Happy birthday to myself and all Taurus around.
Lady Su, thank you for remembering my birthday and the lovely card you sent.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Fire and Snow
Tung flowers and fireflies in Dongshi Forest Area
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I was worried that the trip to the Dongshi Forest Area for firefly sighting would end up with me being trapped in a cabin reading 'The Lucifer Principle' because of the pouring rain. Luckily, the rain stopped on the 1st day of my trip and didn't start again until the last mintue on my journey home. The great bargain, a cabin with 2 king-sized beds, breakfast, entrance fee, parking, and Spa are all included in the package of an overnight trip for only NT$2,999 for 2 persons (NT$3,999 for 4 persons), for travelers who book it online still stands as last year. The best deal to offer this year is the consumer voucher 800: a cabin, 2 meals (breakfast and dinner), entrance fee, and parking are alll included for only NT$800/person! (Note: must pay with consumer voucher, at least partially)
On my last visit to Dongshi Forest Area last year, tung flowers were just about to blossom; this year, thanks to the odd weather, tung trees have already fully blossomed in late April. Walking in trails where tung flowers spin down in the air in the afternoon breeze was poetic yet it felt almost blasphemy to walk on the roads that cover with snowy white petals. Despite the fact that the number of fireflies were less due to the rain, the firefly lighting show was still phenomenonal.
Paper Dome
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The great Hanshin earthquake in Kobe/Japan on Jan. 17th 1995 destroyed more than 200,000 buildings including the Takatori Church. To build a temporary home for the community meeting house, architect Shigeru Ban raised funds and recruited 160 volunteers, most of them were college students, to build the house that is made of paper. The project started in July and was completed on September 17th, 1995. Inspired by Bernini's churches, 58 paper pillars (5m in length, 33cm in diameter, 15 mm in thickness) were arranged in an oval-shape that were sheltered in a rectangular fiberglass form.
The New Home Land Foundation (a organiztion that's dedicated to post 9-21 earthquake community reconstruction ) heard that the paper church that had served not only as a temporary meeting house but also a spiritual asylum for the community was about to be torn-down and relocation to rebuild the Takatori church when participating in the 10th anniversary memorial ceremony of the great Hanshin earthquake. The chairman proposed to relocate the paper church to Nantou/Taiwan where the epicenter of the 9-21 earthquake was in 1999. The proposal was accepted and the paper church was shipped to Taiwan in July, 2005. The paper church reassembling was completed and opened to the public on September 21st, 2008 in Tao-Mi Eco-village, Puli township.
Entrance fee: NT$50, exchangable voucher
Opening hours: Mar. to Oct.: 09:00-20:00; Nov. to Feb.: 09:00-18:00
Add: No. 52-12, Taomi lane, Taomi village, Puli township, Nantou county
Sitou Nature Education Area
Twelve years ago I stayed there for a week, singing everyday as entertainment for the China Youth Corp; Twelve years later I visited the vary spot where I sang before and found nothing has changed. Twelve years slipped by in a blink of an eye for me as a human being, for this old cypress forest it seems time stands still. The well designed trails are suitable for all levels of hikers. A must see place!
Related posts:
Firefly Season
Snowing in May-Tung Blossom
2009 Hakka Tung Blossom Festival
.JPG)
I was worried that the trip to the Dongshi Forest Area for firefly sighting would end up with me being trapped in a cabin reading 'The Lucifer Principle' because of the pouring rain. Luckily, the rain stopped on the 1st day of my trip and didn't start again until the last mintue on my journey home. The great bargain, a cabin with 2 king-sized beds, breakfast, entrance fee, parking, and Spa are all included in the package of an overnight trip for only NT$2,999 for 2 persons (NT$3,999 for 4 persons), for travelers who book it online still stands as last year. The best deal to offer this year is the consumer voucher 800: a cabin, 2 meals (breakfast and dinner), entrance fee, and parking are alll included for only NT$800/person! (Note: must pay with consumer voucher, at least partially)On my last visit to Dongshi Forest Area last year, tung flowers were just about to blossom; this year, thanks to the odd weather, tung trees have already fully blossomed in late April. Walking in trails where tung flowers spin down in the air in the afternoon breeze was poetic yet it felt almost blasphemy to walk on the roads that cover with snowy white petals. Despite the fact that the number of fireflies were less due to the rain, the firefly lighting show was still phenomenonal.
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Paper Dome
.JPG)
The great Hanshin earthquake in Kobe/Japan on Jan. 17th 1995 destroyed more than 200,000 buildings including the Takatori Church. To build a temporary home for the community meeting house, architect Shigeru Ban raised funds and recruited 160 volunteers, most of them were college students, to build the house that is made of paper. The project started in July and was completed on September 17th, 1995. Inspired by Bernini's churches, 58 paper pillars (5m in length, 33cm in diameter, 15 mm in thickness) were arranged in an oval-shape that were sheltered in a rectangular fiberglass form.The New Home Land Foundation (a organiztion that's dedicated to post 9-21 earthquake community reconstruction ) heard that the paper church that had served not only as a temporary meeting house but also a spiritual asylum for the community was about to be torn-down and relocation to rebuild the Takatori church when participating in the 10th anniversary memorial ceremony of the great Hanshin earthquake. The chairman proposed to relocate the paper church to Nantou/Taiwan where the epicenter of the 9-21 earthquake was in 1999. The proposal was accepted and the paper church was shipped to Taiwan in July, 2005. The paper church reassembling was completed and opened to the public on September 21st, 2008 in Tao-Mi Eco-village, Puli township.
Entrance fee: NT$50, exchangable voucher
Opening hours: Mar. to Oct.: 09:00-20:00; Nov. to Feb.: 09:00-18:00
Add: No. 52-12, Taomi lane, Taomi village, Puli township, Nantou county
Sitou Nature Education Area
Twelve years ago I stayed there for a week, singing everyday as entertainment for the China Youth Corp; Twelve years later I visited the vary spot where I sang before and found nothing has changed. Twelve years slipped by in a blink of an eye for me as a human being, for this old cypress forest it seems time stands still. The well designed trails are suitable for all levels of hikers. A must see place!
.jpg){kind=link}
Related posts:
Firefly Season
Snowing in May-Tung Blossom
2009 Hakka Tung Blossom Festival
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Budget accommodations in Taiwan
Hotels look the same everywhere, so why not stay in some other places? Here is a list of alternatives to hotels that are not only different but sometimes even free. Included in the map listed are many temples, churches and hostels.
View Budget Accommodations in Taiwan in a larger map
It is recommended to call in advance of arrival.
Information collected from:
窮學生超省錢旅行秘笈
Backpackers
View Budget Accommodations in Taiwan in a larger map
It is recommended to call in advance of arrival.
Information collected from:
窮學生超省錢旅行秘笈
Backpackers
Monday, April 06, 2009
MV Doulos, the floating bookshop
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The idea of having a book fair on a ship is fascinating, especially if the ship is the world's oldest active ocean-going passenger ship that travels all over the world. The MV Doulos, meaning the servant, welcomes book lovers onboard in Kaohsuing Harbor (Fisherman's Wharf) from April 3rd~28th, Hualien Harbor from May 1st to 12th and Keelong Harbor from May 15 to June 3rd.I visited the ship yesterday, visitors onboard must go through a chamber where the crew were hosting small games to raise funds, whereas the book fair was held one level above, on the deck. I was hoping to find books from all over the world in various categories, but from what I could see, 70% of the books were Christian or spirit lifting related, 20% were english books for children leaving only about 10% that were Chinese books, cooking, dictionaries etc. I couldn't find a book I wanted, not even a mug that had Doulos mark on it! The weekend crowd sucked out all the fun of reading books leisurely on the deck in the breeze from the ocean. I passed the tour of the ship and left the ship wondering why I visited the ship on a crowded Sunday!
Transportation to Fisherman's Wharf in Kaohsiung: 5 min walk from 2nd Exit of Sizihwan station (orange line 01) of Kaohsiung MRT.
Entrance fee to the book fair: NT$10/person; tour to the chambers and the bridge of the ship: NT$100/50, adult/child .
Opening hours: 10:00~22:00, Tue to Sat; 14:00~22:00, Sun to Mon.
More information about the ship, schedule, or to be a crew of Doulos, ect. at http://www.doulos.org/
Friday, March 27, 2009
Human flesh search invasion
Unlike conventional search engines, human flesh search engine uses internet resources and conventional search engines such as Google and Baidu as databases, whereas thousands of individuals with different specialities are the searching algorithms. One person's result can be the others' keyword: a video posted online can tell the location of the event took place by analyzing the background and its uploading IP address; model of the video that used to take the clip narrows down the target in specific communities... The engine works scary efficiently that most of the cases were concluded within a week.
The human flesh search was stared in 2001 in China when a guy posted a girl's photo alleging that she was his girlfriend. Soon the identity of the girl was dug out and her personal information was publicized as proof that he was lying. Later on, the cat abuse event in 2006, an old guy was beaten up by a drunk in 2007 and a woman committed suicide because of her husband's betrayal in 2008, etc., in every scenario, guilty or innocent, targets were lynched by exposing them to the baleful publicity.
The idea of human flesh search is spreading out and is invading Taiwan, maybe the world, insensibly. Here are the two cases from Taiwan recently:
Case 1: Second hand DSLR
A teacher wanted to sell a second hand DSLR and found a candidate buyer whose occupation is architecture. The trade was concluded after an hour inspection of the item by the architect, they both went home with what they wanted. A few days later, the architect posted an article online in which he accused the teacher of selling him a defective DSLR and had no intention to take responsibility. Based on the article, members of that community embarked a human flesh search and found out the identity of the teacher. Within a day, all personal information of the teacher such as real name, websites, occupation, addresses, phone number and etc. were exposed online. Later, the teacher stood up for his rights and told his version of the story. All of a sudden, the situation was in favor of the teacher and a human flesh search on the architect was conducted rampantly. Bitter words engulfed the architect's websites and flowed to websites that the architect marked as friends after shutting down the comments feature of his websites. The story ended after a series of apologies from the teacher and the architect especially.
Case 2: The ghost island
"Last week, opposition Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Kuan Bi-ling accused Kuo of having posted articles describing Taiwan as a "ghost island" and native Taiwanese as "redneck" and "Japanese pirates" under the alias of Fan Lan-chin. Kuo denied Fan was his pen name, and the articles were his work"(excerpted from Taiwan News). Cross validation of all factors by netizen indicate that Kuo Kuan-ying is Fan Lan-Chin and Kuo confessed on Mar. 23rd.
The purpose of human flesh search is to dig out the fact and help those vulnerable minority. However, it can be easily misdirected due to the difficulty of validation of information provided in the virtual world. Human flesh search reflects the majority's moral perception on the event (ex: one shouldn't sell a defected item even though it was a second hand), however, morality is easily clouded by emotions from oneself and the crowd. Ironically, in order to restore the justice of morality, human flesh search infringes target's privacy immorally. In the name of justice these vigilantes become lynch mobs, human flesh search is a mean to achieve self-moral satisfaction.
"In the first case involving cyberviolence and a "human flesh search engine" in China, a court has fined a Web site and an Internet user for posting personal and intimate details about an unfaithful husband, his mistress and a spurned wife who committed suicide" (excerpted from International Herald Tribune). In December 2008, The People's Court in Beijing called the human flesh search an alarming phenomenon because it is causing cyberviolence and privacy law violation. The power and influences of human flesh search have caught attentions in China whereas the idea is still digesting here in Taiwan. Privacy infringement was overlooked while netizen in Taiwan felt contributed to a second hand DSLR trading argument; members of DPP celebrated for the triumph of exposing an ineligible KMT diplomat.
The human flesh search was stared in 2001 in China when a guy posted a girl's photo alleging that she was his girlfriend. Soon the identity of the girl was dug out and her personal information was publicized as proof that he was lying. Later on, the cat abuse event in 2006, an old guy was beaten up by a drunk in 2007 and a woman committed suicide because of her husband's betrayal in 2008, etc., in every scenario, guilty or innocent, targets were lynched by exposing them to the baleful publicity.
The idea of human flesh search is spreading out and is invading Taiwan, maybe the world, insensibly. Here are the two cases from Taiwan recently:
Case 1: Second hand DSLR
A teacher wanted to sell a second hand DSLR and found a candidate buyer whose occupation is architecture. The trade was concluded after an hour inspection of the item by the architect, they both went home with what they wanted. A few days later, the architect posted an article online in which he accused the teacher of selling him a defective DSLR and had no intention to take responsibility. Based on the article, members of that community embarked a human flesh search and found out the identity of the teacher. Within a day, all personal information of the teacher such as real name, websites, occupation, addresses, phone number and etc. were exposed online. Later, the teacher stood up for his rights and told his version of the story. All of a sudden, the situation was in favor of the teacher and a human flesh search on the architect was conducted rampantly. Bitter words engulfed the architect's websites and flowed to websites that the architect marked as friends after shutting down the comments feature of his websites. The story ended after a series of apologies from the teacher and the architect especially.
Case 2: The ghost island
"Last week, opposition Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Kuan Bi-ling accused Kuo of having posted articles describing Taiwan as a "ghost island" and native Taiwanese as "redneck" and "Japanese pirates" under the alias of Fan Lan-chin. Kuo denied Fan was his pen name, and the articles were his work"(excerpted from Taiwan News). Cross validation of all factors by netizen indicate that Kuo Kuan-ying is Fan Lan-Chin and Kuo confessed on Mar. 23rd.
The purpose of human flesh search is to dig out the fact and help those vulnerable minority. However, it can be easily misdirected due to the difficulty of validation of information provided in the virtual world. Human flesh search reflects the majority's moral perception on the event (ex: one shouldn't sell a defected item even though it was a second hand), however, morality is easily clouded by emotions from oneself and the crowd. Ironically, in order to restore the justice of morality, human flesh search infringes target's privacy immorally. In the name of justice these vigilantes become lynch mobs, human flesh search is a mean to achieve self-moral satisfaction.
"In the first case involving cyberviolence and a "human flesh search engine" in China, a court has fined a Web site and an Internet user for posting personal and intimate details about an unfaithful husband, his mistress and a spurned wife who committed suicide" (excerpted from International Herald Tribune). In December 2008, The People's Court in Beijing called the human flesh search an alarming phenomenon because it is causing cyberviolence and privacy law violation. The power and influences of human flesh search have caught attentions in China whereas the idea is still digesting here in Taiwan. Privacy infringement was overlooked while netizen in Taiwan felt contributed to a second hand DSLR trading argument; members of DPP celebrated for the triumph of exposing an ineligible KMT diplomat.
If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Closing sell
Book store: 深耕書房
Location: No. 15-2, Lane 18, Dasyue Rd., East District, Tainan City
台南市東區大學路18巷15-2號
Date: Close on March 31st, 2009
Deal: English Books 50% Off ; Chinese Books 30% Off
Location: No. 15-2, Lane 18, Dasyue Rd., East District, Tainan City
台南市東區大學路18巷15-2號
Date: Close on March 31st, 2009
Deal: English Books 50% Off ; Chinese Books 30% Off
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