Blade Runner 2049

I regret that I didn't go to watch it on the big screen in cinema while I could. Blade Runner 2049 by Denis Villeneuve, premiere in Malaysia at the beginning of October 2017 and it was in cinema for less than 3 weeks! It just got off the "Now Showing" list so unexpectedly fast! Then I was waiting for it to be shown on Astro, waiting for almost 18 months, but to no end. Finally I watch the pirated version last week and it is beyond my expectations.

To be honest I am not one of those hardcore fan of the original Blade Runner. To me, it is just "meh". My first encounter with the original Blade Runner was for a school project. As one of the courses during my uni years, I was required to do a film analysis and Blade Runner was the film to be analyzed. Although it is philosophical and stylized, my general feeling towards Blade Runner was and is still the same - so boring... Without a doubt the film is highly influential, culturally. So when I heard about the 2049, I was expecting the more or less same slow pace as the original, the same philosophical storyline, the same style, etc.. With all said, the actual reason I wanted to watch it is because I just admired the audacity of the director to pick up this project - to make a sequel to a cult classic.

Blade Runner 2049 is everything like the original and more. It is B-E-A-U-tiful and it should only to be watched on the biggest screen you have. It won the best cinematography in Oscar for a reason but it should have won more than just that. I complain about the boring storyline in the original, and 2049 remedies it. I have been trying to avoid spoilers before my first viewing because I want an Experience watching the movie. It is not that hard to avoid spoilers though since nobody has watched it and talking about it. Anyway, during my first viewing, I can say that I totally get the story - every ups and downs, every emotion felt by K the main character. The feelings really hit me especially hard during the final scene - a medley of melancholy and bliss, even a drop of tear...

All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.

Besides 2049, I had also recently watched the Annihilation by Alex Garland and it is equally good. I'm just sad that great hard sci-fi, or in general, great films like these aren't getting much attention as they should. The fact that nobody in my circle is talking about these movies is just outrageous. For a moment, I hated the society for going only for movies like MCU and countless obvious cash-grab of remakes and reboots, while ignoring great movies. But again, I can understand that these movies are not for everyone. Hard sci-fi is just not something you can sit down and have a good easy time watching. It is usually thought-provoking and demands some brain power.

I am not a big fan of the original Blade Runner, but to me, Blade Runner 2049 is truly a masterpiece. Sigh... I just hope that people pays more attention to it.

The Bat

A song, any song, when played at the right moment can be truly magical. In a previous blog about Memories, I wrote: "Often, the most intense, the most important, emotional memories are not photographed... Some of my memories, ... are captured through songs." Die Fledermaus Overture by Johann Strauss II is one of these songs. 

Listening to this piece by Johann is not only able to bring back my memory, instead, just like Auguste Gusteau first tastes the ratatouille by Remy, it instantly teleports me back to the Vienna State Opera where I first heard this song. The grandeur of the opera, the majestic entrance hallway, the live orchestra that was better than any Dolby surround sound, and there I was, at the top storey, miles away from the stage, and worrying how underdress and out of place I was. If you are wondering whether you've known this place, yes of course, Vienna State Opera is where the assassination scene in MI5: Ghost Protocol is shot. 

Die Fledermaus, also known as The Bat, by Johann Strauss II is an operetta combining ballet and orchestra. There is no dialogue, just an amalgamation of classical music and body movement. That was the reason why I chose to watch this show among others during the time I was in Vienna. That time I was traveling solo from Bratislava to Prague while stopping by Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich. I knew I wanted to watch a classical show in Vienna just like any tourist would, but I knew nothing on the list of choices. The only one that didn't involve knowing the language was Die Fledermaus.

So I went into the show with no knowledge and no expectation. But once the overture hit, I was stunned, goosebumps to say the least. Time passes, and if you would have asked me about the story now, what is it about, I totally forget already. I don't think I can say that I understand the whole story either. What's left of the show is just a feel, more precisely a Disney feel. To describe the show, it would be wise to compare it to a classic Disney film like Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty. Now I can see where these classic Disney films gets inspiration from.

What else is left in me of the show is the overture song. Probably the setting, or probably I heard it live, the biased me still think this is one of the best classical musics ever. In fact, listening to this song, it not only teleports me back to the Vienna time, it also reminds me of the amusement rides in Genting Highland during those rare times my parents brought me there when I was small. Rare because we were poor. I got older now and I now understand the sacrifice of parenthood. We were poor but they still squeezed out whatever they had to bring my siblings and me there. 

This book is just not for me

 

"Why I dislike this book?" I always ask myself while reading this book. "Youthquake 4.0 : A Whole Generation and the New Industrial Revolution", a book by Rocky Scopelliti, a futurologist, trying to look into the future by taking in account of two global forces: Millennials and the fourth industrial revolution characterized by distributed trust in the form of blockchain, big data, and A.I. Ironic that the book talks about trust equals to reputation but I don't know much about the author himself.

The first thing that strikes me is just how many graphs are there in the book. Charts after charts, histograms after histograms, I just feel like being bombarded with statistics. I am sure that the author did his homework. With all the graphs and statistics, I am sure that the points the author wants pass to the readers are no doubt well researched. He has points but just fails in the "passing" part.

 

That's pretty common pitfall of a scientist. Whenever scientists try to convince the wide audience, they just think that by showing more data will do. What makes thing worst is the lack of metaphors. Despite the simple language used, the author makes sure that none of the trendiest technological jargons is missed out. To me it just seems like it talks about many things, but at the same time nothing at all. 

Then I realize that this book might not really aimed for a wide audience. To quote: "The insights in this book are for the individuals, leaders and policymakers seeking to unlock opportunities by developing specific adaption or transformation strategies from the interplay between Millennial mind and the emerging technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution." To put simply, this book's target audience is the managers! One must keep this in mind only then the book makes sense. In fact the book does present itself like Power Point slides compiled into a book, slides interweaved with graphs and histograms. Plus, each chapter is completed with a bullet point summary, exactly like a Power Point presentation, which further affirms that this is a book for manager. The entire book just feels like those boring high level meeting that I have during the work.

So why I dislike this book? Simply, it is just not my cup of tea. May be, just may be one day in the future my point of view will change or may be when I myself become a manager, I might eventually like this book. But come to think about it, the actual main reason why I dislike it is that, I feel like I am being "forced" to read it by upper management. Manager bought it as a "gift" for us, we have to read it, and we have to do a presentation about it. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it as a gift. But to me, reading is my hobby, so I prefer to choose my type of books to read.

I completed my first marathon!

I completed the Penang Bridge Marathon! It might be hard to believe but this was the first marathon I had ever participate in. I ran 5k, 10k, half-marathon, and even an ultra, just strangely never a marathon before. However it was not an easy 42.195k, mainly due to my mental hurdle. Going into the race day, my confidence was at all time low, to say the least.

Failing to complete the Penang Eco run for the second time in a row, severe altitude sickness while hiking towards EBC that resulted in a heli-evac to the hospital, I was seriously doubting my capability and the limit of my body. "Am I becoming weak?" I questioned myself frequently. Although the COT was set at 7 hours, which I had previously considered generous, my goal was simply to finish. 

The last time I joined Penang Bridge Marathon was 11 years ago. I was still in high school that time! "How time flies..." I sighed as if I was already an old man. I arrived at the starting point 15mins before gun off, just the way I liked: arrive in time and get into business straight away. The race started off good.

Slowly and steadily, I covered the first 20km with relative ease. After that I was kinda half running and half walking, and taking my time at every water station to drink and eat. The good thing about the marathon was the pacers. Until this point I knew I was way in front of 5hours30-pacers while 5hour-pacers were within striking distance. The hope of finishing within 5 hours was not too far off. So far so good but not for long. Some angry clouds were brewing. Occasional wind brought a few raindrops brushing my skin. A thunder storm was approaching.

After I reached the turning point at the Seberang Perai end of the bridge, the storm hit all of us at full force. It was not just raining cats and dogs, it rained sideways! The wind was not in my favor either, blowing directly against me while I was heading towards the direction of Penang island. It actually hurt when the rain hit my face. I could barely open my eyes. Forget about running. Walking through the storm was difficult enough in itself. Slower than ever, the 5hours30 pacers ran pass me...

Shit!

I couldn't totally slow down either. While the rain hurt, what worried me the most was the lighting. What was left between me and the finish line was all on the bridge and it was super exposed. It could strike any one the runners, anytime. At this point, the 5 hour target was far long gone in my head. I was just trying my best to run, hoping to get off the bridge as soon as possible. 

After the mid point of the bridge with 7k to go, luckily the lighting and wind slowed down but the rain was still pouring. Surprisingly, I still managed to squeeze out some strength, pick up some speed, and actually took over the 5hours30 pacers. "Let's see if I could chase the 5hours pacers."

Spirit high again! I felt like I flied through the last 5k, taking over tonnes of people along the way. The feeling was soooooo gooooood... This was definitely the highlight of my entire run. I even tried to sprint through the final kilometer. 5hours and 19mins. My finish time. 

Finishing the marathon, what I felt was not accomplished but happily relieved. With it, I regained my confidence in long distance foot race again. The feel good run through the last 5k made me feel like I could actually do better. This feeling of hitting the sweet spot has become the new cornerstone of my passion in running.

I come back to serve my country

In conjunction with the upcoming Independence Day of Malaysia, it only makes sense to write something patriotic. So let me share something I did which I am still proud of until present day. It is not about the sportive competitions in which I was the sole Malaysian representative. It is about a decision.

After I finished my study, I had a choice: to return home or to stay in France to search for a job. By right there shouldn't even be a choice at all. As JPA scholars, we were bounded by contract and required to return and work in Malaysia. But this was not clear as there were many who stayed. Apparently there were ways to "bypass" the contract if we really wanted to stay. Probably there were legitimate ways to stay and work in France. Don't ask me how because I didn't even go the distance to explore. I chose to come back to serve my bond.

In fact, staying in France would have been easier. I had been living there since I was out of secondary school. I had a job offer following my internship in CEA Grenoble. I had close friends and connections built up from school and work. Malaysia was more foreign to me during the time I had to make the decision, if you want to know the truth. Leaving France meant pushing me out of my comfort zone, totally uprooting my life. But still I chose to come back.

Reason? First responsibility, and second, I want to be part of the change. In 2008, I left to France while DAP took over the governance of Penang state. Rarely but every time I came back to Penang for vacation, the positive changes were hard to ignore. This have gave me hope, that the same could be done on the scale of the whole country, that Malaysia could be changed for better. I have to admit that Malaysia still has many problems. Rather than complaining about it, so I chose to come back to be the change, however minuscule it is.

That's why I am proud to have voted during the GE14 and witness the history first hand. That's why I am proud to pay my road tax and my income tax. Not to say that I am happy to pay tax but I am proud that I am fulfilling my civil responsibility and the tax money is going benefit the people of Malaysia. Conflicting but truthful, I am unhappily proud to pay for summons too.

Until today, I can still get people questioning my decision to return home and work here in Malaysia. "Why don't you stay there?" or "Where did you come back?" I always have the same answer: I come back to serve my country.