I just discovered today after reading an Associated Press article what measurement unit follows the now commonplace computer term gigabyte, which is defined as a staggering billion bytes.
The article spoke about a booming business for "electronic discovery" centres like Kroll Ontrack that keeps permanent digital files and other scraps of corporate intelligence that may be valuable in litigating lawsuits. These are not just Internet sites, mind, but also records kept in hard drives - "wedged between everything from personal e-mails to pornography", tech writer Brian Bergstein said.
The need to keep all the files in a database has ballooned the size of Kroll Ontrack's data-crunching centre in less than 18 months, from a half-petabyte of storage to two petabytes.
Wha? What's a petabyte? The Free Dictionary says: "A unit of computer memory or data storage capacity equal to 1,024 terabytes."
That's nice. Sounds like a jillion e-mails or Jpeg files. But how much more will that carry than, say, my soon-to-be-beefed-up 100Gb-capacity PowerBook G4?
And -first things first- what's a terabyte anyway? I had never heard of that before, although the past week had me asking coincidentally about the beyond of the beyond. It's a unit of information equal to a trillion (1,099,511,627,776) bytes or 1024 gigabytes. That's a lot.
So a petabyte -as if repeating it actually makes it easier for the mind to grasp- is 2 million gigabytes or one quadrillion bytes.
Consider that the Internet Archive, which aims to store almost every public Web page ever to appear, currently totals one petabyte. Or in familiar terms, 20,000 PowerBook G4 notebook computers valued at around US$2,000 each. (Okay, with the new Intel Core Duo Macs, which potentially have its hard drive capacity boosted from 10Gb to a theoretical 1 terabyte, maybe just a thousand of those. Still, it boggles the mind.) We are definitely moving on to bigger things.
Paging K-PAX and John Nash.
Mi compañero Jerome que esta destinado en Roma me envió un artículo desde la agencia de noticias española EFE, donde trabaja su ex-novia, Maribel. El artículo, entitulado "Comienza el Año del Perro con previstos conflictos y desastres" y escrito por Francisco Luis Pérez, da pronósticos de luchas, dificultades y conflictos para el Año Nuevo del Perro de Fuego que comienza domingo.
Según adivinos taiwaneses que siguen una milenaria tradición china de adivinación observando el antiquísimo calendario agrícola lunar, "las relaciones entre familiares, parejas y amigos serán puestas a prueba en el año nuevo, por lo que un adivino taiwanés recomienda un cuidado especial de todas las relaciones afectivas para evitar dolorosas rupturas.""La dirección este y oeste son beneficiosas, la del norte no es positiva y la del sur tiene poco beneficio", afirma Wang Li-neng desde el famoso templo de Longshang, uno de los más antiguos de Taiwán y que se encuentra atestado de fieles que buscan respuestas para sus inquietudes y planes.
Los países del sur tendrán conflictos con los del norte. No es un buen año para las naciones de Latinoamérica, Africa, Oceanía y el Sudeste Asiático, pero las fuerzas negativas se pueden contrarrestar con un renovado esfuerzo, pronostica Wang, que destaca que el Año del Perro exige justicia y perseverancia.
"Los países deben buscar lazos al este y al oeste, por eso las relaciones entre Taiwán y China, entre Europa y Estados Unidos, y entre EEUU y Japón pueden mejorar e impulsar la economía mundial", anuncia Wang.
Los demagogos políticos tendrán un mal año y se enfrentarán a resistencias y violencias porque en este período que empieza es necesario andar con esfuerzos y consistencia y no con palabrerías, apunta el adivino.
Las tensiones sociales pueden recrudecerse también los cambios políticos y la llegada de líderes jóvenes al poder, pero los cambios tenderán a ser positivos para la mayoría, según las fuerzas que operan este año.
No son noticias muy buenas para todos nosotros que buscan lazos mas fuertes entre el este y oeste. Si los pronósticos se realizan entonces un año de mala leche para nuestro país será seguida con otro egalmente malo.
Tampoco será un año muy bueno para los EEUU porque el artículo dice que "estará marcado por conflictos violentos creados por los hombres, por lo que se impone una diplomacia pero basada en la imparcialidad y la justicia, y no en imposiciones o engaños."
Menos mal que la amenaza de epidemias y enfermedades no aparece este año, pero no hay ninguna seguridad que el tipo de peligro natural como el tsunami en Asia, huracanes en América Central y del Norte, el terremoto en Pakistán y la India y hombruna en Niger que marcaron 2005 como el año de desastres naturales no aparecierán en 2006.
Así se acabó para mi el Año del Gallo en que cumplí los 36 y encontré el amor despues de perder el otro. ¿Que dicen adivinos taiwaneses sobre las perspectivas personales?En el plano personal, la influencia del perro tiene aspectos positivos y negativos, y en este año exigente los esfuerzos aislados no darán fruto y no podrán evitarse los conflictos, sobre todo en las relaciones interpersonales.
Será un año duro, sin lugar para las falsedades y los preciosismos, un periodo para retornar a las raíces, a los principios.
Los nacidos bajo los signos del Dragón (1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000), Gallo (1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005), Oveja (1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003) y Perro (1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006) afrontarán fuerzas negativas.
A los dragones les esperan cambios de trabajo o residencia y no deben iniciar empresas nuevas; las ovejas experimentarán cambios drásticos, tensiones familiares y amorosas, además de dificultades para ganar dinero.
Los gallos lo tienen todo en contra, habrá dinero y será un buen año para los negocios y la salud.
Los signos con más suerte en el Año del Perro son la Liebre (1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999), el Caballo (1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002) y el Tigre (1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998).
La Liebre ha pasado un mal año y ahora tendrá un respiro, aunque le esperan cambios drásticos, más gastos que ganancias y tensiones laborales y familiares.
El Caballo se enfrentará a contradicciones, pero hay perspectivas de triunfos profesionales y separaciones cortas.
El Tigre tendrá la protección de personas influyentes, el peligro de agotamiento y enfermedades, y la posibilidad de lograr sus deseos con esfuerzo.
La Serpiente (1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001) dispondrá de oportunidades y negocios, prosperidad económica y viajes, mientras el Mono (1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004) tendrá un año difícil, con muchos imprevistos y peligro de rupturas amorosas.
Inessa nació bajo el signo del Jabalí y según los pronósticos ella va a enfrentar retos profesionales este año. No dice nada sobre el plan sentimental.Al Jabalí (1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007) le espera mucho trabajo y responsabilidad, con peligro de dispersión e imprevistos, que podrán superarse con esfuerzo.
El Ratón (1936, 1948, 1960, 1972,1984, 1996) tendrá problemas en sus asuntos personales y deberá actuar con gran prudencia, mientras el Buey (1937, 1949, 1961, 1973,1985, 1997) enfrentará desafíos grandes, pero con paciencia verá disminuir sus dificultades.
En el sistema del calendario Chino, el par de animales y elementos que representan al año, sigue un ciclo de 60 años, por lo que el último Año del Perro de Fuego fue en 1946.
Ese año se produjeron tensiones y cambios decisivos a nivel mundial, tales como la creación de la ONU, la independencia de Filipinas de Estados Unidos, la proclamación de la república en Italia, el inicio de la Cuarta República en Francia y la condena de los criminales de guerra en el juicio de Nuremberg.
¿Habrá alguna posibilidad que esas prediciónes no pasarán? Bueno, el mismo Wang declara que "El horóscopo chino no predice hechos, sólo nos desvela las tendencias y fuerzas que operan, pero el esfuerzo humano y la habilidad para manejar el destino es tarea personal y social".
Like in the music and movie business, the sports world also has its phenomena - overnight or otherwise. No where is this truer than perhaps in telegenic sports.
Out of nowhere the ongoing Australian Open has provided tennis -which has had its biggest and most popular attractions come from the women's side- a new darling in the men's circuit. About time, I say. Unlike the beauty and bluster provided by Sharapova, the Williams sisters and the comebacking Martina Hingis, men's tennis has had less of a popular following recently. Among its biggest heroes, for every emotional or flamboyant player like McEnroe or Agassi, there are dry and mechanical champions like Lendl, Courrier and Sampras.
Unlike the buttoned down Wimbledon or the American-dominated US Open, the French -and to a lesser extent- the Australian Opens provide more opportunities for the minting of new heroes. The more flawed they are, the more interesting. In the past we've had Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Gustavo Kuerten and Gaston Gaudio. Last year I followed Kazan-born, Spanish-trained Marat Safin overcome the annoying Lleyton Hewitt claw back from near-collapse to claim the so-called Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific. This year I've not really kept to date with the progression of the rounds (and perhaps never really had a wont to, until the semi-finals or finals) since Marat the Mercurial (and infinitely interesting than perennial winner Roger Federer) bowed out in the early rounds in this seventh edition he's played in. Of course there are other good players in the draw, but after this result I just gave the Open up to the relentless and methodical Federer.
What few people likely counted on was that even though we all knew the eventual destination the journey could still be fun. This was provided thankful journalists and crowds by Cypriot sensation Marcos Baghdatis, who has disposed of an impressive series of seeds on the way to the final, which will take place on Sunday against (of course) Federer. He mowed down until today Andy Roddick and Ivan Ljubicic, seeded second and seventh respectively.
Today, apart from the impressive stats, he provided drama in his semifinal match against the dangerous Argentine, David Nalbandian. Just like last year's drama between Safin and Hewitt, the duel between the two played out for an extended period and was even interrupted by a sudden downpour. Nalbandian is not a jerk like Hewitt but there was no denying the Cypriot Mr Popularity. His winsome smile and easygoing attitude won him more fans with each passing game as his determination and volleys. Also, having a girlfriend like Camille Nevier dutifully watching adoringly from the stands also helps in a big way.
I hope he'll stick around longer than Claudio did.
We just saw on DVD Wong Kar-Wai's Cheun gwong tsa sit (Happy Together, 1997), a film shot partly in B&W that explores the growing alienation two homosexual men from Hong Kong experience in antipodean Buenos Aires.
Although it won WKW the Best Director prize -the first for a Chinese director- at the Cannes Film Festival, the initial personal impression I got wasn't too overwhelming. Inessa actually liked it; I found it a bit more of a muddle (and this is already taking into consideration Wong's penchant for non-linear storytelling).
Without doubt, one can already see the development of the director's knack of portraying relationship conflicts that he would eventually demonstrate impeccably in later stories of heterosexual entanglements, Fa yeung nin wa (In the Mood for Love, 2000) and 2046 (2004). Of course he's handled onscreen relationships before or given free rein to his frenetic, jigsaw mise en scène with his patented UnsteadyCam. Two examples that come to mind are Chung hing sam lam (Chungking Express, 1994) and A Fei jing juen (Days of Being Wild, 1990), set in Hong Kong and Manila respectively.
In an AOL reader's review, Anthony Leong described the movie's portrayal of a "pathological relationship" as insightful precisely for its reality-based tediousness and repetitiveness. I tend to disagree, though, that the casting went out on a limb for putting "two of Hong Kong's brightest straight actors" in the role of gay lovers. Maybe Tony Leung isn't but wasn't the late great Leslie Cheung openly gay? Anyway, Yanks would no doubt call it ahead of its time since it wasn't until late last year when Taiwanese director Ang Lee was able to cast two of Hollywood's brightest straight actors (ahem), Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in the Oscar-bound Brokeback Mountain.
Not wanting to do a bodge job of describing the plot of this film, allow me to just cite the eminent Mr Leong:Lai Yiu-Fai (Leung) and Ho Po-Wing (Cheung) are a couple of ex-patriates living together in Buenos Aires. However, after an aborted trip to see the Iguazu Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil, a symbol of renewal that is touched upon throughout the film, they drift apart. Lai becomes a doorman at a tango club, which pays enough for him to maintain a claustrophobic flat in a rundown building. Meanwhile, Ho sells himself out as a hustler, making a living off of a series of one-night stands. However, after finding Ho bleeding on the street, beaten up by a 'bad trick', Lai decides to take Ho back in an attempt to 'start over', and finally make the trip to Iguazu.
Maybe one of the reasons I found the film a muddle was that I couldn't be fagged to figure the more-linear-than-usual WKW plot. Can't be bothered to make heads and tails of it for a blog entry, so let me just again plagiarise the quotable Mr Leong:HT exhibits many of the hallmarks inherent in all of Wong Kar-Wai's films. The story, rather than being plot-driven, is theme-driven, with many layers of interpretation. Every aspect of the story, whether it be characters, the occupations of the characters, or even where they stand in a room, speaks to hidden metaphors and subtext. His characters are usually divided into two camps with opposing philosophies, and this is seen in the contrast between Lai and Ho. Lai, the more reserved and responsible of the two, is haunted by the past and is blinded to opportunities in the present by the haze of nostalgia. Ho, the more petty of the pair, has a shiftless life without any 'memory' of the past, which leads to a meaningless existence and the need to define his own purpose through his relationships with others. This same juxtaposition was seen between Yuddy and the cop in "Days of Being Wild", and the Hitman and Michelle in "Fallen Angels".
One can only surmise that this bloke is a non-professional critic for the way he actually talks about the film and not around it, which most armchair-type chaps usually do, without having seen all of the film, using blatantly evasive codswallop such as comparisons to the Beat Generation. Just because the blurb said something like "gay road movie set in Argentina" doesn't necessarily mean you should dust off your Viking 1957 first edition of "On the Road" nor flex your Jack Kerouac metaphors from high school! Additionally any mention of Ginzburg or Burrough is completely unwarranted.
(Now that we're back in the business of criticising Yanks, let me just comment about the way they take such a long time to clue in into certain trends that have long dominated the world outside of America or have even gone stale elsewhere. Wong Kar-Wai is a good case in point. If rental-video-clerk-turned-emblematic-director Quentin Tarantino hadn't been into chopsocky films, who knows how long people in the States would've taken to notice the Shanghai-born filmmaker. Worse, the way everyone bandwagons it's astounding, especially how people there seem to give up on critical thinking all together. No wonder everyone went for the invasion of Iraq and are not exactly up in arms over the truly impeachable offense of federal spying. To my relief, a film critic from the ultimate benderville, San Francisco, actually questioned the basis of Wong's celebrity in a piece from November 1997. To wit, G. Allen Johnson says "It's hard to decide whether Wong Kar-Wai is great or just momentarily fashionable. His films are confidently made, to the point of being cocky, yet it's their very bravado that makes them suspicious.")
(Of course it's just like me to criticise Americans and then quote one of them. There are, of course, spot-on remarks in the Johnson review: "Wong works with an internal clock rather than a conventional one. He edits his film not to music or plot resonance, but to emotion - or lack thereof. In some ways, he's a minimalist, using glances and action to convey information. When there is dialogue or narration, he makes every word count".)
Since I've gone this much stealing from AOL proprietary material, might as well go the Full Monty and iterate the way the film's technical details measure up, circa 1997:The images that Wong Kar-Wai and his ace cinematographer Christopher Doyle in HT are, as usual, stunning. Using the same techniques employed in "Fallen Angels", where the luminance of the image was boosted through the use of high-contrast film, Wong Kar-Wai creates a dizzying array of richly-textured shots. Those familiar with his films will see the usual indulgences-- the sped-up footage of city traffic, the arty and introspective slo-mo, the MTV-school-of-film-making, the long monologues, the shifting points-of-view, and the Godardian influences of jump-cutting and iconography (the fixation on stationary objects, such as clocks, street signs, and statues)-- all of which speak to the themes common to all Wong Kar-Wai films: the transiency of relationships, the introspective point-of-view, and the persistence of memory.
Although there were some pleasing bits in the film I glossed over the significance of the subplot involving Chang Chen (Lo Dark Cloud in Wo hu cang long (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 2000) I would have to agree with the AOL reviewer who says that Happy Together is "a straightforward narrative with the existential philosophy and the stylish-camera work toned-down", which essentially makes it only passable as a Wong Kar-Wai film. "The exhilaration of watching his films comes from fitting together the pieces of a 90-minute intellectual puzzle, and subsequent viewings generally revealed new interpretations and nuances", says Anthony Leong. This one, however, does not have enough of that nor even enough of the kind of eye-candy that made In the Mood for Love such pleasurable viewing.
It seems that the real cold isn't being experienced in Japan's streets at all. According to Kaori Shoji (a prolific reporter, trendspotter, art critic and editor of about Naoko's age, known for her fast wit - a regular Dorothy Parker who can outshine Mickey Berdy any day), the real freeze that's wreaking havoc on the landscape is the refusal of Japanese men to bother with flesh-and-blood women. Unlike in Russia, where the negative birthrate is probably being rolled back by the first real optimism for the future in decades, in Japan not even the country's positive growth is enough to spark any passion between the sexes. In a 10 January 2006 article entitled "Men retreat from 'hassle' of loving relationships" in The Japan Times, Shoji writes this humourous piece:We're told that the nation's economy is in its best shape in a decade. While this is "roho (good news)," other things are happening in this country that are not so hot. Literally.
According to sources, many eligible Japanese men are in the throes of what's become known as "Renai Ken-o Sho (Dislike of Love Relationships)" and, consequently, the number of loving couples has plummeted to probably the lowest in the last decade. Single women are complaining that the dating scene has never been so barren, and those fortunate enough to have boyfriends live in fear of the extremely high turnover rate: "Kyo no kanojyo wa ashita no moto-kano. (Today's girlfriend is tomorrow's ex-girlfriend)."
Yes, there is less relationship-security now than ever before, and it's all the result of the Japanese male's seeming reluctance to get close, get committed and become that most coveted of conditions: "jyounetsuteki (passionate)."
Out-of-love epidemic
"Korewa mohaya byokidane (this has officially become an epidemic)" says editor Michiyo on this out-of-love trend. This is her story: After three whole years of nurturing warm, friendly relations with a "doryo (colleague)," Michiyo confessed her love one morning after an all-night, "futarikiri (just-the-two-of-us) drinking stint. Instead of taking her in his arms and declaring likewise (as she had envisioned) he looked acutely embarrassed, turned away and muttered: "Sou yuno, nashini shiyoyo (Let's not go there)."
Shocked, Michiyo's professional antenna went up: This colleague had to be part of a bigger disease eating away at the hearts and minds of the nation's men. It should be noted that Michiyo is smart, attractive and sexy -- she owns eight pairs of skin-tight, pin-heel boots that, when combined with her collection of skin-tight Earl jeans, makes her look like a "wasei Kyameron (the Japanese Cameron Diaz)," the kind of look that, it might be assumed, would attract suitors.
Let's not go there? What was the guy thinking?
And this would seem to be the collective Japanese female wail. They just don't know what men are thinking, or want anymore. Before, it had been so simple. Men wanted women and that was all there was to it. It was the guy's job to deduce the workings of the female mind.
Now, the tables have turned. Men are constantly shying away and looking embarrassed while women lay bare their hearts and fling them at their reluctant, shuffling feet. "I sense a nation-wide wave of 'don-biki (a great, pulling away)' on the part of men" analyzes Michiyo. "They actually act affronted when women confess. They act like little girls, they act like 'otome (virgins)!' "
It's true. The widespread "ren'ai ken-o" goes hand in hand with the widespread otome-ization of the Japanese male. Ten years ago the media gasped when young men were discovered to shave their legs and buy skin-care products. Today the focus is on young men who see sexual relationships as something "kimoi (disgusting)" and who seem to have little interest in venting their physical desires with actual partners. They live for "shigoto (jobs)" and "shumi (hobbies)." Above all, they value their privacy.
Heavy burden
Behind the "shoshika (low birth rate)" phenomenon (which has mostly been palmed off as the fault of the nation's women), is this to consider: Japanese men are less interested in love, let alone such an "omoni (heavy burden)" as marriage and "kosodate (child-rearing)."
Michiyo did an informal survey among the single men in her department, and reports that six out of eight replied that the reason they choose to avoid ren'ai altogether is because they cannot see any merit in being with women. "Onnanoko wa mendoudashi, renraku shinakya-naranaishi, purezento toka okane kakarushi... (Girls are a hassle, they expect me to call, I have to buy them gifts and that would cost money)" was one 34-year-old male's sum-up. He would rather deploy his funds and time in other ways, ways that would be infinitely more rewarding than in a "kocchini nanno tokuni naranai (There's no profit to be gained)" love relationship.
Girls of Nippon, we live in glacial times.
Some of this had already been apparent when I was living in Japan until 2000. It was difficult to imagine another society in which men preened in the same way as women and were viewed as normal. With such dire alternatives for women in Japan, it would probably a lot more fun for foreign men living there now.
