode 5.

Bear Stearns and the good old LTCM

Looking at Bear Stearns‘ current trouble reminded me of the mess that Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM) created in 1998. Both companies received bailouts because, as the justification goes, the potential risk of starting a chain reaction that may lead to a meltdown is too high. A failure of one may lead to defaults of the counterparties of the derivative contracts.

Quoting the WSJ (emphasis added),

Of course, the Fed has sponsored bailouts of entities outside its purview before, as when it herded banks to unwind Long-Term Capital Management a decade ago. Then, too, it was concerned about banks’ counterparty exposure to the hedge fund.

That kind of exposure has increased a lot since then through the ballooning derivatives markets. Credit derivatives, which barely existed when LTCM ran aground, now constitute a $50 trillion market, though much of that consists of offsetting contracts. Other derivatives markets have also grown.

This Bloomberg article is a good read as well. Here is an excerpt (emphasis added),

“Lehman has probably the best risk management and has been diversifying for years,” said Mark Williams, a former Federal Reserve official who teaches finance at Boston University School of Management. “But this is no longer about Bear or Lehman. It’s about the erosion and lack of confidence in the financial system. The Wall Street business model is based on ready capital. With rumors, that liquidity they rely on dries up very fast.”

Meeting Senator Roméo Dallaire

It was my great honour to finally meet and hear Senator Roméo Dallaire speak in person. I will blog more later and post a few video clips of his talk at the Engineers without border Calgary chapter event this afternoon.

Darfur/Darfur Calgary opening night

The evening was a great success. I will try to blog some more later when I find some time. In the mean time, I’ve uploaded some photos onto flickr. There are 7 more evenings to check out the free Darfur/Darfur exhibit in Calgary.

You can see the images as a slideshow here.

The Stock Market Crash

YouTube video of The Stock Market Crash

Darfur/Darfur @ Glenbow - tonight to March 21 (from 7 - 11pm)

After months of work and organizing, the Darfur/Darfur multimedia project is finally in Calgary. Starting today until Friday March 21st, every evening from 7:00pm -11:00pm, one hundred fifty photographic images will be projected on the Glenbow Museum building façade facing Stephen Avenue mall with three powerful projectors. The exhibit, presented by Afrikadey and Glenbow Museum, provides an avenue of informing Calgarians about world affairs through art. Hopefully this will motivate action to alleviate the sufferings of Darfuris and other people around the globe who are victims of wars.The following is a brief summary of the schedule for the first four days (full schedule downloadable here from Afrikadey.com site),

Friday, March 14th, 7:00pm
Exhibit opening at the Glenbow Museum. Guest speakers include Exhibit co-curator, Jayme Mclennan; and photojournalist, Ryan Spencer Reed (see a Quicktime slide show of some of Ryan’s photos set to beautiful and powerful music).

Saturday, March 15, 5:00pm
Walk for Darfur organized by STAND (Students Taking Action Now for Darfur) a symbolic walk from Shaw Millenium Park in solidarity with displaced Darfuris forced to flee to refugee camps.

The walk from Mewata Armory will proceed east on 8th Ave. SW to the Glenbow Museum to view the exhibit. Come join the students.

Sunday, March 16, 1pm - 4pm
Free film series in the Glenbow Theatre - “Sand and Sorrow” (see film clips) narrated by George Clooney and “The Long Journey Home of James Nguen” directed by Rick Castiglione (Rick is a Calgarian and plans to be at the screening).

Sunday, March 16, 7:00pm
Sen. Romeo Dallaire and members of Engineers Without Borders join the audience at the exhibit.

Monday March 17, 7:00pm
Prof. Syed Soharwardy and members of the Muslim community will be present to view the exhibit. Prof. Soharwardy will speak on Muslim unity.

“No End in Sight” on CBC March 16

“The first film of its kind to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq’s descent into guerilla war, warlord rule, criminality and anarchy, NO END IN SIGHT is a jaw-dropping, insider’s tale of wholesale incompetence, recklessness and venality.Based on over 200 hours of footage, the film provides a candid retelling of the events following the fall of Baghdad in 2003 by high ranking officials …”

“No End in Sight” will be airing on CBC Newsworld on March 16 at 10pm ET/PT. Here is a YouTube trailer.

Ryerson student accused of cheating using Facebook

First-year Ryerson student Chris Avenir is being accused by the school for cheating because he started a Facebook study group. (More info in this TorStar article “Online ’scapegoat’ hailed” together with this CP video report.) Lawyer Jordon Furlong has an insightful comment here.

Google Sky, Mars, and Moon

[via Google]

Wonderful space info and beautiful pictures from Google - Sky, Mars, and Moon.

Links: 2008-03-13 Capital of Google Earth, Luxor Ad, Blackstoned, Nikon D300 review, Tall tale, WP vs MT

1. Nanaimo, BC - the Capital of Google Earth
2. Luxor Highlighter - neat ad
3. Blackstone-d: Behind a Monster IPO Flop - a report
4. dpreview of Nikon D300
5. Tall tale by Malcolm Gladwell - program starts at 45 minutes
6. An interesting war of words between WordPress and Movable Type

Links: 2008-03-11

1. Japan IDs All Its Citizens - It depends on how much risks are needed to be considered as "substantial" ? - "There are no substantial risks of information leakages or their misuse for purposes other than originally intended"
2. Facebook CEO Admits Missteps
3. The GigaOM Interview: Mark Zuckerberg, Founder & CEO Facebook
   
4. Brantano Shoe City Ad
5. NYT Obit of Gary Gygax, co-creator of the game Dungeons & Dragons
6. How Google keeps your information secure - from Google

free lunch with Steven Cheung

A four friends and I have started a new blog "free lunch with Steven Cheung (五友 論 五常)" to talk about articles and ideas by the deeply insightful economist Steven Cheung (see my my many blog entries here).

Please feel free to check it out.

Facing Up to Facebook: The Fight for Fair Copyright in Canada

Professor Michael Geist (my blog friend and leader of the flight for Fair Copyright in Canada) has a great talk (that I am watching to this wmv video right now) and here is an Abstract of his talk (emphasis added):

In December 2007, the Canadian government planned to introduce new copyright legislation that was to have mirrored the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. A Facebook group was formed to advocate against such reforms and for balanced copyright laws. Within weeks, nearly 40,000 Canadians joined the group, with members writing and calling their elected representatives, educating their local communities, and staging public protests. In the face of this opposition, the Canadian government delayed introducing the legislation. The “Canadian copy-fight” attracted considerable attention from the mainstream media, with many wondering how copyright had emerged as a contentious policy issue. This talk will assess the Canadian experience in an effort to answer the oft-asked question – “why copyright?”.

[via Michael]

Top Ten List of Steven Cheung Chinese articles

Just or fun, I looked at nine of Steven Cheung’s earlier books (in Simplified Chinese) and picked my “top ten” favourite articles. I wonder if my fellow free lunchers would like to join me and share their favourites?

1. 卖桔者言
2. 私产可养鱼千里
3. 灯塔的故事 & 高斯的灯塔
4. 思考的方法（上）, （中）, （下）
5. 没有兄弟姊妹的社会
6. 给女儿上的一课——也是女儿给我上的一课
7. 赵紫阳与佛利民的对话 & 假若赵紫阳是个独裁者
8. 艾智仁 & 赫舒拉发 & 我所知道的高斯 & 老师普纳
9. 最佳、最劣、最受欢迎的教授
10. 初遇佛利民 & 再遇佛利民 & 佛利民与二十世纪

P.S. OK, I’ve cheated by grouping a few links into one pick. And some of those picks are actually multi-parts articles up to 7 parts like the Coase one. (smile)

Tales of a Chinese Purchaser, Episode 4 (買手的故事, 第4集)

In this episode, we talk about

• Guiding/helping sub-standard factories in becoming qualified suppliers (申援手改"劣品厰"為"合格供應商")

You can click here to listen to episode 4 of the program in mp3 (or you can download or stream the program here).

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Program Info:

My friend Simon has worked as a Hong Kong-based purchaser for over 30 years before his retirement. Simon has agreed to record a series of Chinese audio shows/podcasts call "Tales of a Chinese Purchaser 買手的故事" to share his years of experiences and insights in purchasing and working with Chinese factories.

(Note: This program has been recorded in the Cantonese dialect. And I hope to add the ability to subscribe to this show soon and make it a truly "podcast".)

Is this frog a prince?

Hmmmm, I am slow but late is better than never I guess. Is this frog a prince? Bought to you by the good people at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (emphasis added),

Last year, IT security firm Sophos ran an experiment on Facebook to demonstrate just how willing people were to hand over their information to potential ID thieves. They created a fake profile page on Facebook for a small green plastic frog and sent out 200 friend requests to other Facebook users. Eighty-two of those people responded, and in doing so, divulged personal information like their email address, birthdate, workplace or school location, and phone number - all useful details for the aspiring identity thief.

I guess even a frog can teach us something. (smile) Including PLASTIC frog! (big smile)

Get a lower VISA or Mastercard interest rate - by asking!

How do you lower your credit card rates (VISA or Mastercard, etc.) from 18.9% to 10.9% (an 8% drop) or 19.5% to 11.5% (also an 8% drop)?

Well, from this CBC experiment (with video) with some random credit card holders in a shopping mall, all you need to ask!!!

It may not work for every credit card companies or for everyone but if you have a high credit card balance paying 19.5% interest, it certainly worth your 5 minutes to give each of your credit companies a call. Many people have more than one credit cards, I say try them all and simply go with the one that gives you a good deal.

Looking back, and I knew it then already, talking myself out of paying the small amount of VISA card interest was peanuts compare to a whopping 8% drop in interest charged!

Watch CBC news report (with video) and then give your credit company a call and see if you get a interest rate cut. Please share your stories in the comments section here to help the others. I love to see how many people get a rate cut.

P.S. If you have a particular credit card for a while (i.e. have a history with them) and you have a balance (own them money and pay them 19.5% interest) often or at least once in a while, you are a GREAT customer to them and they will want to keep you. :)

P.P.S. I am NOT in the credit consolidation business. But if you hold a really large credit card balance, you should seriously talk to your bank and get a loan to drastically cut down on the interest you have to pay.