My Quintessence... Thoughts & Feelings

TIFF 2013 Film Picks

2013-08-28T21:27:00.000-04:00

Update - Sept 6 2013: My wife couldn't attend one of the screenings so I picked American Dreams in China as a replacement. TIFF's ticket pickup is terribly inefficient and slow. You literally have to line up for hours to print off the tickets even if you already ordered them and had confirmation. They really need to improve service. Oh well...

For the last few years, I have been checking out films at The Toronto International Film Festival. As with most film festivals, the films are mostly indie, foreign and art-house. If you are into such films—or like to stargaze ;)—it's definitely worth dropping by.

My favourite programme is Vanguard, which showcases cutting-edge, controversial, innovative films. Unfortunately, I didn't find too many films that interested me this year. Maybe I didn't spend enough time following, or reading up, films but nothing really stood out for me. (There was an interesting screening, Koyaanisqatsi director Godfrey Reggio's Visitors, which was accompanied by live orchestra but I didn't find the topic as intriguing.)

Here are the films I picked this year (description from TIFF website; programme in square brackets).

We Gotta Get Out of This Place

[Vanguard]

"First-time feature directors Simon and Zeke Hawkins tip their hat to pulp crime master Jim Thompson in this tight, twisty, Texas-set nouveau noir about three teenage friends who get in way over their head when they cross a down-home crime syndicate."

Trap Street

[Discovery]

"A poignant and engaging thriller, Vivian Qu’s feature debut plunges us into the fascinating world of state surveillance in China as it follows a digital mapping surveyor’s investigation of an "off-the-grid" hidden alley."

Rags and Tatters

[Contemporary World Cinema]

"Escaping from prison amid the turbulence of the 2011 Tahrir Square demonstrations, a nameless fugitive desperately seeks warmth and shelter in the outer regions of Cairo, in director Ahmad Abdalla’s vivid and captivating portrait of the fallout from the Arab Spring."

Tracks

[Special Presentation]

"Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, The Kids Are All Right) stars in the astonishing true story of Robyn Davidson, who in 1977 set out on a solo 2,700-kilometre journey by foot across the Australian Outback."

A Touch of Sin

[Masters]

"Internationally acclaimed Chinese master Jia Zhangke (The World) won the Best Screenplay prize at Cannes for this startling — and startlingly violent — modern wuxia tale of four outcasts on the margins of a rapidly changing China, who channel their underclass rage into a bloody and murderous rampage."

I saw The World by Jia Zhangke a few years ago at TIFF and enjoyed it a lot. Definitely one of the top Chinese directors right now.

Child of God

[Special Presentation]

"The latest from actor-turned-filmmaker James Franco is adapted from characteristically tough and violent Cormac McCarthy novel that draws the director’s ambitions into disturbing terrain as it explores the rituals and desperation of the Southern US’s rural poor."

Although I don't read fiction, I know a bit about famous authors, and this film, based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy, known for brutally violent and honest portrayals of worlds where the moral compass tends to be broken, such as The Road, No Country for Old Men, and his most critically-acclaimed work, Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West, and one who is considered by some to be one of the top American authors over the last century, is sure to be an interesting film. Cormac McCarthy is famous for writing super-long sentences like I just did and here is an example of his from Blood Meridian (p52):

"Out there dark little archipelagos of cloud and the vast world of sand and scrub shearing upward into the shoreless void where those blue islands trembled and the earth grew uncertain, gravely canted and veering out through the tinctures of rose and the dark beyond the dawn to the uttermost rebate of space."

Norte, The End of History

[Masters]

"Philippine cinematic luminary Lav Diaz draws inspiration from Dostoevsky and iconic compatriot José Rizal in this mature and boldly literate and new drama, which is among the finest works to emerge from the Philippine New Wave."

A very long film—4 hr 10 min—from Phillipine master I am unfamiliar with.

Omar

[Special Presentation]

"Academy Award-nominated Palestinian director Hany Abu Assad (Paradise Now) won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for this noir-ish psychological thriller set in the occupied West Bank."

American Dreams in China

[Gala; my screening is just a regular one]

"Shot by superstar cinematographer Christopher Doyle and dubbed "the Chinese Social Network", this epic tale of business bravado follows three friends who launch a successful online English instruction school for Chinese students — and then face lawsuits over copyright infringement."

Christopher Doyle became famous working with Wong Kar Wai on films such as Chungking Express and I'm curious to see how his cinematography is in this film.

My one and only wedding...

2012-11-28T19:30:00.002-05:00

I recently married the love of my life, Anushia. Hard to believe that I'm married now—life just won't be the same anymore. It was a traditional Hindu wedding and occurred on November 4th without any major issues. I'll post more of my thoughts in the future but for now, here are the photos and videos from the official photographer/videographer, Trails of Memories:

Facebook page with photos - Ram & Anushia

RAM + ANUSHIA Hindu Wedding from TRAILS OF MEMORIES STUDIOS on Vimeo.

Super Moon Lights Up the Sky

2012-05-06T03:39:00.000-04:00

Super Moon in Toronto

May 5, 2012

(source: "’Super Moon’ to light up night sky this weekend," Reuters via Toronto Sun. Pictured is the Garden City Skyway in Ontario on Saturday, May 5, 2012. (JULIE JOCSAK/QMI AGENCY))

The distance between the moon and earth was the closest today. This happens once an year, so not exactly that rare. But still cool.

Here's hoping this is a good omen for all of us! :)

Female Fertility & Age

2012-05-06T01:43:00.001-04:00

This is going to be an unusual post, and it's probably the only time I'll ever touch this topic. It's one of those things that one only thinks about once in their life.

I'm looking for a long-term relationship—marriage basically—and I have been thinking about the age of the woman I would like. Most men pick younger women, primarily driven by beauty, but I don't really care about a women's age to the same degree, except for one thing: I would like to have kids. I'm thinking more about kids and what sort of age I should target. Love is kind of random and who knows whom I'll end up with, or whether we'll have problems having kids, but it's good to have some target.

Female Fertility

Hard to believe, perhaps, but female fertility starts dropping by the time someone hits 20. The following chart from babycenter.com illustrates infertility by age:

(Source: Management of the Infertile Woman by Helen A. Carcio and The Fertility Sourcebook by M. Sara Rosenthal. Chart downloaded from Babycenter.com on May 6, 2012 12:47 AM)

Although the decline is quite small at 20 (infertility less than 5%), it starts declining rapidly after that. Probability of infertility skyrockets after the 35-39 age group, particularly after the age hits 40-44.

One thing that's not clear to me is why the likelihood of getting pregnant is so low (5%) at the 45-49 age group, even though likelihood of infertility is only 69%. Even at the 40-44 age group, I wonder why getting pregnant seems quite difficult (36% success rate only) even though the infertility probability is only 32%.

How Solid is the Research?

As one can imagine given the importance to society, a lot of work has been done in the field and there is quite a bit of research. Experts differ on the probabilities and outcomes and the table below (reformatted from wikipedia) describes how the numbers differ:

Age of woman when she starts to try to conceive	% who will have no live birth according to Vincent (1950)	% who will have no live birth according to Henry (1953)-England	% who will have no live birth according to Henry (1953)-Norway	% who will have no live birth according to Pittenger (1973)	% who will have no live birth according to Leridon (1977)	% who will have no live birth according to Trussell-Wilson (1985)	% who will have no live birth according to Menken-Larsen (1986)
20	4	3.5	3.5	2.2	3	-	4
25	6	6	5	3.3	6	6	7
30	10	11	8	6.5	10	11	12
35	17	19	13	16	17	16	22
40	37	33	24	40	29	24	46
45	75	58	50	79	50	58	-

(source: "Female infertility," Wikipedia.org. Downloaded and reformatted on May 6, 2012 1:13 AM)

The research cited in the table spans more than 50 years and appears to be quite comprehensive. The numbers are quite similar for the younger ages but differs materially at older ages.

The studies are largely consistent with each other up to the age of 35 but differ materially beyond that. The most negative (in terms of trying to conceive) is the Pittenger (1973) research while the most optimistic is the Henry (1953) - Norway study.

Are Things Changing?

It's not entirely clear if the probability of infertility has been declining (i.e. improving for those seeking kids) over time. This can happen if humans evolve—hard to see this happening in such a short period of time—or if better techniques/diet/etc for pregnancy are adopted. This is just a wild guess and I don't know anything about trying to become pregnant but maybe there is better knowledge that is more widely dissemated these days.

The following chart for Canadian women from 1989 to 2009 appears to indicate that births have been increasing for older women.

Source(s): Statistics Canada, CANSIM table 102-4505 and Births, Catalogue no. 84-210-X. Downloaded on May 6 2012, 1:39 AM.

The colours on the chart are horrible and confusing, but if you look at the 30-34, 35-39, 40-44 groups, they seem to be trending up; whereas the younger groups are trending down. This doesn't necessarily mean that it is easier to have kids at the older ages; but it does seem to show it is happneing.

Overall, this chart should be encouraging for those who are getting older. The 35-39 and 40-44 groups have almost doubled their births per thousand figures.

Fertility Treatment?

There is also possibility is that fertility treatments may alter the landscape quite a bit. It's not clear if those figures are captured well in the studies cited above. Since older couples, who want to have kids, will likely be willing to spend quite a lot of money on fertility treatments, it wouldn't surprise me if the industry develops some breakthroughs. In particular, many women delayed their child-rearing in order to develop their career so they'll be willing to spend money to seek these options.

I'm not sure what the side-effects of such treatments may be but it is something that could revolutionize society.

Final Thoughts

So, if you want to have kids, you should find a female parter who is less than 40, and maybe less than 35. But obviously this depends on one's circumstances. It's not like one can magically pick a partner of an age.

It's interesting how humans have changed over the centuries. At one time—this is still common in undeveloped and developing countries—couples got married when they were 16 or 17, and started having kids around that age. Presently, due to social changes, including women entering the labour force, as well as the decline in the number of births—couples are satisfied with less kids, likely because child survivability is much, much, higher now—people tend to have kids well into their late 20's and 30's. This is almost a decade later than what older societies (and undeveloped/developing ones) have done. All this change is bumping up against the declining fertility rates by the time women hit their late 20's/early 30's.

So, does this mean that births will drop (as they have done in developed countries so far); or does this mean that scientific fertility treatments are going to be a growth area?

Sleeping Giant Awakens

2012-05-06T00:07:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time, there was this sleeping giant—a giant of a country. It was the largest economy in the world; it was developing a sophisticated culture; it was rapidly progressing in science & technology; it was becoming more wealthier than others; and it was more powerful than it seemed. But it was silent. It was sleeping all this time.

Then something happened... in 1941 to be precise.

It woke up and became what it was always meant to be—in some sense, fulfilling its destiny!

The country I am referring to, of course, is the United States of America.

Now, is it possible for a human to sleep through life and then wake up suddenly?

I feel like my life is going to be altered significantly—for the better!

Epic Audio-speech Mix About the Universe... and The Meaning of Life

2012-04-22T13:49:00.000-04:00

'Epic' is an over-rated word these days but here is an audio mix of various speeches about the universe that more than deserves the use of this word. From 8tracks.com, user CosmicApathy has put together an amazing mix of speeches by various scientists and others on the universe... and, indeed, the meaning of life.

Contemplate The Universe Inside You from cosmicapathy on 8tracks.

The music accompanying the first speech by Neil Degrasse Tyson is the great piano track, "To Build a Home" by Cinematic Orchestra. Buy their music if you are into acoustic, thought-provoking, chillout music.

Women & Shopping

2012-04-15T10:38:00.002-04:00

(image source)

There are some things men love that women will never understand—cars, sex, and sports for instance. Conversely, there are things I never understand about women—in particular, romance and shopping!

I have always wondered what women feel when they shop. Futhermore, I always wondered how the desire for shopping by women would be handled with emergence of Internet (and mobile) shopping. Will physical stores always exist because women love shopping? Will a new type of online retail experience have to be created to satisfy the "shopping experience?" I always wondered.

The following quote in a Bloomberg Businessweek article by Susan Lyne, the CEO of Gilt Groupe, where she was comparing the shopping experience of Amazon versus her company, is quite insightful to me:

...women go shopping to see what’s new, to be inspired, to fall in love with something.

I hope I'm not over-generalizing and stereotyping—not every woman is the same, no more than any man is—but this is sooo different from men. I doubt any man ever falls in love with anything in a store. I think I speak for most men when I say that, the shopping experience for me is more of a functional purpose—you are seeking some item.

The experience and the "shopping feeling" between men and women is quite different. I find all this kind of interesting.

City Limits - Timelapse video of cities

2012-03-12T20:52:00.003-04:00

I love time lapse videos and here's another great one — this time covering many Canadian cities:

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T03:33:00.000-05:00

I'm an official member of the Anti-Valentine's Day club—wish it weren't so :( — but for the rest of you, here is a cool graphic from Neoformix depicting the usage of the words "love" and "hate" on Twitter in 2010.

I extracted a portion of the original infographic. You can access the full graphic here.

(source: "Love and Hate on Twitter," by Jeff Clark, Neoformix. February 14, 2011)

War vs Peace

2012-02-11T23:30:00.000-05:00

Poignant word graphic of Adolf Hitler and Mahatma Gandhi by Jeff Clark of Neoformix. Original post here.

(source: Original work by Jeff Clark, Neoformix. May 13, 2011)

Newbie Tutorial on Elements of Design

2012-02-11T19:40:00.002-05:00

The Fundamental Elements of Design from Erica Gorochow on Vimeo.

History of Typefaces

2012-02-11T03:33:00.000-05:00

(click on image for larger pic)

source: "A History of Western Typefaces [INFOGRAPHIC]," by Lauren Drell, Mashable. December 08, 2011.

Two Upcoming Visual Films: TimeScapes and Samsara

2012-01-07T22:31:00.000-05:00

Given the improvements in photography and film technology, and the decline in costs—particularly the storage and software/editing costs—we are starting to see more visual "documentaries." A whole new genre in film is emerging, consisting of captured video footage with no plot and limited (or no) speech.

Such films had always been made but the quality nowadays is extremely good, and on par with professional television or Hollywood. In the past, such films were nowhere near as good as Hollywood or television.

Perhaps lower-cost distribution through the Internet, and online social networking tools, will allow more funding for these projects. It may usher in a new era of more specialized content and better match consumers—admittedly the audience for these films is limited—to the producers. In the pre-Internet days, matching the narrow target audience with the producers was costly and difficult. In a different context, companies like Amazon and Netflix have shown that there is value that can be captured in the long tail.

I am also noticing that the line between photography and film/video is blurring. The two films that I highlight below use time-lapse photography quite effectively. Back in the 1980's and early 90's, time-lapse photography didn't feel like a video — indeed, they seemed more like pictures pieced together than smoothly-flowing video. The present films, building on the work of the 1992 masterpiece, Baraka, takes the visuals to a new level.

TimeScapes

I ran across TimeScapes, a film being shot by Tom Lowe and utilizing time-lapse photography. I think this is Tom Lowe's first film but the quality of the trailer looks amazing. The film will be sold online and anyone interested can pre-order.

My favourite scenes in these time-lapse videos is the starry sky and TimeScapes seems to contain really good shots. In the trailer, the satellites seem to be dancing to the sky.

In the meantime, check out the trailer (if you have high speed connection or can wait to cache, you may want to view this in 1080p):

TimeScapes Trailer

Directed by Tom Lowe

Samsara

It was a 19-year wait but we finally have the sequel to Baraka. Utilizing techniques similar to the original, Ron Ficke and Mark Magidson continue the tradition in Samara. According to their website,

Samsara is a word that describes the ever turning wheel of life. It is a concept both intimate and vast - the perfect subject for filmmakers Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson, whose previous collaborations include Chronos and Baraka, and who, in the last 20 years, have travelled to over 58 countries together in the pursuit of unique imagery.

Samsara takes the form of a nonverbal, guided meditation that will transform viewers in countries around the world as they are swept along a journey of the soul. Through powerful images pristinely photographed in 70mm and a dynamic music score, the film illuminates the links between humanity and the rest of the nature, showing how our life cycle mirrors the rhythm of the planet.

I saw Samsara's premiere at The Toronto International Film Festival in 2011 and liked it a lot. Samsara covers different themes and some of the content didn't seem to fit—as with Baraka, it wasn't clear what we were looking at or what country is being shown—but, overall, it was very unique. Those that aren't exposed to these films should see these films at some point in their life.

Samsara hasn't been released in multiple theaters yet and can't be purchased on DVD or online digital formats yet. You have to see thse films in a theater or a big screen, so anyone in Santa Barbara, California, may want to check out the screening at the Santa Barbara Film Festival that runs from January 26 to February 6, 2012.

For some reason, trailers aren't available; for now, here are couple of images from the film.

Our Home in the Universe

2012-01-07T19:17:00.000-05:00

Where are we in the universe? Ever wondered how the universe looks when you leave our planet?

Well, here are some really cool videos that makes earth seem so insignificant, yet wonderous, at the same time.

Until we can travel in spaceships, here's the 15th-century-equivalent of a travel guide, to a wonderous land beyond the shores.

(Depending on your Internet connection speed, you may want to increase/decrease the resolution by using the setting at the bottom-right on YouTube. Best viewed full-screen.)

(h/t: brainpicker)

Some day we'll visit these places...

Cool New Year's Resolutions poster

2012-01-01T23:47:00.001-05:00

2012

New Year's Resolutions

Teresa Wozniak

Illustration by Teresa Wozniak

The Year That Was, 2011

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to All!
Here's to a Prosperous 2012!

How Was 2011?

Here are some items from 2011... to keep you entertained in 2012.

(anything marked with stars are worth checking out)

Google Zeitgeist 2011

A Picture is Worth
a Thousand Words

* The Year in Pictures - Part I *

The Big Picture - Boston.com

* The Year in Pictures - Part II *

The Big Picture - Boston.com

* The Year in Pictures - Part III *

The Big Picture - Boston.com

Science in 2011: Triumphs, disasters and climaxes – in pictures
The Guardian

Must-see Science Videos of 2011
Cosmic Log on MSNBC.com

* Ten of the Top Science Videos of 2011 *
Txchnologist

* The Most Important Graphs of 2011 *
Derek Thompson for The Atlantic

* Top 10 Video Ads of 2011 *
The Globe & Mail

* Slide Show: The Top Ten Art Sales of 2011 *
Bloomberg

Best Google Doodles of 2011
WebProNews.com

Wallpaper* Graduate Directory - 2011
Wallpaper*

Business & Investing

* Top Business Scandals of 2011 *
The Globe & Mail

Stars and Dogs of 2011
The Globe & Mail

10 Worst Business Predictions of 2011
Fortune

Ten Most Unusual Interview Questions of 2011
Fortune

RIM’s year to forget: Where did it all go wrong?

Financial Post

* Slide Show: Top SEC Settlemens of 2011 *

Bloomberg

* RIM’s year to forget: Where did it all go wrong? *

Financial Post

A Big, Big, World

The Year that Was
The New Yorker

* The Top Science Stories of 2011 *
Scientific American

The Top Scientific Discoveries of 2011
Wired

Tech 2011: Biggest News Stories of the Year
Wired

* The Verge Year in Review *
The Verge

Major Cyber Security Events of 2011
Financial Post Tech Desk

* Canada's Top 10 Technology Stories of 2011 *
Financial Post Tech Desk

2011: A Huge Year for Social Media
TheNextWeb.com

For the Literate

* Best Business Books of 2011 *
Strategy+Business

* The Best Business Books of 2011 *
American Public Media Marketplace

* Best Books of 2011: The Complete List *
NPR

Six Graphic Novels That Will Draw You In
NPR

Five Good Books

The New Yorker

* The Verge Booklist 2011 *

The Verge

The New York Times Top 10 Books of 2011

The New York Times

The 11 Best History Books of 2011