The games I am looking forward to the most now

I've been playing Video Games since 2001. I've always played the old games, which were always 3 years old at least. My first game was Fifa football 1997. I bought from EB in a local mall near Umass Amherst. Since then, i played many games. There are so many games coming out every year, and every year, there're only a handful that really interested me. There are even fewer that i'd felt a rush to buy them. Here's a list of games that I want to play them very badly.

Mount and Blade, it's an indie game created by a team of a husband and a wife from Turkey. I tried the demo a few times 3, 4 years ago. I could not get into it for the animation was very stiff, and i couldn't bear it. I've tried the new version of the demo last year and this year. Although the animations were still stiff, i insisted myself to get into the game and it's totally worth the effort! There're still mechanics i could not execute perfectly, but it still game me an incredible experience! The combat although awkward at the beginning, it grew on me! And the mounted fight was the best out there! There's no comparison with this game on the mounted combat! It gave me a feeling of total control! They used the map style similar Zelda game, but with a 3D graphic and real time day/night cycle. I can't wait to put my hands on the game. When I heard that Paradox Interactive got the right to publish the game, i was so happy. And now, it's finally on the market, all I need to do now is to update my computer... lol

Assassin's Creed, it's a revolutionary platformer action game from Ubisoft's Montreal studio. The studio claimed that anything stick out of ground taller than 1 inch will be interactable. From what I read, I think this promises was kept quite well. Somebody mentioned that the combat was too dull, and the missions structure was way too simple. But i am looking forward to this game for it's platformer gameplays. I know this will be an amazing experience that was never presented in any games in the past. I can't wait to play this game. Now, i only need to find a way to upgrade my computer... lol

Empire Total War, it's a tactical/strategy game. I played this series from the beginning. From shogun to medieval total war. I played Rome total war and Medieval 2 Total war very briefly. Because I don't have the rig to play RTW and M2TW... And now the latest installment is coming out next year... I missed online play so much... Fighting a battle with up to 7 other players was an experience that i shall never forget! I remember playing Naploean mod for VI with other players. We could play one battle for 1 hour and more sometimes! We organized, we talked about strategy, talking about which hill we wanted, which hill the other side might take advantage of. Then when the game started, we patiently marched our troops, line them up, and shoot. Along the way, both sides taunted each other, both sides watched each other's move intently. Constant communication, help each other out, if we finally had a breakthrough, we press out advantage home. If somehow we got a hole in the line, we tried to filled it up with more men. Those were incredible experiences that I could not share with anyone who did not play video game, mainly my mom, my sister, basically anybody around me. This time, Empire Total War bring Napolean era into 3D world along with sea warfare. I don't care about the graphic at all. It is the sensation that fighting along with other players thrills me. I cannot describe to you how much, just how much I want to fight those battles online! However, I seriously doubted the development team could really pull it out smoothly, to guarantee a lag free online play that is... Of course, I'd first need to acquire an adequate computer first... lol

Sins of a Solar Empire, it's a real time 4x strategy/tactic game. I never liked any games that related to space much. But this one is a must. This is another revolutionary game! Before this game, 4x strategy games were always term based, as far as I know. However, this game came and changed that with a zoom out/in mechanics. And the studio even added real time tactics, something similar to Homeworld! This is amazing. They even have multiplayer in real time! I can't wait to put my hands on this game. Now, only if I have a good computer... lol

These are the games I really want to play right now. I am writing this, and if anybody was reading it, he could see...I am not able to play those games. Because my computer was way outdated. But I still want to write things down, just to remind myself that: I do want something, even though it's trivial, it's not necessity. I hope writing these things down somehow served as an incentive to push myself out there to find a job. They alone might not be enough, but they could be one of the many pieces of dry wood...

weeds weeds in my yard

When my family moved to the current residence, there're a lot of things i don't know around our lot, weeds were one of them. i was and am still quite fascinated with these persistent and proud plants. There's a time when i tried to get rid of them. But i was lazy and not as persistent as the the little fellas, i failed. During which time, i read through variety of books about grasses, backyard plants, and some horticultural books. I came across a book by Sara B. Stein called: Noah's Garden. It was a book about author's experience in transforming her backyard into something that could make more ecological sense. To put into another words, she wanted to plant more native plants and make her garden more appealing to the native animals. Wow, it seems like i lack the ability to summarize her book in one simple sentence... Anyway, i was thrilled by this book. because in a way, the arthur made the term Ecology closer to me than ever. Every suburban family has the ability to have a touch on the nature. Most of them could create a sustainable habitat for wildlife. The backyard could not only be the habitat for squirrels and chipmonks. There could also be frogs, mouse, bugs, all kinds of birds and many other living creatures. Of course, it seemed at the time that i could do less work on the yard was a huge plus as well! Upon reading it, i really wanted to dig in. There're loads and loads of things to learn! But it's not that easy at all! I needed to first learn to identify plants on my lot. I've already fascinated by them already. So i thought to myself, it should be easy enough. However, years passed, i did very little. It's a shame, the only thing i did was doing as little as possible on my yard and let those little fellas boom. No matter what I tried to do, I always slowed down after the initial effort.

Through a coicidence, I met my sister's friend's sister. With her help and my mom's lead, I started to grow some flowers, scallions, and chimes this year. Most of them are growing well. It is quite an experience. Because i haven't been this persistent for a while now. During this year, i've also identified some wild plants that growing in my backyard. So here is the list of them along with some pictures i found online.

This is Red Sorrel. Some also called it Sheep Sorrel. The leaves tasted quite sour but not too bad. I read some even eats it as salads. However, it could only be used sparingly. It is also very bad for people who have Kidney problems, like Kidney stone...
On the right is Red Sorrel's flower. But sometimes it's not this red though...

This is Buckhorn Plantain. This plant is all over my lawn. It has incredible lawn mawing resistence. it does not look beautiful at all. However, the bumble bees really like it.

This is Clover. It was common in EuroAsia.

This is GoldenRod. There's only one in my backyard. This plant can grow taller than me. Its golden flower can attract many bugs and bees. I read that in the old time, people always assume Goldenrod as the culprit for Autumn allergy. But the truth is, it's not. The real culprit is Ragweed. Goldenrod got the blame because its yellow flower bloomed as the same season as Ragweed.

And voila, Here is the Ragweed. It was named for its leaves. I think there's only one of this in my backyard. However, i might misidentified it since there're quite a few other species i got confused with, eg., pigweed, giant ragweed...etc.

This is Horseweed. This plant is amazing. Because i saw him everywhere! I saw him in New England, and i saw him in San Diego, CA, the last time i visited there. The only difference between the two is that leaves of the plant is usually fully opened up at NE, but many of it was not fully opened up in San Diengo, CA. My guess is they need to get as much sun as possible in NE. But they don't need to do that in California, there's just too much sun.

This is milkweed. It is an interesting plant. Because there're some bugs that use this plant as their sole food source. Oh, and its flower is very pretty. But the ones in my backyard somehow don't flower at all. I don't understand the reason either... need...to...find...out...why....

This is Pokeweed. It bears many fruits. I had one grow into pretty large size in my backyard at one time. I saw many birds resting in the plant and eating the fruits from it once. I ate a few before, but it did not taste good. I read that the fruits are actually slightly poisonous.

This is Rabbit Foot Clover. It prbably got its name from flower, which is furry.







This is Yellow Woody Sorrel. I am not sure if it's related to the red sorrel. I might one day looked it up. :p i got quite a few of this on my backyard. I remember it tasted sour as well, but i am not 100% sure.

吳宇森的.....赤壁前傳初步心得感想

我看了吳宇森導演的赤壁前傳. 這是舅媽家朋友鄭小萍阿姨兒子的. 首先, 我想說, 我覺得所有大陸近年來的大片都實在很差. 對這部也一開始就不存著希望. 這些大片通常都有著同樣的問題, 那就是: 對白生硬, 故事空洞, 角色貧乏. 很難過的是, 這部赤壁繼承所有上述的缺點. 還要加上其他的...

先說好的地方. 這部戲裡說明了一件事. 那就是香港的導演和武術指導加起來的確是有兩把刷子! 拿這部戲和英雄, 天地英雄, 黃金甲, 和夜宴相比, 赤壁的動作鏡頭乾淨俐落, 看起來非常爽快. 關公一出來就氣勢不凡, 之後所顯露出來的身手更是帥氣. 雖然張飛在八卦陣裏的美式橄欖球非常怪異, 但是他的笑料和他所顯出的特效卻是驚人的. 中村師童的 "甘興" 也非常的棒, 不論是他的身段還是造型都顯出其他人所沒有悍氣. 趙雲的勁力和霸氣也很令人開心. 總之, 這部戲的動作沒有讓我失望, 特效把這些人的力與美漂亮展示出來. 這是吳大導演令我心服口服的地方. 比之其他大片的跳舞, 我看的很高興.
再來, 我得提提音樂. 這部戲的音樂很獨特. 有很多大鼓! 我覺得非常棒! 裡面有的地方很像日本音樂, 後來戲結束候我才恍然大悟. 原來音樂製作人是個日本人! 要是有這部電影的原聲帶, 我很希望去買來聽聽! 那大鼓在關鍵時刻往往帶動我心的跳動! 非常值得一聽!
整部戲裡, 我最喜歡的地方是孫權被周瑜勸去打獵的那一段. 三國演義裡沒有這個, 演義裡周瑜從柴桑口回來在孫權的議事廳裡大發口才, 因而堅定了孫權決心一戰的意志! 但是咱們的吳大導演決定不要老套. 事實證明他那一套大有味道! 這一段裡, 吳導利用孫權和猛虎之間的決鬥讓觀眾看到他個人內心的奮鬥. 這是非常俐落而且清楚的處理方法. 吳大導演, 我低估你啦...

現在我要來抱怨了. 首先要瞭解一點, 那就是我並不希望故事和人物要和演義的一樣. 我希望的是導演要有自己的聲音. 這個故事是家喻戶曉. 作為一個導演要詮釋這樣的一個故事, 必須要有他獨到的眼光. 在我的認為裏, 這個導演必須有話要說. 吳宇森想說啥呢? 我還看不出來, 說不定要等第二集我才會看到.
首先我要抱怨, 中國人不會拍古代的戰爭場面. 這已經不是第一次我這樣抱怨了. 投名狀是最近我看到還算可以的了, 但是還是很不夠好. 而這一部更是讓我失望破了家. 在我感覺上赤壁在戰場上用了大量的電腦特效, 這或許不是壞事, 但是他卻拍不出場面的壯烈. 這場面的壯烈並不是看到很多兵士被圍毆, 被圍著用槍戳就是壯烈. 要看壯烈場面, 去看看 Riddley Scott 導演拍的 gladiator, 或著是 Mel Gibbson 先生拍的 braveheart. 我不是學電影的, 但是我知道, 我看的很沒興致. 再開頭的時候, 張飛要擋曹操, 他排出來的陣勢好像還是個樣子. 結果一到要接觸的時候, 就變成濫打. 士兵也不在排隊了. 他竟然叫士兵一排一排上去打, 而不是幾排一起上前去作戰! 周瑜練的雁行陣竟然是叫士兵排成雁子翅膀的樣子?! 之後的八卦陣一開始好像是個樣子, 但是之後根本就不合理, 因為在那個情況之下, 根本就不會有人活下來, 又哪需要那些猛將出場呢? 當然, 這裡的戰爭大概是想要讓觀眾們看看孔明的奇陣妙計. 像是用陽光反射來讓衝過來的騎兵見光死. 但是這些東西實在讓我看的不過癮之至! 基本上我的認為是, 中國人(台灣大陸加香港)對於古代的陣戰是完全不了解. 這是很可惜的, 因為真的陣戰要比那些自以為是奇的陣戰要更實在, 而更能從感管上帶動情緒的起伏. 以上是我的見解. 還有, 他所謂的奇陣, 我通通都看過, 用陽光反射, 我在蘇菲亞羅蘭的Don Quiote 裡看過. 那個曹軍在八掛陣裡用以自保的盾牌陣, 我也在 Troy 裡看過. 這些所謂的奇陣, 實在一點都不奇. 只是陳腔濫調...

再來就是笑點的安排. 中國人(台灣香港大陸)的電影裡很多都有笑點, 很多嚴肅的電影裡也少不了一點兩點. 我以前非常喜歡的港片裡幾乎都有類似的安排. 我依然很喜歡, 我的印象裡最記得成龍在警察故事裡接電話的那一段. 看起來既驚佩又好笑! 而赤壁, 在吳大導演的手裡, 卻因為笑點的安排而使的這個本來是歷史大劇的影片變成了周星馳式的歷史搞笑片... 從孔明對張飛說他去找千員援兵後, 結果來了 "一個" 關公. 再來是使者對著周瑜說, 不好啦, 不好啦... 慌張的神情, 警急的語氣, 把周瑜帶到後面去, 結果, 竟然是一隻馬難產?! 到最後張飛在八卦陣裡手裡空空的猛往曹兵裡殺去, 用美式橄欖球的英姿衝斷一切長槍... 如果今天吳大導演是表榜著歷史笑鬧劇, 我一定很開心的欣賞. 但他不是, 這部片子是扯著歷史大片的旗幟上場. 如此的安排是令我心寒. 並不是說有好玩的地方就是不好, 但是這裡的安排, 這樣的數量, 完全搞壞了整部戲的氣份. 或許這是吳大導演想要的氣份, 我只能說, 好險好險, 我沒花錢看這個玩意兒...

我覺得最近這些大片的對白都非常生硬. 赤壁並不能擺脫這個現象. 我實在不能明瞭是為啥. 因為大陸的作家實在做了不少好東西, 我看的大宅門, 霸王別姬, 活著, 黃金甲, 他們的對話都生動活潑. 而且還有一個很奇怪的現象, 這些大片都喜歡用一個字的對白. 好像是想突顯中國人的文字. 這是一件很可怕的錯誤! 因為中國人講話不是那樣, 即使古代也不是! 中國人的文字也不是語言, 即使現在在朝著個方向努力. 這樣的用法將要帶來極度不正常的後果. 這一字對白是對中國文化的偏激認識. 電影裡的人物應該是在講話而不是讀劇本. 一字對白使的電影對白失去一種情緒和聽覺上的完整. 即使不是一字對白的時候, 用語用詞也太短. 太短不見得就不好, 太長的對白拖泥帶水. 但是在赤壁裡, 用詞太短反而顯的超現代...

還有很多其他的問題. 例如偷牛, 織草鞋, 彈琴, 等等, 我想吳大導演一定有他想要在觀眾身上造成的某種影響, 但是我卻只覺得是浪費時間陳腔濫套. 孫尚香是想討好現代女性, 小喬的性愛鏡頭是想釣那些年輕人票源; 只要是導演想要有特殊情況的時候, 他就來段音樂, 一聽就知道, 啊, 導演想要給觀眾一些特殊的情緒啦! 但是, 我幾乎都感覺不到. 以上都讓這部電影從經典好片變成經典笑片. 我在想, 如果這樣, 為啥不叫周新馳來導呢? 他導的話還可以說不定還可以少花點錢, 至少賠的少一點...

讀書心得

中國的章回小說, 像是西遊, 三國, 紅樓, 水滸, 這些大一點的我是都看過了. 不談這些 , 因為談的人太多了. 小的像是儒林外史, 廿年目睹之怪現象, 聊齋, 老殘遊記也瀏覽過幾回. 我在看完儒林外史, 廿年目睹之怪現象, 和老殘遊記, 等書之後, 有一個感想. 那就是, 這些書真是反應古代最好的資料! 我看到往往人家一提到這些書馬上就是 "古代社會的黑暗", 再不然就是 "封建社會的草菅人命", 再來就是那時代的腐朽制度. 我不能否認, 這些書裏是真的不少這些東西. 但是, 自從五四以來, 不斷的從這些書裏提出這些想法, 卻好像幾乎沒人去深入研究這些書裏的其他東西?! 這是一件十分奇怪的事情!

我在國中的時候讀到有關儒林外史的介紹, 裡面就提到范進中舉的故事. 這應該是個很有名的故事. 在講述這篇故事的時候, 應該要讓學生認識到當時的社會背景. 要了解到, 中舉是個怎樣了不起的事情! 而不是光嘲笑范進那又瘋又傻的樣子! 然後攏統的說, 你看, 這就是那時候讀書人的蠢樣?! 而且, 儒林外史裏, 范進只是一個小例子. 這本書裏實際上講了一大堆有學問有品行的人. 都是作者本身十分敬重的人物! 裡面有學問有品行的人也有對實際事情不同的看法而發生爭論. 而這些如果不是我自己耐了心去看了好幾遍, 光看教科書哪裡能看的到呢? 而這本書的價值在我的看來就會完全和現在完全不一樣了! 光以社會黑暗面去看這本書是完全不能正確的了解這一本書的!

今天就寫到這裡...

random thoughts

I am feeling sad. But it's been like this for a while now. Sadness is not the worse part. In fact, the worst part is that scary feeling that somehow mixed up with the sadness. 

 A burst of burning flames, 

simmered right beneath my throat. 

Mind felt empty, but it might just because 

the mirror inside lost its reflecting shine. 

What brings forth the wind, that blowing 

through the front yard? 

T'is a mystery with birds chirping in the dark. 

Grass profiled against the grey background. 

When the sun rises, everything will appear. 

In front of the Eyes.