Gone with the Wind (1939, Movie)

This re-release is superb--original format restored, original scenes restored, stunning color restorations, and a wonderful digitized audio. 70 years after its release, GWTW still leaves us breathless.

Scarlett's proverbial awakening comes with the war. It makes her a fighter and a survivor. At no point does she ever realize that she really does have everything she ever wanted... until she loses it all.

Star Trek (2009, Movie)

Zachary Quinto as Spock and Chris Pine as Kirk in "Star Trek."

Synopsis

The original crew of the USS Enterprise battle Romulans from the future in the eleventh Star Trek film. J.J. Abrams directs and we follow James T. Kirk from his first day enrolling at the Starfleet Academy.

The 2009 “Star Trek” film goes back eagerly to where “Star Trek” began, using time travel to explain a cast of mostly the same characters, only at a younger point in their lives, sailing the Starship Enterprise. Time travel as we all know, is impossible in the sense it happens here, but many things are possible in this film. Apart from details from the youths of the characters and the Spock reunion, it consists mostly of encounters between the Enterprise and the incomparably larger and much better armed Romulan spaceship from the future.

It's a space opera.

The World's Fastest Indian (2005, Movie)

Breezy Rider: A Shaggy, Charming Over-the-Hill-Biker Flick

The need for speed: Hopkins

The quintessential New Zealander, named Burt Munro, was born and raised in Invercargill, New Zealand, where he dreamed of making his 1920 Indian Twin Scout the fastest bike on earth.

Indian tells the true-ish story of Burt Munro (Anathony Hopkins)), a sexagenarian New Zealand loner who, in 1967, hauls his 40-plus-year-old Indian brand motorcycle to a Utah raceway to see how fast it'll go, and subsequently breaks a speed record. After a lifetime of perfecting his classic Indian motorcycle, Burt set off from the bottom of the world to test his bike at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. With all odds against him, Burt set a new speed record and captured the spirit of his times. Burt Munro's 1967 world record remains unbroken and his legend lives on today.

Based on Burt Munro's journeys to Bonneville during the 1960s, the film follows the road to fulfilling a dream and the magic in the true story of a man who believed, "If it's hard, work harder; if it's impossible, work harder still. Give it whatever it takes, but do it."

Crazy ol' Kiwi coot Burt Munro lives in a New Zealand shed, playing with his 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle, a vintage mechanical steed that looks like a red rocket and has no brakes; it's constructed from spare parts. With a convincing accent, charming smile and obsessive determination, he keeps the story going even when it runs out of steam and ideas (in the second half).

Lost: Season 6 (2010, TV)

Lost will return Feb. 2, 2010, with 18 new episodes for its sixth and final season.

In a nutshell: The best plane crash television; Filmed on location in Hawaii

Show Summary: After Oceanic Air Flight 815 tears apart in mid-air and crashes on a Pacific island on September 22nd 2004, its survivors are forced to find inner strength they never knew they had in order to survive. But they discover that the island holds many secrets, including a mysterious smoke monster, polar bears, housing with electricity and hot & cold running water, a group of island residents known as "The Others," and a mysterious man named Jacob. The survivors also find signs of those who came to the island before them, including a 19th century sailing ship called The Black Rock and the ruins of an ancient statue, as well as bunkers belonging to the DHARMA Initiative -- a group of scientific researchers who inhabited the island in the recent past.

If you believed half of these stories you'd never set foot on a plane again.

The final season of this Emmy-winning drama brings the series to a smashing climax that reveals the fate of the survivors of Oceanic's flight 815, including Jack (Matthew Fox) and the others who escaped the island once, only to return. But as Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Sawyer (Josh Holloway), Locke (Terry O'Quinn), Ben (Michael Emerson) and the rest play out their destinies, the island may yet refuse to yield all of its secrets.

I began to watch lost, starting from season 1 since last year. Just finished season 5 and I'm addicted! Being a well-made TV sci-fi, which can easily take over your life. It's highly recommended.

Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas (2009, Comedy)

Terry Fator is so talented!

Never have I seen a ventriloquist that could not only give me goosebumps, but also keep me smiling throughout an entire show. Terry Fator is not only talented at puppetry and voice control, but he's also extremely well versed in singing.

The Path To Awakening: a Commentary On Ja Chekawa Yeshe Dorje's Seven Points Of Mind Training (Book)

by

Shamar Rinpoche

Mind Training, or Lojong, is a comprehensive practice, which embodies the entire path to awakening. The Buddha recognized that we suffer because of our negative actions. Conversely, when we act positively, everyone benefits. In order to act positively in any situation, we must train our mind.

Mind Training nurtures and cultivates Buddha Nature, that pure seed of awakening at the heart of every sentient being. It has the power to transform egotistical actions into selfless generosity and compassion. Put into practice diligently, Lojong can lead to full awakening. Mind Training is a comprehensive practice that is suitable for all types of students. It contains the entire path and does not depend on a person's background.

It is edited and translated by Lara Braitstein, PhD. Chekawa’s text was based on the Mind Training teachings brought to Tibet by Atisha in the 11th century. Shamar Rinpoche, my spiritual master, continues his elucidation of the inner meaning of Chekawa’s Seven Points.

In The Path to Awakening, Shamar Rinpoche gives his own detailed commentary. Clear accessible, and yet profound, this book is filled with practical wisdom, philosophy, and meditation instructions. Especially beneficial for me is the 'give and take' meditation method. What a compassionate way to calm our mind and transform the inner strength to all sentient beings!

Kaiser Friends gathering Jan 2010

It's always exciting to meet old buddies and chatted along. This time, most of us are retired and subjects being discussed were somewhat different. In addition to Cloud Computing, Finance Management was the hottest topic among us all. Robert Tsao stands out as an expert since he has immersed himself into it quite a while. I guess we all benefited from his brief introduction and analysis. The rest is upon ourselves.

Avatar (2009, Movie)

Expectations get so overblown that by the time the film is released disappointment is inevitable. My hubby and I walked away in awe, even if the story is lacking as a whole. Said story is set in the year 2154 and involves a mission by U. S. Armed Forces to an earth-sized moon in orbit around a massive star.On Pandora, Jake (Sam Worthington) is a good soldier and then goes native after his life is saved by the brave Neytiri (Zoe Saldana).

Even when computer generated images share the screen with live action the seamless blend is astonishing. As for 3D, no affected scenes where things jump out at you. The interiors and rain forests in this film are like nothing you have ever seen and even the Na'vi are rendered so beautifully you can almost use the word sexy, both in their stop motion movements and the CGI, which will no doubt spell out "Oscar." Avatar delivers Sci Fi like we have rarely seen it. This one was really off the wall in IMAX!

Long lost friends: 鄭玉萍 & 黃建業

What a gift at the beginning of 2010! With Janpim's help, I got hooked up with one old classmate in Computer Science Department and her husband in UVA. We used to do hiking, cooking, playing bridge together for two years. I'll treasure this friendship.

New Year's Gathering at 古月

With the hospitality from Kung-Yi Lin (林坤儀) and familiar faces of Thomas Shu's (許正龍) family plus demure Helen Tseng (曾海倫), we had a blast time celebrating this new start of year 2010. Next time will be Thomas's house-warming with an expectation of varieties of tea trees. Look forward to it.