Started reading Anne Rice's book

When I first saw the book, I thought Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt was written by someone with the same name as the Anne Rice who wrote Interview with the Vampire (and thought who would use the name of an already famous writer to publish a book??)

In fact, it was written by the same person!! I read Interview with the Vampire (Chinese translated edition) years ago, and did not like it. Never read another vampire book until Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series.

Really interested in seeing how this vampire-creator-turned-Catholic handled the re-creation of the historical (and fictional) Jesus.

Family - forwarded to me by a friend

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.


He said, "Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you."


We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.


But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.


Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.


When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.


He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.


While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,


"While dealing with a stranger,
common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.


Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.


Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.


He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."


By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.


I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said.


"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.


I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."


I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."
He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway."


I said, "Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."


FAMILY
Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company
that we are working for could easily replace us in
a matter of days.
But the family we left behind will feel the loss
for the rest of their lives.


And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more
into work than into our own family,
an unwise investment indeed,
don't you think?
So what is behind the story?


Do you know what the word FAMILY means?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU

What is Literature?

I hate reading so called "literary" books, most of them are extremely boring and the only good thing it can do is acting as a good hypnotic. (Tho when I have insomnia, I usually resort to studying my notes in bed. 100% effective. So these books have no use to me.)

I have always thought books should be entertaining. It's useless to write books only few can understand and appreciate. The same goes for movies and paintings. I still remember studying The Pearl (written by John Steinbeck) in English Literature in secondary school. It's so boring...

Don't get me wrong. I hate superficial stuff. Like comedy by Stephen Chow. I love books/movies that I can re-read/re-watch again and again, and discover new meaning every time.

Recently I have read a discussion on the web about definition of literature. Diana Gabaldon offered this amazingly good definition, which I think is very true...

"My personal definition of "literature" is "any book that _lasts_." By this definition, most of the literary prize-winners and short-listed titles aren't literature, because they're gone without a trace in three or four years--if not less. (Most people--even dedicated readers of "serious" stuff--can't tell you who was short-listed for the Orange, the Whitbread, the Man Booker, etc.--even from last year.)

Generally speaking, a book needs to have some substance in order to last--but damn few of those that last aren't entertaining.

(And fwiw, even though the _average_ hardcover book these days lasts six months or less on the shelves--all of mine are still in print in hardcover, fifteen years in and counting. Keep your fingers crossed. )"

Beware Of 'Infomania'

I read an article on this in the Forbes' website...

scary... pls read the full article here

as for the extract, pls read here, maybe I should use less MSN/ICQ... email has become and essential part of my life...

"The Institute of Psychiatry at the University of London conducted clinical trials with volunteer office workers to measure how a constant flow of messages and information affects a person's ability to focus on problem-solving tasks.

Instead of boosting productivity, the constant data stream seriously reduced the volunteers' ability to focus. The study reported that an average worker's functioning IQ falls 10 points when distracted by ringing telephones and incoming e-mails, more than twice the four-point drop seen following a 2002 Carleton University study on the impact of smoking marijuana.

The study showed that 62% of adults are literally addicted to checking e-mail and text messages during meetings, in the evening and on weekends.

Half of workers respond to e-mails immediately or within 60 minutes, and one in five people are happy to interrupt a business or social meeting to respond to an e-mail or telephone message within 60 minutes.

The study warns of the abuse of always-on technology and calls this endemic condition infomania."

10 points of IQ, that's like 10% of my IQ!!! I'm going to shut my computer down NOW!

Helping Lebanon

I have always wanted to travel to Lebanon, the reason I haven't been there yet is because I can't find someone to go with me, and I haven't ran out of "normal" places (where there're actually friends who are willing to go with me) to visit.

Today, I received this forwarded extract from Financial Times from a friend.

"Please, don't stop visiting

By Justin Marozzi

Published: August 5 2006 03:00 | Last updated: August 5 2006 03:00

The most peculiar thing I heard during 12 months in Baghdad a couple of years ago was a retired British Army corporal asking me whether it was safe to visit Beirut. I found it hard to suppress a smile, the question coming from a man bold or foolish enough to live in the heart of a war zone. Angry young men were blowing themselves up daily at checkpoints only a stone's throw away, mortars were landing with heart-stopping regularity around our flimsy accommodation, any travel in Baghdad ran the real risk of ending in injury or death, much of the country was in flames and my colleague wanted to know whether Beirut, playground of the Middle East, was safe enough for a summer break.

Today, the same question would elicit tears rather than smiles. Every bomb landing in Lebanon sends the country further down the road to oblivion, smashing its economy and removing it from the list of travel destinations for years to come. This is bad enough. Lebanon's phoenix-like recovery from the 1975-1990 civil war and the resurgence of its tourism industry was one of the region's most spirit-lifting stories of recent years."

Together with it, there's an article on MSF's mission on Lebanon. The situation is really saddening. Precious lives being wasted.

"It was incredible and shocking to see these old women coming out from devastated houses, screaming, crying, desperately seeking help. We could not find any wounded but the distinctive smell of dead bodies was all around us", Ledecq (the surgeon in the MSF team) recalled.

I probably won't be visiting Lebanon in the near future. (I am not living in Baghdad, so Beirut is too dangerous for me.) To help these people, the only conceivable ways (for me) are by praying and donating.

Apart from MSF, we can also donate to World Vision.

There're still another few more years to go before I can consider actually going to these war zones or other disaster-struck area to help. (I just realised I can actually offer help for minimum of 6 weeks in MSF instead of 6 months by following the links in the MSF site. 6 months is probably to long for me. =P) For now, I am going to give money to help.

Lebanon-Israel War

I have been following the news since the war between Lebanon and Israel broke out.

Both sides are unlikely to back down now, and this whole thing must have escalated way beyond their initial expectations. It is sad to see so many civilians (especially children) being killed or hurt.

As most people prayed for wisdom for leaders or peace, I kept thinking why God is allowing this. Not in a negative way, I'm not like "HOW CAN GOD LET INNOCENT PEOPLE DIE?" I'm more like what God's planning with all this, how does this war fit in His whole plan.

I never knew Lebanon has a population that consists of 30% of Christians before today. Wow, I always thought it's an Islamic country. 30%, that's way more than HK. Anyway, most of them blamed both sides for the conflict. That's what I think as well. Hezbollah is practically a group of terrorists and they kidnapped the Israeli soldiers first and initiated the conflict. However, the Israeli army used this as an excuse to attack Lebanon way out of proportion even involving the civilians.

May God's will be done and may God turn this whole disaster into a blessing.

Unforgettable novels

I was reading a discussion on what made a novel unforgettable, and someone named Jennifer L. Wielt wrote this,

"There's obviously a lot of subjectivity when it comes to defining unforgetableness and identifying things that are unforgettable, but for me a story has to have two things -- deep originality and passion. Talking about them (especially originality) in the abstract can be deceptive because really, there's nothing new under the sun, and what is it that differentiates genuine passion from sentimentality or hot emotion?

Originality, I think, is achieved less by cooking up an unusual story scenario or quirky main character (although there's nothing wrong with these) and more by unswerving attention on the part of the author to the common, universal stuff of life (emotions, experiences, journeys, etc.) as only they can see them and write them by virtue of who they are and what has been their life experience. The originality I'm talking about is pretty subtle when it works its magic because the classics are stories that reach a large majority of us because they deal with universals. Their unforgetableness stems from their ability to present us with the stuff we know intimately and make us see and feel it in new ways, as though for the very first time. It's about tapping into archetypes but doing so through close observation to the particulars of a specific situation and being honest about its currents and complexities.

Passion I find difficult to define because it's one of those things I know when I see or feel it. It has little to do with the melting and clasping and clinging and savaging that happens in Romances (although I _have_ read Romances that are about true passion). It's about the evocation of true, meaningful, real, honest feeling. It's about love, and not just romantic love; it can even be about the denial of love. It's about intense commitment and devotion to a path, to self, to a person, to whatever. Most of all, I think it's about that other meaning of passion -- suffering. Suffering is one of those fundamental life mysteries we're always trying to figure out and relieve. Putting suffering into some kind of a meaningful context or figuring out how to make it go away is a human obsession, which is one of the reasons we have religions and why so many of us are addicted to various substances. So, if a book comes along and it tells a story with originality, that evokes honest, deep feelings and that also shows us suffering (and possibly redemption) and places it in a rich, meaningful context I think its chances of being unforgettable are pretty strong.

For some reason, the one story that keeps popping into my mind as I've been writing this post is Hemingway's THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA. It's such a simple story and pays intense attention to one human experience, yet it resonates with originality and passion and despite its specificity it taps into one of the most archetypal conflicts. Which is probably why I remember it vividly even though I only read it once, way back in high school."

Very well said. I read a LOT of novels, but only very occasionally I can find one exceptionally good one, never mind the unforgettable ones. If only I can put pen to paper and produce such a novel... (in my dreams most probably)

Women who read

I read this funny joke today...

"One morning the husband returns after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap.
Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out. She motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads her book.

Along comes a Game Warden in his boat. He pulls up alongside the woman and says, "Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?"

"Reading a book," she replies, (thinking, "Isn't that obvious?")

"You're in a Restricted Fishing Area," he informs her.

"I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading."

"Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up."

"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," says the woman.

"But I haven't even touched you," says the game warden.

"That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment."

"Have a nice day ma'am," and he left.

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also think."

The Wheel of Fortune

A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted. You should live several lives while reading it.
- William Styron

After my trip to Yunnan, I finished the last few chapters of Absolute Truths, finally finished the Starbridge Series. Then, I started on A Question of Integrity(UK title)/Wonder Worker (US title), it's quite a good book I like Nicholas Darrow & Lewis), though not as good as the Starbridge series.

The problem happens when I started, no, it started when I got hooked on the Wheel of Fortune (also written by Susan Howatch), but instead of writing about clergyman, this is one of her earlier works. It is a family saga, "a recreation in a modern dimension a true story of ... the Plantagenet family". (Don't worry even if you don't know about medieval England, I only vaguely remember I have read about the name "Plantagenet", must have read about the family in some novel by Sharon Kay Penman, but don't remember anything about them...)

The story is divided into 6 parts, each part told by a different member in the family. I like reading stories written in the 1st person, as you can know more about the characters, but the problem for me, I need to like the character first. As I don't like Robert (the character narrating the first part of the story), so even tho the story is interesting, when I started the story, I just wanted to get to know the ending, However, I knew I couldn't flip through this 1090-page family saga and expected to understand the ending, so I skipped the lines, even pages, but kept on reading. Ginerva(the second narrator, Robert's wife/his father's cousin/in the end his friend) is more interesting.

Then, I finally got hooked in part 3, John's story. I cried in part 5, when Harry described why his father, John, went back to the loveless marriage, when John finally married Bronwen and during his funeral.

I'm surprised when I read the reviews in Amazon.com, other people like Ginerva, Hal, Kester!!!, I can understand why people like Harry (I like him too), but I like John most. I think I like character whom I can identify with, that is my problem, and that's why problems always occur during my writing. For a story to succeed, I need to different characters, and when I don't like a character I don't like to read/write about him/her.

Anyway, I think the most marvellous thing about Susan Howatch's book is that she can make me understand why her characters do things they do. It seemed like an easy thing to do, but when you read her story, you know it isn't, coz the plot is so complicated, and some of them do things so weird I can't begin to comprehend...

The cost of reading such a book is that you feel exhausted afterwards... well worth it tho...

Back from Yunnan

I'm back from my 8-day trip to Yunnan. I surprised many by joining an escorted tour to Yunnan, everyone (except my mother) expected me to go by myself.

I joined a tour from the Modern China Travel Agency, famous for its tours to "weird" unpopular places with poor hotels & food and minimal shopping. The tour is more expensive than similar tours provided by other travel agencies, but with no shopping and no commission, I think it is fair that the price is higher.

I have never had a better tour guide, she's very knowledgeable, and she provided more info about the various places we visited than the local tour guides. She pays attention to every little detail, and she said she's called the "Tibetian queen" coz she's been to Tibet a lot of times.

The initial parts of my trip was spoiled by heavy raining, I had to blow-dry my shoes in the hotels in the first few days, and I couldn't see Jade Dragon Snow Mountain at all, even when I went up the mountain at altitude 4680m, I could only see 10m in front of me... (Please look at my photo album to see how I look during my ascent & descent) I was breathless after just a few steps up the stairs at that kind of altitude, and after all that walk, I can still see nothing. I remembered Kim Sam Soon's hike up Hallasan, after all the hard work, she saw nothing...

I was really looking forward to Lijiang, however, I found it too commercialised. I still think it's beautiful especially at night and with a great atmosphere, even with the heavy raining.

The place I love most is Bitai Lake Nature Reserve at Shangri-La. It is a beautiful place. I can't help thinking how long a place can stay beautiful in China when I saw hordes of mainland Chinese tourists stepping on the trees to take good photos, smoking in a dry forest, sigh...

I was even more sad when I saw pieces of White Water Terrace being cut out and sold to tourists, one of the girls in my tour group bought one piece. No wonder the whole thing is disappearing...

When is China going to learn its lesson?

Yunnan Trip