I'm a Hongkie - in Texas, yeehaa!

Parting is such sweet sorrow

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 06:15:00 +0000

Well, it's been months in the making, but I'm happy to finally announce to you that after 2 fruitful years in Texas, our family is moving back to the San Francisco Bay Area. It certainly had been a fun ride for the last couple of years. As Shakespeare puts it so well, "Parting is such sweet sorrow." We will miss our dear friends in Texas, but we truly are excited about moving back to the Golden States.

To mark this new chapter of my life, I'm also moving my blogs to Wordpress. To read more of my adventures in the wild west, please check out my new home here.

改版

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:44:00 +0000

花了好些時間,把兩個網誌同時改頭換面,一來是悶,二來是正在學用Photoshop及Illustrator,所以將新版頭當做練習.

順帶一題,我的另一網誌除了更新了版面,還改變了"編輯方向",各位友好請多多賜教!

Short but sweet

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:37:00 +0000

That's how I would describe my recent trip to NYC. I spent 2 & a half days there and came back physically exhausted but emotionally and intellectually energized.

Here're a few sweet moments:

My virtual-turn-reality friend's 4-year-old daughter, both of whom I met for the very first time, told me, "You are very pretty. I love you!"

Eating an Argentinian ice-cream cone for the first time! Mate - south american green tea - was my flavor of choice. I'll eat it again in a heartbeat. Even better than gelato...yum!

My 11-month niece, whom I also met for the first time, played with me on my lap for an hour.

My mother-in-law gave me a brown bag lunch Monday morning as I was heading to work.

My new-found friend (you know who you are - *wink *wink - thanks!) got me a gift which, unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to take because of schedule conflicts.

More about my trip later.

我的新習作

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:38:00 +0000

近來上載敝博次數每況愈下, 其一原因是我剛開始與中國出版的"新視綫"月刊定期供稿, 首篇文稿刊登於三月號, 今天給上載到其網頁, 以下圖文均轉載自該雜誌:

三藩市The Chronicle Building

淹没四十载破茧重生

美国人有一句话，叫「若墙壁会说话」"If walls could talk"，意思是每楝房子都有它的动人故事，若细心发掘，定必会有所得著。在钢墙下委曲求存了四十年的三藩市Chronicle Building，便正好印證了此话。

於2000年被Ritz-Carlton 收购了业权，而得以破茧重生为Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences会所住宅的Chronicle Building，建於1890年，由芝加哥建築师Burnham and Root设计，楼高十层，是美国西岸第一幢摩天大厦。当时三藩市Chronicle报的出版人Michael De Young，决意要在这片被称为「报业金叁角」的地段，兴建比另外两份当地报纸总部更前卫更宏伟的大楼。

结果，De Young高姿态地胜出了。带著浓厚芝加哥建築特色的Chronicle Building，以强悍坚实的外型与典雅含蓄的红砖外墙，让大楼週遭矮出半截的建築物全部都给比下去了。

可惜这风光岁月并不长久，此楼并不是就此便一帆风顺──1905年，一次意外大火烧毁了楼顶的钟楼；1906年的唐山大地震导致部份结构倒塌；1962年，大楼当时的业主为了令这楝褪色的大楼能吸引新的租户，便以金属外墙把大厦重重包裹，大楼内外都被改装得面目全非。大楼在这钢墙及钉子下忍辱了40年，直至2000年被Ritz Carlton集团收购，才有机会衝破围墙，光芒再露。

Ritz Carlton耗资了九千万美元，并聘用了也是来自芝加哥的建築师Charles Bloszies进行改装和加建工程，将原来衝锋陷阵的报业大楼摇身一变为时尚优閒的三藩市Ritz Carlton Club and Residences会所住宅。

建築师Bloszies说，要把Chronicle Building从金属墙中释放出来，其技术上的困难，就等同要将铁达尼号从深海中打捞上来般艰钜。他打趣道，整项工程像是考古研究，多於设计项目。新大楼的设计，保留原来甚具气派的红砖建築，从街上走过，你根本不会意识到这建築曾被活埋於金属外壳之中，只道它是一所古老优雅的大楼。往上看，原有建築之上，是加建的十多个楼层。由泥土色调的墙，到素净的线条，新楼与旧楼配合得和谐惬意。这其实是建築师的刻意安排。

Bloszies的设计意念是要把新增的部份尽量低调处理，让它看似是大楼的背景，不会跟原有的建築争妍鬥豔。

的确，新建的部份是怎麽样己不重要，San Franciscans最关注的还是Chronicle Building能否再次成为三藩市的地标。毕竟，这跨世纪的历史宝藏，才是真正的主角。

假若墙壁会说话，它可会赞同麽？

Re-inventing myself

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:42:00 +0000

If you don't know me very well, you'll probably think that I'm a very content person. Well, in a lot of ways, yes. But the side that I don't show very much is I get bored very easily, and quickly. And, so a lot of times, I see myself wondering if there's something new that I could do or work on.

As with everything else, I realized there's good and bad about my "restlessness". The good part is that I'm always thinking about ways to refresh myself; while the bad being, you know, restless.

This could be a result of my "vocational illness" back from my journalist days - I had to constantly find new stories or present something from a new angle. Anyhow, this is how I am. And I can't change it (irony unintentional!).

What prompted me to ponder on this issue is this blog, and my alter ego blog. I've been a blogger for only 8 months, and had posted no more than 60 posts. This is nothing compared to the millions of bloggers out there who post oh so dilligently. And, maybe it is this exact reason why I'm wondering lately if I should change my approach to my blogs, both in terms of contents and design.

Should I make my blog more geared towards cultural issues, which is one of my new interests since I moved to the U.S.? Should I be talking more about food, considering the fact that I am thinking about writing a book on food? Or should I just continue to write random topics that inspire me on a day to day basis?

I don't know when I'll be able to make up my mind, but now that I feel more settled in other aspects of my life, I need some kind of breakthrough. I absolutely understand that reinventing oneself might not necessarily be good all the time, but the last thing I need is to feel like I'm in a rut and not going anywhere.

Surfing Orange

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 21:21:00 +0000

Gary is away for a couple of days to do a special gig for Williams College for MLK day. I have 2 days pretty much on my own - when Genghis is playing in his room or taking a nap. There's not a lot one can do with short spans of time like such. But a girl can certainly find something to do on her own at any give time. Surfing haphazardly on the internet is one of my faves.

While searching a recipe of German pancakes, I stumbled onto 2 blogs related to orange. First of the two is "How About Orange" created by a Chicago graphic designer. I can't figure out yet why she named her blog orange, but I'm really glad I found it. In addition to the obvious reason that I got the recipe that I was looking for, I love the crafts she does! I have always had this dream that I would one day quit my day job and be a professional "craftster". She definitely inspires me.

Another is "Orangette". As you will discover in the description of the blog, orangette is "a candied orange rind dipped in chocolate". The creator of the blog is a food lover in Seattle, and her blog has been getting rave reveiws from various media across the country. I think she is in the process of having her book published.

It first got my attention because orangette happens to be my favorite sweets. The combination of citrusy flavor and chocolate (especially dark chocolate) is just beyond comparison. (I guess to me, orangette is the culinary elevation of Jacob's chocolate orange biscuit.) I had one time tried to make this myself but gave up teh idea after realizing that it would take a couple of days to make the candied orange rind.

Anyway, Orangette is a lighthearted, pleasurable read. It keeps me dreaming of food in this gastronomically uncultured part of the country (sigh...).

Well, Genghis just woke up and that means time for snack. How about an orange?

我的傲慢與偏見

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:45:00 +0000

上月因工出門，有機會到北京走一趟，半公半私的逗留了近一周。這不但是我頭一次上京，也是我來美五年來首次再踏足神州。關於是次旅程，想寫的東西有很多，今天先寫我的買書經歷。至於買了甚麼書，與及旅程的其他種種，則有待日後再寫了。

難得到大陸，當然是要到書店入貨──這邊的中文書店不多，書種更是十分貧乏，且價錢之不合理，就更令我欲買不能。起程之前，並沒有寫下甚麼清單，只是一心想買幾本兒童圖書及與飲食有關的書。反正自知私人時間不會太多，也就不好給自己“要完成任務”的壓力了。

對上一次到大陸買書，大概是十多年前的事了。當時的我，對中國與中文書的興趣都十分有限，看的中文書不多，買的意慾不大，況且想看的大部份都在香港有售，再不，我情願到台北買書兼順道旅遊，也不願迫人迫車返大陸。

但其實罪魁禍首是我對大陸出品有偏見。

我從來沒有歧視簡體字，也不是怕書本的內容被刪去政治敏感的內容，只是我對大陸的印刷質素完全沒有信心。

要知道我這人膚淺得緊要，每事每物都要有一定的外在美才能打動我，尤其是穿上身摸上手的，至於用眼看的嘛，當然便更加要以靚先行了。

我印象中的大陸印刷，大約停留在八十年代初的水平──紙質粗糙，排版四平八穩，毫無心思。因為這期間都沒有在大陸買書，以致這偏見在我心中縈繞幾近二十載，直至上月。

一踏進書店，首先攻陷我的是圖文俱巧的建築書籍。這類圖多字少的美術書，只要翻開數頁，便知是龍是蟲，我隨手揭了幾本，發現質素遠遠在我想像之上，雖然不是每本都達國際水平，但大部份都幾碼追得上港台水準，其中幾本較精緻的，更很有大師風範。

由於時間與體力關係，不敢買得太瘋，所以左挑右選下，揀了兩本關於中國建築的書便急步走到兒童圖書部。

又一次令我大跌眼鏡。

大陸出品的童書，已不再是我印象中白紙黑字加單線圖畫的習作簿模樣。今天的中國童書，大可跟歐美媲美（單就印刷而言），故事書以外，最教我驚喜的是一系列勞作及遊戲書，小兒對此書一見鍾情，每天也嚷著”媽咪同我做手工”。

挾著幾本童書，再信步走到飲食圖書部，飛快的搜尋要找的書，本想就此罷休，冷不防眼角瞄到一本又一本論茶的書，身不由己地拿出一本便讀起來。只翻了數頁，才又醒覺有飯局在身，不得不馬上前往，於是沒有再買其他書便趕快離開。
拿著大包細包的我，在的士上望著北京的繁忙景象，心中禁不住想，我，這自命不凡的居美港客，原來不過是個浸過點鹹水的港燦罷。

星厨 Star Chef

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 22:44:00 +0000

考慮了好一陣子才決定把這則不是太新的新聞上載，當初猶豫的原因是怕此舉有點自吹自擂，但想深一層，既然是事實，便不算吹虛了。況且看我這個泊的，大都是我的親友，當是向他們報告一下近況好了。

各位路過的朋友，希望我這則剪報沒有趕客吧！

(1) Cooking with class: A&M senior executive chef one of the top culinary artists in the nation
By: Elyssa Jechow
Posted: 11/19/07
The Battalion

Gary Arthur, the first senior executive chef at Texas A&M, is ranked among the best. Arthur, who came to A&M last year, is featured in a newly-released book, Chefs to Know, and is also ranked as one of the top 500 chefs in the nation. Joining him on the list are chefs such as Emeril Lagasse, Anthony Bourdain and Stephan Pyle.

"The beauty of this listing is that it is not a competition at all. And none of us consider ourselves better than anyone else," Arthur said. "In the words of the editor of the book, 'It is a collection of those that are talented, innovative, passionate and driven who contribute greatly to their culinary community.'

Arthur took over at A&M when the Food Services Department was in the middle of a complete revamping.

"I was recruited in by the current executive director once he realized the huge scope of options that need to be implemented," Arthur said.

Arthur said Aggieland is a wonderful place with some of the nicest people he has ever met, but he is aware that there are still plenty of challenges ahead.

As the first executive chef at A&M, Arthur is in charge of all food that is purchased, prepared and served on campus. He also oversees the people working to provide the food."

Commitment to building a great dining program remains a concern that I have," he said. "There is no comprehensive University ambition, which can be very challenging.

"However, Arthur said he still has plenty of amibitions of his own.

He has already brought sushi and the Tomato Bar to A&M students and has many more plans cooking.

"Moderate implementations have convinced me that there is not only a need, but a desire to upgrade concepts and put in new ones," Arthur said. "Vegetarian and healthy is an obvious expectation."

He also said health issues are being taken into consideration because of the obesity crisis that is gripping the nation. His Fall Crop program, which will last until Dec. 21, is bringing vegetarian food to Sbisa to address a variety of dietary concerns.

Arthur's personal ambition is to match every food he considers unhealthy with at least one option to minimize that unhealthy item.

"It will then be individual choice how folks eat," he said.

Arthur has more than 20 years of experience in luxury cooking and has racked up quite a resume by living and working in places such as New York City, Chicago, Atlantic City and Hong Kong. However, Arthur believes the work he is doing at A&M could be some of his greatest. He has set a goal of spring 2008 as a marker by which to show a drastic improvement in the food offered.

"I have set product integrity, cultural and technique integrity as a definitive goal of my efforts," Arthur said. "I believe we will be successful. We will address health options, real flavors and reasonable portions to price ratios and overall offerings.

"Despite his passion for food, Arthur said his favorite part of his job at A&M doesn't involve the food he serves.

"It's the students, students, students," he said.

(1) Shows Great Taste: Texas A&M Chef Included Among Nation's Best
A&M News

The authors of a guide that selects the top chefs in America must believe Texas A&M University’s Gary Arthur can truly cut the mustard: they have named him as one of the nation’s best chefs in the just-released book Chefs to Know.

Arthur, Texas A&M’s first senior executive chef, joins the list of the top 500 chefs in the United States, according to starchefs.com, the group that compiles the list that includes renowned chefs Emeril Lagasse, Anthony Bourdain and Stephan Pyle. It’s no doubt the cream of the crop of the best culinary experts in the country.
Making the list is hardly as easy as pie. As the book notes, selectees were chosen “for their approach to cooking and their lack of boundaries rather than being tied to strict cultural traditions in the kitchen, and they are free to interpret cuisine from every country in the world.”
“I was selected for work I’ve done in the industry over the past 20 years or so, and this is a very nice honor,” Arthur says.

“What makes it especially nice is that I am the only university chef included in the book, which says something about the competition. The list contains the most well-known people in the culinary arts, and it calls itself a ‘guide to chefs for chefs.’ So I feel very honored to be mentioned alongside some of these great names.”

Arthur came to Texas A&M last year when the university’s food services division was in the midst of a total makeover. The unit changed its name to Dining Services, and Arthur was hired for the newly created position of senior executive chef by Nadeem Siddiqui, executive director of dining services.

“Gary is a visionary and so highly accomplished that I knew he would bring the same distinction to us,” Siddiqui said. “The improvements he has made in his short time at Texas A&M have been wonderful.”

Arthur has spent much of the past year creating new menu items, listening to customers’ suggestions and helping to run the division that serves 30,000 meals a day at 41 on-campus locations and employs more than 1,000.

He grew up on the island of Trinidad and eventually earned a chef’s apprenticeship at the United Nations in New York. With 33 years of cooking skills, he has worked for several renowned hotel chains, including Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, the Larkspur hotel chain on the West Coast and also at Stanford University. At one time, he was the owner of two restaurants.

“Many people don’t have a high opinion of institutional food, such as the meals served at colleges or hospitals,” Arthur explains. “But there is no reason why it can’t be very good. Texas A&M is making the commitment to upgrade its dining operations, and we have the opportunity to be creative in the types of meals we now serve.”The preparation of food has changed over the years, he adds.

“Now we look at things like the nutritional quality of the food we serve, the science it takes to prepare good meals and research on how to make it all better,” he says.
When asked what his favorite dish is, Arthur has a quick answer. Any chef worth his salt will not name just one dish, he believes.

“I want and like to prepare them all – meals, desserts, everything,” he adds.

“All of the chefs I know say the same thing – they don’t have a signature dish. They want to be known as someone who can prepare just about anything and do it well. We have the chance to do that here at Texas A&M, to be real trendsetters in this type of dining experience.”

零發發奮

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:24:00 +0000

讀罷網友的年尾盤點，不禁汗顏。人家的博客未滿周歲，便已有過三百篇存稿，我這懒人半年下來，就只有那麼四十篇，而且差不多一半是貼幾幅家庭照了事，着實丟臉！

剛開始寫blog的時候，正值暑假，校務比較清閒，要在工作時間偷來三數分鐘寫點東西並不困難。但自九月開始，工作量驟增，新來的助手又未上軌道，所以凡事都要親力親為，有時候甚至連午飯也忘了吃－－對於像我這樣饞嘴的人來說，這事的確有點不可思議。

上班寫不成，下班後也不見得有甚麼大作為。每晚吃飯洗碗過後，孩子便嚷着要我陪他看書做手工玩遊戲，一玩往往便是兩個小時。當然，最最最關鍵的是，我是一個無可救藥的渴睡怪，每晚至少要睡七八個小時，倘能睡上十個鐘頭，自是最好不過。

九小時上班，一小時交通時間，一小時搜購糧餉雜貨，一小時燒菜洗碗，兩小時與孩子遊玩，八小時睡覺－－噢，不算猶自可，一算之下，原來我每天都有兩個小時是無名虛渡的！

零發伊始，發奮及時。
祝新年快樂！

Mom Song

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 04:16:00 +0000

To all the moms in the world...only you can truly understand what the song is all about.

Get up now Get up now Get out of bed
Wash your face Brush your teeth Comb your sleepy head
Here’s your clothes And your shoes Hear the words I said
Get up now Get up and make your bed
Are you hot? Are you cold? Are you wearing that?
Where’s your books and your lunch and your homework at?
Grab your coat and your gloves and your scarf and hat
Don’t forget you got to feed the cat
Eat your breakfast The experts tell us it’s the most important meal of all
Take your vitamins so you will grow up one day to be big and tall
Please remember the orthodontist will be seeing you at three today?
Don’t forget your piano lesson is this afternoon So you must play
Don’t shovel Chew slowly But hurry The bus is here
Be careful Come back here Did you wash behind your ears?
Play outside Don’t play rough Would you just play fair?
Be polite Make a friend Don’t forget to share
Work it out Wait your turn Never take a dare Get along
Don’t make me come down there
Clean your room Fold your clothes Put your stuff away
Make your bed Do it now Do we have all day?
Were you born in a barn? Would you like some hay
Can you even hear a word I say?
Answer the phone Get off the phone
Don’t sit so close Turn it down No texting at the table
No more computer time tonight Your iPod’s my iPod if you don’t listen up
Where you going and with whom and what time do you think you’re coming home?
Saying thank you, please, excuse me
Makes you welcome everywhere you roam
You’ll appreciate my wisdom someday when you’re older and you’re grown
Can’t wait ‘til you have a couple little children of your own
You’ll thank me for the counsel I gave you so willingly
But right now I thank you NOT to roll your eyes at me
Close your mouth when you chew Would appreciate
Take a bite Maybe two Of the stuff you hate
Use your fork Do not you burp Or I’ll set you straight
Eat the food I put upon your plate
Get an A Get the door Don’t get smart with me
Get a Grip Get up here I’ll count to 3
Get a job Get a life Get a PhD Get a dose of…
I don’t care who started it You’re grounded until you're 36
Get your story straight And tell the truth for once for heaven’s sake
And if all your friends jumped off a cliff would you jump too?
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said at least a thousand times before that
You’re too old to act this way It must be your father’s DNA
Look at me when I am talking Stand up straighter when you walk
A place for everything And everything must be in place
Stop crying or I’ll give you something real to cry about
Oh! Brush your teeth Wash your face Get your PJs on
Get in bed Get a hug Say a prayer with Mom
Don’t forget I love you**KISS**
And tomorrow we will do this all again because a mom’s work never ends
You don’t need the reason why
Because Because Because Because
I said so I said so I said so I said so
I’m the Mom The mom The mom The mom The mom Ta-da

My DC trip

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 02:53:00 +0000

I'm in DC for a week. A lot's happening. A lot for me to do, and a lot for me to think about. I'm trying to capture all that I can. This is a really diverse group that I'm with this week: some of them young Americans, some young Chinese first time in the U.S., some Chinese diplomat, some American diplomat, some Chinese university presiendts, some U.S. university presidents...

Whatever it is, I know I'm going to cherish this experience. And, this is, again, proof of my philosophy - you never know what's going to happen to you. Just keep your mind open; get yourself prepared; & pay attention to opportunities knocking on your door. Good things will follow.

Indeed. What marvelous experience.

I'll talk more about what happened to me this week after I get some rest.

當愛變成害

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 22:10:00 +0000

除了父母溺愛孩子的經典例子,其實一個人太愛一個地方,也可以令它受到傷害.

我家現居的這個德州小鎮, 是本州兩所最著名學府之一的所在地, 這大學不但在州內吃香, 在國內國外也有點名氣,尤以工程,農業,工管及獸醫學系等最享負盛名, 在多個全國排名中也名列前矛.

本校非常注重傳統,加上歷史悠久,校園多個角落都藏著段段動人故事.學校另一與別不同之處是學生對學校的歸屬感及忠誠度是罕有地高,舊生每年足球季節從老遠跑回母校觀看球賽,捐助學校各項不同發展與科研項目,更是見怪不怪.但最令我詫異的是畢業後留在校內工作的學生人數之高,以我粗略估計,大概有八成的行政職位,都是由舊生擔當的.

舊生回饋母校,為母校服務,理論上是求之不得,但在我這一年間的冷眼旁觀,卻發現這現象往往是令學校不能達到應有的進步的最大障礙.由於本學是公立大學,所以學生一般來自州內各個城鎮,要知道德州除了Houston, Dallas 及Austin三個大都會,其他地方都是...唔...比較鄉下,而且德州人出名不愛外遊(我們常笑說,Texans認為到Oklahoma己是出國了!),世界觀自是比較狹窄了.

有很多舊生為了留在本鎮及本校工作,很多都不惜自降身價,拿著學士甚至碩士學位的當份文員工作並不是新鮮事.本來循漸進不是問題,問題是這些人從未向外闖,也沒有準備向外闖,於是在毫無鬥心之下愈做愈欠衝勁,愈做愈不成器.而且這些忠心的舊生,一畢業便在同一所機構工作,一做便是十多二十年,從未接觸過其他工作方式及可能性,難免是會給培養成墨守成規的一群.

看著一代又一代的舊生留校工作,然後開口埋口我校怎樣怎樣優勝,,聽著聽著,很有點亂倫的感覺.

***************************************************************

有時候我跟這裡的中國留學生閒談,言語中會感受到他們很不屑美國傳媒對中國的種種評擊,覺得他們是有意眨低中國.每次我都只有婉轉的告訴他們,中國的確有很多地方需要改善,若果我們不多作檢討,最終受苦的還是中國人.

這又讓我想起我工作的這所學校的舊生--過份保護,往往只會適得其反.愛與害,有時的確是一線之差.

Mid Autumn Festival Pictures 中秋剪影

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 03:35:00 +0000

Another cheating post - pictures from a couple of weeks ago on the Mid Autumn Festival. A friend came over & had dinner & a mini celebration with us. This is the first year Genghis really enjoyed playing with his lantern. And, he loves mooncakes like I do! Good boy!

遲來的中秋節相片...

My Rock Star Wannabe

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:15:00 +0000

這兩個多星期忙得可以,沒閒暇沒心思寫文章,只好出賣小兒玉照充撐場面!亞仔乖,幫媽咪頂下檔!
Wait till he's a teenager...

Interesting Article on Newspapers in the U.S.

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 19:12:00 +0000

A friend forwarded this to me and I think it is absolutely funny, and, to the purpose of generalization, true. I wonder what the list will look like if we're comparing newspapers in China...Anyone want to give it a try?

Demographics of American Newspapers

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.
2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.
3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.
4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country, but don't really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts.
5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country -- if they could find the time -- and if they didn't have to leave Southern California to do it.
6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.
7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who's running the country and don't really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.
8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.
9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.
10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure there is a country . . or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happens to be illegal aliens from any other country or galaxy, provided of course, that they are not Republicans.
11. The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the grocery store.
12. The Sacramento Bee is read by people who have recently caught a fish and need something in which to wrap it.

好心做壞事

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 02:49:00 +0000

今天上班時,看到一位仁兄騎著電單車在路上穿梭,仔細一看,他在掛車牌的位置,放了一個牌,牌上寫著一句大意是"不要殺生,改吃素吧"的標語(忘了原文是甚麼),然後頭盔上又印了一句"Meat is cruel"之類的口號(也是忘了原文是甚麼),我和老公看了,相視而笑.

回到公司,又看到了紐約時報一則新聞,內容大致是保護動物團體Peta開展了一個以吃肉會導致global warming為主題的宣傳計劃.

我自知太貪吃,一定不會做素食者,但我並不會岐視素食者,而且身邊也有不少只吃素的朋友.可是今天碰上的兩件事情,讓我想起了一句話:"好心做壞事".何解?我深明那位騎鐵馬的男子跟Peta一樣,都是希望引起大眾關注愛護動物的重要,前者的做法,我認為並無不可,但後者嘛,就讓人感到有點強辭奪理,嘩眾取寵了.

吃肉本身是不會導致地球升溫的;大量及不當的飼養方式才是global warming的原凶.Peta這趟亂扣帽子,便令人非常反感了.

就像其他葷食動物一般,吃肉是人的本能,所謂一物治一物,我們只是食物鏈上的一員,並不應因為吃肉而感到罪咎.換個角度看,蚊子散播登革熱,我們殘害蚊子,難道我們就是喪盡天良嗎?

是,我知道那頭牛那隻雞那尾魚沒有對我們造成生命威脅,但若果我們以人道的方法飼養然後屠宰牠們,我實在看不出有何不當.

或許,以上這些廢話都是我為自己貪吃而編出來的謬論,或是我作為中國人所以深信四腳朝天皆可食的詭辯,更有可能是我的思想太backwards,根本看不出事實的真相.但我敢肯定Peta這次市場攻勢,必會惹人反感,結果令人認定保護動物團體只求激進,妄顧現實,吃力又不討好.

好心,有時是會做壞事的.

暱稱

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 03:49:00 +0000

我手可以寫我口,但我這人天生不善辭令,永遠不能我口講我心.

平日一般社交應對當然沒有問題,但一旦要表達內心情感,我便會舌頭打結.有幾杯酒到肚壯膽還勉強可以,沒有的話,只好把說話都吞到肚裡了.

我是個追求社交和諧的人,所以最怕出口傷人,說話時總愛顧左右而言他,毫不蕭灑.故此我最愛與爽快敢言的人交朋友,一來是這些人性格一般可親,二來是希望自己有話說不出口時,也有他們替我出口嘛!

不要說我跟朋友未必能暢所欲言,更令人難以置信的是,我跟丈夫結婚五年多,還是不知該怎麼稱呼他.不知怎的,我實在不能接受自己喚他作honey, baby之類的暱稱,但叫他的名字又太生外,我有時索性叫他"喂"便算了.

行為或肌膚上的親暱我是完全沒有問題的,我和他在公眾場合拉手,親咀也不會感到尷尬,但就是不能大大方方的喚他作親愛的.奇怪的是,我也不怕對他說我愛你,但暱稱嘛,偏偏就是說不出口.

這算不算是phobia的一種?我也不清楚,但總認為這怪異行為是我內心某種不安的投射,可是到現在仍然找不出答案,有時也會讓我感到點點困惑.

My Other Self

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 22:00:00 +0000

Okay. I have finally decided to launch a separate blog devoted for knitting.

The name of the blog is Spinning My Yarn. And it is up and running! Please visit my other self and release the knitter in you!

Cool chicks knit! Yay!

雲吞

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 20:15:00 +0000

雖然正寫是餛飩,但我還是喜歡廣東的寫法--一口把雲吞進肚子裡,多詩意啊!

自少愛吃雲吞,但母親大人嫌麻煩,從來不會自己包,只會到街市買,或者索性到食店吃.

到我中學時開始有家政課,第一樣老師教我們做的便是雲吞.那周未趕緊在家動手做, 母親吃後大讚不絶--我媽是個最偏私的食評,但凡是我做的東西,她只會說好.也許我便是在她不斷鼓勵下對煮食愈來愈有興趣,愈煮愈有信心了.畢業以後,便很少自己開灶,更遑論要包雲吞了.

兩年多前開始,我又再動手包雲吞.一來因為所需的材料在一般洋人超市也不難買到,甚為方便;二來是雲吞真的像雲一樣軟綿綿,我的孩子未足一歲,我便開始餵雲吞給他吃,見他吃得開心,我便做得暢快.

有兩款雲吞是我最愛做的,第一款是以免治豬肉加上上海白菜,喜歡的話也可加上少許雪裡紅吊味.以蔬菜做雲吞餡料,最重要是先把菜切碎,然後抓一把鹽與之拌勻,待數分鐘,水份會從菜中流出,把水隔去,不妨再用手擠出更多水份,那煮出來的雲吞便不會水汪汪不夠味.

另一款是以魚肉加紅蘿蔔,魚可以是任何白肉魚,我喜歡用朧脷,因為就算不是游水鮮魚,味道也還算鮮,而且骨大易去.做法跟上述的菜肉餡大致相同,紅蘿蔔同樣要以鹽抓過,隔去水份, 再跟魚肉碎拌勻便可.

還有一款雲吞我是相當愛吃的,可惜現在也很難找到了,那就是錦滷雲吞了.還記得兒時愛跟媽媽兩份吃一客,我最喜歡在橙紅色的酸汁中尋寶,魷魚啦,雞肝啦...

不要說在這荒蕪德州難找到錦滷雲吞,就是在香港也不是隨便找到.要自己做,又沒有食譜照版煮碗,無計可施下,唯有得個恨字.

Racist, really?

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 03:45:00 +0000

I was reading this article just the other day. It's basically about a Canadian who tries to figure out why he is often called a racist. And then last Monday, something happened that makes me think about one more time this issue called racism.

So what actually happened? It's not that big a deal, really. But a group from a major oil company in Vietnam took a visit to where I work. One of the group members was extremely rude, and my colleague, who's a relatively young lady who grew up in Texas and didn't have a lot of experience working with people from other cultures (Well, in Texas, you're a foreigner if you're from California. Imagine that.). She got a little offended by the Vietnamese guy because he kept asking her to take pictures for him in a very rude manner - no thank you or please, & gesturing instead of speaking. I was suspecting this made her think that Vietnamese are very rude in general. And, because of how she reacted, it's easy for an outsider to think she is discriminatory toward Vietnamese.

It is, of course, unfair to make generalizations like this. But at the same time, it is easy if this is your only encounter with people from that culture. Depending on the context, an individual does not only represent his/her self, but also the family, community, and culture that one is from.

Is she racist? Or is the rude Vietnamese guy racist? Probably neither of them are. But I can see it would be easy for anyone to think they are because of what happened.

I remember when I was in Hong Kong, my foreigner friends would complain to me that Chinese are racist. I never understood why. I think Hong Kong people are generally not racist. They're just discriminatory to people with no money.

Is it racist to call a Caucasian gweilo/gweipor (ghost man/ghost woman)? I genuinely don't think so. When we say gwei, we don't really mean anything bad about the westerner we're addressing to. It's just a name that we've been using for so many years that it's hard to change.

My husband is black. When we're in Hong Kong, some people would call him haak gwei (black ghost). At first, I felt a little uneasy about the name. But after a while, I realize that it's just a name that distinguishes him from other ghosts.

One time when we were driving in Houston, we asked a passerby how to get to China town. This person was obviously not very educated. He gave us the directions and then he said, "You'll see a lot of Chinamen there."

So was he being racist? Probably not. I know some Chinese get really upset about the name Chinaman. But I think, at least in this incident, that the guy was just using a phrase that he knew. He didn't know better. What did he know about racism, honestly? When he was giving us directions, he looked nothing but genuinely eager to help.

It's a fine line between racism and otherwise. But in the U.S., I feel like some people are using every chance they get to accuse someone of being racist so as to take advantage of it.

Take the N-word for example. It's okay for a black stand-up comedian to address himself by the N-word, but if any white person say an African-American (This term is itself problematic. My husband hates it. He's of African heritage but is from the Carribeans. So he never considers himself an "African".) is an N----, it's an absolute no-no.

Especially in the U.S., I think a lot of politicians are using the race issue as a tool to get what they want.

It's easy to say someone is racist, but before we make the accusation, we should really think about the motives or reason behind the obvious.

一個還是兩個?

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 21:26:00 +0000

雖然經常被人問這個問題, 但我說的是網誌而不是孩子的數目.

秋季快到了,又是我另一興趣出閘的時候--織冷衫.最近四出搜購了不少新毛線,待天氣稍涼便可馬上行動.

我想在網誌裡紀錄自己的projects,但又怕會令網誌精分裂,所以想到不如多開一個專為我的手作仔而設的blog,可是想來想去都不知究竟該開還是不開--我連一個泊都post得這麼疏落,再多一個恐怕支持不了,各位網友有何高見?

P.S. 這陣子事忙,整個星期沒有新post,這兩天會趕快寫文會眾,請見諒!

Guilt of a Working Mom

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 18:44:00 +0000

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my career. What and where do I want to be in 5 years? Am I getting anywhere in this job that I seem to enjoy so far? Or do I want to pursue something else? With my son going to kindergarten next year, these are the questions I have to ask myself, as a mom and as an individual.

One thing I know for sure is that I don't want to be a stay-home mom. I am by no means a workaholic nor am I career-crazy. I just know that I'm not, and never will be, a good housewife. It's probably an excuse, but I have to say I suck at household chores. I can keep the house moderately clean and organized, but never spotless, an interestingly sharp contrast to what my husband can do.

Yet on the other hand, I have this increasing urge to spend more time with my son, especially when he'll be starting real school in just a few years. I want to be there when he comes home from school and help him with his homework. I want to do art projects with him. I want to make him treats while he's doing his homework. My mom is a housewife, and I know how precious the experience is for a child to have someone by your side whenever you need help and guidance.

I feel bad that I don't spend enough time with my kid - between working, cooking and sleeping, I probably spend no more than 3 hours a day with my son (well, except for the weekends). At the same time, the idea of being a housewife drives me nuts. And, so there's this strong sense of guilt in me that I don't know how to deal with.

Men don't struggle as much, if at all, on this issue. Women are supposed to nurture their children, not men. I know this is the 21st century and everything, but I guess I'm more of a traditionalist than I think.

Anyway, I'll use the next few months to explore what options I have in life, and make sense of what's best for me and my family.

標準淪陷

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 21:55:00 +0000

上星期看了這則新聞, 內容是中國官方新聞網站新華網的英文版本, 竟然在一篇極嚴肅的醫學報導中, 以卡通人物Homer Simpson 的X光照片作為附圖! 而且還要過了三天, 才在高人提點下把附圖抽起. 事件當中, 不但沒有人需要負責任, 甚至連例行的 "更正啟示" 也久奉. 其中的馬虎, 不得不叫人刮目相看!

熟知新聞運作的朋友, 都應該知道一篇報導刋出之前, 起碼要通過幾個關口, 才可得見天日. 就是規模較小的媒體, 也最少要經由寫手到排版到編輯過目才可出街. 今次的事件, 除了反映出部份中國媒介工作者的不認真, 還透示了當代中國的另一嚴峻危機 -- 欠缺標準的建制.

從食物安全到假新聞, 中國出品給人的感覺是anything goes, 沒有甚麼是不可能的, 今天是有毒牙膏, 明天又可以是紙皮大包, 無規無矩, 話乜就乜. 長此下去, 公信力盡失之餘, 經濟損失更是沉重.

這些問題的存在, 我個人認為是現代中國欠缺一套批判好與壞的完備準則, 所以很多東西都是做了出來便可以了, 凡事都只求形似, 內涵是甚麼都不打緊. 就算出了事, 當事人也會理直氣壯的跟你說: "一分錢一分貨嘛!"

我有一位大陸來的同事, 是大學裡的研究生, 工作態良好, 做事也挺勤快, 可就是不理解 "標準" 的重要. 每次我要她替我做一些資料搜集, 她總是把資料從網上結集到同一文案上便交給我, 完全沒有經過編輯過濾, 字體大小顏色不一, 版面也一點沒有修飾, 看得我頭昏腦脹. 嘗試跟她解釋formatting的重要, 她卻認為那只是西方人愛玩的花臣而已, 中國人還是要踏實點好. 結果我要跟她多番對話, 才讓她了解有一些基本是必須的.

撇開存心撿財的奸商不說, 內地一些生意人之所以出售次貨, 可能只是出於無知. 在缺乏產品及行業認識的情形下開展有關生意, 加上業內沒有基本準則可循, 他們天真的以為甲原料與乙原料的唯一不同只是價錢的高低, 於是便毫不猶豫的捨貴取廉, 釀成惡果.

你會說, 難道他們連一點點的常識也沒有嗎? 要知道所謂的常識, 是我們日常經驗與文化洗滴下得出來的, 內地人在跟我們完全不一樣的文化下成長, 培育出來的常識自然與我們的有些出入了. 我們的理所當然, 可能是他們的為甚麼不.

我不是要為誰辯護, 只是希望從另一個角度看這問題, 試圖找出解決辦法. 有時我會想, 這一輩的中國人是後文革一代, 要在拋卻所有傳統準則之後再找出新標準, 實在並不易為, 但若不加快腳步趕齊國際步伐, 我恐怕中國會在經濟起飛的高峰上被重重擲下, 落得遍體鱗傷.

Cheap, but good

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 03:18:00 +0000

Me and my husband are both cheapskates (though him more so than I am, ha!), and we're not ashamed of it. As a matter of fact, we're even proud of it. One of our favorite weekend activities is to find cheap but amazing wines at local grocery stores. Whenever we found something we like, we'd be very excited.

The good thing about cheap wines is that you can drink it without guilt. You don't have to worry about saving it for some special occasion. It's just some table wine that you can enjoy any time you want to. If you like it, great. If you don't, you won't feel being ripped off.

Our recent pleasant discovery is the Folie a Deux Menage a Trois Red, which costs only about $10 a bottle. When it's on sale at Albertson's or World Market, you can even get it at $8.99.

The taste of this wine has as much character as its name. It's fruity yet not overly sweet; it's peppery but smooth and silky; it has a firm tanin while the mouth feel is rich. It has a complexity that most cheaper wines lack.

The "Trois" in the name comes from the 3 varieties of grapes that was used: Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. These 3 grapes are fermented separately, then blended together before bottling. That's probably why you'll discover something new in every sip.

What food goes well with it? Well, for less than ten bucks a bottle, I'd say, just experiment! It tastes great with or without food. But, if you insist to have food with it, any tomato-based pasta or chicken would be wonderful accompaniment.

我愛大紅花

noreply@blogger.com (TX Carmen 德州卡門) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 02:17:00 +0000

早陣子前園的大紅花盛開, 足有囝囝的頭那麼大! 不信? 有相為証!