Inferno (Movie, 2016)

Movie was hard for me to follow. According to people who read the book, it would have been a great movie had they followed the book just a bit more, or at least had the same ending. And Tom Hanks is not quite fit to play the fast pacing role. 

媽咪生日禮物

Angels & Demons (Movie, 2009)

"Angels and Demons" is a fast and furious race through the ancient streets of Rome while the clock ticks away the precious lives of four Catholic Cardinals who have been kidnapped by the ancient and mystical Illuminati. Director Ron Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman have compressed, omitted and changed so much of the intricacies of Dan Brown's novel and there are times the film makes little to no sense. This novel was written prior to "The DaVinci Code" but the success of that novel brought this one to national attention and many consider it a far superior story. 

There is no background about CERN or how the secret of the antimatter was revealed; key characters are missing, and a Scottish Camerlengo who is the closest adviser to the Pope?

Both Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor did an excellent job. The phenomenal ending was drastically changed which also eliminated key characters and issues. 

I was amazed at the brilliant cinematography of Rome by Salvatore Totino and some incredible scenes inside The Vatican; particularly The Vatican Library.

自由花

二重切花筒

The Man from Nowhere (Movie, 2010)

The story follows the same path as other films such as TAKEN, MAN ON FIRE, or THE PROFESSIONAL. Not only does it come with a compelling story, but the acting is superb as well from all the actors. The action is brutal, violent, and mesmerizing to see. Its not the Chinese and Hong Kong action style that showcases the leads skill, the action here is geared towards the reality of simply providing swift pain. 

西洋花

Beauty and the Beast (Movie, 2017)

"A Tale as old as time/A Song as old as rhyme/Beauty and the beast." The basic story has not changed, but the back stories of Maurice (Belle's father) and the Prince/Beast have been fleshed out a bit. Emma Watson - "Harry Potter" fans will remember her - is all grown up now and can sing as well as act...she is superb as Belle. And Dan Stevens is also superb as the Prince/Beast...and he does his own singing too. 

In the end, I didn't feel disappointed, but I wasn't impressed either. It's just another "animated films going live" adaptations Disney wants to do.

Sacramento and Hearst Castle Trip

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Sacramento, the Tree City, here we come again! AFIS 31st Internet Conference was held in Sacramento this year and this is hubby’s first NEC Conference. You can imagine all participants are NEC’s customers, mostly are from law enforcement. NEC claims their software solution will Solve Crime and Save Lives. You’ll be amazed their Diverse Capabilities Established partnerships with federal, state and local agencies and organizations are growing strongly globally.

26 August 2017

Home, China Garden, Hyatt Regency, Andy Nguyen’s Vegetarian

Hubby insisted on driving all the way up to our destination again, copying the journey in 2015. It might be the best as a person suffering from motion sickness. Comparing with 2 years ago when driving through brown, yellow or gold “Dust Bowls”, we spotted less boards along the way, e.g., “Is growing food wasting water?” I do wish severe drought already eased California farmers!

Along the way, we stopped at China Garden for lunch because hubby was fascinated by their colorful dishes on their website. Since it’s the only Chinese restaurant in town, the price is not cheap. The food was average, nothing special about it.

It took us total of 8 hours to get to our Hyatt Regency. Location is excellent. Staff is well trained, courteous, attentive and easy going. The only thing we missed was having a small refrigerator, since it’s all packed by so-called “mini-bar” items. Not a single room to store any small bottle juice! We were placed on the 8^th floor with views directly toward Capitol Park.

Hubby wanted to revisit Andy Nguyen’s Vegetarian restaurant which we came with friends in 2015. They have all the flavorful array of vegan options, e.g., Awakening of Faith, Treasure Rolls, Patience Noodle. I had a Vietnamese Pho (noodle soup) which gave me itches all over my body all night long! My guess was some kind of special herbs they used caused me the allergy. 

27 August 2017

Capitol Park, State Capitol, Bento Box

The young tour guide gave us a great tour! We got to see the interior of the capitol, plus we saw all of the past California state governors’ self-portrait paintings including Arnold Schwarzenegger's. By the way, they added a new Ronald Reagan’s bronze statue. I enjoyed the tour and always learned something new about the people and culture of California. The California State Capitol houses the Bicameral State Legislature, offices of the Executive Branch, a pretty Rotunda area, interesting historical displays, and 70s-era office suites. 

The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. Due to the state's large population and relatively small legislature, the State Senate has the largest population per representative ratio of any state legislative house. The red tones of the California State Senate Chamber are based on the British House of Lords, which is outfitted in a similar color. The dais rests along a wall shaped like an "E", with its central projection housing the rostrum. Along the cornice appears a portrait of George Washington and the Latin quotation: senatoris est civitatis libertatem tueri ("It is a senator's duty to protect the liberty of the people"). The California Assembly Chamber is located at the opposite end of the building. Its green tones are based on those of the British House of Commons (the lower house).  Along the cornice appears a quotation from Abraham Lincoln in Latin: "Legislatorum est justas leges condere (It is the duty of legislators to pass just laws). We also walked under the Rotunda, viewed the historic Governor's Office Suites, and wandered the ornate hallways outside the Legislative Chambers. It's all fascinating stuff and definitely worth a visit and for an intriguing civics experience.

28 August 2017

Leland Stanford Mansion, State Library & Courthouse

This historic place is called, "Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park." Operated with the State of California, this classic vintage mansion (now a museum) brings is to explore the history of the Stanford family. The concept is very original and well kept. I was lucky enough to have a private tour! I explored every room by room to know more of the historic facts of the Stanford family, his credible works, days as a governor of California right at his former home, a U.S. Senator and chairman of the Southern Pacific Railroad, collections of fine China, furniture and accessories! It’s still being restored during my visit.

I checked inside for this well-known historic private library located near the State Capitol of California in Sacramento called, the "California State Library." For this vintage private library, they have tons of resources to explore to make your bigger project(s) very informative and accurate. The architecture of this place is simply sensational and astonishing by showing the mixtures of the Renaissance era and U.S. history events combined.

29 August 2017

Crocker Museum, Farmers Market

Crocker Museum has been in Sacramento for over 45 or 50 years. As museum originates from a word muse for one that inspires artistic endeavor Crocker is the place to see some cool art. This museum has an interesting combination of eclectic art from many different cultures and periods of history.

Then I spent the warm afternoon strolling the Tuesday Farmers Market. Browsing all the amazing produce, flowers, plants, even artists in the Farmers Market is always a charm. Strawberries are surprisingly super sweet!

30 August 2017

Cesar Chavez Farmers Market, Cathedral of the Blessed Sacramento

Sacramento has been pretty lucky in recent years to have such a healthy diversity of Farmer's Markets scattered throughout the Downtown / Midtown areas. And this one is right in front of City Hall! It was still fun when grabbing a Fuji apple to nibble as I walked along.

The Cathedral was stunning and has been well preserved. The cathedral has beautiful interior with stained glass and a nice altar. I was lucky again to have a private tour. Completed in 1887, it is one of Sacramento's gems.

31 August 2017

China Garden, Hearst Castle, Cavalier Oceanfront Resort

Saying goodbye to Sacramento and headed San Simeon. Hubby insisted on having lunch at China Garden for lunch again. Some people just cannot stop pampering Chinese stomachs.

Since hubby has never been to Hearst Castle, we were both excited about visiting Hearst. It's absolutely breathtaking of the view from the top! You have a clear view of the ocean that goes on for miles and miles. However, rushing to it at 4:30 pm didn’t do us too much good. They let us sneak in the 40 minutes “Building the Dream” movie. The film gives a good background of the Hearst family and the building of the estate houses on La Cuesta Encantada. And bought some souvenirs in the gift shop.

Headed to our night stay. Best feature was the ocean view with a fireplace. The Fire Pits at night were so romantic. The restaurant has the best clam chowder!

1 September 2017

Hearst Castle, Cavalier Oceanfront Resort

We booked 2 different tours, Grand Room and Designing the Dream. The bus rode up to the castle and a person over the speaker talks about the history of the castle and land. Rolling hills provide shelter and food for the animals on the property. Some zebras caught our attention as well. 

The Grand Room tour, which I can see why it's the most popular because you get to see and learn about the history of the Neptune pool, the main room where Hearst's family, friends and staff get to hang out before dinner. Then we got led to the dining room, "tea" room where people hung out after dinner, recreation room, and billiard room. Finally, the last room is where we viewed black and white footage of The Hearst Family in a silent movie. All rooms felt like we stepped back into history.

Neptune Pool, a pool filled with 350,000 gallons of water, perhaps the centerpiece of the Hearst Castle grounds, is fenced off for repairs that are expected to take years to stop leaks that let thousands of gallons of water flow out daily. 

The “Designing the Dream” Tour, which is longer than the other tours and includes one of the guest cottages, as well as the upper floors of the Casa Grande and the pools. In addition to the main house (Casa Grande), there are three Guest Cottages on the property. Construction on the castle started in the 1920s, and the cottages were decorated in the style of 1600s Europe. Everything about them was elaborate . . . the rugs, the wall coverings, the furniture, and especially the ceilings, doors, and artwork. The most prominent of guests were assigned to these rooms in the main house Casa Grande, in close proximity to W. R. Hearst’s own private quarters. The rooms in the main house were built in the 1940s, and were a distinctly different style than the cottages. Some features, like the floors, were more simple and utilitarian, whereas the bathrooms were considerably more modern and luxurious, with marble floors and walls. This room on the top floor would have been a highly desirable accommodation for the most important guests. Hearst was an avid collector of antiques, and the furniture in the house and cottages was a major part of the collection. It is said that Hearst owns 5% of the whole world’s antiques. He was also a collector of religious artwork and artifacts, with examples on display in every room. One particular painting was selected by the U.S. Post Office as a Christmas stamp. The last rooms we toured were Hearst’s private quarters. And inside, under the tennis courts, is the Roman Pool. This pool building was amazing!  The floors, walls and ceiling all covered with 1” tiles – mostly blue, but also in the shape of colorful sea creatures, and mythical characters in tiles covered with 14K gold.

The Hearst family still owns the property – raising cattle on the ranch, and utilizing the castle for birthdays, weddings and other family events – but they entered into a Conservancy Agreement with the state, which means that the property cannot be developed and that the state maintains it as a State Historic Site, and offers the tours of the castle.  It seems like a pretty good arrangement for everyone!   

2 September 2017

Kyoto Sushi, Home

We bumped into this sushi place on our way home in Santa Barbara. They offer creative sushi rolls. I ordered the Hawaiian roll, which consisted of eel, nuts, and several fishes. Not too approving!

Home, sweet home!

Ikenobo Ogencho vase: my new treasure

Vintage Japanese bronze vase for Ikebana flower arranging, circa 1960's