Andrea Bocelli's Canto della Terra - Lyrics (Link: My post WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2011)

Canto della Terra - Lyrics Sì, lo so, amore che io e te Forse stiamo insieme Solo qualche istante Zitti, stiamo ad ascoltare Il cielo alla finestra Questo mondo che Si sveglia e la notte è Già così lontana Già lontana Guarda questa terra che Che gira insieme a noi Anche quando è buio Guarda questa terra che Che gira anche per noi A darci un po' di sole, sole, sole My love che sei l'amore mio Sento la tua voce e ascolto il mare Sembra davvero il tuo respiro L'amore che mi dai Questo amore che sta lì nascosto In mezzo alle sue onde A tutte le sue onde Come una barca che Guarda questa terra che Che gira inseme a noi Anche quando è buio Guarda questa terra che Che gira anche per noi A darci un po' di sole, sole Guarda questa terra che Che gira insieme a noi A darci un po' di sole Mighty sun Mighty sun Source: Musixmatch Songwriters: Quarantotto Lucio / Sartori Francesco Link to my Blog: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2011 Andrea Bocelli's Canto della Terra

Daughter forgives IRA operative responsible for Brighton bombing that killed her father

CBC The Current Nov 6 2009 abt 10 am








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http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2009/200911/20091106.html

Whole Show Blow-by-Blow
The Current for November 06, 2009
It's Friday, November 6th.
A senior member of Alberta Health Services has been fired after Calgary Flames players jumped the queue at an H1N1 flu vaccine clinic.
Currently, goaltenders for the Toronto Maple Leafs turned down the vaccine because they've already faced so many shots this season.
This is The Current.
Fort Hood - Reporter
It was the deadliest act of violence committed on a US military base in American history. Yesterday a barrage of gunfire left 13 people dead and wounded 28 more at the U.S. Military Base in Fort Hood, Texas.
The alleged shooter is an Army psychiatrist, who is reported to have been distressed about his impending deployment to Iraq. Major Nidal Malik Hasan is in hospital this morning. Two other soldiers were detained and later released.
For the latest on the situation, we were joined by Jennifer Westaway. She is CBC News Correspondent and she was in Fort Hood, Texas this morning.
Fort Hood - FBI
There are reports that federal law enforcement officials were aware of Nidal Malik Hasan and that he had come to their attention at least six months ago, because of alleged internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other alleged threats.
Officials had not opened a formal investigation. That news is likely to provoke criticism - that law enforcement officials should have done more to stop the suspect. But according to Steven Pomerantz, it's not quite that simple. He is a former Assistant Director and Chief of Counter-Terrorism with the FBI. He was in Fairfax, Virginia.
Fort Hood - Citizen Soldier
Yesterday's shooting at Fort Hood was not the first incident of an American soldier opening fire on his or her comrades. Last May, Sergeant John Russell walked into a military clinic in Baghdad and began shooting. When he was done, five American servicemen were dead, including Navy Commander Charles Keith Springle.
Robert Goodale was a friend of Commander Springle. He is also a director of the Citizen Soldier Support Program at the University of North Carolina. Robert Goodale was in Washington DC.
Listen to Part One:

IRA Bombing and Forgiveness


We started this segment with some tape of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher responding to the bombing 25 years ago at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England. The man who planted that bomb was an IRA operative named Patrick Magee. His intent was to kill British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. She survived. But the bomb killed five people and injured many others. Patrick Magee received 8 life sentences for the bombing. But he was released 10 years ago, under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
One of the people killed in the blast was British MP Anthony Berry. His daughter Jo Berry is now a peace advocate who has founded a charity called Building Bridges for Peace. She has spent many years trying to come to terms with her father's death. And among other things, that has meant seeking out and sitting down with Patrick Magee.
We asked Jo Berry and Patrick Magee to share a microphone in a tiny, cramped studio in Stoke-on-Trent, England and to share their thoughts about the Brighton Bombing, 25 years later.
Listen to Part Two:

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小小說: 道歉 / Short Short Story: Apology

話說一個成年的女人,想知道因殺她父親而被判入獄多年的兇犯究竟是一個怎麽樣的人,或許她是想知道在男人寂寞的暮年歲月中,他有沒有萌生道歉的意念。

她只記得在15歲時那一晚,母親悲哀地說:『妳父親死了!!』就是那麽簡單的一句,她就和生父陰陽相隔。在女孩子悠長的成長歲月,她不知道父親臨死前有沒有和劫匪摶鬥,或跪地向他求饒。她不知道在子彈鑽入他軀体內臓之前的一杀那,他又沒有想到他的妻子丶女兒和自己一生的前麈往事。她不知道在最後的數秒間,他瞳孔中有沒有看到人生最後一頁,那回顧是否充滿了所有喜樂的丶後悔的丶做了的丶未做的事情。

在她母親極力反对之下,她開始和殺父親的監犯通訊,什至在兇手出獄後约会和他会面。劫匪对受害者的女兒表示歉意,解釋当日她父親之死是大家的滯運氣 in the wrong place at the wrong time ,在混乱和惶恐中,他開鎗擊殺手無寸鐵的事主,奪去了一個十五歲女孩子的父親,对此事他多年來都是深感為憾,。

女人之後再沒有和那已上了年紀的男人通訊,她只想從生父最後見到的一個活人眼中,看到父親臨死前最後的一面。從兇手的解釋中,她找不到任何答案,她的生命仍是懸掛在空中,沒有一個完好的結局。或許拒絕和不接受他的道歉,是她為自己和父親報仇雪恨最後的一枝武器。

Revenge is best served cold.

公開道歉和私人道歉 / Public Apology and Private Apology

今天聽到加拿大國家廣播电臺一段叫【道歉】的小品文之後,不禁鈎起了我一絲一繞有關香港舊戀人的回憶。不過在未翻閱舖滿塵埃丶多年前往事一頁之前,請讓我轉述【道歉】其中的一個故事。

總是希望能
繼續

忘不了
失掉了父親。
aaaa
入的是一個


為什麽一個


被判入獄





真人真事的


其中一個

題目




了

令我想些
Apology


"Living Out Loud" CBC 2009-10-23 13h30 - 14h00 Robin Brown

Public and Personal Apology: How do you say "I am sorry!!"

Making amend making things right. Righting the wrong.


1998 Japanese internment camp
In May 1942 Japanese Canadians were given 48 hours to leave Cumberland (near Nanaimo) BC coast, surrender properties, sugar beet farm in Alberta. Now the community has re-built the graveyard to commemorate the once residents.

1914 Ukrainians were interned in camps and some were under house-internment.

Devils are in the details: Apolocy for Canada's Residential Schools, In 1998, Statement of Reconciliation was given by Jane Stewart (deeply sorry, profoundly regret)

Ontario Christian Brothers Schools: Sex abuse, raped, beatens, etc
Christian Brothers "apologized": ".... to anyone who may have been abused ...." victims were not even invited. In 1992, one brother was convicted. " ... extended our deepest regret ..." but victims were not invited. In June 1992, negotiations were held btwn the parties. Moral and principle more important than $

In 1996, Ontario govt and Catholic Churches (Ottawa Notre Dame) tried to apology ... "I don't want your apology, I want them from the two dogs (brothers) to apologize!!"

But in St Michael Church in Toronto, the Arch Bishop did not show up.

Ontario Attorney General, and not the Premier, apologized.

Some victims felt as if a weight had been lifted off. But abt 15 past Reformed School students had already committed suicide.

Email: livingoutloud@cbc.ca

新年快樂 Happy New Year 2022

20220108 自從在2011年由Blogger「移文」到Facebook之後,我和很多博友失去了聯絡,至今不覺又有11年多!!! 時光易轉,生命留痕,我希望你們都好。 我現仍家居楓葉國,有瓦遮頭,一日三餐,雖是清茶淡飯,但多逢祖先神靈保佑,生活總算是穩定安康,沒受流行疫症影響。今日趁機在此祝各位新年快樂,有緣者請勿忘留言數句,以慰昔日友情。 微豆 Haricot (Facebook 筆名： Yasso Leung)

20180228 TO MY MOTHER RIP 一路順風

Over the years, I have written a lot abt my Mom. She has finally moved on to join her mother, her husband and all those who are in the great beyond. RIP Mom 一路順風

I would like to dedicate to her this Chinese poem that I learnt when I was in primary school:

白居易: 花非花，霧非霧，夜半來，天明去，來如春夢無多時，去似朝雲無覓處。

My explanation in English:

In the morning fog
We cannot discern
Where flowers begin
And where mist ends

Life, like a spring dream
Arrived silently here at night
And gone traceless by morning

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And the song goes like this:

黃自作曲: 范宇文演唱花非花





Related link:  http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.ca/2008/04/in-memory-of-haricot-senior.html

20171118 DRAGON BOATING (Set #2)

More photos of year-end party

20171118 DRAGON BOATING (Set #1)

Some photos I took at the year-end party.

20160422 MAY YOU ALWAYS

TO ALL MY RUNNING FRIENDS

May you always have

Wind on your back,

Wings on your feet !!!

20151128 EU FILM FESTIVAL: "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch"

"A Pigeon Sat on a Branch" by Roy Andersson, Sweden 2014.

Existentialism is not an easy subject to digest. I would put "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch" in the same category as Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Goddard". I am not too crazy abt it because my rational mind keeps on looking for a storyline when there is none.

Au contraire, I love Brad Pitt's "The Tree of Life" as well as Harrison Ford's "Blade Runner" (loosely based on the book "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?") because I can relate to the characters and follow the storylines of both movies.

But that's not to say I am not charmed by the Swedish film's segmented presentations and the faint veins that link them together.

Notwithstanding my preference for "realism" (whatever that means in the context of existentialism), there are still some scenes that resonate with me and I can't help but laugh at the absurdities of our everyday routine life.

For example: The bus-stop scene in which a guy said: "You gotta know today is Wednesday; because Wednesday follows Tuesday, and Thursday follows Wednesday, etc. Without that order, everything is chaos."

Perhaps that is my problem. I haven't been wearing a watch for over six months now.

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References:

1. Wikipedia:
" ..... A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Swedish: En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron) is a 2014 Swedish comedy-drama film directed by Roy Andersson. It is the third part in his "living"-trilogy, following Songs from the Second Floor and You, the Living.
It premiered at the 71st Venice International Film Festival where it was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Film. It was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards. ....."

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Pigeon_Sat_on_a_Branch_Reflecting_on_Existence

2. YouTube trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGwGyo5Ywpo

20151126: AMERICAN THANKSGIVING - "JAMESTOWN - SECRETS OF THE DEAD"

(Photo and text from PBS)

As they set sail from London to the distant shores of America in December 1606, the men and boys onboard the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery surely expected the best from their adventure. They’d establish a British settlement, find gold and silver, a passage to the Orient, and, perhaps, the lost colony of Roanoke. The explorers, funded by a group of London entrepreneurs called the Virginia Company, could not have anticipated the fate that actually awaited most of them: drought, hunger, illness, and death.

Their journey started off as badly as it ended. The three ships were stranded for weeks off the British coast, and food supplies dwindled. Over the course of the voyage, dozens died. But 104 colonists — many gentlemen of privilege, but also artisans, craftsmen, and laborers — survived to reach the shores of Virginia. On May 13, 1607, they decided to make landfall on the swampy ground of what was then a peninsula (and now an island) along the James River, some 60 miles from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Within a month the settlers had constructed a triangle-shaped wooden fort, for protection against the Spanish, who did not want the British to establish any kind of foothold in the New World.

The settlers of the new colony — named Jamestown — were immediately besieged by attacks from Algonquian natives, rampant disease, and internal political strife. In their first winter, more than half of the colonists perished from famine and illness. Eventually, more colonists and new supplies were brought from Britain, and, despite a fire that wiped out the original fort, the settlement found some stability under the leadership of Captain John Smith. Smith, with the help of Pocohontas, daughter of the Algonquian chief Powhatan, managed to broker an uneasy peace with the natives before leaving the colony and returning to England in September 1609.

The following winter, disaster once again struck Jamestown. Only 60 of 500 colonists survived the period, now known as “the starving time.” Historians have never determined exactly why so many perished, although disease, famine (spurred by the worst drought in 800 years, as climate records indicate), and Indian attacks took their toll. On June 7, 1610, Jamestown’s residents abandoned the hapless town, but the next day their ships were met by a convoy led by the new governor of Virginia, Thomas West, Lord De La Ware, who ordered the settlers back to the colony.

In 1612, John Rolfe — who would later marry Pocohontas — began to grow tobacco, finally giving the colony a cash crop and hope for survival. The first representative government in the New World was convened in Jamestown in July 1619, the same year that African slaves — then indentured servants — were first brought to America. Jamestown was the capital of Virginia until 1698, when its statehouse burned down. The following year, the capital moved to Williamsburg, and Jamestown began its slow decay ....

Source:
* Text from PBS: http://www.pbs.org/…/secre…/death-jamestown-background/1428/
* Video: WPBS TV program: www.PBS.org The American Experience series)

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20151126: AMERICAN THANKSGIVING - "THE PILGRIMS"

"THE PILGRIMS"
(My interpretation of the story aired on WPBS Watertown, New York on 2015-11-24)

Btwn 1630-1651, William Bradford led the pilgrims at Plymouth in an attempt to build a spiritual community in New England where they would live in peace and flourish. But when the Mayflower sailed away, they were left on their own.

Facing the harsh weather, raiding pirates, Indian attacks, dwindling food, fatal diseases, and other misfortunes, many perished and the remaining population barely survived. But a strategic alliance with some of the natives enable them to learn new skills and knowledge to live off the land and fight off hostile tribes.

Unfortunately with the arrival of new colonists at Plymouth and the establishment of new colonies along the eastern seaboard, starvation, conflicts and raids eventually took a strong toll on the relationship btwn the white men and the natives. By the time the Indians tried to eradicate the colonists off their ancestral land, it was already too late. The colonization of North America was unstoppable.

Williams Bradford's dream of a spiritual community and peaceful co-existence with their Indian neighbours did not materialize in his life time. Ironically, it was the survival news of the Plymouth pilgrims that opened the food-gate to the New World.

So without present day political bias, let's take a minute to absorb the story of the pilgrims and reflect on the meaning of Thanksgiving on Nov 26, 2015.

Attachment: A page from William Bradford's hand-written journal that had been lost for over 100 years, then was found in London, and eventually returned back to Boston.

Source:
*   WPBS TV program / The American Experience series:   http://video.pbs.org/video/2365609956/

Photo Credit:
* Wiipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Plymouth_Plantation

20151126: CHARITABLE DONATIONS ON THE PHONE

Someone representing the Canadian Police Association (CPA) called and asked whether I would like to support their anti-bullying campaign.

The CPA caller was polite and not pushy, but I couldn't take the chance. "Sorry I don't accept phone solicitation." I said. He thanked me and hung up.

Back in June, the Ottawa Police put out a scam alert but then had to quickly withdraw it because the Police Association of Ontario (PAO) was actually campaigning. False alarm and communications, they said.

But with so many scammers out there, the best is to quickly disengage and to make direct donations to the charities of your choice under your own terms and conditions.

Related links:

*   CBC, June 9, 2015 article:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ontario-police-association-fundraising-mistaken-for-phone-scam-1.3106595

*   The Telegram, Feb 5, 2014 article:   http://www.thetelegram.com/section/2014-02-05/article-3604661/Legit-campaign-resembles-anti-bullying-scam/1

EPIC CATCH!!! Dashing Thru the Snow - CN Train 406 West at Salisbury, NB...

20150206: This is a video taken by a railfan at a crossing west of Salisbury, New Brunswick. With all the snow storms hitting Eastern Canada in the last week or so, the railroad track is covered with several metres of snow. But that didn't seem to bother a fully loaded freight train which just ploughed right through the crossing.

香港老家: 從阿巴甸街,灣仔大彿口,到北角新邨 / Growing up in Hong Kong: Aberdeen Street,Wan Chai, North Point Estate

前數天,在網上找到了一個懷舊香港北角新邨的團體,我看到「村友」貼上的照片,腦海不禁充滿了童年時代的回憶.

(一) 阿巴甸街

(The following article was first posted on Dec 8, 2008)


母親說她和父親結了婚之後,由九龍油麻地搬往鴨巴甸街住,当年父親入息不高,与年輕的配偶,兩口子租了一間狹窄的板間房,母親「佗」 着我的時候,在鴨巴甸街上斜落斜,什為辛苦吃力,但可幸我的袓父母住在附近的荷李活道,所以有緊急事也可以大家互相照应。

我記得年幼時阿嫲常帶我往文武廟処玩,又去上環街市買餸,回到祖父母処就和「中間房」木匠的兒子阿榮玩拍「公仔紙」, 但是我們孩子是不准去「尾房」玩,因為那对夫婦住客是吞雲吐霧的(鴉片?)「煙精」。

我記得在騎楼望開对面是「飛髪舖」,顧客有兩個選擇,「陸軍裝」或「花旗裝」。楼下是賣柴丶炭丶雜物的舖頭,常常擠滿了買餸的家庭主婦,她們与老板伙記討價還價,或像「開墟」的說一堆不着边際的話兒,或大家閒話家常,和在街上的行人丶小販丶街坊丶小童鬧哄哄的噪声混在一起。

鴨巴甸街是我的出生地點,荷李活道是我的玩耍地方,現在看見這些相片,帶來了很多童年的回憶,令我在那天真無邪的歲月中流連忘返。

攝影图片 Photo Credit: Wikipedia

* 香港鴨巴甸街是一條很鈄的路 Aberdeen Street on Hong Kong Island is fairly steep
* 鴨巴甸街和皇后大道中交界 Intersection of Aberdeen Street and Queen's Road
* 荷李活道的文武廟 The ManMo Temple on Hollywood Road, Hong Kong

References:

1. Aberdeen Street 鴨巴甸街:
"... 鴨巴甸街於1840年代規劃，作為華人與洋人的聚居界線。華人需要居住於街道以西的太平山街地區，即上環和西營盤一帶，街道以東則發展成為維多利亞城的市中心。這條道路與香港仔一樣，都是以當時的英國外交大臣鴨巴甸勳爵命名。..."
(References: Aberdeen Street      鴨巴甸街 )

2. The ManMo Temple on Hollywood Road, Hong Kong 荷李活道的文武廟:
"... Man Mo Temple or Man Mo Miu (traditional Chinese: 文武廟) is a temple in Hong Kong, China, that reveres the God of Literature, Man Tai (文帝), Man Cheong （文昌）and the God of War, and Mo Tai (武帝) or Kuan Ti, Kwan Yu（關羽). It was built in 1847 after two gods, Man the god of literature and Mo the god of war..." "... 東華三院文武廟位於香港上環荷李活道，是香港開埠早期的中式廟宇及於開埠早期於港英政府批准下可以用中國方法進行「斬雞頭，燒黃紙」的宣誓及裁決華人之間的糾紛。文武廟亦為香港一級歷史建築。..."
(References: Man Mo Temple (Hong Kong)   東華三院文武廟

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(二) 灣仔大彿口

阿媽「佗」我的時候,父親入息不高,只能在阿巴甸街租了間尾房為家. 我出世之後,父母担心隔鄰樓下山寨廠的工業染污惡毒環境,就決定搬遷,在灣仔大彿口租了個「板間房」. 那時母親恐怕我会迷途,所以要我牢記地址,至今我仍可以閉眼唸出﹕「我蕩失咗路,唔該您帶找返屋企啦,我係住响皇后大道東＋一号三樓」.

以前香港唐樓很寬濶,所以業主会築建頭房、中間房 、和尾房收租. 我們住在約12X12呎的板間房,除了煑食在業主廚房外,如廁、洗身、玩耍等都是在四壁之內. 我開學前一年,弟弟出世,一家四口一張牀,地方見少,業主婆又討厭「細路仔」喴嘩鬼叫,由此與母親生口角打架,兩老公常要護妻談判講數！

...... 待續 to be continued.

2014年夏天: 「秋老虎」和「黑苺冬天」 / Summer 2014: Blackberry Winter & Indian Summer

Photo Credit: Via Krystyn Chong's Google+ Account

七月天氣炎熱, 冷氣机數星期24/7未有休息, 這和早陣子的寒冬, 真是大有分別 !!

週末我將会跑半馬拉松距離的障礙賽, 希望天氣会冷卻一些, 讓運動員跑也跑得舒服一點.

>>>>>>> UPDATED 20140724 <<<<<<<

My blogger friend Inner Space has raised a very interesting point in his posted comments: Is Eskimo Winter the opposite/equivalent of Indian Summer? According to Wikipedia, the answer is: Blackberry Winter (see below).

References/Related links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_summer

".... An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather, occurring after the end of summer proper. The US National Weather Service defines this as weather conditions that are sunny and clear with temperatures above 21 °C (70 °F), following a sharp frost (the "Squaw Winter"). It is normally associated with late-September to mid-November. There are multiple explanations for the name. The North American Indians—native Americans—depended upon periods of fine, quiet, sunny weather at this time of the year to complete their harvest to see them through the winter... In China, this period is called qiū lǎohǔ (秋老虎), which literally means "autumn tiger". In Chinese, it signifies the revival of often fierce, summer-like heat that persists well past the Beginning of Autumn (the 13th seasonal division point according to the Chinese calendar, usually falling on August 7 or 8). This hot weather may persist until well into October or November in the southern regions...."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackberry_winter

".... Blackberry winter is a colloquial expression used in south & midwest North America, referring to a cold snap that often occurs in late spring when the blackberries are in bloom. Other colloquial names for spring cold snaps include "Dogwood winter," “Whippoorwill winter,” "Locust winter," and “Redbud winter.” The different names are based on what is blooming in particular regions during the typical spring cold snaps. Another colloquialism for these spring cold snaps is "Linsey-Woolsey Britches winter," referring to a type of winter long underwear which could be put away after the last cold snap. The Blackberry winter term may have arisen to describe the belief that a spring cold snap helps the blackberry canes to start growing...."

Speaking from a Canadian perspective:  I hope the Canadian company BlackBerry will find it comforting to know that growth will follow after a cold spell !!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angry_Summer

As a side-note, the Aussies use the term "Angry Summer" to describe the hot waves that hit the continent last "summer" (note: the summer down-under is winter for Canadians).  

".... The Australian summer of 2012–2013, known as the Angry Summer or Extreme Summer, resulted in 123 weather records being broken over a 90-day period, including the hottest day ever recorded for Australia as a whole, the hottest January on record, the hottest summer average on record, and a record seven days in a row when the whole continent averaged above 39 °C. ....The hottest temperature recorded during the course of the heatwave was 49.6 °C (121.3 °F) at Moomba in South Australia...."

烤羊鞭 / Roasted Sheep Penis

外籍友人「捱得順」在大陸某食店點菜, 看到了歺牌上的烤羊鞭, 大吃一驚, 眏了張照片留念. 不同的文化習俗, 當然引起了不同的反應.

Don't read this aloud at the supper table unless you are with Chinese relatives, in which case, the challenge is to restrict the conversation to sheep penis

Btw, the Chinese euphemism for animal penis is '鞭' that means 'whip'. Go figure!!

On a serious note, the traditional but outdated practice of eating endangered species, or parts thereof, must be banned. Tigers are going extinct when they cannot reproduce !!!!!

Photo Credit: Friend D. Anderson

多雲和涼爽的一天: 密其湖 白蘭芝海灘 / A Cloudy and Cool Day at Blanchet Beach, Meech Lake

Photo credit: Lotusandcedar 20140717

 

After my run around the 8K Wolf Trail loop (狼徑), I went down to Blanchet Beach (白蘭芝海灘) and took this photo of Meech Lake (密其湖). 

With 14 geese calling Blanchet home, the place was not exactly clean and I didn't bother to go swimming.

葡萄美酒, 職業生涯 / Career Growth & Good Wine

20140718: I just came back from a going-away party for a friend who is off to Asia for an assignment. Here are my thoughts .....  A career is just like good wine, it takes time to grow, but oh, do we ever like the fruit of our efforts !!!

職業生涯, 

就像這瓶酒好酒, 

需要時間來成長 。

最終,  我們將會享受

努力的成果。

圖: 安大略省 葡萄酒商質量聯盟         字: 微豆

Related link:  

*   酒商質量聯盟，是一個監管和稱謂系統，保證了對加拿大的葡萄酒高品質的原產地和真實性。

"A FILM ABOUT COFFEE" / 一部關於咖啡的電影

20140717: I am a coffee drinker. So I went to The Mayfair Theatre and watched the movie "A FILM ABOUT COFFEE" presented by Bridgehead Coffee. Now I understand the difference btwn "Fair Trade" and "Direct Buy".

Source: http://afilmaboutcoffee.com/

"CANADIAN PREMIERE - A Film About Coffee is a love letter to, and meditation on, specialty coffee. It examines what it takes, and what it means, for coffee to be defined as “specialty.” The film whisks audiences on a trip around the world, from farms in Honduras and Rwanda to coffee shops in Tokyo, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and New York. Through the eyes and experiences of farmers and baristas, the film offers a unique overview of all the elements—the processes, preferences and preparations; traditions old and new—that come together to create the best cups. This is a film that bridges gaps both intellectual and geographical, evoking flavor and pleasure, and providing both as well..."

Related links: 

*   Rwanda's coffee:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraba_coffee.

*   Fair Trade (or not?):  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade

母語(第一語言)減退 / Mother Tongue (First Language Attrition)

20140716: 有關母語減退的個人感受

Although I currently think and dream in English, I have never completely lost my mother tongue (which is Cantonese). Yes, there are times when I have to use Google Translate to re-learn a Chinese character, but overall, I am still proficient enough to communicate with my Chinese relatives and bloggers in HK. The big question is: Should I fall prey to Alzheimer like my Mom, which language will go first? Will I start yakking to my family in Cantonese (which is what my Mom is doing to everyone at her senior home), or will I retain my current operating language?

Related links:

(1)   Language Attrition 母語減退: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_attrition

(2)   Mother Tongue (First Language) 母語(第一語言): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_tongue

".... 母語，或第一語言，有三種解釋。一者為：一個人出生以後，最早接觸、學習、並掌握的一種或幾種語言。母語一般是自幼即開始接觸、並持續運用到青少年或之後；並且，一個人所受的家庭或正式教育中，尤其是早期，有相當部分是通過母語傳授的；母語另一個解釋則是一個人的民族語，並不一定是一個人最早接觸、學習、並掌握的「語言」，例如「母島」、「母國」等，僅僅表示「根源」的意思，母語不僅僅表示為母親對某個人說的語言，而是他認定的民族語。為了避免對多母語者的母語定義產生歧義，產生出的第三種解釋為不借用其他語言進行（如翻譯等方式）學習而學會的語言。（如嬰幼兒看圖片學習名詞及為母語學習）...."

1951年，聯合國教科文組織在巴黎召開了一個有關母語的會議，並對母語作出了如下定義：「母語是指一個人自幼習得的語言，通常是其思維與交流的自然工具。」

(3)  母語(第一語言)減退 20個例子 / 20 BBC readers who lost fluency in their language:
BBC News Magazine 13 July 2014:

Share this page

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Continue reading the main story

In today's Magazine

• The virus detective who discovered Ebola
• The street photos of a 1950s nanny
• The godfather of internet jihad?
• The young 'barefooters' making bowls cool

".... For many of us, the thought of ever forgetting how to speak our native language would seem preposterous. But for some readers, it became a reality.

During a five-year captivity in Afghanistan, US soldier Bowe Bergdahl apparently lost some of his language capabilities. This prompted the Magazine to ask under what circumstances a person could lose their native or first language. In response, readers wrote in to tell their own stories of language loss or confusion. Here's a selection. ...."  

Click here to read more:  http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28022790

Élection générale québécoise 7 avril 2014 / Quebec General Election April 7, 2014 / 魁北克大選2014年4月7日

Majority Liberal is a certainty in the Quebec provincial election. Who would have predicted !!

Some comments from the peanut gallery:

* According to CBC Evan Solomon's Power and Politics discussion, Prime Minister Harper was never warm to ex-Premier Jean Charest. Will our PM and Premier Couillard use this opportunity to re-build the fed-prov relation?

* It is interesting to note that Mr. Lucien Bouchard and Mr. Jean Charest were federal Ministers of the Environment, and Thomas Mulcair was Quebec Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks under Charest. Maybe PM Harper should pay more attention to Quebec politicians with environment as part of their political portfolio, just saying.

* It's too bad Fatima Houda-Pepin was on the Parti Québécois' side of the Charter of Values debate. She has potential and I hope Couillard will find ways to make use of her talents.

* Pierre-Karl Péladeau thanked Couillard as if he were the opposition party leader. Yes, the PQ is not known to be kind to party leaders who lost, but so soon already Mr. PKP?

* Is the "concrete lady" Pauline Marois (who served at age 32 as Minister for the Status of Women under René Lévesque) the last of her generation in the Mouvement souverainiste du Québec? Is there going to be a changing of the guards and of generational vision on Québécois nationalism?

* I look forward to seeing a renewed fed-prov-terr relations and knowing how the Canadian House of Commons will re-address the 2006 motion recognizing that "Québécois form a nation within a united Canada / La Chambre reconnaît la nation québécoise".

Related link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_general_election,_2014

Photo credit: Wikipedia (photo above) / Env Canada (photo below)
I choose the Biosphere photo to reflect on the "nation within a nation" motion passed by the House of Commons. — at Biosphère.