J. K. Rowling

Must be a stargazer.

Evidence:

Sirius (the dog star. the brightest star in the night sky)
Regulus ("prince" or "little King". Brightest star in Leo, the Lion. It is very close to the ecliptic plane.)
Arcturus (brightest star in Boötes, the Herdsman. Arc to Arcturus, speed to Spica.)
Andromeda (our closest neighbor galaxy M31 lies in this constellation.)
Draco ("dragon". the large constellation that wraps around Ursa Minor, the Little Dipper.)

etc.

Hectic Life of Mine

Early Sunday evening I settled down to read HP VII after some professional & social obligations. Finally I got to enjoy the book and find a closure. Life was so good.

The book must have cast a spell on me, for I dozed off on Chapter 4 around 8:30pm and didn't wake up until 4:30am. I read for another hour and went back to sleep for 3 more hours.

A good night's sleep prepared me for a long battle yesterday. Same professional obligations kept me up until 3:30am and made me up and running again at 7:15am.

As of 10:30am, it's out of sight, out of mind.

Now I can really enjoy the magic world of HP VII.

云南的味道

这两天想的都是云南的味道。上个月在亚超买到了干的鸡棕菌（我一直都不知道这个棕字怎么写，问我妈，她这半个云南人也不知道。我怀疑这个“棕”字也是不正确的），今天炸了油鸡棕。自己琢磨的，先泡发，洗净，挤干，切小丁，用七成热的油中火煎到快脱水，中间加足够的盐，真的就做出了美味的油鸡棕了。多亏我在吃的方面勇于探索，也幸运地取得成功。要是浪费了这些鸡棕，我就要后悔为什么没问我妈怎么做了。

现在我是可以用油鸡棕下面或是拌凉菜了，可想起其他的云南美味我就只能咽口水。另一种我印象深刻的云南食品是牛干巴，也就是腌制的晒干的牛肉。切成薄片，用油煎过，很有滋味和嚼劲，可以做下酒的小菜。还有一种是茄子干，和碎米一起腌，吃的时候用油炒过，非常下饭。

下次回云南，一定要吃个够。

云南米线

忽然想起了多年前坐公车去中缅边境的小城看姨妈。车子颠簸一整天，要转无数的弯，才能翻越一座横断山脉的高山。在半山腰上的一个小到不能再小的小镇，一个毫不起眼的小店里，我吃了一碗最美味的云南米线。没有鸡汤，不是过桥米线。小锅里煮好的米线捞起来放到一碗盛着些咸菜的汤里，只要一毛五分钱，却让我觉得，云南米线是天底下最好吃的东西。

现在去姨妈家，已经不需要再坐三天的汽车了。高速公路上只要一晚上就能从昆明抵达。已经二十一年没有去过云南了。这个我生活过一年的地方，还能让我再次体验这米线的记忆吗？

Commutation

I think this is a better choice for Word of the Day:

commutation |ˌkämyəˈtā sh ən|
noun
1 action or the process of commuting a judicial sentence. • the conversion of a legal obligation or entitlement into another form, e.g., the replacement of an annuity or series of payments by a single payment.
2 the process of commutating an electric current.
3 Mathematics the property of having a commutative relation.
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [exchange, barter,] later [alteration] ): from Latin commutatio(n-), from commutare ‘exchange, interchange’ (see commute ). Sense 1 dates from the late 16th cent.


Suddenly P. Hilton seems to be a better person. She actually DID and finished her prison time.


-----------------------------------------------
附：每日一笑

Food Thief in Koch Building

Dear Koch Building Faculty, Researchers, Staff & Students,

For the past week, we have had a food thief eating his way through
the refrigerators in the Building 68 Tea rooms and leaving a major
mess behind him. Campus Police has stepped up their patrols of the
building. In the meantime, we do have a description of the thief:

Male, Caucasian, 5'10", short light brown hair, late 30's

There is no pattern to the time of day that he raids the fridges. If
you see him, please call Campus Police. Thanks.

Sincerely,

Mary

原来米国也有偷东西吃的贼。

KFC

Today I ate at KFC for the first time ever, in my whole life, which includes more than a decade in the States.

Finally. Been there. Done that.

生命

“人最宝贵的是生命，这生命属于我们只有一次。一个人的一生应当这样度过：当他回首往事的时候，不因虚度年华而悔恨，也不因碌碌无为而羞愧。这样，在临终的时候，他就可以说，我的整个生命和全部精力都已经献给了世界上最壮丽的事业——为全人类的解放而斗争”

--《钢铁是怎样炼成的》

今年发生了两件不好的事情，让我更加认识到生命的脆弱。再读到这一段，就有了不同的感受。

也许，我们是被同样有名的“生命诚可贵，爱情价更高”给害了。

读着伊人的留言，还是不禁想要潸然泪下。

Ottawa Tulip Festival 2007

I learned a little bit of history when I visited Ottawa for its famous tulip festival. Before I went, I asked myself why Canada, not Holland, can take such pride in its tulips. Here in the capital of the maple country, I learned the answer:

The great friendship between Canada and the Netherlands
(orange's the Dutch color!)

The Royal Family of the Netherlands sends 10,000 tulip bulbs to Canada annually as a symbol of friendship and gratitude for what Canada had helped in WWII:

1) Giving Crown Princess Juliana and her family refuge.
2) Liberating the Netherlands in 1945.

the Canadian Liberators
不止咱中国人觉得红色是革命和解放的颜色啊

The gifts of tulips has transformed the Canadian Capital. Today millions of tulips attract millions of visitors in May. I was one of them this year.

大美女们

小美女们 (in front of Beau Monde)

Bienvenue (Welcome)
you to

Ottawa

African Queen
名副其实的黑

Attila, Tres Chic

Mutant

Tulip Shuttle

Tulip Art, Major's Hill Park

Major's Hill Park, looking towards Parliament

Major's Hill Park, near the Art Museum

The Big Spider Sculpture in front of the Art Museum and a big church (in picture)

Photographing the Canadian Liberators

Man with Two Hats
Friendship between Canada and the Netherlands

我晕

又是一年高考时。今年的作文题还是这么的不着边际。尤其是浙江省的这一题：


浙江省高考作文题为：话题作文--行走在消逝中。　　

阅读下面文字，按要求作文。

　　还记得你的童年吗？随着年龄的增长和思想的成熟，那些美丽的梦想、单纯的快乐似乎在一步步离我们远去。

　　苍茫的丛林间，玛雅文化湮没了；丝绸古道上，高昌古国消逝了。人类在消逝中进步。

　　行走在消逝中，既有“流水落花春去也”的怅惘，也有“谁道人生无再少”的旷达…… 读了上面这段文字，你有何感想？请以“行走在消逝中”为话题写一篇作文，可讲述你自己或身边的故事，抒发你的真情实感，也可以阐明你的思想观点。

我怎么就没有看出玛雅文化和高昌古国消逝和我的美丽梦想、单纯快乐的离去有什么必然联系呢？


还有，我昨个才恍然大悟这Harry Potter and Voldermot 的故事是什么意思。中国人啊，聪明。这边过滤敏感词，那边讲一些个不着边的故事，其实就是8*8。

我真的晕。

Canadian Parliament Hill

Parliament at Sunset, 7:55pm, May 12, 2007

Happy family posing for a photo. Notice doggie in E-collar.

Tulips in front of the Parliament

Tulips on Parliament Hill

Compass on top of the Library

The Library in Sunset

Lilac-covered hill above the river

Parliament in bright mid-day light

First Floor Lobby, Lone Security Guard

First Floor Lobby, Columns

游人如蚁

Women are Persons

Red

Time to clean my macro :)

Fire Drill

Comes on the hottest day (so far) of this season. We have to evacuate not only ourselves, but also three dogs.

我在忙什么

昨天喝掉米酒200ml。很多人说，够烈！可不，历时42天！

红葡萄酒这个周末酿成。

白葡萄酒得等我买点白葡萄再说。

Once in a Blue Moon

Yes, stargazing is still my obsession.

How rare is a full blue moon? (From Earth & Sky)

Tonight's Sky for Tuesday, May 01 2007

The moon will look full tonight, lighting the night from dusk till dawn. In the Americas, though, the moon won’t be truly full till tomorrow morning, at 5:09 a.m. Central Daylight Time. For the Americas, tomorrow’s full moon will be the first of two full moons in May. The second full moon to occur in a single calendar month is popularly known as a blue moon. We elaborate on today’s radio show.

Every 19 years, the phases of the moon recur on (or near) the same calendar dates. So in 2026, there will be two May full moons. Once again, the second full moon will be dubbed a blue moon.

This famous 19-year cycle reveals how often blue moons occur. Every 19 years, there are 235 full moons – yet only 228 calendar months. Therefore, the 7 leftover full moons (235-228=7) have to share the same calendar month with another full moon. That gives 7 blue moons in 19 years.

Yet, there’s one big hitch! February of 2018 has no full moon whatsoever. That’s another displaced full moon that falls right into the lap of March. So that’s a total of 8 blue moons for the next 19 years.

Written by Bruce McClure, 1 May 07

The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Alexander McCall Smith is another author living in Edinburgh who has written a series of 7 books about a lady detective in Botswana (the other Edinburgh author with a 7th book coming out this summer is, hmm, you-know-who). I am a big fan of Mma Ramotzwe, a traditional build African lady, who is very smart, determined, kindhearted, charming, humorous, and resourceful. Reading about her everyday life opened my eyes to Botswana. It is good to know that good people are everywhere, and we are very much alike.

I'm eagerly waiting for the 8th, 9th, and many more books about Mma Ramotzwe.

Weekend

After attending Boston Secession's Mother Tongue: The Music & Meter of the English Language Friday evening and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's dance show at the Wang Center this afternoon, I wish I could sing or dance.

Setback

I transfered backwards!

Mad at myself.

BTW, I still have all the substrates. I just need to repeat.

Waiting

In Ha Jin's 1999 National Book Award winning novel Waiting the main character army doctor Lin Kong tried to divorce his unattractive wife from an arranged marriage. He ended up waiting for 18 years, all the while with his love by his side, but not be able to consummate their relationship. However, the married life after such a long wait was not exactly what he expected. A voice in his head told him, "Actually you never loved her. You just had a crush on her, which you didn't get a chance to outgrow or to develop into love.... In fact you waited eighteen years just for the sake of waiting".

Eighteen years is long enough to age everybody.

Eighteen years is not long enough to really learn how to love someone.

Eighteen years is not long enough to really learn what to love.


哈金是我的校友。我感到自豪。他的近作是为纽约大都会歌剧院写的《秦始皇》歌剧脚本，就是张大导艺谋导的，谭盾做曲的，多明戈唱的那一出。

Radar and Beer

Well, apparently Radar doesn't like beer. He was very hesitant when introduced to some oh-I-don't-know-what-brand beer: he tasted a little bit very cautiously, and then waited for 5 minutes. When convinced he was not going to get anything else, he tasted the beer again. Then another 5-minute's wait. Eventually he finished it.

In contrast, he loved vodka/tonic water. He gulped this mix just like he drank water.

So our conclusion was: dogs don't like beer; they like vodka.

Just when we felt good about our new scientific discovery, V found this article in THE ONION:

Unemployed Scientists Prove Dog Likes Beer

What the XXXX is going on!

V's comment: these guys are working on our project (with opposite results), they
even plan to test Andy's idea at the very end... we have to publish before we get scooped!

The Divine Gas

波士顿当代艺术馆大厅里的这幅巨作非常有视觉震撼的效果。

Chiho Aohsima, "The Divine Gas," 2006. Installed at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.
我拍啊拍，看到了标题才明白。。。


原来小屁孩的屁变成一朵祥云，上面还端坐一个小屁孩。

我为当代艺术叫绝。

另，本馆禁止拍照。我侥幸被允许带走已经拍的片片，所以请赶快欣赏，过两天我把它删了。

还有，我拍那朵祥云的时候还以为就是一朵祥云。