Covid-19 in New York, New Jersey, and the USA

The New York Times presented a pair of graphs today that split Covid-19 cases into New York cases and non-New York cases. They paired this with the following remark: “If you include New York, it looks like a plateau moving down,” said Andrew Noymer, an associate professor of public health at the University of California, Irvine. …

The Outsiders (1983)

Dir. Francis Ford Coppola, Cin. Stephen H. Burum; in English; 93 minutes. A few great, emotional shots (the long, painful dolly away from Johnny, burnt and hospitalized, comes to mind) spoilt by mediocre acting (in the next scene: "Do it feh Jahneh!") and montage that focused more on reminding the audience it is watching an …

Monday Photoblogging

I've lived in Hong Kong for nearly three months, and have taken photos here for nearly eight weeks. These pictures show my favorite sites (and sights!) on hikes, train-rides, and walks round the area. The day after the 2017 Mid-Autumn Festival, I joined some friends in hiking from my neighborhood, Tung Chung, to Tai O, …

A life update (framed as an excuse)

I recently moved from a Chicago suburb to Hong Kong, with a brief stop in central New Jersey while I waited for my visa to arrive. (I flew from Newark to Hong Kong with a 1 hour layover in Chicago. With such a short time in O'hare, I didn't bother setting my watch back to …

Ugetsu (1953)

Dir. Mizoguchi Kenji, Cin. Miyagawa Kazuo; In Japanese, with English Subtitles; 97 minutes. I enjoyed this film, but found it uneven. Some scenes featured strong acting and fully-realized supernatural spookiness (the boat scene in particular, pictured above), while others made the paranormal seem like a humdrum marriage trap. Thesis: war is hell, but hell most of all …

Full Daily Northwestern Letter to the Editor

I wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper at my university, but had to trim it down. I wanted to publish the whole letter, as well, to give a fuller account of my views on opening student groups. As it turns out, the brief version stands well on its own, but this offers …