Random shots taken with my 2-inch toy digital lomo.

最近。

＊滿腦子壞思想。“不要讓我們陷於誘惑” 是我近期常禱的告。

＊公司出現一些震盪，有些好同事離開或調職，教我有點無奈，亦令我再次開始思考自己在事業上的目標（如有的話）。

＊尾龍骨又隱隱作痛，如兩年前腰痛開始的翻版。

＊十月外遊3次，十一月稍稍休息，十二月再次出動。去吉隆坡探望會打牌球的烏龜。

＊一向知道自律跟自己沒有太大關係，但當你要再一次承認這個事實時，心裡還是有點不爽。

＊不太想社交。好想自己一個人，做甚麼也好。

＊終於成為婚禮監禮人。申請的時候躊躇滿志，好像第二個事業一樣，甚麼“嘩嘩嘩每個星期做一單我咪好快發達囉呵呵呵可以買好多包包囉呵呵呵！！！”。現在牌到手了，反而沒有太大感覺。幫朋友主持婚禮我倒是非常樂意的，但其他無關人等都是免了。要做好鬼多文件囉，煩死。

＊好憎好憎Donald Tsang。人衰，樣子都醜惡起來。

Another reason why I like Natalie Portman.

How many Hollywood actresses does it take to write something like this?
Answer: One, if you are Natalie Portman.

By the way, Jonathan Safran Foer is one of my favourite young writers too.

--------
Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals Turned Me Vegan


Jonathan Safran Foer's book Eating Animals changed me from a twenty-year vegetarian to a vegan activist. I've always been shy about being critical of others' choices because I hate when people do that to me. I'm often interrogated about being vegetarian (e.g., "What if you find out that carrots feel pain, too? Then what'll you eat?").

I've also been afraid to feel as if I know better than someone else -- a historically dangerous stance (I'm often reminded that "Hitler was a vegetarian, too, you know"). But this book reminded me that some things are just wrong. Perhaps others disagree with me that animals have personalities, but the highly documented torture of animals is unacceptable, and the human cost Foer describes in his book, of which I was previously unaware, is universally compelling.

The human cost of factory farming -- both the compromised welfare of slaughterhouse workers and, even more, the environmental effects of the mass production of animals -- is staggering. Foer details the copious amounts of pig shit sprayed into the air that result in great spikes in human respiratory ailments, the development of new bacterial strains due to overuse of antibiotics on farmed animals, and the origins of the swine flu epidemic, whose story has gripped the nation, in factory farms.

I read the chapter on animal shit aloud to two friends -- one is from Iowa and has asthma and the other is a North Carolinian who couldn't eat fish from her local river because animal waste had been dumped in it as described in the book. They had never truly thought about the connection between their environmental conditions and their food. The story of the mass farming of animals had more impact on them when they realized it had ruined their own backyards.

But what Foer most bravely details is how eating animal pollutes not only our backyards, but also our beliefs. He reminds us that our food is symbolic of what we believe in, and that eating is how we demonstrate to ourselves and to others our beliefs: Catholics take communion -- in which food and drink represent body and blood. Jews use salty water on Passover to remind them of the slaves' bitter tears. And on Thanksgiving, Americans use succotash and slaughter to tell our own creation myth -- how the Pilgrims learned from Native Americans to harvest this land and make it their own.

And as we use food to impart our beliefs to our children, the point from which Foer lifts off, what stories do we want to tell our children through their food?

I remember in college, a professor asked our class to consider what our grandchildren would look back on as being backward behavior or thinking in our generation, the way we are shocked by the kind of misogyny, racism, and sexism we know was commonplace in our grandparents' world. He urged us to use this principle to examine the behaviors in our lives and our societies that we should be a part of changing. Factory farming of animals will be one of the things we look back on as a relic of a less-evolved age.

I say that Foer's ethical charge against animal eating is brave because not only is it unpopular, it has also been characterized as unmanly, inconsiderate, and juvenile. But he reminds us that being a man, and a human, takes more thought than just "This is tasty, and that's why I do it." He posits that consideration, as promoted by Michael Pollan in The Omnivore's Dilemma, which has more to do with being polite to your tablemates than sticking to your own ideals, would be absurd if applied to any other belief (e.g., I don't believe in rape, but if it's what it takes to please my dinner hosts, then so be it).

But Foer makes his most impactful gesture as a peacemaker, when he unites the two sides of the animal eating debate in their reasoning. Both sides argue: We are not them. Those who refrain from eating animals argue: We don't have to go through what they go through -- we are not them. We are capable of making distinctions between what to eat and what not to eat (Americans eat cow but not dog, Hindus eat chicken but not cow, etc.). We are capable of considering others' minds and others' pain. We are not them. Whereas those who justify eating animals say the same thing: We are not them. They do not merit the same value of being as us. They are not us.

And so Foer shows us, through Eating Animals, that we are all thinking along the same lines: We are not them. But, he urges, how will we define who we are?

District 9.

"If they were from another country, I could understand, but they're not even from this planet."

--- a human resident on why human cannot tolerate the aliens

The movie is disturbing on so many levels, and that's why I like it so much.

What is that.

ha.

Jane: Oh, come on. You are not telling me you believe she's an actual witch.

Cho: No, of course not. But I mean if dark force did exist, it stands to reason there could be people who control them for their own ends.

Jane: They're called investment bankers.

--- The Mentalist, episode 12 (US air date: 13 January 2009)

Village Cat.

On bravery.

BB and I went on a boat trip yesterday with some friends in Sai Kung, and I came back with a not-so-nice tan, a floating feeling which lasted for the rest of the evening and a silly sense of accomplishment.

While lounging on the top deck of the junk, I, who have always been a bit intimidated by the vast and bottomless water and never a good swimmer, was encouraged by my friend A to jump off the top deck into the sea. After hesitating for 5 minutes - mentally calculating the height of the deck and the depth of the sea, wondering how much my butt would hurt if I hit the water the wrong way, and struggling if I should squeeze my nose to prevent water from rushing into the nostrils - I summoned enough courage and just let myself go, and it felt great (and no, it didn't hurt at all; and yes, I squeezed my nose but still water managed to rush into the nostrils).

It's the good 5-minute hesitation that got me thinking.

Since when did we get so scared of everything? I had bungee jumped in my younger years, I was a fan of all kinds of roller coaster rides (my favourite was the free falls), and I used to love those dodgy street foods. But now I cannot walk a block of street without looking up to check if anything is falling from above (like acid bottles, or even worse, air-conditioners) and aiming at my head.

My bravery is diminished by age - and the wisdom and experience that comes with it.

But sometimes, taking the plunge is fun, which is what life should be, most of the time anyway.

Do Re Mi Fa.

I am obviously running out of things to post. So cats it has to be.

When you don't see his face around much, his voice will do.

">

Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

I don't know why I waited so long to see this.

Vicky: Oh, God, what am I doing here? I don't know what I expect to happen.

Juan Antonio: It's been, it's been...a long time since we made love that night in Oviedo.

I love Rebecca Hall as Vicky. She is beautiful in a grown-up, sophisticated way, and a very good actress too. It's a shame all the movie promotions focused only on Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson, brushing aside the girl whose name actually comes first in the movie title.

Constipated

is my brain. Hence you have not seen me here lately. The usual (non-)reasons -- work is getting crazy; my "Adam's Family" (a term employed by BB to describe his family-in-law...) is growing in number (with niece #2 coming in mid July); the 7th season of 24 was hugely disappointing; Generation Kill was as enjoyable as The Wire; the cats are naughty as ever; the weather is making me down; The Last Station is not anywhere close to showing AND the filming of The Details has stopped AND Wanted 2 may not be what it should be (triple whammy for all JM fans out there); I had to miss the 1st July demonstration; the dress that I have altered specifically for a wedding this Saturday has "mysteriously shrunken"; the deadline for the French course that I want to apply for is approaching and I have done zilch about it......

Well, just the usual chaos of life.

In troubling times such as these, one should always go back to the things that can cheer one up.

Whoever does this should burn in hell.

19/6/2009 星島日報 報道

瘦弱的流浪小貓「咪咪」，在葵涌疑被印巴漢殘酷虐待，貓腳遭活生生打斷，膝蓋與大腿幾乎分離，常駐該區的貓義工及時發現，將牠送動物醫院治理；貓義工怒斥施虐者惡行外，更認為政府必須加強宣傳動物權益，避免助長虐畜歪風。
　　
將「咪咪」送往獸醫救治的香港貓咪俱樂部幹事黃小姐稱，貓義工早前在葵涌區巡視，發現一隻寄居於區內跌打鋪的雄性流浪貓「咪咪」，遭人打傷致腳斷骨裂，義工追問跌打鋪老闆周先生，方知「咪咪」上周出外玩耍，曾失蹤兩天，回來時腳部重創。由於周先生屬小本經營不能承擔巨額手術費，只能以跌打技術來替小貓治療，但義工見「咪咪」傷勢危急，決定將牠送往動物醫院。

黃小姐稱，「咪咪」愛到附近工廠區流連，該處有不少印巴人士工作，懷疑虐貓事件與他們有關，「曾經有街坊目睹印巴漢追打流浪貓，直至皮開肉裂，甚至只剩頭顱的貓屍，非常可怕。」她怒斥施虐者毫無人性，正考慮尋求警方和有關機構援助。

她透露，醫治「咪咪」的手術費需要數千元，但貓兒危在旦夕，故決定先救貓，至今仍要為手術費用而煩惱；黃又表示，其組織為流浪貓免費絕育和提供治療，單靠善心人士的捐款運作，因收入不穩如今已出現赤字。

根據現行法例，虐待動物可判罰款五千元及監禁六個月，遠低於歐美國家。以英國為例，至今已頒布二十多條關於動物福利的法例和條文，包括不可將動物當作禮物，送給十六歲以下兒童，及加重對遺棄動物和宰殺的刑罰。

給我認識的小朋友。

孩子，你要勇敢

二十年了，已記不起當時的細節，只記得坦克車衝向天安門廣場，學生奔跑逃命，三輪車載着受傷的學生撤離廣場，坦克車壓扁染滿血跡的單車……和那個獨立路上擋着坦克隊前行的少年王維林……和我在哭。

二十年了，許多畫面業已模糊。那時的憤怒、慘痛都已淡然，那恥辱可依舊沉重地壓在心頭。

我們有個野蠻的統治者：中國人民政府為了統治的權宜方便，暴力鎮壓人民、屠殺自己的孩子。被宰殺的不是戰場上的士兵，而是手無寸鐵的學生；他們不是反政府的暴徒，而是懷着赤子之心向政府進言的孩子。孩子倒下了，人民倒下了，高漲的是鎮壓人民的暴力。

中國有個這樣的政府，作為中國人，我為此而蒙羞。這個恥辱令我抬不起頭來。

是的，二十年了。我那時只有十一歲的孩子，現今已是四個孩子的父親。我記得，二十年前六月五號的早上，他走進我的房間，見到電視在開着而我在哭，他驚慌地問我：「爸爸發生了什麼事？為什麼你哭？」我給他看錄影下來的一些片段，告訴他：「別忘記這些畫面。這是中共殺害人民的紀錄。到你長大了，到你懂事了，你要記着中國人是活在這恥辱中。」

那個時候，孩子是因為看到爸爸在哭泣而驚慌，他不明白為什麼天安門的小孩子會令我痛哭。現在他知道了。孩子，這些事情你要告訴你自己的孩子，讓他們也為這恥辱活下去。

「歷史洪流匆匆，中國已經強大了起來，我們應該以更大的胸襟擁抱將來，創造將來；以更大的寬容對待歷史，隨着歷史的潮流前進。順勢而行，我們才可以創造更偉大的將來。為什麼要牢牢抓着歷史上出現的一時偏差不放？不放下過去，讓出空間，那麼又何來更大的發展機會？寬恕過去，才會有更寬宏的將來。二十年了，為什麼不讓時間沖洗掉那夢魘，那道痛傷，然後安然上路？」

孩子，不要聽信這樣的說話。他說的過去並沒有過去，也不可能過去，因為那個過去便是我們的良知、我們的尊嚴和是非黑白之心。放下了良心、尊嚴，我們還是什麼？凡人皆有良知、尊嚴和是非之心，你不能因為生而為中國人便放棄做人的本質以致做不成人。你一定要為良知、尊嚴和是非之心而活下去，要為人民政府殺害自己的孩子這恥辱活下去。

你不能只為了中國的繁榮而活着，你更要為中國人的良知而活着。你不僅要為將來而活着，你更要為歷史而活着。歷史體現的良知是人民血淚的呼喊，是祖先喚醒我們的良知靈魂的回響。我們要是對天安門孩子的慘號充耳不聞，我們又還何來道德良知？

天安門孩子的悲鳴也是文明的呼喚，叫我們對歷史作反思。沒有錯，有些事情我們是絕不能忘記的，忘記了，我們便滅絕歷史的回響、文明的光輝。不，這一切我們都不能忘記。我們一定要讓歷史把我們教訓為更文明的中國人。

是的，我們要懂得寬恕，我們不能讓歷史的差池變成窒礙前進的包袱。我們可以寬恕，但我們不能忘記。六四的歷史烙印在我們良知之上，我們不能忘記這個恥辱。知恥近乎勇，中國人要是個不知恥的民族，那麼中華民族便是個沒有尊嚴的民族，是一群沒有勇氣面對歷史的懦夫。孩子，我們不僅是為了麵包而活着，我們更是為了尊嚴而活着，這些你都是知道的。

「今日，中國強大了，作為中國人，我們應該感到驕傲才對，何苦自揭瘡疤，讓別人看不起我們？」

孩子，不要相信這些說話。中國並不強大，國家強大，靠的不只是經濟力量，更還要有道德的力量。中國如果真的強大了，便應該有所自重為六四而羞恥，自信地面對瘡疤，謙卑地為過去的暴行懺悔。

今日的中國卻是一副財大氣粗的暴發戶口脗：「當時要不是鎮壓暴動，我們又會有今日的繁榮嗎？」我真的不明白，造就今日繁榮的動力，不是來自經濟開放，來自享有更大的自由的人民嗎？如果殘殺人民可以締造繁榮，那又還用開放嗎？統治者為什麼那麼害怕手無寸鐵的學生？

中共顯然認為經濟繁榮了，老子便大晒。人民有飯吃，那便可以掩飾所有暴行，一切壞事都合理化了起來？孩子，暴發戶會贏得你的尊重嗎？暴發戶可以令一個國家真正強大起來嗎？最近不是有個暴發戶大言不慚地揚言：「我有這許多錢，我怎會做壞事？」這是道理嗎？當然不是，這個你是明白的。

一個民族的核心價值是其文化和精神本質。不懂得反省的民族，又何以建立優良的文化？沒有廉恥，又何來精神力量？沒有文化、沒有廉恥的民族可以強大起來嗎？當然不可能。孩子，我們的中國並不強大。膽怯、自卑不敢面對自己的過去的國家，怎可能是個巨人？

孩子，到有一天你可以面對自己的錯誤，你才真正長大了。中國亦一樣，到有一天中國政府不再害怕人民，敢於面對自己的錯誤，謙卑地向人民懺悔：「對不起，我們錯了。」到那一天，中國才開始強大起來。

孩子，強大的中國是你們這一代人的許諾，你要為六四的恥辱活下去。即使全國為繁榮而奔騰，你也要在黑暗的角落點燃起這火焰。

孩子，你要勇敢啊。

--- 黎智英

Scars.

However forgetful a person is, there are always days, moments, or even a fraction of a moment, that he can never erase from his head. Like bad scars, they are here to stay.

I remember, like it was yesterday, the times back when I was a kid, how my mum would hit me with a rattan when I misbehaved. She would hit me so hard I could see drops of sweat on her face. I didn't know better then, but now I do - it pains me physically when the rattan lands on my thigh, but it pains her heart when she has to whip the rattan on her little girl's chubby thigh. It's the ultimate manifestation of a mother's love.

I remember that day, when I was sitting in the back of the car, dad driving and mum in the front. Driving through the tunnel, I caught a glimpse of myself through the side window of the car, and I saw this sad, soul-less, sunken-cheeked face. Parents collecting their heartbroken daughter home.

I remember that look on his face, even though it lasted for only a split second, that look of indifference, like he didn't care if I was alive or dead. I was disgusted with myself for sinking so low for someone who didn't even give a shit about me. At that moment, I swore I would always, always love myself, no matter what.

I remember every moment of those 10 days in the otherwise ordinary month of May, 2007. Death is inevitable, but God is always in control.

I remember what happened in the early hours of 4 June, 1989.

When you, with all the amazing capacity of a brain, cannot recall a happy moment in your life, you know you either have an extremely miserable life, or that it's time for chocolate icecream. I am going to the fridge now.

For all the mums out there.

Belated Happy Mother's Day.

AJ Jacobs.

This man wrote a book called The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, in which he documented - yeah you guessed right - the year when he lived his life by following the Bible as literally as possible, including growing a messy beard and not wearing mixed fibre clothes.



And he is no nutcase. He has a good CV. He just happens to be a guy who likes to use himself as an experimental tool.

I came to know about him when I read his other book, The Know-It-All. In this book, he wrote about the year he spent on reading the Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z. The book - a bit like his journal and extremely funny and informative - is easily one of my favourites. I haven't read The Year of Living Biblically, but I will get a copy.

His new book, The Guinea Pig Diaries, is coming out September this year.

"Cassie, his heart will stop at the sight of you, or he doesn't deserve to live."

-- Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra, Becoming Jane (2007)

I am back but too lazy to blog.

so instead of describing my awesome trip to London and my awesome experience at the Apollo Theatre in my awesome seats (yes - "seats" with the plural "s" - I saw it three times, but let's not get into it) seeing the awesomely awesome James McAvoy on stage for 2 hours x3, i thought i should post this:

glad to be back home too.  always nice to know that both human and feline missed me.  and honestly, the water in the UK is b.a.d. - something a life-long soft water user like me can never get used to.  (mental note - bring lots and lots of moisture masks and lotions next time)

i hope my happiness reserve will last me through next week, when a sh*tload of work is waiting for me in the office.

Rainy days have never been so exciting before.

橫越9648公里，為了見另一個男人。

I will be gone for a week.

我不在時，請替我照顧伯伯。

Sometimes I wish I had a carpet shark at home.

幾段。

假如

“假如”是魔鬼創造的詞語。

- 假如當初事情這樣發生的話，我會不會比現在快樂？
- 假如那時候我做了這個決定，我的生命會否比現在豐盛？
- 假如當時我選擇跟某某一起，現在的我會是怎樣？

在情緒稍不穩定的時候，千萬不要想假如，它會隨時讓你陷入萬劫不復的境地。但往往是，你最失落時候，便是想假如最多的時候。

問題

跟朋友午飯，說起家人，她有感而發說：“其實每個家庭都有它自己的問題。”

居然成為我整天裡聽到最窩心的一句話。

學習

人越大，越發覺要學習的事實在太多。學習處理情緒。學習面對問題。學習包容。學習寬恕。學習避開誘惑。學習照顧別人。學習呼吸。學習放鬆。學習自我約束。學習發掘優點。學習尊重。 學習愛。

博客

有一天你發覺，為免惹來關心/擔心，你開始自我審查，只寫風花雪月，不談個人情感。 你問自己，應否繼續寫下去？

你決定以後在情緒低落時便在這裡消失一陣子。

This is for T, who complained about my recent lack of blogging activities.

I haven't updated my blog for a long time, I know. It's not that my life has been so boring that there is nothing to write about (well, maybe it is, but don't tell me), it's just that I've been too lazy / busy to write. Lazy because I've always been. Busy because since three weeks ago, all cat chores (scooping litter, grooming, cleaning, feeding, etc) have been x4.

Pepper (or Siu Sai, as I insist on calling her that)(and no, it's not crude - what is your dirty mind thinking???) is "BB's daughter", since he has always wanted his own cat. I had my doubts as to whether he will make a good cat owner, but he has impressed me - on the first night when SS arrived, BB almost stayed wide awake all night, just to ensure she was settling in ok. In the past I felt that he didn't really appreciate the effort I put into the cats, or why I had to care so much about them as to losing sleep, but now that he's joined the club, we are more in sync in this department. BTW, SS is now recovering from her double surgery (fixing a born eyelid defect and spaying), and we will continued to be stressed out parents until she is 100%.

Hmmm, to avoid turning into one of those people who talk about nothing but their cats/dog/goldfish/children, and to show that I do have a life to live, here's what I could have told you, absent feline:

- I started watching Gossip Girl season one a few weeks ago, but I couldn't stand it. It's too highschool, the story was bad, and the acting worse. And Blake Lively is NOTHING like a 17-year-old.

- Of the drama series that I have watched lately, my favourite is Samantha Who. Christina Applegate is so cute, and almost every piece of outfit on her I would like to see in my own wardrobe.

- Have also watched the River Cottage DVD series. Conclusion - as much as I like to live in the country side and lead a self-sustaining lifestyle, I need a grocery store. I am scare of the worms and insects that crawl out of the crops soil, and I cannot eat any farm animals that I raise. How can you name your pig Martha, your chicken Clive, your sheep Molly, feed them and play with them (and see them give birth to little Marthas and Clives and Mollys), only to chop them into 100 pieces two months later?

- Also, thanks to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, I am officially done with sausages.

- Have read In Between the Sheets - a bit disappointed. Amsterdam is a lot better.

- Had lunch today with a primary/secondary classmate whom I have lost contact for over 15 years, only reconnected lately through Facebook. Feels kind of weird, but in a nice, yeah-I-would-love-to-continue-to-see-her kind of way.

- My latest movie favourite: Revolutionary Road. I thought I should like Slumdog Millionnaire more, but for some reasons I am really drawn to the pain and suffering of the characters in the Winslet/DiCaprio collaboration. Am now reading the novel, by Richard Yates.

- Saw Murder in San Jose, and totally enjoyed it. Sunday is Lisa Ono.

- Have spend over 2 hours this evening going through the HK Film Festival Programme. Personal must see: Genova, I've Loved You So Long, and Wendy and Lucy. Quite interested in Machan too.

- A recent trip to CitySuper tells me that a Happy Meal (cooking with organic and free range (hence happy) ingredients) is roughly three times more costly than an Unhappy One. Time to venture out of the high-end supermarkets. Where can I buy organic happy ingredients more cheaply?

Something to kick the PMS out of me.

From I can has cheezburger.

。

牛年過了沒幾天，

我便已覺得身心俱疲了。

還有300多天，

怎樣算好？

Do Re Mi.

Could you NOT pray for me?

"We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22b)

I guess this is one of the hardships. I was deeply troubled by this article, and confused too. Since when praying became so offensive and obnoxious that a simple offer of prayer could cost a nurse her job? It seems that life of modern-day Christians is not much easier than it was for Paul and his fellow brothers back then, even for those of us who live in countries where freedom of religion is exercised.

As days rolled on, many people responded to the incident.

"But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." (2 Timothy 4:5)

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.

穆罕默德：你祖籍在哪裡呢？
杰若米：美國。
穆：你來這裡旅遊嗎？
杰：不，我住在這裡。
穆：工作？
杰：是來定居。
穆（有些驚訝神情）：多少年了？
杰：三十七年。
穆（恍然大悟）：你是以色列人？
杰：對。
穆：噢！你是以色列人！（瞪大眼睛）不要緊，我們其實原屬於同一個祖先亞伯拉罕，我們是兄弟，擁有共同的感情和需要，應該互相友愛。貪婪的政治把我們分開了，我願意跟你做朋友。

穆罕默德伸出他的友誼之手，杰若米也緊握他的手。

《中東現場》--- 張翠容

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極力推介張翠容這本書。 買了很久，一直擱在書架上。前兩天終於開始讀，才後悔這些日子以來，居然讓它孤零零的呆在一旁，沒有早點細讀。一拿上手，便很難放下。