Movie - Ip Man & Ip Man 2.
Posted on January 21, 2012 at 10:33 pm.
I watched Ip Man & Ip Man 2, because I was stuck at home and needed to entertain myself. I was looking for some mindless action flick, but ended up getting served good dose of Chinese state propaganda in the process.
Ip Man.
The film itself has artistic merit, and certainly enough action to keep me satisfied. I am not a martial arts expert, so I am unable to judge the quality and realism of the moves performed, still to a layman it looked pretty neat. In comparison with my last Chinese propaganda movie Fearless, Ip Man is clearly a step forward in terms of subtlety. A valiant attempt is made to make it seem less blunt and obtuse.
Also, unlike with Fearless, this time around the baddies are Japanese, complete with an ugly, sadistic, rat-like officer - who of course gets his due in the end, and a somewhat less evil (still evil though) and marginally honorable general - who gets effortlessly defeated by titular Ip Man in the end.
Ip Man 2.
I guess someone in the government was dissatisfied with the subtlety of Ip Man (paper-thin as it was) and ordered a remake of Fearless, featuring Ip Man. Making their comeback are the eeeeeeeevil white people, cleverly personified by a corrupt Hong-Kong cop, and a rude, brutal, and conceited boxer. The fact that the boxer in Fearless was not disgusting (impersonal and gracious in defeat) must not have been good for the overall message, so the new boxer is as unlikable as possible.
So with all pretense to subtlety gone, the immense Chinese virtue and cultural/martial superiority is not only being shown, it is being openly talked about by the main character. It's a bit odd, since most of the screen time is devoted to criminally-minded Chinese thugs, who brutalize, kidnap, and otherwise molest each other, yet somehow miraculously end up being the good guys, all excused by the fact that the boxer is rude. The message of mutual respect at the very end seemed a big factitious, after an hour of referring to the British as "foreign devils" who speak "devil tongue."
Visually, the film is as pleasant as the first Ip Man. The fights are pretty, the acting is mostly good, and I more or less enjoyed it, in part due to the mirth granted by the inapt propaganda attempts.
Oh and another thing. Although Ip Man smacked the Japanese general around like a kid, the English boxer nearly did him in. Not sure what this means. Perhaps the world hierarchy according to the Chinese government... but I'm speculating at this point.
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Game #182 - Mass Effect 2.
Posted on January 19, 2012 at 8:06 pm.
Last night I finished Mass Effect 2, my 182-nd game. It's been almost 8 months since an article of mine was published, in which I explained why I fell out of love with BioWare. (I don't write articles like that anymore, due to a conflict of interest.) Having finished this game, I admit that it's better than its predecessors. I suspect that it is in part due to the fact that I approached it as an action game with choices, not as an RPG. At the same time, many of the problems that I complained about as far as the original KotOR are still there. So while I don't feel that my time was wasted, I will keep hoping for improvements in their future games.
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Book - Spellcasters.
Posted on January 17, 2012 at 2:14 am.
I just finished reading Spellcasters by Alexi Pekhov. It's a fairly run-of-the-mill fantasy novel, with some interesting elements. Not a complete write off, but also not something I'd be willing to recommend, unless you are bored. At the same time I'd be lying if I said I got no enjoyment out of it.
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Book - The Long Ships.
Posted on January 15, 2012 at 12:13 am.
I finished reading The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson today. It's a great novel about vikings, and I loved everything about it. Certainly made for better reading then my previous book American Gods.
Thank you, David!
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I'm a Major General again!
Posted on January 15, 2012 at 12:10 am.
I'm a Major General again, this time in Modern Warfare 3.
I am the very model of a modern Major-General,
I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical
From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical;
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Game #181 - Bastion.
Posted on December 30, 2011 at 1:34 am.
A few minutes ago, I finished my game #181. Bastion - an absolutely amazing indie game, that along with very few others is a candidate for my game of the year.
As I'm writing this, it is on sale on Steam for $10.04 (that's 33% off). If you are not convinced by my recommendation, please do yourself a favor and at least check out the demo, although frankly it gets better and better as it progresses. In the end it very nearly made me cry.
Update: I just bought the Bastion Original Soundtrack album.
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Book - American Gods.
Posted on December 19, 2011 at 12:15 am.
I finished reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman today. It is said that most people either love it or hate it, but I don't understand why. I enjoyed it well enough, although it is far from my favorites. Frankly I liked his Good Omens much better, but possibly because it's also Pratchett's.
Before I read it, people told me that I would enjoy it because I like mythologies, and it was indeed nice to recognize quite a lot of what I already know. I suspect that it's one of the reasons people like the book — everyone things that mythology is lost knowledge, and so everyone is proud to detect patterns, which, in their mind are undetectable to others. Truth be told, I think that the amount of people who knows this stuff is quite vast, so white it's pleasant to detect familiar patterns, I didn't get the joy of feeling exclusive.
The plot twists were not necessarily what I expected. Most were easier than I had hoped — the cell-mate, the town, and Czernobog were obvious from early on. The two-man scam, and Shadow's origins not so much.
The author and I seem to see the world very differently. He is fascinated by the House on the Rock. To him it's meaningful and mystical, while I believe it to be a worthless and tiring pile of trash, an enormous zombie of a garage sale, not at all historical or profound.
Before I picked up this book, I've heard it mentioned a few times. Most recently, by a person, who, upon hearing of my plan to drive from Seattle to Chicago — expressed her disappointment over not having read that book before her own road-trips. She thought that it would change her experience and her direction, but I don't feel the same way.
At the same time, there were quite a few moments in the book that gave me pause, and led me to think certain things over. I doubt the author had expected those particular pieces to be meaningful to anyone, as they were not a part of the plot as such, yet I found them worth my while, if not always pleasant in terms of what they made me consider.
Overall, I am content having read the book. As I said, it will not be joining my favorites, but I feel it's one of those that would do well to be read.
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Book - The Clash of Kings.
Posted on December 16, 2011 at 10:05 pm.
I finished reading A Clash of Kings last night. It's the second book in the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. I liked it a little less than the first book (A Game of Thrones) but it was enjoyable none the less. I am curious to see how the plot develops, and so I will read the next one as well. For the time being? however? I am going to take a break from the series and read another book that came highly recommended. In fact I think I'm gonna go invest in the local economy and visit a Barnes and Noble store right now.
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Game #180 - Eufloria.
Posted on December 16, 2011 at 9:45 pm.
I just beat my game #180! It's an indie ambient strategy called Eufloria. It's my 21st game this year, and if I keep this up, next year I'll be celebrating my 200th title! The odds of that are fairly slim, since I don't have a much time to play as I used to, still, who knows. Either way if not 2012, then 1213. =)
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Please donate to Ron Paul!
Posted on December 15, 2011 at 1:27 am.
I have never before in my life donated to a political candidate or a campaign. However, this time around I felt that I must do absolutely everything in my power to help Dr. Paul win. Unless you literally have no money or are a traitor to the republic, please donate as well. This is the most important investment any of us can make.
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"The unarmed man is not just defenseless - he is also contemptible." - Nicollo Machiavelli
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