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Turning Red (2022)
With Turning Red (2022) Disney has done it again, bringing out an animation for the kids that is fun yet with a social message. The story happens in Toronto, Canada where a Chinese girl lives with her parents running a family temple and giving tours. Once the girl gets into her teenage, due to a family curse, she transforms into a giant red panda, did she get cured of her curse has been told in a humorous manner?. It gets a mangoidiots rating of Raw. The film uses the red panda as an allegory for puberty and menstruation, taboo topics for many parents to discuss with their kids. I enjoyed…
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Software Algorithms are brought under the scrutiny in China
The Cyberspace Administration of China on August 27th, 2021 released the draft titled “Internet Information Service Algorithmic Recommendation Management Provisions” for public comment. It appears to be detailed and technically informed and not just non-technical laws. For example, see this one section: Article 7: Algorithmic recommendation service providers shall: fulfil their primary responsibility for algorithmic security, establish and complete management systems for user registration, information dissemination examination and verification, algorithmic mechanism examination and verification, security assessment and monitoring, security incident response and handling, data security protection and personal information protection, etc.; formulate and disclose algorithmic recommendation-related service norms; and allocate specialized personnel and technical support suited to the scale of…
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Launch of the Tianhe module to the Chinese Space Station
With a deadly pandemic raging outside, this may not be the time to look above us into the skies. But a future cold war like situation, is building up there. The International Space Station (ISS) is one of the marvels of humanity, a global initiative – only the Chinese are the large nation to get left out & no Chinese has been onboard ISS due to a US Congressional ban. ISS was a successor to the Soviet Mir program and ISS was built at a cost of over US$150 Billion over decades with major contributions from the USA, Russia, Europe, Japan & Canada. Last week, China took the first major…
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Journey to the West (2013)
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons is an interesting fantasy comedy from China. It follows the journey of a Buddhist disciple who goes from places to places to save the villagers from the horrors of demons, he competes with four other commercial demon hunters. There is a lot of blood, killings and mutilations in the film, if you can avoid taking it to heart and see the comedy on the narration you will enjoy the film. It is available on the Kanopy streaming service. The first twenty minutes where a blood-thirsty water demon attacks the residents living on river stilt houses built was pictured very well. The action sequence…
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24 City (2009)
24 City (2009) is a Chinese film that had won accolades in international film circuits. A fictional take on a supposed Chinese state-owned factory in Chengdu that had produced aeronautical components in its heydays and is now in a bad shape. Its huge landholdings are parcelled off as a new apartment complex called “24 City”. The film is a documentary-style take on this in the way of interviews with former employees and their children. It is available on Kanopy.com. A former worker, a lady says I used to work before getting laid off in the 1990s and now I am doing tailoring as part-time work. She adds “If you have…
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Over the Moon (2020)
Over the Moon (2020) is an animated musical film for kids that can be enjoyed by grown-ups too, I liked it. It blends Chinese mythology, a bright girl & caring parents, science and the emotional drama of losing a loved one. Be warned, the story is childish and not a new one but one that has been narrated tastefully; and there are many songs too. The film is available on Netflix. A young girl named Fei Fei lives in a small village in China with her loving parents who run a small shop selling their home-made mooncakes. A sudden loss happens which Fei Fei finds difficult to accept. As a…
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Lucky Grandma (2019)
Lucky Grandma (2019) is a comedy film featuring Tsai Chin as the 80-year-old grandma living in New York’s Chinatown. While on a trip to a casino, she lands on a large pile of cash, believing it to be her luck to get it, she keeps it. Unlucky for her the underworld comes calling soon. Tsai Chin acting as the grandma was a delight to watch, other than that the film proceeds on a familiar route with no real surprises or turns. Hsiao-Yuan Ha who comes as the 8-feet bodyguard of Big Pong to grandma impresses us with his innocent acting. The first fifteen minutes where we see the grandma going…
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Small rays of hope against COVID-19?
உலகயே அச்சுறுத்திக் கொண்டிருக்கும் கோவிட்-19 (Coronavirus) வைரஸ் விஷயத்தில், இதுவரை நல்ல செய்திகள் இல்லை! இன்று தமிழ் இந்து திசையில் திரு கு.கணேசன், பொதுநல மருத்துவர் அவர்கள் எழுதியுள்ள இந்தக் கட்டுரை ஓரளவுக்கு நம்பிக்கை தருகிறது. எந்தொரு வைரஸ் தொற்றையும் (Chicken Pox-சின்னம்மை, Polio-இளம் பிள்ளை வாதம் போன்று) முறியடிக்க மனிதக்குலத்திடம் இப்போதைக்கு இருக்கும் பெரிய ஆயுதம், தடுப்பூசிகள் தான். கோவிட்-19க்கு இப்படியான ஒன்றைக் கண்டுப்பிடிக்க ஒரு வருடத்திற்கு மேல் ஆகும், அதற்குள் நமக்கு இந்தக் கொடிய நோயைக் கட்டுப்படுத்த மாற்று வழிமுறைகள் உடனடியாக தேவை. அப்படியான இரண்டு வழிகளை திரு கு.கணேசன் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார், அவை தான் கொஞ்சம் நிம்மதிக் கொடுக்கின்றன. அவர் சொல்லியுள்ள “புதிய” (பரிசோதனையில் இருக்கும் அவசரக்கால) முறைகள்: //1) ‘கோவிட்-19’ காய்ச்சலிலிருந்து மீண்ட நோயாளிகளின் ரத்தத்தைப் பெற்று, அதிலிருந்து ‘பிளாஸ்மா’ என்னும் திரவத்தைப் பிரித்தெடுத்து, மோசமான கட்டத்தில் உயிருக்குப் போராடிக்கொண்டிருந்த புதிய நோயாளிகளுக்குச் செலுத்தினார்கள். இப்படிச் செலுத்தப்பட்ட பிளாஸ்மாவில் ‘கோவிட்-19’ கிருமிகளை முறியடிக்கும் நோயெதிர்ப்பொருட்கள் கோடிக்கணக்கில் இருந்த காரணத்தால், அந்த நோயாளிகள்…
