I've never been there. Most of what I have heard about it are bad stuff...
Here's someone who actually like the place, read this...
Thursday, November 30, 2006
How to plan for travelling overseas for dummies with a low budget? (Part 2)
The key thing for me is where to live.
I hated the process of travelling to different places every day with my luggage in tow... trying to find the place I have booked, the process takes like 1-2 hrs, or more if you haven't actually booked the place or got lost...
My solution is to choose a base where I'll travel from. Take my trip to Spain last year as an example, I used Seville for the base of exploring Andalusia, I travelled to Cordoba and Granada as day trips from Seville.
Then what you need to consider is how to travel to these other cities/towns. You want to travel by train, then you should live near the train station. Bus, then bus station. It'll be ideal if the train station is near the city centre OR if there's metro. Usually, you cannot get that in European cities.
When I went to Shanghai, I also used the same tactic-- Shanghai as a base of travelling to Suzhou, Zhouchuang and Hangzhou. I chose a hotel right next to the train station and the metro station. It's an extremely convenient way to travel.
Back to Seville, the metro was still under construction when I was there, and the train station was not exactly near the city centre...
I had to choose between city centre and train station... In the end, I chose neither. I can't say it's a mistake... it's something I wouldn't usually do, but it did cost me some problems...
I chose this hostal that is highly recommended by Let's go-- Hostal Lis.
A really great place, just click on the link above and you'll see what a beautiful place it is, and cheap!! And according to the web, it's just 10mins from the train station... In fact, you can even walk there to the train station, I tried that one day on my day trip to Granada, coz I took the early train ~6:30 am, and so I had to leave at 6am, no bus at that time... and I walked all the way to the train station...
You can also walked to the city centre, I tried that on my first day there, though we got lost. People in Spain can't speak English and we can't speak Spanish. With the help of body language, we finally found our way to the Cathedral. However, it took us like 2 hours... sigh...
What's the problem then?? (What?! I didn't consider getting lost a problem?? haha, yeah, not this time, if I hadn't lost my way, I'd never got the experience of trying to talk to Spaniards who didn't speak English and walked through streets no right minded tourists would ever go.) I'll continue later...
I hated the process of travelling to different places every day with my luggage in tow... trying to find the place I have booked, the process takes like 1-2 hrs, or more if you haven't actually booked the place or got lost...
My solution is to choose a base where I'll travel from. Take my trip to Spain last year as an example, I used Seville for the base of exploring Andalusia, I travelled to Cordoba and Granada as day trips from Seville.
Then what you need to consider is how to travel to these other cities/towns. You want to travel by train, then you should live near the train station. Bus, then bus station. It'll be ideal if the train station is near the city centre OR if there's metro. Usually, you cannot get that in European cities.
When I went to Shanghai, I also used the same tactic-- Shanghai as a base of travelling to Suzhou, Zhouchuang and Hangzhou. I chose a hotel right next to the train station and the metro station. It's an extremely convenient way to travel.
Back to Seville, the metro was still under construction when I was there, and the train station was not exactly near the city centre...
I had to choose between city centre and train station... In the end, I chose neither. I can't say it's a mistake... it's something I wouldn't usually do, but it did cost me some problems...
I chose this hostal that is highly recommended by Let's go-- Hostal Lis.
A really great place, just click on the link above and you'll see what a beautiful place it is, and cheap!! And according to the web, it's just 10mins from the train station... In fact, you can even walk there to the train station, I tried that one day on my day trip to Granada, coz I took the early train ~6:30 am, and so I had to leave at 6am, no bus at that time... and I walked all the way to the train station...
You can also walked to the city centre, I tried that on my first day there, though we got lost. People in Spain can't speak English and we can't speak Spanish. With the help of body language, we finally found our way to the Cathedral. However, it took us like 2 hours... sigh...
What's the problem then?? (What?! I didn't consider getting lost a problem?? haha, yeah, not this time, if I hadn't lost my way, I'd never got the experience of trying to talk to Spaniards who didn't speak English and walked through streets no right minded tourists would ever go.) I'll continue later...
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
How to plan for travelling overseas for dummies with a low budget? (Part 1)
I was talking to some friends and found that some people actually find independent travelling a little daunting... I'm not talking about going to Antarctica. I'm talking about places like plain Europe.
You may have some expectations here when you read this, be warned that I'm not a person with unlimited time, so here I'm going for a real plan, very detailed one. I don't walk around in the streets for hours looking for a place to stay. I tried that the first time I went to Europe and MY SHOULDERS HURT with the backpack on!!!!
Let's get on with it...
First, of course you must already know that since you're reading my blog. Use the internet!! Everything you need to know and everything you don't need to know is on the web, you just need time to read them all. If you don't have the time, but have plenty of money, of course, it'll not be a problem coz you can hire someone to plan the itinerary for you.
For me, the first step starts with research on the web AND borrowing travel guides (usually Lonely Planet, and any other that are available) from public library. (Yeah, I said the low budget way!!)
Then you need to decide where exactly you want to go. Of course, you have already decided where you want to go, let me take my trip last year as an example. I have decided to go to Spain before the first step, and then I looked at various places in Spain and decided I want to go to Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Granada, Cordoba, Avila, Toledo... (See I am really treating you like a dummy here. I'm not joking.)
Unless you have quit your job AND have unlimited budget (that means unless you're in your dreams!!), you have a time limit for your trip.
You decide if you can fit all those places in.
Say you have ten days.
2 days- Barcelona
1 day- Madrid
2 days- Seville
...
you get the idea...
Then you decide where you fly in and out of that country and join the dots together. And order the tickets and hotels/hostels online.
Sounds real easy?? It's not...
hmm... well, I'm going to share more of my experience in planning a trip later... that's it for today.
Continue to read here...
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4a
Part 4b
Part 5
You may have some expectations here when you read this, be warned that I'm not a person with unlimited time, so here I'm going for a real plan, very detailed one. I don't walk around in the streets for hours looking for a place to stay. I tried that the first time I went to Europe and MY SHOULDERS HURT with the backpack on!!!!
Let's get on with it...
First, of course you must already know that since you're reading my blog. Use the internet!! Everything you need to know and everything you don't need to know is on the web, you just need time to read them all. If you don't have the time, but have plenty of money, of course, it'll not be a problem coz you can hire someone to plan the itinerary for you.
For me, the first step starts with research on the web AND borrowing travel guides (usually Lonely Planet, and any other that are available) from public library. (Yeah, I said the low budget way!!)
Then you need to decide where exactly you want to go. Of course, you have already decided where you want to go, let me take my trip last year as an example. I have decided to go to Spain before the first step, and then I looked at various places in Spain and decided I want to go to Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Granada, Cordoba, Avila, Toledo... (See I am really treating you like a dummy here. I'm not joking.
Unless you have quit your job AND have unlimited budget (that means unless you're in your dreams!!), you have a time limit for your trip.
You decide if you can fit all those places in.
Say you have ten days.
2 days- Barcelona
1 day- Madrid
2 days- Seville
...
you get the idea...
Then you decide where you fly in and out of that country and join the dots together. And order the tickets and hotels/hostels online.
Sounds real easy?? It's not...
hmm... well, I'm going to share more of my experience in planning a trip later... that's it for today.
Continue to read here...
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4a
Part 4b
Part 5
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Funny thing today
The boss I am currently working under is a woman.
Today during lunch time, we were all sitting in the tea room chatting. A certain saleperson came in and asked, "Where's Anita King?" (The name of my boss but obviously a fake one here! What am I, an idiot?) To be honest, he was a little bit impolite in the way he talked.
She answered before anyone of us could, "She's not in right now. You can reserve an appointment with her secretary. She won't be here until afternoon." (She had a meeting elsewhere in the afternoon.)
As for the other people, we just looked at each other... suppressing the urge to laugh out loud...
Today during lunch time, we were all sitting in the tea room chatting. A certain saleperson came in and asked, "Where's Anita King?" (The name of my boss but obviously a fake one here! What am I, an idiot?) To be honest, he was a little bit impolite in the way he talked.
She answered before anyone of us could, "She's not in right now. You can reserve an appointment with her secretary. She won't be here until afternoon." (She had a meeting elsewhere in the afternoon.)
As for the other people, we just looked at each other... suppressing the urge to laugh out loud...
Is it just me being busy??
I don't know, I would have thought ceasefire between Israel and Palestine was important news... how come I don't think I have heard this in any news report in the Chinese TV channels? Was I too busy that I did not notice? Or maybe the news report was too brief...??
Amos Oz, one of Israel's most prominent novelists, said it might be "the first flicker of light at the edge of the darkness". The ceasefire between the Israeli military and Palestinian fighters is only two days old, it only covers the Gaza Strip, not the still-occupied West Bank, and already it has been breached a number of times.
Maybe everyone knows this ceasefire is unlikely to be a real one... They can probably save time not reporting it, knowing that in a few days' time, it'll be over...
Amos Oz, one of Israel's most prominent novelists, said it might be "the first flicker of light at the edge of the darkness". The ceasefire between the Israeli military and Palestinian fighters is only two days old, it only covers the Gaza Strip, not the still-occupied West Bank, and already it has been breached a number of times.
Maybe everyone knows this ceasefire is unlikely to be a real one... They can probably save time not reporting it, knowing that in a few days' time, it'll be over...
She has a really great sense of humour! This is hilarious!
If you don't know, Diana Gabaldon is my fav writer. #1 New York Times Bestselling Author on A Breath of Snow & Ashes (Book 6 on the Outlander Series)
I just found these videos today on youtube. Probably from some fans gathering...
I just found these videos today on youtube. Probably from some fans gathering...
Video of the Outlander series
Hold on! No, the movie/TV miniseries is still not here yet...
However, some fans got so impatient they actually made these videos or slide show(??). Wow! Anyway it must have took them a LOT of time.
I'm not such a crazy fan after all, I just check the compuserv community where Diana's very active every day... and re-read her books a hundred thousand times... yep, I'm not crazy AT ALL!
However, some fans got so impatient they actually made these videos or slide show(??). Wow! Anyway it must have took them a LOT of time.
I'm not such a crazy fan after all, I just check the compuserv community where Diana's very active every day... and re-read her books a hundred thousand times... yep, I'm not crazy AT ALL!
Monday, November 27, 2006
Tired...
I'm so tired today, after 12 hours at work...
And I forgot to watch Engine... I'm really tired...
And I forgot to watch Engine... I'm really tired...
Test your IQ (Remind me of childhood, always trying to answer these silly questions, haha)
Ready? GO!!! (scroll down)
First Question:You are participating in a race. You overtake the second place person.What position are you in?
Answer: If you answered that you are first, then you are wrong! If you overtake the second place person, and you take their place, you are second!
To answer the second question, don't take as much time as you took for the first question.
Second Question: If you are in a race, and you overtake the last person, then you are?
Answer: If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST person?! You're not having a good time at this! Are you?
Very tricky maths! Note: This must be done in your head only. Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it.
Third Question: Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30. Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000. now add 10. What is the total?
Answer: Did you get 5000? The correct answer is actually 4100. Don't believe it? Check with your calculator!
Today is definitely not your day. Maybe you will get the last question right?
Fourth Question: Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono.What is the name of the fifth daughter?
Answer: Nunu? NO! Of course not. Her name is Mary. Read the questionagain!
Okay, now the bonus round. You can partially redeem yourself with thisone!!!!!
Bonus Question:There is a mute person who wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing one's teeth he successfully expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is done. Now if there is a blind man who wishes to buy a pair of sunglasses, how should he express himself?
Answer: He just has to open his mouth and ask. He's blind, not mute - so simple.
KEEP THIS GOING TO FRUSTRATE THE "SMART PEOPLE" IN YOUR LIFE
First Question:You are participating in a race. You overtake the second place person.What position are you in?
Answer: If you answered that you are first, then you are wrong! If you overtake the second place person, and you take their place, you are second!
To answer the second question, don't take as much time as you took for the first question.
Second Question: If you are in a race, and you overtake the last person, then you are?
Answer: If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST person?! You're not having a good time at this! Are you?
Very tricky maths! Note: This must be done in your head only. Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it.
Third Question: Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30. Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000. now add 10. What is the total?
Answer: Did you get 5000? The correct answer is actually 4100. Don't believe it? Check with your calculator!
Today is definitely not your day. Maybe you will get the last question right?
Fourth Question: Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono.What is the name of the fifth daughter?
Answer: Nunu? NO! Of course not. Her name is Mary. Read the questionagain!
Okay, now the bonus round. You can partially redeem yourself with thisone!!!!!
Bonus Question:There is a mute person who wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing one's teeth he successfully expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is done. Now if there is a blind man who wishes to buy a pair of sunglasses, how should he express himself?
Answer: He just has to open his mouth and ask. He's blind, not mute - so simple.
KEEP THIS GOING TO FRUSTRATE THE "SMART PEOPLE" IN YOUR LIFE
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Digital Camera
I want to buy a DC with manual control, possibly also wide angle, and optical image stabiliser... Not DSLR, they're too huge... I want to carry it around...
And there's only ONE choice, but people say Panasonic is bad... with a lot of noise... Canon is much better, I've got one Canon DC, it's quite good.
In this day and age, what're the camera companies thinking?? I'm not like requesting very special features... how come there're so few choices out there??
Now it's down to Panasonic LX2, Canon G7 (no wide angle), Canon S80 (no optical image stabiliser), Canon A640 (no wide angle, no OIS, but an adjustable LCD and real CHEAP!)
hmm... still thinking...
And there's only ONE choice, but people say Panasonic is bad... with a lot of noise... Canon is much better, I've got one Canon DC, it's quite good.
In this day and age, what're the camera companies thinking?? I'm not like requesting very special features... how come there're so few choices out there??
Now it's down to Panasonic LX2, Canon G7 (no wide angle), Canon S80 (no optical image stabiliser), Canon A640 (no wide angle, no OIS, but an adjustable LCD and real CHEAP!)
hmm... still thinking...
Saturday, November 25, 2006
And the richest fictional character is...
This is hilarious... from Forbes... I can't believe this...
"We still estimate Claus' net worth as infinite, but we excluded him from this year's rankings after being bombarded by letters from outraged children insisting that Claus is 'real'," according to a statement from Forbes.com.
"We still estimate Claus' net worth as infinite, but we excluded him from this year's rankings after being bombarded by letters from outraged children insisting that Claus is 'real'," according to a statement from Forbes.com.
Forbes.com said it took into account "the physical evidence - toys delivered, milk and cookies devoured" in removing him from consideration.
If Santa lost, who won? Read the full article here...Friday, November 24, 2006
Bombing in Iraq
I am so sad after watching the news this morning about the recent car bombing in Iraq. More than 200 people died in this bombing. My mom told me she was confused about who was attacking whom when I discussed this with her. I explained that the Shi'ite is more pro-US and Sunni is the Saddam Hussein group, Sunni are killing Shi'ite.
As I was talking I realised I maybe fooled by the news, because this seemed like a children's story, where black and white are clearly defined. I was wondering if there's some political agenda behind all these that are not being reported... portraying Sunni as evil ones... And that's all I know... As you read from my previous post, I hate ignorance, especially in myself, haha, so I set out to search for the answers, you can read more about it here...
The US army will probably have to leave sooner or later with the people being fed up with the rising death toll of US soldiers.
What will happen to Iraq when they leave? Full blown civil war?
As I was talking I realised I maybe fooled by the news, because this seemed like a children's story, where black and white are clearly defined. I was wondering if there's some political agenda behind all these that are not being reported... portraying Sunni as evil ones... And that's all I know... As you read from my previous post, I hate ignorance, especially in myself, haha, so I set out to search for the answers, you can read more about it here...
The US army will probably have to leave sooner or later with the people being fed up with the rising death toll of US soldiers.
What will happen to Iraq when they leave? Full blown civil war?
Finally decided!!
I am going to Morocco for my Christmas trip. Not Monaco (in case you're confused), Morocco is in Africa, whereas Monaco is in Europe.
I hesitated for a long time before deciding... coz I'll be back on 1/1/07 almost 6pm. That means when I finally get home it'll be at least 8 pm, and I have to work on the next day... Another thing is that I have been to Andalusia (Southern Spain) just last year, ans the architectural style seemed similar... Moorish style...
India or Morocco, India or Morocco, India or Morocco, India or Morocco, India or Morocco?
Finally Morocco won.
A colleague of mine told me India is real dirty, and she didn't like it. She's been to a lot of places , including Iran which was my first choice, if not for the lack of plane tickets...
So I'll be off to Morocco from 24/12 to 1/1.
If you still don't know where Morocco is, what you can see there, take a look at these amazing photos I found on the web. Wow!!
I hesitated for a long time before deciding... coz I'll be back on 1/1/07 almost 6pm. That means when I finally get home it'll be at least 8 pm, and I have to work on the next day... Another thing is that I have been to Andalusia (Southern Spain) just last year, ans the architectural style seemed similar... Moorish style...
India or Morocco, India or Morocco, India or Morocco, India or Morocco, India or Morocco?
Finally Morocco won.
A colleague of mine told me India is real dirty, and she didn't like it. She's been to a lot of places , including Iran which was my first choice, if not for the lack of plane tickets...
So I'll be off to Morocco from 24/12 to 1/1.
If you still don't know where Morocco is, what you can see there, take a look at these amazing photos I found on the web. Wow!!
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Job Satisfaction
Just read a piece of news on the internet about job satisfaction in South Korea.
The survey showed photographers, pilots and bartenders are happiest with their jobs, whereas doctors, models and engineers gave their job the lowest satisfactory scores.
Rating from 1-5 (5 being happiest)
4.6 photographers
4.4 writers, composers, pilots
>4 bartenders, college professors teaching literature & politics, clergyman, monks, professional athletes
3.4 truck drivers, engineers, sales, actors, prison warden
2.8 doctors
2.2 models
As for pressure at work, it is highest among stock analysts, accountants, TV producers & reporters.
Is your job on the list? How happy are you with your job?
And I wonder why all these girls are fighting to be "America's next top model"... haha!! And why on earth am I working at all?? haha!!
The survey showed photographers, pilots and bartenders are happiest with their jobs, whereas doctors, models and engineers gave their job the lowest satisfactory scores.
Rating from 1-5 (5 being happiest)
4.6 photographers
4.4 writers, composers, pilots
>4 bartenders, college professors teaching literature & politics, clergyman, monks, professional athletes
3.4 truck drivers, engineers, sales, actors, prison warden
2.8 doctors
2.2 models
As for pressure at work, it is highest among stock analysts, accountants, TV producers & reporters.
Is your job on the list? How happy are you with your job?
And I wonder why all these girls are fighting to be "America's next top model"... haha!! And why on earth am I working at all?? haha!!
The Long Road Home
A woman went home from Hong Kong to Britain riding a bicycle. She spent 7 months travelling across Europe and Asia, and raised a million dollars for children in Cambodia and Pakistan.
If you want to read about her journey, click here.
If you want to read about her journey, click here.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Pompeii
I just read a friend's comment in my post about UNESCO World Heritage Site. Pompeii is really a must for Italy. Especially for people like me who like RUINS!!! I visited Pompeii as a day trip from Rome in 1999.
I bought an interesting book about ancient Roman Empire years ago in the UK (in one of the gift shops along Hadrian's Wall). It was written as if it had been an ancient newspaper.
I remembered one of the most interesting bit of news in that book was about Pompeii. (I can't find the book right now, so this is just from my memory.) A fortune teller predicted that in the future Pompeii would be known all over the world, and its arts would be copied by many. And the mayor was very happy with the prediction. Haha!!
We never know what will happen. Everything is in God's hands.
I bought an interesting book about ancient Roman Empire years ago in the UK (in one of the gift shops along Hadrian's Wall). It was written as if it had been an ancient newspaper.
I remembered one of the most interesting bit of news in that book was about Pompeii. (I can't find the book right now, so this is just from my memory.) A fortune teller predicted that in the future Pompeii would be known all over the world, and its arts would be copied by many. And the mayor was very happy with the prediction. Haha!!
We never know what will happen. Everything is in God's hands.
A Game of Thrones
Sometimes, a writer is so famous that I feel I had to at least try to read his/her books to see why he/she is so popular. That is why I started reading A Game of Thrones.
I had the feeling before I started reading that I would not like the book. Just after reading this review on Amazon.com. (GRRM is George RR Martin, the author of the book)
REASON TO NOT READ GRRM
(1) YOU LIKE YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS: GRRM does a good job of creating more likeable characters after a few die. But, if that isn't your style, you shouldn't be reading it. He kills off several, not just one, so be warned.
(2) DO NOT CARE FOR GRITTY GRAY CHARACTERS: if you like more white and gray characters, this may unsettle you. I suggest Feist or Goodkind or Dragonlance if you want a more straight forward story with strong archetypes.
(3) MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEWS TURN YOU OFF: if you prefer that the POVS only go to a few characters, this might be confusing for you.
(4) SWEARING, SEX: there's a lot of it in this book just as there is in real life.
(5) YOU DEMAND CLOSURE AT THE END OF EVERY BOOK: this isn't the case for all stories in the series. Some are still going on; some have been resolved; others have been created and are moving on.
(6) IF YOU WANT A TARGET OR SOMEONE TO BLAME: this can be done to some extent but not as much. This is b/c he doesn't try to make anyone necessarily good or evil.
(7) ARCHETYPES: some readers like archetypal characters because it's comfortable; we like the good young hero (sort of like Pug in Feist's THE RIFTWAR SAGA); it's familiar and we sometimes like to pretend we're this upcoming, great hero. You wont' get much of this in GRRM with the exception of one or two characters.
(8) LENGTH: you don't want to get into a long fantasy epic series. In that case, look for shorters works as this is biiig.
(9) PATRIARCHY: men are most of the main characters with lots of power (one female exception). ....
I like reading novels though I had to care about the characters. They can be gritty, gray, swearing all the time, I don't mind. Humans are like that, but I think this book is more about plot than characters. The character development seemed just secondary to me. Maybe it's just my biased opinion. I really didn't find the characters likeable...
Everyone reviewing the series talked about how great and complicated the plot is. It's not that I don't like a great plot. I like it. For me, it's secondary in a book. I need character development. I can probably finish a book with a great plot but I'll never put it on my re-read list.
For this book, I can't even finish it.
I like lengthy books... just look at the Diana Gabaldon Outlander series, you'll see word count is NOT a problem for me. The other points on the list are ok for me as well.
This one is... I guess, not for me. (Stop throwing eggs at me, you George RR Martin fan.) I have read like 50 pages, (maybe the best part is after this, but I'll never know) and honestly I can't read it anymore...
If you think you may like it, check out this list of why you'll like the book (also from Amazon.com) This list sounded interesting to me, before I read the series. That means even if you like all the stuff mentioned, you may not like the book. haha!!
(1) YOU ARE TIRED OF FORMULAIC FANTASY: good lad beats the dark lord against impossible odds; boy is the epitome of good; he and all his friends never die even though they go through great dangers . . . the good and noble king; the beautiful princess who falls in love with the commoner boy even though their stations are drastically different . . . you get the idea. After reading this over and over, it gets old.
(2) YOU ARE TIRED OF ALL THE HEROES STAYING ALIVE EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE UNDER CONSTANT DANGER: this gets even worse where the author kills a main hero off but that person comes back later in the story. Or, a hero does die but magic brings him back.
This sometimes carries to minor characters where even they may not die, but most fantasy authors like to kill them off to show that some risked the adventure and perished.
(3) YOU ARE A MEDIEVAL HISTORY BUFF: this story was influenced by the WARS OF THE ROSES and THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR.
(4) YOU LOVE SERIOUS INTRIGUE WITHOUT STUPID OPPONENTS: lots of layering; lots of intrigue; lots of clever players in the game of thrones. Unlike other fantasy novels, one side, usually the villain, is stupid or not too bright.
(5) YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BIASED OPINIONS AND DIFFERENT TRUTHS: GRRM has set this up where each chapter has the title of one character and the whole chapter is through their viewpoint. Interesting tidbit is that you get their perception of events or truths. But, if you pay attention, someone else will mention a different angle of truth in the story that we rarely see in other novels. Lastly and most importantly, GRRM doesn't try to tell us which person is right in their perception. He purposelly leaves it vague so that we are kept guessing.
(6) LEGENDS: some of the most interesting characters are those who are long gone or dead. We never get the entire story but only bits and pieces; something that other fantasy authors could learn from to heighten suspense. Additionally, b/c the points of views are not congruent, we sometimes get different opinions.
(7) WORDPLAY: if you're big on metaphors and description, GRRM is your guy. Almost flawless flow.
(8) LOTS OF CONFLICT: all types, too; not just fighting but between characters through threats and intrigue.
(9) MULTILAYERED PLOTTING; SUB PLOTS GALORE: each character has their own separate storyline; especially as the story continues and everyone gets scattered. This is one of the reasons why each novel is between 700-900 pages.
(10) SUPERLATIVE VARIED CHARACTERS: not the typical archetypes that we are used to in most fantasy; some are gritty; few are totally evil or good; GRRM does a great job of changing our opinions of characters as the series progress. This is especially true of Jaime in book three.
(11) REALISTIC MEDIEVAL DIALOGUE: not to the point that we can't understand it but well done.
(12) HEAPS OF SYMOBLISM AND PROPHECY: if you're big on that.
(13) EXCELLENT MYSTERIES: very hard to figure out the culprits; GRRM must have read a lot of mystery novels.
(14) RICHLY TEXTURED FEMALE CHARACTERS: best male author on female characters I have read; realistic on how women think, too.
(15) LOW MAGIC WORLD: magic is low key; not over the top so heroes can't get out of jams with it.
I have returned the book to the library today. Luckily, I borrowed it instead of paying for it...
I had the feeling before I started reading that I would not like the book. Just after reading this review on Amazon.com. (GRRM is George RR Martin, the author of the book)
REASON TO NOT READ GRRM
(1) YOU LIKE YOUR MAIN CHARACTERS: GRRM does a good job of creating more likeable characters after a few die. But, if that isn't your style, you shouldn't be reading it. He kills off several, not just one, so be warned.
(2) DO NOT CARE FOR GRITTY GRAY CHARACTERS: if you like more white and gray characters, this may unsettle you. I suggest Feist or Goodkind or Dragonlance if you want a more straight forward story with strong archetypes.
(3) MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEWS TURN YOU OFF: if you prefer that the POVS only go to a few characters, this might be confusing for you.
(4) SWEARING, SEX: there's a lot of it in this book just as there is in real life.
(5) YOU DEMAND CLOSURE AT THE END OF EVERY BOOK: this isn't the case for all stories in the series. Some are still going on; some have been resolved; others have been created and are moving on.
(6) IF YOU WANT A TARGET OR SOMEONE TO BLAME: this can be done to some extent but not as much. This is b/c he doesn't try to make anyone necessarily good or evil.
(7) ARCHETYPES: some readers like archetypal characters because it's comfortable; we like the good young hero (sort of like Pug in Feist's THE RIFTWAR SAGA); it's familiar and we sometimes like to pretend we're this upcoming, great hero. You wont' get much of this in GRRM with the exception of one or two characters.
(8) LENGTH: you don't want to get into a long fantasy epic series. In that case, look for shorters works as this is biiig.
(9) PATRIARCHY: men are most of the main characters with lots of power (one female exception). ....
I like reading novels though I had to care about the characters. They can be gritty, gray, swearing all the time, I don't mind. Humans are like that, but I think this book is more about plot than characters. The character development seemed just secondary to me. Maybe it's just my biased opinion. I really didn't find the characters likeable...
Everyone reviewing the series talked about how great and complicated the plot is. It's not that I don't like a great plot. I like it. For me, it's secondary in a book. I need character development. I can probably finish a book with a great plot but I'll never put it on my re-read list.
For this book, I can't even finish it.
I like lengthy books... just look at the Diana Gabaldon Outlander series, you'll see word count is NOT a problem for me. The other points on the list are ok for me as well.
This one is... I guess, not for me. (Stop throwing eggs at me, you George RR Martin fan.) I have read like 50 pages, (maybe the best part is after this, but I'll never know) and honestly I can't read it anymore...
If you think you may like it, check out this list of why you'll like the book (also from Amazon.com) This list sounded interesting to me, before I read the series. That means even if you like all the stuff mentioned, you may not like the book. haha!!
(1) YOU ARE TIRED OF FORMULAIC FANTASY: good lad beats the dark lord against impossible odds; boy is the epitome of good; he and all his friends never die even though they go through great dangers . . . the good and noble king; the beautiful princess who falls in love with the commoner boy even though their stations are drastically different . . . you get the idea. After reading this over and over, it gets old.
(2) YOU ARE TIRED OF ALL THE HEROES STAYING ALIVE EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE UNDER CONSTANT DANGER: this gets even worse where the author kills a main hero off but that person comes back later in the story. Or, a hero does die but magic brings him back.
This sometimes carries to minor characters where even they may not die, but most fantasy authors like to kill them off to show that some risked the adventure and perished.
(3) YOU ARE A MEDIEVAL HISTORY BUFF: this story was influenced by the WARS OF THE ROSES and THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR.
(4) YOU LOVE SERIOUS INTRIGUE WITHOUT STUPID OPPONENTS: lots of layering; lots of intrigue; lots of clever players in the game of thrones. Unlike other fantasy novels, one side, usually the villain, is stupid or not too bright.
(5) YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BIASED OPINIONS AND DIFFERENT TRUTHS: GRRM has set this up where each chapter has the title of one character and the whole chapter is through their viewpoint. Interesting tidbit is that you get their perception of events or truths. But, if you pay attention, someone else will mention a different angle of truth in the story that we rarely see in other novels. Lastly and most importantly, GRRM doesn't try to tell us which person is right in their perception. He purposelly leaves it vague so that we are kept guessing.
(6) LEGENDS: some of the most interesting characters are those who are long gone or dead. We never get the entire story but only bits and pieces; something that other fantasy authors could learn from to heighten suspense. Additionally, b/c the points of views are not congruent, we sometimes get different opinions.
(7) WORDPLAY: if you're big on metaphors and description, GRRM is your guy. Almost flawless flow.
(8) LOTS OF CONFLICT: all types, too; not just fighting but between characters through threats and intrigue.
(9) MULTILAYERED PLOTTING; SUB PLOTS GALORE: each character has their own separate storyline; especially as the story continues and everyone gets scattered. This is one of the reasons why each novel is between 700-900 pages.
(10) SUPERLATIVE VARIED CHARACTERS: not the typical archetypes that we are used to in most fantasy; some are gritty; few are totally evil or good; GRRM does a great job of changing our opinions of characters as the series progress. This is especially true of Jaime in book three.
(11) REALISTIC MEDIEVAL DIALOGUE: not to the point that we can't understand it but well done.
(12) HEAPS OF SYMOBLISM AND PROPHECY: if you're big on that.
(13) EXCELLENT MYSTERIES: very hard to figure out the culprits; GRRM must have read a lot of mystery novels.
(14) RICHLY TEXTURED FEMALE CHARACTERS: best male author on female characters I have read; realistic on how women think, too.
(15) LOW MAGIC WORLD: magic is low key; not over the top so heroes can't get out of jams with it.
I have returned the book to the library today. Luckily, I borrowed it instead of paying for it...
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Christmas trip 2
Bad news, really bad news...
I NEED to work on 23/12/06!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Till 10pm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That means I have 1 day less for my trip... I went to 5 different travel agencies today, only 1 or 2 tours fit my time, none of which is confirmed yet... And I have asked about a lot of tours already, including Turkey, Egypt, Nepal, India...
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
What should I do??!!!
I NEED to work on 23/12/06!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Till 10pm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That means I have 1 day less for my trip... I went to 5 different travel agencies today, only 1 or 2 tours fit my time, none of which is confirmed yet... And I have asked about a lot of tours already, including Turkey, Egypt, Nepal, India...
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
What should I do??!!!
Monday, November 20, 2006
Christmas Trip
When can I confirm the dates of my leave???!!!!! ARGHHHHH!!!!!! MAD & UNHAPPY!!!!
I found a great tour company to Iran, with a VERY reasonable price, but no more seats available on ANY plane one ANY airline. (Can you imagine? Just below US$900 with ONE guide and ONE driver for ME ALONE!!!! WOW!!! Check this company out if you want to go to Iran. It's even cheaper if you can find friends to go with you, just around US$750.)
No flights for Malta as well...
And for the Tunisia & Libya tour, I probably can't join, coz I need to be at the airport at 8am, but I'm only leaving work at 8am on that morning...
So now it's back to Egypt & India with escorted tour... Or Israel maybe... I think they're hoarding all the seats on the planes... THAT'S WHY I CAN'T FIND ANY SEATS!!!!
I REALLY wanted to go to Iran!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I found a great tour company to Iran, with a VERY reasonable price, but no more seats available on ANY plane one ANY airline. (Can you imagine? Just below US$900 with ONE guide and ONE driver for ME ALONE!!!! WOW!!! Check this company out if you want to go to Iran. It's even cheaper if you can find friends to go with you, just around US$750.)
No flights for Malta as well...
And for the Tunisia & Libya tour, I probably can't join, coz I need to be at the airport at 8am, but I'm only leaving work at 8am on that morning...
So now it's back to Egypt & India with escorted tour... Or Israel maybe... I think they're hoarding all the seats on the planes... THAT'S WHY I CAN'T FIND ANY SEATS!!!!
I REALLY wanted to go to Iran!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Separation of church and state
I really don't like ignorance.
I don't like ignorance in people, well... including myself, I can't understand why people don't know (or simply don't want to know) what's happening around them... That's NOT the point here, however.
A few weeks ago, Christians could vote for their representatives in the 800-people election committee for the chief executive election next year, as there's still no universal suffrage here in Hong Kong. Members of my church could go to the church office and obtain a certificate to indicate their membership for voting purposes.
A friend of mine told me she thought it was extremely wrong for this to be announced during our church's service... Baptist churches believes in the separation of church and state, so it's wrong to promote the election of Legislative councillors in the church... what??
As I have mentioned before, ignorance is one thing, it is the promotion of ignorance. That's my point here.
I understand why people say church should not dabble in politics, I know the history behind this. However, is talking about this in the church forbidden or what?
Frankly, it's ridiculous.
The Bible never said this. And I don't know how Christians can be salt & light to society if they don't know what is happening around them...
Quite the opposite, in my opinion, my church should talk MORE about politics. Chinese people in general are NOT interested in politics. Chinese churches are EVEN less interested. It's really an unhealthy phenomenon. This promotes ignorance.
I don't like ignorance in people, well... including myself, I can't understand why people don't know (or simply don't want to know) what's happening around them... That's NOT the point here, however.
A few weeks ago, Christians could vote for their representatives in the 800-people election committee for the chief executive election next year, as there's still no universal suffrage here in Hong Kong. Members of my church could go to the church office and obtain a certificate to indicate their membership for voting purposes.
A friend of mine told me she thought it was extremely wrong for this to be announced during our church's service... Baptist churches believes in the separation of church and state, so it's wrong to promote the election of Legislative councillors in the church... what??
As I have mentioned before, ignorance is one thing, it is the promotion of ignorance. That's my point here.
I understand why people say church should not dabble in politics, I know the history behind this. However, is talking about this in the church forbidden or what?
Frankly, it's ridiculous.
The Bible never said this. And I don't know how Christians can be salt & light to society if they don't know what is happening around them...
Quite the opposite, in my opinion, my church should talk MORE about politics. Chinese people in general are NOT interested in politics. Chinese churches are EVEN less interested. It's really an unhealthy phenomenon. This promotes ignorance.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Monitoring Students' Xanga/Blogs
I just watched a news programme on TV. Some teachers are now monitoring their students xanga/blogs. To see if they're studying after school, who they're with. Checking their photos with friends, where they've been to, etc... Of course, their feelings towards teachers, parents, school, friends...
I remembered a time when I was in secondary school when we have to write a weekly journal for our teacher, mostly for practising our writing skills. Most of the stuff in those "journals" are highly censored to fit for perusal by our teachers.
I don't know how students think about this. If the teachers have good intention to begin with, this might actually be a good thing. They'll get to know their students in a way that's never been possible before.
However, if it's just for them to find the naughty students and penalise them, hmm... then teenagers will just find other ways to cover up their activities, and they'll lose the channel of communication.
Teachers have such a high workload these days, and now they even have to check their student's activity on the web... what next??
I remembered a time when I was in secondary school when we have to write a weekly journal for our teacher, mostly for practising our writing skills. Most of the stuff in those "journals" are highly censored to fit for perusal by our teachers.
I don't know how students think about this. If the teachers have good intention to begin with, this might actually be a good thing. They'll get to know their students in a way that's never been possible before.
However, if it's just for them to find the naughty students and penalise them, hmm... then teenagers will just find other ways to cover up their activities, and they'll lose the channel of communication.
Teachers have such a high workload these days, and now they even have to check their student's activity on the web... what next??
Friday, November 17, 2006
Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma related to gravitational challenge: systematic review of randomised controlled trials
If you want to read the full article after looking at the title, click here. If you're still not interested, read the abstract, and go back to the above article after reading it. (LOL)
Abstract
Objectives To determine whether parachutes are effective in preventing major trauma related to gravitational challenge.
Design Systematic review of randomised controlled trials.
Data sources: Medline, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases; appropriate internet sites and citation lists.
Study selection: Studies showing the effects of using a parachute during free fall.
Main outcome measure Death or major trauma, defined as an injury severity score > 15.
Results We were unable to identify any randomised controlled trials of parachute intervention.
Conclusions As with many interventions intended to prevent ill health, the effectiveness of parachutes has not been subjected to rigorous evaluation by using randomised controlled trials. Advocates of evidence based medicine have criticised the adoption of interventions evaluated by using only observational data. We think that everyone might benefit if the most radical protagonists of evidence based medicine organised and participated in a double blind, randomised, placebo controlled, crossover trial of the parachute.UNESCO World Heritage Sites
"The World Heritage List includes 830 properties forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value. These include 644 cultural, 162 natural and 24 mixed properties in 138 States Parties."
I used to think I'll go and visit all the places on the list one day. With the list getting longer and longer, I think this is probably an impossible dream...
Here's the list of World Heritage Sites I have been to.
I used to think I'll go and visit all the places on the list one day. With the list getting longer and longer, I think this is probably an impossible dream...
Here's the list of World Heritage Sites I have been to.
- Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg (1996)
- Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn (1996)
- Historic Centre of Vienna (2001)
- Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang (1987, 2004)
- Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (1987)
- Mogao Caves (1987)
- The Great Wall (1987)
- Classical Gardens of Suzhou (1997, 2000)
- Old Town of Lijiang (1997)
- Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing (1998)
- Temple of Heaven: an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing (1998)
- Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (2000, 2003, 2004)
- Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas (2003)
- Historic Centre of Macao (2005)
- Palace and Park of Versailles (1979)
- Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Remi and Palace of Tau, Reims (1991)
- Paris, Banks of the Seine (1991)
- Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura (1980, 1990)
- Vatican City (1984)
- Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura (1980, 1990)
- Historic Centre of Florence (1982)
- Venice and its Lagoon (1987)
- Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata (1997)
- Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzín, Granada (1984, 1994)
- Historic Centre of Cordoba (1984, 1994)
- Works of Antoni Gaudí (1984, 2005)
- Old Town of Ávila with its Extra-Muros Churches (1985)
- Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct (1985)
- Historic City of Toledo (1986)
- Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias in Seville (1987)
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites (1986)
- City of Bath (1987)
- Frontiers of the Roman Empire (1987, 2005)
- Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Church (1987)
- Tower of London (1988)
- Old and New Towns of Edinburgh (1995)
- Maritime Greenwich (1997)
- Heart of Neolithic Orkney (1999)
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Firefox 2.0
Firefox 2.0 is available for download now. Try it out. Stop using IE. You'll love Firefox. It is SO MUCH better than IE.
Download it here.
Some of the features in the new IE 7 already existed in the previous versions of Firefox... copying... copying... And Firefox still won in all the comparison by magazines and on the internet...
Download it here.
Some of the features in the new IE 7 already existed in the previous versions of Firefox... copying... copying... And Firefox still won in all the comparison by magazines and on the internet...
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Engine
I have always liked Takuya Kimura, not a crazy fan, but I have watched every one of his drama series... I just found out today that Engine will be shown on television, I was ecstatic... UNTIL I found the first episode was already aired last night...
Luckily, I found this on youtube, well... thanks to the internet...
Luckily, I found this on youtube, well... thanks to the internet...
Updated news on ME
The lump on my foreheard is getting smaller, though it's still painful when I press on it. And my hand is getting better, not completely well, but better...
Monday, November 13, 2006
Reading
Some people like drugs, some like drinking.
For me, reading is my way of escaping into another world when I need temporary relief.
When I read, I'm immersed in it and I can forget about the rest of the world.
Haha, I spent last night and today in another world, rather than studying, which is what I should be doing...
For me, reading is my way of escaping into another world when I need temporary relief.
When I read, I'm immersed in it and I can forget about the rest of the world.
Haha, I spent last night and today in another world, rather than studying, which is what I should be doing...
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Goodbye, Star Ferry Pier
I just watched the bells at Central Star Ferry Pier chimed for their last time on TV news... I am really sad... I'm going to miss that sound... and the whole ferry pier...
P.S. Many people posted their videos on youtube, here's one of them
P.S. Many people posted their videos on youtube, here's one of them
Friday, November 10, 2006
Democrats vs. Republicans
As predicted, the Democrats won the mid-term election in a landslide.
I was just talking to some friends on this topic. Being devout Christians, which side would they support if they could vote? (None of them is interested in politics.)
I really hate George W. Bush, I hated his policies on Iraq, and all those axis of evil theories... And not to forget, the environmental pollution problem, was that the Kyoto treaty or what? I can't recall the name...
I don't agree with homosexual marriages, but I think killing people is even worse. Politics is just a matter of choosing the lesser of the two evils, so I guess I'll choose the Democrats. Haha, but I'm not a US citizen.
haha, it seems that my hand is better today...
I was just talking to some friends on this topic. Being devout Christians, which side would they support if they could vote? (None of them is interested in politics.)
I really hate George W. Bush, I hated his policies on Iraq, and all those axis of evil theories... And not to forget, the environmental pollution problem, was that the Kyoto treaty or what? I can't recall the name...
I don't agree with homosexual marriages, but I think killing people is even worse. Politics is just a matter of choosing the lesser of the two evils, so I guess I'll choose the Democrats. Haha, but I'm not a US citizen.
haha, it seems that my hand is better today...
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Sigh... what's wrong with me??
I started feeling some wrist pain on Monday, now it seemed to developed into carpal tunnel syndrome. i.e. my whole left hand feels numb... I can't do anything with it, and I even had to type with one hand...
Then I bumped my forehead onto a door today, I was feeling all the "stars" just like depicted in a cartoon, and now there's this huge lump on my head... and dizzy when I move my head quickly... sigh... what's wrong with me??
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Interesting... Reader's comments on Literature from Amazon.com
You can click this to read it.
I don't like reading literature stuff. I have never read any of the books mentioned except the abridged version or excerpts in literature class or when I was a child. They're really interesting though...
I like this one most
I don't like reading literature stuff. I have never read any of the books mentioned except the abridged version or excerpts in literature class or when I was a child. They're really interesting though...
I like this one most
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare:
Son of Sammy wrote: "i just read this book. everybody like always talks about how great it is and everything. but i don't think so. like, it's been done before, right?? soooo cliched. omg."
Sunday, November 05, 2006
When's Hong Kong going to learn its lesson?
Hong Kong is a fascinating city with a mix of new and old. Hong Kong people (or maybe it's just the Hong Kong government) just never seemed to able to appreciate the "old" stuff.
Central Star Ferry Pier is about to be gone. NOTHING can be done by us. I don't know how they can demolish something like that (it is so important in Hong Kong's public memory) without even consulting the people.
Just looking around at the Star Ferry Pier these days, you'll see MANY people taking photos of it.
It's just so Hong Kong. I'll miss it.
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