Archive for January, 2010

Favorite movies of the decade

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 by ADMStaff

In my list of favorite movies of the decade (2000-2009) here, I have only 3 American movies. This is not unusual anymore, considering how Hollywood keeps making the same type of movies over and over. So in the decade just past, I found myself getting a kick out of hunting and discovering movies that were under most people’s radar, for an obvious reason: small movies can’t compete against the Hollywood marketing juggernaut. Well, the movies here got my vote because I found them from my constant search for good movies, and find them to be outstanding. And for that, they are my favorites (not in any particular order).

1. Marriage is a Crazy Thing. Korean. Unflinching look at adultery and power struggle between the sexes in a rapidly changing society.
2. Woman on the Beach. Korean. A morality tale that harks back to the style of French director, Eric Rohmer. He died Jan. 11, 2010. One of my favorite directors.
3. 2046. Hongkong. Surreal and operatic from the bravura director, Wong Kar Wai.
4. Peppermint Candy. Korean. A jolt to one’s senses; makes Memento a second-rate copycat.
5. Old Boy. Korean. Wild, theatrical, original. Tarantino loved it, too.
6. 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days. Romania. Ode to ’50s neo-realism?
7. Caché. France. Mind-bending; that’s the French for you; director Haneke is Austrian, though.
8. Mulholland Drive. U.S. Eerie and twisted, it’s a Lynch movie, after all. What happens to those failed Hollywood dreams? The great performances will tell you.
9. The Lives of Others. Germany. Subtle social commentary of a bygone era.
10. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. China-Hongkong. Ang Lee brings pathos to a Chinese epic.
11. Talk to Her. Spain. Creepily romantic, hypnotic.
12. Late Marriage. Israel. There’s a most realistic sex scene; that should encourage you to rent it.
13. There Will Be Blood. U.S. Powerful allegory on greed. Tour-de-force performance by Daniel Day Lewis.
14. Before Sunset. U.S. A charming sequel. The passage of time plays tricks on us. Does it, really?
15. Yella. Germany. The country at the crossroads. The chillingly good Nina Hoss is a corporate raider.
16. Edge of Heaven. Turkey-Germany. Clashing cultures; it’s also about forgiveness.
17. City of God. Brazil. Harrowing depiction of youth organized (sic) crime.

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Apple tablet coming soon?

Monday, January 11th, 2010 by ADMStaff

apple-tablet-desktop
Would you consider buying an e-reader? Most of the people I know are allergic to it, as many people’s hue and cry is that these latest gizmos serve predominantly one function and that if it does have Internet access, it’s fairly on a limited scale. Why, people also ask, would you buy one devoted primarily to reading when you could get a netbook, which can also function as a computer?

Now, tech media is saying that Apple can prove to be the game changer, and change people’s mindset about the e-reader if Apple can come up with a hybrid of some sort: An Apple tablet that is like a bigger iPod touch, the better to showcase its many apps and iTunes, with the convenience and functionality of a tablet notebook and the ease of navigating the Internet with–hold your breath–3G.

It would be nifty if can serve as a notebook (and therefore stand on different angles) with a detachable keyboard for those who prefer to type on it.

Let’s see if the rumor mill is true by end of January.

To find out more about this story, click here: http://gizmodo.com/5249808/apples-tablet-the-story-so-far

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Eco-Friendly Nokia Phone by Daizi Zheng

Friday, January 8th, 2010 by Charles Ng

http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/eco-friendly_nokia_phone_by_daizi_zheng_15673.asp

dzn_Eco-friendly-phone-for-Nokia-by-Daizi-Zheng-1.jpg

“Chinese designer Daizi Zheng  has created a conceptual mobile phone for Finnish brand Nokia that could be powered by sugary drinks. Zheng proposes that the phone could run on a battery that uses enzymes to generate electricity from carbohydrates.”

This is a client project for designing an eco friendly phone for Nokia. Zheng quotes “Throughout my research, I found that using a phone battery as a power source is very expensive, consumes valuable resources on manufacturing, presents a disposal problem and is harmful to the environment. The concept is using a bio battery to replace the traditional battery to create a pollution free environment.”

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Filipino jazz goes to New York

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 by ADMStaff

The first Filipino-American jazz festival held in New York for the first time last Dec. 11 took so many New Yorkers by surprise. Here’s a jazz review of the concert.

http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/artsandbooks/artsandbooks/view/20091221-243158/From-one-generation-to-another-Filipino-jazzCharmaine Clamor-torch-is-passed

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