Hans Rudolf Giger, artist and set designer, born 5 February 1940; died 12 May 2014
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Swiss surrealist, HR Giger, passed away Monday, May 12th
H. R. Giger, a Swiss painter, sculptor and set designer who created the title
character in the 1979 hit film
“Alien,” died on Monday in Zurich. He was 74.
Monday, May 5, 2014
Taeng808's Rant: The South Korean Ferry Disaster
(Thanks to Mr Random Eclectics for letting me post my thoughts. He
doesn't necessarily agree with everything I say so this doesn't reflect
his views or opinions. It's all me.)
I'm feeling a little rant-y today...need to blow off some steam. As the site name implies, the following are random thoughts that are in no particular order. It starts wherever my line of thought does.
When I first heard about the Sewol-ho ferry incident, it didn't seem like it was that big of a deal...until you find out the details.
Now, to be truthful, I wasn't aware of the sheer scope of this snafu until I realized, quite selfishly I admit, that my kpop entertainment had stopped being updated. Sure there are some music releases but the variety shows had stopped and the bigger comeback acts were nowhere to be seen.
So in an effort to find out what was going on, I checked kpop sites and visited a Korean news channel on YouTube.
The news was devastating. Seriously...I couldn't even fathom what it was I was seeing. Just had a hard time processing it.
200+ students...gone. TWO-THIRDS of the Junior class...gone. WHAT?
The footage is difficult to watch when you know it doesn't end well.
The passengers were told to stay put, presumably by crew members. Meanwhile most of the crew members didn't stay put.
The vice principal of Danwon High School who was rescued from the ferry, commited suicide out of guilt.
One student gave up his life jacket to another and didn't make it.
Teachers (at least two) rescued some students and went to back to help and didn't make it.
Three crew members died helping people escape.
Only two other national/global incident ever affected me like this: 9/11 and the Sendai tsunami. But somehow this feels worse...probably because it could've been avoided. It's frustrating to think about.
Survivors were rescued on the Thursday & Friday the ferry began sinking. No living being has been recovered since.
I have no words to describe the sadness.
From THE KOREA HERALD:
[Kim Seong-kon] To young students under the sea
Kim Seong-kon is a professor of English at Seoul National University and president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea.
I'm feeling a little rant-y today...need to blow off some steam. As the site name implies, the following are random thoughts that are in no particular order. It starts wherever my line of thought does.
When I first heard about the Sewol-ho ferry incident, it didn't seem like it was that big of a deal...until you find out the details.
Now, to be truthful, I wasn't aware of the sheer scope of this snafu until I realized, quite selfishly I admit, that my kpop entertainment had stopped being updated. Sure there are some music releases but the variety shows had stopped and the bigger comeback acts were nowhere to be seen.
So in an effort to find out what was going on, I checked kpop sites and visited a Korean news channel on YouTube.
The news was devastating. Seriously...I couldn't even fathom what it was I was seeing. Just had a hard time processing it.
200+ students...gone. TWO-THIRDS of the Junior class...gone. WHAT?
The footage is difficult to watch when you know it doesn't end well.
And then there's the footage of the captain of the vessel entering a lifeboat as the passengers await on a capsizing ship. That just pissed me off to no end. Then we find out that he wasn't even at the helm, it was one of his suboordinates.
The passengers were told to stay put, presumably by crew members. Meanwhile most of the crew members didn't stay put.
There's even footage retrieved off of a recovered student's cellphone...I don't think anyone in the footage survived. That's a hard thing to watch. One of the students is heard leaving a voicemail saying "I love you both" to his parents.
The vice principal of Danwon High School who was rescued from the ferry, commited suicide out of guilt.
One student gave up his life jacket to another and didn't make it.
Teachers (at least two) rescued some students and went to back to help and didn't make it.
Three crew members died helping people escape.
Most of the crew have been arrested, the ferry company is being investigated for making modifications to the ferry but cutting corners on safety measures that go with those modifications. And supposedly they didn't take the time to properly fasten down the heavy equipment in the cargo bay so when the ferry met with rough seas causing it to turn, all the equipment shifted to one side, effectively tipping the ferry to capsize rapidly.
At one point I wanted to beat the sh-t out of the (former) captain. But I believe the sheer loss of life weighs heavier and hurts more than any punch anyone can deliver....times INFINITY. The most damning person will be...himself.
Support continues to pour in in the form of donations from idols, entertainment companies, cast and crews of dramas, comedies & variety shows, actors & actresses as well as from around the world. And these people also visit Ansan, where a memorial has been set up for the victims. Many are relatives, many are not.
This incident had affected an entire nation and I finally understood just how devastating this is. But the realization and understanding (such as it is) doesn't dampen the loss or my perception of it. I do not have a personal stake in this incident but I am affected, regardless. Yes, it because I'm not getting my entertainment updates...but that is NOT the only reason. Some of us are just good at hiding things like emotions.
The Yellow Ribbon campaign was started to bring the mourning people of Korea together through the belief that “a small, unified movement can create a big miracle.”
Only two other national/global incident ever affected me like this: 9/11 and the Sendai tsunami. But somehow this feels worse...probably because it could've been avoided. It's frustrating to think about.
Survivors were rescued on the Thursday & Friday the ferry began sinking. No living being has been recovered since.
I have no words to describe the sadness.
From THE KOREA HERALD:
[Kim Seong-kon] To young students under the sea
Dear young students under the sea, please forgive us for not being able to rescue you from the ill-fated ferry Sewol. As you have found out by now, we adults are so incredibly incompetent and irresponsible that you cannot count on us in times of emergency. When the disaster happened, we were hopelessly sloppy in the rescue mission, press releases and broadcasting. And we were flustered by the wrong information about the passengers.
To your disappointment, we were incredibly slow to act as well, even though we were notoriously quick-tempered. For example, we wasted the crucial first two hours when the ferry was still afloat and the first day when the sea was relatively calm and the current was rather placid. We lost the golden opportunity to rescue you from the sinking ship. Instead of launching a prompt, large-scale rescue operation, we just moved around this way and that in confusion, not knowing what to do. As a result, not a single passenger was rescued after the second day. Our incompetence and tardiness broke the hearts of your parents and siblings, who were desperately waiting for your safe return.
Dear young students under the sea, we were also appalled to learn that the captain and his crew abandoned the ship and fled without any attempt to rescue you. How he could be so irresponsible and cowardly is beyond us, but surely this reflects a chronic problem of our society. When the Korean War broke out, for example, our political leader hastily escaped to a local city, destroying the Han River Bridge, so no one else could escape from Seoul. It was good to see President Park rush to the accident site and meet with the victims’ angry parents to comfort them, which obviously was not an easy thing to do.
Dear children trapped in the sunken ship, please accept our heartfelt apologies for the tragic accident. We should not have let the ferry leave port and begin the perilous voyage in the first place. Reportedly, the departure was delayed for a few hours due to foggy weather. Then, before the departure, we should have checked whether emergency gear such as life vests, lifeboats and emergency sliding devices properly worked. But we were completely negligent. A ferry full of young students should be treated like a treasure ship to be handled with extra care. Instead, we treated you as if you were cheap cargo on board at a group discount fare. Our indifference culminated in assigning a 69-year-old substitute captain to your ferry.
Dear young students under the dark sea, we are so ashamed to confess that we were not prepared for such a disaster at all. When Japan was hit by the tsunami a few years ago, our newspaper columnists derided the Japanese people by writing, “The Japanese are people who follow the manual faithfully. Therefore, when an accident not described in the manual happens, they are at a loss.” Now we come to realize that we do not even have a manual to follow, or ignore the manual if there actually is one. Besides, the Japanese disaster was a natural one, but ours was caused by human error.
Dear young students under the cold sea, we are also ashamed of ourselves, because we do not possess the proper sense of safety. Traditionally, we think that being cautious about safety is not manly. In order not to look like sissies, therefore, we have always deliberately ignored safety measures. Consequently, we let you go down under the deep, dark sea without a chance to be rescued.
Now we belatedly realize that the Ministry of Security and Public Administration should change its name to the Ministry of Safety and Public Administration, so it can concentrate on the safety of the people, rather than on national security. The Ministry of Education should also abolish totally unnecessary student field trips once and for all, so this kind of tragic accident won’t happen again in the future.
Dear children, please understand that our Coast Guards and divers did their best to rescue you despite high tides and roaring waves. Nevertheless, it was a shame that South Korea, a country famous for its shipbuilding and advanced technology, was totally incompetent when faced with the disaster. We hope that the sunken ferry is not a microcosm of our society. We now realize that it is not K-pop or IT that makes Korea an advanced country. We should overhaul the system and effectuate the Sewol-ho law immediately, so no similar disaster happens in the future and no sea captain abandons his ship before rescuing all his passengers.
Dear young students under the sea, we adults are grief-stricken and will suffer an unmitigated sense of guilt for the rest of our lives. You may not be with us anymore, but surely you will live in our hearts in the years to come.
By Kim Seong-konKim Seong-kon is a professor of English at Seoul National University and president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
OUT FROM LEFT FIELD: LEGENDARY TOMB OF THE DRAGON...or something...
Let's make it a double feature, shall we? I think the writing is much better for this one...
This time its another creature feature...and I loooove monster movies. This one's not overly gory and really not all that scarey, either but I enjoyed the somewhat disjointed ride it took me on. Boasting (?) a cast of nobodies (Dolph Lundgren included, altho' for some odd reason I have a soft spot for the dopey guy), but at least it kept my interest because of the passion that Scott Adkins' character Travis portrays. He also kinda looks like a beefy Ben Stiller. That could be a deterrent for some of you..
The name of the movie is "Legendary Tomb of the Dragon" and it seems to be a joint British/China/(maybe)U.S. project. Don't let the "dragon" part fool you..its not what you think...sorta.
The movie starts off with an expedition in-progress introducing the aformentioned Travis and his team: animal pathologist Katie, Tech Wiz Brandon (a Chinese guy..stereotype? Maybe...), their guide, some French dude who was quite panicky, Chuck (don't know this forte) and Dolph Lundgren as egotistical mercenary/security Harker.
I just realized that half the characters do not have last names...
The expedition is tracking what seems to be a large animal and come across a fresh kill so they stake it out in case the animal comes back. It does, and a conflict ensues over Travis' plan to tag the animal versus Harker's plan to take it down. The resulting clusterf**k ends with Chuck Nolastname's untimely demise.
Fast forward (no timeframe given) and we see that Travis is pacing in his office, a couple of lawsuits strewn across his desk shows the fallout from the expedition. A knock at the door hails a suit-wearing gent and Travis smells lawyer all over him...and he's not wrong. But this lawyer has nothing to do with Travis' current problems, as he comes bearing footage of something Travis has never seen before. And we're off to get the band (what's left of them) back together on another cryptozid hunt.
Travis, Katie and Brandon arrive in China and meet up with lawyer, Doug and his translator (the VERY cute) Bai Xi. Together they set off to set up base on the riverbank where the creature-in-question has been seen. The team is essentially here to find out what has been attacking the local townspeople and well as workers on the nearby oil pipeline.
Meanwhile another attack occurs and Travis, Doug and Bai Xu head for the attack site. But guess who's already set up camp? Harker, with Lan Zeng, she's a spunky Chinese scientist unfortunately assigned to help Harker track the beast.
A tug-of-war game between Travis and Harker is renewed and of course, Harker can only follow Travis as he and his team figure out what the creature is doing, where it might live, etc. Clues are left in the creature's wake and it seems only Travis' team knows how to decipher them. Many more clashes between these two alpha males occur, one ending in Lan Zeng being abandoned by Harker's men when the creature attacks. Lan Zeng ends up joining Travis' team as a big f**k you to Harker.
Eventually we get to see the creature and, well, things get wrapped up fairly quickly after that.
Now this is by no means a big-budget flick, although the camerawork was above average for this type of fare. Acting was passable..and Lundgren can play a greasy self-centered egomanic well. I really wanted to punch him myself. This was just one of those really, REALLY out-in-left-field, under-the-radar movies...and some will say it should stay that way. But b-movies are what keeps the industry going when Hollywood churns out less-than-stellar product. What I liked about it was the "monster" factor and the fact that Travis was so gung ho about catching the creature. The peripheral characters, namely Lan Zeng, made the movie bearable (pun?) because of her spunkiness...and she was just as gung ho as Travis. The love interest card was not played heavily, just hints and quick glances, nothing more.
The fx were terrible-to-OK. The underwater CGI needed to be better but the on-land fx were better, especially the confrontations in the creature's cavernous lair. There was some fx goofs in there that were glaring..don't know how that got by the director..unless that was the best they could do. I still enjoyed it enough to watch the whole thing. That's gotta count for something.
This time its another creature feature...and I loooove monster movies. This one's not overly gory and really not all that scarey, either but I enjoyed the somewhat disjointed ride it took me on. Boasting (?) a cast of nobodies (Dolph Lundgren included, altho' for some odd reason I have a soft spot for the dopey guy), but at least it kept my interest because of the passion that Scott Adkins' character Travis portrays. He also kinda looks like a beefy Ben Stiller. That could be a deterrent for some of you..
 |
| Beefy Ben Stiller-like Scott Adkins as Travis |
The movie starts off with an expedition in-progress introducing the aformentioned Travis and his team: animal pathologist Katie, Tech Wiz Brandon (a Chinese guy..stereotype? Maybe...), their guide, some French dude who was quite panicky, Chuck (don't know this forte) and Dolph Lundgren as egotistical mercenary/security Harker.
 |
| Dolph...still working after these...decades... |
The expedition is tracking what seems to be a large animal and come across a fresh kill so they stake it out in case the animal comes back. It does, and a conflict ensues over Travis' plan to tag the animal versus Harker's plan to take it down. The resulting clusterf**k ends with Chuck Nolastname's untimely demise.
Fast forward (no timeframe given) and we see that Travis is pacing in his office, a couple of lawsuits strewn across his desk shows the fallout from the expedition. A knock at the door hails a suit-wearing gent and Travis smells lawyer all over him...and he's not wrong. But this lawyer has nothing to do with Travis' current problems, as he comes bearing footage of something Travis has never seen before. And we're off to get the band (what's left of them) back together on another cryptozid hunt.
Travis, Katie and Brandon arrive in China and meet up with lawyer, Doug and his translator (the VERY cute) Bai Xi. Together they set off to set up base on the riverbank where the creature-in-question has been seen. The team is essentially here to find out what has been attacking the local townspeople and well as workers on the nearby oil pipeline.
 |
| Yang Caiyu as Bai Xi...forget the rest... |
 | |
| Witnesses to an attack: Ooh, that's gotta hurt... |
 |
| Tee-totaller no more: Lang Zeng takes a swig after Harker's men abandon her during an attack. |
Now this is by no means a big-budget flick, although the camerawork was above average for this type of fare. Acting was passable..and Lundgren can play a greasy self-centered egomanic well. I really wanted to punch him myself. This was just one of those really, REALLY out-in-left-field, under-the-radar movies...and some will say it should stay that way. But b-movies are what keeps the industry going when Hollywood churns out less-than-stellar product. What I liked about it was the "monster" factor and the fact that Travis was so gung ho about catching the creature. The peripheral characters, namely Lan Zeng, made the movie bearable (pun?) because of her spunkiness...and she was just as gung ho as Travis. The love interest card was not played heavily, just hints and quick glances, nothing more.
 |
| This can make, like, a 100 pairs of shoes, dude! |
OUT FROM LEFT FIELD: BLOOD GLACIER [ENGLISH DUMBED VERSION]
(Oh ho, back from the dead and still not sure of what to do...)
Let it be known: I love creature features.
Nature gone amok. Cryptozoology. Chest-bursting xenomorphs. Mutated alligators in NY sewers. Giant ants borne from nuclear testing. Love it all.
So when I read the synopsis for a movie called BLOOD GLACIER, I'm thinking "That sounds pretty damned cool!' And it is...until people start talking.
BLOOD GLACIER takes place in some snow-encroached research station that consists of 4 scientists and one tracker who basically lives there while scientists rotate in and out at yearly intervals. One day the tracker and one of scientists head up to a satellite post set up next to a mountain when they notice that that same mountain of ice has red streaks running thru it, as if it were bleeding. Hence the title BLOOD GLACIER. The scientist takes some samples back to the main research station and its determined that they contain organsms that are incubators and mutators, combining that DNA of anything within the host's body.
EXAMPLE: A fox eats wood lice and beetles..organism comes in contact with the fox and all the contents of its stomach, it proceeds to combine fox, lice & beetle DNA into a new lifeform.
And if you ate popcorn and nachos and met this organism, would you become that newest taste sensation at the theatre? Do tell!
(Insert montage of river flows tinted in red that happened overnight. Convenient!)
The original samples began dying off so the tracker and another scientist go back to glacier the next day only to find all the red substance drained from the glacier. Surpriiiiiise!
(I seem to be in an MST3K-tinted sarcasm mood)
But wait there's more: The tracker decides to take a leak on the mountain (wait, there's a river near there...) and in mid-stream is surprised by a fox-lice mutant roughly the size of a Korgi when its curled in a ball. Pissed off that it was pissed on...
Now they have proof that their DNA mutator organism is real.
From there the plot thickens with the impending visit of 6 more (delicacies) people, one of them a former love interest of Yanick, the tracker. You want drama, we got it.
The wild life start to make their presence known in the form of attacks on anyone in the daytime & nighttime. These attacks are hard and fast and most are fatal. Don't you hate it when the fox-lice thing you wanted to exploit for monetary value and fame suddenly eats your face off?
There are several situations created to build tension but they sorta fall flat.
The movie culminates in one of the most craziest, unforeseen, weird twists that left me saying to the TV "You gotta be kidding me! What? REALLY?" Trust me, it was pretty f'd up.
This is not to say that I didn't enjoy the movie. It does have its momemts and Yanick is pretty much the coolest character even if he can be a little unstable (but who isn't?). And his dog Tinny (didn't sound like Timmy, so there!) plays his role to the hilt. I got a little teary, I admit.
Also, the mother of the director who plays one of the visiting people was also a surprise as she had some choice lines (but that banana line was just plain weird) and also manned-up alongside Yanick when it counted. And she's a surgeon, to boot! (We think)
Now for the bad: I was only able to see this with a badly-written and badly dubbed English language track. I think it would've been better had I seen it with the original German dialog & English subtitles. The English translation was horrible and outright stupid in some cases. Add to that the voices didn't match the characters and the dubbers sounded like they literally didn't want to be dubbing this movie. Most dialogue missed the emotional beat of the situation and the fill-in lines like "Stop eating that banana while you're crying!" really disrupted what little tension there was.Unglaublich.
All in all, its not a bad creature feature..but sometimes the humans get in the way and maybe even deserved to be attacked. Being attacked is a bad thing...
rating: B : could be better but not in English! Fun to watch but it does need some help.
Let it be known: I love creature features.
Nature gone amok. Cryptozoology. Chest-bursting xenomorphs. Mutated alligators in NY sewers. Giant ants borne from nuclear testing. Love it all.
So when I read the synopsis for a movie called BLOOD GLACIER, I'm thinking "That sounds pretty damned cool!' And it is...until people start talking.
EXAMPLE: A fox eats wood lice and beetles..organism comes in contact with the fox and all the contents of its stomach, it proceeds to combine fox, lice & beetle DNA into a new lifeform.
And if you ate popcorn and nachos and met this organism, would you become that newest taste sensation at the theatre? Do tell!
 |
| Got a cherry to put on top? Yum! |
The original samples began dying off so the tracker and another scientist go back to glacier the next day only to find all the red substance drained from the glacier. Surpriiiiiise!
(I seem to be in an MST3K-tinted sarcasm mood)
But wait there's more: The tracker decides to take a leak on the mountain (wait, there's a river near there...) and in mid-stream is surprised by a fox-lice mutant roughly the size of a Korgi when its curled in a ball. Pissed off that it was pissed on...
 |
| Open wide, Mr. fox-lice thingy... |
From there the plot thickens with the impending visit of 6 more (delicacies) people, one of them a former love interest of Yanick, the tracker. You want drama, we got it.
 |
| Yanick's ex: She's a babe! |
 | |
| I don't think a can of RAID is gonna do it... |
 |
| Beetle-Goat-Fox, at your service! |
The movie culminates in one of the most craziest, unforeseen, weird twists that left me saying to the TV "You gotta be kidding me! What? REALLY?" Trust me, it was pretty f'd up.
This is not to say that I didn't enjoy the movie. It does have its momemts and Yanick is pretty much the coolest character even if he can be a little unstable (but who isn't?). And his dog Tinny (didn't sound like Timmy, so there!) plays his role to the hilt. I got a little teary, I admit.
 |
| Yanick & Tinny: Best Buds for Life |
 |
| One Beetle-Goat-Fox lobotomy coming up! |
 | |||||
| "STOP EATING THAT BANANA WHILE YOU'RE CRYING!" I kid you not. And where'd she get the banana?! |
rating: B : could be better but not in English! Fun to watch but it does need some help.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Google more apps for your drawer
Ok. Google. Now really?!?
I appreciate the fact that the latest update allows for better document editing. But did we really need separate apps? I just counted the "Google" apps that come preinstalled on my phone. 15. 15 apps from Google.
1. Chrome
2. Gmail
3. Google
4. Google Settings
5. Google+
6. Hangouts
7. Maps
8. Play Books
9. Play Games
10. Play Movies & TV
11. Play Music
12. Play Newsstand
13. Play Store
14. Voice Search
15. YouTube
And you want to add more apps to this collection. Not just 1 app suite but individual apps for each task. Documents. Spreadsheets. And coming soon Presentations. Oh joy. I can hardly contain myself. So now that's 3 more added to the 15 for a total of 18. Of course this isn't including the App for Drive which I have installed nor the App for Blogger. Which brings me to 20.
And since we're going around the merry-go-round again. Docs to Drive back to Docs (plus Sheets and soon Presentations).
Then there is QuickOffice. This is great! Offline office suite. Pretty good MS Office editing. But now I have TWO QuickOffice apps! One came preinstalled on the tablet and the other downloaded because its the full version for free. WTH?!? Really...
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