The Good Shepherd(The Confessor) (2006, Movie)

Not boring, exactly, but undeniably tedious.


Directed by Robert De Niro, The Good Shepherd is an origin story about the C.I.A., and for the filmmakers that story boils down to fathers who fail their sons.

燕子教堂,漢森花園古堡,名牌直銷店一日遊 (南加州北一女校友會)

早晨從LA出發,約一小時車程，前往燕子教堂 (Mission San Juan Capistrano)，它被譽為Jewel of Missions教堂中的寶石。燕子教堂的稱謂，來自於創建的1776年隔年開始，每年春天定期的會有大量的燕子遠從6000哩外的阿根廷飛來築巢，場面甚為壯觀。 原本的石造教堂是加州最大,最宏偉的教堂，於1812年的大地震中摧毀，僅留下斷垣殘壁，如今的主教堂為紅磚式建築，園中花木扶疏，隨處可見地中海型植物襯托著西班牙式建築，漫步其中, 讓人流連不己。


中午時分，大家在市區享受一頓豐富的泰國午餐。飽餐後，前往漢森花園古堡 (Hanson Casa Romantica) 參觀。漢森因開發土地致富，並擔任過西雅圖市長。漢森花園古堡建於一九二七年， 是一座地中海式古堡，進入古堡，彷彿來到一個博物館，仰目所見，盡是南歐式的美麗建築，無論是雕樑飛柱、庭台樓閣或圓頂噴泉，無處不見巨匠巧思。由於座落在海岸的山崗上，形勢天然，可俯覽遼闊的海灘和360 度遠眺太平洋。


最後到名牌直銷店 Carlsbad Outlets  購物。有超過 100 家名店，分為二大購物商場，讓大夥享足購物樂趣。然後抱著愉快的心情踏上歸途，於晚上七時左右返抵洛城。  

Inception (2010, Movie)

Director Nolan throws a perfect storm of stunts, effects, locations and actors at one big idea: that it’s possible to pilfer ideas from dreams by a process called ‘extraction’, which involves hooking yourself up to a drip, falling asleep and entering the world of the subconscious. The holy grail of this process is to reverse it, which is ‘inception’, the planting of a new idea in another’s mind.


It's said that Christopher Nolan spent ten years writing his screenplay for Inception. This is a popular entertainment with a knockout punch so intense and unnerving it'll have you worrying if it's safe to close your eyes at night.

My orchids at home

One orchids already bloomed 11 bulbs, 3 more remaining. Amazing!

《菩提道》(作者: 夏瑪仁波切; 譯者: 林淑貞)

「修心法」是一門廣泛的修行法門，適合各類根器，它涵概了整條修行道且無需依賴修法者之背景。「修心法」滋養培育佛性，彼為正覺的純淨種子，存在於每一個有情眾生心中。此法具備轉化自私的我執成無我的力量，精勤修行，它已足以引導你至正覺。在本書中，夏瑪仁波切詳盡詮釋切卡瓦．耶希．多杰的《修心七要》，此法本在西藏被採用為基礎的轉化修行法近一千年。本書清晰，易於理解但深奧，充滿實用智慧，哲理及禪修指引。

Dance Performance at NBC restaurant, 03/13/2011

Nancy, Jenny and I were invited to perform a couple dances at Sue's husband's class reunion yesterday. It was a crowded and noisy environment. However, Nancy has garnered considerable applause from the audience. The following are links to our dances. Bear with the videos which were shot by my hubby using a camera ending with shaky result, not quite professional work though. Enjoy!

1. Nancy's 'Happy Torch Festival': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLY0rctK0Os&fmt=22
2. 'Dai Dance': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9FMMdgfh7M&fmt=22

Miracle (2004, Movie)

The Olympic Team That Melted a Nation's Heart

Russell is terrific as coach Herb Brooks.

Miracle's most concrete achievement is in showing how, step by demanding step, Brooks was able to transform 20 young men used to playing as stellar individuals -- the American way -- into an unintimidate-able, egoless team, i.e., the Soviet way. Miracle gives every American something to cheer for.

Powerful in its recreation of a magical time and place and it really does make us believe that miracles are possible.

Shrek Forever After(Shrek: The Final Chapter) (2010, Movie)

Shrek is tired of not being a scary ogre anymore and strikes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin to have a day where he is able to be a "scary" ogre again like the old days. Not the best Shrek movie, but enjoyable.