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文字, 是凝固了的思想;

文章, 是保存了的自我.

— Me@2010.06.03

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2010.06.05 Saturday

Christopher Nolan 3

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Nolan worked on the script for nine to ten years. When he first started thinking about making the film, the director was influenced by “that era of movies where you had The Matrix, you had Dark City, you had The Thirteenth Floor and, to a certain extent, you had Memento too. They were based in the principles that the world around you might not be real“.

— Wikipedia on Inception (film)

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2010.04.21 Wednesday

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Memento is a 2000 psychological thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, adapted from his younger brother Jonathan’s short story “Memento Mori”. It stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, a man with anterograde amnesia which renders his brain unable to store new memories.

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This film is often used to show the distinction between plot and story. The film’s events unfold in two separate, alternating narratives—one in color, and the other in black and white. The black and white sections are told in chronological order, showing Leonard conversing with an anonymous phone caller in a motel room. Leonard’s investigation is depicted in color sequences that are in reverse chronological order. As each sequence begins, the spectator is unaware of the preceding events, just like Leonard, thereby giving the viewer a sense of his confusion. By the film’s end when the two narratives converge we understand the investigation and the events that lead up to the death of Teddy.

— Wikipedia on Memento (film)

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2010.03.20 Saturday

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… if you don’t like what you read here, write your own.

— Eric S. Raymond

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2010.02.24 Wednesday

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The web is turning writing into a conversation. Twenty years ago, writers wrote and readers read. The web lets readers respond, and increasingly they do — in comment threads, on forums, and in their own blog posts.

— Paul Graham

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2010.02.16 Tuesday

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I think the goal of an essay should be to discover surprising things.

— Paul Graham

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2010.02.05 Friday

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人生沒有綵排，每天都是直播。

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— 網友評價, 電影《真人Show》（The Truman Show）

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2010.01.22 Friday

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10. If you forget the first nine suggestions, just focus on genuinely helping people, and the rest will take care of itself.

— How to Build a High-Traffic Web Site (or Blog), by Steve Pavlina

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2009.12.20 Sunday

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Fourth presentation (The third impromptu), about dreams

1. “Ah” from 14 (in Project one) to zero (the pauses do not count)

2. The evaluator did not understand my speech

3. My overall appearance was too serious (?)

— Me@2009.11.26

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2009.11.28 Saturday

Score

9.0   39 – 40
8.5   37 – 38
8.0   35 – 36
7.5   32 – 34
7.0   29 – 31
6.5   26 – 28
6.0   22 – 25

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7.5   Overall

8.0   Listening
7.5   Reading
6.5   Writing
8.0   Speaking

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三十年來, 第一次 English Speaking 考得好.

— Me@2009.11.20

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2009.11.21 Saturday

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It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.

— Mark Twain

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2009.11.15 Sunday

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I have forced myself to think in English since October.

I have just found that my Cantonese is less fluent.

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That’s amazing.

— Me@2009.11.05

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2009.11.12 Thursday

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IELTS Speaking Principles

1. Regard your examiner as a noble friend.

2. Say something interesting and useful to your friend.

— Me@2009.11

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2009.11.09 Monday