Walking for the Animals

*Another piece of assignment that I wrote for a journalism course last semester*

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated,” Claudia Mo Man-ching, member of the Civic Party, delivered a quote by Mahatma Gandhi at the opening ceremony of a Sunday walkathon.

During a Legislative Council meeting earlier this year, Dr. York Chow, the Secretary for Food and Health, reported that the number of stray dogs and cats caught or received by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) in 2009 was 15600. Over 85% of these animals were euthanized.

In response to animal rights and welfare issues in society, the Civic Party held a “You and I and Them Walk-the-Walk” walkathon for pet owners and their pets at the Peak on 14^th November.

The aims of the walkathon were to arouse the public’s attention to animal welfare issues, and also raise funds for the Civic Party.

“The main themes of today’s fund-raising event are animal-friendly policies and animal rights.” said Leong Kah-kit, Internal Vice Chairman of the Civic Party.

In regards to the problem of stray animals being put to death, the Civic Party urges the government to implement the “Trap, Neuter and Release” (TNR) programme.

“It is a world-famous policy adopted by every civilized society. The current practice, which is to euthanize animals if they don’t get adopted within 4 days after they’ve been trapped, is not a way of respecting lives,” said Claudia Mo. “Stray dogs aren’t a great problem if they’re neutered. Give them a chance.”

Apart from the handling of stray animals, conflict between housing estates and pets is another animal right issue that arouses the Civic Party’s concern.

During the event, some participants expressed that they were forced to leave their house with their pets.

Grace Pang and her husband are former residents of The Pacifica. They have been living in the estate with their Pekingese in the past couple of years.

“When we first moved in, we were allowed to keep a dog,” said Grace. “However, recently we got a letter from the Management Service Center asking us to take away our dog within 14 days, or we’ll face a lawsuit.”

The couple eventually decided to sell their property and move away with their dog. They said they felt “helpless” towards the whole situation.

“We are just ordinary people… we really had no idea what to do or where to seek help from.” Grace expressed, after thanking the Civic Party for helping her voice her feelings through the event.

Stanley Cheung, Grace’s former neighbor at the Pacifica, also faced the same problem and made the same decision as Grace’s family. He thinks Civic Party’s walkathon helped soothe his hard feelings.

“This event helps the situation…” said Stanley. “It raises the public’s awareness of cases like ours.”

Regarding the cases brought up by the estate’s former residents, the Management Service Centre of The Pacifica says as a lot of details are still under investigation, they currently have no plans to comment on the matter.

The walkathon started at 3PM at Mount Austin Playground on the Peak and lasted for around two hours. The route passed by the Peak Galleria, Pokfulam Reservoir Road, Pokfulam Reservoir and finished at the Pokfulam PHAB camp. Helpers from the Civic Party estimated a total of 150 participants in the event.

According to Claudia Mo, there is no specific plan for the use of the funds raised by the walkathon. However, she added that the Civic Party would keep putting effort into protecting animal rights.

2010年12月31日
一年365日, 總會有喜有樂, 亦有苦有悲
來到一年的尾聲, 是時候把這年的煩惱瑣事放下, 把美好回憶留在身邊, 好好迎接新一年
世界每分每秒都在變, 將來的事亦不能預測
無論你抱著什麼心情, 什麼態度, 生活總要過
緊記: 知足常樂, 珍惜身邊一切, 以開懷的心態享受生命每一天

祝各位2011年身體健康, 日日快樂!

Urban renewal may scare away hungry ghost

Urban development may be taking away cultural heritage and neighborhood bonds. A Yue Lan association of long history in Central is going to lose their headquarter because of redevelopment projects launched by the URA (Urban Renewal Authority). The traditional Yue Lan Festival celebrations are likely to be much smaller in scale in the future, and residents in the area will lose their usual gathering place.

The headquarter of the 30 House Yue Lan Associates has been on Staunton Street for more than a decade. The associates set up their office here back in 1996. Over the past 14 years, the associates and residents in the area have been using this place to prepare for their annual celebration events for the Yue Lan Festival, which is a well-known Chinese ghost festival in Hong Kong.

“We distribute ‘blessed rice’, run parades and hold worship ceremonies,” said Mr. Wong Kan-Oi, the chairman of the association.

This headquarter of the age-old association has become a gathering spot for residents around the area. According to people living nearby, a lot of elderly show up at the office to meet each other and chat every day. This usual practice has successfully built a strong bond among residents in the area.

The associates also hold different kinds of gathering events regularly for the neighborhood, like visits to elderly centers, dinner gatherings and one-day trips.
Every year before the Yue Lan Festival, local residents also take part in the preparation work for the celebration.

“Residents here know each other well and we come to the headquarter and help make paper offerings before the Yue Lan Festival every year,” said Ms. Lai, an elderly who visits the office every day. “The associates are kind to us; they respect us and treat us all very well.”

The Staunton Street/Wing Lee Street Project is one of the URA’s ongoing redevelopment plans. This project involves the area surrounding the association’s office and the URA is acquiring properties in the area for future development purpose. Information from the public relations department of the URA says the authority has already acquired the Yue Lan association’s property on Staunton Street, but the association may extend their lease to February 2011, and keep the office until the redevelopment work starts.

According to Mr. Wong, the deadline given by the URA is 11 February 2011. Though redevelopment work will not start until the authority has acquired enough properties in the area, the URA has not said whether the association can further extend their lease next year, or guaranteed to relocate the office in the same district.

Mr. Wong and other associates do not know what exactly they will do with the association when the lease expires. However, they hope to continue their annual Yue Lan celebration.

“We will try our best to continue our annual ceremony, but we are not sure if the event can be as successful as before,” Mr. Wong said. “Even if we could hold the event, we expect it to be smaller in scale than in the past.”

The associates are now facing problems preparing for the event next year. According to Mr. Wong, preparation work takes months to finish, but now it is difficult for them to order preparation materials as they are not sure whether they will have a place to keep the stock after February.

The nearby residents know that the headquarter is going to be closed when redevelopment work begins. However, they have not been able to find another place to replace their old spot.

“The other closest gathering place is the Kwong Hon Terrace Garden, but you’ll need to cross a few roads and go uphill to reach there,” Mr. Wong noted. “It’s difficult for the elderly to get there.”

When asked whether the association plans to buy another property in the nearby area to replace the old one, Mr. Wong said it might not be a feasible solution.

“After all, we are located in the Soho area, and rent here is extremely high,” he said. “We may not be able to afford it.”

Though there are still a lot of uncertainties regarding the relocation of the headquarter and the arrangements for the Yue Lan ceremonies in the years to come, Mr. Wong is still optimistic about the future.

“I think there’s still room for negotiation with the government. They’ve sent officials to discuss matter with us,” said Mr. Wong. “I believe they understand our situation and will take it into consideration when they carry out the redevelopment project.”

娛樂圈血淚史II尾場

黃子華這次棟篤笑名為「娛樂圈血淚史II」。這個血淚史的第一輯，原來與今日相隔廿年，早於1990年上演了。所謂的血淚史，就名符其實是黃子華過去廿年在圈中的種種經歷，當中有甜有苦、有高有低、有樂有哀，子華就趁這個機會「一鋪哂冷」，以拿手的棟篤笑方式與大家分享所見所聞。

11月8日是表演的尾場 (後來加開了11月9日)，紅館全場爆滿，由舞台邊的握手位至遠方的「山頂位」都座無虛席。約八時半，表演正式開始。子華甫進場的一刻，如雷灌耳的掌聲和歡呼聲四起；期待已久的粉絲們都懶理「嚴禁偷拍」的規條，全場閃光燈頓時閃過不停。粉絲們拍照都還能理解，但見子華手上亦拿著一部相機，邊走邊反拍觀眾們，上到台更自拍了好幾張，最後竟把相機拋向觀眾席－原來是份超豪見面禮!

作為熱身，子華播了好幾段過往的經典演出，然後才慢慢入正題，與大家細訴自己娛樂圈中的喜與悲。他說自己當年憑一個棟篤笑一炮而紅後，很快便人氣下滑，事業進入低潮，試過好幾年都無人問津，深深體會為作為演員「無人搵」的滋味。他說自己一直想拍電影，無奈無齣電影的反應都差強人意，但他堅持，說「要死都要死在自己手上」，所以自編自導自演「一蚊雞保鏢」，結果發覺電影名竟預測了票房收入，果真死了在自己手上。他說試過有導演找他拍戲時對他說 :「華仔偉仔呢，就拍o個D戲(手指向天)，你呢，就拍呢D(手指向地)。」亦有專拍黑社會戲的導演說他「睇個樣都唔識講粗口，就算講都講得唔順口」。他又說試過做棟篤笑反應麻麻，翌日報紙便大字標題寫道: 「黃子華淡出」。

雖說人生不如意事十常八九，但除了辛酸史外，當然也會有威水史。他說曾因棟篤笑一舉成名，即時吸引了很多導演找他拍戲。他說自己當年拍「男親女愛」，劇集大受歡迎，出街人人都叫他「小強」。而最威水，當然就是能來到紅館－並非坐在第一行觀眾席睇騷－而是「坐過左龍」，得到眾多歌手名星都夢寐以求的機會，在紅館台上表演。

過去二十年，黃子華在圈中可能還未至於飽歷滄桑，但總算嚐過高高低低的滋味。多年來，在浮浮沉沉、時紅時黑的演藝生涯中，他就是本著「有咪做囉…無咪無囉…」的心態生存。「電影唔得，咪拍劇囉…拍劇唔得，咪做下棟篤笑囉…做做下，咪做到黎紅館囉!」由當年幾百個座位的小演藝廳做到今天幾萬席的紅館，子華這句說話，贏得全場掌聲。由於是尾場的關係，在表演結束前，子華多說了些話，分享了一點感受，把整個騷的意思說得更明白，大抵就是在說: 在追求「夢想」的過程中，你可能會經歷挫折、可能會意志消沈，但一條路行不通，你可以找另一條，只要不放棄，肯不停試，最終都會達成心願。

要達成夢想，我們並非要除去沿途所有難關。很多事都受外在因素影響，不是說要解決就能解決到。要明白人生總不會一帆風順，總會有些日子特別難熬，有些日子特別幸運。我們要做的，就是在艱難時刻咬緊牙關捱過去。只要不放棄自己，終有一天，屬於你的時機會來臨。

Apple Delays the Release of White iPhone 4 Again

Bad news for Apple fans. Beside the fact that the black version of iPhone 4 has run out of stock and won't be available for orders, Apple just announced that the release date of the white version will be further delayed.

A few months ago, Apple announced its newest phone - iPhone 4, saying that there will be black and white versions of the phone. However, up till now, the company has yet to release the white iPhone 4, announcing that the much-anticipated white version will not be available untill Spring 2011. This is already the third delay for the product.

As for the reasons for the delay, one theory is that the white iPhone 4 is having problems with its camera. Rumor has it that when flash is used, the white case leaks light and greatly affects picture quality.

Another saying is that, of all colors, applying white onto iPhone 4's glass case is the most difficult. If the layer of color is too thin, the case would leak light, which may probably affect the camera quality. However, if the color is too thick, the semi-transparent feature of the case would be lost. This creates manufacturing difficulties for the white version.

Whatever the reasons, apple is surely having unexpected technical problems producing a white version of its new iPhone, and after the antennagate scandal with the black version, it is highly possible that the company is doing whatever it can to minimize hardware deficiencies before releasing the new product - even if it means delaying the release date again and again.

Some questions remain. If Apple is to release the white iPhone 4 in Spring next year, will it still stick to the regular schedule of releasing a new iPhone in June/July every year? If an iPhone 5 is expected in summer 2011, would it it look totally different from iPhone 4? Some speculate that after the antenna/camera/manufacturing problems associated with the current iPhone 4, the next generation of iPhone is likely to have a complete redesign. Though a lot of questions are left unsolved, there's one thing we can be sure of : with the shortage of black iPhone 4 and delay of the white version, iPhone 4 scalping is bound to be outrageous when they hit the market again.

Linkin Park's New MV - Waiting for the End

Linkin Park has just released the official music video for "Waiting for the End", a song from their latest album "A Thousand Suns".

The music video is directed by Joe Hahn, the DJ and sampler for the band. Joe has directed a number of the band's music videos in the past, including The Catalyst, which is another single from their new album. In the MV for Waiting for the End, the band members are portrayed as digital individuals in a dark space, with luminous grids wrapping around their bodies. The scene flashes from one band member to another, featuring each of them seperately.

"It was an opportunity to experiment with pushing the digital envelope as it pertains to the visual language created thus far for A Thousand Suns. It was my attempt to digitally crush us to the point that you feel the soul of the music through what has become the essence of us. We become the ghosts in the machine. Some may say that because of technology, we lose a sense of who we are. I counter that by illustrating that we can get closer to who we are if we sift through the noise." said Joe.

A Thousand Suns is Linkin Park's fourth studio album, a concept album featuring the theme of nuclear warfare. The band is currently on the A Thousand Suns Tour, which started on 7th October, promoting their new album. The tour is scheduled to finish in December, with Australia as the last leg.

令人大失所望的迪士尼Halloween

來到十月，不少人都懷著興奮的心情迎接萬聖節來臨，香港兩大主題公園一如往年，各自舉行萬聖節特別節目。小記用了兩晚時間，分別去了迪士尼樂園和海洋公園，參與兩個截然不同的Halloween Party。只能說，海洋公園的表現更勝以前，但迪士尼就真的太令人失望了。

海洋公園的「十月全城哈囉喂」已踏入第十年，活動似乎愈做愈好，鬼屋數量多之餘，每年都一定有新的主題故事、佈置和演員，連演員的嚇人方式亦見新意，絕不會把舊元素「翻炒」。除了鬼屋內面，海洋公園也十分注重整體的樂園氣氛，公園大街小巷都有不同造型的「厲鬼」到處遊蕩，還有多個配合萬聖節主題的音樂、舞蹈和話劇表演，整個公園變了個大型派對，節目類型多元化之餘，亦盡顯樂園娛樂大眾的心思，令人耳目一新。

相比之下，迪士尼就遜色不少。今年黑色世界只有兩間鬼屋，分別以酒店和森林為主題，鬼屋佈置尚算可以，內面的演員們也算賣力嚇人。除了鬼屋，也有巡遊表演、街頭舞蹈、與卡通人物合照等活動，節目種類也勉強足夠。看到這裡，你大抵覺得迪士尼的萬聖節活動看上去也還可以，怎樣也不至於令人失望吧！對，它的鬼屋和巡遊等等活動的確有一定娛樂性，但卻有一個致命傷：大部分節目與去年萬聖節活動一樣。是真的完全沒有改變，把上年的東西搬回來再做一次。例如，那間以酒店為主題的鬼屋由入口，以致內部裝飾、路線、鬼角色等等原素都跟去年相同。如果你之前來過，而記憶力又不算太差，大抵都不會感受到任何驚喜。除此之外，連巡遊的花車、演員舞蹈和服飾也是跟去年完全無分別。所以簡單來說，之前已經來過的遊客們，今次只會覺得所有東西都重覆一次，無半點新意。

其實，迪士尼輸不在它的佈置或演員質素，而是誠意。大家都明白，迪士尼對象主要是小朋友，即使辦萬聖節活動，也總不能太過恐怖，以免嚇怕小孩子；而由於樂園面積有限，鬼屋數量較少也是能理解的。之不過，把舊元素直接搬出來再做一次，就絕對令付錢入場的遊客覺得樂園亳無誠意。萬聖節活動一年一次，某些遊客可能去年來過，覺得活動不錯，所以今年再來，但十二個月時間不算太長，舊客對上年的活動記憶猶新，這次來到看到相同的東西，只會覺得浪費金錢，來年亦恐怕無興趣再來。反正都要付錢，與其重溫一次舊年看過的東西，倒不如到另一個樂園體驗全新的活動！

迪士尼樂園若想與本地的海洋公園平分秋色，必須花多點心思去設計節日活動。某程度上，迪士尼今次是自己不爭氣了。人家海洋公園只是個本地樂園，也肯每年搞搞新意思，換換主題；迪士尼是個國際主題樂園，論財力論經驗應該不比海洋公園差，但卻為何敷衍了事呢？非不能也，實不為也。是否知道海洋公園的「哈囉喂」節目十分受歡迎，所以自動棄權，不打算競爭？其實兩個公園對象不同，迪士尼大可行另一條路線，用家喻戶曉的經典卡通人物搞個可愛有趣的萬聖派對，效果可能更好。現在迪士尼那些想賣恐怖，但又不算十分驚嚇的鬼屋跟原本可愛有趣的卡通主題根本格格不入，兩者似乎有點矛盾。想來看卡通人物的遊客覺得童話元素不夠，追求刺激的遊客又或許覺得鬼屋驚嚇度遠比不上海洋公園。與其搞得「兩頭唔到岸」，何不專心做好自己老本行，來個適合一家大小的歡樂卡通萬聖節目？香港人喜歡娛樂，亦負擔得起，香港絕對能容下兩個主題公園。但若連一個萬聖節活動都不肯花心思去辦好，他日上海迪士尼樂園落成，香港迪士尼的經營恐怕會面對更大威脅。希望香港迪士尼樂園能早日認清自己的定位，在將來的節日活動中奉上更多誠意和新意，不要再令花真金白銀入場的遊客失望。

Top 10 Reasons Why Girls Love Edward Cullen

~ Top 10 Reasons Why Girls Love Edward Cullen ~
1. He's a vampire who doesn't bite. Having him as a boyfriend is like keeping the rarest pet on the planet.
2. He reads mind. That makes him the best tool for you to identify genuine friends and bitches among all the people around you.
3. He's super rich, and will happily buy you anything, from a race car to a place at a university like Dartmouth.
4. He's got a psychic sister. Befriend her and ask her about the stock market trend. You'll soon become the next Bill Gates (female version, of course).
5. He runs very fast and doesn't mind carrying a girlfriend on his back. That saves you a lot of traveling time and expenditure.
6. He doesn't sleep. You'll never feel helpless or alone when you wake up from a nightmare and want somebody to talk to 3A.M. in the morning.
7. He's 109 years old. Mature enough to help you handle any problems that you haven't experienced yet. Can probably help you get an A in History exams.
8. He's unbelievably handsome. Has "God-like features", as described by Bella Swan. And the best thing is, his face stays like this forever. You can enjoy the same beautiful face every single day of forever.
9. He's bizarrely moral (for a vampire). Refuses to change you into a vampire as he doesn't want you to become a "soulless monster" like him. Cares about your virginity even more than you do. Extremely loyal and faithful. Ready to marry you and stay with you forever (literally, as he's immortal).
10. He makes you realize that there's no such perfect creature like him in the human world. Wake up and face the reality. You should be really thankful if your human boyfriend has any of the above qualities.

我不是iPhone! 但我也有Multi-tasking功能!

今時今日的智能電話功能多多，能發電郵、無線上網、玩遊戲、聽音樂、看電影、拍高清影片......而近來蘋果推出的iPhone 4，又標榜「multi-tasking」的功能, 即同一時間處理不同任務。「Multi-tasking」在智能電話市場上並非新玩意，只是蘋果推介的功能總會特別引人注目。看到這些產品報導，我忽發奇想，其實我們香港人又何嘗不是善於multi-tasking的「智能人」呢?

在香港，生活節奏急速，「得閒死唔得閒病」這句說話就充分反映出時間有多珍貴。在這環境下，我們人人都間接被訓練成multi-tasker了!

做學生，要懂得multi-tasking。雖說求學不是求分數，但要入大學，要有好前途，仍是要靠一張成績表。為了在公開試中取得佳績，不少學生除了上學，放學後還補讀多個補習班，每月給補習名師奉獻好幾百元，就是要取得「雞精Notes」，全力催谷成績。不過，這樣還未夠! 因為求學並不只是求分數，而是要求學生有豐富的生活經驗。為了令學生紀錄表上的「課外學習」一欄更加精采，學生在課餘時間還要參與各種課外活動，務求做到琴棋書畫樣樣皆精，而最終目標，當然是成為個文武兼備的高材生，爭取一個大學學位(最好當然是「名牌大學」了)，完成爹娘心願，光宗耀祖。除了以上的「正經事」，求學時期的青少年都處於青春期，對愛情充滿好奇心和憧憬，在數年求學生涯中，情情愛愛的小插曲通常都少不了。又要顧好成績，又要發掘讀書以外的個人潛能，緣份來到時更要上寶貴的愛情第一課，以上種種加起來，學生不懂multi-tasking又怎能應付?

做打工仔，更加要學曉multi-tasking。要有升職機會、要爭取更高人工，當然要出盡己力「做好呢份工」。但這通常都是說易行難，每日面對一堆又一堆的沉悶至極的工作，人的隋性便會開始誘惑你去找機會「蛇王」。老闆一走開，大家便以九秒九的速度收起電腦屏幕上的Microsoft Office工具，取而代之的當然是Facebook、MSN等版面了!一邊工作，一邊娛樂，相信也是multi-tasking的一種吧!除此之外，在爾虞我詐的社會工作，實在要一心幾用，除了做好本份，還要一眼關七，提防身邊小人，以防墮入現實版的「宮心計」!下班後，雖然暫時擺脫了工作負擔，但仍要花精神與家人維繫感情、花時間溝通溝通，處理各項家族大小事務。俱俱一個打工仔，身上的職務卻往往比職銜大得多，在這種環境下仍能生存至今的打工仔們，不是multi-tasking達人又是什麼呢?

在香港，連家庭主婦都是一等一的multi-tasker!何以見得?因為她們每日要處理的事務，可能比學生或打工仔更多!作為家庭主婦，做家務是例行動作。千萬別小看「做家務」這職責!即使是煮一頓飯，也需要經過精心計劃才能成功。這頓飯疏菜和肉的比例平衡嗎?太多肉又不健康，只有疏菜小朋友又未必喜歡。菜式夠新穎嗎?如果前兩天已煮過，家人大抵會吃厭吧!好了，想好菜式，下一步又要考慮怎樣煮。只得兩個爐，如何煮才能在同一時間完成幾道餸菜呢?這鑊用來蒸魚，便不能炒菜了。那大煲用了來煲湯，那如何炆牛腩呢?以上一切一切，都是準備飯菜的人要考慮的事，而不少主婦們在買材料前還要精心計算支出，要以最低價錢買到最好的食材，這就叫精打細算了!單單煮一頓飯都要花這麼多心機，你可以想想所有家務加起來有多難應付!現今很多家庭主婦實在知識淵博，有些在閒時精心研究股市，孖展藍籌皆有鑽研，投資心得拍得住電視上的股市專家；有些則為了協助子女讀書，自己也讀起來，中英數常各種科目也略讀一二，是名副其實的「通識」－「通通都識」。每天要完成這麼多不同性質的任務，仍能把整個家打理得井井有條、照顧好每一個家人的家庭主婦們，multi-tasking的能力相信比iPhone 4還要厲害!

在香港生存的你，不論是學生、打工仔、家庭主婦，或是屬於其他界別，想必都有一定程度的multi-tasking能力！Multi-tasking的確是我們香港人的強項，令我們工作起來又有質素又有效率。但各位multi-taskers也要好好注意身體健康啊，長時期無休止地處理事務，再先進的智能電話也會無電，何況我們只是血肉之驅?每天花一點點時間放低所有工作，放鬆一下，為自己叉好電，明天再繼續做「智能人」吧!

Notable YouTube Channels

Youtube is a place where people can develop and share their creativity with the whole world by posting interesting videos to the site. Ordinary people get a chance to be famous by doing this and internet celebrities emerge. Some big corporations also make use of this platform to broadcast their news or online shows. Here are some interesting Youtube channels.

WhatTheBuckShow
Michael Buckley talks about hot topics in the entertainment industry, often making parodies of celebrities and pop cultures like TV shows, movies and pop stars etc. Apart from the amusing content of the show itself, his high-energy and fast-talking presentation style also grabs the viewers' attention. The channel now has more than 920, 000 subscribers.

NQTV
Remi Gaillard became famous among French media for playing a series of hilarious pranks on random targets, from innocent passer-by to policemen. He often disguises himself as cartoon characters or animals by wearing costumes. Remi played lots of different characters in his videos, like Super Mario, Pac Man, chef, beaver, butterfly, snail, astronaut and more. I wonder how many times has he been caught by the police?

Mondo Mini Shows
Mondo Mini Shows broadcasts the popular flash cartoon series Happy Tree Friends. Despite its childish title and cute appearances of the animal characters, the content of the cartoon is in fact very violent, often showing bloodsheds and scenes in which the characters are killed in a cruel and painful way.

Will It Blend?
This channel is actually a marketing campaign by Blendtec, a company that sells home blenders. Tom Dickson, the CEO of the company, demonstrate the powerful blending abilities of their products by putting non-food stuff into the machine. He has already successfully destroyed a Nike shoe, a baseball, an iPad, several iPhones, a glow stick, a Wii remote and loads of other products which are not supposed to blend.

可悲的態度

「2010年8月23日」，相信在很多香港人心中都會成為一個悲痛的日子。一個在菲律賓的康泰旅行團在離開黎剎紀念公園時，被一名持有M16步槍的前菲律賓警員上車挾持，旅遊車上的團友都成為人質。事件擾攘十一小時，最終流血收場，八名港人被殺。

對於菲警拙劣的表現，甚至拯救行動中誤殺港人的傳聞和討論，相信大家已接觸不少，亦有很多專家作過討論，在此暫且不談。我反倒想說說自己對以下人士的行為的感覺。

首先，菲律賓總統阿奎諾三世對整件事的態度，實在令人氣憤。當本港政府得悉挾持事件，曾特首已多次主動聯絡菲總統，希望確保香港人質的安全，但菲總統卻未有即時回覆。發生這樣一件關乎人命的大事，香港最高領導人已親自打電話聯絡，菲總統卻愛理不理，沒有作出回應，這是一位總統應有的表現嗎? 事件最終變成悲劇，當大家都期望菲總統會嚴肅地作出一個合理的回應時，他卻笑容滿臉地出來回見傳媒，把責任推卸到「傳媒進行直播」上，又拿俄羅斯歌劇院人質挾持事件來比較，暗示今次死傷已不算嚴重，並以輕鬆的語氣笑著說:「沒有人能保證一定可以救出人質」。總統先生，請問您笑什麼? 笑這次只是死了八個人，而非全團喪生? 還是覺得大家小題大造，過分緊張? 很明顯是次悲劇本可避免。 槍手既不是瘋狂殺人犯也不是恐怖組織，只是一個對政府有訴求的前警員，他本身亦無意要殺害人質。是菲警拯救行動連番出錯、不停刺激槍手，才會把原本可解決的事件釀成慘劇。總統在記者會上是否當著全世界的面把責任一笑置之? 即使慘劇與政府無關，作為一個正常人，也絕對無理由笑笑口地回應關於死亡的嚴肅話題吧。

除了菲律賓總統，部分菲律賓國民的態度亦令人側目。在報紙或網絡中都流傳一些當地人士在涉事康泰旅遊巴士前拍攝的合照。令人感到不解的是，相中人都並非神色哀傷，反而是開開心心笑著拍照，把案發現場當成旅遊景點一樣。他們有想過對死者及所有港人的尊重嗎? 發生一件奪去八人性命的悲劇，難道這些人都沒有同情心? 難免為他們感到可悲。這些人根本沒有情感、不明白性命的可貴、不懂珍惜和尊重生命。

此文章並非指所有菲律賓人都是這樣無情冷血，我相信不少菲律賓國民(包括在港工作的人)都與港人一樣為事件感到痛心。只是，某些人的態度和表現實在令人覺得他們沒什麼人性可言。如果面對這樣一件流血慘劇仍可若無其事地笑出來，便是沒有人類應有的情感，你說可不可悲?

在此，希望所有遇難的靈魂早日安息。康泰領隊謝先生，感謝您英勇、專業的表現，您是位英雄，港人以您為榮。一路好走。

最後，希望死裡逃生的傷者早日康復，走出陰霾，並祝願死傷者的家屬及朋友能度過難關，勇敢生存下去。本人在此送上最深切的祝福。

Bullfighting - A Barbaric Sport In A Civilized World

BBC News - Rampaging Bull Injures 40 in Spanish Arena

40 people were injured when a bull suddenly jumped out of the arena and leaped into a crowd of Spanish spectators. The bull was taken under control after running wild on the stands for several minutes and was later killed. The accident brings up the controversy about bullfighting again.

Some believe that bullfighting is a valuable cultural tradition that shouldn't be banned. Bullfighting was developed more than two hundred years ago and it indeed has a very long history. However, in the civilized world of the 21st Century where we can have almost every entertainment we want, is it still necessary to keep such a tradition that takes away the lives of innocent animals to please ourselves?

According to the World Society for the Protection of Animals, around 250,000 bulls were killed in the rings every year. That means 250,000 innocent bulls were stabbed by the lance and tortured to death while the excited spectators applause for the brave matador's glorious victory. Is this a kind of sports that we "civilized" humans should appreciate? Some may say the deaths of those bulls are nothing compared to the deaths of commercial cattle for our consumption. That might be true, but at least cattle in commercial farms won't need to endure unnecessary pain before dying, and there won't be a pack of excited crowd cheering for their deaths. Moreover, even if the situation of animal welfare is just as worse in commercial farms, does that give us a justified reason to keep this kind of cruel sport running?

The accident shows that bullfighting doesn't only cause problems in the aspect of animal welfare, but also endanger the spectators' safety. So why continue this kind of entertainment? Do we really have to see somebody risking his life to combat with a raged animal or a wild animal being slaughtered to be satisfied? All living things created by Mother Nature are equal and no intelligence or technology can put us in a higher position than the rest of other lives. We don't have the right to torture innocent animals to death just for our own pleasure. This is brutal and barbaric. "Civilized" humans, let's all stop this kind of selfish act and learn to respect lives.

Nothing was ever accomplished with tears?

Alice in Wonderland中, 毛毛蟲對Alice說過一句: Nothing was ever accomplished with tears.
的確, 面對問題時, 眼淚通常幫不上忙.
但是否沒有實際幫助便不可做?
流眼淚, 某程度上是給予自己一個發洩情感的空間.
你可以選擇禁示自己哭, 但你能保證那些淚不會在心裡流嗎?
為何不可哭? 不想接受自己也有脆弱的一面這個事實? 還是怕其他人會看低自己?
哭其實也可以是勇敢的表現啊.
去承認自己心靈也有脆弱的時候, 難道不需要勇氣?
去放低每天戴著的面具, 給自己幾分鐘, 真真正正做一隻有感覺, 有情感的動物, 也不是人人做得到.
流淚時, 我們才能接觸到心中最真的感覺呢... (有心裝哭搏同情的當然另作別論了)
流過淚, 釋放了一直被壓抑的情緒, 才有力氣繼續走前面的路.
Nothing was ever accomplished with tears. 可能吧. 但 without tears, can you be tough enough to live through all the ups and downs in life and accomplish anything at all?

情人眼裡出壽司

「情人眼裡出西施」? 不! 是「情人眼裡出壽司」才對! 這是PIP劇場現正上演的一齣舞台喜劇!

《情》由詹瑞文兩大徒弟Tyson及Harriet創作和主演，這兩位演員於舞台工作十分有經驗，過往除了在詹瑞文的PIP劇團裡參與各個演出外，還有參與創作及教授戲劇班的工作。除此之外，此劇還找來向佐作為實習演員，客串演出。

《情》全長約兩小時，是一齣以愛情為主題的喜劇。Tyson及Harriet在劇中分演不同角色，將現代社會男女戀愛的荒唐趣事及問題－例如為金錢斤斤計較、吵架時堅持己見寧死不讓步、用情不專等等情境逐一帶到觀眾眼前。兩位主角每次演完一個情境，都不停對觀眾強調「這是你的故事!」。對，劇中觸及到的愛情點滴，無論是喜是悲，或多或少都曾發生過在我們身上，相信不少談過戀愛的觀眾都能產生共鳴。兩小時內，演員便帶著觀眾探索這個千奇百趣、變化多端、甜中帶苦、苦中有樂的愛情世界。值得一提的是，演員們不忘在劇中加插一些觀眾十分熟悉的元素，如在其中一幕模仿人氣電影/小說《吸血新世紀》中的三位主角Edward、Jacob及Bella，以搞鬼方式重新演繹這段三角戀，惡作劇味道大增，令人啼笑皆非。

《情》兩位主角Tyson及Harriet都是經驗老到的舞台演員，他們把劇中多個角色都演得十分傳神，演技不容置疑。特別的是，此劇有較多形體戲，很多時演員在沒有道具或對白的情況下，單憑肢體語言及聲音模仿，已能把整個畫面繪畫在觀眾眼前，獨特的演技叫人大開眼界，亦為整個劇添上更豐富的色彩。

這齣以愛情為主題的喜劇，劇名雖然有點抽象，但看畢後，相信此劇是想把愛情比喻為一件壽司，明明有兩種截然不同的食材(白飯和上面的配料)，合起來卻可互補不足，共融為一體後更成為一種比分開吃更加美味的食物。另外，Harriet在劇終提到關於壽司師父的小故事，亦帶出要維繫一段愛情，就應仿傚壽司師父，投入無限的耐性和心機，全心全意去製作這件「精品」。

Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3, finally. We've all waited so long for this to come! It's time to meet Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Bull's Eye and all the other toy friends again!

Like all the Toy Story lovers who have waited for 11 years, Andy has grown up. He's 17 years old now and no longer spends time with his childhood toys. Andy wanted to take Woody to college with him and store his other toys in the attic. Somehow, by accident, the toys ended up being donated to Sunnyside Daycare by his mum. Despite Woody's effort in explaining the misunderstanding, the toys believed that Andy didn't want them anymore. Warmly welcomed by the daycare toys and their leader Lotso, Andy's toys decided to stay. Woody had no other choices but leave on his own.

Andy's toys were allocated to a group of young kids who didn't know how to treat toys well. Buzz, Jessie and all other toys were soon abused by those children. Buzz, as a representative of the toys, went to seek help from Lotso, only to discover the evil side of the seemingly harmonious leadership there. Meanwhile, Woody fell into the hands of a little girl named Bonnie on his way home. He learnt about the horrible truth about Sunnyside Daycare from Bonnie's toys and decided to head back to save his pals. The toys got home safe in the end, all ready to go to the attic. However, Woody wrote a note to Andy suggesting him donate all the toys to Bonnie. Andy did, and played with his old toys for the last time in Bonnie's garden before going to college.

The whole movie doesn't really have any particular emotional climax that tries to make you cry, yet it's the most touching Pixar movie by far. The "friends stick together till the end" theme is definitely one of the things that touch our feelings. The scene in which the toys decided to faced death together, holding hands before being pushed into the incinerator(of course they were saved in the end), simply shows how precious friendship can be. Another element that most audience relate to is the departure from being a child. We just couldn't help ourselves but feel sad when the time of saying ''goodbye'' to our childhood comes. All those memories... those days when we slept with our toys...when we longed for growing up...when we had no idea of the dark side of life. Saying goodbye to toys means stepping away from that carefree world and taking a step closer to the unpredictable future and the complicated world of adults. Who wasn't scared of that?

The main idea of the story is that we should all learn to move on with our lives. Things change and there's no way we can avoid it. Clinging to the past doesn't help anything. Moving on doesn't mean forgetting our past. Everyone we loved... everything we experienced... stays forever in our heart. We just need to be ready to embrace a new life ahead.

Toy Story 3 is a wonderful movie. A movie that makes us laugh, wet our eyes, and reminds us of the precious childhood memories we all have. This is Disney's magic. They never fail to warm your heart with their movies. Go see the Toy Story 3 if you haven't, it surely will take you on an unforgettable emotional journey.

我們.

愈接觸大自然，愈明白人類有多渺小。
人在科學分類中，被定為生物界中動物界、瘠索動物門、哺乳綱、靈長目、猿科、人屬的智人種。人，只是眾多生物 中的一小部分。

春夏是植物最茂盛的時間，亦是昆蟲最活躍的季節。群花盛放的環境中，蝴蝶破蛹而出、蜻蜓羽化、各種昆蟲離巢覓食、繁殖；郊野地方生 機處處。數月後，秋冬來臨，昆蟲數量大減，取而代之的是一群又一群由北方南下過冬的候鳥。在香港這片福地，我們更有幸看到瀕臨絕種的黑臉琵鷺在這兒繁殖。自然界中所有生物都掙扎求存，努力在短暫的生命期中繁殖下一代，完成自己的天職。

生活在大城市中的人類，若您覺得自己十分不幸、覺得自己的煩惱比任 何人都大，或對生命感到絕望的話，不防抽一點時間，看看其他生物的世界。在大自然中，動物生存的機會極受周圍環境影響。溫度過高或過低，卵和蛋都 難以孵化，而即使一個生命成功誕生，牠又極可能在完成天職前便被食物鏈中的天敵吃掉。氣候轉變、自然災害等都會奪走許多動物的性命。在自然界中生存，從來 就不容易。

作為人類，至少我們沒有天敵會突然來襲，不用時刻擔心生命安全。至少，科技可以協助我們抵抗天災、提高繁殖率，甚至延長壽命。我們可說 是輕易擁有其他生物努力掙取、歇力保護的東西－生命。既然如此，我們又何需為生命中的波折過分擔憂? 在這個大世界裡，人類只是一群小小的物種。能夠安穩地生存已是最大的福氣，其他的煩惱根本不算什麼。實在不明白為何有些人只要遇上少許挫折便放棄生命。在 大自然中，各種動物在成長、覓食、繁殖這些過程裡都會遇上困難，但似乎只有「人」這種生物會選擇自動棄權。其實，我們一天還在世，所有問題都有時間去解 決。放開懷抱，珍惜生命，好好享受每一天吧。

The Twilight Saga - Eclipse

After weeks and weeks of waiting, the third movie from the Twilight Saga, Eclipse, finally opened in theaters yesterday (June 30). Eclipse is a lot more intense and action-packed than the previous two movies from the franchise, and to be honest, it's the best one so far.

The love triangle between the three main characters definitely gets heated up in Eclipse. Edward has returned and wanted to marry Bella, while Bella struggles to deny her feelings for Jacob. There are moments in the movie where Edward and Jacob get jealous of each other, which are quite entertaining for us audience to watch. There is also a romantic scene (especially for Twihards on Team Edward) where Edward proposes to Bella with a gorgeous ring in his bedroom.

The action scenes are much more exciting and intense this time, with a war going on between the Cullens-werewolves alliance and Victoria's new-born vampire army. The cast of the vampires all received special training to achieve the fittest condition for the fighting scenes, while the real master athlete off-screen, Taylor Lautner who plays Jacob Black, didn't get to do his own stunts because they were all done by his CGI wolf. What a waste! The battle scene toward the end of the movie was good, except being a little bit too short (only lasted for around 15 mins?). However, we do understand it's difficult to squeeze a 629-page story into 120 minutes, especially for Eclipse as the little stories about the wolf pack, Rosalie and Jasper also need to be covered.

The movie in general is good and the elements of romance and action are quite well-balanced. The fourth(which is also the last) story from the saga, Breaking Dawn, will be split into two movies and the first part will be in theaters in 2011. Let us all be patient, Twihards!

潮性辦公室Season 2

等了四個多月，潮性辦公室第二季終於來臨。喜劇大師詹瑞文四位徒弟Tyson, Harriet, Rosa及智堅再次踏上舞台，上演一幕又一幕的辦公室趣事，為觀眾大放笑彈。

在Season 2中，大部分舊角色再次出現，當中少不了大受觀眾歡迎的送水猛男輝哥、無論精神上或生理上都感到「很乾」的蘇小姐、神經質女祕書Rachel，以及與女上司關係複雜的Gilbert。一如Season 1，每幕戲之間都加插了約10分鐘的獨腳戲，演員分別模仿四個不同的見工情境。Season 2是Season 1的延續，兩者內容有連貫性。由於很多原有角色都被保留下來，Season 2 的新元素不多，故事及角色的發展亦與Season 1相差無幾。其中由翟凱泰(Tyson)演出的見工獨腳戲，對白與上一季幾乎完全一樣。有看過Season 1的觀眾感到有共鳴，但亦有人覺得內容重覆太多。

雖然內容沒有太大驚喜，但這齣舞台劇仍和上次一樣，成功令全場觀眾開懷大笑兩小時。由於Season 2在面積較小的壽臣劇院上演，觀眾與演員間的距離拉近了，現場反應似乎比Season 1(於葵青劇場上演) 時熱烈，兩小時內，拍掌聲歡呼聲不絕。四位演員表現一如以往出色。擁有豐富舞台喜劇經驗的Tyson及Harriet把搞鬼角色發揮得淋漓盡致，一舉手一投足都足以逗得觀眾捧腹大笑。新晉演員Rosa及智堅亦絕不遜色，在台上十分淡定，聲線瞭亮，配合肢體語言，鬼馬演繹各種抵死對白。劇終謝幕時，四位演員得到全場觀眾如雷貫耳的掌色和喝采聲，證明他們的努力絕對沒有白費。「潮」劇令四位演員聲名大噪，如今在很多觀眾眼中，他們已不只是詹瑞文徒弟」，而是能獨當一面的喜劇新星。

由於「潮」劇十分受歡迎，四位演員似乎亦有意思繼續創作Season 3、Season 4，讓這齣舞台劇延續下去，把歡樂帶給更多觀眾。到底會否有更多搞鬼新角色、新笑料? 大家就拭目以待吧!

Apple unveils iPhone 4

Apple announced its newest iPhone at 10:00am on Monday(US time). As usual, CEO Steve Jobs did the keynote for the latest product.

The new iPhone is said to be having "over 100 new features", but Jobs focused on a few of them in the keynote.

1. An all new design. The back of the new iPhone is flat, but not curved like the previous design. It has glass on the front and the back, with steel around the sides. It's 24% thinner than the old iPhones. On the body you can find voice control buttons, sleep-wake button, a front-facing camera, a micro SIM tray, a camera and LED on the back. In fact. The new iPhone looks exactly like the previously leaked prototype...so, no big surprises!

2. Retina Display. Images and text would look much sharper with the new display. Retina Display increases the pixel density by four times, which means there will be 326 pixels per inch. That's pretty cool huh?

3. A4 chip. The iPhone 4 is powered by an A4 chip developed by Apple's own team. With the small A4 chip, the battery can be made bigger. The battery life is improved, 7 hours of 3G talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music and 300 hours of standby.

4. Gyroscope. This is a piece of hardware which makes your gaming experience even better. It is more sensitive to movements of the player. Jobs demonstrated with a Jenga game. He did a turn and the block of wood actually went with him. Quite amazing.

5. New camera system. The camera will be upgraded from 3 megapixel to 5 megapixel, there will also be an LED flash. Other than that, the new camera system is also capable of filming HD videos, 720p at 30fps! There will also be a film-editing application, iMovie available for the new iPhone.

6. iOS4. This is the new operation system for iPhone. It allows users to do multi-tasking and create folders. For search engines, apart from Google search and Yahoo!, Bing will be added. Whoa. Putting your opponents' search engines in your new product...that's... generous! Ha!

7. iBooks. A PDF reader and the iBookstore will be installed in the iPhone. You can look up the dictionary, highlight, note or search the text while reading.

8. iAds. This helps developers to earn more money. Some advertisements are interactive, like the Nissan Ad demonstrated by Jobs. iAd will be turned on for all iOS4 devices starting from July 1st.

9. FaceTime. Jobs made a video call to Jony Ive to demonstrate the video call function. Though the screen froze up for a second, Jobs claims that it never freezes and asked if the audience had turned off their Wifi. A commercial for the FaceTime function was played.

Jobs summed up the whole keynote by giving information about the price, dates which it will be available for sale, OS upgrade scheme for previous iPhones and iPod Touches, and last but not least, another commercial for iPhone 4.

iPhone 4 will be available in Hong Kong in July.
To read the complete Keynote coverage, here's a link.
iPhone 4 Keynote live coverage @ engadget.com

情人的體積

一個人的實際體積未必能輕易改變， 但當投入一段感情時，我們便會自動調較情人在我們心中的大小。

當你瘋狂地愛上一個人，你會把他無限放大，你的世界就只有他。
去哪裡也好，只要能與他把臂同遊，即使只是到便利店逛個圈，都足以令你樂上大半天。
吃什麼也好，只要看到枱另一端的他吃得津津有味，嘴裡的苦瓜都突然變得像蜜糖般甜。
做什麼也好，只要有他相伴，在三十度高溫下等巴士都突然變得極有意義。
你只想每天都黏著他，即使無法見面，也想他每隔十五分鐘便打一通電話給你，告訴你他過去十五分鐘如何瘋狂地思念著你。
你的喜怒哀樂都被他的一舉一動影響著。跟他吵架，這刻你為他哭得死去活來，下 一刻又被他的甜言蜜語逗得笑逐顏開，你心想：這世上大概沒有人比他更懂逗你笑了！
你眼裡只有他，為了他，你可以放棄所有東西，因為他便是你的全部。

再美好的事都總有逝去的一天，熱戀期最終也會漸漸消失。
相處久了，愛成了習慣，當初的甜蜜和激情不再。你發覺大家的生活習慣有很多不合拍的地方，而這些問題，你以前是從來沒注意到的。
難得放假，你興致勃勃的問他想到哪裡逛街，他的答案是一個你們已逛過數百次的商場，你頓時覺得有點掃興。
你想到高級餐廳試試有特色的佳餚，他卻想省省錢，說在大排檔吃個雲吞麵填飽肚子便可。
陽光普照，你想趁機到郊外看風景拍照片，他卻寧願躲在家中開著空調打遊戲機。
你開始覺得，他根本不了解你的需要。你想重拾當初為他放棄的一切、擴闊視野， 多看看他以外的人和事。這時候，你決定把他縮小，好讓自己看得更多。你赫然發覺這世界原來比想像中大。除了他，原來還有許多許多的事能令你哭令你笑；原來 過往你眼裡只有他，以致忽視了有很多有意義的事物。
當你看得愈多，他在你心中佔據的地方便愈來愈小。有朝一日，當他已小得你根本感覺不到他的存在時，就是這段感情逝去之期。