Easter Island(復活節島)

Easter Island is sometimes called "Navel of the Earth"[地球的肚臍] (which means that it is in the middle of South Pacific Ocean with no neigbouring lands).

復活節島（西班牙語：Isla de Pascua），或根據當地的語言稱拉帕努伊島（Rapa Nui），是南太平洋中的一個島嶼，位於智利以西外海約3600到3700公里處，坐標為南緯27度09分，西經109度27分，約與智利港口卡爾德拉在同一緯度，較聖地亞哥偏北。復活節島是世界上最與世隔絕的島嶼之一，離其最近有人定居的皮特開恩群島也有2,075公里距離。該島形狀近似呈一三角形，由三座火山組成，面積117平方公里。

1722年的一個星期日，荷蘭東印度公司的海軍將領雅可布•洛加文率領的一支艦隊首次發現了這個位於南太平洋中的這個小島。洛加文在航海圖上用墨筆記下了這個此島的位置，由於發現該島這一天正好是基督教的復活節，他在旁邊記下「復活節島」，從此「復活節島」之名為世人所知。1774年，英國探險家詹姆斯•庫克船長再次找到該島。1914年開始對復活節島進行相關的考察和研究活動。但是當今的人類學界多根據當地的語言稱此島為拉帕努伊島（Rapa Nui），這是1860年代來自大溪地的玻里尼西亞勞工對它的稱呼。

Big Rocks of Human Figures

An aircraft brought a cameraman towards the shore of this island in the Pacific. This line of Big Rocks of Statues attracted each year many tourists over the world to marvel at the craftsmanship of the people here at Rapa Nui (拉帕努伊島).


Let us look at these rocks:

These monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Polynesian island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island 復活節島) between 1250 and 1500 are called Moai (摩艾). Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the island's perimeter. Almost all moai have overly large heads three-fifths the size of their bodies. The moai are chiefly the 'living faces' of deified ancestors. The statues still gazed inland across their clan lands when Europeans first visited the island, but most would be cast down during later conflicts between clans.

The production and transportation of these statues are considered remarkably intellectual and creative. The tallest moai erected, called Paro, was almost 10 metres (33 ft) high and weighed 75 tonnes; the heaviest erected was a shorter but squatter moai at Ahu Tongariki, weighing 86 tons; and one unfinished sculpture, if completed, would have been approximately 21 metres (69 ft) tall with a weight of about 270 tons.

Silvery Men

I saw one man of this kind at Circular Quay in Sydney in December 2006. I wondered why he was there.

There were three possibilities:
[1] He was employed by the Australian Government to stand there like a statue to attract tourists to come and watch him.
[2] He wanted to get donation from tourists.
[3] He was employed by a TV company to carry out a certain psychology test on humans.
I dared not take photos of this man because it was liable for him to approach me for money.

Now these photos were taken by Felix at the waterfront of San Francisco. Felix dared to record the activities of these two men who painted and dressed themselves in silver. One of them was holding a cup made of aluminium. I guess he would drink something out of it at time of thirst. It was interesting that he was wearing a cap which was not all silvery and his sunglasses were UV protected.

It was not fun for them standing there like a stone for a long time. The paint on their faces would turn them stiff and painful. Would people appreciate their performance and give them some money.

Weightless Wedding

A couple from New York took a “weightless” wedding in a “Boeing 727” aircraft over Florida. They said it was a “Zero G” wedding. It was funny, wasn’t it?



















The couple locked their arms together with the others before they lost their gravity completely. They floated in the air and enjoyed the fun of no gravity. Their close relatives, witnesses and camera men had to find ways to stabilize themselves first before the wedding went on. Finally, the couple was turned upside down to have a long kiss to mark this wonderful wedding in high altitude.

7-Eleven Shop – Collection of Mini-stationery

Our 7-Eleven Shops create a collection of mini-stationery for their customers. With the purchase of articles inside their shops, customers may get some stamps (the more they buy, the more stamps they can get).

With ten stamps in hand, a customer can get one of the ten pieces of stationery, but the problem is that the shop-assistant just randomly pick up one and give it to the customer. The latter is not allowed to choose his/her favourite stationery or cartoon figure. In this case, it is merely by luck that a customer can get his/her favourite.

These cartoon figures are Maruko (小丸子) and her classmates and their stationery are shown in the top photo:

A. Front line from left to right:
[1] 豬太郎同學打孔機
[2] 山田同學萬字夾座
[3] 濱治同學便條夾
[4] 野口同學釘書機
[5] 櫻桃小丸子伸縮軟尺

B. Top line from left to right:
[6] 永沢同學筆刨
[7] 花輪同學膠紙座
[8] 小玉同學剪刀
[9] 丸尾同學原子筆
[10] 小渚同學擦膠





[5] is my favourite. Up to this moment, I only get [4] and [9], but I am not going to get more. The reason is very simple. My choice falls into the hands of others. That is to say, the collection game is beyond my control and so I abandon it right away.

Father’s Day

We ate lunch two days earlier in our usual restaurant at Ma On Shan as a celebration of Father’s Day. What I selected this time was fish fillet and spaghetti in white cream.

I chose fish this time because I did not want to have hot food to make myself soak in sweat that day and because I ate beef steak almost every time and I needed a "change". The dish of food was simple, but I enjoyed eating it since my son was going to pay the bill.

A few days before, my son bought me a set of twenty “007” DVD films from year 1962 to year 2002 as a "gift" on Father’s Day. Obviously he knows that I am a fan of “007” films. These DVDs could refresh my memories of the films of a British secret agent. The outstanding features of these films are powerful weapons, chases, fighting and Bond girls.

I am sure these films may take up quite a number of hours of my time in summer. I hope I can watch more recent James Bond films in the near future.

Alcatraz Island

The name “Alcatraz Island” came before my eyes in the early 90s from a computer game. At that time, I had no idea where this island was. I neither knew that it was a famous island for its prison. To me, the game did not interest me because it was just a game inside a fortified place with walls and passageways. Perhaps people like this sort of game in thinking out ways how to escape from a prison built on an island like this.

Below is a very brief description of this island from the Internet:

Alcatraz Island, simply Alcatraz or locally as The Rock, is a small island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California, United States. It served as a lighthouse, then a military fortification, then a military prison followed by a federal prison until 1963.

It became a national recreation area in 1972 and received landmarking designations in 1976 and 1986. Today, the island is an historic site operated by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is open to tours. Visitors can reach the island by ferry ride from Pier 33, near Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Alcatraz has been featured in many movies, TV shows, cartoons, books, comics, and games.

I have seen the film, “The Rock”(石破天驚 made in 1996) which supposed to have happened on this famous island. Two famous stars, Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage were in its cast The plot of the film is below:

A group of U.S. marines, under command of a renegade general, take over Alcatraz and threat San Francisco Bay with biological weapons. A chemical weapons specialist and the only man to have ever escaped from the Rock are the only ones who can prevent chaos.

Abby的皮禮士糖

早前在網上與Abby傾談，我見到Abby手上握著的竟然是我闊別多年的皮禮士糖(PEZ)！

其實皮禮士糖狀似藥丸，味道有些像得果定喉糖，無甚麼特別，但長條形加上公仔頭的糖盒非常可愛。相信一直以來大部分的人買皮禮士糖最大的目的是收藏公仔頭糖盒多於食皮禮士糖。

有趣的地方是皮禮士糖的公仔頭設計不斷追上時代巨輪，以下是收藏家的一些珍藏：
(1) Mr. Bean’s Car
(2) Mr. Bean
(3) Mr. Bean’s puppet

(4) Pikachu (比加超) /Pokemon Series

世界的盡頭(1)

這個「世界的盡頭」是台灣電視節目「冒險王」裏面其中一次探討。拍攝隊在2007年4月28日從阿根廷首都布宜諾斯艾利斯(Buenos Aires)乘飛機抵達世界最南面的城市烏蘇懷亞(Ushuaia).

其實烏蘇懷亞座落於火地島(Tierra del Fuego)上。話說麥哲倫船長(Captain Magellan)曾經經過這島，他把這島取名為火地島。節目稱火地島是世界的終端，而且這地方令經過的水手們因為嚴寒強勁的南極風而對這個島敬而遠之。當時海盜們更把這個區域稱為死亡地帶，像迷霧一樣難以捉摸。如此這般，火地島變成既神秘又傳奇。

火地島最特別的是由兩個國家統治，在島大約中線的地方從北向南分割，西面的土地是屬智利，而東面的土地則屬阿根廷。先前所提及的塞浦路斯島是在島大約中線的地方由西向東分割，北面是由土耳其人管理，南面則希臘人。

Coco-cola Cans?

From the first sight, you may think that these are cans of Coca-cola. They look exactly the same shapes and sizes of ordinary cans of coke, but……… Taking a closer look at these cans, you may find that they can be split up into halves. How amazing! Will future Coca-cola cans be turned into half-cans? The answer is “No”.

Well, I read from one of the “free” newspapers in Hong Kong today that we could buy from a 7-eleven shop, a set of “coke mini-loudspeakers” together with two bottles of coca-cola (500ml each). There are three different cartoon-figures for these loudspeakers, a “Lady”, a “Fireman” and the other, a “diver”, I guess. These figures come from a recent advertisement in TV.



Two coca-cola (500ml) cans cost $7.5x2 = $15
1 set of loudspeakers costs $29.9.

Together I bought 3 different sets of loudspeakers this morning. All these cost me $3(15+29.9) = $134.7

At home I tried to connect my mini-radio to one of the loudspeakers for a test and learned that they worked well, loud enough to satisfy me.

Today is the first day of redemption. I guess the stock will not last long.

Sydney Light Rail

Sydney Light Rail connects Sydney’s Central Station, Haymarket, Paddy’s Markets, Darling Harbour, Star City, the Sydney Fish Markets and the city’s scenic inner western suburbs. It services run every 10 minutes. Our 84M KMB buses run every 20 minutes, less frequent than the Light Rail in Sydney. Ugh!

The Light Rail tramcars in Sydney are really modern, bright-coloured, full of life and spacious. Its windows are big and several doorways are wide and easy for access by shoppers, tourists and local residents. Unfortunately last time when I was there, I did not have time to board on one of these trams for a ride round this modern city.

Street Car in Fisherman’s Wharf Area

It is really impressive for me to see such an old-fashioned street car that still runs on the street along Wharf Area in San Francisco.

This worm-like car moves by electricity and crawls slowly on parallel rails, not because it is old, but it keeps the tour slow enough for sightseeing or as chair-lifts for the elderly.

If I were there seeing such kind of cars running in the street, I would have asked myself if I had gone back to the old days of San Francisco by a time-machine. A strike on the head will tell me that I am in the 21st century.

The design and look of the “tram” in San Francisco reflect to me that they are stream-lined, heavily coated with scraps of iron and lined with a large number of small flat windows.

The right photo shows a bright yellow street car at depot with its electricity-conducting bar lowered down.

Lake Wakatipu and its Aerial activities

We can never find a quiet place in Hong Kong which looks like Lake Wakatipu with its peaceful water and the undisturbed snow-topped mountains. The fresh air and sunshine at the lake have long swept away one’s troubles and worries.

On September 9th, 2007, Ho Keung and Yin Ping took these interesting photos of the aerial activities overhead Queenstown and the lake.

Flying in the air is no longer a dream now. Gliders were flying low over the houses that day. The aerial views of moving Queenstown below these “flying“ travellers could be terrific.

Parachute-flying is another choice of sports over the lake. Here in a photo, a speed-boat was pulling a yellow parachute and its passenger along. The long wave created by the boat, the parachute and the boat ahead formed an interesting photo.

The left bottom photo shows an unbelievable scene that a glider had lifted a man riding on his motor-cycle into the air. I wonder what would happen if he landed on the lake. Certainly, the motor-cycle could sink the passenger into the lake.

Cups for Memory

These cups can bring me glimpses of snapshots in my school old days with my students. One of them serves as my drinking cup for quite a long time while the other my new water cup for teeth–brushing.

Every day the words on the right-hand cup reminds me that I have students who thank me for the work I have done to them and those on the left-hand one reminds me that my students are number 1 in all respects.

Special thanks I should give to those students who gave me the cup with my surname printed in blue, my favourite colour. They have the hearts to express their gratitude towards a teacher like me. Every time when I drink tea from this cup, the aroma of tea leaves added with the sense of thankfulness can fill me with satisfaction. More to say, whenever Abby sees me pick up this cup and put to my mouth, Abby predicts that I am drinking tea. Of course, sometimes she may be wrong. At that moment, I may be drinking water or juice that Abby likes or eating ice-cream that Abby is mad at.

Recently the snow-white cup on the left, a gift from a brand of coffee, replaces my old one, also a gift, but from a brand of milk-powder.

Perception from a waitress

In the eyes of a waitress at a HKJC restaurant, this simple piece of cake might look like the face of a gentleman. She told us so yesterday.

The cake was a mango one with Kiwi fruit at the top as eye-brows, the two grapes as eye balls, the red raspberry as the nose, the triangular chocolate piece as lips and the long face in yellow.

Different people look at a thing with different perceptions. I remember I have seen a picture with a question, “What can you see from the picture?” Some people will say it is a “witch” and some will say it is a “pretty girl”.

When I perceive both, I will say I see “a beautiful girl” instead of “a witch” because I like to see the happy side rather than the unhappy side.

I liked the waitress’ perception because she caught some fun from the cake and brought her customer, me, a better appetite.

Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

Last time in the progamme “世界正美麗”, the lady “鴨子” at the top of a hill was pointing in the direction of a hotel called Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel (城堡飯店) below her.










This hotel is the most magnificent building at Banff, Alberta, Canada. It was built 120 years ago.
This is where the upper class of people lives. It looks like a castle or palace in the Middle Ages and is always the landmark of Banff. Every week, 20 to 30 thousands of people live in their 700 rooms, which have been booked half a year before.











Inside each room, there are usually a large comfortable bed, table-lamps, a coffee-maker, cups, glasses, an ice-box, wine glasses, a small wooden-table and chairs. The most disappointing thing to see is the out-dated TV set.




















The happiest thing to see is the beautiful mountain outside the windows. It seems that the mountain is inside a picture and the window is its frame.