Honda ASIMO Conducts Orchestra and Dances

Honda ASIMO conducts The Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Honda ASIMO Dances, Walks, and Runs at Kennedy Center

No. 5: The Film

I hate perfume (especially strong ones). Yes, hate. But I love this Chanel No. 5 ad with Nicole Kidman and Rodrigo Santoro. Enjoy.

Check out the lovely "making of" videos here and here.

Here is an excerpt from Baz Luhrmann’s imdb bio,

In late 2004, he [Baz] directed the world’s most expensive advertisement for Chanel No 5, a 4-minute short film titled “No 5: The Film” starring Nicole Kidman (who he worked with for Moulin Rouge! (2001)) and Rodrigo Santoro. The film ad, about a fairy-tale romance in which Chanel is part of the story but is not what the story is about, cost £18 million and made Kidman a Guinness World Record holder for highest paid actress in a commercial (she netted $3.71 million). Varying length versions of the film ad were shown on television, and - a first for Chanel - in movie theaters. Costumes were designed by Karl Lagerfeld and a score by Claude Debussy. Kidman wore £17m worth of real gems.

Richard Florida @ Google & Banff

I was really lucky to watch a CBC National video report and “discovered” Richard Florida tonight. (smile) I am going to pay attention to Rich’s ideas and I have subscribed to his blog. Check out his latest book - “Who’s Your City?: How the Creative Economy Is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life.”

Here is a video of Rich interviewed by George on The Hour.

The following is an hour long video of Rich speaking at Google, NYC.

And if you are really keen and have nothing better to do (smile), then check out another hour long video of Rich speaking at Google, Headquater in CA (essentially the same speech but with a different set of Q&A starting at 48:45).

P.S. On a personal note, Rich reminds me of some of the great U of Toronto professors that I had. Great job in bringing Rich to Toronto. And I am looking forward to listening to Rich live at Banff World TV Festival.

P.P.S. Here is one of Rich’s recent blog post on Jane Jacobs.

P.P.P.S. I wonder if Rich gets some money from this BMW ad? (smile) By the way, I think I actually first read about Rich here in this UT magazine article.

Seeing Hungry, Mood & Money, Bad Belly Fat

Saw these three interesting science news. Enjoy.

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Seeing Hungry

“Why does food look more appealing when you are hungry? Scientists are finding that the same chemical in your stomach that causes hunger also changes how your brain perceives food, as this ScienCentral News video explains.“

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Mood and Money

“Feeling sad and bad about ourselves is not only unpleasant — it can also be hard on our wallets. Psychology researchers have found that these emotions can cost you three times more for the same item than being in a better mood, as this ScienCentral News video reports.“

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Bad Belly Fat

“Scientists are finding more about how that bulge around your belly is more harmful than the pounds you may have elsewhere on your body. As this ScienCentral News video reports, belly fat may cause blockages in the arteries, and the finding could lead to better drugs to protect against heart disease.“

May ‘08 Google Search Factory Tour

Interesting and informative Google Search Factory Tour video.

RSA 2008 - Bruce Schneier

Interesting video interview of security expert Bruce Schneier by TechWebTV at RSA 2008 Conference.

Moment of Truth

I watched Fox TV’s “game show” and hit “Moment of Truth” a few nights ago and I think it had clearly crossed the line of good taste.

On the surface, it raised the basic questions of how much will someone be willing to be humiliated and had ones’ relationships with loved ones harmed in order to have a chance to win some prize money? I think Washington Post’s Lisa de Moraes said it well, as I think the water pressure should have plunged as “people leapt into showers to clean off the filth after watching … The Moment of Truth“. And blogger Jordon J. Ballor has this insightful observation (emphasis added),

“But I want to pay special attention to the contestants’ motivations. They are essentially willing to air any and all secrets (what used to be called “dirty laundry”) to the public in exchange for money (or merely the chance to win money, depending on their success). That people are actually eager to get on the show as a contestant speaks to how little they truly value and are willing to “monetize” their personal relationships.“

Here is a sample clip (with 290,000+ views),

With an “update” of what happened to this particular “contestant” afterwards,

What I want to explore more are the consequences, unintended consequences, and enabling factors for a show like this to be on TV.

Consequences

Based on the one show and some YouTube clips that I’ve watched, I think it is pretty obvious that the relationships between the contestants and their family members, spouses, closed friends were deliberately designed to be damaged for our “entertainment”.

Unintended consequences

1. Some viewers may now view lie detector as a more authoritative tool than it deserves.
2. TV shows like this will undoubtedly push the boundary of “acceptable good taste” further out. If this show is “acceptable“, what’s next for the TV producers to try?
3. Our willingness to see the actual suffering and break down of relationships of fellow human beings as a form of “entertainment”. Seeing others being put through emotional torture as entertainment? Have our own moral judgment been impaired so badly that we can’t tell right from wrong?

Enabling factors

1. Put yourself in the shoes of the producers of this “game show” for a moment. The 50 questions being asked by the producers ahead of time have been designed to create maximum embarrassment to the contestants to create shock value and “entertainment” for the viewers.
2. And then the show producers have to pick and arrange the questions and sometimes invite extra guest, to the taping of the show, to embarrass the contestants and to shock the viewers to create drama and “entertainment”.
3. Ultimately, for a show like this to continue production, people have to keep watching and advertisers have to keep buying air time.
4. Do TV producers have mortal obligations to audiences? Or can they pretty much put up any shows that advertisers will pay money to put up ads for an audiences?

Not too long ago Jim Carrey made a movie call “The Truman Show” (now a classic). Here is an excerpt of the Plot (emphasis added),

The film is set in a hypothetical world, called Seahaven, where an entire town is dedicated to a continually running television show. All but one of the participants are actors. Only the central character, Truman Burbank (Carrey), is unaware that he lives in a constructed reality for the entertainment of those outside. The film follows his discovery of his situation and his attempts to escape. On the surface level, it criticizes greed, portraying people who would do anything for fame and money. Central characters fake friendship to Truman, and in the case of his “wife”, bury their real feelings of disgust.

One may ask, what kind of society will allow a baby be adopted by a TV production company, his relationships with everyone be lies and his whole life be transmitted as a TV show? I guess we can also ask what kind of society w

(Spoiler alert) Here is the lovely ending of “The Truman Show” to help washing off the filth of “Moment of Truth”. Enjoy.

P.S. TV Guide’s Joe Rhodes share his experience of “Sitting on the Moment of Truth’s Hot Seat”.

“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.

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").

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

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.

Dr. Randy Pausch’s Congressional testimony

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

“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.

Google Sky, Mars, and Moon

[via Google]

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

2008 Oscars Q&A

Here are some 2008 Oscars Q&A

Oscar Winner Daniel Day-Lewis - Have to watch the flim.

Oscar Winner Marion Cotillard - Watch her beautiful rendition of Edith Piaf’s “Padam Padam” at the end of her press Q&A. Beautifully sweet.

Oscar Winner Tilda Swinton - Sweet Q&A. Lovely answers.

Oscar Winner Javier Bardem - Interesting talk between him and his mom (who is an actress for 50 years)

2008 Newsweek pre-Oscar Round Table

Here is a series of priceless chats between the stars (Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Ellen Page, James McAvoy, and Marion Cotillard) and it was wonderful when they just chatted and were having so much fun doing it - Part 1, Part 2, …, part 7, …, part 14.

Here is Part 2 as you can probably skip part 1 which is the intro,

P.S. George Clooney is such a senior statesman. You can see him as such an insightful man in this chat. And he is funny (as expected).

Recreating D-Day by 3 men in 4 days

Wonderfully cool and creative work by 3 graphics designers with some props to do what Saving Private Ryan did with 1000 extras. Enjoy.

[hat tip: Richard]

On Writing

Chatting with my friend Ben last night about his writer’s block in completing his MBA thesis got me thinking about writing.

I am no “writer” but I try to read a lot and write a lot and not worry about making mistakes too much as I have adopted a “quantity”/”Bill Buxton” approach. And one of the things I live by is - “Make mistakes faster”.

Ben, may be check out a few of the existing MBA theses at the SFU library and see how and what did they do to get their degrees. After all, they got theirs done and I am confident that you can do better than many of them as I find your thesis topic quite interesting and engaging.

P.S. Having been quoting the author Stephen King for so long, I am happy say that my research last night confirmed that I had been quoting from his autobiography “On Writing“. And a copy of the book is waiting for me to pickup at the library.

And I was able to find a few insightful YouTube clips of Stephen King. (Too bad I couldn’t find the Bravo program “An evening with Stephen King” that I watched on TV the other night.)

Advice from Stephen King to new writers.

The Hour with Stephen King when he came to Canada to collect a lifetime achievement award.

Stephen King talks about his new book’s ‘language’.

In Love with Madame Tutli Putli

National Film Board of Canada has 12 Oscars and 70 nominations over the years. And in the last 4 years alone, there were 4 Oscar nominations and 2 wins! See my previous blog entry about the Oscars winning Ryan and The Danish Poet.

For 2008, I am in love with Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski's Madame Tutli Putli (their site has interviews, trailer, photos, and even a good part of the movie). The eyes of Madame Tutli Putli were just spectacular and beautiful thanks for the wonderful special effects work by Jason Walker (read this article for special effects) and the beautiful eyes of Laurie Maher (see a video and an article in TorStar).

If eyes are window to the soul, I think Laurie has given a beautiful soul to Madame Tutli Putli.

Wishing Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski, their team, and NFB the best of luck this Sunday at the Oscars.

Here is the official trailer. And here is the movie in two parts unofficially (part 1 and part 2).

Wear Sunscreen!

Wear Sunscreen! - advice from an old man

[hat tip: Angela]