Watch “Revolution Trilogy” 睇「革命三部曲」

Director/producer/independent reporter Kempton Lam has made three full-length documentaries from 2004 – 2015. Kempton’s debut documentary Long Hair Revolution 「長毛革命」 has been collected by the Canadian National Archive since 2009. The three documentaries are collectively known as “Revolution Trilogy” 「革命三部曲」 and are in Cantonese with English subtitles (廣東話、英文字幕). You can watch the three films at this YouTube Playlist (beautifully projected on your big screen HDTV or on your computer). Enjoy!

Long Hair Revolution 「長毛革命」 (full-length 2005) (read film & Canadian national archive info)

HKtv Revolution 「香港電視革命」 (full-length 2015) (read Director’s Statement)

Umbrella Revolution: History as Mirror Reflection 「雨傘革命實錄：以史為鏡」 (full-length 2015) (read Director’s Statement)

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I would much rather feel comfortable and feel beautiful, than to feel uncomfortable, but look fantastic. – New Quote I Love

I’m adding three quotes by Penny Marshall (the actress, director and producer who passed away yesterday) to my list of Quotes I Love. The first quote was thanks to Olivia Munn. The other quotes I discovered from imdb.

“I would much rather feel comfortable and feel beautiful, than to feel uncomfortable, but look fantastic.” – Penny Marshall (1943 – 2018)

“I want you to laugh and cry. That’s what I do.”

“I have a strange combination of fearlessness and massive insecurity.“

In the quest to build a better battery

I’ve always love and curious about battery technologies. CBC News has this interesting news article, “In the quest to build a better battery, a Canadian is energizing the field“. Will see how things pan out in the coming years with Canadian Don Sadoway, a professor of materials chemistry at MIT. (Prof. Sadoway “did both his undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Toronto, receiving his PhD in 1977”.)

2012 Ted Talk Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy

2015 World Economic Forum, Unlocking Renewables | Donald Sadoway

Sad 2018 #HumanRightsDay #MichealKovrig #MengWanzhou #Huawei

I’m sorry to say 2018 #HumanRightsDay (Dec 10th) was a sad day when former Canadian diplomat Micheal Kovrig was detained in China with no reason given. (China taking Mr. Kovrig as “hostage” over the arrest of Huawei CFO Ms. Meng Wanzhou?!) Where is due process? Where is rule of law? I understand he served as political lead on Prime Minster Trudeau’s visit to Hong Kong in September 2016, so on a personal note, I feel sorry for Consul General Mr. Jeff Nankivell and others in HK that Mr. Kovrig might have worked with in preparation of that 2016 visit.

How “lucky” Canadians must be to be stuck between two superpowers fighting a trade war? One superpower has a president that locks up human rights lawyers (including blind human rights lawyer) and makes dissidents “disappear”. The other superpower has a president who clearly sees himself above the law and has no idea of what “judicial independence” means. Even his former secretary of state recently said in public, “the president would say here’s what I want to do and here’s how I want to do it and I would have to say to him, Mr. President I understand what you want to do but you can’t do it that way. It violates the law.”

If there is #TeachableMoment in all this mess, it is that one must try to respect the rule of law, due process, and judicial independence. Even now it seems we really got used by both sides to fight their beeping trade war!
P.S. Incidentally, Trump/US government has imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum using Section 232 of U.S. trade law claiming our steel and aluminum are “threats to American national security”.

P.P.S. Former Canadian Amb. to China Mr. Guy Saint-Jacques has this to say:

"In China, there's no coincidence": Former Canadian Amb. to China @guysaintjacque1 says, in his view, the arrest of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig is part of China's effort to put political pressure on Canada over the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou pic.twitter.com/xDd9rP9mpz

— Power & Politics (@PnPCBC) December 11, 2018

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This sentence (from a CBC News report) kinda highlights the difference between Huawei CFO Ms. Meng Wanzhou’s case and the trumped up detention of Mr. Michael Kovrig (currently on an unpaid leave of absence from the Canadian embassy): “China’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday denied knowledge of the detention of a former Canadian diplomat, as Chinese citizens rejoiced over a Canadian court’s decision to release a top Huawei Technologies executive on bail.”

Good movies online @Kanopy! Thanks @CalgaryLibrary!

Here is a list of good movies online via the Kanopy streaming service. Calgary Public Library (CPL) users get to watch up to 10 movies each month. Hope you will enjoy these movies. (Note: Movie links are for CPL. A quick Google confirms public libraries in Toronto and San Francisco are also subscribers of the Kanopy service.)

1. Guangzhou Dream Factory (documentary) (5/5 stars), trailer (added: 20181206)
2. Patema Inverted (Japanese Anime) (4/5 stars), trailer (20181206)
3. Hearts Beat Loud (drama) (5/5 stars), trailer, SXSW Q&A with Nick Offerman and Director Brett Haley, Sundance Q&A (20181206)
4. Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict (documentary) (4/5 stars), trailer (20181206)
5. Sweet Bean (Japanese drama) (5/5 stars), trailer (20181206)
6. Like Someone in Love (Japanese drama) (4/5 stars), trailer (20181206)
7. After The Storm (Japanese drama) (5/5 stars), trailer (20181206)

P.S. I love Calgary Public Library system’s awesome collection of books, audio books, and, in recent years, massive DVDs and Blu-rays collection! The brand new Central Library is really a work of beauty! Library users can actually make five (5) suggestions per month to the library (via our online account) to buy new books, DVDs, or Blu-rays to add to its collection! So far two out of my five suggestions have been accepted.

Recently Guangzhou Dream Factory was rejected as a purchase but I was told that the film is actually available to watch online via Kanopy ! Truly a case of one door closes, a window opens!

At Eternity’s Gate – starring Willem Dafoe as van Gogh

The Oscar nominated director (and painter) Julian Schnabel‘s film At Eternity’s Gate about the final years of painter Vincent van Gogh‘s life seems fascinating.

Insightful short clip via TIFF: AT ETERNITY’S GATE director Julian Schnabel on art and creating

AT ETERNITY’S GATE – Official Trailer

AT ETERNITY’S GATE – A Journey Inside the World of Vincent van Gogh

At Eternity’s Gate’ Press Conference | NYFF56

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Any healthy country, like any healthy individual, should be in perpetual revolution. – New Quote I Love

I’m adding two new quotes to my long list of Quotes I Love. These two came from Jane Fonda via the new HBO documentary Jane Fonda in Five Acts. (Ref Washington Post article, “How Jane Fonda’s 1972 trip to North Vietnam earned her the nickname ‘Hanoi Jane’”) Here are the two quotes with video clip linked below. [HT Yasso]

“Any healthy country, like any healthy individual, should be in perpetual revolution.” in documentary Jane Fonda In Five Acts (2018) | HBO Trailer@1:28

“I’m proud of most of what I did. And I’m very sorry for some of what I did.” – Jane Fonda (1937- ) in doc Jane Fonda In Five Acts (2018) | Trailer@0:59

Jane Fonda In Five Acts (2018) | Official Trailer | HBO @1:28

The day White House spread doctored video

Nov 16, 2018 update: CNN (with video) “Judge orders White House to return Jim Acosta’s press pass”

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The doctored video @WhiteHouse tweeted out by @PressSec. For the record.

We stand by our decision to revoke this individual’s hard pass. We will not tolerate the inappropriate behavior clearly documented in this video. pic.twitter.com/T8X1Ng912y

— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 8, 2018

RT //Even by the standards of their serial-lying selves, this is bad stuff.// via @ddale8

1) Took @PressSec Sarah Sanders' video of briefing
2) Tinted red and made transparent over CSPAN video
3) Red motion is when they doctored video speed
4) Sped up to make Jim Acosta's motion look like a chop
5) I've edited video for 15+ years
6) The White House doctored it pic.twitter.com/q6arkYSx0V

— Rafael Shimunov 🔥 (@rafaelshimunov) November 8, 2018

//PEN America is suing President Trump for banning certain journalists from covering the White House and threatening to revoke credentials; now he has gone a step further by revoking the press pass of @CNN’s @Acosta, in a clear attack on the First Amendment.// BBC News, “White House suspends credentials for CNN’s Jim Acosta”

Very sad day!