Vice (Movie, 2015)

What a terrible movie! There is hardly any character development. Bruce Willis should be ashamed of himself. Seriously. And Thomas Jane is TERRIBLE in this movie.

Problems Are Opportunities

In organizing my thoughts, I recalled what I remembered as being a thoughtful aphorism by Lee Iacocca, the legendary CEO of Chrysler corporation. Perhaps I had read years ago that he had this quotation framed in his office, "Problems are only opportunities in work clothes."

However, after doing a little on-line research, I learned that the quotation actually comes from Henry J. Kaiser an even more legendary CEO. If you don't recall Kaiser, he headed up a massive ship-building operation in Oakland during World War II, founded Kaiser Steel and Kaiser Aluminum, headed up the team of companies which built Hoover Dam, Grand Coulee Dam, Bonneville Dam, the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, and the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Waikiki Beach, among other things. Oh, and to help his many employees with their medical care, he started a little operation called Kaiser Permanente.

Kaiser did merge his automobile company with Willys Company, the maker of Jeeps, and that company was then bought out by Chrysler, so perhaps Lee Iacocca did have the quotation from Kaiser in a frame in his office.

By the way, Iacocca came up with a good quotation on problems and opportunities himself. "We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems." This one is not nearly as colorful as Kaiser's quotation, but perhaps it appeals more the clever, high-brow, executive-suite types who live in Arcadia. Perhaps not.

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Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
-Thomas A. Edison

Last Knights (Movie, 2015)

Set in an age of honor and justice by the sword, Last Knights tells the story of Raiden (Owen) – a fallen warrior who must rise up against a corrupt and sadistic ruler to avenge Bartok (Freeman), his dishonored master. Think of the film as something akin to Seven Samurai but set in the middle ages and you’ll be somewhere close.

Somehow I don't seem to feel much for the story which is the medieval version of Chushingura (the ronins who waited to avenge the death of their master in the Japanese warlord era). Replace the word warrior with samurai, replace the word honor with samurai code, and the adaption of Chushingura is complete, even down to the self-sacrifice of Owen in the end. Then again, the director/producer is Japanese (Kaz Kiriya), it should come as no surprise.

Kingdom of Heaven (Movie, 2005)

This epic is the story of a young man who follows a man who may be his father on a quest to the Crusades. There, he must go from being a simple man into a leader to try to help the Christian Crusaders who are occupying Jersulam fight off hordes of Islamic invaders. Ridley Scott has done an excellent job in recreating the milieu (dress, warfare, weapons, mores) of the 12th Century when this historical drama took place. While Orlando Bloom does a fine job playing Balian of Ibelin, the rest of the performances are also superb -  especially Liam Neeson as Godfrey.  

It is a finely crafted film - technically and artistically.

生花正風體: 使用根締的二種生

Shoka Shofutai: Nissuike with Nejime

Nejime (根締): When Shin and Soe are wooden or leaves material without flowers, the second material with flowers in the Tai portion is called Nejime, meaning, "something which completes or draws the arrangement together as its base." Sometimes a material without flowers lacks the color or interest needed to make an arrangement beautiful. In this case, we follow the principle of using flower material to support material without flowers.

當使用與真或副不同木物的花或其他草花為體時, 體就稱為根締. 體(根締) 不要超出真副, 而只要像是補枝一般輕輕的插上, 必須清楚的插在最前方.

If Shin and Soe are a woody, branch material, Nejime can be either a tree flower or a grassy, herbaceous flower (草本). If Shin and Soe are grassy material, then Nejime must also be a grassy, herbaceous flower.

In the Nejime portion, the tip of Tai is called Tai Saki (體先), Behind Tai Saki and shorter is Tai Ashirai (體補<谷>). The next stem, behind Tai Ashirai and adjacent to the Shin group, is called Tai Shin (體真). Tai Shin is taller than Tai Saki. Note: the material used for Nejime portion should be smaller than the material used for Shin & Soe. Normally the height of Tai Shin is about 1/3 of the Shin.

Olympus Has Fallen (Movie, 2013)

Yes this movie is absurdly implausible. And who doesn't like to see Gerard Butler kick some bad guy butt! You see innocent American citizens get slaughtered by Korean terrorists, and it's really dramatic and makes you emotionally invested in the story. 

Heat (1995, Movie)

With Pacino and Deniro you can't go wrong.The only movie that they appeared together on the same screen. 

However, even with the sound turned up to maximum we still could not hear what they were saying. A terribly recorded film.