Giddy-Up: 3D Movies

More than a year ago, I went to watch my first 3D movie in the cinema, Avatar and that was literally - eye strained plus vomit-inducing.

The associated giddiness was quite enough to forbid me from choosing anything 3D for the next year or so.   Then came a company event to watch Transformers III.   Very well.  Perhaps it was time to give it another go, given the fact that I might be in for a few unpleasant surprises.  



"When we watch something in 3D, our eyeballs rotate inwards, with accommodation as the goal. But if that happened, we would be left focusing on a spot in front of the screen, rather than focusing on the screen itself.

This confuses the brain because the eyes have converged without accommodation. Instead, the eyes oscillate between their natural inclination and the artificial state demanded by the film."


Are you with me?  Or is this explanation from Goggle a bit confusing?  See how giddy this whole thing can be even without the 3D effects!!

Avatar - vomit inducing.  
Transfomers III  -  I didn’t find it in any way - more relaxing, though giddiness was bearable. 

I shall give it a follow-up review in a year's time to see if there could be any degree of pleasure derived.  I better get used to this before they turn all movies into 3D.   I heard they are showing Wimbledon's Finals on the big screen in 3D!  Interesting, but - No thank you.

My Best Travel Secret

I can't tell you how trips can be spoiled by taking everything, including yourself, too seriously.


"I'm on vacation. I'm on vacation!"


I wish I could say that now, but no, I WAS on vacation.

I learned to slow down, took a deep breath, found a café and sat down. Purchased something to drink.  And I looked around.  Viewing the world as it walked by and that I tell you - is my best travel secret.   


What did I see?  I am more excited to see what you would see.

Really... Honestly...

You choose your reality.  You see a bad world, it becomes a bad world.
You see a good world, it becomes a wonderful world.   Life is that simple.

Make this your best travel secret in your next trip. 

And start planning for it now!  I mean, why not?

Remember Those Days With 35mm Film Photography?

As of writing this line, it has been exactly 10 years since I last used any rolls of 35mm films. 
Remember how we used to bring tonnes of them when we went travelling.  You would have the assorted ISO 100 or 200 for normal shooting and also chucked in a couple of ISO 400 just to play safe.  We either had 24 or 36 shots in a roll and remember that lucky feeling if we were able to steal 1 or 2 extra at the very end?



Having them developed was a big event too, so as arranging them in some chronological order.  While reluctantly placing them in what I thought were the world's most tacky photo albums, mother never agree it was a problem because the albums were thrown in for free!   It could easily mean weeks before we got to view all the photos taken after a holiday but it was a sheer joy even with such lengthy anticipation.   


Too bad those borned after the 90s won't understand what this is all about because in this generation, anyone would demand to view anything taken right away, any object could have been taken from 10 different angles in a 10-shots-per-second interval.   If the LCD didn't give the desired result, one can DEL ALL and do it all over again!

With the digital photography having the majority of the marketshare, film photographers have become some sort of exotic beasts in the world of photography.  Nonetheless, I am sure you'd agree - how ever much technology has advanced, some things can never be replaced.  I am not saying either is superior.  It's like exchanging a laser-sharp sniper's rifer for a 2000-round-a-minute deadly assault weapon.


Film photography would be one of them because in my opinion, film captures more than just brilliant colours.  It is able to give a dimension that DSLR cannot - the associated temperature, the warmth, the humanity.  

My Go-Retro Tee!  From Paul Smith 

The Wait at A&E

The stupidity of some people in terms of abusing the hard-pressed resources of our Accident and Emergency (AnE) services really never ceases to amaze.

People seeking to use AnE because they believe they will get treatment or tests carried out more quickly than through an outpatient appointment are so commonly seen, it's beyond joke!


I had to rush my uncle to AnE the other day from his home because he suffered severe acute abdominal pain.  The fact that he wasn't found bleeding nonstop, caught out of breath or appeared anywhere near the life-threatening sort of state, got allocated a ticket that stated "Cat. 4 Semi-Urgent". 

Holding that ticket, I could only hope Cat. 4 had a higher urgency than Cat. 3.  But then how do you define semi-urgent anyway?  I mean, can they even find a non-urgent case in there at all, as if a patient arrives by an ambulance in an AnE unit because he needs the toilet and doesn’t know where the nearest one is? 

As I looked across the room, my answer revealed on the board - with augmented information too - the estimated waiting time for Cat. 4 was at the time...

180 minutes! 

That was fast compared to a whopper 225 for those poor Cat. 5 semi-urgent souls!


Moral of the story - take care yourself and if one is still conscious and totally mobile - please just forget about getting treated at the nearest AnE, you will be wasting your time.

I must add though, their estimating ability was fairly accurate - 180 minutes of waiting time - spot on!

Not So Solo Friendly

Dying to go somewhere exciting this summer, but everyone I wanted to travel with either wasn’t available or didn’t have the budget.

Toyed with the idea to London as it is relatively simple to arrange but schedule of my local friends didn't work out.  That's fine.  Next comes Russia...seems very appealing..darn...have to pay single supplement and I tell ya, that is when things can become less interesting. 

While the whole retail world has made strides to cater for singles like us - such as individual meals, dinner for one, the holiday makers are still penalising us for going solo. The number of solo travellers is definitely on the rise but hey, why aren't we getting any breaks on price? 

I can see how a business could feel that it’s losing half of its revenue if only one person is taking up the space, but it puts solo travelers in a bind too isn't it?

I am sure single supplements have been quite enough to prevent many from booking their travel and I am not alone in that sense.  I really think solo travel is an untapped market being under-estimated entirely.  Let's hope the industry get it right soon! 

But before they do, anyone fancy going to Russia and pay twin-share price with me?

Swimming With Diapers?

Summer is here and while all my mother friends are frantically stocking up "Little Swimmers" for their little ones, I have a big question mark in my head.  

Not to be gross or anything.  I just want to know - how do swim diapers work? 

DO they work at all?   I mean they should because they are charging a premium on that wicked nappy innovation but doesn't the urine (or poop) leak out into the pool, or the pool water get soaked up in the diaper?

The very curious alampy scratching her head. 

Unusual Finds

Paid a visit earlier to the supermarket with the aim of trying to find an interesting beverage to bring to a friend's party.  Look what I've found.

1) Pineapple Beer

2) Wine in a carton

Anyone ever tried the pineapple beer?  However cute and sweet it might sound, I have absolutely no faith how that concoction of the fruit juice + some shandy (I guess) can bring to a party so I checked out with the latter item. 

It was my first foray into the exciting world of - carton-ed wine - and for the very mundane me, this was actually quite a daring move.  The aim was to find something interesting right?  There we go.

The Pinot Grigio turned out rather fine to our surprise.  It smelled like wine, tasted like one and to be honest, the nose matched exactly with the description on the carton which says “has rich aromas of tropical fruit and citrus which perfectly complement its light, crisp flavours of pears and peaches."

Bravo.


With the 100%-recyclable carton, unbleached and printed with soy-based inks, we all felt a bit environmentally friendly after the party as well.  Bravo some more!

Next time you need to carry a decent drink with you that is portable and shatterproof - this could be it.

An Official Pidgin: Singlish

When you had 10 days in a city that you've been for more than 10 times, the repeated visit should in some degree, let you explore more than what an average tourist can.

I was really grateful I was able to do just that in my recent visit to Singapore.  Apart from the newly created touristy attractions, I have paid special attention to one of their national delights this time - Singlish.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this creole, it is indeed a glorious linguistic stew that is spoken in varying degrees over the island.  


A fascinated mash-up of English, Malay, various Chinese dialects such as Hokkien and Cantonese.  And they have particular grammar and sentence structures, forming their very own official language with its unique accent, vocabulary and idioms.



While the majority of the local population merely peppers their English with Singlish words and phrases (a practice I can find slightly confusing at times), I came across some Singaporeans speak the full-blown version that is completely incomprehensible to foreigners like me.  Then when you switch on the national TV news or tune into any radio stations though, you hardly hear any Singlish spoken - as if its a forbidden tongue!   Spending a few minutes in any kopitiam (kopi = coffee, tiam = shop) however, immediately brings one back to the city and her compatriots!

Love this city more each time I visit.  This time has got to be the love of its multi-lingual dexterity that I am exposed to.  Special thanks to a local friend who took me around, allowing me to experience a certain humour and nuance reflecting the Singaporean psyche - that no Standard English can quite describe. 

Took A Break In Blogging (5-21 June)

I know it's been quite a while since I posted anything and this has to be the longest break I took since I started Project 340 in January 2010.  I honestly didn't anticipate I will be absent for that long, what can I say but - time flies!

Sure, I have been busy.  Busy working (on my golf swings) and busy spending vacation time with family and friends.  No excuse of course. It doesn’t take that much time to write a blog post and it never did.  Am I running out of ideas?  Not really either.  I have met some really interesting people and also been through some dodgy moments during this down time too. I thought about sharing with you readers all the time while I was away, I’m just not writing any of my thoughts down that's all. 

I guess when you stop blogging for a week, you thought adding a few more days to that won't matter and then all of a sudden it became more than two weeks of catching up to do and that appeared to be a real chore. 

I have just made up my mind to take it up from here and won't force myself to craft stuff that I know it won't be any fun for you to read. 

Thanks for not abandoning alampy's space.  I am glad to have taken the much needed time away to sort out my maintenance and I am all good and ready to go again.

Let me share a funny self portrait I took of myself which I don't remember taking, how's that for a bonus?

Quite Fearless

I used to love roller coaster rides.  It was about facing something scary and surviving it.  It was like - a package deal  - without the “scary" bit, you won’t get the “thrills”.   Cool.

As I grew older, knowing life is already full of thrills itself, I no longer need that added adrenaline jump so I wouldn't bother riding on any. Whenever I face fear in real life though, lots of people would give me sound advice on getting past fear, suggesting if I can break free of the shackles of fear, I will be alright.  

All well and good.  I learned the importance of mastering fear in order to get things done.  

And life moves on.  Fear just keeps knocking on your door to haunt you every now and then.  Sometimes you can get so out of hand that you might even think of giving up. 


One day, I woke up and discovered I do want fear to be with me because, for crying out loud - fear let me know I am alive and breathing!  So I have just decided to face fear with some gratitude.

Hangover Sucks Big Time

Caught the box office big hit: Hangover Part 2 for a good laugh.  

Bits of the movie did ring some bells, definitely familiar, never that drastic on me - thank lord, but certainly been there done that without the dramas of flying a car, nor did I wake up with a freaking tattoo on my face or found my palm missing a finger!

One of the benefits in getting older is we have had time to learn from our experiences.  At thirty something, I have to accept the fact that my ability to drink is in direct proportion to my age. The older I get, the less fortitude I have in coping with the consequences of an all-nighter and the longer my healing process takes.

I was reminded of this in excruciating fashion not too long ago where I needed some hilarious photos and friend's narration to fill me in.  I just have to keep reminding myself to drink moderately and that there won't be a next.  When you really think about it, the act of drinking alcohol is actually completely absurd.  And we say that every time we have hangovers, don't we?

I mean what sane person would spend outrageous amount of money to put a poison in their body knowing that they will feel absolutely crap after doing so? 

We must be morons - if we can't get ourselves out of that frivolity.

The Alumni Choir

Didn't know much about history,
Didn't know much biology.
Didn't know much about science book,
Certainly nothing much about the French I took.

But I was a member of the choir in school,
Pre-selected and quite proud to be true.
Enjoyed the practices simply because,
my friends were in for it too.

Now that I've become an alumni,
can't sound much older can I?
No one forced me to be in the choir this time,
I volunteered just to look for that awesome feeling inside.

It was great to be back at the Chapel,
reminisced how I used to hate reading the Bible.
Then we revisited the good old gospels,
for a long time, nothing has felt so right in principle.

I am already looking forward to the next practice,
getting all ready and excited.
Sharing passion, love and joy,
never too late if you are interested to join.   



 

Say When

I am against the invasion of the almost obligatory pepper-mill in meals.  It bothers me when the wait staff asks me if I want fresh pepper BEFORE I have even tasted the food.  Am I suppose to know if it needs pepper at that point?  

I mean if the food is properly seasoned to begin with, we wouldn't need it, right?  Must everything except dessert be covered with an extra bit of fresh pepper offered in a reverential ceremony with a 19-inch-long baseball bat/pepper grinder?   Salads are generally the exception.

Calm down.  Manners, please.

Alright then.  If it's manners you are after.  I give you manners. 



Wait staff should always approach you on your left, he should wear a smile and politely ask if you would like some pepper on your food.  


If you respond with a "Yes please", he/she should reply you with "Say when" while gracefully offering you the freshly grounded pepper.   When you feel you have had a satisfactory amount sprinkled on your food, you don't say "Okay", you don't say "Stop".  


You should say "When".

A Slight Deviation of The Standard Script

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain's speaking.  On behalf of everyone in the crew, I'd like to once again welcome you on board this flight bound for Hong Kong. The local time in Hong Kong is 7 hours ahead and we should be able to touch down at 15:23 local time, depending on the headwind - and assuming I decide to go there. 

We've just hit our cruising altitude of 11,000 feet. I've switched off the fasten seat-belt sign, which means you are now free to move about the cabin. However, for your own safety, please have it fastened while seated, in case we encounter any unexpected turbulence or I decided to jerk the joystick back and forth.  It can get terribly bored up in the cockpit, if you don't know.  

Please do note the "no smoking" sign will forever remain on throughout the flight, in compliance with FAA regulations. You may not smoke in the lavatories and federal law prohibits tampering with the smoke detector too.  Feel free to eat loudly, though. That isn't a federal crime. Not yet!  

But please also note FAA regulations require passengers to follow the instructions of the flight crew at all times. So if I make up something, but don't have a light with an icon of that action, you still have to do it. There's no way I can think of a light for everything I might want you to do, you know!  

Flight attendants, 2 dirty martinis right away to the cockpit please."

It is an exaggerated babble you won't hear in real life (I hope), but the point is, I don’t care how well-groomed the flight attendants are, how expansive the food menu, how chilled the champagne or how big the flat bed, the reason I’ve paid to fly on this particular carrier is safety and a polished service record. 


I don't know about you, if I can't find the confidence in what the captain is saying, then all that money invested in advertising, slick paint jobs and a bulging order book for new aircraft means precious little.

“Good evening ladies and gentleman. This is your captain speaking, and welcome to this Cathay Pacific flight bound for Hong Kong.”

While there was nothing particularly reassuring in this standard script, it was the plummy confidence of a British captain who sounded as if he has flown a G6, allowed me to just sit back and let him take me to wherever that destination I needed be.  

Won't Be Long Till We Have Superman's Vision

I come to appreciate the human eye as a perceptual powerhouse only when I started using the most advanced DSLR Cameras and realise how pathetically tardy the shutter speed can be.  

I am perfectly glad with our human naked eyes and I am thinking it will be at least another hundreds of years before technology can quite catch up with us human in that front.   

The scientists aren't dumb you know.  They know technology will never make it there so they bet on something else - Bionic eyes for example - as seen in the Terminator or the Iron Man, where they can zoom in on far-off scenes, and be equipped with useful facts that pop into their field of view.

Pretty cool that was.  

Scientists are now saying it is not limiting to Sci-Fi only and super-heroes and that we too, are soon going to have a way to surf the Web on the go wearing contact lenses!  Read it here.

You've heard it right.  In the immediate future, we might be able to browse our favourite websites, watch movies and seriously augment your vision via a miniature LCD display that will sit on our eyes.

Yup.  I suppose you can look into the eyes of your boss and tell him/her you aren't watching a movie and you could be surfing the web at the same time, trying to find the funniest joke to distract him/her.  Yes.  It is possible!


Wild enough concept, or can this really be an augmented reality?   

 

Cracking The Codes On Medical Jargon

Doctors may treat their patients with professional concern, but privately they could well be summing them up as GLMs, FLKs or TBPs.

These are codes used by some very literate doctors to describe their patients to colleagues in sometimes unflattering terms.

GLM is a ‘good looking mum’ who probably has GLL – ‘great looking legs.
FLK is a ‘funny looking kid’ while a TBP is a ‘total bloody pain’.
JLD: Just Like Dad
LOL: Little Old Lady as oppose to laugh out loud. 

An intoxicated man turning up in AnE might well have a UBI, or ‘unexplained beer injury’, and if he was particularly rude he might be a CLL or ‘complete low life’.

Other jargons include ‘house red’ for blood, ‘slashers’ for general surgeons, ‘Freud Squad’ for psychiatrists and ‘departure lounge’ is - understandably - the geriatric ward.

Impressive to the point whereby these professionals know how to stay humourous when dealing with what ought to be one of the most stressful jobs on earth.  

I suppose next time we make a compliment, we can consider this...

Are You My Type?

Who would have thought crafting a diet would be based on blood type? 

Oh well, at least this fella name Peter D'Adamo is one. 

He even wrote a book about it.  In his book "Eat Right 4 Your Type", he claims that ABO blood type is the most important factor in determining a healthy diet and he promotes distinct diets for people with the 4 different blood types and each type having unique dietary recommendations:

Blood group O - the hunter

The earliest human blood group, the diet recommends that this blood group can eat a higher protein-rich diet.  D'Adamo bases this on the belief that O blood type was the first blood type, originating 30,000 years ago.

Blood group A - the cultivator

Believes to be a more recently evolved blood type, dating back from the dawn of agriculture, 20,000 years ago. The diet recommends that individuals of blood group A eat a diet emphasizing vegetables and free of red meat, a more vegetarian approach.

Blood group B - the nomad

Associated with a strong immune system and a flexible digestive system. The blood type diet claims that people of blood type B are the only ones who can thrive on dairy products and estimates blood type B arrived 10,000 years ago. 

Blood group AB - the enigma

The most recently evolved type, arriving less than 1,000 years ago. In terms of dietary needs, this blood type diet treats this group as an intermediate between blood types A and B.  That sounds a bit over-simple to me doesn't it?  This group should be as ambiguous as the group name suggests. 

I always believe Blood group B are mosquitoes magnets.  "You are what you eat", it just proved the point that these annoying little insect can really tell the bland vegetarians from the interesting Nomads!

Obama's Historic Speech At Westminster

President Obama opened his speech to the British Parliament at Westminster Hall tonight with this:



"I have known few greater honours than the opportunity to address the mother of parliaments at Westminster Hall. I am told that the last three speakers here have been the Pope, Her Majesty The Queen, and Nelson Mandela - which is either a very high bar or the beginning of a very funny joke."



It broke the ice nicely and for the next half an hour, he expounded on the nature of the British-American relationship, its history, its present and its role in the future.

I fell for his charisma, his wit and was struck by the symmetry of the speech and the way it moved seamlessly back and forth from history and general principles to the specific of pressing current issues.

A grand speech on a grand occasion in a grand venue.  Another example of sheer pleasure just watching this man talk the talk.

Obama's Missing Apostrophe

Mr U.S. President told the rapturous Dublin crowd this:

"My name is Barack Obama, of the Moneygall Obamas, and I've come home to find the apostrophe we lost somewhere along the way."

I think the search for the missing apostrophe was such a witty PR touch isn't it?

I mean look at how the warm welcome accorded to President Obama has contrasted sharply with the difficult reception accorded to Elizabeth Windsor and the British royal entourage last week.  

Did you know an Irish Mile is longer than a British Mile?  In this case, miles better!

Just Go With It

Been wanting to catch this romantic comedy for the simplest reason - Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman.  


Never quite made it until this day when it was pouring out there and I felt nothing could beat watching a sit-com-like rom-com and having a laugh. 

Expected to be dragged into the most insane lies and the snowball effects of more illogical lies, I just went with it.  And you do have to sort of go with the flow to enjoy the movie with a very predictable happy ending. 

If I have to be picky on the moral side of things, I would say all that lying was wrong and that someone actually got away with all those lies in the plot, was very wrong.  


But hey, didn't I say it's sit-com like rom-com?  I learned to "Just Go With It" and accept it as it is.    

Did He Say Judgement Day Is Today?

As forecast by an 89 year-old California evangelical broadcaster, Harold Camping, he claims that at the arrival of the Judgement Day on May 21, the Earth would be wrenched in a great earthquake and many inhabitants would perish in the coming months. 


Hours ticked by and I don't see no sign of Judgment Day arriving on Saturday (Sunday my local time now).  How about we let Arnold perform The Terminator 2 - Judgement Day (1991) again to get real?  


Guess the world is now trying to make sense of his failed pronouncement, but since Camping previously made a failed prediction which he was so certain that Jesus Christ would return to Earth in 1994, I am thinking may be this doom day thing could well be a mis-calculation as well?! 


But in any case, we should always live as if we have never lived and treat each day as our last with no regrets.  

Oyster Shucking

I am never a big aficionado of oysters and when a bunch of friends all went terribly excited about joining a class to shuck and slurp a dozen of oysters, I sort of went...OK, why not.  Let's do it.

With a little bit of textbook theories to start with, like how to pick the freshest and present them in the freshest, we were thrown right into some shucking actions!  The ordeal was a lot more difficult than I thought and in fact, I found it both rather awkward and dangerous and I just couldn't jab a blade into an oyster’s crevice. 

I was hoping the class experience would change my luke-warm interest in these delicacies, but nope - that didn't happen.  What did happen was the curious me went digging for an alternate way to shuck open these mollusks.

Nitro-Oyster Shucking?  What is that?  Sounds so cool.

Ideas In Food says it is the process of opening the oysters by dipping them in liquid nitrogen then allowing them to thaw.  The quick freeze causes the shells to pop open easily just by shucking with a finger they say.

The only problem is...wouldn't these lovelies be too cold to be served afterward?

Will Saudi Women Get To Drive One Day?

If you think driving is a leisurely and enjoyable thing to do and if you are a woman, then Saudi Arabia is not a place for you because apparently, women cannot be given a car key to drive. 

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world to ban women - both Saudi and foreign - from driving.  And it's not like you can just hail a taxi or hop on a bus fairly easily in that Kingdom.  Women normally spend about 2/3 of their income on hiring drivers.   Insane isn't it?

Authorities detained a Saudi woman on Saturday after she launched a campaign against the driving ban for women in the ultraconservative kingdom and posted a video of herself behind the wheel on Facebook and YouTube to encourage others to copy her. (See the news report here).

I sincerely hope she can bring about a revolution.

What's For Dinner Tonight?

Our lives might be busier than ever but that doesn't mean we have to give up the things that are important to us.

I always believe if meal preparation time is kept to a minimum, more time is available for friends and family and some fun.

For lazy bums like me where dining out is a daily routine, dinner preparation at its best would ideally involve no chopping, but how good can that go?  Obviously won't be anywhere near enough to impress any significant half for sure.   


So what to do if we are totally caught off guard, having some friends with discerning taste over for dinner?   Instant noodles is a sure kill (if that's what your objective is).  Probably get a pass with ordering take-away, but only if you can grasp hold of timing perfectly. 

For anyone who are faced with this ultimate dinner dilemma, I have just come across what could well be the perfect solution -  "Dinner for N".

They don't come cheap from Three-Sixty (nothing is, of course), but at least that piece of Australian Pork Chop looks quite happy there accompanied by a little bottle of EVO, plus some really fresh looking and colourful veggies next to it. 

Coupled with a 7-step, 20 minutes guarantee from start to finish, now who wants to try my cooking?

Wagamama

For those familiar with the word Wagamama at first glance, you knew it is a name of a noodle bar. 

If you are about the same age as me, you would probably remember back in 1992 when the first ever Wagamama was opened in London's Gower Street, how it fast became "the hippest place" to be.  Back then, if we got a bit home-sick and all we craved for was some pan-fried noodles, we'd forget about heading to China Town.  Wagamama became the logical place to land ourselves in during our half-term breaks.

We loved the buzz of the long tables, the nice decor and the refreshing fruit juices.  Did I mention it is a noodle bar?  Yes I did and yes, their noodles weren't the best at the time, but I considered the most impressive wow factor from them had to be the speed of service and their innovative use of wireless PDAs in taking orders. The fact that our order references were jotted down on the paper menus was also in a way - quite unique.   

All that was in 1992 by the way and they have carried on with that lively tradition ever since.   

The man behind Wagamama is Alan Yau, who subsequently created the Michelin-starred Chinese restaurants Hakkasan and Yauatcha in London.   

In 2011, I am wowed once again by reading about his remarkable success, not only have they got a total of 71 of Wagamama all over London and growing, Alan's first baby in Hong Kong - Bettys Kitschen is officially up and running.  I can't wait to go check it out.

Be A Teacher

There is an ancient saying that when the soul is ready the teacher appears.

I have had several wonderful teachers in my life and they all sort of appeared at a time when I truly needed to be taught.  I am thinking back right now what sort of person I would become without them.   For that I am truly thankful. 

Felt like drawing a big picture here and applying all the mumbo jumbo I have learned from these great teachers, things like:

• Honouring our responsibilities as parents, employees and business owners
• Living with integrity at home and at work
• Lending a wing and help those who are suffering in this tough economy
• Respecting our environment, give to charity and volunteer in our communities

Can you think of anything else to add to that? I am sure there's loads more but that would do for now as a framework for my big picture.  

You see, to boil things down in essence, if we can do everything in the list, we would be termed a teacher too, wouldn't we? 

And yes.  This is exactly how it works.   We should all go aim to be a good teacher in our lifetime - one that inspires in making our world a better place. 

Coca-Cola x James Jarvis

“I’d like to teach the world to sing...in perfect harmony…” the 1971 commercial jingle bears a special semblance this year. 

As the world celebrates 125th anniversary of Coca-Cola, the company has tapped the London artist and illustrator James Jarvis to create six different can designs for the giant.

Everyone loves a limited edition can of Coca-Cola and these here certainly don't dissapoint.  Exhilarated to know they are only sold nowhere else but in Hong Kong, I am at the moment, one away from the entire collection!

The Danger of Free

Everyone loves to get stuff for free is it not?  We line up to get a free drink, even though we all know and understand that free is an illusion.  After that free drink, we pay for the next three.

Most online consumer services I subscribed are free, including Gmail, Blogger, Facebook, Amazon, eBay and Taobao just to name a few.  The logic is that the more people who use these services, the more page views they generate and the more ads they are shown – so the happier the advertisers.   And you'd learn to ignore ads on your screen as part of the deal, you just so naturally don't expect to have to pay for these services in return.  

On the surface this makes perfect sense.  Until this very day, when I had problem signing in my Google account in the morning, got refrained access to Blogger in the afternoon, these two alarming incidents made me realise the danger of using these services for free. 


Free is starting to make me nervous.  I am easily being exposed to losing nearly 6 years worth of emails, over 1000 blog posts in the span of just over 4 years and not to mention the various online documents currently being stored in Google Office.  

I have to keep reminding myself that nothing has changed.   


There's no free lunch.

Pip's Ass-et

While no paparazzi have managed to break through Kate and William’s Fortress of Solitude in the Seychelles to show us pictures of her in high street sundresses and bikinis, at least Pippa is still out and about. 


Here we go, we can easily find over 100,000 fans in "Kicking Pip's ass" and "Pippa Middleton Ass Appreciation Society" in Facebook.

And it’s not just in Facebook that has shown its appreciation of Miss Middleton’s rear end.  A Google search of “Pippa Middleton Bum” (Google’s suggestion!) leads to over 300 articles written in less than two days!  Quite amazing!

According to the Daily Mail, Pippa left a testimonial message on her London Pilates studio’s website. In it, she calls the workout a “weekly necessity that keeps me fit, happy, and energized.” Much has been made of this, and the media has trumpeted that this is the secret behind Pippa’s great looking butt!

Pilates classes will sure be the hottest on the plate.  Nonetheless, I still don't think anyone can quite beat Jennifer Lopez in the derrière department!

70 And Beyond

I was having breakfast and I observed a busy bee flying around.  


Ah...there she is.

I am talking about an elderly in her 70s at least, hardworking as ever.  Her fast legs dashed here and there with the highest possible efficiency.  Her physical strength, I believe, overtakes many.   Shameful to see none of the younger workers there had half the energy she had in the break of day. 

Sipping my morning coffee, I kept pondering why she had to work so hard.  Perhaps she thinks working keeps her healthy and occupied?  May be it helps her not to become a burden to her children, hopefully affords financial independence?

Whatever her reasons, I am sure she is being treated with more respect and deference - a real asset to the fast food joint I'd say.  

A Night With My Whisky

If you are going to have ice in your Macallan, shouldn’t it be eye-catching at least?

 Absolutely.  No question about that.

Pretty inviting to me.  What do you think?

The Okinawans

Did you know the Okinawans are known for their longevity?


To be precise, there are five times as many Okinawans live to be 100 years old than the rest of Japan.  And the Japanese are the longest lived nationality in the world.


An evening juxtaposing between the sweetness from Okinawa's sweet potatoes and the bitterness from their bitter melons, I was hoping there was a hint or two to be discovered from the islanders' very interesting low-fat and highly nutritious diet.




There is definitely something worth trying - at least so you can say you have, and at most because you might even like it!  


It is the Umi-budo, or green caviar.  It tastes extremely briney but you are almost guaranteed to have freshness gushes into your mouth when you pop a few of those crunchy little pearls. 


A big novelty featured in the restaurant but this is stuff that the indigenous Okinawans can get to quite handily.  Lucky them.  


Considered the fact that I didn't even have to travel all the way to Okinawa to savour the caviar - Lucky me too!

Thank Krug It's Friday

I just love the fish and chips at Dunhill's gastropub, Alfie's By Kee - a quintessentially British venue and one that you can expect gastro-pub cuisine grilled to perfection, if you know what I mean.

They recently launched a "Thank Krug It's Friday" promotion which sounds extremely enticing.  

What it means is, starting from 7pm to 10pm every Friday, Alfie's will be offering a sizable portion of their signature fish and chips along with a half bottle of Krug Grande Cuvée for HK$888.

Never too early to start planning for a hearty yet indulgent way to kick off the weekend, isn't it?

Photo Missing From My Visit To Ozone

Standing next to windows measured from floor to ceiling perched on the 118th floor, you do feel like humming along with the Carpenters,  

"I'm on the top of world looking down on creation"...and...

"You're the nearest thing to heaven that I've seen"!

The name Ozone says it all.  

Ozone is indeed the highest watering hole ever existed on earth, also located at the world's highest hotel in Hong Kong, definitely a chic and trendy place to see and be seen, quite enough to get the acrophobic me to visit the city's most-talk about bar. 

So up I went with my breath caught in my chest till I saw a sweeping view of the Victoria Harbour.  Its obscenely high altitude gives quite an interesting perspective of Hong Kong - with all building structures looking very miniaturized.  

Did I say I was acrophobic?  Yes I did and I was able to suck in all that jaw-dropping view quite fearlessly to my surprise.  

The only way to explain this is that where I was standing was way too high, higher than what my senses could comprehend. 

On hindsight, my friend commented that I was perhaps too busy overcoming that fear of height, which was the reason why I totally forgot to take any pictures that evening when we were there!

Can't rule out the fact that I am still acrophobic then, can I?

Let my return visit to Ozone in Ritz Carlton be my second trial.  And I promise I shall bring back some of that breathtaking view in photos too. 

What A Parent Wants To Hear

I hope this isn't true to any of you but to some, I know Mothers' Day each year is like an alarm clock that gets us to reflect how badly we have treated our mothers during the year and the day itself can be seen as a perfect opportunity to make good to them.

I know all along that my mother's unconditional love is the greatest thing that has happened to me, but to see my classmates become mothers themselves, magnifies the whole significance of it all.   

Many of them really demonstrates virtues of a good parent and I think that achievement more or less, ought to be attributed to their own parents.  


After all, I think the best thing you can tell any mother is to let her know she has successfully raise and taught her child in becoming a good parent.

It's never too late to let her know that (wherever she is now) - if you haven't already.


  

The Very Confusing Supermarket Sub-Brands

Time flies and I see that City'super is 15 years old already.  I remember back when they started with the very first branch in Times Square, there were just two dominant supermarket chains in Hong Kong - Park'n Shop and Wellcome.  

15 years down the road, Park'n Shop and Wellcome are both going strong still and they have also introduced a whole range of sub-brands. 

For Park'n Shop, we have Great in Pacific Place which is a one off, the first and original Taste was in Kowloon Tong, but over the years, several more have emerged and are now scattered around town, offering a much bigger selection than the average Park'n Shop.

Then we come to International.  This seems to be basically a normal Park'n Shop with more imported products with annoying shelf labels proudly reminding you that those Italian tinned tomatoes come from Waitrose in the UK.  Er, right, thank you very much.

Ah wait, there’s also Gourmet.  Anyone know the the difference for that one then?  

Meanwhile, their rival Wellcome has flashed their muscles with Marketplace by Jasons in some of its more upmarket locations, and a couple of branches of ThreeSixty with an emphasis on expensive organic stuff.  And last but not least, they decided to live with just one Olivers in Princes' Building (hanging in there and thirty years old apparently).

Which are all very well, I am not saying choice is not good.  I am just saying it can be a bit confusing that's all.

  

Wicked

I grew up in England where the word "wicked" was the most popular adjective spoken at school and everyone just love using the word in our everyday conversations.   

You see, oftentimes there was a kind of social disapproval of using curse words at school, so we get a lot of creative, non-cursing words in place and I think "wicked" fell into that category and has stuck around ever since.    


The word is usually used as a substitute for "very" or "really," providing emphasis to another word.  For example, I supposed somebody could be wickedly wicked if they are especially wicked.   Okay, that seems like an overkill, but you get the idea.  

Nothing quite defines a culture as distinctly as its language and when I come to think about it, it's funny how the English sort of take it to extremes and you often hear them say a "Hell of a good time" or a "hell of a bad time", it's sort of the same idea. 

It's interesting to note that another two most commonly spoken words in English are 'good' and 'never'.  A bit of an armchair psychology leads to the conclusion that, if language really defines culture, then the English are perhaps inclined to be virtuous but negative?  


Friends who know me know the very word that often hangs on me:  Lovely - as lovely as I want things to be.  


Try to observe your favourite, you might come across some interesting findings of yourself.  

Why Tom Hates Jerry (Part 2)

Once upon a time, the Emperor of Heaven wanted to invite all the animals in his kingdom to his birthday party.

He wanted to have a little fun so he called for a race in the road to heaven among all the animals on the day of the celebration.  The ultimate prize was to be granted a year in the Chinese calendar - named after each animal.  All of the animals contended in order to get one of the twelve permanent spots in the Chinese zodiac.

The cat and rat whom used to be close friends, decided to attend the Emperor's birthday party together.  The cat, who had a bit of a problem getting up in the morning, asked the rat to give him a morning call on the day of the race. The rat agreed but broke his promise and left on his own to the road of heaven.

Once the rat got to the river, he knew it would take ages for him to swim across and he might not make it. The clever him decided the fastest way to cross the river was to cajole the naive and good-natured ox to carry him across. 

He came first and that is why the year of the rat is the first year in the Chinese zodiac and the year of the ox is the second.  Subsequently followed by the tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

That is why there is no place for the cat all these years and understandably, how rats came to get into the nerves of cats ever since!