The Hungry Ghost Festival

In the Lunar calendar, today is the 15th of July or the Hungry Ghost Festival. This is a popular Chinese festival celebrated by the Chinese worldwide.

The seventh month is regarded as 鬼月 or Ghost Month where the spirits of the dead are said to roam the earth. During this terrifying month, some people chose to suspend activities. Some observe this day by cooking a lot of food for the "hungry" ghosts and burning fake paper money or hell money for the dead ancestors.

In mainland China and Hong Kong, people burn incense on the road during this month.

At this time of the year, you might be able to catch many Chinese in deli shops buying cakes for the food offering.

Do you observe this festival in your houses too? :)

The Woman Driver

Mum and I ate out for lunch. I was the designated driver.

The parking attendant told us to park somewhere else, because there were no more spaces.

Mum said, "Sige na, babae kasi ang driver." [Please make an exception. The driver is a woman.]

What?!

Since when did that become an excuse?

When an accident on the freeway happens, and people found out it is a woman behind the wheel, they conclude that the accident was justified.

"Babae kasi." [Because the driver is a woman.]

Take for example these photos I found on the Internet.

I would love to know what both men AND women think about this.

This Thing Called Love

When do we start falling in love? Puberty? Even just puppy love?

According to Professor Michael Tan, we start getting attraction at a very young age. For example, in the case of the Taiwanese boy band F4, they say that there is a particular member who appealed to 7 and 8 years olds. Hmmm...I wonder who? :)

When these kids grew older, they shift to another member.

What makes love happen? Is it because of the person's face, physique, or sense of humor? But what if you just met the person? Why is the attraction there?

E.O. Wilson, a noted socio biologist said that there are traits that appealed universally.

He said attractive women possess the ideal waist-to-hip-ratio; and an oval and symmetric face. That is why the 36-24-36 figure is considered sexy. [But how come there are girls who diet to death in pursuit of the anorexic physique?]

Men, on the other hand, are judged based on their height; square jaws; and also the ideal waist-to-hip ratio plus a symmetric face.

However, I would like to ask the women, which look do you prefer? The Arnold Schwarzenegger look--

Or the Leonardo di Caprio look--

The Arnold look has what Professor Tan joked as the "I want you to be the father of my children." look.

While di Crapio has the fatherly appeal, "I want you to nurture my children." look.

For men, some may prefer the Western eyes as opposed to women with Oriental eyes. The issue of skin color is also considered.

Or attraction may be cultural, not necessarily a universal trait, as to my previous post.

Sometimes these rules of attraction are not necessarily followed. Some girls have an inkling towards men with beer bellies, the same with men who prefer plump, bosomy women.

For example in India, women on the heavy side are considered very, very attractive.

Why? Because this is a sign of wealth and prosperity. The men or women grew up in a family who was able to provide for them generously.

Or in the Philippines, probably this is just one of the 3 M's--mayaman (rich), matanda (old), madaling mamatay (will die easily). :P

Professor Tan asked the class this question, forget attractiveness, "Do we look for love, because we are expected to?" Like when Valentines' Day comes, do we suddenly feel the need to be in love?

He left us with possible implications to ponder on.

What if the anorexic look dominates? What if the desire for fair skin leads girls into using toxic skin whiteners? And does culture reshape the gene pool with arranged marriages?

Lots of things to think about. What about you, what do you consider attractive?

Can You Live Without "Made In China"?

There has been many news about China's products over the last weeks.

There is the case of the White Rabbit candy being tainted. This news is really sad, because this candy has been a part of my childhood.


Next, toys that were made in China are being recalled due to the presence of lead and tiny magnets [which little kids could swallow].

A news that came out yesterday was that a Chinese toy maker committed suicide after many of his toys have been recalled in the United States under the brand name of Fisher-Price, Mattel. Zhang Shuhong of Lee Der Industrial Co. must have felt devastated and ashamed knowing that the toys he manufactured were not good enough for children.

But if we look closely at our material possessions, we find that most of them are made in China. For one, China has cheap labor. Second, actually, China's economy has been booming. It is totally unaffected by the United States' economy--unlike the rest of the world. Like what my Dad said, when U.S. sneezes, everyone (except China) shivers.

So can we conclude that just because something is made from China then it is of poor quality? Think about your answer, because from your lifestyle now, can you live without "Made in China“?

***

More on product quality. This came out in the news today--

Do you have a Nokia cellphone? Does it have a BL-5C battery? There have been incidents involved during the charging of the battery.

This official statement from Nokia can help explain.

Noodle Love

I just love noodles! :)

Yesterday, Dad treated me to a bowl of piping hot Taiwan beef noodles; while Mum and I shared a big bowl of delicious wonton noodles--that was for a late lunch and snack, respectively.

Dad and I would often spend our afternoons slurping yummy noodles at this quaint dimsum house near work.

Thankfully, I am not getting any fatter. :P

***

On our last night in Taipei, Achie and I had dinner in this small, open-air noodle house in 西门町 (West Gate neighborhood).

If in the Philippines, hot tea is served free with the meal (in Chinese restaurants), we had cool, sweet winter melon tea with our dinner.

My sister ordered something called spicy lion noodles (when translated literally). It is actually dry noodles topped with thick peanut and coconut-based sauce.

I had a tasty bowl of savory beef noodles--really one of my favorites.

When our orders arrived, we found out that the sizes were extremely large--servings good for two people!

Fortunately, we were extremely hungry that time, so none of the good food was wasted. :)

***

There is this famous noodle place also in 西门町 called "Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle". I wrote about it in a previous blog post.

This is all I can say--heaven sent noodles! :D

Happy noodle eating!

:P

***

We had dinner in a traditional American diner a while ago. The food was ok. The service crew was ok.

I just did not like the way the guards treated us. I am tempted to write the exact establishment and location here.

Well, anyway, good night!

The Mystery Of The Mona Lisa

Because of the Mona Lisa's perfect Phi proportions, she is deemed to be a very beautiful woman. For me, she looks so-so. But I do not reject the fact that the painting is very famous and expensive. It was stolen from the Louvre in Paris last 1911 and still continues to elicit wonderment from its many viewers.

Psychology professor Dr. Leopold Bellak of the New York University analyzed each part of the Mona Lisa's face. Dr. Bellak stated that her full cheeks imply sensual indulgence and her weak chin, lack of self-control.

When the painting was returned from having been stolen many years ago, the museum officials had it x-rayed for authenticity. They found out that apparently, ML grew a beard at one time but was eventually painted over. So does this confirm the theory that the Mona Lisa was actually Da Vinci's self-portrait?

But you know, it is very weird and puzzling. Dr. Kenneth Keale of the Ashford Hospital in Middlesex observed that with the way her robes fall onto her lap and the generosity of her body proportions, it might be that ML was really a very, pregnant lady.

Medical doctors from all over the world gave their views on the Mona Lisa also. Dr. Kedar Ardour of California noted that ML might have suffered from Bell's palsy, a facial paralysis, which probably explains her enigmatic yet lopsided smile. The drooping of her mouth on one side is explained by Dr. Joseph Borkowski of Maryland. Poor ML lost her front teeth!

Heart specialist Dr. Haruo Nakamura concluded that whoever was the person who posed for the painting, he/she was suffering from high cholesterol as can be seen from the yellow pigmentation in the left eye. So good thing he/she did not die before the painting was even finished!

Crowds of eager visitors line up daily in front of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre just to catch a glimpse of the mysterious painting. Although I treasure and respect the culture and history of ML, I find her face scary and so old-looking.

Still, I agree, hands down, that Leonardo da Vinci is a talented artist and must be credited for his contributions to the art world.