Wednesday
Tuesday
Knowing when to stop
Hubby says that Star Trek: Enterprise series (season 4) goes bad after the Mirror Darkly episodes. We'll stop watching at that point.
Knowing when to stop is quite a skill.
Hubby left Hammer Into Anvil to the end when we watched The Prisoner and missed the actual double final episode; and it was a great finale.
We stop the third Lord Of The Rings movie when Aragorn says that Hobbits bow to no one. I'd love to chop the dvd so it stops there by itself. The whole return to the shire ending is nothing like the book and hence a waste of time.
The Matrix trilogy can be vastly improved by only watching the first movie.
The same goes for Star Wars. We like Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and will tolerate Return of the Jedi for the space battle and Luke/Vader scenes. Episodes 1-3 are kiddy cartoons and not really of interest.
Knowing when to stop is quite a skill.
Hubby left Hammer Into Anvil to the end when we watched The Prisoner and missed the actual double final episode; and it was a great finale.
We stop the third Lord Of The Rings movie when Aragorn says that Hobbits bow to no one. I'd love to chop the dvd so it stops there by itself. The whole return to the shire ending is nothing like the book and hence a waste of time.
The Matrix trilogy can be vastly improved by only watching the first movie.
The same goes for Star Wars. We like Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and will tolerate Return of the Jedi for the space battle and Luke/Vader scenes. Episodes 1-3 are kiddy cartoons and not really of interest.
Sunday
Rich Christians? Surely a contradiction?
"Go sell whatever you own and give it
to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come
follow me."
(Jesus)
I saw a very fat clergyman come outside Durham Cathedral to greet the wealthy Christians today. He looked to be extremely well-fed.
It reminded me of a painting of fat friars feasting. What an advert for Christianity!
What exactly does Easter mean these days?
Chocolate eggs, chicks, rabbits, greeting cards? Some people even give gifts to their children...
I just don't understand it anymore.
I just don't understand it anymore.
Saturday
Thursday
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Morning routine
We reconfigured my morning routine to change the emphasis.
Previously I was mainly just doing bagua, but now its qigong, then one set of bagua palm changes, mother palms and direction changes... followed by tai chi forms and drills.
Ideally it ends with a lie down.
Previously I was mainly just doing bagua, but now its qigong, then one set of bagua palm changes, mother palms and direction changes... followed by tai chi forms and drills.
Ideally it ends with a lie down.
Wednesday
Yummy brownies
Brownie recipe attached...
Use Green & Blacks Organic Cooking Chocolate - Dark 72% is best.
Camcorders
Barny has been helping my hunt for a camcorder for class.
We're hoping to but one before the summer and can take advantage of nice outdoor filming opportunities.
If the sound quality is adequate, Hubby can dispense with our existing production methods and make videos easier.
With a better training room later in the year we could re-make all of our existing dvds with better quality video footage. That would be great.
We're hoping to but one before the summer and can take advantage of nice outdoor filming opportunities.
If the sound quality is adequate, Hubby can dispense with our existing production methods and make videos easier.
With a better training room later in the year we could re-make all of our existing dvds with better quality video footage. That would be great.
Tuesday
Chess & Go
Currently Hubby is good at Chess and I'm good at Go. I'm no good at seeing several moves ahead, so the randomness of Go is great.
Hubby hasn't played much Go yet. Sooner or later he will turn his attention to it. For now, I have the advantage.
Hubby hasn't played much Go yet. Sooner or later he will turn his attention to it. For now, I have the advantage.
Sunday
Started cycling again
It was great fun to begin cycling again this year.
Neither of us felt worn out afterwards, although we went out too late so there was a lot of traffic on the main roads.
Friday
Playing by ear
Hubby learns things in the same way that music people 'play by ear'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_music_by_ear
Peter Southwood thought that it was amazing how quickly Hubby picked up his forms and how Hubby was able to go home and return the following week with a better reproduction that what he was shown.
Not only can Hubby learn immensely quickly by ear, but he can also improve what he has learned.
I have never personally seen him do this with tai chi (he hasn't learned a new form in almost two decades) but I see him do it all the time with other things: for example 'baking'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_music_by_ear
Peter Southwood thought that it was amazing how quickly Hubby picked up his forms and how Hubby was able to go home and return the following week with a better reproduction that what he was shown.
Not only can Hubby learn immensely quickly by ear, but he can also improve what he has learned.
I have never personally seen him do this with tai chi (he hasn't learned a new form in almost two decades) but I see him do it all the time with other things: for example 'baking'.
Bad managers
http://angelicaambos.wordpress.com/2006/12/15/ten-things-that-bad-managers-do/
http://www.quintcareers.com/bad_bosses.html
http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/43-how-to-survive-a-bad-manager/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44732669/ns/business-us_business/t/things-only-bad-managers-say/#.T3WB4mEgeHc
http://humanresources.about.com/od/badmanagerboss/a/boss_comments.htm
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/career/10-signs-of-incompetent-managers/1068
http://www.ecsellinstitute.com/blog/bid/77789/12-Characteristics-of-a-Bad-Boss
http://jobmob.co.il/blog/smell-bad-boss-via-interview/
http://www.quintcareers.com/bad_bosses.html
http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/43-how-to-survive-a-bad-manager/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44732669/ns/business-us_business/t/things-only-bad-managers-say/#.T3WB4mEgeHc
http://humanresources.about.com/od/badmanagerboss/a/boss_comments.htm
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/career/10-signs-of-incompetent-managers/1068
http://www.ecsellinstitute.com/blog/bid/77789/12-Characteristics-of-a-Bad-Boss
http://jobmob.co.il/blog/smell-bad-boss-via-interview/
Thursday
Scary?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEUpskKm4IQ
To be honest, I didn't realise how fast Hubby was going and suspect he could've gone much faster...
Finally, I'm getting conditioned to attacks!
To be honest, I didn't realise how fast Hubby was going and suspect he could've gone much faster...
Finally, I'm getting conditioned to attacks!
Clocks are a confidence trick invented by the Swiss...
Hubby has a disturbing knack of knowing the time without looking at a clock or watch.
He does it so many times successfully that there's clearly some knack to it, although he maintains that he's just guessing...
He does it so many times successfully that there's clearly some knack to it, although he maintains that he's just guessing...
Monday
Stargate Atlantis - discrepancies
Ronon was made into a runner because Wraith were unable to feed on him, yet in Season 5 the producers have forgotten this and he is fed upon repeatedly until he betrays his friends.
Sunday
Saturday
Friday
CGI
The use of CGI (computer generated imagery) for special effects can ruin a film.
Flawless effects are so seamless that they do not look like effects - like Doc Manhattan in Watchmen Ultimate Edition. Bad effects have the opposite effect - like Gollum in Lord of the Rings - and alienate the audience.
Flawless effects are so seamless that they do not look like effects - like Doc Manhattan in Watchmen Ultimate Edition. Bad effects have the opposite effect - like Gollum in Lord of the Rings - and alienate the audience.
Thursday
Hubby has Vulcan DNA
Unlike a Vulcan, Hubby has emotions. Despite this, he certainly shares the Vulcan annoying adherence to logical and higher levels of cognition. He can be frustratingly exact and precise and apparently infallible.
Hubby maintains that he does make mistakes.
I've found that he's better at correcting mistakes and learning from them than most people are. Hubby rarely makes the same mistake twice.
Hubby maintains that he does make mistakes.
I've found that he's better at correcting mistakes and learning from them than most people are. Hubby rarely makes the same mistake twice.
Wednesday
Suspension of disbelief
Sci fi requires the audience to accept the unbelievable as plausible.
If the producers leap off the path too wildly or give the viewer cause to question what they are watching, disbelief returns and the show is unwatchable.
If the producers leap off the path too wildly or give the viewer cause to question what they are watching, disbelief returns and the show is unwatchable.
Sleeping Beauty
We tried watching Sleeping Beauty last night. It is a new release on DVD starring Emily Browning. What a boring film. Really lame, dull and creepy.
The DVD case is emblazoned with stunning reviews. Are these for the same film?
We switched it off after a difficult hour.
The DVD case is emblazoned with stunning reviews. Are these for the same film?
We switched it off after a difficult hour.
Adverts in hotmail
The adverts in Hotmail are so intrusive and ceaseless that it makes the e-mail provider look pretty lousy.
I've used Hotmail for years and now it has reached an all-time low in terms of quality of service.
I've used Hotmail for years and now it has reached an all-time low in terms of quality of service.
Feedback from Graham
After some months of questioning and reflecting on the true nature of internal martial arts I was recently, along with a number of Master Waller’s students, given an energetic and skilful introduction to the world of baguazhang. My first reaction was it’s everything I thought it would be, and clearly so much more.
To be on the receiving end of an application of bagua from Master Waller is to be permanently cured of any lingering doubts as to its effectiveness as a profound martial skill. I certainly harboured those doubts coming as I do from a background of predominantly external martial arts. (Where’s the flamboyant stances, where’s the crack of the gi as you snap out a gyakuzuki???) But as I gingerly picked myself up off the floor after a particularly enlightening application from Master Waller those doubts have died away like the echo of a scream from someone on the receiving end of ‘cavity press.’
As a general rule when Master Waller remarks ‘Hey, this will make you laugh!’ I have come to understand a particularly vigorous application is approaching! It is in these applications that I am beginning to recognise firstly the skill and depth of Master Waller’s learning, and secondly how my own learning skills and experience are woefully inadequate to the task of learning bagua and tai chi.
It’s certainly sobering when after all those years of training, facing Master Waller I feel about as effective as an old lady throwing marshmallows.
Master Waller is constantly stressing relaxation. As I was reflecting on this it occurred to me that watching Master Waller perform bagua is for me like trying to read a book without my reading glasses. Once I learn to relax everything will become a little clearer.
I feel very grateful to Master Waller for an introduction to a form of martial arts that as I understand it is not that widely available to western students in its authentic form. And, as Master Waller recently pointed out bagua is part of the black belt syllabus, I feel he has generously presented us with a wonderful opportunity.
It is also I suspect in my own case something of a double-edged sword. As part of the Mc generation I am as guilty as anyone of wanting everything now, and being very demanding in terms of my own needs, of looking straight to the highest teaching and grasping after it. It’s interesting to reflect after the introduction that this is clearly the opposite approach that is required by a martial art like bagua, and then it follows that an introduction to bagua at this time may simply be utterly beyond our capabilities. As Adam Hsu says in his book, The Sword Polishers Record, ‘kung fu literally means time and hard work, there are no shortcuts.’
Certainly bagua cannot be seen, as perhaps it could be argued some other aspects of martial arts are, as simply another medal to pin on the chest of ego.
For those of us who’ve been involved in martial arts for some time, and have some experience of Chinese arts and teachers, I feel we can be confident that with Master Waller we have stumbled upon a treasure trove of authentic Chinese martial arts. It’s tremendously exciting as the lineage and history is abundantly clear in his approach. It struck me, the first time I saw Master Waller demonstrate it, that 5000 years of Chinese culture and history is somehow woven into the lethal beauty of bagua.
Having reconciled myself many years ago to an understanding that I have no flair for Chinese martial arts, in fact I am hopelessly inadequate and uncoordinated, I must confess to feeling a little intimidated by the skill required to approach tai chi and bagua. A friend, an excellent choi lee fut practitioner, once remarked as I struggled through a set from shaolin long fist that ‘ you look like my father disco dancing at my wedding.’ I can’t help feeling that Master Waller’s generosity and skill may be utterly wasted on me and I should put all my energy in learning to be an expert at falling well! Right now that would be a profound achievement.
(Graham)
To be on the receiving end of an application of bagua from Master Waller is to be permanently cured of any lingering doubts as to its effectiveness as a profound martial skill. I certainly harboured those doubts coming as I do from a background of predominantly external martial arts. (Where’s the flamboyant stances, where’s the crack of the gi as you snap out a gyakuzuki???) But as I gingerly picked myself up off the floor after a particularly enlightening application from Master Waller those doubts have died away like the echo of a scream from someone on the receiving end of ‘cavity press.’
As a general rule when Master Waller remarks ‘Hey, this will make you laugh!’ I have come to understand a particularly vigorous application is approaching! It is in these applications that I am beginning to recognise firstly the skill and depth of Master Waller’s learning, and secondly how my own learning skills and experience are woefully inadequate to the task of learning bagua and tai chi.
It’s certainly sobering when after all those years of training, facing Master Waller I feel about as effective as an old lady throwing marshmallows.
Master Waller is constantly stressing relaxation. As I was reflecting on this it occurred to me that watching Master Waller perform bagua is for me like trying to read a book without my reading glasses. Once I learn to relax everything will become a little clearer.
I feel very grateful to Master Waller for an introduction to a form of martial arts that as I understand it is not that widely available to western students in its authentic form. And, as Master Waller recently pointed out bagua is part of the black belt syllabus, I feel he has generously presented us with a wonderful opportunity.
It is also I suspect in my own case something of a double-edged sword. As part of the Mc generation I am as guilty as anyone of wanting everything now, and being very demanding in terms of my own needs, of looking straight to the highest teaching and grasping after it. It’s interesting to reflect after the introduction that this is clearly the opposite approach that is required by a martial art like bagua, and then it follows that an introduction to bagua at this time may simply be utterly beyond our capabilities. As Adam Hsu says in his book, The Sword Polishers Record, ‘kung fu literally means time and hard work, there are no shortcuts.’
Certainly bagua cannot be seen, as perhaps it could be argued some other aspects of martial arts are, as simply another medal to pin on the chest of ego.
For those of us who’ve been involved in martial arts for some time, and have some experience of Chinese arts and teachers, I feel we can be confident that with Master Waller we have stumbled upon a treasure trove of authentic Chinese martial arts. It’s tremendously exciting as the lineage and history is abundantly clear in his approach. It struck me, the first time I saw Master Waller demonstrate it, that 5000 years of Chinese culture and history is somehow woven into the lethal beauty of bagua.
Having reconciled myself many years ago to an understanding that I have no flair for Chinese martial arts, in fact I am hopelessly inadequate and uncoordinated, I must confess to feeling a little intimidated by the skill required to approach tai chi and bagua. A friend, an excellent choi lee fut practitioner, once remarked as I struggled through a set from shaolin long fist that ‘ you look like my father disco dancing at my wedding.’ I can’t help feeling that Master Waller’s generosity and skill may be utterly wasted on me and I should put all my energy in learning to be an expert at falling well! Right now that would be a profound achievement.
(Graham)
Tuesday
Stargate Atlantis - discrepancies
Atlantean technology can only be activated by the few people who possess the Ancient ATA gene.
Michael - a former Wraith - has not been given the gene yet can activate and upgrade Atlantean technology.
Surely, a plot hole?
Michael - a former Wraith - has not been given the gene yet can activate and upgrade Atlantean technology.
Surely, a plot hole?
Sunday
Thursday
Stargate: Atlantis - discrepencies
Doctor Carson Becket is cloned using DNA collected from him whilst he was a prisoner. However, the clone also possesses Becket's memories and personality too...
How come?
This was never explained.
How come?
This was never explained.
Wednesday
Monday
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Wednesday
Tuesday
Stargate Universe
We really enjoyed the first season of Stargate Universe. Mix together Lost, Stargate SG-1, Enterprise and Battlestar Galactica (re-make) and Stargate Universe is the outcome.
Some pretty annoying and awful characters, but very compelling!
Some pretty annoying and awful characters, but very compelling!
Monday
Alien invasion!!!
Since World War 2, the Americans have made many films and TV series about alien invasion. This must reflect some subconscious national fear.
Is it the influx of immigrants bringing new cultures, language and change? Is it conflicting doctrines and political ideas? Or is it something more obvious?
American treats war as a business. Movies speak of "American Interests" overseas. They have a massive standing military force and are perhaps technologically superior to any other military force on the planet.
My point is this: do these alien invasion stories reflect the fear that there may be an even greater military force out there? That America may face a foe that even they can't handle?
Is it the influx of immigrants bringing new cultures, language and change? Is it conflicting doctrines and political ideas? Or is it something more obvious?
American treats war as a business. Movies speak of "American Interests" overseas. They have a massive standing military force and are perhaps technologically superior to any other military force on the planet.
My point is this: do these alien invasion stories reflect the fear that there may be an even greater military force out there? That America may face a foe that even they can't handle?
Friday
Thursday
Wild Wild West - re-visited
Jim West is possibly Will Smith's best character.
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