Red Cliff (Part Two)/赤壁(下) (2008)

Before watching this magnum opus, the rating of this picture I got from those who had gone through it was "average". With great expectation after the Red Cliff part one, I've been yearning for this sequel. Ok, now let's cut all the small talk and come to the core. It finally dawned on me that high expectation would virtually ruin a movie. The part two was not up to the standard, if compared with its predecessor. The battle scene is dull and weirdly artificial, (have you ever seen swordmen flying from boat to boat like there is no gravity in effect? Or presumably, they are fighting on the moon?) and, more miserable, the dialogue in the second part has lost its touch, which acted as a selling point in the part one! Basically there is nothing you can enjoy out of the Red Cliff sequel. I wonder whether you would ask for a refund upon ending in cinema... even in the middle of the boring projection.

Alien Raiders/恐怖异形入侵 (2008)

This flick reminds me of another HK-filmed movie, Bio Zombie, which concentrate all the scenarios in a supermall.

The term I see repeated most for Alien Raiders is "low-budget", whether it be "good for a low-budget film" or "this low-budget film sucks".

I have doubts that if not for the absence of celebrities that anyone would really be able to tell this is a low-budget picture. The alien effects are really the only shaky aspect, and even those were pretty respectable. Otherwise this is a well-filmed, well-acted, and well-written movie.

The story is original in that it's told from a different perspective than most similar sci-fi movies -- that of the bystander, rather than of the protagonist.

Usually, if you tell me I'm about to watch a movie about aliens, I expect to first see the humans who make first contact, the scientists who verify the aliens' existence, and then the people who pick up guns and save the world.

This movie, however, drops the audience in the middle of an alien story that's basically already in progress. We start in a grocery store and see things from the viewpoint of a spectator caught in the middle of a story they aren't privy to.

My conclusion is as simple as that -- both Bio Zombie and Alien Raiders are worthwhile.

How Left Do You Want Me to Turn?

The day before yesterday, I was put on stage as a playing toy, by angel Zoe. It happened right after work as I raced out company to meet my darling, but saw on-one. I then scrambled out my phone and gave her a ring. She quickly picked up and signaled me to turn left to see her. I did, but she resisted that I was not "left enough", and I turned left again and again till completing a 360 degree circle. The game did not end there. She continually shouted out "Turn left!" Another circle was done. finally, the monkeyshines was caused by a mistaken identity.

God, save me please...

How to Add Background Music to Your Blog

As you know, I'm a Blogger.com user. Unfortunately, Blogger doesn't provide us with an easy way to add background music. So how to embed some best-loved music in your blog? It's actually quite simple to do this, and read on to see various methods you can use.

In this post, I'll concentrate on actually embedding the music, rather than adding widgets such as Last.fm playlists.

The easiest method of adding background sound is to include a line like this in your blog template, just after the opening tag.

[bgsound src="http://yoursite.com/yoursound.mp3" loop=infinite]

Note: you need to replace "[" and "]" with "<" and ">" respectively to make the code work.

where the URL is that of the background music you wish to use. This method works perfectly well, but visitors to your site will not be able to switch the music off if it becomes distracting.

So instead, you may prefer to use another method instead, which is compatible with all browsers. This is achieved by including the following code somewhere in your template.

[embed width="200" src="http://yoursite.com/yourmusic.mp3" autostart="false" loop="false" height="50"][/embed]

You can change some of the variables to suit your needs:

• autostart: set to "true" to make the music begin as soon as the page is loaded, or "false" to ensure the user has to press the play icon.
  
• loop: set to "true" to have the music play over and over, or "false" so that it plays only once.
  
• height: if this is set to "40", only the play options will be visible. You can make this larger if you prefer, in which case blank space will be visible.

Ok, the how-to is done, and now it should be "problemless" for you to add music to your blog. Let's rock the blog!

You Raise Me Up

This song is heart-warming. I really love it! Yes, you raise me up, my darling.

Josh Groban - You Raise Me Up

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;

When troubles come and my heart burdened be;

Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,

Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up… To more than I can be.

People Gone Gone Gone

First Gavin, then Plato, next a bunch of pending-leaving -- Prince, Candy, Echo. Our company has been dragged into a leaving storm since the second half of 2008. What the heck had went wrong? Once a big family with divine aura, now a sweltering slum.

The management has been shot through with defects. I don't know if they saw that, but it remains clear that they did nothing to rein in the situation. Talents are leaving in bulk. The top dogs felt no regret. Fine, I doubt if they knew how to feel "regret" at all.

I wish my turn would soon come... because I'm totally fed up with dirty tasks, messy works and trashy management.

UE, you deserve it. Stop milking us, we are now cows.

Critically Endangered Saharan Cheetah

What's this snow-white creature? Academically speaking, it is termed Saharan Cheetah. The total population of this kind of cheetah may be fewer than 250 mature individuals, according to scientific researches.

This blog post is designated to honor those endangered species. Thanks to the ongoing development of human species, we've virtually rooted up a great many of friendly or unfriendly biological groups.

With global warning raging closer and closer and species dying in a faster pace, when will we meet our end, I wonder?

This cheetah is helping us to turn a corner in our understanding -- that we may just end up being yet another critically endangered species, someday, in the future -- if we don't have our ambitions in check.

Mediate = 斡旋

Yeah! Finally I got this word! I've been looking for this word for too long to be remembered. I once asked Zoe to help me out, but she failed to come up with the right word!

Now I got it!

斡旋(wò xuán), which means mediate in English, is very popular in newspaper and TV media. Never too old to learn! Language has never failed to spellbind me. =)

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

This diagram shows Maslow's hierarchy of needs(马斯洛需求层次理论), represented as a pyramid with the more basic needs at the bottom.

Have you reached the summit? If not, push yourself harder!

January Barometer Myth

Click to Enlarge

The folk lore of the "January Barometer" says that the stock market in the year will follow its January performance. Is the January Barometer a folk lore or an undeniable fact? Check the January stock market performance as an indicator for your 2009 investment! The Jan. Barometer has worked well many times in the past. Now put your trust in Jan. Barometer, instead of The God, when you are in stock market for a big trawl of c-note!

Reference: http://www.forcastglobaleconomy.com/subscribers/CommentsFiles/Comment065.htm

Profession From a Movie Buff

I was a movie buff.

And I wonder why I say "was."

The fact is that I don't have time, as well as mood, to watch movie now. After coupling with my darling Zoe, being alone and watching a movie solo is not classifed as fun anymore. My must-watch list is growing longer and longer day by day. My secretive thought has always been that me and Zoe could spend some time watching one movie every night, after a whole day tiring job. Lying cozily on a sofa and munching snacks, while treating our eyes with a blockbuster. What a life!

Angel and Demon

Inside my mind, there is an angel and a demon. They switch to dominate my mind in an uncontrollable way.

Thank you Zoe. You suppressed, successfully, the evil side of my mind tonight. After calming down myself, I started to realize how sinister the rotten soul sounded like.

But Zoe, though that's a demon, it's still part of me. So while suppressing it would be a right choice most of the time, please let it go from time to time. Because, I believe there's always a demon in everyone's mind. And if the demon get suppressed all the times, the balance inside would fail and the fragile mind would then, as a result of the tipping balance, collapse. =)

ET Dining Out

This is not a delicious soup. It is reportedly made from eight different nasty ingredients. What are the ingredients? Beats me...

Zoe was getting punishment and was forced to drink the specially made-in-ET soup after violating the rules of Mafia.

Mr. Ling, codename -- Loli King.

A Pair of Peacocks Flying Southeast

A get-together of all the performers of A Pair of Peacocks Flying Southeast. This was the first time, and I'm pretty sure was also the last time, all the ET members performed on the stage at the same time.

Let's remember these names: Dennis, Yan, Easom, Ring, Zoe, Henry, Zusea, Liky, Celine, Echo and LJC.

Good luck to all of you!

Zoe's Gallery Show

Well, I intend to add comments on each pic, but after much thought I decided to let them go "uncommented." Let the pics speak! Here we go!

打油诗(doggerel)

今作两首打油诗，以表我对Ring的36g的不灭情怀。

============

绝句（粤语）

昨夜星辰今夜胸，
阿Ｒ夜袭天河东。
身怀彩凤３６Ｇ，
夹带过期羊城通。
============
绝句（国语）

相见时难别亦难，
双锋外挺百花残。
鼻血吐尽Ｄ方尽，
不忘媚Ｒ一夜情。

============

我是36G，我怕谁。

Music with Impulsive and Contemplative Buyer

More psychology is going on. I stumbled upon a study related to purchasing impulse while on the job. Though the study was kinda old, published in Nov. 2005, it didn't dampen the significant result of the psychological work, which pointed to people being affected when shopping with the background music on. The study was hosted in a brick-and-mortar store, however, the upshot has meaningful indication for online businesses alike. Background music, according to the 2005 study, enhanced buying impulse of impulsive buyers, but was effectless to contemplative shoppers.

As a webmaster, I will never stop peeking into behaviors of online customers in different age grounps. It's high time to test the music idea. Whether a snatch of slow-tempo pop music will really do the trick, the a/b test system will soon tell!

Valentine's Day

Though I haven't sent you a bunch of flowers on Valentine's Day, instead, I presented you my full and sincere heart, as always.

My heart was instantly sweetened upon seeing your love message "我也很爱你啊!" That's a moment of love. I felt a sudden thrill deep in my heart and couldn't help but screaming out, when I was still prancing on an empty street at mid-night.

There's virtual currency, so there's virtual flowers.

Mafia is Hot!

Don't know how Mafia has blown in recently, but definitely this very enjoyable party game is catching up day by day among ET members!

Basic Gameplay:

1 Cop 1 Killer for 6-7 people;
2 Cops 2 Killers for 8-10 people;
3 Cops 3 Killers for 11-14 people;
4 Cops 4 Killers for 15-20 people.

For other game rules, please go read the encyclopedia link above. =)

E-tailing Team Roundup

I dedicate this article to all my team members who furnished me with success through their attitude, actions and behaviors.

Sorry to say that you missed something big and important if you had never come across the members of E-tailing team before. Stand corrected and humbly apologize for your unluckiness!

To keep you informed, here is a roundup of the E-tailing clan.

E-tailing team currently consists of a gang of smart boys and a smattering of volatile gals, and together peg the headcount at 11.

LJC is an art director advocating extremism, who resorts to approaches beyond the norm all the time. Though an extremist, he has always been the wind beneath my wings, and his support is unsurpassed, to say the least.

His mighty graphic skills enable him to capture and communicate all the website elements in a clear and memorable way. In fact, a majority of our company's websites are crafted by his wits, and I am telling you that he is a proven king of art. Do not doubt!

Ring, enthusiastic and dedicated to having the greatest number of visitors converted, acts as a usability specialist in our swarm. He is diligent and witty though sometimes out of function. One piece of info I need to post here is that he is a singleton and open to all hot chicks! Hurry up, Ladies! Snatch Ring as quickly as you can with your thumb and forefinger or a fat chance will just slip away from your watering mouth! (Am I promoting a human product? Yeah, bcuz I am a cyber marketer. 0_o)

Zoe, a guardian angel of E-tailing group, who attends to whatever is needed and wanted with the spirit of an angel. Zoe has an angel face but with a rotten soul. (Sorry, I shouldn't tell the truth here, should I rewrite it to "with a kind heart" or something else to spare myself a heavy thrashing? 0_o) She always brings to office some wacky stuff, one of her wacky toys was a Curse Baby that scared the pants off me when I first caught sight of the spooky plaything during working hours.

Hmmm, I almost forgot her signature red babushka, (a woman's head scarf) She wore it, she really wore it! And here comes with her pithy saying "practicality is more important than prettiness."

It is reportedly that she has some backdoor romance with a vegetable farmer. (Ring solely contributed to this grapevine.)

Henry is described as "a person of exceptional intelligence" or "a walking encyclopedia" within our group. He is always the first to beat any brain teaser. If you want to be creamed in any contest, Henry is just a Skype call away.

He has a mountain of movies storing in his supercomputer and also runs a small video rental business. If you find yourself bored, turn to Henry and he can definitely give you something sweet to light you up. (Got me? AV really does the trick!)

PS: According a dictionary from University of Cambridge, AV is officially defined as Animal Video.

Rounding up the first part of this article is me, Dennis, the supervisor of E-tailing tribe. Like building a castle in the air, I was catapulted, without an ounce of omen, into being a webmaster in 2007 for some misty reasons. Now one of my daily chores is to put foundations under the unsteady-going castle and to glorify it. (too metaphorical to understand? Spare me! This is my style.)

To be Continue

Thanks for your reading. Feel free to drop me a line at
dennisboys@gmail.com
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
for any inquiries regarding astronomy, geography or cosmography. I promise you a kick-ass reply within one business day.

Have a good day!

KFC门

光阴荏苒，日月如梭。又是一个喜鹊报晓春来早的羊城二月，眼看着ET全体组员的年龄又集体拔高一岁，这陈年的租子旧月的帐也该清一清啦，谁让地主家也没有余粮啊。且让我们拨开历史的风尘，回溯到那遥远的2008，那也是一个喜鹊报晓春来早的羊城二月。。。。。。。

===============我是补档的分割线==================

战地记者爆料站 公元2008年2月14日电 UE ET组四大才子之一凌有志（Ring）在情人节被一不愿意透露姓名的知情人士踢爆KFC门事件，爆料站特派员就此事件进行深入调查采访，第一时间将第一手资料以飨广大读者。

据悉，此次KFC门事件的导火索是一位自称为deep throat的人士提供资料给某知名媒体。据称“他最大的难题，是要出面请很多同事，因为有份得知KFC门事件的同事都有一定的后台，很不容易解决。” 这一牵扯到多方江湖势力的消息迅速在编辑部内引发广泛关注及讨论。且看某资深评论员的观点：“这是一个非常棘手的整治外交事件， 而历史告诉我们政治外交事件的解决往往依赖于经济贸易的发展。而当下正处于通货膨胀与共同繁荣并存的一个动荡的时代，ring将何去何从，我们拭目以待。 但值得庆幸的是，KFC依然坚挺，没有与大多数食品供应商一样趁机提价。”而我站本着实事求是的原则，在三个代表重要思想的指导下，在八荣八耻社会主义荣 辱观的感召下，用事实说话，随机采访了路人甲乙丙丁对就此事发表的各种看法。

路人甲：ring 就是好人， ring 请我们吃KFC 就是好事！我代表广州人民人感谢你啊感谢你！

路人乙：ring哥不辞劳苦，带手信来送给我们吃，不多说，人民需要这样的公仆！

路人丙：我知ljc的，帮他选电脑配置，他答应请KFC。

路人丁：还要再请kfc，ring哥，你实在系今期的部门之星呀！

===============小编乱入插花==============

看来ring同学的KFC门并不是丑闻？且看路人ABCD的说法。

===============插花完毕==================

路人A：他每次去吃，过后都会跟我们说。。。怎么性质有点像CGX......

Ring回应：唉，我经常独自去吃KFC，然后那些有邪恶用心的人就一起起哄说我要请他们吃KFC！

小编再次插花：吃独食就是你的不对了，还拿出来炫耀，神仙也救不了你~

Ring再回应：独自去吃跟别人知不知道是不相干的啊

路人B：Henry和Zoe与Ring打赌拼图，Zoe和Henry拼出来，ring就请全组人KFC，事实很明显，他一个人输了。我说的可全是事实哦~大家作证。

Ring:!@$#%&^&*%$

路人C：哦，上次ring 吹水说安味稻开业， 结果害我们要走很远路去吃饭，决定由他请大家KFC补偿。

Ring回应：都系媒体炒作的结果！万恶的xx主义！(由于有不和谐言论，马赛克之。)

路人D：有人炒你，就代表你有市场，值得一炒。

综上观点所述，KFC门事件真相仍是山重水复云遮雾绕，而小编区区在下本人我，虽然不顾个人安危深入事件中心调查，获得多方面前线资料，但无奈观点 众多，爆料更是似魔似幻风中凌乱，仍是不得其门而入。如有失实报道，还请各位知情者不吝斧正。

爆料电话：123456789

敬请各位读者继续关注我站由 denden 同学做的后续报道。

How to Expand Your Domain

Here are two sites that come in handy when you want to expand your market share in the future. You can check whether your desired domain is taken, or whether there is loophole in your competitor's domain protection.

IANA
http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/

EURODNS
http://www.eurodns.com/

网络文献 (据说转自刘谦博客)

刘谦先生：

小女发现您老不凡的文学功底，可谓是字字珠玑，句句经典，是我辈应当学习之典范。醍醐灌顶或许不足以形容大师文章的万一；巫山行云，长江流水更难以比拟大师的文才！黄钟大吕，振聋发聩！你烛照天下，明见万里；雨露苍生，泽被万方！透过你深邃的文字，我仿佛看到了你鹰视狼顾，龙行虎步的伟岸英姿；仿佛看到了你手执如椽大笔，写天下文章的智慧神态；仿佛看见了你按剑四顾，江山无数的英武气概！

大师定是好书之人，小女自小便痴迷书本，有“书虫”之称。拿破伦言：历史是胜利者书写的。所以，看到辛亥革命后的历史，总有些怀疑，您要知道国内的出版物可是很政治的。十分想看看，台湾的历史书对这段的描述，您能否借我几本书看看。小女当感激涕零，为表感谢，特让我侄女为奴为婢，侍奉您老终身。

愚姨　王东妹敬上

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝无责任分隔线＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
　　
谦复:

小弟自幼才疏学浅，鲁钝之至，蒙此谬赞，真的汗涔涔而泪潸潸啊。

东姨自幼便获得书虫的美誉，真的让吾辈瞠目结舌，好生佩服。东姨所学之广，见闻之博，更如同佛光普照大地，另吾辈心中温暖而又一望无际啊。

无奈小弟资质顽劣，朽木难雕，除了低俗漫画与肮脏小说之外，对於其他书籍的涉猎均是无能为力。如今获得东姨垂青，共游知识的浩瀚大海，智慧的神秘殿堂，却只能捶胸顿足，力不从心，真的再度汗涔涔而泪潸潸啊。

Sank Your Teeth Into Something

Never too old to learn! I've collected another phrase into my pocket thanks to my extensive reading.

get/sink your teeth into something

This phrase means to start to do something with a lot of energy and enthusiasm.

Examples:

Up till then she'd only had small parts in films and nothing she could get her teeth into.

It's a really exciting project - I can't wait to sink my teeth into it.

I Witness a Scene of Car Crash

I must be a quick learner, a newly-learned word instantly shot up from my mind when I saw Zoe's face yesterday night. The volatile internal volcanos made her face look like a "scene of car crash." Though she laid the blame on a sort of unbeknown water, but I think there must be another reason behind all this. :)

My only regret is that - there's no photo available to remind us how a "scene of car crash on someone's face" would look like. XD

Gavin is Gone

We had dinner together tonight and talked endlessly in a sincere fashion. He will leave in two weeks time.

Gavin, wish you a bright future. See you freind.

无题（其实我也是取题无能）

深邃的夜空，又是一个孤独夜，很想写点什么，可惜胸中无墨，自问也不是完全无墨，只是偏偏肚子里颠簸着的是洋墨水。也不知从什么时候，我一看到中文就会迷惘，这可能就叫收之桑榆，失之东隅。

儿时听过一句话，读万卷书不如行万里路。小生我几乎接近读万卷书这个境界，但路却只行了区区数十里。其实我很想当一匹脱疆的野马，到处走走，但可惜时不我与。

我也一直缺一个相机，就算走过的路也连马蹄都没能留下一个，多少有点遗憾。想来也差不多是时候添置一部了。不幸偶是一纯种相机盲，被网上琳琳种种的点评弄得眼花缭乱，动辄过千银的价格差异，看得我瞳孔扩张。

本小生自问是永远无法跟上电子产品更新换代的步伐，何必去追逐那些所谓的高价品而烧钱呢？其实最重要的还是要看自己的定位，够用即可。但还是心有不甘，什么是够用呢？够用到什么时候呢？人生就是有太多问号，有时在想解决一个问号的过程中又产生了更多的问号。

孤独的时候我喜欢写写东西，但已厌倦了如工作般地用洋文表达自己。

中文不达标的我，幸好还有这里一片乐土。

有些东西，我只想写给我喜欢的人看。

我爱你，占宇。

Let's Kick

Well, today I'd like to talk about a simple verb -- kick.

I'd bet you use this verb from time to time in your daily conversation, like you would 'kick someone's ass' when you are angry at that someone.

Let's now expand this verb with two different prepositions, namely, kick in and kick off.

Kick in = to start operating or happening

We still don't know why the emergency generator failed to kick in when the power failed.

Kick off = to begin something

We like to kick off the summer by having friends over for a barbecue.

You would see a lot of use of these two phrases in news items, so better equip yourself with them, and don't forget to put the duo into your own writing starting from today!

Hope you enjoy the verb, see you later!