Author Archives: Timmy

Robotics Tour

Posted on by

The small group of students guided by two of the robotics team members as they show us their lab where they produce their very own automated submarines.

Back when I was in a kid in China, I was very interested in making robots. So many of the toys I was given were robots or things that can be built from the ground up by yourself. So in high school I thought about joining in the robotics team, but due to various circumstances I did not end up joining the robotics team.

Overtime, I realized I am not exceptionally gifted in STEM and moved more and more towards literature and drama, so I guess that explains my communications major and not engineering.

Visiting the lab was very interesting as we walked past groups of engineering students in the automated underwater vehicle division construct their submarine for their competition. I have built my own computer and have a technician certification to fix computers but the true science behind building robots and vehicles is outside of my understanding.  I did however learned that this year they updated their hardware from an onbuild CPU into a hybrid CPU and GPU for better calculations during the operation as they found the GPU is better at the job. I think this was something that I had a knowledge of and so I found it interesting,

Next to the engineers were the software developers designing the programs and writing codes to operate the pilotless, completely automated submarine that will eventually be tested in the Teagle pool.

The tour was overall fairly interesting, but knowing myself and my lack of STEM capability, I can only root for my fellow students at heart.

Patriot Jian Yang

Posted on by

Ahh my boy Jian Yang, or Jimmy O. Yang has a very important role in the movie Patriots Day. I really love the Asian representation in American pop-culture, even if the movie is based on the real life story, it is always nice to see it.

Jimmy O. Yang is very talented, and it is so great to see him featured in a movie. I first found out about him in various stand ups he did as I was browsing through YouTube. This little Chinese man who looks kind of wimpy and frail resonated with me as he reminded me of myself. Even though in a way he kind of plays into the stereotype of frail Asian man, but he does a very good job playing his part in the movie.

Watching him from the perspective of his character Jian Yang from Silicon Valley, him in Patriots Day is a much more Asian American portrayal. I did not know that there was an Chinese student who was held at gun point and then gave away the position of the bombers, so I was very surprised and wonder why there is just a random scene of Jimmy in a restaurant on a date with some girl.

The scene of the car jacking was also excellent. Every moment of the bombers in the car up to the gas station had me on edge because I can easily put myself in that position. When he ran from the car into the gas station, I was so nervous I felt like I was hyperventilating, it was so tense.

Overall I liked the movie, even though it felt a little too Hollywood, but with Jimmy O. Yang and several very interesting scenes I would recommend it to someone who is interested in the Boston bombing.

Return

Posted on by

This was actually my second time watching the movie Arrival, and it felt much better than the first time I watched it.

Sitting in a dark dining hall, the ambiance of the atmosphere deepens my immersion of the aliens. The woob woob sounds as the heptapods Abbott and Costello dart into the screen instill in me a sense of wonder as well as fear at the same time. Watching it as just an individual without even thinking about the consequences of what these aliens are to humanity as well as international relation is already overwhelming, trying to imagine those scientists, soldiers, politicians figuring out what to do with them is just mind blowing.

Like most catastrophe, if it can even be called that, the focus of the movie is less on the creatures themselves, but rather the human interpersonal relations. The first time through, I watched it on my phone, but I simply cannot feel the same charm as I did on the bigger screen. The emotions through the intersecting narrative wasn’t exactly Momento in terms of nonlinear structure, but instead gives the story a heartfelt sentiment. The scene when Louise sprinted with the phone to call the Chinese general as the future self tells her what to say in the present gave me chills because it just felt so emotional and intense. There were so many save the world plots in different stories, but I really enjoyed this one.

The movie was very intriguing although it is a little hard to understand and definitely warrants multiple viewings.

And the Cows go Moo!

Posted on by

The teaching dairy farm is simply amazing. Even though I had to skip my fencing meeting as well as brunch for it, it was totally worth it. I don’t think anyone outside of the animal science students have been to the barn, so it felt like I was entering a secret hangout place for students.

Although the initial breather of the barn was a rude awakening from my days in my family farm, it quickly became quite endearing as time went on. Our guide explain the sour smell in the air is also a product of the food cows eat which include bacteria as it is fermenting the feed. It kind of smelled like Kimchi or the preserved Chinese pickles which I do enjoy.

Watching all the cows get milked and fed was very interesting. I didn’t expect so much machinery to be involved. I thought since it is a teaching farm, most of the milking would be done by hand. Then again, there were so many cows so I guess it isn’t feasible. I didn’t think the farm would consider profit as a part of its system, but I guess it still have to be a farm even though it is mostly for students.

Seeing all the cows and calves that are soo cute reminded me of the days back in the farm in China. In our little village we raised chicken and pigs and such, the one cow was actually half blind and not the same species as the dairy cows. Due to the result of industrialization and consumerism, our little farm actually became a tourist resort and all the little dogs and chickens and pigs disappeared and are replaced by peacocks and boars for the tiny zoo. Sigh.

I came back from the farm with a heavy heart as the parting words was the grad student guide telling us, most of these cows live to about 7 or 8, then they change careers to be sent to the butchers. Now I’m just lost, such wonderful creatures. Only my condolences.

12 Men sitting in a closed room yelling at each other for an hour and half

Posted on by

Before watching the 12 Angry Men, I have watched lawyer drama such as Suits, but it was entirely different. My exposure to the film was actually on a plane back from China to New York in 2016 with the Chinese remake of the movie called 12 Citizen.

At first I was very impressed with the plot and the pacing of the Chinese film as it tackles a very nuanced and interesting topic for me. In hindsight, even though the two films are very similar, I would like to compare the two together as they are the same plot but portrayed in different cultures in different time periods.

The Chinese film greatly incorporates scenes and social structure that is rooted in Chinese culture. From peasant character to the scholar character that are from old Chinese operas and TV troupes. Much like the person from the “hood” that knows how to use a knife in the American version, both movies are depicted in their cultures which helps them to better relate to the viewers as well as giving it some much needed flare. In addition, the premise of the 12 Citizen is of a college law student class trial rather than an actual trial, which made me feel like there is much less at risk. There never truly felt like an urgency of a real boy will perhaps be executed, which was a rather big let down for me in the Chinese movie.

Lastly, the Chinese film gave visual representations of the “old man” and the “woman across the street” which did give a more clear picture of the overall context. As I was younger when I watched 12 Citizen, in retrospect it was nice. However, the pure oral context which all 12 of these angry men were arguing over, truly gives a jury meeting feeling and made me pay attention to every single word.  The mental image is very vivid from each character’s physical and oral actions. I really enjoyed watching the film, and it was nice to finally see the original classic.

Massage was pretty good

Posted on by

Just got a 10 minute massage, and now my back and shoulder feels so much better. When I was younger, my grandma would always give me a professional Chinese massage with pain and all. Now that she passed away and me in another country, I really miss those days. When I was sitting in the massage chair, I just felt so sentimental of my childhood days.

My grandma used to say that I should become a masseuse myself, because apparently I have special lines on my hand that made me good to give people medical treatment. Strange and superstitious I know, but it is still a part of the Asian culture for me. I’ve always enjoyed a good massage and I would often give massages for my fencing teammates in leisure or in preparation for a major tournament. After coming to America, I never had someone give me a massage the same way my grandma used to, and I kind of wish I did.

The massage itself was really nice, but it is a shame it was only 10 minutes long. For me, since fencing is such a imbalanced sport, I have many tight spots in the common places. The lady also pointed out the left side of my hip seems a lot tighter and so does the left side of my shoulders. I think it was a good experience overall, although I think this just calls for me to go out and get a proper massage myself, because after 10 minutes I already feel much better, and so a full session will probably help out even more so.

Coco’s Oppression

Posted on by

I don’t feel like writing a movie review because there’s classes dedicated just for that like Cinema 1100 or something. The interesting aspect of the movie is not the plot, after all it is meant for children, but rather the seemingly ridiculously cliche yet strangely realistic portrayal of parental pressure and oppression in the apparent Hispanic family dynamic.

The Mexican culture depicted in the film reminded me a lot of what it was like back in China. From normal values like family comes first to having a great grandmother with more wrinkles than a Mastiff’s forehead, the details portrayed within Miguel’s family is very similar to my own self growing up in China. The matricidal system seen with Miguel’s grandmother is actually rather common in China as the “man” of the family is often out of the house doing business or working in the field, and the head woman of the family would end up controlling the house. This leads to my point of the oppressive nature of the family as a whole. Both my family and Miguel’s family seems to be completely and utterly shaped by generational values that they take as laws of life rather than guidelines. The “NO MUSIC” rule enforced by Miguel’s grandma with iron sandals is but a fragment of a misfortune that occurred during a period when no one truly remembers other than the Coco, who ironically loves music. Having grown up with family who are just like that regarding things such as prohibiting video games or homosexuality, I grew up around people who hate but don’t truly understand why.

With a distaste for certain groups of people reinforced by my family’s values, sometimes I just hate the way I am because of it. In a land of America where political correctness is not only encouraged but borderline required to be a “socially acceptable” person, I have shaped my personality to simply laugh off the residual innate prejudices as a joke altogether. Unlike Miguel, the real world isn’t as clichely marvelous as the world of Coco and problems can’t be magically solved by being transported into another ghostly realm with friendly spirits to guide you. I simply learned to live with the oppression and accept it. Perhaps it is also why Asians get a reputation for being meek and pushovers, we accept a certain degree abuse because we believe we can rise above it. We do, but for every success story, there are thousands of untold tragedies that people tend to overlook. I personally don’t want the little gold star that is put on the Asian resume for being the “model minority.” I want to see a world doesn’t need sacrifices like Miguel who really should’ve been a victim of the oppression from his grandmother. He would’ve still stolen the De La Cruz’s guitar and the villagers would’ve simply catch him as a thief. A young life over and done with through circumstance interlinked within circumstance, ultimately amounting to nothing but a regular below average lifestyle that his family has always lived.

Perhaps I am just overthinking a stupid kids movie.

People likes a happy story, and I liked the kitty. Ultimately, I guess it’s a win-win.