Categories
Random observations

2003-06-29 00:26:40

NOOOoooo!!! FIFA has overturned its decision to give Oceania a direct qualification spot into the 2006 World Cup. This is incredibly bad news. I cannot believe FIFA could do such a thing. I sincerely hope that this news will not have an affect on Frank Lowy’s bid for control of the Soccer Australia board.

Categories
Random observations

2003-06-28 05:59:46

Nigel and I just now returned from shopping. We purchased rather more than we set out to, an occurrence that is rare with us. Having found the item Dad requested for his upcoming birthday/anniversary, I proceeded to buy the Essential Bach CD with 36 of his greatest compositions; Mission Impossible and Mission Impossible II on DVD, which were on special at K-Mart; two shirts and the Penguin edition of The Three Musketeers.

I finished reading the Discworld book Wyrd Sisters on Thursday. It’s been my favourite Discworld book so far. It is really a set of parodies on various parts of Macbeth. Even the title itself, Wyrd Sisters, is taken straight from the play: Saw you the weird sisters? says Macbeth to Lennox towards the end. But mainly, this Discworld book made me laugh a lot more than the others. The Fool was an especially funny character, but not in the way you might imagine, and the "Bubble bubble, Toil and trouble" bit (again a parody of a scene from Macbeth) had me in stitches.

I’m now reading Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy and enjoying it thoroughly, if enjoying is the right word for a story of such tragedy. I’m really zipping through it, finding it hard to put down even at 2am in the morning! I’m sixty odd pages through the novel proper, but there were another sixty-eight pages of introduction and history written by various scholars of English literature. The history of the book was itself an interesting read. It’s amazing Hardy was able to produce a comprehensible book at all, considering the way in which he was forced to apply self-censorship to various passages, which led to him having to alter other passages so they remained consistent. The Penguin edition, which is the one I’m reading, presents as authentic a version as possible. But as the history of the novel explains, through a complex set of circumstances, it is impossible to call any version of Tess original. There simply never was an original. If I keep up my current pace of reading, I shall have completed Tess by week’s end.

Categories
Random observations

2003-06-28 00:21:30

Yesterday was a sad day for football, as Marc Vivien Foe collapsed and died in the middle of the Confederations Cup semi-final between Cameroon and Colombia. He keeled over in the 72nd minute and never regained consciousness, despite the efforts of medical staff to revive him for 45 minutes. Cameroon won the match and there is a dilemma over whether the final, between France and Cameroon will be played. Needless to say the French and Turkish players, who received news of Foe’s death before the start of their own match, were very emotional. Some of them, especially a few of the French, found it hard to play, breaking up in tears during the national anthems, as they were former club teammates of Foe. Foe was in the prime of his football career. He was on loan to Manchester City from Lyon, which is, coincidentally, the city in which he died. He had previously played for Lens and West Ham. The cause of his death is unknown, but is speculated to have been caused by an aneurysm or a heart attack. Foe was 28 and in the prime of his football career.

Categories
Random observations

2003-06-26 07:19:11

I have just witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen. In fact, it was probably the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen. The best part of it was the southern sky, which featured a bright double rainbow over a gorgeous orange horizon. The western sky was bright orange and mottled with clouds, while the eastern sky was the bluest of blues. People speak of beautiful sunsets, and I’m not usually one of those people, but this one was truly amazing. I’m cursing myself for not bringing in my camera! Michael Lawley managed to take a few pictures, but the best of it was over by the time he started to snap. There’s no way pictures could have done it justice anyway.

Categories
Random observations

2003-06-26 02:51:02

NSW wrapped up the State of Origin series last night with a thoroughly deserved win. QLD was hopeless. They showed none of the famed QLD spirit of years gone by, but even that spirit wouldn’t have helped this bunch. They were truly outclassed. Andrew Johns was magic, as usual. IMHO, he’s better than Wally Lewis ever was. Game 3 of the series will still be played in a few weeks. NSW will be attempting to make it a 3-0 whitewash, and QLD will be endeavouring to save face.

According to the research plan I’m staring at on my office wall, my model for service discovery ought to be complete by the end of June. Not likely, but I’ll make my best attempt anyway. I sense the plan mocking me, with its big, bold letters and its ambitious set of deadlines. The nerve of the thing, to deride its own creator. I’m sure it snickers when I turn my back, but I will show it, ha ha! I will put it in its place!

Categories
Random observations

2003-06-26 00:39:45

I finally submitted my complex systems paper for review. It was a bit late, but the submission web page was still open so there shouldn’t be any problems. I think the paper turned out pretty well, and I hope the reviewers agree.

KMH didn’t take too kindly to the hanging of Bob the Bear with his own scarf. I needed a five minute distraction because a bug in my simulation code was starting to frustrate me, so I decided to string up Bob the Bear. RW was humoured. KMH was not altogether impressed when she saw Bob hanging from the top of her computer monitor the next day. The funniest bit is that she automatically suspected RW for the evil deed. I could get away with murder in that place, honestly. RW and I maintain it was an assisted suicide anyway. The distraction fulfilled its purpose, as I fixed the simulation and eventually got my paper submitted (two days later).

I’m not sure if I ever mentioned what happened with our Freddo Frog experiment, (or indeed if I’ve even mentioned the Freddo experiment previously). After three or so weeks, nobody had been tempted to take Freddo off our door. We had many people ask us why there was a Freddo Frog taped to our office door, but we said nothing. Eventually, instead of eating Freddo, some twisted soul decided to crucify Freddo by taping a crucifix to the door and then pinning Freddo to it. That marked the end of our experiment. I believe Freddo is still lying around in our office somewhere, recuperating from his ordeal. Anyway, I’m sure that means that I win the wager we three had going. My conviction was that Freddo would remain there indefinitely (meaning the duration of the experiment, which RW and I agreed would be a month, though I’m unsure whether we ever consulted KMH on this matter). It provided a bit of fun anyway. Students and lecturers were suitably amused by the chocolate frog strapped to our office door.

Categories
Random observations

2003-06-22 12:38:16

Visited the parents this weekend. Climbed Mt Coolum today. Steep climb but it’s pretty short. All in all, a very relaxing weekend, and one that I needed. Straight back to paper writing on Monday. I probably should have been working on it over the weekend, too, but there’s more to life than service discovery. A lot more.

The final DVD we watched last week was The Legend of Bagger Vance. I really enjoyed that film. On the surface it’s about golf, but underneath it’s about life and the demons each of us lives with. In fact, the movie used golf as a metaphor for life. The script writer (actually, I think it was based on a novel) could have used almost any sport to convey the same message, it’s just that there are elements of golf which are particularly suited as metaphors for aspects of one’s life. I won’t detail what these metaphors are because this review (or whatever you might choose to call it) will become boring. Besides, upon watching the movie, the important metaphors are quite obvious, and so I recommend you just watch the film. It is worth it, regardless of its score on IMDB.com.

The film follows the story of a gifted young golfer, Rannulph Junuh, who is sent off to fight in World War I. The war breaks him psychologically. After the war is over, he hides from the world. Eventually he returns to his home town of Savanah in Georgia. He is convinced to play in a golf tournament organised by his one time girlfriend, Adele Invergordon, who needs to raise money so that she can keep the golf course her father created. Junuh meets a caddy by the name of Bagger Vance who helps to get his game and his life back on track. One of the questions the film doesn’t answer for you is "exactly who or what is Bagger Vance?" There are hints in the film and the title itself that suggest Bagger Vance is not human, but possibly Junuh’s guardian angle. The stories of Junuh’s golfing comeback, his romance with Adele and the demons of his past are combined to create an interesting and touching plot. The movie is filmed beautifully, and is perhaps its most outstanding feature. There are also strong performances from Matt Damon (one of my favourite actors), Will Smith (who plays the part of Bagger Vance extraordinarily well) and Charlize Theron, who does a fair job of playing Adele the southern belle. However, I felt Theron laid on the ditsiness, if there is such a word, a bit too much at some points. A beautiful film. Don’t be put off by the IMDB.com score (6.4/10 at the moment). I noticed that almost everyone that gave this film a bad score thought that the movie was only about golf, which should give you some indication of the amount of faith you should place in that score.

Categories
Random observations

2003-06-15 08:36:16

I was going to write a review for Super Troopers but have decided against doing so. It’s really not worth it. A few funny moments but nothing more.

On the other hand, Black Hawk Down is an excellent film depicting the ill-fated attempt to capture a warlord from the Somali capital, Mogadishu in 1993. This is quite simply one of the best, if not the best, war movies I’ve seen. This movie gripped me more than even Saving Private Ryan, which itself was a groundbreaking movie in terms of the realism it was able to capture on film. The performances from all the leading cast members was excellent. The story was told in a way that didn’t glorify war, while simultaneously doing no dishonour to the soldiers whose lives were lost in that battle. The comradery between soldiers is captured in this film like no previous war movie has been able to capture before. Indeed, comradship is the central theme of this film. One other important point about Black Hawk Down is the way the Somalis are portrayed. The film is very careful not to portray them as completely evil people. In fact, a central tenet of the film is that the reasons for war are never black and white. There are all sorts of complexities at the political level. But what counts on the battle-field is the guy standing beside you. Everything else, all the politics and whatnot, goes out the window. The rule holds for the Somalis just as it does for the Americans. But the best aspect of the film for me was the way in which it was shot. The cinematography is stunning, having a huge affect on the way the movie comes across. It’s a hundred miles an hour from go to whoa. Black Hawk Down features some of the best hand-held camera work I’ve seen in a movie to date. This, coupled with the gritty scenery of a Moroccan coastal town which posed as the Somali capital, created a the perfect atmosphere for the film. It’s a very bloody film, but I suppose if it wants to depict reality, it has to be. Further adding to the reality is the fact that many of the characters were factually based. The leading characters in the film were actual soldiers who took part in the mission in 1993. In short, a fantastic film that brings home the reality and futility of war.

Categories
Random observations

2003-06-14 15:57:05

I’ve just read Roger Ebert’s review of Igby Goes Down. He’s left me wondering whether he was watching the same movie as the rest of us. His first mistake is to keep referring to Jeff Goldblum’s character, D. H. Baines, as Igby’s Stepfather when in fact he is Igby’s Godfather. The second mistake is to state that Igby met Sookie through Rachel. Of course, Igby actually met Sookie through his Godfather, and even then only indirectly: Sookie was working for the company that catered a party being thrown by Baines at his house in the Hamptons. Sookie was unknown to any of the other characters in the film. Furthermore, Ebert suggests the reason Sookie falls for Igby is because Igby makes her laugh. This is followed by a silly statement about Sookie and lessons young men such as myself are supposed to learn from her:

All women who like you because you make them laugh sooner or later stop laughing, and then why do they like you?

First of all, Mr Ebert, one of the defining characteristics of Sookie is that she never laughs, instead preferring to state, in the driest of tones, "That’s funny." Sookie rarely smiles in the movie, let alone laughs! This is probably one of the reasons Igby is drawn to her. She’s different enough from those in his own family (i.e. not rich and uppity), but melancholic enough that he can feel comfortable around her.

These may not be huge errors on Ebert’s part, but they are errors I’m positive he was not making in years past. He is still perhaps the most respected and most read film reviewer around, and thus should be doing his utmost to keep his reviewing standards at the highest level. Despite some recent complaints I’ve had with his reviews (I’ve written somewhere in this diary about his occassional lack of self-consistency), he remains my favourite movie reviewer.

I said I gave this move 7 out of 10, but the thing is, when I think about it on a five star scale, I definitely wouldn’t give it less than four stars. Four stars is 8 out of 10. 7 is only three and a half stars. On Ebert’s scale it would only be two and half stars out of four! I think I was a bit harsh in my first reaction to the movie because I made a special effort to observe all the little details, which I normally wouldn’t do on a first viewing of a movie. I know that I will be asked to share my thoughts about the movie on Monday, so I probably viewed the film with a more critical eye than usual.

Gosh, it’s late.

Categories
Random observations

2003-06-14 09:10:50

Just read Ben’s blog again. I think he’s getting a little carried away with my aptitude in various departments. I can code, yes. But I’m not Nathan. I know very little about Complex Systems compared to someone like Kai. In short, I don’t deserve the kudos heaped on me by Ben. Seriously.