http://waterink.net Pin Lu's Blog Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:23:41 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Joanna Lumley complained on Channel 4 News that her peaceful protest on the day of Olympic torch relay in London was almost ignored by the media. On the other side, many Chinese students voiced the frustration of that their show of support, a pro-Olympic torch demonstration if you like, despite ... http://waterink.net/2008/04/09/flame-it-up/ During last night's Channel 4 News, Francesca Martinez declared on air that she had withdrawn from Olympic torch relay in London. Martinez of course should do what satisfies her conscience. Her judgement, however, was not helped by the imbalanced reporting and sometimes misinformation from some news organisations. During the introduction ... http://waterink.net/2008/04/04/channel4-news-on-tibet/ Among many commentaries about what happened in Tibet and what would happen at Beijing Olympics, some groups advocate either boycotting Beijing Olympics altogether or at least the opening ceremony, or encouraging athletics openly demonstrate during the Games, wearing a Free Tibet t-shirt while competing for example. To see what kind ... http://waterink.net/2008/03/26/tibet-and-beyond/ Mariella Frostrup asked in her Open Book programme on BBC Radio 4 whether there is a Chinese Jane Austen, whose work a listener's fourteen years old daughter could enjoy. There are several authors instantly pop into the mind. Eileen Chang (张爱玲), whose short story Lust, Caution on which Ang Lee's ... http://waterink.net/2008/02/29/chinese-jan-austen/ A Thousand Years of Good Prayers is a collection of ten short stories written by the Chinese author Yiyun Li. The sharp observation of human relationships, the sometimes punchy, sometimes minimalistic dialogs, as well as the warmth and empathy underneath, all make the reading very enjoyable. Yiyun Li is at ... http://waterink.net/2008/01/30/a-thousand-years-of-good-prayers/ Spooks ended its sixth season with a bang, which is what it has been doing every season. When a fast-pacing, shocks-stuffing series enters its sixth season, it's much more difficult to provide more surprises. The strategy seems to have one story throughout the season. The story, that Iran is acquiring ... http://waterink.net/2007/12/24/spooks/ The Pearl Awards ceremony was a marvellous occasion. Royal Festival Theatre looked fabulous. Yang Xuefei's guitar performance with the English Chamber Orchestra, thoughtfully consist of one Chinese and one Rodrigo piece was mesmerising. Niu Niu, the 10 years old piano prodigy won the longest applause though. Even Prince Charles popped ... http://waterink.net/2007/11/05/pearl-awards/ Yesterday someone on LKCN BBS asked where she could visit Thornfield, the place where Jane Eyre and Mr Rochester fall in love. It was quickly worked out by other Brontë fans that North Lees Hall and Hathersage are probably the best the places to go. Of course, the place where ... http://waterink.net/2007/10/31/movie-places/ On Sunday there were repeated scenes on the television news of the McCann family returning from Portugal to the UK. There were photographers on the back of motorcycles following their car, more photographers waiting at the gate of the airport, long lens images of an empty runway with the caption ... http://waterink.net/2007/09/10/mccann/ Edinburgh Filmhouse's Mikio Naruse Season is a treat. I knew little about the director and hadn't seen any of his film before this. But after watching When A Woman Ascends the Stairs, I ended up watching six out of twelve films on offer. It is rare to be able to watch ... http://waterink.net/2007/08/31/mikio-naruse-season/