一個矚目的中國女孩

在今次北京奧運會開幕式中唱出『歌唱祖國』的那位紅衣小女孩名叫林妙可，她甜美大方，歌聲嘹亮，令千千萬萬的人留下非常深刻的印象。











開幕式過後很快傳出當時唱這首歌的不是林妙可，而是另一位女孩子楊沛宜；原因後者牙齒不齊整，只有幕後獻唱，而前者甜美可愛，討人歡喜。

我認為這次只是表演，無傷大雅。只要有甜美的面孔，加上悅耳的歌聲就可以了，那管幾多人去合作呢？

放風箏的女孩

朱巧妍是北京奧運會開幕式中從天而降放風箏的女孩。










巧妍現時九歲，樣子甜美。原來她五歲時已經加入瀋陽軍區雜技團，平衡功夫耍得，所以被吊在威吔上飛來飛去放風箏時，應付自如。這小妹妹的優美飛騰演出凸顯中國兒童喜愛的玩意，令觀眾眼前一亮。

New File opened

From a recent advertisement, Café D’C’ announces that there is a set-breakfast ($18.5) of shredded chicken congee(冬菇雞絲粥), Chinese radish pudding(蘿蔔糕), milk tea(奶茶) and an oily twin bars (油條) for an extra 1 dollar.

The interest comes from the oily twin strip. How long and how big will it be?

To find out the truth, we bought one such breakfast on November 12th.
Here were our findings of the whole breakfast:
1. The oily strip is a mini-one, narrow, short, pale in look. Its length was just 12 cm (around 5 inches). It is a little crispy, not fragrant at all and incomparable with those normal large ones of 1 foot long.
2. The congee contains shredded mushrooms, diced carrots and shredded chicken.
Whether the contents are rich or not depended wholly on the hands of the food servers inside the kitchen.
3. The radish puddings look nice and taste good.
4. The milk tea is normally good.










Conclusion: The one-dollar oily strip is just like a “bonus”. It is never a “big” surprise to anyone. We have a Chinese saying: “一分錢，一分貨”. I believe it.

In the last photo, it was our second trial. Notice that the congee had been changed to a preserved egg-and-shredded pork (皮蛋瘦肉粥) one and the puddings were a little burnt.

Suzie Wong at Restaurante Parque Hac Sa

Suzie Wong started with a drink of bloody-red cocktail wine (血紅雞尾酒). From the expression on her face, she accepted its taste.

Next came the dish of clams (炒蜆)and shrimps in clam juice (蜆汁蝦), followed by a mixed vegetable salad (雜菜沙律) , several small fried fishes(紅燒小魚).








The most attractive dish was the salted pork ribs (鹽燒排骨).








The working team (at least 10 people) of making this programme, mostly young men and women, lunched together happily at a long table.

路邊抗議行動

今天(二零零八年十一月十七日)早上八時許，途經正在施工的威爾斯親王醫院新廈地盤對面馬路旁，不時傳來『大聲公』的聲音，像有人在說話。細聽之下，我認為絕對是一宗抗議行動，持著『大聲公』那位藍衣客說了這些說話：『新昌』….『無理被解僱』….我發現抗議人群左右的行人路已擺放了幾個電視台電視轉播發射器，相信某電視台新聞採訪隊已經聞風而至，準備發放特發新聞。

在行人天橋上的盆栽花在乏人照顧之下，仍然生存。我從未見過它們抗議起來。














原來在行人天橋底，已經有兩部無線電視台新聞採訪車，靜候其變。
從最近電視新聞報導得知一班扎鐵工人不滿被公司解僱。

Meal at Restaurante Parque Hac Sa

It was not me, but Suzie Wong (蘇絲黃) who brought the viewers of her TV programme to this restaurant inside Hac Sa Park, Hac Sa Beach (黑沙海灘) on Coloane (路環), Macau.








Crossing one of the three bridges that linked up the outlying islands, Taipa (氹仔) and Coloane (路環) and a short journey, Suzie reached the famous beach of Macau, Ha Sa Beach. The seaward sand was dirty and the strip of beach was narrow. The big wooden bottle of soft-drink of orange juice beside the “beach sign” reflected that it had been there for years.








The restaurant that Suzie entered was not grand, with chess-board-like table-cloth and chairs of new and old. Bread first arrived on the table. Suzie began to tear a small piece and paste butter on it. The bread looked good although Suzie bit it with great effort. It might be that the outer shell of the bread was a bit hard and tough. There were lots of food to come……. The bread was only the "overture"(前奏曲). (to be continued)

最佳節目主持

蘇絲黃昨晚在『萬千星輝頒獎典禮2008』勇奪最佳節目主持獎。恭喜她!

在以前，她在有線電視主持烹飪節目時，其表現已經很生鬼，說話很風趣。雖然她的烹飪技術比不上大廚師，她煮餸的時候，偶然也有『蝦碌』鏡頭，但她勝在夠『真』。當蘇絲黃教人煮一個餸時，她已經預先在『綠』板上寫出材料和步驟，其字體不錯，教授烹飪時邊做邊教，有條理,，又清晰，對於一些不懂得烹飪的人都容易明白。可惜蘇絲黃不做正規老師，否則其學生一定獲益良多。

蘇絲黃最近替無線主持幾集烹飪特輯時加入一些新元素:
(1) 美食介紹 ─ 到澳門探討一些餐廳及小食店美食；其中一間餐廳老闆還即席表演魔術。連街頭巷尾的雪糕阿伯自己製造的雪糕她也介紹一番。
(2) 手信介紹 ─ 老婆餅、蛋卷、鳳凰卷…..有彈有讚。
(3) 蜜運男女試煮─ 幾對快將結婚的情侶被邀請同一方式煮同一道菜，比較高下，試食，給評語，最後示範一番。
(4) 創意煮食 ─ 另外一批情侶用自創方式去煮同一樣食材，如苦瓜,,,,。

The Ladies’ Individual Archery event at Beijing Olympics

The stadium for Archery at Beijing Olympics is not rectangular, but rather long, narrow and fan-shaped. The spectator stands on two sides are raised platforms with seats in attractive yellow.

On that day of the event for Ladies' Individuals (Final), it was rainy. The spectators were given very colourful rain-coats. The stadium was half full. Many supporters were Chinese because one of the athletes was a Chinese girl, called Zhang Juan Juan.








In the game, each athlete, in turns, would shoot 3 arrows at a time, making a total of 12 shots for each. To me, the match was quite exciting. I witnessed the moment the arrow swung vigorously at its tail when shot out and flied forward at high speed. The arrows were made of steel, probably, and quite narrow. They had coloured plastic ends for easy clutching, pulling and identification.

The target board consisted of rings of yellow, red, light blue and black (from inside towards outside) Each archer would earn ten points if his/her arrow hit the innermost ring. The number of points reduced as arrows hit further away from the centre.

The opponent of the Chinese athlete was a Korean. She took the lead at the beginning. The points equalized at 8/12 for both athletes. That meant the last 4 arrows for each athlete were decisive. Finally Miss Zhang was able to beat her opponent by 1 point (110:109). She thus brought a Gold medal to herself as well as to her country. My hearty congratulations to her!

What’s this?

A heap of clothes?
What happened?
Suggest an answer.

Flowers of a clown

A “clown” in our play area is holding three flowers, actually holes for children to put their heads near or even out of.

On November 13th, Abby found one of the yellow flowers, knelt down and peeped through it from behind. In this way, Abby became one of the flowers that bloomed with a happy face. She showed her white shoes below. To keep herself away from falling, she supported herself with her hands on the rim of the flower.

I know that some teachers of kindergartens stick the photos of their students onto individual paper flowers to show to the class.

State Bird of Texas

It is the first time I learn from Daisy Mak that mocking bird is the State Bird of Texas. Interesting!

Next I find out the names of other State birds from Wikipedia.
Each bird has its photo at the website.

State.......................State bird Year

Alabama ................Yellowhammer 1927
Alaska.....................Willow Ptarmigan 1955
Arizona....................Cactus Wren 1973
Arkansas.................Mockingbird 1929
California.................California Quail 1931
Colorado..................Lark Bunting 1931
Connecticut.............American Robin 1943
Delaware.................Blue Hen of Delaware 1939
Dis.of Columbia......Wood Thrush 1938
Florida.....................Mockingbird 1927
Georgia....................Brown Thrasher 1928
Hawaii......................Hawaiian Goose 1957
Idaho........................Mountain Bluebird 1931
Illinois.......................Cardinal 1928
Indiana.....................Cardinal 1933
Iowa..........................Eastern Goldfinch 1933
Kansas......................Western Meadowlark 1933
Kentucky..................Northern Cardinal 1942
Louisiana..................Eastern Brown Pelican 1966
Maine........................Black-capped Chickadee 1927
Maryland..................Baltimore Oriole 1947
Massachusetts..........Black-capped Chickadee 1941
Michigan....................American Robin 1931
Minnesota..................Common Loon 1961
Mississippi.................Mockingbird 1944
Missouri.....................Eastern Bluebird 1927
Montana.....................Western Meadowlark 1941
Nebraska....................Western Meadowlark 1929
Nevada........................Mountain Bluebird 1967
New Hampshire.........Purple Finch 1957
New Jersey.................Eastern Goldfinch 1935
New Mexico................Roadrunner 1949
New York....................Eastern Bluebird 1970
North Carolina............Cardinal 1943
North Dakota..............Western Meadowlark 1970
Ohio..............................Cardinal 1933
Oklahoma.....................Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 1951
Oregon..........................Western Meadowlark 1927
Pennsylvania................Ruffed Grouse 1931
Rhode Island................Rhode Island Red Chicken 1954
South Carolina.............Carolina Wren 1948
South Dakota...............Ring-necked Pheasant 1943
Tennessee....................Mockingbird 1933
Texas............................Mockingbird 1927
Utah..............................California Gull 1955
Vermont.......................Hermit Thrush 1941
Virginia.........................Cardinal 1950
Washington..................Willow Goldfinch 1951
West Virginia...............Cardinal 1949
Wisconsin.....................American Robin 1949
Wyoming......................Western Meadowlark 1927

A Dead Armadillo (犰狳)

On March 31st, 2008, Daisy Mak found a dead armadillo when she went on her wild flower photo- shooting in Texas. Here it is in the top photo.

Let us study this kind of animals closely.

From Wikipedia, it says: Armadillos are small placental mammals, having a leathery armor shell. The word armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one." Their average length is about 75 centimeters (30 in), including tail; the Giant Armadillo grows up to 1.5 m (5 ft) and weigh 59 kg (130 lbs), while the Pink Fairy Armadillos are diminutive species with an overall length of 12–15 cm (4–5 in). All species are native to the Americas, where they inhabit a variety of environments.

In the United States, the sole resident armadillo is the Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), which is most common in the central southernmost states, particularly Texas. Their range is as far east as South Carolina and Florida and as far north as Nebraska, and while cold winters have slowed the expansion of their range (due to a lack of sufficient body fat), they have been consistently expanding their range over the last century due to a lack of natural predators and have been found as north far as Illinois and Indiana, and are expected to eventually reach Ohio before the cold winters inhibit their expansion.

Armadillos are prolific diggers. Many species use their sharp claws to dig for food, such as grubs, and to dig dens. The Nine-banded Armadillo prefers to build burrows in moist soil near the creeks, streams, and arroyos around which it lives and feeds. The diet of different armadillo species varies, but consists mainly of insects, grubs, and other invertebrates. Some species, however, are almost entirely formicivorous (feeding mainly on ants).]
Armadillos have poor vision but are not blind.

The armor is formed by plates of dermal bone covered in relatively small, overlapping epidermal scales called "scutes," composed of bone with a covering of horn. In most species, there are rigid shields over the shoulders and hips, with a number of bands separated by flexible skin covering the back and flanks. Additional armor covers the top of the head, the upper parts of the limbs, and the tail. The underside of the animal is never armored, and is simply covered with soft skin and fur.

This armor-like skin appears to be the main defense of many armadillos, although most escape predators by fleeing (often into thorny patches, from which their armor protects them) or digging to safety. Only the South American three-banded armadillos (Tolypeutes) rely heavily on their armor for protection. When threatened by a predator, Tolypeutes species frequently roll up into a ball. (Other armadillo species cannot roll up because they have too many plates.) The North American Nine-banded Armadillo tends to jump straight in the air when surprised, and consequently often collides with the undercarriage or fenders of passing vehicles.

Armadillos have short legs but can move quite quickly, and have the ability to remain underwater for as long as six minutes. Because of the density of its armor, an armadillo will sink in water unless it inflates its stomach with air, which often doubles its size and allows it to swim across narrow bodies of water.

Armadillos use their claws for digging and finding food, as well as for making their homes in burrows. They dig their burrows with their claws, only making a single corridor where they fit themselves. They have five clawed toes on the hind feet, and three to five toes with heavy digging claws on the fore feet. Armadillos have a large number of cheek teeth, which are not divided into premolars and molars, but usually have incisors or canines.

Gestation lasts anywhere from 60 to 120 days, depending on species, although the nine-banded armadillo also exhibits delayed implantation, so that the young are not typically born for eight months after mating. Most members of the genus Dasypus give birth to four homozygous young (that is, identical quadruplets), but other species may have typical litter sizes that range from one to eight. The young are born with soft leathery skin, which hardens within a few weeks, and reach sexual maturity in 3-12 months, depending on the species. Armadillos are solitary animals that do not share their burrows with other adults.

Let me turn the original photo upside down so that you can see what a living armadillo looks like.