StitchLand by Stitch | English, baby! Blogs

Broadway Show

Stitch — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:36:01 GMT

Broadway Show

I always look forward to going to Broadway Shows when they tour in town. I've seen a few shows like Rent, Phantom of the Opera, and Mama Mia. I enjoyed them all but really like Rent and Phantom of the Opera.

I'm going to a Broadway Show this weekend. It's called Avenue Q. I'm looking forward to it because it seem really fun.

Here is what Avenue Q website said about it:

Who is AVENUE Q appropriate for?

Adults love AVENUE Q, but they seem a little, er, fuzzy on whether it's appropriate for kids. We'll try to clear that up. AVENUE Q is great for teenagers because it's about real life. It may not be appropriate for young children because AVENUE Q addresses issues like sex, drinking, and surfing the web for porn. It's hard to say what exact age is right to see AVENUE Q - parents should use their discretion based on the maturity level of their children. But we promise you this - if you DO bring your teenagers to AVENUE Q, they'll think you're really cool.

Good Movie: The Counterfeiters (Die Fälscher)

Stitch — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 02:23:39 GMT

Good Movie: The Counterfeiters (Die Fälscher)

I just watched a movie last night. It's Call "Die Fälscher" (English Title: The Counterfeiters). The acting was fantastic and the story was very interesting. You can really feel the internal struggle of the characters. The movie presented the dilemma between survival and morality under such extreme condition. It even made me wonder if there is a clear line in between survival and morality when you are put in a position to be responsible for others' lives.

Plot summary for
Fälscher, Die

Written by Sony Pictures Classics

The Counterfeiters is the true story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history, set up by the Nazis in 1936. Salomon "Sally" Sorowitsch is the king of counterfeiters. He lives a mischievous life of cards, booze, and women in Berlin during the Nazi-era. Suddenly his luck runs dry when arrested by Superintendent Friedrich Herzog. Immediately thrown into the Mauthausen concentration camp, Salomon exhibits exceptional skills there and is soon transferred to the upgraded camp of Sachsenhausen. Upon his arrival, he once again comes face to face with Herzog, who is there on a secret mission.

Hand-picked for his unique skill, Salomon and a group of professionals are forced to produce fake foreign currency under the program Operation Berhard. The team, which also includes detainee Adolf Burger, is given luxury barracks for their assistance. But while Salomon attempts to weaken the economy of Germany's allied opponents, Adolf refuses to use his skills for Nazi profit and would like to do something to stop Operation Bernhard's aid to the war effort.

Faced with a moral dilemma, Salomon must decide whether his actions, which could prolong the war and risk the lives of fellow prisoners, are ultimately the right ones.

Double Heart Stone Weir

Stitch — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 07:33:05 GMT

Double Heart Stone Weir

This is my new desktop image.

I would like to visit it someday. It is a stone weir at the Penghu island in Taiwan, a traditional method of fishing. fishermen used to pile up stonewalls when the tide is flat and the rising tide will bring in fish. When the tide goes back down, the fish is trapped within the stonewalls, then the fishermen can easily catch fish.

Usually there is only one layer of wall. This is the only one that is built with two layers of walls. People speculate that the first one was built too deep into the ocean and the fish was getting away, so the fishermen built the second layer and accidentally create the double heart shape.

Evolution Less Accepted in U.S. Than Other Western Countries, Study Finds

Stitch — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 06:25:49 GMT

Evolution Less Accepted in U.S. Than Other Western Countries, Study Finds

When I first saw this , I was very surprised. I continutly get surprised about how religious the American people are... It is just hard to believe sometimes because most of American people I know are not like that. However, I do realize that I am not religious, so my friends are less likely to be...

This chart depicts the public acceptance of evolution theory in 34 countries in 2005. Adults were asked to respond to the statement: "Human beings, as we know them, developed from earlier species of animals." The percentage of respondents who believed this to be true is marked in blue; those who believed it to be false, in red; and those who were not sure, in yellow.

A study of several such surveys taken since 1985 has found that the United States ranks next to last in acceptance of evolution theory among nations polled. Researchers point out that the number of Americans who are uncertain about the theory's validity has increased over the past 20 years.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/21329204.html

Vitisting San Francisco

Stitch — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 21:39:01 GMT

Vitisting San Francisco

I am excited about going to SF this weekend. It is a beautiful city but expensive to live in.

Last time I went there was 5 years ago, and I had a very good time. The SF downtown is beautiful to walk in. I also enjoyed the big dungeon crab from the Fisherman's Wharf, the cool prison cells in Alcatraz, the signature street car, SF China town, and University of Berkeley.

This time, I look forward to see some other things that I missed last time like the Lombard Street and maybe get closer to the Golden Gate Bridge, check out Google and Yahoo in the Silicon Valley.

Since I love seafood, I am definitely going back to the Fisherman's Wharf and eating a whole crab all by myself...

Ray Aderson

Stitch — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 21:02:50 GMT

Ray Aderson

Ray Aderson is inspirational to me. Here is a link to his talk about sustainability.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcRDUIbT4gw

From Wikipida:

Ray Anderson is founder and chairman of Interface, Inc, the world's largest manufacturer of modular carpet for commercial and residential applications and a leading producer of commercial broadloom and commercial fabrics. He is "known in environmental circles for his advanced and progressive stance on industrial ecology and sustainability." Since 1995, he has reduced Interface's waste by a third, and plans to make the company sustainable by 2020.

For instance, under his leadership, Interface seeks to reduce and then eliminate "petroleum from its manufacturing processes." He is pioneering recycling efforts with nylon and polyester which "is recyclable, leading to more closed loop technologies for the future." However, Anderson

"wasn't always a friend of the environment. He had his epiphany in 1994 when he read The Ecology of Commerce, by Paul Hawken, who argues that [the] industrial system is destroying the planet and only industry leaders are powerful enough to stop it."

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First time I heard about Ray Anderson was about two years ago when I watched a dvd called "The Corporation" I don't agree with everything in the film, but it is well made with good arguments. You should make your own judgment on some of the materials in the film. However, it's still a good documentary, and I recommend it.

Sex ID

Stitch — Thu, 24 May 2007 17:54:49 GMT

Sex ID

This has been on the web a while. The first time I did it was 2 years ago. I ran into it by chance again today. It's designed by BBC. It's a fun test to do, so I decided to share it with you. The test is bit long, so make sure you have some time for it.

According to the test, I think more like a man... I kinda agree. Well, maybe people who decided to take this test can tell me if you find it creditable. Have Fun!

Sex ID

Some researchers say that men can have 'women's brains' and that women can think more like men.

Get a brain sex profile and find out if you think like a man or a woman.
See if you can gaze into someone's eyes and know what they're thinking.
Find out why scientists are interested in the length of your fingers.
See how your results relate to theories about brain sex.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sex/add_user.shtml

In Flight Moives

Stitch — Tue, 22 May 2007 21:51:06 GMT

In Flight Moives

I have just recently travel back to Taiwan for two weeks. It was wonderful to see the family and friends.

Flight going home is pretty long. I have to transfer a couple of times because I don't live in the biggest cities in the U.S. or Taiwan. The main flight across the Pacific Ocean is about 12 hours. That's a long time sitting in a little seat!

Thanks to the nice planes we have today, even in economy seats, I have my personal entertainment system. I can chose which movies I want to watch and which games I want to play. With a 12 hour flight, I watched 4 movies each flight. It was great! I can pause it when I want to stretch or go to the restroom.

Out of all the movie I watched during this round trip flight, my favorite was Adam's Apples. Adam's Apples is a Denmark movie. It's a dark comedy, and it's really funny! I couldn't help to laugh even when everyone were sleeping in the flight. Some people may care about the religious interpretation in this movie, good V.S. evil and that kind of things, but I just like the humor.

Adam's Apple

The Lives of Others

Stitch — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 08:02:16 GMT

The Lives of Others

My favorite movie of the year! (I know it's early in 2007...but it is a great movie, and I don't see other movies that can top it off any time soon...)

The Lives of Others

A German Film.
The movie is set at East Germany from 1984 to 1991. 1984, five years before Berlin Wall's downfall, the former East- German government (known as the GDR, German Democratic Republic) ensures its claim to power with a ruthless system of control and surveillance via the Stasi, a vast network of informers that at one time numbered 200,000 out of a population of 17 million.

The topic is interesting to me first of all, since I have not seen movies about this subject. There are lots of German movies about WWII and the Nazi, but not many movies touched the recent history or stories about East Germany.

The film is sober and simple in its usage of color and music, but the actors brings in all the deepest emotions. The characters are very well developed with great spectrum of human qualities, the ugly and the beautiful. It's very well executed and made me leaving the theater thinking over and over about the story with a warm feeling inside.

beauty in microscope

Stitch — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 08:49:48 GMT

beauty in microscope

before I left home this morning, I saw these little bright green sprouts from the moss by the gate. So cute.

when the world disappears

Stitch — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 07:13:55 GMT

when the world disappears

I love painting.

I don't do it often, but I always enjoy it very much when I do. For me, it's one of those things that makes the world disappear and time does not exist.

It's different from design. I love design because the challenges it posts. Clients' needs, budget, teamwork, communication, production, details, unexpected problems are important elements while trying to deliver a visually pleasing solution. Because there are so many elements to consider, it is very satisfying to see a project completed successfully.

When it comes to painting, there is no restriction. All I do is to enjoy the way colors blends, the way a brush leaves its strokes, the way different mediums layers on top of each other, and the way everything inspires my hand to move. I also like to get my hands really dirty. It's part of the fun. : )

How do you greet and say goodbye?

Stitch — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 07:03:54 GMT

How do you greet and say goodbye?

Growing up in Taiwan, people only shake hands in business situation. Other then that, we rarely have any physical contacts.

I am now in the U.S., so I am used to shake people's hands when I first met them, and sometimes also shake their hand when say goodbye.

If they are good friends, I give them hugs. A big good hug is nice. : ) Of course it also depends on if the person is comfortable with it.

Hand shakes and hugs are pretty common when I interact with Americans, at least in the NW.

And then there is the cheek touching.

The first time was with a German friend. Saying goodbye, I got pulled forward, and then I realized that I should to make my very first kiss “sound”. We only touch our cheeks on both side (firs on the right and second on the left), but we make kissing sounds. I was wondering if my very kissing sound sounded all right. Many of the Europeans do this cheek touching greeting and goodbye.

With friends who are from South America, they always give you good solid kisses on both of your checks. I am fine being kissed, but still not used to kiss their cheeks.

world cup

Stitch — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 21:35:49 GMT

world cup

Friends around me are all rooting for their own countries in world cup. It's just fun for me to see them so excited. Since I don’t have a Taiwan team to root for, I am going to secretly root for Japan and Korea. : D

Watching the world cup, also reminded me of my visit to Germany couple yrs ago. It was such a memorable trip. I met some great people and had a wonderful time.

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Here is a couple links I got form my friend to some world cup entertainment.

LAKES SHEEP RELEASE WORLD CUP SONG http://www.golakes.co.uk/worldcupsheep/

Singing of the World Cup, Off-Key and Off-Kilter http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5491622

The Asian Mystique

Stitch — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 09:15:59 GMT

The Asian Mystique

“The Asian Mystique” is a book I am reading for the past 3 weeks. I only wish I can read in English faster. It’s a great book, and I highly recommend it.

It is about the westerner’s misconceptions of Asians. The book covers from historical events, document references, to current events. It talks about how the misconceptions affect the personal relationships, the businesses interactions, and the international affairs between the east and west. The author does a great job researching the topic, and she tries to present the interviews untouched.

She differentiates different Asian societies very well. Display of the different history background, belief system, and social structure are used to show how each Asian society is unique from the others. She also said, you will find a career woman in Beijing and a career woman in New York might share the similar values and feelings. Even though, the Chinese woman will enjoy the same rice and tofu dishes as a country farmer, it does not mean they are the same. Therefore, we should not stereotype people since everyone is also unique in their own way. It is a 400-page book packed with topics that I can relate to and things that I didn’t even know about other Asian cultures.

Conflicts and unpleasant feelings occur when interacting with people from different cultures. I don’t get offended easily; because I think we should educate each other. Ignorant comments or silly questions happen to me at times, but I can see it happen anywhere else in the world, even in my own country. I might also do it to people from other countries, since I do hang out with people from all over the world. However, as long as we have the sincere attitude toward learning about others, it’s okay to learn form mistakes. Recommending the book is not to spread angers toward westerners. It’s to clear the misconceptions, so people can understand each other better in this world.

StitchLand by Stitch | English, baby! Blogs

Broadway Show

Broadway Show

Good Movie: The Counterfeiters (Die Fälscher)

Good Movie: The Counterfeiters (Die Fälscher)

Plot summary forFälscher, Die

Double Heart Stone Weir

Double Heart Stone Weir

Evolution Less Accepted in U.S. Than Other Western Countries, Study Finds

Evolution Less Accepted in U.S. Than Other Western Countries, Study Finds

Vitisting San Francisco

Vitisting San Francisco

Ray Aderson

Ray Aderson

Sex ID

Sex ID

In Flight Moives

In Flight Moives

The Lives of Others

The Lives of Others

beauty in microscope

beauty in microscope

when the world disappears

when the world disappears

How do you greet and say goodbye?

How do you greet and say goodbye?

world cup

world cup

The Asian Mystique

The Asian Mystique

Plot summary for
Fälscher, Die