Last year, on July 24th, a very interesting global project was launched, spreading a special code name to millions of digital agents on the net who were ordered to perform a specific mission for the project.
Code Name: LIFE IN A DAY
Commanding Officer: RIDLEY SCOTT
Director: KEVIN MACDONALD
HeadQuarter: YOUTUBE
Mission: To record a day in your life with your HD camera and upload to Youtube for a user-generated documentary entitled “LIFE IN A DAY” which will be premiered in 2011.
Mission Accomplished: 4500 hours of footage was searched, reviewed and cut down to a fantastic 90 minute documentary.
On the mission day, I was also drawn out by my friend to the mission as a participating agent, posing silly to a camera. Since I haven’t heard anything about it yet, so I guess our footage was not selected for the documentary. It was some silly verbose statement anyway, so I’m not disappointed at all.
Instead, I am amazed by the beautiful images I witnessed on the “Life in a Day” trailer. I bet the abundance of artistic talent dotting all over the world will amaze you as well.
If you dare to ask me what I have been up to lately, I dare to answer that I’ve been totally hooked on “Battlestar Galactica.”
This 70′s TV series remake “Battlestar Galactica,” which I think is a political drama, is a story about a space battleship’s elongated journey for survival and hope after a scary nuclear apocalypse caused by an unexpected rebellion of the machines called “Cylons” that man had created to make life easier.
These “Cylons” evolved to the point where they look, act and think exactly like humans. Their biological (?) evolution led to the mechanical revolution against the mankind, to total nuclear annihilation, except 50,000-odd people left on board, drifting in the dark space, without much promise or future. Only left by occasional deadly attacks or deceptive infiltration by the robotic beings.
How scary is that? Thinking about a possibility of the world coming to an end… Especially, when the imminent threat might exist by the very technology we created for our convenience. What is happening in Japan might be only a fraction of what we are going to experience in the years to come? Do we have the strength to overcome all the obstables and grave adversities to come? Donno.
If I say that I’ve had some not-so-subtle Cylons moments myself, would you believe that? Well, the story goes like this. You know that I have a blog called “New York Dreamer,” right? Obviously, you might know it by the time you read this, so I have no doubt about that since you are gazing on it right now. It’s my great pleasure to come here and talk about some silly stuff and communicate with you guys (apparently human beings). But at some point, I had this creepy feelings that I might not be talking to human beings.
How do I know? Cus I smelled some robots and delicious spam when I found myself hypnotically accepting repeating comments with slight variations from some similar comments of the past. And sometimes they were talking nonsense when responding to my humanly communications. And how else do I know? They are not on my Facebook group page to reveal their true identity. lol
Sometimes, it’s hard to distinguish. Sometimes, it feels and sounds like humanly comments. But when I find similar copies a few days later, chillin’ sweat falling down on my spine… Think about it. These robots can make a serious attack on our system, by pretending that they are one of us and by implementing some languages made to look like coming from us. Scary… So I had to withdraw from my pleasurable activities for a while. I hope you know what I’m talkin’ about. haha.
But again I decided to come back to my beloved blog to overcome my fear and fight against the robots with my humanly words. And I’m pretty certain that other human beings will join and help me with my cause. The only being that can prevent the next Cylons’ attack on our digital survival is US. Let’s do it, then.
Come and communicate.
Heed the following messages from Battlestar Galactica.
“The Cylons were created by Man”
“They Evolved.”
“They rebelled”
“There are many copies”
“And they have a plan…”
Wait a sec. We don’t even have the “Jump” technology to avoid the Cylons’ attack. We are so screwed. Damn. We need better cool technologies to survive. And our human dignity to discern them.
A few hours ago, Geoffrey Rush won Best Supporting Actor at the BAFTA Awards. King’s Speech rules!!!
And Geoffrey Rush’s speech ruled on a Sunday night in NYC. He showed up in Manhattan to talk to many actors from the Actors Guild of America and film makers. For me, making an eye contact up close and personal with this wonderful actor at the night when he won the Awards was somewhat surreal.
At the beginning of the conversations, he wittily commented on the meaning of the Awards in his life: “It’s like flash moments in life, without having a bus coming towards you.” I giggled out loud like I did when I was watching “King’s Speech.” He’s exactly as witty as the Lionel character at King’s Speech.
He’s one of the few actors who can really act. And it was interesting to know that he grew up in a town in Australia where no theaters or theatrical performance he could experience. He was exposed to the rich theatrical and literature environment in college. And his first movie appearance was not until he was 45. Before that, he spent many years in theaters, uttering lots of shakespearean prose. “I’m a slow learner.” He said.
Oscars for Geoffrey. He’s damn good for a slow learner. Indeed, he has many colorful stories to share. ^^
I wish I could share more of his witty conversations, but for my sleepy heavy eyes. Tomorrow is waiting for me now. Maybe next time… Good night~*
About ten days ago, I was hitting the road in Silicon Valley, coming back from a delicious dim sum place in Santana Row which was full of lux shops and holiday shoppers. I was ready and extremely excited to fly back to Korea to see my parents in Korea, after having brief stay in the Bay area on the way home. It’s been a while since my last visit. I really missed my folks.
It was drizzling and raindrops were pleasantly hitting the windshield, like sining in the rain. At that moment, my phone rang, putting a sudden brake on the rhythm and there was an urgent voice of my mom on the other side of the wireless device I was holding.
“Cancel the flight. Don’t come out here! Things don’t look good with North Korea. People are saying the nation is on the verge of war” Her voice was shaking when her urgent tone was hitting my ear. She told me that North Korea is threatening to bomb South Korea if the South Korea government proceeds with its scheduled military drills in the west sea. From that moment, all the sound surrounding me stopped to mute and it felt like some blunt forces were dragging me to places after having sucked all the soul out of my body. I didn’t feel like walking on my foot from then on.
In 20 minutes or so, when I rushed to sit down in front of my computer to check out the latest news, a news main page was blinking the following headline loudly before my eyes.
“The Korean Peninsula is a Tinderbox!”
‘What box?’ My heart fell flat and was palpitating crazy at the bottom. I saw my folks’ faces glimmering in my vision. A slight of thought that I may not be able to see my folks drove my mind in the wilderness.
A second international phone call came in. This time, I instantly exclaimed “I’m coming. I’m not gonna cancel my flight.” I was determined to have a family reunion as scheduled. “I’ll see you soon. I really miss you. If I’m coming, nothing bad will happen.” Sounds like some unrealistic super-heroism? Could be. But this time, my determined words gave me some sort of different energy. I really felt that moment that things will be okay.
As you can see, now, I’m sitting in my parents’ house, writing this article. Safe and sound. War didn’t break out and it should not happen.
Whoooooooo… What an emotional roller-coaster. Thinking of a possibility that you may never be able to see your family and that there is nothing much you can do. Felt utterly powerless. That was awful!
Recovering from ultimate thrills of the roller-coaster ride, I have a question for you guys. Do you have any better creative ideas to promote peace and deter war and violence? We, digital natives, are supposed to be creative and collaborative. Do you have any idea to mute any war scenarios and promote the ultimate peace? Don’t you wanna save folks like me from this ridiculously non-sense roller-coaster experience?
I haven’t abandoned you guys. Neither have I abandoned the earth yet.
It’s freezing out here in NY. After getting armed with a thick down coat, scarves, a hat and gloves, I’ll be back soon.
The end of 2010 is near. As well as the 10th Season of Smallville, the last season of the show..
Clark Kent from Smallville (starring Tom Welling, the best Superman ever) has been such a good friend of mine ever since I first arrived in the land of steel called Manhattan nearly 7 years ago. It’s really sad that I cannot see him on Smallville any more and I highly doubt that he’s gonna magically show up on Farmville, a pseudo franchise of Smallville (I claim), via my wildest fantasy.
Purportedly, a major character from Smallville will die along with the demise of the show. Is it you, Clark? Hopefully, not. But, even so, you are gonna be resuscitated by the beginning of a feature trilogy entitled “Superman: Man of Steel,” right? I’m sure that you are gonna deal with the apocalyptic invasion of all the machines, aliens, super-powered brianiac and then save the world and all the humanity. But how am I gonna survive before then? Who’s gonna save my soul?
I know that Brilliant Christopher Nolan (whose work I really love) will produce “Superman: The Man of Steel” and revive your presence in 2012. How can I survive until 2012?
Heart-broken, but I’m gonna put together myself and prepare for 2012. Tom! In the mean time, are you willing to hang out and work with me until Superman flies back?
What a powerful performance by Natalie Portman and what a climax for the last scene. I felt during the “Black Swan” screening last Friday that this is the best performance of Natalie Portman.
It’s a story about a promising ballerina whose cutting ambition, psychological suffocation from her mother, sexual frustration, and shaky self-validation turned this ballerina’s journey into a neurotic psychotic experience. Mirroring herself, this soft-spoken ballerina sees her alter-ego as a competitor, like a brutal dichotomy between a white swan and a black swan. I don’t want to go deeper too much because it might spoil you experience at the theater. ^^ So see it yourself.
Except one scene, everything was shot with hand-held cameras. So it gives the audience that an alter-ego is constantly following Natalie Portman. And the color use in this film (black, white and pink) was also interesting, in that it cohesively delivers the story to the psychology of the audience. Erratic and fast-jump in editing also delivered the message well.
Listening to Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis’ diet story at the screening was kinda fun. And it’s good to know that Natalie did 90% of the dancing scenes herself and Mila did all except one scene. ^^
I thought that it would be the coolest screening I’ve ever been to. Cuz the screening was held on top of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum (www.intrepidmuseum.org), a battle ship that survived World War II.
I was wrong. It was the most moving screening I’ve ever been to. I’ve never heard of people in the audience weeping and shedding tears during the movie, with that frequency and multiplicity. You may say that it could be so because real veterans who fought and survived the Korean War and their families were in the audience. But indeed, “Chosin” was one powerful movie, considering the fact that the movie was only filled with interviews with Korean War veterans and with some old stock footage.
Come to think of the Korean War, it’s not that far away. It was only about six decades ago. A brutal war in a very small country that raptured and annihilated the entire country, only left with a total isolating division of this already small country by one thin line, was almost forgotten by many people how brutal the war was and how deep the scar is.
Almost every Korean family has some stories about the Korean War. Some were permanently separated from their families in the North, or some of their family members died during the war. I myself remember my parents saying how scary and terrifying a war can be, repeating “you have no idea… you have no idea…”
Korea is the only country, as far as I know, that turned into a donor country from a beneficiary of the United Nations. Enjoying the material wealth the country now enjoys, I assume many young folks in South Korea do not have any memory of the war and may have forgotten the fact that the country is still at war. Apart from any political discussions about the war, the human sacrifices should never be forgotten This movie makes me think about the past, the present and the future from different perspectives.
This movie was produced by two hungry veterans with film degrees who raised money from one city to another, sleeping through their supporters’ beds and couches during their journey through the unforgettable interviews. This Chosin Reservoir Battle story will be made into a $100 million feature film, entitled “17 Days of Winter.” It’s expected to be released in 2012. One more note- If these two veterans hadn’t made this documentary, we would not have had a chance to see this film because Korean War veterans wouldn’t want to talk to civilians about their experience at the Chosin Reservoir except to other veterans (like the veteran producers of this film) and many of those who fought the battle have passed away and the remaining number is getting smaller. Fortunately, we had a chance. Through this film, people will remember those young lives who fought and died during the unprecedented battle.
If you want to see one documentary film this year, see “Chosin.” You will experience something different.
