201903 最近看的紀錄片 Recently watched documentary

最近看的紀錄片 Recently watched documentary

10) (Trailer) Kusama: Infinity (2018) The Life and Work of Artist Yayoi Kusama (Kanopy) (Yayoi Kusama (草間 彌生)) Here you can find Miss O’Keeffe’s 1955 Dec 3th reply to Kusama in her own handwriting. #awesome

9) (Trailer) Sam Klemke’s Time Machine (Kanopy)

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Additional references

(#10) re Yayoi Kusama (草間 彌生)

PBS News, “Need to escape reality? Step into infinity with Yayoi Kusama”

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Yayoi Kusama Interview: Earth is a Polka Dot

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文化沙龍 – 黃耀明：這個璀燦都市光輝到此？

【第十四講】黃耀明：這個璀燦都市光輝到此？

LOVE this talk by Anthony (黃耀明 Wong Yiu Ming)!

Jin Yong . Louis Cha：between the myth and the man (金庸．查良鏞－－江湖與現實)

Nov 13, 2018 Update: Here is the video: 【第十一講】吳靄儀：金庸．查良鏞－－江湖與現實

0:00 周保松’s Introduction
4:08 吳靄儀’s (Margaret) planned talk begin
11:35 Margaret mentions John Minford’s (English co-translator of 鹿鼎記 The Deer and the Cauldron) Ming Pao tribute “To Mark the Passing of Louis Cha” to 查良鏞
20:22 The world of 武林 is a bit cartoonish as killing has no consequences not unlike the world of Tom and Jerry.
29:34 金庸 re 功夫/芭蕾舞
35:40 金庸’s revisions including the 明河版 version
41:25 查良鏞’s book of editorials (1980-84)
52:50 Ming Pao as the only HK newspaper allowed in China
58:02 Cha’s decision of resigning as a 基本法草委
1:08:05 Margaret’s planned talk end
1:08:10 周保松’s comments
1:14:18 吳靄儀’s reply to 周保松’s comments
1:15:02 Beginning of Q&As
1:16:28 Cha’s business approach as a newspaper owner: “hard-nosed”, salary unfairness
1:20:23 區家麟’s question re “查良鏞曾經講過, 報紙是老闆的私器” How did Ming Pao reporters react internally?
1:22:20 to 1:26:06 新華社社長許家屯聲稱有人”不按本子辦事”. Cha wrote an editorial of which Margaret refuted point-by-point with her own 3000 – 4000 words articles.
1:40:45 The dubious practice of Cha “interviewing” himself
1:48:26 Cha’s own views and his possibly unintended/unplanned inspirations for his employees
1:55:45 Democracy is taken and never given (恩賜)
1:58:30 周保松 asks Margaret to share more as she read his fictions so many times and worked with him so closely.
2:02:10 Margaret talks about her creating the first political news section in HK newspapers (in Ming Pao) and she set its 政治新聞大綱
2:06:50 程翔’s comments (including what led to his 3 years imprisonment relating to a article written by 查良鏞)
2:20:44 吳靄儀’s discussion with 程翔
2:24:27 區家麟’s question for 程翔 re 查良鏞’s change of mind after being received by 鄧小平
2:24:35 程翔’s reply to 區家麟’s question
2:26:21 Margaret re 程翔的癡心
2:27:32 周保松’s comment re 金庸小說在大陸的出版
2:27:45 程翔’s comment re 中國新聞社(中新社)(”開小灶”=特別照顧的意思?). 專門為明報提供獨家新聞
2:29:03 Margaret’s concluding remarks
2:31:14 周保松 concludes the meeting with a reading from 神雕俠侶
P.S. Margaret, Thanks for sharing your insight. 保松, Thanks you and Brew Note for hosting. Ed, Thanks for processing and posting the video so quickly! The processing of the 143 minutes must have taken many hours even on a fast machine and the uploading must have taken many hours as well!

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I’m very much looking forward to the talk “Jin Yong . Louis Cha：between the myth and the man (金庸．查良鏞－－江湖與現實)” by Dr. Margaret Ng (吳靄儀) hosted by Prof. P.C. Chow (周保松) this Saturday. I will post a link to the presentation when it is available. From the Facebook announcement

//Brew Note 文化沙龍第十一講
題目：金庸．查良鏞－－江湖與現實
講者：吳靄儀
主持：周保松
日期：2018年11月10日（星期六）
時間：7:00-9:00pm
地點：北角堡壘街19號地下
（海報設計：林道群）//

I LOVE the story 保松 shared of Margaret’s original English title “Jin Yong . Louis Cha：between the myth and the man” came to the Chinese translated title of “(金庸．查良鏞－－江湖與現實)” . Here is 保松’s amazing story and I quote,

“說點小故事。
金庸先生去世，我覺得要有一埸沙龍向他致敬。在香港，吳靄儀是不二之選。吳大狀寫過好幾本金庸小說專著，曾在《明報》工作多年，擔任過好幾屆立法會議員，對金庸和查良鏞皆知之甚深。
吳大状獲邀，一口答應。但她不懂中文輸入法，遂寄我一個英文題目：Jin Yong . Louis Cha：between the myth and the man，並叫我們隨意翻譯。
我和牛津大學出版社林道群先生商量了一下，我說，譯為「金庸與查良鏞：大俠耶？人耶？」如何？道群說，不如「金庸與查良鏞：江湖與現實世界」？我說，拿走「世界」如何？道群說好，於是有了這題目。
一小時不到，道群兄傳我海報第一稿，上面有個金庸和小龍女（陳玉蓮）的混合體，又大膽又過癮。我多事，提了個小建議，請他在上面加幾筆水墨，造個江湖出來。一小時後，道群傳我第二版，最後還加了一個英文版。
道群兄的書籍設計（董橋、北島、余英時、章怡和、趙越勝等）早已名滿天下，大家現在也可以欣賞欣賞他的海報。”

As I noted in my comment, “Thanks for sharing the back story! I love the precision in Margaret’s original English title and the poetic (and toned down) translated Chinese title.”

P.S. Here you see the English and Chinese promotional posters being placed side by side.

(designer:林道群先生) Jin Yong . Louis Cha：between the myth and the man (金庸．查良鏞－－江湖與現實)

I love the placement of the English text “between the myth and the man” in a vertical form underneath the divider of “Jin Yong” and “Louis Cha”, I wish similar symmetry can be echoed in the Chinese version. I like the use of a separate colour of some of the text in the Chinese poster (although I haven’t decided on which of the text) and would love to see the Chinese version also use an additional colour.

Overall, two lovely posters and very nice Chinese translated title all done by volunteers in very short time! I can’t wait to watch the recorded video when it is available! Many thanks to Margaret, 保松, and his wonderful team of awesome volunteers! I hope I will have the luck to attend Brew Note 文化沙龍 one of these days when I visit HK!

2018 Nov 11th update: //I’m still part way through watching the following HKTDC 2006 video of 金庸先生 answering some very good questions. In some answers, we can see “Jin Young the myth” (borrowing Margaret’s words) explaining/excusing his own new revisions.

In one of his answers, he refused a questioner’s earnest request of publishing the original newspaper editions of his fictions. The host even “cutely” (some may argue rudely/ignorantly) analogized the request as something akin to “問瘦身之後的女士, 攞瘦身之前嘅相” (something similar). I wished 金庸先生 had not minded letting newer readers read his original works (newspaper editions) for enjoyment/study. But 金庸先生 DID (at least as I understood or twisted it) implicitly allowed/even encouraged people to find and pirate his newspaper editions to read themselves!//

香港書展2006: 金庸與讀者座談會 (回顧)

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In memory of 林燕妮

In memory of 林燕妮 (Eunice Lam). News “林燕妮因肺癌病逝享年75歲” & news (with video). Following are some random old articles by Eunice. Great articles. Wonderful taste. Interesting & insightful person. RIP.

• 珍惜眼前人 – 林燕妮 (20140327)
  • “如今至親俱故，真的只餘下我和兒子了。他一直跟外婆住，外婆在農曆年前騎鶴歸西了，沒理由整層樓他一個人住那麼孤單，那便搬回去跟他住，固然擔心歷史重演。朋友來了一句：「你要珍惜眼前人了。」，有如醍醐灌頂，我不珍惜兒子珍惜誰呢？我的至親是他，他的至親是我，還鬧什麼？”
• 我 的 妹 妹 – 林燕妮 (20090423)
  • “她 唸 香 港 瑪 莉 諾 英 文 書 院 ， 我 唸 大 坑 道 真 光 中 學 。 也 許 是 學 校 作 風 不 同 的 緣 故 ， 她 比 較 注 重 物 質 ， 我 則 比 較 空 靈 ， 她 回 家 跟 我 說 ： 「 姐 姐 ， 我 的 同 學 說 她 家 裡 有 九 台 電 視 機 。 」 我 說 ： 「 神 經 病 ， 連 廁 所 也 安 裝 電 視 機 嗎 ？ 別 聽 她 的 。 」 她 越 長 越 漂 亮 ， 十 三 歲 時 在 香 港 鄉 村 俱 樂 部 認 識 了 她 的 第 一 個 男 朋 友 。 她 的 命 是 這 樣 的 ， 男 朋 友 全 部 十 分 富 有 ， 我 的 似 乎 沒 有 一 個 是 出 自 富 家 的 ， 還 有 些 是 貧 苦 的 。 我 們 姊 妹 兩 的 性 格 完 全 相 反 ， 她 是 個 小 惡 霸 ， 什 麼 都 要 霸 ， 她 的 同 班 知 心 同 學 告 訴 我 ， 她 是 全 班 最 惡 的 。 在 家 裡 她 也 想 惡 ， 但 是 有 我 在 ， 她 可 惡 不 成 了 ， 她 若 態 度 惡 劣 扯 起 了 我 那 把 火 ， 我 便 「 兜 巴 升 」 ， I have to put her in her place ， 不 可 無 上 無 下 。 她 自 然 大 哭 啦 。”
• 妹 妹 地 老 天 慌 – 林燕妮 (20090514)
  • “妹 妹 記 得 人 家 什 麼 杯 子 放 在 哪 個 櫃 子 裡 ， 花 瓶 放 在 哪 兒 ， 餐 巾 刀 叉 放 在 哪 兒 ， 我 可 是 拿 了 出 來 便 馬 上 忘 掉 是 從 哪 兒 拿 出 來 的 。 妹 妹 在 中 學 時 ， 常 上 她 的 小 男 友 家 ， 替 auntie 樣 樣 放 得 好 好 的 ， 像 個 小 媳 婦 兒 。 我 呀 ， 見 男 朋 友 的 家 長 還 可 以 ， 家 務 呀 ， 我 只 認 得 煮 熟 了 的 食 物 ， 未 煮 時 是 什 麼 模 樣 兒 倒 不 知 道 。”
• 最溫馨的日本遊 – 林燕妮 
  • “林偉那時已經工作了一段時間，過了好些年，他發覺在港當攝影師賺不了錢，便跑去學沖曬。如今他在香港和東京都有很大的沖曬公司，生意很好。他說：「我喜歡賺錢，幸好當年學了沖曬，不然不會有今天。我可以花錢而仍然有點錢賸下來多麼好。」我絕對同意。 他跟他的日本伴侶小林由貴子兩人親自來接我和同行女友 Jacqueline機而不是派人來，真沒話說。我們是三林，林燕妮、林偉和小林由貴子。由貴子比我還要高大，是個很爽朗的日本女子，跟她在一起很自在，我們用斷續的廣東話和英語交流。 他倆一塊兒十年了，他們的相識可算是一段傳奇。林偉在東京片哈利，左拐右拐的，但前面老有另一輛哈利片得比他更勁，老是阻着他片。他氣不過來，死命都要把那個不曉得是阿叔還是阿伯追到尾。終於那輛哈利停下來了，車手把頭盔拿走，頭一搖，整把長髮披下來。林偉一看，原來是個女的，還胸前豐滿，哪兒還肯放過追女機會。那時他不會說日語，只會說「 Su-mi-ma-sen」（ excuse me）。異國姻緣便從此開始。 他先帶我們到他的萬多呎沖曬公司看，他們沖曬招牌、廣告等大型照片。在有智能機拍照不用沖曬的今天，他在港日做這種沖曬公司實有先見。”
• 我的前夫你…… – 林燕妮 (20131107)
  • “那時你已快要唸大空物理學博士了，我主修遺傳學，很多數、理、化問題我弄不通，即使我們在不同的學校，不同的地方，你每每三言兩語在電話中便給我解答得比老師還清楚。連遺傳學問題你都懂得教我。你追求女孩子是天天的，不需要跟我同校都電話不斷的。每逢假期不是你飛來找我便是叫我飛去你那兒。你從來不查問我在本校有沒有男朋友，從第一天起你便當我是你的。老實說，我有很多其他男朋友，不過沒告訴你。但在我一生的戀愛之中，跟你的那一段是最美麗無瑕，最快樂的。”
• 劉培基的名人朋友 – 林燕妮 (20130919)
  • “劉培基自傳中所寫的都是名藝人，如張國榮、陳百強、白雪仙、楊紫瓊、尤敏等等。他對朋友很好，我想心理上他需要有愛惜他的名人做朋友，他才有安全感。對他不好的名人他就翻臉當便飯了，他不是個為錢低頭的人。 做他的朋友，要習慣他的敏感和隨時發脾氣。他的朋友之中，沒有誰是沒讓他罵過的，除了我之外。不過最近也中招了，他惱道：「我不喜歡你寫高文安！」高文安是我們幾十年的共同朋友，不曉得寫高文安竟然會讓他大罵一頓。高文安沒說過他什麼。總之這個人，罵你時別當真，說話刺你時也別傷感，他氣不倒我的，他反而氣倒自己。我只是聽了就算。朋友，應記念他對我好的時候。 陳百強是我最要好的音樂朋友，以他平日的情緒不穩定，竟然在我情感上受到極大打擊和威脅時，早上六時起來陪我吃早餐，晚上表演完畢還整夜不睡，既唱歌又演戲和說故事的逗我開心到天亮。那是他性格高貴之處，他的經理人陳家瑛至今仍說：「 Danny仔是高貴的。」劉培基對他的評語也一樣。”

毛記葵涌 Most Kwai Chung (01716) HKEX 2nd trading day

It is too early to judge the long term performance of 毛記葵涌 Most Kwai Chung (01716) HKEX but the trading activities and closing price (closed at $3.480, drop $2.9 or 45.45% from previous day closing) on its 2nd trading day (March 29th, 2018) after its March 28th listing date isn’t that auspicious to say the least.

Of course, considering its IPO price of HK$1.20, the 2nd trading day closing price of $3.48 is still 290% of listing price. Quoting SCMP March 28th report,

“Hong Kong media firm Most Kwai Chung, which runs popular satirical magazine 100Most and a digital media site tapping into Hong Kong’s youth culture, saw its stock soar as much as tenfold on its trading debut after attracting the most public subscriptions for an IPO in Hong Kong history.

Most Kwai Chung opened at HK$8.40 on Wednesday morning and quickly shot up to HK$11.76, 10 times its IPO price of HK$1.20. It closed at HK$6.38, with 185 million shares having changed hands.

With a current market cap of HK$1.7 billion, the company is more valuable than a slew of established media companies in Hong Kong, including Sing Tao News Corporation, i-Cable Communication, Hong Kong Economic Times Holdings and Next Digital.

“The demand for the stock is largely due to the brand name,” said Alex Wong, director of asset management at Hong Kong-based Ample Capital. “100Most magazine and Most TV are popular among many Hong Kong people.””

See more (with video interviews and video clips) in my 2015 post, “林日曦呢個黑紙100毛人“

「推薦一部電影」

「兩周一聚」非死不可版之【五湖四海】第六期話題 (2018年1月14日-28日)：「推薦一部電影」

Allow me to recommend one movie from these three genres: documentary, fantasy-comedy, and animation. It is so hard for a movie lover to compare apple to orange to mango and pick only one?! :)

Documentary recommendation: Years ago I accidentally discovered in my university AV library (ok, not that kind of AV :) ) this documentary series in film (yes, physical film in cans and movie projector) and it remains my favourite documentaries. In this UK Up Series of documentaries, you will get to meet 7 British boys and 7 girls when they were only 7 years old in the first film. And then the magic of this series is the filmmakers come back to revisit the lives of these 14 girls & boys every 7 years! I last watched them in the eighth film in 2012 when the “kids” were now 56 years old. Yes, 56! Next time we see them will be in 2019 when they are 63! It is almost a “longitudinal study” of people long before the madness of “reality TV” entrap us.

Here is the first film Seven Up! and they were all so adorable!

Fantasy-comedy: Groundhog Day (1993) is a fantasy-comedy film starring Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, and Chris Elliott. Without giving you too much spoilers, Murray found himself caught in a time loop, repeating the same day again, again, and again! LOVE this film.

Animation: Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki was an animation film that I just borrowed a Blu-ray to re-watch again (with some bonus features). It is only in recent years that I realized this film was loosely based on a novel by a British author. And I learned to love both the Japanese original Japanese voice stars which includes Takuya Kimura (木村 拓哉) as Howl and English voice stars which includes Christian Bale (Batman Begins, American Hustle, The Big Short) as Howl, Emily Mortimer (Match Point, Dear Frankie) as young Sophie, Billy Crystal, and Lauren Bacall.

P.S. As a documentary filmmaker, I really LOVE the Up Series but to be honest and blunt, given our current ethical standard re informed consent, I can’t ethically agree to the making of this series of films knowing that 7 years old girls and boys can’t really give that kind of informed consent and the intrusiveness of this series.

兩周一聚:「咖啡或茶」

20171121 「兩周一聚」非死不可版之【五湖四海】
第二期話題：「咖啡或茶」

When asked if I want “coffee or tea” in a Hong Kong style cafes, I will almost always ask for a cup of 鴛鴦 (“coffee *with* tea” Yuenyeung), yes, both milk tea and coffee mixed together! Strangely, I never have the desire to make my own cup of 鴛鴦 at home.

We save coffee for our Saturday breakfasts. Grinding the beans each Saturday morning for our electric drip coffeemaker. And since we can’t really taste much of the difference between the more expensive Kauai Coffee and the ones from Costco, we go for the basic ones.

On weekdays, I will make my better half a cup of Twinings tea. Yes, we are more picky at teas. Since one time I accidentally almost ran out of English Breakfast, I mixed the remaining little bit of English Breakfast with Lady Grey Tea and it tasted nice. Since then, I learned that technically all teas are blends of tea leaves anyway so I started blending English Breakfast & Lady Grey to make our own blend.

My own preference is actually herbal tea or warm water. I love my Revolution tea, especially Golden Chamomile. It might have been love at first sight when I saw the brand name “(R)evolution tea” and then I was convinced by its innovative design for its tea bag plus the taste of the tea is very nice.

I love chatting with friends over a cup of tea on wide range of topics from food to world issues.