Peter’s Blog V2

It’s been a while since the average independent short film freely available on the Internet was better crafted than the average Hollywood movie that you have to pay $15 at a theater for.  However, I had never been this impressed before seeing this piece: 李獻計歷險記 (Lee’s Adventures).

If I hadn’t glanced at the forum comments first, I might’ve been turned away quickly by the seemingly rough graphics and ghetto voice.  20 minutes later, I was in awe of the creative, hilarious, sad, and quite deep storyline.  With a plot as random as Alice in the Wonderland, this animation packed in elements of comedy, action, romance, and sci-fi.  The author cleverly incorporated tons of pop culture references and subtle jokes: including the character names.

The story is about a young man with a strange disease trying to get back together with his ex-girlfriend by beating a video game that will turn back time.  His stubbornness about love is a reminder of how naive many of us used to be… but of course nobody I knew had the courage to go through the kind of adventures that he did.

Instead of YouTube, you can also download a higher res version via eMule from VeryCD.

Official website.

Happy New Year.

Logically, however, I don’t see what’s there to be so happy about it.  New Year happens on roughly 0.3% of the days, which is a lot more common than your birthday if you were born on February 29th.  A new year means a rent increase, a new set of work goals to meet, an older age, closer to death, and higher insurance premiums.  Maybe the new year partiers would realize this once they sober up.

I happened to turn my head during the countdown to the “1 hour to go” mark at 11, and the crowd exploded in cheers.  Obviously, when you have been standing in the cold rain for 11 hours and know the suffering will end in one more, you’d be pretty happy too.

The cheering, honking, and other noises were even louder when the 2010 sign lit up.  One avenue, 33 stories, and a thick layer of glass away, those noises could still be heard.  Remind me not to buy a condo in this neighborhood.

For this NYE excursion, I pulled out the camcorder that I haven’t used in about five years. It’s got much better zoom than my point-and-shoot still camera, but the only problem is I have no Firewire on this computer to upload that stuff with.  So here we are stuck with slightly less than optimal images:

The actual ball drop, fireworks, and confetti rain at midnight was unsurprisingly unimpressive.  Perhaps the point of this event is mostly about the celebrity presence and not so much the fireworks?

When you have hundreds of thousands of people, they not only pee in their pants but also produce a lot of litter.  Therefore, as soon as the clock hit midnight, a mile long of sanitation trucks were deployed.  Is it just me, or does everybody think this is more cool than the ball drop?

The Times Square ball drop is one of the biggest events in the world on New Year’s Eve, and the ball that drops is practically right outside my office window on a year-round basis.  This New Year’s Eve, over the option of staying home to play video games with myself, I chose to commute into the city and exercise a privilege that many would dream to have, by staring at the silly ball from the comfort and warmth of my office.

As you might remember from my post last year, Times Square on NYE is all about police work.  A pretty large chunk of the city around the ball is barricaded at every street intersection.  Very few, such as guests with proof of staying at a hotel within the area, can cross the police line and all their belongings have to be searched.  Hundreds of others stay on this side of the police line staring hopelessly into the distance.  Cops get tired explaining all day how, in theory as if there’s still space available, to detour into Times Square.

I’m not a fan of that Times Square ball, but always love the lights on Sixth Avenue:

Sixth Avenue from above:

The ball (the dot of light) from 42nd floor:

The ball (note how it changes colors) from the 34th floor:

Times Square at 46th Street.  Those ant-sized dots underneath the American Eagle ad are crazy tourists who had probably been standing there since noon.

Had McDonald’s for dinner.  For some reason, they think by printing blue lizzard people on my food would enhance my appetite.

Here’s the nearby McDonald’s with some crazy crowd of customers.  Note the security guard that restricts access to the upstairs seating area.  Hey, this is New York.  Even a McDonald’s has to have heavy security!

While waiting for the moment to take this picture, someone who I assumed to be a student-tourist from Taiwan, pointed to my cup and asked whether I had seen the movie Avatar.  We then exchanged some mildly excited thoughts on the movie, and the fact that he saw it in IMAX 3D (which I pointed out must be at Lincoln Center).  The Eve is one of the few occassions when it’s appropriate for a New York person to respond to a random and pointless inquiry and actually carry out a conversation that lasts over 5 seconds.

Haven’t updated my blog in a while so here’s a half-assed quick round-up of interesting things that happened.  Gotta do this before 2010 hits!

On Nov 14, Hong took me ice skating for the very first time.  It was supposedly disappointing that I didn’t fall on my ass.

On Nov 21, I participated in my first Chinese Harp recital.  I messed up my song terribly but at least I can now say I’ve done a music recital.

Thanksgiving was spent at Dennis’s house with a subset of our large family network.  Not sure why Ariel and CS weren’t in this picture.

The first turduken I’ve tasted.  There were a lot of firsts this November.

Hong and I also (for the first time) learned to play mah jong.  It was sort of like deeds done for senior appreciation day as we appeared so dumb and slow next to Grandma and Anita’s dad.

We watched two awesome movies – Jim Carey’s Christmas Carol and James Cameron’s Avatar.  The similarity that they share is the amazing blend of computer graphics with actual film.  It was hard not to think that they drew Jim Carey by hand and captured those blue people on film.

On Dec 19, the East Coast had a blizzard supposedly most severe since 1996.  I assume that means the biggest snow I have ever seen in my life.  Shoveling driveways sure brought back memories.

Christmas was spent with Hong’s family.  Here’s a group picture after the fun-filled gift exchange session:

On my birthday, a bunch of coworkers took me out to a very nice lunch.   Here’s the cake that Lauren got me:

Adding to the list of subway signs that should trigger an alarm: when a dozen people pour out of one door as you attempt to board at a non-attraction station.

We have all learned by experience to avoid empty subway cars, half-empty cars, and dark ones.  But when I boarded this afternoon finding myself among a number of brave passengers who refused to evacuate, they were all covering their noses with scarves, sweaters, and jackets.  My NYC survival instincts were slow as I was distracted trying to locate a seat, but at least I realized in time that I’d be better off not sitting down. At first the subway car was filled with an aroma of some sort of feast featuring lots of onions; then the aroma turned into something more like a post-feast person having either thrown up all over the floor or taken a dump in his pants.  Since nothing was immediately visible on the floor, I assumed the latter.

I joined the other passengers to make a funny face while controlling my breathing to a minimum, thanking myself for planning to get off at the very next stop and MTA for not having another “we’re being delayed because of train traffic ahead of us” moment.

Two of the hottest current headlines: people oppose the use of public or private insurance funds to kill embryo cells, yet get upset that doctors may no longer recommend an ineffective and potentially harmful procedure for women.

Although the majority of our society isn’t about making sense, people should realize that our tax dollars are already used in tens of thousands of ways that we may not approve.  Don’t like to kill?  Too bad, we’re already paying for missle launchers abroad and don’t have any say in it.  Abortion in perspective is really not a big deal.  America won’t be a very honest land of the free if our people keep sticking their noses in their neighbors’ pregnancies.

The mammogram issue is funny in a whole different way.  All the testimonials go something like, “I had it, I think it worked, so it must work for everybody and I’m pissed off that doc might no longer recommend it.”

Eco-terrorists value the lives of animals or plants more so than they do their own kind: ALF blows up animal laboratories and meat packaging plants; Sea Shepherd Conservation Society attacks fishermen and their boats; others burn down houses, injure hunters and loggers, etc.  The FBI considers eco-terrorism the #1 domestic terror threat.  They might have a noble cause, but the extra mile they go to glorify their “righteous” beliefs is the main distinction between them and the normal people.

Imagine a Hollywood situation where you are at the end of the world among the only dozen survivors on Earth.  On top of that, all food sources vanished, except rabbits who magically reproduced everywhere.  Now, what could possibly make the situation worse, than if half of the survivors were animal rights extremists?

Yeah, they vow to destroy you if you dare touching the rabbits.  You can choose to die starving or be killed by your fellow critter-loving humans.  That’s totally messed up.  Isn’t it?

I present to you… Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots and the prime example of somebody with a noble cause and freakishly too much passion for it.  Protecting humans is a great thing to do, but going as far as sacrificing himself and slaughtering his own kind puts him right up on the list with the Whale Wars people.

Let’s see.  The Transformers are a dying species and the Decepticons are working hard to ensure their survival.  However, since the early 80′s, the Autobots had plotted to destroy their every attempt at collecting food = energon cubes.  I thought the Autobots need energon to survive, too, but for whatever reason they enjoyed throwing the entire last colony of Transformers into a lose-lose situation.

Sure, the Decepticons might have to stomp on a few hundred people or blow up a volcano or sun during the process.  But should Transformers really care?  For the prosperity of human kind we also slaughter other animals and cut down trees, so there’s hardly any difference.  Unless you’re one of those who enjoy pouring blood on rich women’s fur coats or support the killing of abortion doctors, please join me and say -

Optimus Prime is messed up!

I went to see Toy Story 1 & 2 tonight, back-to-back, alone.  This was the only movie I ever went to the theater by myself for, besides the Passion of the Christ (yeah… kind of in a different category).

For the longest time, I wondered how it’d feel to pay $16 to watch two movies that I already knew by heart.  It was totally worth it.  Aside from the new 3D rendering, the higher video definition made visible differences from my DVD copy and I saw a lot of details for the first time.  In addition, Disney/Pixar made a bunch of fun clips to fill the 10-minute intermission, so there was something new.

The crowd was also great.  Given their age range (most of them not younger than myself), I’d think of them as veteran Toy Story enthusiasts.  However, everyone still enjoyed the movies thoroughly, cracking up at those 14-year-old jokes that they probably saw coming.  I think Toy Story is the greatest cartoon ever created, and it was nice to see these other fans.

Little Roach is not a small roach.  Measuring in at 1.8 and rounding up to 2.0 inches, Lil’ R always makes mommy proud.  Today, his buddies invited him to restaurant-hop for some delicious Japanese, Malaysian, and Argentine leftovers.  Unfortunately, he took one exit too early in NYC’s underground express and ended up in a dinky fitness club.  Hey, even the mightiest of them all could still sometimes mistaken the smell of human sweat for rotten delicatessen.

Though lost, Lil’ R remained content.  There was something about this place that could calm a cockroach.  The dark rubbery floor helped him blend in even in fluorescent light, and its soft touch allowed his silent footsteps to be even more quiet.  He felt like a super ninja, moving swiftly in disguise.  He trekked with confidence from one side of the room to the other; and he trekked back.  Being an invisible ninja was awesome, and it’d be so much better if only he knew where he was going.

Lil’ R continued trekking across the room.  However, little did he know that there were lurking dangers about in this dinky room full of heavy metal parts and giant warm-blooded monsters.  Also little did he know, that the monsters had already noticed his “stealth” moves.

The first to react was Rice Boi #1.  Though facing up on a bench, his natural senses from the Continent of All-Martial-Arts-Including-Ninjitsu had realized Lil’ R being in his close proximity.  He stared at this amature ninja through those prescription lenses, and continued staring as he finished that set of bicep curls.  Entirely disgusted, as soon as he put down those dumbells, Rice Boi #1 headed directly out the door and vanished from the room.

Also equipped with sharp senses and prescription lenses, Rice Boi #2 might have been the first of the giant monsters to notice Lil’ R’s presence.  Not wanting to disturb each other’s peace, he planned his moves wisely to maintain a minimum distance of 3-5 feet from Lil’ R.  But not everyone stayed out of the little ninja’s way – Big Amigo saw him on his way to switch barbell plates, frowned for a second and kicked like he would to his national sport of football.  Big Amigo’s big tennis shoe smashed into Lil’ R and sent him flying – after the last bounce on the dark rubbery floor almost landing within the 3-foot radius from Rice Boi #2.  Lil’ R’s hard-shell defence kept him unharmed, but this sudden move nearly sent Rice Boi #2 over the edge of freaking out.  God knew whether he could have exploded into a Super Saiyan then stomp Lil’ R flat and rip Big Amigo apart.  Thank goodness – all was good and no animal was harmed in the process.

“Fuck this,” Lil’ R thought, “I can’t find my way out of here.  I’ll just ascend to ground level and break into those restaurants through the front door.“  Wow.  The ground level.  It was a treacherous world out there – two or three of his brothers were found dead on that sidewalk every morning.  But as someone determined to lead his community into Roach Global Domination, Lil’ R had no fear.  Once with his mind set, he started climbing… but while the black rubbery surface was easy, the while dry wall starting at a few inches from the floor was extremely difficult to grip onto.  He went up and down, up and down, up and down…

Stumbling left and right by the 35lb barbells and 90lb dumbells, he was at risk of instantly turning into roach flakes if any of those shifted or fell.  He climbed over the heavy-bag stand and trekked underneath the yoga ball, too busy fighting the tough terrain to realize another giant monster in the vicinity.  White Haired White Guy turned his head while doing leg shuffles on a gym mat, and blew as hard as his powerful lung would allow.  Lil’ R held on tight… his mom didn’t give him six legs for no reason.  When the time was right, he fled from White Haired White Guy.

The second ascending attempt was onto the leg curl machine.  Unlike the average rusty pipes in the city, this metal rod with a glossy finish was impossible to climb.  He fell – much worse than before – onto his back.  Big time screw up!  Like a turtle being flipped over, Lil’ R waved for help with all six legs in the air.  He kicked, twisted hip, and attempted to flap those wings.  Eventually, he flipped back over on his feet, but it sure was the struggle of a lifetime.  Exhausted and mentally defeated, Lil’ R laid down under the weight plates at the shoulder press machine.  He was no longer thinking about the restaurant hop or the Roach Global Domination.  He just wanted to go home and have a good night of sleep.  Well, maybe this place will do…

Just as he was about to put down those antennas and close his eyes, Negro Dude sat down at the shoulder press…

What the hell, I’ve written more stories about roaches than about any other animal in this past year.