Manhattan, Woody Allen, Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue, San Francisco

เมื่อคืนงัดเอาหนังเรื่อง Manhattan (1979) ของ Woody Allen มาดูอีกครั้ง ก็ยังตลก ก็ยังสวยทรงเสน่ห์ ยังเป็นนิยามของคำว่า "Woody Allen" อยู่อย่างไม่เสื่อมคลาย ... พอมาดูตอนนี้เห็นว่า ชีวิตของ Allen ดำเนินไปเหมือนกับเรื่องนี้

น่าเสียดายที่ทางเลือกของเขาในชีวิตส่วนตัวยุคหลัง ทำให้คนรุ่นหนึ่งที่เคยเห็นเขาเป็นเสมือนพระเจ้า เป็นคำตอบของยุคสมัย หมดศรัทธาในตัวเขาไปอย่างสิ้นเชิง แต่ถึงยังไง Manhattan ก็ยังเป็นหนังที่สุดยอดมากๆเรื่องหนึ่ง

I just watched Manhattan again last night after all these years. For me, it still encapsulates Woody Allen at his finest hours.  It is the reason why I fell in love with New York and Gershwin light years ago. 

Watching it again now after seeing how Allen's life unfolded in the recent years is like witnessing a self-fulfilling prophecy in action.  It seems, in this case, a variation of "Life imitating Art".

Although Allen had long fallen from Grace and lost his edge with his old followers, Manhattan is still one of my favorite classics.






เอาตอนเปิดฉากของหนังมาแปะไว้ให้คิดถึง ส่วนตัวคิดว่ามันเป็นหนึ่งในการเปิดฉากที่สุดยอดที่สุดเรื่องหนึ่ง

This is one of my favorite openings of all time.




แล้วก็ขอเอาคลิปนี้ที่มีคนทำของซานฟรานฯ ได้สุดยอดมาให้ดูด้วย เจ๋งมากๆ

Also check out this parody that someone did a superb job on San Francisco

"Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. Find What You Love" - Steve Jobs

เพื่อนเพิ่งโพสต์สุนทรพจน์ของ Steve Jobs ที่กล่าวในงานจบการศึกษาของนักศึกษา Stanford เมื่อปี 2005 อ่านแล้วเป็นแรงบันดาลใจดีมากๆ

I just got to read this very inspiring speech Jobs gave at Stanford years ago...and it's worth sharing.

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"Stanford Report, June 14, 2005

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

Original Article about Steve Jobs' Commencement address (2005)

Text of Steve Jobs' Commencement address (2005)

Text of Steve Jobs' Commencement address (2005)

California 2010 Election Results - Jerry Brown is the new Governor

California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown has won.

The Democratic candidate defeated Republican Meg Whitman in the most expensive race in California history.

Mr. Brown won the election with 49 percent of the vote. Ms. Whitman received 46 percent of the vote.

The race, which was closely watched by politicos nationwide, is one of the few bright spots for state Democrats. A number of races remain close, or have gone in favor of Republicans at the state level.

The race garnered national attention after Ms. Whitman spent nearly $150 million in her bid to win the election.

The State Column

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Barbara Boxer defeated Carly Fiorina at the senate race

LOS ANGELES — Democrat Barbara Boxer has won her fourth term in the U.S. Senate, dashing GOP hopes of removing the liberal icon with a strong challenge from former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Carly Fiorina. Boxer's re-election Tuesday was not easy. She faced a multimillionaire candidate and a wave of attack ads funded by out-of-state business and conservative groups. The campaign was among the most challenging in the 69-year-old senator's long political career, as she found herself defending Democratic attempts to turn around the struggling economy. Fiorina blamed Democrats for failed economic policies, but Boxer turned the tables and said Fiorina represented a return to past Republican policies that created the recession. Boxer also painted Fiorina as too extreme for most California voters on issues ranging from abortion to gun control.

huffingtonpost.com

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Proposition 19 - (Legalization of Marijuana) Election Results Indicates a “No” Vote

Despite months of campaigning for those in support of Proposition 19, it looks as those the legalization of marijuana in the state o California will not be happening anytime soon. Even though only a fraction of total votes in the 2010 California election have been counted, those which have, indicate that Prop 19 will not pass.

With support from celebrities and politicians alike, such as Vicente Fox, George Soros, Tom Bates, and Ed Rosenthal, Proposition 19 just couldn’t overcome the statements made by US Attorney General Eric Holder in mid October stating that the Federal Government would still make recreational marijuana use illegal even if Prop 19 had passed. The proposition which got off to a tremendous start in the the first 10 months of the year just couldn’t develop enough of a following to win the majority of California voters liking. Pre-election polling done in July indicated that approximately 50% of voters supported the Proposition, while about 39% were against it. These numbers seemingly went the other way after Holder’s comments last month

With 17% of the votes counted in California, proposition 19 commands just 44% in favor of it, while 56% of California voters have voted “no”. Sure we still have the majority of votes in the state to be counted, however if early indication mean anything, proposition 19 certainly looks like it is dead in the water, at least for this year’s elections.

thenewsoftoday.com

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Proposition 23 (Suspension of Green House Gas Control) is defeated

Opponents of Proposition 23 won a major victory tonight, shooting down the ballot measure that would have suspended California's strict greenhouse-emissions law, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The contest was something of a showdown between clean tech firms and wealthy oil companies, with each side claiming that California's economic future was at stake. Big Oil said Proposition 23 would save over a million jobs, while Big Green argued the ballot measure would kill 500,000 jobs and a burgeoning "green economy" that would produce many more jobs.

Voters apparently believed the Big Green argument was stronger.

Many California college students were also involved in the "No on 23" fight, worried that the ballot measure would stall a clean technology economy and hurt their chances of landing a "green job" once they graduated from school.

In a L.A. Weekly cover story, Gabe Elsner, a 23-year-old environmental activist, organized college students up and down California to defeat Prop. 23. Elsner wanted the youth vote to turn out in force and stop the ballot measure.

According to the "No on 23" campaign, early exit polling showed that liberal and moderate Republicans opposed Prop. 23.
With the victory, many experts predict that a green economy is poised to take off in California, possibly becoming a key component of an economic rebound in the Golden State.

L.A. Weekly

San Francisco Giants Won the 106th World Series --ชัยชนะที่มากกว่าแค่เกมส์

คืนนี้ ทีมเบสบอล San Francisco Giants ได้แชมป์ World Series หลังจากได้เป็นแชมป์ครั้งสุดท้ายเมื่อ 56 ปีมาแล้ว (Giants ชนะครั้งสุดท้ายเมื่อสมัยยังเป็น New York Giants เมื่อปี 1954 -- และยังไม่เคยชนะอีกเลยตั้งแต่ย้ายมาอยู่ซานฟรานซิสโกตั้งแต่ปี 1957 ดังนั้นบางแห่งจึงจะบอกว่า 56 ปี บางแห่ง 53 ปี ขึ้นอยู่กับว่านับยังไง)

ชัยชนะคืนนี้เป็นยิ่งกว่าเีพียงชัยชนะในเกมส์ แต่เป็นบทสรุปที่สวยงามของเรื่องราวแห่งการต่อสู้ของกลุ่มคนที่เป็นเบี้ยล่าง เป็นunderdogs และความมุ่งมั่นที่จะได้มาซึ่งชัยชนะของพวกเขา-- เรื่องราวที่เราคิดว่ามีได้แต่ในหนังฮอลลีวู้ดเท่านั้น นักกีฬาแต่ละคนไม่ได้เป็นดาวเด่น สถิติก็ไม่ได้ดีเด่ แต่ด้วยความเป็นน้ำหนึ่งใจเดียว ด้วยความแน่วแน่ จึงสามารถไปถึงดวงดาวได้

The victory of the Giants tonight is anything BUT a simple win in baseball history.  Instead, it's an inspirational story of trust, of fierce fight of the underdogs, and above all of redemption.

The Giants are called a team of misfits and outcasts and have not been a favorite team to win the series, but day in and day out they have proven the experts wrong and stepped up to the plate in a very big way.

Starting with the trust that team manager Bruce Bochi and General Manager Brian Sabean had in their team.

ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 01: Manager Bruce Bochy of the San Francisco Giants celebrates with Juan Uribe #5 after the Giants won 3-1 against the Texas Rangers in Game Five of the 2010 MLB World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on November 1, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)


Starting Pitcher: Tim Lincecum, the two-time NL Cy Young winner gave up three hits over eight innings and struck out 10... Even though he didn't get the MVP title but he sure was a winning factor tonight...  He struggled in game one against the Texas Rangers' ace pitcher Cliff Lee but was able to beat Lee again.

Pitcher Tim Lincecum #55 of the San Francisco Giants and teammates celebrate defeating the Texas Rangers 3-1 to win the 2010 MLB World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on November 1, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)



And here's a story of redemption -- Edgar Renteria, a 35-year-old Giants veteran who has had the worst season of his career and was injured almost half the season -- made a comeback and hit this historic game-wining 3-run home run.

Edgar Renteria #16 of the San Francisco Giants hits a game-winning3-run home run in the seventh inning against Cliff Lee #33 of the Texas Rangers in Game Five of the 2010 MLB World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on November 1, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)



Cody Ross #13 and Juan Uribe #5 of the San Francisco Giants celebrate after they scored on a 3-run home run hit by Edgar Renteria #16 in the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers in Game Five of the 2010 MLB World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on November 1, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images).


Besides these highlights, the victory could not have been achieved without other members' hard work as well:Buster Posey #28 hugs Aubrey Huff #17 of the San Francisco Giants celebrate their 3-1 victory to win the World Series over the Texas Rangers in Game Five of the 2010 MLB World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on November 1, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images).


 Freddy Sanchez #21 of the San Francisco Giants hits a single to right field against starting pitcher Cliff Lee #33 of the Texas Rangers in the sixth inning of Game Five of the 2010 MLB World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on November 1, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)


Also great defensive team:

(L-R) Pablo Sandoval #48, Freddy Sanchez #21, Cody Ross #13, Edgar Renteria #16 and Juan Uribe #5 of the San Francisco Giants celebrate after they won 3-1 against the Texas Rangers in Game Five of the 2010 MLB World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on November 1, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)


And the definitive last strikeout of Nelson Cruz by the "Beard" Brian Wilson...Brian Wilson #38 of the San Francisco Giants celebrates striking out Nelson Cruz #17 of the Texas Rangers to win the 2010 MLB World Series 3-1 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on November 1, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)


And of course, the battle is only as good as who your opponent is -- And in this case, the Texas Rangers -- with Cliff Lee, the ace pitcher and the batting team, arguably the best batting team this year -- and they also have done an amazing job ... It has been a great and inspiring journey following them.


Cliff Lee #33 of the Texas Rangers tosses over to first for the out after a sac bunt by Aubrey Huff of the San Francisco Giants in Game Five of the 2010 MLB World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on November 1, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)


Fireworks are lit off as Nelson Cruz #17 of the Texas Rangers rounds the bases on his solo home in the seventh inning against Tim Lincecum #55 of the San Francisco Giants in Game Five of the 2010 MLB World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on November 1, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images).

!!!CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GIANTS!!!

More details game by game HERE

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News coverage from Voice of America

The San Francisco Giants have won Major League Baseball's World Series for the first time since 1954, when the team was based in New York City.   The National League champion Giants beat the American League champion Texas Rangers in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series to clinch baseball's 2010 overall title, four-games-to-one.

The San Francisco Giants beat the Texas Rangers, 3-1 Monday in Arlington, Texas to win the World Series, ending one of the longest championship droughts in baseball history - 56 years.Giants manager Bruce Bochy said it is a great feeling to finally win a World Series title.  "I have been fortunate to be in this game [of baseball] and manage for quite awhile," he says, "and I have never been to this point.  It is what you dream about.''Texas was favored by many heading into the World Series. 

San Francisco first baseman Aubrey Huff said the Giants proved the critics wrong. "This staff, this bullpen [pitching staff] did not get the credit it deserved to start these playoffs," he said.  "We were underdogs the whole way, and all the experts out their picked us last.  Just goes to show what they know, man.  Heart, great pitching, defense, and timely hits - and that is what we did."Great pitching in a season dubbed, "The Year of the Pitcher," came from starter Tim Lincecum who struck out 10 batters and allowed only one run and three hits in eight innings before star reliever Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close it out.  

Lincecum said winning the World Series is indescribable."I do not really know how to pick what emotion to go with right now. It is like, what are we thinking about next year, the excitement and the things that can happen, talking about what we did this year, the right moves that we made.  We just did all the right things," Lincecum said.Lincecum beat opposing pitcher Cliff Lee in the final game. 

The Giants hurler also topped the Texas ace last Wednesday in the series opener.  Lee came into the World Series with seven wins and no losses during the playoffs.Game five's timely hitting came courtesy of the Series Most Valuable Player, Edgar Rentaria, whose three-run home run in the seventh inning was all the scoring San Francisco needed.Bochy said winning the World Series was a team effort, led by Rentaria. "I know how bad Edgar wanted it.  It was not too long ago, we had a little talk, and he said, 'I just want to go out and win another World Series.'  I could not be prouder for him.  It is pretty incredible what he is done in his career," he said.Rentaria also had the winning hit in the 1997 World Series when he played for the Florida Marlins.Nelson Cruz drove in the Rangers' only run on a solo homer off Lincecum in the bottom of the seventh inning. 

Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington says the Giants starting pitchers silenced his team's big bats.  "They drove our offense, and good pitching stopped hitting.  In this series, their pitching certainly stood up, and that - that was the difference right there," Washington said.The Texas Rangers were making their first World Series appearance in the 50-year history of the franchise. 

This is the sixth World Series title in Giants' history, and their first since the franchise moved west to San Francisco, California from New York in 1958.