October 1999 (2nd half)

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  • ˇÁtame! (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!) (Spain 1990; Dir: Pedro Almodóvar) **1/21/2 [ STILLS]
    An actress ( Victoria Abril) is kidnapped by a just-released psychiatric hospital patient ( Antonio Banderas), who confines her until she agrees to marry him. Far from being dark and kinky story of bondage, this film is shot in bright and sunny colours and is more about disconnected people looking for ties. Memorable quotes: "Horror or love story, it's hard to tell them apart." "How can you love someone who ties you up?"
    (30 October 1999)

  • Bytes Across the Pacific
    One of the advantages of studying medical informatics at OHSU is its location on the Pacific Rim, which makes for easier collaboration with researchers and companies in Asia. Today I had the pleasure of meeting representatives from Kumamoto Institute of Computer Software (KSK), Omron Corporation and Kozo, Inc. Jyohou sangyo (information technology industry) can be done anywhere, so even a relatively remote city like Kumamoto, in westernmost Japan, is the site of such activity. They were in Portland to go over the details of a joint project, which will hopefully lead to the launch of Atsutaka E-Net, an online information service for senior citizens and the people who look after them. This addresses a definite need, as Japan's population is the most rapidly aging in the world. Since the information will be on the World Wide Web, it will also be available to Japanese living abroad and Nikkei-jin who can/prefer to read Japanese.
    (28 October 1999)

  • I have moved my ski links to a new page about Winter Sports.
    (27 October 99)

  • Mt. Hood Preview [ TIMBERLINE-CAM]
    My OHSU Medical Informatics classmate Jim heard there might be fresh snow overnight atop Mt. Hood, so we set off at 4:30 a.m. today for some skiing and snowshoeing. We found that he forecast was wrong, so instead we hiked up the volcano's blast path above Timberline Ski Resort and scouted potential routes for backcountry skiing later this year. Dawn came when we were at about 9000 ft, and the ice crystals on the lava rocks lit up like a field of diamonds.

    Timberline Lodge is a government project that actually worked. The money for its construction came from a Depression-era (1936-7) federal make-work plan. The result is a beautiful structure that has been featured in the late Stanley Kubrick's The Shining and other movies. After descending, we had a look at the historical displays inside. Bruno, the Saint Bernard mascot dog was in the lobby.
    (24 October 1999)

  • At long last, there's an update at the Nikkei Nexus
    (24 October 1999)

  • Portland Taiko: Making Waves 1999
    Local Asian American drumming group Portland Taiko celebrated 5 years of existence with a polished performance that featured all-original compositions. Their at times loosey-goosey playing style and irreverent attitude (as in Lima (Five)) might not sit well with purists, but this is what North American taiko is all about -- an evolution through individual expression. Besides, they more than amply demonstrated their mastery of traditional techniques with pieces like Duodaiko, in which PT co-directors Ann Ishimaru and Zack Semke traded licks from opposite ends of an odaiko (the biggest drum). Onkochishin (Something New Learned From Ancient Knowledge) set intergenerational tension between Asian Americans to music: half the group portrayed the older, traditional generation, while the other half represented Westernized youth. Two to a drum, they pounded out differing rhythms that eventually merged. And no PT show would be complete without comedic dramatized myths and folktales like Amaterasu and Gengoro and the Magic Taiko -- the latter was a big hit at the children's matinee. PT announced plans to put their music on CD, and have started a drive to raise funds for the recording session and production costs.
    (23 October 1999)

  • Cameo Cafe Northwest NW 23rd Place & Westover, Portland OR (503) 221-6542
    The "home of the Acre Pancake" in Portland's Nob Hill district is a cosy nook, a bit overdressed with Louis XIV-inspired design. The very attentive, concerned waitress advised me against the Acre Pancake (which is actually two, each 13 inches across), but I viewed this as a challenge and ordered it anyway. It took 45 minutes before my plate was clean!
    (23 October 1999)

  • Fifty (USA 1999; Dir: Warren Miller) ***
    To hear hale-and-hearty, 75-year-old Warren Miller tell it (he was there in person), he got his start simply by showing people films of things they had never seen before -- mountains and skiing to coastal folks, oceans and surfing to inland types. Half a century and as many films later, his name is virtually synonymous with ski movies featuring breathtaking action shots and a liberal dose of humour. This year's installment includes some of the best moments from his previous films, including footage of Marilyn Monroe skiing. He also recreates some of his old shots with modern skiers using vintage clothing and equipment. There is lots of new material as well, such as previews of soon-to-be-open new resort terrain like Mineral Basin at Alta in Utah, and a trip to Cotopaxi, a volcano in Ecuador. His cameras also go to Lake Tahoe, Chamonix, France and Wisconsin, where two resourceful young brothers build a ski jump on their grandparents' undeniably flat farm. One certain change from 50 years ago: this film was 50% snowboarding. I saw this with Informatics classmates Jim and Jason as well as a bunch of ex-ski patrols who, as post-show conversation at the Virginia Cafe revealed, are all chomping at the bit to hit the slopes.
    (20 October 1999)

  • Ice Time
    I am finally going to start getting some exercise again. Just as Thanksgiving is later in America than Canada, so is the start of the ice hockey season. This year I joined the 6-team adult league at the Valley Ice Arena in the Portland suburb of Beaverton, just down the road from the Uwajimaya Asian Food Store, to see what competition on the west side of town is like. I am on Team Red and am wearing jersey #9, just like Paul Kariya! So far, so good -- tonight we rolled over Team White 9-3 in our first game. I contributed 1 assist (on #1 to make it 1-0) and 2 goals (#3 to make it 3-2 and #5 to make it 5-2).

    Valley Ice Arena, 9250 SW Beaverton/Hillsdale Highway, Beaverton OR 503-297-2521
    (20 October 1999)

  • Magnificent Obsession (USA 1954; Dir: Douglas Sirk) 0 ("Blkfspthtttt!")
    A millionaire playboy (Rock Hudson) causes an accident that blinds a cash-strapped widow ( Jane Wyman). He turns his reckless life around and spends the rest of the film making amends by paying her living expenses, arranging her treatments, going to medical school and finally operating on her to save her life. And along the way, he falls in love with her. Heavy "Christian" (or some kind of New Age faith) overtones and mucho melodrama -- many in the audience were chuckling, or close to it. Agnes Moorehead ("Samantha's mother" on Bewitched) plays the faithful nurse. This picture was one of the very top box office hits of 1954!
    I don't buy it: Hunky early-30s Rock falling for 40-something Jane (not even considering what we later learned about his lifestyle)? A subdural hematoma taking over a year to organize? A surgeon licenced in California flying into New Mexico and operating?
    Signs of the time: "Darn", "golly", "swell", First Nations people in comics who say nothing but "Ugh!", women wearing ballroom gowns for a night out at a bar, little white gloves for women, hats for men, the Lockheed Constellation, telegrams, doctors smoking -- even after unsuccessfully attempting to resuscitate a heart attack victim.
    (19 October 1999)

  • Car-O-Scope
    I took the Car Talk assessment of car compatibility yesterday. Here is the report:

    Hello, Runker

    As you well know, the degree of compatibility between you and your car is crucial to your happiness and well-being! Driving the right vehicle -- i.e. having the correct "carma" -- will give you an incredible lightness of being, a constant sensation of euphoria and, possibly, a Rocky Mountain high.

    So, ready or not, here is your official Car-O-Scope.

    Comparing You to Other Honda Accord Owners

    Boy oh boy, Runker, you picked a vehicle which is just about perfect for you. Congratulations! For example, when compared to other people who own a Honda Accord, you're just about the same in terms of your age, your educational level, and your income.

    But there are some psychographic and/or demographic measures on which you differ from other Honda Accord owners. For example, you just don't care as much about your car as other Honda Accord owners, and you're, well -- to be generous -- a bit too frugal.

    Suggestions for More Compatible Vehicles

    Despite the fact that your personality profile pretty much matches that of Honda Accord owners, Car-O-Scope would like to suggest some alternative vehicles -- should you be thinking of making a change.

    Note: Some of these suggestions might surprise you. But try to keep an open mind. It's quite possible that the Car-O-Scope has discovered some hidden and/or repressed aspects of your personality.

    1. Nissan King Cab
    2. Buick Skyhawk
    3. Dodge Colt Vista
    4. Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser
    5. Peugeot 505

    So, let's look at your compatibility profile vis-a-vis the Buick Skyhawk. If you dumped that Honda Accord and got yourself a Buick Skyhawk, you'd be a lot happier.

    For example, you'd be almost perfectly compatible in terms of your age, how much you really care about your car, your educational level, and your tolerance for taking risks.

    In addition, you'd have pretty good compatibility in terms of the extent to which you're a cheapskate, status consciousness, and your grasp of reality.

    Good luck. And don't drive like my brother!

    Carnack, the Oracle of Car-O-Scope, has spoken.

    A Peugeot? What hidden aspect of my personality does that indicate?
    (17 October 1999)

  • Living and Working with Purpose
    Tonight the NPR program New Dimensions featured a conversation with Richard Leider, a life/work planner and author of The Power of Purpose: Creating Meaning in Your Life and Work. People who want to live authentically and achieve their full potential need to find their calling, which he expresses as a formula:

    Calling = T + P + E + V
    T =Talents What are you good at?
    P =Purpose and Passion What do you care about?
    E =Environment Does the place where you work nurture your soul and values? Leider says this is the #1 knockout factor preventing people from achieving their calling
    V =Vision How do you fit work into the rest of your life?

    Individual workers need to know how to find their calling so they can add value and make unique contributions. Managers need to know how to facilitate the process, since maximizing human potential, more than new technology, is the key to a sustainable competitive advantage.

    Partial transcripts of some other interesting New Dimensions conversations:

    (15 October 1999)

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