Post 79 Let’s Tango!
Back in 1996 I attended a conference in Buenos Aires and stayed in the Capital of Argentina for ten days. It took me more than 24 hours to reach there from Kuala Lumpur, with a stopover at Johannesburg, South Africa.
I was crossing the street one day when I realized that it took me a long time to cover half the street. I turned back to count the number of lanes on the road in curiosity. After counting twice, I was amazed that there were ten lanes on half the street. I counted the other half of the street and found that I had to cross another ten lanes to reach the other side. One really needs to be fit to cross the 20 lanes of traffic on foot safely. I vividly remember that it is Avenida 9 de Julio, the widest street in the world.
Most visitors to Argentina never miss going for the Tango Shows. I went to watch the show on two occasions paying USD50 for each show cum dinner. The elegant tango dancers could really perform tango in its essence accompanied by the great tango orchestra in a beautiful and romantic theater room.
To watch the best-known song from the musical Evita, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina", being sung and acted as the show’s grand finale in Buenos Aires was the highlight of a memorable evening for me.
25 January 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Vivir para comer or comer para vivir?
Post 78 Live to eat or eat to live?
When I first visited Barcelona in 1996, I was told by my Spanish friend to ‘vivir para comer’ or live to eat; and not to ‘comer para vivir’ or eat to live. He said that Spanish cuisine comprises a variety of seafood easily available from the coastlines and countless unique cuisines served with one’s health in mind. The Spanish are adventurous with new recipes.
The Chinese cuisines are also well-known and highly popular in many parts of the world. The Chinese can cook any dish tailored to one’s wildest imagination. In the early 1990s, I was at the same table with a group of Americans at a dinner hosted by our mutual host in Lanzhou which is a prefecture-level city and capital of Gansu province in northwestern China. The menu then included camel paws and other dishes which were too daunting for us to try. We became vegetarians for the evening.
Socrates, the Greek philosopher more than 2,000 years ago, however, believed
that "Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat." His advice implies that one should eat healthily to live and not just eat for the sake of eating.
Do you vivir para comer or comer para vivir?
18 January 2011
When I first visited Barcelona in 1996, I was told by my Spanish friend to ‘vivir para comer’ or live to eat; and not to ‘comer para vivir’ or eat to live. He said that Spanish cuisine comprises a variety of seafood easily available from the coastlines and countless unique cuisines served with one’s health in mind. The Spanish are adventurous with new recipes.
The Chinese cuisines are also well-known and highly popular in many parts of the world. The Chinese can cook any dish tailored to one’s wildest imagination. In the early 1990s, I was at the same table with a group of Americans at a dinner hosted by our mutual host in Lanzhou which is a prefecture-level city and capital of Gansu province in northwestern China. The menu then included camel paws and other dishes which were too daunting for us to try. We became vegetarians for the evening.
Socrates, the Greek philosopher more than 2,000 years ago, however, believed
that "Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat." His advice implies that one should eat healthily to live and not just eat for the sake of eating.
Do you vivir para comer or comer para vivir?
18 January 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Weigh one's words
Post 77 To strike the right note
I attended a wedding dinner recently when the lady master of ceremony failed to strike the right note. Instead she sounded a false note that caused a great dent to her seemingly well-cultured character and an embarrassment to the discerning guests. Apparently she was not experienced enough to know that there are certain words of insinuation which should never be uttered, let alone at such a joyous grand occasion of which she anchored.
When one weighs one's words, one is careful with the choice of words in speaking or writing. A word well spoken at the right occasion and at the right time is ‘like apples of gold in settings of silver’. The linguistic skill of being able to use words appropriately, effectively, and imaginatively comes with reading widely and writing extensively.
When I was a little boy, I used to hear adults saying, “Children must be seen and not heard”! This is true if it helps to prevent children who do not weigh their words from innocently divulging a family secret in front of visiting guests and relatives.
11 January 2011
I attended a wedding dinner recently when the lady master of ceremony failed to strike the right note. Instead she sounded a false note that caused a great dent to her seemingly well-cultured character and an embarrassment to the discerning guests. Apparently she was not experienced enough to know that there are certain words of insinuation which should never be uttered, let alone at such a joyous grand occasion of which she anchored.
When one weighs one's words, one is careful with the choice of words in speaking or writing. A word well spoken at the right occasion and at the right time is ‘like apples of gold in settings of silver’. The linguistic skill of being able to use words appropriately, effectively, and imaginatively comes with reading widely and writing extensively.
When I was a little boy, I used to hear adults saying, “Children must be seen and not heard”! This is true if it helps to prevent children who do not weigh their words from innocently divulging a family secret in front of visiting guests and relatives.
11 January 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Gossip
Post 76 Grapevine
Grapevine is used to denote information or gossip, passed unofficially from person to person, that is difficult to trace. It starts and climbs in all directions like a grapevine. For example one may hear about the promotion of one’s colleague through the grapevine.
There is a Chinese idiom on roadside gossip. (dao ting tu shuo道听途说)
Two men, Ai Zi and Mao Kong, were gossiping. Mao told Ai, “There is a duck which has laid a hundred eggs in a day.” Ai did not believe and Mao said, “There could be two ducks.” When Ai still had doubt, Mao quickly added, “The eggs could possibly be laid by three ducks.” Mao topped up the number of ducks to ten but Ai still would not believe him.
Some time later, Mao told Ai, “A big slab of meat was dropped from the sky last month. It was 300 feet long and 200 feet wide.” Ai cast doubt on Mao who then said, “It was 200 feet long.” Again Ai did not believe him. When Mao said, “May be it was a hundred feet long”, Ai asked him, “Whose duck is it that laid the eggs?” Where did the meat fall?” Mao told Ai, “I heard them on the road from others.” Ai then told his accompanying students not to be like Mao who passed on roadside gossips.
The Chinese saying of “Rumours would stop at the wise” teaches us not to gossip.
4 January 2011
Grapevine is used to denote information or gossip, passed unofficially from person to person, that is difficult to trace. It starts and climbs in all directions like a grapevine. For example one may hear about the promotion of one’s colleague through the grapevine.
There is a Chinese idiom on roadside gossip. (dao ting tu shuo道听途说)
Two men, Ai Zi and Mao Kong, were gossiping. Mao told Ai, “There is a duck which has laid a hundred eggs in a day.” Ai did not believe and Mao said, “There could be two ducks.” When Ai still had doubt, Mao quickly added, “The eggs could possibly be laid by three ducks.” Mao topped up the number of ducks to ten but Ai still would not believe him.
Some time later, Mao told Ai, “A big slab of meat was dropped from the sky last month. It was 300 feet long and 200 feet wide.” Ai cast doubt on Mao who then said, “It was 200 feet long.” Again Ai did not believe him. When Mao said, “May be it was a hundred feet long”, Ai asked him, “Whose duck is it that laid the eggs?” Where did the meat fall?” Mao told Ai, “I heard them on the road from others.” Ai then told his accompanying students not to be like Mao who passed on roadside gossips.
The Chinese saying of “Rumours would stop at the wise” teaches us not to gossip.
4 January 2011
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