January 28, 2004
San Jose, January
If Silicon Valley has been in recovery, I did not feel it in the chilly late January. Monday afternoon at 4:30 at San Jose downtown felt like the first half hour of 28 Days Later. Being aware that the kind of lavish parties thrown at heydays do not come back, we are still appalled at the so called �banquet� that serves only pasta and cheese at SPIE, annual congregation of more than 2000 scientists and technicians. Although it was a conference on image processing, people seem eager to reorient their future research from the traditional subject. The speak of research director from Google attracted more people than the room can accommodate, although she talked nothing more than what I learnt three years ago, except their new attempt on shopping catalogue index and map of business nearby. The second meeting on document image analysis was hold at PARC. Again people talked about text storage and retrieval. It is hard to resist taking a photo in front of podium with letter �PARC�, but everyone knows the glory is not anymore. Palo Alto is a beautiful place, green valley, horses sauntering. But no people moving within your sight- all hide in cars or offices. Plain and big office building looked lifeless rather than a foundation of innovation and creativity.
Met some Bin�s old friends, no one gets fired or bankrupt, neither anyone got rich during the boom. While you are amazed on how many top Chinese students have imported themselves to Silicon Valley, you also felt a kind of sorrow for how few of them have play strategic role, compared to Indians.
The last night we stayed at Marriot at Newark-Fremont. The fire alarm went off abruptly at the middle of the night, waking me straight up screaming like a loony. Luckily it is just a false alarm, but all the fire wagons still whistle over. Outside the window of 4th floor, red and orange lights flashed against the stilled valley. Highway 84 was faintly illuminated by a couple headlights moving along. Removing its glamorous makeup of money and machine, it is just a valley, by all means.
January 19, 2004
Richard Florida on Creative class War in the US
“Clinton’s whole life is a testimony to the power of education to change class. Bush prides himself on the idea that his Yale education had no effect on how he sees things. Clinton was a famous world traveler, appreciative of foreign cultures and ideas. Bush, throughout his life, has been indifferent if not hostile to all of that. Clinton, especially in the early years of his administration, had the loose, unstructured management style of an academic department or a dot-com — manic work hours, meetings that went on forever, lots of diffuse power centers, young people running around in casual clothing, and a constant reappraising of plans and strategies. The Bush management style embodies the pre-creative corporate era — formal, hierarchal, with decision-making concentrated in the hands of only the most senior executives. Clinton was happy in Hollywood and vacationed in Martha’s Vineyard. Bush can’t wait to get back to Crawford. Clinton reveled in the company of writers, artists, scientists, and members of the intellectual elite. Bush has little tolerance for them. Clinton, in his rhetoric and policies, wanted to bring the gifts of the creative class — high technology, a tolerant culture — to the hinterlands. Bush aimed to bring the values and economic priorities of the hinterlands to that ultimate creative center, Washington, D.C. As president, Bush chose a group of senior advisors whose economic backgrounds have a century-old flavor. His vice president is an oil man. His treasury secretary, John Snow, is a railroad man…”
January 3, 2004
My kind of movie ranking of year 2003:
1. Dancer upstairs
A movie for intellectual grown-ups. But be sure to watch on DVD with English subtitles, so not to miss the beautiful script muddled in Javier Bardem�s exotic English. A good movie is supposed to teach you something or guide you to learn something: Like I was petrified at Nina Simmone�s voice and song �Who knows where all the time goes� at the beginning and end of the movie and crazily searching her songs, like I started to reread things about Kant to find out his relevance with terrorism.
2. Cold Mountain
Perfectly classical, inspiring at aesthetic point, just smells a little too much Hollywood classic. But Jude Law�s eyes!
3. Lord of rings: return of the king
Why not extend to four episodes, so audience will not keep going to restroom during the 3-hour-something movie?
4. girl with a pearl earring
The movie is an enticing moving picture (literally), extracted from the original Vemeer paintings.
5. mystic river
Shakespeare�s tragedy reappears in modern small town close Boston, the dramatic and poetic tension is no less. Good acting. Not a good choice during holiday season.
6. Pirates of Caribbean
There is nothing wrong about entertainment when you make it in the right way and with right cast, like Jonny Depp!
7. Whale rider
A little girl�s innocent eyes could light up a prosaic movie.
8. 28 days
I watch it on DVD next day I watched Cold Mountain, I sensed the strong similarity of the implication in the two movies. For many people, war and survival are excuse, human is animal by instinct.
9. Matrix reloaded
It would be wise to shut up when there is no more stories.
Actually, these are all movies I�ve watched last year, not even enough to make a �Top 10� list. So it is just a ranking of movie I’ve seen.