what the fish!

A reservoir in Beijing's Haidian district attracted hordes of people last Monday when it vented excess water from its sluice gates. according to news reports, there were 300 people in the water and another couple of hundreds of onlookers on the banks. people risked their life to go after the free fish pouring out in the torrents of water (there was a heavy downpour in Beijing on last Saturday!). the fishermen were armed with scoops nets, cast nets and even electro-fishing gear to zap the fish (and any human beings nearby). some of the more enterprising had set up makeshift stalls to sell off their catch of carp, grass carp and catfish, for about 4-6 fish per RMB10 (about S$2)there were similar scenes in Singapore outside Kranji reservoir especially after heavy monsoon rains. but most anglers would stay on the shore or scoop the fishes with long-handled nets (the freshwater fish like bigheaded carp and grass carp would be stunned when they emerged in seawater). I don't think anyone was crazy enuff to go into the strong current, especially near the sluice gates unless they want to be wash out to sea!

out for a walk

Discovery astronauts like Soichi Noguchi were out for their first space walk last night. I was following the coverage on NASA TV. visuals was from the International Space Station and I like the shots from the astronauts' helmet cam! altho their first task did not seem that "glam": testing this new adhesive. they had to find out if the new glue worked in zero atmposhere and space temperatures. it funny to see the astronauts fiddling with spatulas (like house painters) and sticky tape.POV from helmet cam, astronaut's glove on lower right corner.

swine bug or something else...

take a look at Andy Ho's article in ST on thurs. I think his assertion about H5N1 swapping genes with Ebola a bit sensationalistic (title also!), but his points about the similar symptoms between the mysterious outbreak in Sichuan and the 1918 spanish flu "outbreak was chilling...

"In December 1979, the British Medical Journal published a letter from an army physician that had laid undiscovered in a trunk in Detroit for 60 years. In the 1918 letter, the doctor who was attending to soldiers in Boston during the devastating pandemic that year described in graphic detail how they were dying from the flu: 'Two hours after admission they have the mahogany spots over the cheek bones and a few hours later you can begin to see the cyanosis extending from the ears and spreading all over the face, until it is hard to distinguish the colored man from the white.
'It is only a matter of a few hours then until death comes and it is simply a struggle for air until they suffocate.' (Cyanosis is a bluish or purplish tinge to the skin.)

Note that reports described the Sichuan patients as having skin that turned very dark. Some H5N1 bird flu variants can produce bleeding under the skin. The index case in Thailand's human cases of bird flu this year was initially misdiagnosed as dengue hemorrhagic fever because of that bleeding."

lesson of the day

depression can be contagious...
possibly triggered by lack of sleep or milk tea...
either that or osmosis...
can be cured by a furry dog (apply extensive rabba-ring to said dog)
now must cure dog's depression...
quite easily done with yummy treats!

return from shopping expedition

Robina returned to Beijing on Tuesday night. she was quite tired after her 10-day trip to Taipei and Hong Kong. it seems to be a moderate level of shopping judging from her plunder. she bought more stuff for me than for herself!

let's see, she bought more from Esprit in HK, T-shirts, sporty track pants and a bag. Assorted facial products from La Mer, apparently a near-miraculous line of product (with breath-taking prices!).

Signed CD-folders by FIR and Wang Li Hom. Robina managed to meet and take pictures with the pop stars at a Nokia publicity event.

the Harry Potter book from Taipei bookshop.

For me: Motorola Razr V3, blue tooth-ear piece, shirts and ties, Mount Blanc money clip and tie clip.

Sally also got a present: a squeaky toy that makes noises whenever it's shaken or moved. She went berserk trying to "kill" the toy until it was gross with her saliva!

more pics to be loaded from her trip itself!

above and beyond!

just watched Space Shuttle Discovery launched from Kennedy Space Centre. it was way cool! multi-point link-up: watching CNN, "live" coverage from NASA TV on my iBook plus iChat Audio link with Siva in Singapore. Robina also came in to sneak a peak during her laundry cycle...

cat dropping

it's not what you think, it's worst...

"In May this year, television viewers watching Hainan based Travel Star TV were surprised to see the presenter suddenly announce a little experiment.

Curious about whether cats 'always land on their feet,' the camera suddenly swung up the side of a building to where a cat was dangling from the arms of an assistant.

Releasing the hapless feline, the camera follows it on its descent before tailing off near the ground, apparently, as producers later reassured angry viewers, so as not to show the airbag thoughtfully prepared to cushion the cat's fall."

where human life is cheap, what do you expect for animal welfare. there are "safari parks" where patrons can buy live chickens and rabbits to be torn apart by tigers...nuff said...

but there may be hope yet:
"Now it was a call to arms. Chat rooms for animal lovers were abuzz with indignation, the television company was inundated with complaints and even animal NGOs had to man the phones as disgusted viewers called anyone who might be able to help."

Man U in Beijing

I was at the gym on Sunday afternoon. emerged to see that the lobby and entrances of Kerry Centre Hotel were cordoned off. must be some big-shot coming. kapo old me went to ask the hotel securty that were standing around. "Man Lian" (that's Man U in mandarin). oooo I see!

the Man U fan in me screamed! quick, run home (300metres away), change into Man U jersey, grab digital camera and run back to take photos! I could see a handful of red-shirts gathering outside the hotel. but the slacker in me said "for what? wait kena beat up by security" which was what happened to some Real Madrid fans. they got into scuffles with over-zealous security people at Kunlun Hotel where the galacticos were staying...

guess what? the slacker won! turns out I was right. apparently, the hotel security did beat up some reporters. anyways, here are some pics that I didn't risk life and limb to get. courtesy of qianlong.com

apart from Keane (injured?), I think practically the full squad is coming to Beijing; Rooney, Ronaldo, van Nistelrooy and Rio Ferdinand. btw, Rio was greeted by a banner outside the hotel,"Rio? how much money do you want?" (donno whether the "england" correct or not. read about this in chinese papers). Man U is also parading their Chinese import, striker Dong Fangzhuo (now on loan to Antwerp). Rumours has it that Ryan Giggs might be swapped for Owen in a deal with Real Madrid.

anyways, Real Madrid left town with bags of money and their reputation in shreds. many Chinese fans (incidentally Real is more popular here than Man U for some reason) are now berating Real Madrid for being bloodsuckers and bad attitude. for their 90min exhibition match with Beijing Hyundai, Real banked in 3 million euros. (I donno why fans will pay hundreds of yuan to watch the match when it's being telecasted on CCTV. I think now they'r feeling ripped off). their stars and officials were criticised for being late for the press conference. some team members were lambasted for helping themselves (bian lui, everything free one!) at an endorsement event for local garment brand. we shall see how Man U fare...

more good news folks!

seems like you'r more likely to be killed by your hamburger patty than terrorist bombs. British Columbia (the one in Canada!) recalled ground beef that were contaminated by E. coli bacteria. for more insights (mostly shocking) about food safety (or rather lack thereof) and fast food industry check out "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser.

in other reports, a second case of Mad Cow disease was detected in the US. but it's the first case of BSE in a US-born calf. why, you might ask? because the first case two years ago was blamed on Canada since the cow was imported from Canada. duh?

I like CSPI's scarcasm-laden statement at USDA's "faith-based mad cow policy" since the US did not have a mandatory animal tracking system (Canada and Japan does).

you might be surprised that there is no mandatory testing for all beef even after TWO cases of BSE detected. "Japan tests all beef for BSE. Europe tests one in four cows. The United States now tests one in 90. Japan, a major importer of U.S. beef, refuses to accept anything less than mandatory testing.

The USDA acceded to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association in creating the one-in-90 testing, which didn't include the Western Blot test. The association argued that universal testing would be too expensive. Yet the loss of the export business would seem to be even more costly in the long run."

update: some more "depressing" news. 17 Chinese farm workers from Sichuan province had died from a mysterious bacteria infection. These workers had slaughtered or handled dead pigs or sheeps. so far, it did not seem to be Avian flu, Chinese medical authorities thinks that it might be some form of streptococcus infection.

shoot to kill

Update: Scotland Yard announced that the man shot dead in Stockwell Station was not connected to the bombings. the innocent Brazilian man was killed for nothing! he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time and made the fatal mistake of running. to say that it's tragic couldn't even begin to describe the sadness of the situation! Apparently the young man had emerged from the address linked to the bombers. He was shot after not obeying police challenges.

one thing's for sure, it's not healthy to be a South Asian in London now, especially if you'r carry a rucksack onto the tube.

after the 7 Jul bombings, I was shocked by the obvious second attempt on 21 Jul, followed by the shooting of a man on a tube train on Friday.

Guardian: "Muslims gathered for afternoon prayers, voicing renewed concerns about a backlash. One mosque was evacuated after a bomb threat. Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, said he had spoken to nervous Muslims since Friday's shooting.

"I have just had one phone call saying `What if I was carrying a rucksack?' he said. "

the question is how do you stop suicide bombers? How would the British handle this, compared to the Israelis?

"Heavily armed officers patrolled the British capital with clear instructions to stop suicide bombers - if necessary, with a shot to the head. "If you are dealing with someone who might be a suicide bomber, if they remain conscious, they could trigger plastic explosives or whatever device is on them," said Mayor Ken Livingstone. "Therefore, overwhelmingly in these circumstances, it is going to be a shoot-to-kill policy."

The shooting took place about 10 a.m., when jittery commuters spotted a man, who witnesses said appeared to be a South Asian, wearing a padded coat in the Stockwell subway station in south London. Police chased him into a subway car, pinned him to the ground and shot him in the head and torso, an eyewitness said."

"I've seen these police officers shouting, 'Get down, get down!', and I've seen this guy who appears to have a bomb belt and wires coming out," witness Anthony Larkin told the BBC.

Another passenger on the train, Mark Whitby, said the man didn't appear to be carrying anything but that his coat looked padded.

"They pushed him onto the floor and unloaded five shots into him," Whitby told the BBC. "He looked like a cornered fox. He looked petrified."

five rounds at close range? that's brutal. but again how are you going to stop a guy who's finger might be on the trigger. You are going to make sure he's deader than dead. It might take five rounds. and it's the lives of the officers and the public on the line, how are you going to balance or rationalise that?

I shudder to think what would be the situation in Singapore if London's bombings had happened in S'pore. On one hand, I hope and believed that Singaporeans could act with the same quiet courage as Londoners. but I'm also concerned with the atmosphere of fear and inevitable suspicions that can rip apart any society. Singapore was lucky because we cracked the JI before they could pull off their plans. but I still recall the shaky video footage taken by one of the JI, they were recce'ing Yishun MRT! If it could happen to London, it could happen to any major cities, like Singapore. yes, it's cliche'd, but the price of freedom is eternal vigilance...

on fear and tensions: "It was another day of high tension, disruption and fear on the London Underground. The union for subway and bus drivers said workers would be justified in staying away from work if the government fails to take more precautions to make the operators safe, and newspapers printed headlines like ``City of Fear,'' and ``Is this how we must live?"

in Beijing, we seemed to be distant from the events in London or even Singapore. but yesterday, I spotted this bearded, turbaned man on the streets near the Embassy district, he's probably Pakistani or Saudi. the first thot that popped into my head was "bin Laden"! (actually he's does look a bit like Osama :-P) Immediately, I laughed at myself for this absurd stray thot. This was like the funny photos of Bin Laden flipping pratas in Serangoon Rd that was floating on the net after 911.

Dog Years

check out this British short film by Sam Hearn & Richard Penfold. very typical understated Brit humour. taken from the perspective of a stay-at-home dog. simple and heartwarming, nice!

typhoon alert

not in Beijing, lah!

seems like apart from Robina, a super typhoon Haitang is also heading towards Taiwan. Typhoon Haitang is super-duper kilat with winds up to 245km/hr. It's a Cat-5 storm (think Twister but w/o the twister) that will make landfall in East Taiwan by tomorrow morning. seems like Taiwan is hunkering down for a big one, authorities has oredi announced that financial markets, offices and schools would be closed tomorrow.

Robina should be OK since she is a Taipei-veteran. We experienced Typhoon Nari in 2001, when Chunghsiao East Rd (like our Orchard Rd) was underwater, and so was a major stretch of the Taipei MRT line. A lot of cars became submarines.

Robina called back last night to say that she has arrived safely. I told her to load up on cup noodles (SOP typhoon procedure in Taipei, plus Blockbuster rental DVDs), but Robina told me that the 7-11 in the hotel was miserable and she only managed to buy ONE bowl of instant noodles.

will check with her later tonite. but it's very likely Taipei will be rained-out for the most part of the week. Robina and her frens will probably hang out in Taipei 101 (used to be Asia's largest shopping mall for a brief period, before overtaken by Taichung and later Beijing) since the weather will be wet, wet, wet...

off to Taipei!

baby Ethan, Yee Wee, Sherry, Melissa, Robina, Vivian and Paul

Robina and her friends are off to Taipei and Hong Kong. Apart from taking in the sights and trying yummy Taiwanese food, Robina will get a chance to meet Wang Li Hom and FIR (at some media event organised by a certain mobile phone brand)! yes, I told her to take photos. I snapped a bon voyage shot when I was at Beijing airport sending Robina off. She will pick up a copy of Harry Potter(hot off the press) at HK airport. On her way back she will get a Motorola razr V3 for me (yes! the closest thing to a tricorder!).

the downside is that a typhoon is now heading towards Taiwan, Robina and party will probably see a very wet Taipei...

meanwhile, I will mind the shop and take care of Sally (feed her, walk her and keep her out of mischief). apart from pigging out and ploughing thru DVDs, I will probably check out the museums (normally will bored the socks of Robina). There's a Zheng He exhibition at the Beijing National Museum. will probably go to the Military Museum if its not flooded by half the humanity in China. but if the smog currently afflicting Beijing does not lift, I will probably lie low.

PS: met up with Diana who's in town for work. brought her to do foot massage at Taipan (with free food and drinks thrown in). she even did manicure (both hand and feet). she commented that she never had so many people fussing over her (one girl doing foot massage, one guy manicuring other feet, plus a lady doing nails) at one time! brought her to buy DVDs (IPR-free type), she loaded up CSI (for herself) and Korean drama for frens.

oink!

Pig's Song is hottest "internet" (Wang lu) song now in Beijing. even CashBox KTV has the MTV. Robina is hooked onto this catchy song, wants me to print lyrics. best PR for porky since Babe and Zhu Ba Jie!

update: just bought the CD compilation of Chinese online songs. and the new Jay Chou song from Initial D. typical Ah Beng song from Jay Chou but in a cool, Ah Beng hip hop way...

London at heart

Being away from Singapore during the IOC conference meant that I was cut off from all the publicity materials from the competing cities. I just saw London's "Sport at Heart" video on CCTV's sports channel.

it was simple and flowing (reminds me of a Nike ad!) and has lots of visual impact. I'm sidetracking, but our tourism board people should catch hold of the creative team that produced this video or should simply learn from the guys who did the Malaysian tourism promo video. I think they beat our Uniquely Singapore ad hands down!

What made this video sparkled was the "cameo" appearances by British sports and movie personalities. Although every competing cities had the same idea but the Brits packaged it more brilliantly. For me, Roger Moore and Miss Moneypenny's appearance was delightfully done! and so was David Beckham's crossword puzzle (look out for what he filled in!). Heather Small's song "Proud" on the soundtrack was catchy and infectious.

in the aftermath of the 7 July bombings, the video clip has taken on a tone of poignancy. As the theme song goes "what have you done today to make you feel proud?" I say plenty for Londoners! they have taken the worst of what the terrorists could throw at them and went on with their lives. we should remember London and its people had lived through the Blitz and the deprivations of the war years!

as they say in dog latin:"nil carborundum illegitimi!" or don't let the b**tards grind you down!

please wait while I tickle my throat...

horrors! Danwei reports about fake beer and formaldehyde-laced beer. well, if they can fake LV, Guccis, eggs (yes, the chicken variety) and even 50RMB notes, those "fakers" can fake just about anything.

even imported brands like Corona, Budweiser, or Heineken are targetted. no wonder the local practise is to check the caps of beers or wine when the drinks arrived (and I thot it's like sommeliers let you smell the wine corks...)

with Beijing's soaring blast-furnace Summer temperatures, beers are going as briskly as ice cream and ice tea's. just when I thot I had recovered from the previous food scare (read KFC and Sudan-1). sheessshhh...

well, if I wanted to sniff formaldehyde I could have stayed as a zoologist and hang around pickled specimens in Raffles Museum, not to mention other pleasant chemicals like arsenic. it's like I've never left...like they say, it's a jungle out there...

update: apparently it's not as bad now...I think...

Saturday cooking experiment

tried oven grilled lamb ribs and lamb leg last night. marinated the lamb overnight in curry powder, fresh mint leaves and lemon juice. but... it turned out not that great. I guess you win some, you lose some. must be the lamb from local supermarket. the meat was fresh but tough. I usually buy lamb leg from Jenny Lou's (that's like Jason's back in Singapore). will probably stick to Jenny Lou in future.
luckily, the veggie stew was the saving grace (at least more palatable!). very simple dish as well. browned shallots and garlic in olive oil. chuck in carrots, onions, mushrooms, zuchinni and let the veggies sweat it out. 5mins later add chicken stock to simmer.

farmstay restaurant

Went down to Yanqing on the outskirts of Beijing to check out a friend's farm-style restaurant. It's one of those popular weekend outing venues that Beijingers like to go to. you can fish, BBQ, pick fruits or vegetables and stay overnight. once you're outside of Beijing city, the surrounding countryside offer fresh air and wide panoramic views. There you can see the nearby Yanshan mountains and the Badaling Greatwall. I've been to several of such "Nong Jia" (farmstay) places but this place was quite nice since it's a working fish and vegetable farms. the kitchen prepares food from their own fresh produce like wild herbs, cucumbers, eggplants. the food is simple but nice, especially the fresh fish!There's two ponds stocking fish fry and growing fish, while one pond is for angling. the water was teeming with fish at feeding time!
Like on many farms (and in kampongs back home), there are a few pariah dogs were roped in for guard duty (like Ah Hua here), quite friendly mongrels! but there was one huge German Sheperd near the fishing pond that was big, fierce and barking its head off(apparently the only one doing its job).

friday dinner cookout

Friday night, no mood to eat out. Hit the supermarket to load up on veggies, sausage and meat. Robina cooked Sally’s dinner while I prepared and cooked ours!
Sally's dinner in the pot
Got some beef for Sally’s meals coming week (last week’s menu was chicken with barley and rice). I cut up the meat and veggies (carrots and leafy bak choy). Robina cooked the stuff and added a few red dates for flavour and Vitamins. Robina usually cook enough food to last Sally for about one week. She separates daily rations into tupperwares. For Sally’s dinner Robina will just zap the portion, add rice and supplements (EPO or Velcoat) – Sally’s food is usually more healthy than ours: no salt!

Sally chomping her dinner
While Robina is cooking the dog’s chow, I chopped up more veggies (zucchini, lettuce, onions, shallots, garlic, carrots and mushrooms). The veggies went into the pot with chicken stock. Added beef slices, spicy Italian sausages and home-made Kimchi (thanks to June!)

What Robina and I had for dinner: Kimchi & italian sausage stew

After dinner, I went back to the kitchen to marinade the lamb for dinner tomorrow. Will roast the rack of lamb and leg of lamb (boneless). It’s just a simple marinade with curry powder, olive oil and lemon juices. I will make a vegetable stew to go along.

chicken tonite

tried out this recipe for Butterflied Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary from Oprah (courtesy of the saripartygirl). it's a simple and easy recipe. just marinade the chicken overnight with lemon juice and rosemary. I tweaked it a little by using chicken legs instead of whole chicken. tossed in onions, mushrooms and garlic to roast under the chicken. serve with rice and baked potatoes. the lemon and rosemary flavour permeated the skin and meat, and it was delicious! so try to marinade as long as possible, as per the recipe, even for days if possible!

Sally after her bath

brought Sally to the outskirts of Beijing for her to run around. Sally looks fluffy in the photo since it was taken just after her bath!

before returning, we stopped by Mrs Shannen's for a pizza break. the pizza with pepperoni and sausage was delicious!