Unbalanced Vision

Despite many warnings about its huge crowd of spectators/drunkards/loonies, me and C went to see the Notting Hill Carnival this afternoon. No maps needed: basically we just took the No. 27 bus and got off when all the other passengers got off. Then we followed a much bigger crowd heading towards another large group of people. Oh, the litter helps you find your way too. Poor poor owners of these white mansions. Do they have to tolerate this kind of mayhem every year? Anyways, the mass stopped at some point, and we waited anxiously for the action to begin. Loud muzac--a good sign. Instead a truck drove by with four or five performers dressed in boring T-shirts, looking as uninterested as possible. They pretended to sing and dance whilst I was thinking--I shouldn't bother to take out my camera at all. However, as we fighted our way down the street, some interesting objects did emerge. The good news is that I've also secured a front row space for myself, by gently pushing away the little black girl and Italian couple. The Italian's shoulder proved to be a useful tripod--check out his good work:

Sun

Twirl

HaHa

Mr Muscle

Butterflies and Bums

Women's - 49kg
Men's - 58kg
And China says it belongs to them.

山 川 壯 麗 ， 物 產 豐 隆 ， 炎 黃 世 冑 ， 東 亞 稱 雄 ；毋 自 暴 自 棄 ， 毋 故 步 自 封 ， 光 我 民 族 ， 促 進 大 同 。創 業 維 艱 ， 緬 懷 諸 先 烈 ， 守 成 不 易 ， 莫 徒 務 近 功 。同 心 同 德 ， 貫 徹 始 終 ， 青 天 白 日 滿 地 紅 ；同 心 同 德 ， 貫 徹 始 終 ， 青 天 白 日 滿 地 紅 ！

(Written for the supervisor.) I'm back to the BL pretending to be an assiduous student. Gandalf lookalike cannot be seen in the reading room anymore, but the geezer who likes to chat up Asian girls is still lurking about. They've bought new LCD screens for every computer and revamped the database, making the search of knowledge an easier and pleasant task.

Henry IV Part I shown at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre was a flop. The actors were a borderline OK, Falstaff--cute and clownish, but young Prince Hal especially, has successfully ruined my favourite play. As far as my interpretation goes, the Prince of Wales in the play is tricky and precocious, which is why the character is so intriguing, unlike some hot-blooded, over excited knave moving dramatically about on the stage, speaking with an IQ of minus ten. Is very disturbing to watch. Also, the venue itself is like a maze, you'd walk through a labyrinth of bushes, trees and pathways and still not quite sure where you are. Thanks to the extremely helpful Regent's Park map, it's a minor miracle to reach one's destination. On some maps they kindly place a red sticker indicating 'You Are Here', yet on others they simply don't bother. On the contrary, going to The Wooden O has always been a blissful experience. Mark Rylance is the leading role in Richard II and Measure for Measure, and his tone of voice is soft but powerful. C and I also like the merry dance they do towards the end.

Two and three weeks later, S and T have joined the household. T from Japan is in his final year at UCL studying history. Leading a jet-setter lifestyle, one week after his arrival T has already disappeared yesterday on a flight to Africa and then Eastern Europe. In October, America; in December, Japan. Politeness as a huge part of the Japanese ethos, T is indeed a sweet young man--he cooked us meals and bought us donuts. Based upon experience, I know that the benefits of living with a younger gentleman is that you can boss him around and he doesn't mind? S my fellow countryman was an interior designer in Taiwan, and will be studying in the Chelsea School of Arts. She has given me brief introductions on the world of furniture now and then. With women 28+ of age, you need not boss them around they actually do the chores for you. I personally find older women very attractive--the older the better. They carry a sense of rationality to which the early 20 somethings cannot compete.

T using a hammer

Where does this go?

Yesterday afternoon a mum came in with her two toddlers. One of them was in a I'm-curious-about-everything-in-the-world stage, and attempted to flip open every book, including Madonna's Sex, to which his dear mum noticed but ignored the situation. We also have a fine hardback of Kamasutra with illustrations.

Over these past few days I've been hearing a lot of 'absolutely sensational' on TV. When the BBC presenters use this word it usually doesn't apply to the Britons. Instead they immediately do an interview of the poor losers (close shot, you can still see them still in tears)--can these reporters be anymore thoughtless? Then of course they can't be talking about the Taiwanese, cos a) Most of the people in UK don't know what a baseball looks like. b) After a 0-7 against Canada, I'm quite glad that they didn't broadcast the games. Though beating the Aussies today is something to be cheery about, but I don't think the Australians know what a baseball bat looks like either. That is why I'm advertising myself as Chinese when children from across the strait are winning medals again and again. Yet 'sensational' is most apt to describe men in the pool. I've googled Thorpe and Phelps, and learnt that one likes Kylie Minogue, and the other likes DMX. *swoon*

I shall like to make an announcement that my new ALDO handbag is splendidly waterproof. As I cycled home from work the skies showed no sign of friendliness; it decided to piss down very heavily halfway through the ride. The journey does not count as an ordeal, but all the time I was worrying about my paper money and book in the bag. Luckily, apart from me being soaking wet, everything is home and dry.

Went to a renowned funny musical on Wednesday--HY grinned once, I smiled twice. The couple behind us, on the contrary, laughed their heads off. This says a lot about their level of humour perception. The venue was packed with Yanks, and grubby seats caused by years of excessive bum weight--perhaps it needs a serious makeover. Musicals can have good stories and melodies/lyrics which fit the plot, but singing f**k many times in one line can descend into dullness, so as hosting a Jerry Springer show in hell. To compensate my disappointment, I had to own a roll of their toilet paper:

Methinks the opening ceremony was brilliant. A main reason is because they have such a rich culture to draw upon, and also isn't my favourite period, the Renaissance, an age which puts emphasis on the revival of the Greek and Roman antiquities? So which character would you like to be in the performance? I was thinking the boy on the serene boat journey can be very beautiful, but the downside is that you don't get to put on cool costumes like these: (better than the human statues in Covent Garden, eh?)

Courtesy of BBC News

It would be great to be Hercules or a centaur though. Tried very hard to spot familiar faces amongst the China and Chinese Taipei teams. Yao Ming is reminiscent of BFG, and some Taiwanese lads looked promising apart from their disastrous hair treatment. Whilst typing here, I really hope that China will not screw up the event four years later.

Bloomsbury Book Fair

A book fair was held in central London today. There weren't as many people as the last time I showed up, for my boss explains that they have gone to the hills, meaning 'away on holiday'. A decrease in customers results in price reduction, and it certainly worked. For as far as I can remember, two gentlemen left with a dozen books in one go--this makes me quite happy, knowing that I do not have to carry them again. You can say that a fair like this which contains 50+ stalls is pretty well-organised, because the person in charge acts sort of like a headmaster, the booksellers: schoolchildren. If you don't behave yourself, you will get told off, such as not putting away your boxes, packing up before 'school ends', or not paying the rent on time. It sure is like back to school.

Ever since I knew HY, I've had the privilege of going to various wedding ceremonies of different cultures.
1) R + W (Cantonese wedding): After noticing HY was practically mute as I was during the wedding reception, I found out that their relatives were speaking another dialect, Hakka, and not Cantonese. Now I know not only do Hsin-chu, Miao-li Counties in Taiwan speak the dialect, other parts of China do, too.
2) R + J (Indian wedding): Me having the fun of spotting Bollywood superstars lookalike.
3) T + H (Swedish wedding): The couple really went to town on their wedding, even the guests young and old looked resplendent in their gowns and white tie suits. And yes, Swedish women are tall, blonde and very beautiful.
4) T + J (English wedding): A quintessential English postcard scenery, men playing cricket, as the background. The hosts also had this fun surfing toy machine which starts off slowly and fastens its pace till you fall off in a hideous manner, i.e.

I now order every wedding to have one of these so I can practice on it.

As for my single, fab friends back home, I've honestly only been to one ceremony, and a lonely number of two has tied the knot. Hence if you ask me what a traditional Taiwanese wedding is like, the answer is a straightforward, 'I don't know'. One of the reasons Friends has to be terminated, I believe, is because these once cool and free singletons have, like the animals on Noah's Ark, two by two stepped on board of the marriage boat. Who cares about Monica and Chandler pushing a pram down some suburban neighbourhood, Rachel taking Emma to preschool, or Phoebe's married life. Only the odd number Joey survives--not for long perhaps.

Yesterday evening we feigned interest in classical music by going to the BBC Proms at the grand Royal Albert Hall. I've walked passed the wedding cake building a few times, and was always quite curious about how it looked from the inside. The interior received praise it rightly deserved--blue lights hanging from the ceiling, long red and gold curtains, its enormous capacity, all created an atmosphere different from the relatively humble RFH. There's a small pond of some sort in the centre, which looked incongruous to its surroundings, but then I realised that the dead water might be of use to people who can't stand the heat just in case they find the urge to dive in. It was so hot in there that I find it hard to concentrate--well, maybe that's a good excuse. HY spent a couple of minutes inventing his manual fan made from RAH leaflets, then he simply closed his eyes pretending to be too moved by the music. A tip for cheapskates if you're around the posh neighbourhood: go to the bar in Imperial College for cheap drinks.

Royal Albert Hall

A minute before the performance

Jellyfish

1) People who make you go through all the trouble to find a book then say, 'I'll think about it', instead of taking out their credit card.
2) People who ask you where you're from.
3) People who ask you questions you cannot answer.
4) People who ask if you have military books.
5) People who complain that our books are pricey--well, no one is forcing you to buy them.
6) People who think they're doing you a big favour by telling you their boring life stories.
7) People who pretend to buy a 50-pound book, but purchase a two-pound book in the end.
There are more to come... it's not the end of the list.

Just came home from a satisfying lunch with HY. This place was called the Newman Arms, and the gem of the pub was their pie room upstairs, which is hidden away on the tiny Newman Passage. Unfortunately such a lovely restaurant like this only opens during weekday lunch hours, so we were lucky when HY could sneak out early. The room is usually packed with nearby office workers dining on blue tartan tablecloths and flowery dishes, but this time the atmosphere was much more relaxed. I didn't want something you can get at Sainsbury's, therefore lamb and rosemary was my choice. Afterwards, it ended with two scoops of ice cream and apple pie--super delicious. Go try, go try.