Hong Kong snippets

This scissors (see picture below) was in my wallet which was in a pocket at the front of my trousers. But, the scissors was not detected by the security screenings at the Hong Kong Airport. If not, I think they wouldn't let me take it into the plane.

It was not intentional; I forgot to put it in the check-in luggage.



This yellow box (see picture below) can be found on the posts of some traffic lights in HK. I only noticed it after Miko mentioned it in a post in her blog some time ago. What do you think the box is for? ( I will tell you in another post.)

I saw a woman, probably a tourist, tapped on it and when nothing happened, she pressed it and then squeezed it. Still nothing happened.



Here is a Then and Now. This is from the Tiger Airways Magazine (Sep-Oct 2010).

minding our own business

Some time ago there was an article saying that many people here like to whine in social networking sites and blogs but they don’t do anything.

I think people whine at those sites because their friends and followers will support them and some will whine about similar experiences. It gives them some satisfaction. They are happy because they feel they have done something. If they actually do something, it might make them unhappy.

What would happen to you if you tell a burly man to pick up the litter he has thrown or you tell a sullen hawker off for his rudeness?

The best you can hope for is they apologize. More likely, you get nasty stares or scolded with obscenities in front of many people. Worst, you get a black eye or some hot soup splashed on your pants. Then you have to take further action.

This could a reason why people don’t do something. However, if someone takes the lead and does something, I think others would support him.


I guess some other whiners are not really serious about what they whine about. Those who are serious probably would have contacted the authorities or even visited a police station to tell them of their concerns.

“A branch of the tree on the road outside my house is going to fall. How come no body doing anything?”

“Why the police don’t take action against this?”

"Why is there no street lights here?"


Frannxis is taking a break. There will be no new posts for about 2 weeks.

名曲欣賞

再折長亭柳 - 陳玲玉

李大傻讲古 - 八仙過海

Li Dai Sor (Big Fool Lee) telling the story of The 8 Immortals crossing the sea.

weightlifting - YOG

In recent days I was watching some of the live coverage of the first Youth Olympic Games held in our Country. It was entertaining.

Today I watched the woman's weighting. I know little about the sport except that the more weight you lift, the better you are. But it was interesting to see the participants from all over the globe. They came in various shape and size, colour and costume.

There were actions and emotions, determination and concentration and today there was also some drama. A young woman, unsuccessful in her third attempt at lifting a weight, was so devastated that she just fell backwards onto the floor and sobbed.

All of women have muscular arms and you could see their biceps quivering when they held up the weights. Many of them gave a loud scream or shout before they lifted the weights. I wonder why.

The gold medalist is Deng Wei from China. I heard it is an Olympic record.

doing our best

When shortcomings of our society are in the spotlight or when certain unfortunate things happen, some people blame it on our system. They say Singaporeans are too pressurized to succeed, and we are afraid of failure.

Actually our forefathers were also like that. They came here with the aim of doing well and so they worked very hard. They were afraid of failing because failure meant they had no money to send to their families back home or bring them to Singapore. They also had no face to return to their villages.

So working hard and doing our best have always been part of us. Probably because of this, at times we came up top in this or first in that. I don't think this means we are scared to lose or that we are trying to show off.

I believe there are plenty of Singaporeans who do not crave for great wealth or status and they lead a well-balanced life . But they still work hard and do their best in order for their families to have a good life.

Productivity is not new either. I think it was the 80s; at a meeting, a boss told his staff in light-hearted tone ‘Be prepared for the onslaught of the twin Ps – Productivity And Progress.’

1000 vs 1

There was a scientist who said something like this: A thousand experiments cannot prove me right, but a single experiment could prove me wrong.

I think you all know what it means. One experiment could undo all the effort and time he has put in to try to prove something.

Sometimes it is like that in our life. In your work, for example, you may have put in a lot of effort and commitment but it doesn’t mean you will get a promotion. On the other hand, if you make a mistake, it could cost you your bonus or increment.

Or if you are holding public office - when things go smoothly, the hard work you have done throughout the years is seldom appreciated by the public. However, if an unpleasant thing happens people want to chop off your head.

Actually I was thinking of the National Day Parade. It requires tremendous effort and massive organization. But this also cannot prevent freak accidents from happening which could mar the Show. You could almost hear the organizers heave a huge sign of relief when it was over, Thank God.

Sum Sum

Sum Sum is a Hong Kong singer. I don't know much about her but I don't think she did opera. I think her peak years were the 70s or 80s. I have 2 of her songs at YouTube. Here are some of the comments by her fans. The first 3 are by the same person. You can see how passionate he/she is about his/her idol. Many older folks are very loyal to their idols. They support them for decades.


(1a) I love Sum Sum"s consisting attitude of faithfully to the original theme of the cantonese song. I love her quality, her enthusiasm, her conservative and characteristic consistence.IShe's my dream woman,I love her timeless. I am glad at this time we both are living, breathing, thinking,learn to knowing and enjoying the gift of life.

(1b) Sum Sum contributed her valuable sensational voice to this performing. This might be the classic cantonese love song. Many female singer had did their version,but none of it is to be compared to Sum Sum's version.She did concerns,sang perfectly to release the complicated feminine feelings.Anxiety with cares, worry with hopes,honour and cherish,sorrow,warm and emotional leaning. She did it so good, easily catch your heart and melt your soul, The romance is always there.

(1c) This is a very pleasant and elegant vedio, Sum Sum must be in a good mood, she was singing comfortably, cheerfully and happily. She is infinitely beautiful. She expressed the extraodinary charmings , tender emotions and temptation of femininity. Especially at 2.50 even miss Jing Ting was"' tooken " .at this climax . I always think of Sum Sum, I love her forever. 2010 july p.s. In this video, you can almost heard Sum Sum saying: This is me--------SUM SUM

2. Those in their 50s should remember how beautiful SUM SUM was in the early 1970s.

3. Sum Sum: one of the most beautiful and loveliest singers. I was in love with her.

4. Sum Sum has a very soft and sweet voice. She is singing gracefully!

5. A beautiful song sung by a beautiful singer. Sum Sum is ageless.  Can you please include the lyrics so I can sing along?

san wang wu ti and beer

Only recently then I know this Taoist sect 'Three King Five Emperor' has a website : http://sanhuangwudi.org/

But there is nothing about opera; it is about its religious activities.



Recently I tried this beer. At first I thought it is a pale black colour but it is like other beers - yellowish gold colour. If you are interested in beer, here is a beer blog: http://beerasia.blogspot.com/



Did you notice people have been using my announcement box at the right column to announce their websites and products. I have not visited any of them.

miscellaneous

The FAIRPRICE supermarket near my house has recently started to operate 24h, so it needs more employees. I was there a few times after midnight and the only cashiers on duty were two young women from China. I asked one of them. She said she didn't mind the night shift.

I also noticed two other new employees who don't look local - one young Indian woman and another Asian woman. Later I found out that the Indian was a foreigner who married a Singaporean and the Asian woman is a Vietnamese whose husband is a Singaporean. Both of them are SC now.

I thought Singapore men marry foreign women to keep them at home to be housewives?


Occasionally the pubic read in the papers stories of badly-behaved pupils. In reality such incidents are not uncommon. Pity teachers who have to face rude and unmotivated pupils every day, year after year.

If you ask the discipline masters of secondary schools whether caning of pupils should be abolished, I think most will say no. Not that they like to cane pupils but they want it to be an option. It is a deterrent. Actually schools very rarely do that and if they do, it is done most reluctantly.

Counselling? For some pupils, counselling alone doesn't work. 'Some pupils know what counsellors want and put up a show for them. There are pupils who only listen to the cane.' one DM said.

Chinese opera shows 2

Wong Wai Kuan and Leong So Mui during a rehearsal ...


I watch quite a lot of Chinese opera shows, foreign and local. If you are performing, you may leave a note in the box at the right column.

Below is the list of Chinese Operas I attended in the second quarter (April to June). Blue indicates non-Cantonese shows.

No	Date	Venue	Show	Troupe/Performers
01	30-04-10	Victoria Theatre	Painted Skin/Others	COI & Potong Pasir Yue Opera Group
02	02-05-10	Lee Foundation Theatre	Cantonese Opera Extravaganza	CTC & Kreta Ayer CC Opera Group
03	22-05-10	Marine Parade CC	Cantonese opera excerpts/songs	Marine Parade CC Opera Group
04	23-05-10	Marine Parade CC	Cantonese opera excerpts/songs	Marine Parade CC Opera Group
05	08-06-10	KAPT	風雨泣萍姬	南宁市粤剧团
06	09-06-10	KAPT	目連僧救母	南宁市粤剧团
07	10-06-10	KAPT	三氣周瑜	南宁市粤剧团
08	11-06-10	KAPT	西河會妻	南宁市粤剧团
09	12-06-10	KAPT	玉碎宮傾恨綿綿	南宁市粤剧团
10	13-06-10	KAPT	折子戏精選	南宁市粤剧团
11	13-06-10	KAPT	乾隆點狀元	南宁市粤剧团
12	19-06-10	Kreta Ayer CC	excerpts/songs	Chan Mei Yin, KACC Opera Group
13	20-06-10	Lee Foundation Theatre	excerpts/songs	CTC, KACC Opera Group
14	26-06-10	KAPT	宋皇告狀	Woo Wai Fong and Kong Chow Opera Group
15	27-06-10	Kampong Glam CC	紅豆传情会知音	Kampong Glam CC Opera Group

recurring decimals

The 220kg fish cost $6000.
$6000 divided by 220 kg = $27.2727.......... per kg

It is a recurring decimal; that means the digits 2 and 7 repeat themselves indefinitely.

Do you remember how to change recurring decimals to fractions? I think you learned this in sec 1 or 2.

If you have forgotten, here is a method .....:

Convert the recurring decimal 0.2727272727....... to fraction

let A = 0.2727272727.....
then, 100A = 27.2727272727.....

100A - A = 27.2727272727..... - 0.2727272727.....
or 99A = 27 (all the decimals behind subtract off )

therefore, A = 27 upon 99
that is A = 3/11.

Doing Maths is a good way to keep your mind active.

琵琶上路

There are several opera videos by this name at Chinese video sites like Tudou. It was performed by 罗家宝 and 曾慧. But I didn't find any in YouTube. Below is a different one by 蔣文端.

fish jaws

Did you read about the giant 220kg grouper fish (not the one in the picture) which a restaurant boss bought for $6000? The whole fish has already been eaten up.

No, I didn't go and eat the fish. This is fish jaws steamed with simple ingredients. Judging by the jaws, the fish must be quite big. The pieces you see here are the lower jaws including the lips and cheeks. The teeth cannot be eaten. If you are a fish eater, I think you would like this.

$ x % = $ ??

If you are a Maths teacher and you go shopping with a friend, probably you will be asked to do the calculations like finding the price after discount. Why ask me, you said. 'You teach Maths, right?' Some people assume that Math teachers are Maths wizards.

All of us study Maths in school and we take it at O level. We know the basics, so you don't need to be a Maths teacher to calculate things like 20% of $65. Most of us can still remember how to do it, right?

I think you are aware that hawkers at wet markets can do their calculations very fast. For example if the fish is $9.50 per kg. The fishmonger puts a fish on a simple weighing scale which only reads the weight and he tells you almost immediately "400g, $3.80, I sell you $3.50". I guess it is not very accurate, maybe they read to the nearest 50g.

I think it is because of frequent practice or perhaps they have memorized tables of weights and prices like we used to memorize our multiplication timetables when we were in school.

The Time-warp Woman

Hello friends, especially the nostalgic ones, do you feel that the world is moving too fast and that not all changes are good for mankind? Would you like to live your life as it were, say, 20 ... 30 ... or 40 years ago?

This eccentric woman shut herself off from the outside world. She lived in a surrealistic world where time stood still right up to the time her life ended. It happened in London. This is an old newspaper cutting.

Income gap

I was reading something. The writer was not quite happy with growth. He said it only makes the rich richer.

It makes me think a bit about the income gap between the rich and the poor. This is not unique to Singapore. Many countries, including China, have this problem. Just share with you my simple view on a complicated issue.

I think it is inevitable that the gap increases because the rich have more money to invest. Money makes money. The professionals will get higher pay increases and bigger bonuses than the blue-collar workers. So it is very difficult to narrow the gap. We can't stop (and should not) the rich from getting richer; but we can help the others to earn more and give the very poor a safety net.. Whatever, I think the gap will widen.

On the positive side, it is not a bad thing for the rich to get richer because they will spend more too and pay more consumption tax or GST. They will also have to pay more income tax. In fact the more they earn, a higher percentage of their income goes to income tax. Much of these taxes will be go back to society for the benefit of the community and to help the poorer people.

If the rich do not make money or start to earn less, it means the economy is not doing well. There is little or no growth. The poor would be more badly affected.

One important thing is that the rich must not flaunt their wealth and the poor must not be resentful of the rich.

miscellaneous

You know, during this World Cup season, I didn't bet a single dollar on any match. Not that I listened to Uncle Dick who always advises people not to gamble. Just that I didn't have the urge. Although I have no psychic pets to help me, I predicted the outcome of both semi-finals and the final game correctly. I was thinking of investing in a pet like a bird or a fish and training it to pick cards.

Weekend, I met up with an old friend. He likes to talk nostalgic things. He told me he met a former principal recently. He is Mr Naidu. Some pupils used to call him 92 (same sound). He was a tall man with a lofty air around him. Some old Victorians may remember him as he was a principal of Victoria School before. He must be in his 70s now. According to my friend, he is still alert and sprightly and is chairman or president of something. Good for seniors to keep active.

Recently I went to a Starhub Centre to get something done. The person who attended to me was a tall young man, pleasant and polite. I thought he looked a bit like Mingde. I think he is new in the job because several times he had to ask the female colleague next to him for advice. And she helped him, cheerfully too. It is nice to have a colleague like that.

pricks

That day a young lady used a needle to poke me twice. No, I have not offended her. I was also not playing the fool with her, like trying to put a sticker on the front of her body.

I was at a clinic. She was the nurse trying to draw my blood. She pricked my right arm with the needle of the syringe. Then she pulled the handle. But only a little blood flowed into the tube. So she pushed the needle further in. Ouch! Still not much blood.

Not enough sir, I NEED MORE BLOOD : she proclaimed. I thought she sounded gleeful.

Those were chilling words. That means she would do it all over again. So, she took another syringe and pricked my left arm. Thankfully she got the blood she wanted. Otherwise don't know where she would poke me next.

Good, sir. I have enough blood : She said, as if she just drank it.

First time I got two pricks from a nurse.

distance-based fare

I think the distance-based fare is a reasonable one. People who often travel long distances complained because they have to pay more. But, in future their travel pattern might change. Looking at it another way, it means in the past people who travelled longer distances were given concession but now this is not so.

By the way I don't think it is possible for everyone to benefit from every policy change.

Elderly citizens using concessionary cards and who frequently travel long distances are also unhappy. But the important thing is that they still have concession although some may benefit less than before.

It would be good if there is a distance-based road tax structure - the more you use your car on the road the more road tax you pay. If you don't drive out from your car-park, you pay zero road tax. It is not the same as ERP which is mainly to alleviate road congestion. It only charges you for using certain roads during certain times.

lao 勞

In the third post below this I mentioned 2 singers (易翠苹, 勞天賜) with rare surnames Yi and Lao. According to this report in the Sunday papers, Lao is indeed very rare. There are only about 500 people with this surname. This is the lo clan's website: http://www.lo-family.net/

adults at play

Last month I saw a funny scene outside the Kreta Ayer People's Theatre. An opera troupe from China was performing during that period. It was early evening and two artistes were outside.

The man crept quietly up to the woman's back. Then, I think, he pretended to paste something on her back. She turned around and he darted away. Quite amusing ... suddenly they looked like primary school kids up to their childish antics.

So, don't think only children play the fool, adults too.

singapore huadan

Taking video clips takes up a lot of space in my camera card. For example, the clip below is just 45 seconds but it is 74.5MB in size. Anyone knows how to reduce the size of a video clip without affecting quality and length? Or how to make a clip brighter or darker ?

some photos

The following photos were from different performances by local groups in June. Any of your friends there?

This is a unique and mismatching pair - their surnames that is. Both surnames yi and lao are rare and they are almost opposite in meaning: yi means easy or simple while lao means labour or toil.
易翠苹, 勞天賜


鐘麗容, 蔡美雲


合影


合影


合影


司儀 - 陳淑樺


盧少玲, 陳沛誠


洪清芳, 周汶姿


黃安妮


陳春喜, 盧少玲


Here is a short song clip by Kwan Siu Peng.

偷祭瀟湘館 - 關小萍

illiterate

Recently I asked an acquaintance, a regular at Cantonese opera shows, why he didn't take up singing. He was frank. 'How to learn? I don't recognize words' he said in Cantonese. It means he is illiterate.

Initially I was a bit surprised because he was not that old. Then I thought there could be a number of people like him. I guess it was about 45 years ago when he was of school-going age. Education was not compulsory then. Some parents did not send their children to school. Some had no money; a few thought it was not necessary for their children, especially girls, to have an education. But I believe many of these children later attended some adult classes. And those who managed to go to university were a fortunate lot.

That means there is still a group of older Singaporeans who could not read. So, teaching them to go online would be quite difficult. And I suppose certain upgrading programmes for workers would also not benefit them.

my favourite photo

南宁市粤剧团生旦(2)

李東芳 - 善財童子(目連僧救母)
Lee Tung Fong as The Heavenly Child of Benevolence.

This is my favourite photo. It looks dynamic. Some artistes will just strike a standard pose with a stoical face. In this photo you can see joy in the girl's face and eyes. Obviously she enjoyed her role in the opera. Her pose reflects a cheerful optimism and her determination to bring goodness to mankind.


黃日梅 - 西宮娘娘(西河會妻)
Wong Yat Mui as Empress of the West Palace

Her haughty unreasonable ways in the show makes you think of Lee Heong Kam, the evil West Empress in old Cantonese movies whom people would throw rotten eggs at. Disappointingly, no one brought rotten eggs that night.


宁靖 - 鬼差(目連僧救母)

Ning Jing, a young sheng, played the role of a guard in Hell. I stumbled upon him resting quietly by himself at backstage. The place he was sitting matched the role he was acting - a dark corner behind the black backdrop. Maybe he was waiting to give his girlfriend a scare.


宁靖 - 赵子龙(三氣周瑜)

From Hell to the Battlefield, Ning Jing again. Here he was the formidable general Zhao Zi Long escorting his master safely home.


陈秋燕 - 刀馬旦(火凤凰主角)
Chan Chow Yin generally does the martial and main dancing roles.

When I saw her she had already removed her make-up and costume. Usually huadans don't like their photos to be taken like that. However, she obliged when I made a request. Gymnastics, acrobatics and dancing are her daily routine. Ladies, if you do this everyday, surely you will have a figure like hers.

Note: I will be taking a break. There will be no new posts for about 2 weeks.

photos - 南宁市粤剧团生旦 (1)

黄伟坤
Wong Wai Kuan was a guest artiste. He is from the Shenzhen Troupe.


The following are from the Guangxi Nanning Cantonese Opera Troupe.

梁素梅


余韧


姚艳, 余韧


黃俊成, 姚艳, 梁素梅


黃俊成 as 目連僧


姚艳


梁素梅


余韧


Here is a short clip by Wong Jurn Seng, the lead sheng of the Troupe. The huadan in the clip is Wong Yat Mui, 黃日梅.

南宁市粤剧团文武生 - 黃俊成

unlikely to happen

Last Sunday I watched the Opera Excerpts Show by the Nanning Cantonese Opera Troupe. At first I had no intention of taking videos. After the first two excerpts I took out the camera and wanted to take a short clip.

Soon after I pressed the button, the battery icon started blinking. Battery was going empty.

It was not complacency or taking things for granted. It is more like the 'unlikely to happen' attitude. I just charged the battery a few days ago. So I thought it was unlikely to conk out so soon. But I did not take into account that I took quite a number of photos in the past few days. Perhaps it is this thinking that sometimes unpleasant things happen.

Back to the shows. The Show was certainly one of the best of the 7 shows the Nanning Troupe presented. The 6 excerpts were interesting, entertaining and well-performed. There were generous displays of fine singing and traditional opera skills. For myself I liked the first 2 and the last excerpt.

The first was about a meeting between a scholar and the daughter of the Sea Dragon King. It was performed by Wong Wai Kuan and Leong So Mui.

The second was about the meeting of two brothers of the patriotic Yang family at a temple. It was performed by two young artistes of the troupe.

The last was about a young girl falling in love with a teacher. It was a short and sweet piece by Wong Juen Seng and Yew Yim.

Here is the very short clip I took, only 17 seconds. It showed a man beating a woman, opera-style. (The man was forced to beat the woman he loved.)

打寇珠 - 许光华, 刘希瑛 .....

$20 at keong siak road

A parking warden doing its duty at Keong Siak Road


I have mentioned that now there is no more free parking on Sundays and public holidays at the car-park at the Kreta Ayer People's Theatre as well as at nearby roads.

That Sunday I parked my car at Keong Siak Road. I displayed a parking coupon valid for one hour. Then I went to Kreta Ayer People's Theatre and after that I went to a shop at the ground floor of the nearby food centre to get something done. I came back and found a notice of a $20-fine on the windscreen. Because I was away for about 3 hours. I thought the traffic wardens wouldn't be so hardworking on a Sunday.

Driving to KAPT for an opera show is quite expensive. You have to park for more than 3 hours and then there is ERP charges and petrol cost. It is better to take public transport.

Our public transport system is good, comfortable and efficient.

wet pants

A few evenings ago I was sitting in a bus returning home. My bag was on my lap. Suddenly I felt my trousers becoming wet. What happened? I tried to feel mentally if I had let out any fluid. No, I didn't.

The culprit was the water bottle in my bag. It contained some water and had fallen sideways. But there was one thing I did not know until then - there was a crack on the cap. See picture below.

It was uncomfortable sitting in wet pants with strangers around you. And what would they think when you stood up and they saw a wet patch at the front of your trousers. I used my bag to shield the embarrassing part.

Fortunately my phone and cameras were not damaged by the water.

Now performing

at Kreta Ayer People's Theatre till 13 June 2010 .....


Artistes of the Guangxi Nanning Cantonese Opera Troupe .....




Newspaper article .....

religion

On Vesak Day, I saw in the news people burning joss-sticks but from what I learnt about Buddhism, Buddhists don't do such thing. They believe in self-reliance.

My family burn joss-sticks, incense papers and we pray to Chinese Gods and to our ancestors. That is Taoism, right?

My earlier contact with Christianity happened when I was in upper secondary. I had a friend and classmate who often invited us, his classmates, to his YFC gatherings. They were held at premises near our school and it was held once week after school. But he did not pester us to go or preach to us. I attended a few sessions.

He was a tall pleasant helpful boy who looked like he wouldn't harm a mosquito. It was his conduct and action that impressed me and so gave me a good impression of Christianity too. It is like the conduct and action of Muslim terrorists that give Islam a bad name. That impression about Christianity remains till now.

Over the years I had young people who came up to my flat to try to talk to me about Christianity or invite me to talks. Usually I just talked to them for a while and then sent them away.