Watched Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

It's hard to believe that's it's been over a decade since the release of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. I remember seeing a little bit of it on TV. I bought the DVD years ago, but never felt the need to watch it until now. 

I do like how the movie is set back in the olden days of China. Chinese culture is deeply rooted in the film, and it's a pleasant theme. 

I just didn't dig the characters too badly though. The film's plot is rather weak, and the characters aren't that well developed. Jen Yu for example probably has the richest back-story of all, but her character seems rather impulsive and almost inhuman. It's more philosophical metaphors than sensible story-telling. 

The fighting scenes seemed to be the main draw of the film from the ads I remember, however they're rather pathetic. Wire Fu is about as stupid as it sounds, and the scenes aren't very exciting. Very little blood, and it's more dancing than combat.

The movie is easily one of the most over-rated films I've ever had the chance to watch. It's not bad, but it's certainly not the masterpiece of a film that American critics made it out to be. Maybe we were starving for a good story from the East, but I think we've been fed many better ones over the years.

My Day Yesterday: Grass Cutting and Iron Man

I wake up to hear my dog whining and barking. Apparently we are getting a tree cut down soon, if the guys we hired get time to come down here. Apparently they did a little lawn work this morning, and my dog went nuts. She loves people, and she can't stand not being able to see them. 

Speaking of lawn care, I went to tackle on my backyard. Wasn't too bad, thankfully the lawn wasn't too grown. Only took maybe 15-25 mins to do it all. 

Watched the Iron Man movie as well. 

Started Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon as well. Only a little bit into it. I'll probably finish it tomorrow. 

Now I'm off to work, and then I have to get up and go in this morning very early. It's going to be a fun day. 

Things I Like: Captain Planet And The Planeteers

Okay maybe it was a shameless ploy to get kids to recycle, but it was a decent show. 

Kwame was pretty cool with his power of Earth. 

Wheeler was kinda annoying but whatever fire powers are sweet. 

Linka was alright, kinda forgot that the old episodes said she was from the Soviet Union. Pretty cool they would do something like that during an era of nationalist hatred. 

Guess goes the same for Gi who was from the People's Republic of China. 

Ma-Ti had the power of heart. I'd prefer a power that would save my life. 

Eh once the Planeteers got in trouble they just got called Captain Planet to save the day thus becoming useless tools. 

I don't remember too much of the villains. One of them was named Duke Nukem though, the same as the video game character. 

Captain Pollution was pretty bad-ass. 

Fact of the Day: NIM

The first video game ever is not Pong, but it is believed to be NIM, a device for playing the Chinese mathematical game NIM. It was created in 1942 by Raymond Redheffer of MIT. 

Fact of the Day: The Parent of Firearms

The first uses of gunpowder and firearms started in China. Firearms are believe to have evolved out of the invention of the fire lance. A spear-like weapon that used gunpowder to shoot a small object from a distance of a few feet. 

Fact of the Day: Lots of People Can Speak Chinese

With an estimated total of native speakers at about 850 million, and overall speakers at well over 1 billion, Mandarin Chinese is the world's most commonly spoken language. 

My Thoughts On the Presidency of Chester A. Arthur

Chester A. Arthur took on the role, after the death of Garfield. He was our 21st President. 

Right off the bat, Arthur was one of the first presidents since George Washington to take a independent stance from parties. He was a Republican himself, but he did well to stay non-partisan. A note some politicians today should take. 

One of the most funny things I could find on Arthur was when he tried to lower tariffs. Not to stimulate trade by any means, but because the government kept coming out with too much revenue. Something we sorely need today. 

Arthur put an end to Civil Service corruption for the time with the Pendleton Act, which helped destroy the Spoils System. Ironically he had been a product of the system itself years before. 

Arthur was flawed when it came to civil rights. He stood up for the rights of Chinese immigrants, but failed to really enforce civil rights and fight against Jim Crow laws.  

He was also the first president to open ties with Korea, which stayed diplomatic for decades.

Was old Chester good or bad? I say forgettable and average, even for his time. 

China Pissed At United States Over Obama-Dali Lama Meeting

After China invaded Tibet and annexed their lands, the Dali Lama was forced out of his homeland. After touring the United States for a Buddhist revival, the religious leader planned to meet with President Obama. China urged the United States to cancel the meeting, but we ignored their pleads. For as long as it's been going on, I still can't believe China can't get over Tibet. 

My Thoughts On the Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford B. Hayes served after Grant as our 19th President. 

Hayes saw the end of Reconstruction, and the return of the South voting and ruling themselves. With a Democratic-controlled House, Hayes lost funding to enforce civil rights laws in the racist south. In the land of dixie, rights were now more "on paper" than real. 

One thing I like about Hayes is his advocating against the spoils system which gives jobs to political supporters. Even though he met harsh resistance, but a law was later passed and signed ironically by one of the men Hayes tried to get rid of. That man was the future President of the United States Chester A. Arthur. 

During his tenure, Hayes saw the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. During the strike, many men protested peacefully and Federal troops didn't kill a single man during that time even when they rioted. However state militia did kill workers. The Railroads won in the short term, but the long-term result favored better wages from public support. 

Another issue was the debate on currency. Gold vs Silver debates clashed hard, and Gold seem to be the victor. However they did also introduce "Greenbacks" which was similar to our currency now. I hope the U.S. government learned a lot about currency while playing around with different ideas during this time. 

One of final notable acts in his presidency was the Chinese immigrants coming to America. At first Hayes allowed unrestricted flow of people coming to the West. However Americans in the West blamed them for low wages for themselves, and Hayes grew unpopular and led to racist laws and acts later on. 

Was Hayes a bad president? I think not, but he is deeply flawed for failing to push an agenda. 

Fact of the Day: Fortune Cookies Are American

They're based on a Japanese cookie, and created in America. It's not even served in China really. 

Herman Cain Say's He'll Build a Great Wall of China on Mexico Border with Moat

I stand by my view that Herman Cain is a crazy motherfucker. He recently said that we need to re-read the Constitution, and said there's a little part in there about "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" which is actually part of the Declaration of Independence.

He wants to put one of these on the Mexican border. With Electric shit on the side or something. Also a big moat with alligators. He is fucking serious. He should also put dogs on the side of the Great Wall of Racism. Not wait bees. No wait Dogs with bees in their mouth, and every time they bark they shoot bees at you. Yes that would work.