Watching a Movie with War Veterans
Iwo Jima is a Japanese volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean. Back in War World II it witnessed one of the bloodiest battle on the Pacific front. The invasion of the island by American marines was part of the plan to advance onto the Japanese mainland and it was one of the few battles in which the Americans suffered more casualties than its opposition. Tadamichi Kuribayashi, who commanded the defence, knew that he had no chance of overcoming an invasion force nearly five times bigger. In an attempt to inflict as many casualties as he could, he ordered the defence to dig deep into the soft volcanic soil and allowed the Americans to swarm the landing beach before commencing fire. The war is best remembered by the Americans for the photograph "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" which depicts 5 marines and a navy corpsman putting up an American Flag on top of Mount Suribachi. The photo won a Pulitzer prize and was immortalized by the sculpture which is now located in Arlington Cemetery in Washington D.C.
I have been a fan of Clint Eastwood's movies ever since I watched his "Million Dollar Baby". This guy might be old, but with age comes talent and he sure has his way of making his audience feel for the characters in the movies. "Flags of Our Fathers" portrays the anguish of the navy corpsman John Bradley, who was dragged into the limelight to sell war bonds after raising the flag on Iwo Jima. His silence on the war to his family and everyone else after he retired from service speaks aloud of his belief that "the real heroes are the ones who died on Iwo Jima". "Letters from Iwo Jima", on the other hand, was shot from the Japanese perspective. It narrates how the Japanese soldiers were torn between serving the Emperor and returning to their families. War movies almost always tell one side of the story. Clint Eastwood covers both sides brilliantly with these 2 films that were shot back to back.
It is regrettable that "Letters from Iwo Jima" wasn't shown in many of the theaters in New York. The reasons being it was unable to draw crowds due to the lack of American content and that it was shot with a lower budget compared to its sibling. After much searching I managed to find one isolated theater and was pretty surprised by the demographics of the audience--they were all old people with white hair. Most were couples and it warmed my heart to see them holding hands and walking into the theater. With almost 10% of the population in the war at its peak, I have no doubts that most of these guys must have been war veterans or had some family members in it. Some might even have been on the soils of Iwo Jima.
There was one night I was catching "Shame Shame Shame"(that's right, it has this ridiculously simple title that works pretty well) on Fox TV news. It is a program that tries to highlight and publicise injustice in the society. Most of the time it features restaurant owners who have not paid their workers for months. That night, it showed war veterans fighting for the right to open a road which led to a sculpture they had built there. Their intent was to let people drive up to the memorial easily. The road had been blocked with barricades by a nearby condominium who wanted the road to be used as a playground for the residents. These war veterans laid their lives for the country, and yet they were not even allowed to have a road.
I look forward to seeing the Iwo Jima War Memorial in Washington D.C.
(Uploaded album "Museums and First Snow". I try to name the paintings and artists, but I have a failing memory.)
The Infatuation with iPod
I knew iPod is a big market leader before I came over. I couldn't be more wrong because iPod doesn't occupy a large portion of the market. It is the market. I can't see the presence of Creative at all in New York. The big electronic chain stores are not selling them. There are no advertisements. People are not using them. When I asked my colleagues whether they knew anything about Creative and iRiver I got blank faces. And before I could start giving them an education in other mp3 brands they quickly moved on to other topics. They are not being unfriendly, they are just not in the least interested in anything else but iPod.
Owning an iPod here is almost as essential as owning a car here (yes every person has a car). David has got a 30GB white, Brian has a 30GB black and Jeff just got his 4GB black nano. My silver, out-of-production 4GB mini is the oldest here and I can't help but feel that it creates a common bonding among us. There were times when we would sit around in the office discussing the beauty and flaws of Apple products. When Apple announced iPhone, Steve Jobs had us glued to his recorded presentation in San Francisco and you could see us drooling over the new gadget. During Christmas Brian handed out iPods like the Chinese would give out Ang Baos. His 8 year old daughter got a pink mini which makes her iPod ranking equivalent to mine, his wife got a 30GB and his 16 year old son got a 30GB video. The truth is, America is in love with iPod, and a very deep one it is.
David recently launched an "Innovation Client can Feel" campaign and under this project he would try to get people in the company to have a taste of Web 2.0 software such as Digg, Flickr, Yahoo Widgets, RSS, Podcasts, Second Life and such. The people selected would be known as "Innovation Champions" and each of them would get a 30GB black iPod Video free of charge. Imagine the delight on their faces. The only people that wouldn't be so affected are the directors and managers because they can afford tons of iPods anyway hahaha.
I can already hear the crowd at the stores. iPhone anyone?
A Conversation with D
In the last weeks of 2006 the office was largely empty. People were enjoying their long vacation and most wouldn't be back till the new year. D and me found time to have this conversation.
W: So are you not going to apply for American citizenship?
D: I don't think so. Haha I wouldn't like my son to get drafted into the Army.
W: Yup, I heard on the news that there is a slight possibility Bush might put the draft in place to send more troops to Iraq. But the Democrats have taken over the congress and they might have something else in mind.
D punched his fists in the air in a sign of victory.
slight pause...
D: Sometimes I like to get a bit philosophical. I remember that when I first started work I was thinking about the work I was doing.
slight pause...
D: I was involved in software development but looking at the grand scheme of things, the work that I was doing was insignificant to the people in this world. I wonder how much benefits I am delivering from my work.
W: That is precisely what I am thinking at the moment. That is why I want to go into BCS when I go back to Singapore, so that I can help the people in different industries reap the benefits of IT.
D: Well, even if you are helping the banks for example, do we really need banking in the first place? After all it is something invented by Capitalism, a system which is flawed in many ways. Capitalism creates so much needs that we derive our self worth from the material things. People don't feel happy unless they drive big cars, have big houses and wear branded goods.
W: That I agree.
D: Sometimes I feel that the sales people in Gap might actually be bringing more benefits to people than me.
W: That is probably because they have people-oriented jobs. We are still delivering in indirect ways I guess.
W: Think of it this way, we may not be smart enough to do things like inventing planes and discovering a cure for AIDS and make the world a better place, but we can make a difference to those around us, like your parents or your children.
D: That reminds me. Do you remember the grouchy woman we met in the cafeteria today? I don't understand why people do that. My son, he has this innate character of trying to bring happiness to those around him. If someone gives him a sweet in school, he would ask for one more for his sister. And I don't think he is conscious of his behaviour.
D: I am not saying that my daughter is a bad person, but she doesn't have this in her. If she gets a sweet she would be happy. If she gets another she would be like "Great! Now I have two!".
W: Do you think your son would retain this character when he grows up?
D: I don't know. I certainly hope so.
slight pause...
D: Anyway why are we worrying about things that we can't control when we can be happily doing ibm widgets? Hahaha.
W: Haha, I am glad we have this conversation because now I know I am not the only one thinking about such things. I tend to think too much.
What are you working for today?
(Uploaded album "Countdown 2007")
