spiral hive

Volume 8 (Archis 2006 #2): Ubiquitous China

jack — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 08:01:36 +0000

I’d never seen this magazine before, but I picked this issue up because it is about the relationship of architecture to contemporary Chinese society. The articles, mostly by Chinese authors cover a wide variety of topics: city planning, building conditions, preservation, Chinatowns in the Chinese diaspora are a few of the topics. (more…)

Center for Asian American Media

jack — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 06:15:49 +0000

The Center for Asian American Media puts on the Asian American Film Festival (AAFF) every year in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s a well-run festival, and every year, it presents an opportunity to see a LOT of really good films. (more…)

The Complete Mancala Games Book: How to Play the World’s Oldest Board Games

jack — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 08:36:50 +0000

If you’re interested in games, mathematics, African culture, or a variety of these topics, The Complete Mancala Games Book: How to Play the World’s Oldest Board Games is a real find. And once you have the book, a bag of beans and an empty egg carton (plus a partner) are all that you need to begin playing. (more…)

China Contemporary: Architecture, Art, Visual Culture

jack — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 08:20:41 +0000

China Contemporary: Architecture, Art, Visual Culture catalogs the exhibition China Contemporary, which occurred concurrently at three museums in the Netherlands in 2006: Nederlands Architectuurinstituut, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, and Nederlands fotomuseum.
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Pacific Film Archive

jack — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 07:32:13 +0000

If you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area (or more specifically, if you’re in Berkeley), the Pacific Film Archive is a great place to see great cinema. A lot of films show up here that you might not get to see elsewhere, even on DVD.

Bela Tarr’s Satantango showing at Pacific Film Archive February 17, 2007!

jack — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 04:40:14 +0000

The new schedule for Pacific Film Archive showed up in the mail today, and when I opened it, I was delighted! On page 3, it announced that Bela Tarr’s Satantango will be showing in its full 450 minute glory (and in a new print, to boot) on February 17, 2007 at 1 pm.

As Susan Sontag said: “Devastating, enthralling for every minute of its seven hours. I’d be glad to see it every year for the rest of my life.”

Reviews of Satantango

Spareribs adobo

jack — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 08:08:56 +0000

I’m sure there are much more authentic ribs adobo recipes out there, but this one tastes really good: (more…)

Buenos Aires Zero Degree: The Making of Happy Together

jack — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 08:08:15 +0000

I watched Buenos Aires Zero Degree: The Making of Happy Together today. It’s a 59-minute documentary about the making of Wong Kar-Wai’s film Happy Together. While the making-of-the-movie aspect is interesting, looking at all the footage that wasn’t used in the final film is the best part. There are some really compelling images in this film. (more…)

Blog Design Solutions

jack — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 05:20:37 +0000

I’m finding Blog Design Solutions useful in learning how to set up a blog with WordPress. It covers a number of other blog engines as well, and explains how to set up a local test environment in OS X or Windows for trying out your blog before you launch it on the world. (more…)