http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/index.htmThe Zongs' family blogennoreply@blogger.com (gz)Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:50:37 PDTBlogger http://www.blogger.com159125http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2009_07_01_zongs_archive.html#1932201564970607178noreply@blogger.com (gz)Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:50:28 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-1932201564970607178After sailing for a week in the Society Isles, we felt unsteady on firm ground. 3 days later, the world had stopped rocking back and forth, and I'm almost missing how that felt! It was a week in paradise, and I'm already longing to be back, someday. Before leaving for Tahiti, I was a little apprehensive – I had dreamed of going there since I was a child. Back in land-locked Beijing, when the onlyhttp://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2009_04_01_zongs_archive.html#5937266502251211203noreply@blogger.com (gz)Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:58:43 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-5937266502251211203It's been nine years, but the day finally came – Xiao-Rong and Reza came to SF to visit us! Jia, Yongyi, Michelle, and Tiffany also joined us for a couple of days. Here are some of the photos:http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2009_01_01_zongs_archive.html#3312672237112844037noreply@blogger.com (gz)Sun, 18 Jan 2009 22:33:37 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-3312672237112844037I still haven't got my SD card. But the weather has been so lovely this weekend (continuing the weekly trend), that I just had to go out and take some outdoor photos, even when I have a cold. I'm such a dedicated photographer, if I must say so myself!And here are some samples of my hard work:At dusk, we took a little walk in Candlestick ParkThe fishing piersThe cliffs at Fort Funston, our new http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2009_01_01_zongs_archive.html#1509862704919392276noreply@blogger.com (gz)Fri, 16 Jan 2009 10:37:41 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-1509862704919392276我们的"老"照相机—其实也就4岁—不幸于圣诞期间在Denver就义了. 想起我们上一代相机, 也是干了4年寿终正寝. 数码相机大概就是这个寿数吧. 在此表扬一下咱老相机(#2), 这几年跟着咱, 上山下海, 任劳任怨, 最后牺牲在工作岗位上—他的镜头至今还凝固在"开机"的状态 (怎么也关不上了), 在冥冥之中注视着这个世界.经专家介绍, 本周我们又迎来了新相机 — Panasonic DMC-LX3, F2.0 24mm Leica DC Vario-Summicron 镜头. 看上去挺专业吧:相机到家了,可是卡还没到, 内存只有50M, 所以还不能使劲照. 以下是几张室内的试照:处女照: living room at nightMatthew working on the kitchen counter俺首次炮制的馅饼 (凌阿姨秘方)黄昏, San Francisco Bay夕阳 •http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2009_01_01_zongs_archive.html#2278343775483162299noreply@blogger.com (gz)Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:16:47 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-2278343775483162299Time flies..... I sometimes wonder why it is that the older you (I) get, the faster time seems to fly by. I can still vividly remember sitting in a classroom when I was, say, eight, and painfully counting the minutes and seconds when the class would be over (which seemed to last a life time). But now, whole months and years just flash past. I finally had a revelation: when we are young, our http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2008_11_01_zongs_archive.html#6054998840762397051noreply@blogger.com (gz)Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:45:10 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-6054998840762397051So I happened to take a look at the blog, and was shocked to find that there was actually a recent post by Matthew -- the only post in the last half a year, and not even by a real Zong (not trying to be exclusive here, just admitting to the sad state of the blog, due to my neglect). Inspired (or shamed) by this , I have (finally) uploaded all my photos, and hereby presenting them to all for your http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2008_07_01_zongs_archive.html#3735957139278058585noreply@blogger.com (shanmao)Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:44:35 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-3735957139278058585Now that I'm back at home in San Francisco I thought I'd relate my thoughts on the trip that I took to Beijing from Sat June 21 to Mon July 7.The Flight to ChinaThe direct flight from San Francisco to Beijing was uneventful with the main point of interest being my testing out of my new noise canceling Bose Quiet Comfort 3 headphones. My employer provides a one time subsidy for the purchase of http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2008_02_01_zongs_archive.html#8016035200587537891noreply@blogger.com (gz)Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:09:33 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-8016035200587537891It was just a few months ago that I became a fan of Jordi Savall and viola de gamba (see Obama.La Rondine.Viola de gamba). I knew then that Jordi Savall and his ensembles Hespèrion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya were coming to Berkeley this February but the tickets were sold out. However a few tickets suddenly became available (thanks for the tip, Jean!) the night before the show and we http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2008_02_01_zongs_archive.html#4567977361849776421noreply@blogger.com (gz)Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:25:25 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-4567977361849776421Also happy birthday to Jia! Here are some photos from Nairong's visit last weekend:http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2008_02_01_zongs_archive.html#2722665693335718010noreply@blogger.com (gz)Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:22:37 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-2722665693335718010Yes, it's been another long hiatus -- the last month was spent moving: apartment hunting, packing, moving, unpacking... it was a big project. I knew we had a lot of junk before, I just didn't know we had THAT much! Now I will really think hard before buying anything else. Or maybe I'll just never move again! Anyway, I've finally uploaded some pictures. Happy new year from our new home by the San http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2007_11_01_zongs_archive.html#2059047315850079721noreply@blogger.com (gz)Fri, 23 Nov 2007 13:54:21 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-2059047315850079721Thanksgiving is the North American holiday that celebrates the family, and the Thanksgiving dinner is the main event of the holiday. For some reason I had never contemplated preparing a Thanksgiving dinner, perhaps because we were never home on Thanksgiving. Well this year we were here and I felt ambitious enough to tackle the turkey -- the center piece of a classic Thanksgiving http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2007_11_01_zongs_archive.html#3887197079272163490noreply@blogger.com (gz)Wed, 21 Nov 2007 12:14:25 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-3887197079272163490This past week, I saw two stars -- one political, the other operatic.When I heard about Barack Obama's appearance at Google, I was quite excited to get a chance to hear him talk. After living all these years in 3 different countries, I'd never heard a politician talk in person! From what I hear and read about Obama, of all the presidential hopefuls, he stands out to be the one who represents http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2007_11_01_zongs_archive.html#6575763176516351102noreply@blogger.com (Rujing)Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:45:48 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-6575763176516351102   http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2007_10_01_zongs_archive.html#3814641185483607671noreply@blogger.com (gz)Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:19:44 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-3814641185483607671After a couple of days in Waikiki, we moved to a less visited part of the island -- the Wai'anae coast. It was fun in the center of it all, but it was time for a more secluded beach. Our condo sat right on Papaoneone beach, a stretch of almost deserted sand on the west side of Oahu. Every morning we woke up to the sound of waves, and the same soothing melody serenaded us to sleep each night (how http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2007_10_01_zongs_archive.html#7160755177920231350noreply@blogger.com (gz)Sun, 21 Oct 2007 11:02:05 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-7160755177920231350Growing up in Beijing, I had conflicted feelings when it came to wind. As my daily commute to school was on a bike, I came to hate the strong, dry, northerly winds that blew constantly, with a liberal amount of sand. On the other hand, it could be really cozy lazing at home with a good book on a windy winter day, watching the branches of the poplars swing wildly in the howling wind. Also, wind http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2007_10_01_zongs_archive.html#6059764349380197690noreply@blogger.com (gz)Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:00:25 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-6059764349380197690We arrived in Honolulu just after dark. Driving towards Waikiki on a multi-lane highway, we were awed by the sight of the big city -- it was completely different from the other Hawaiian islands we had visited before. We were expecting this, but still somehow surprised -- it was, after all, a speck of an island in the middle of Pacific, thousands of miles away from the nearest continent. The http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2007_08_01_zongs_archive.html#8493042647865721234noreply@blogger.com (Ruli)Thu, 09 Aug 2007 06:43:05 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-8493042647865721234随想之八 七十年前的香港—-杂谈 今年最热闹的活动是香港回归十周年. 我想起了七十年前, 1937年, 我正好十岁. 那一年日本侵华战争全面爆发. 年底妈妈带我们到香港. 我印象中当时的香港是非常美的. 我们住在九龙的金巴利道. 这条道在坡上, 我们住在一所向南的公寓的四层, 我总喜欢在阳台上观景. 现在我知道那里曾是香港最好的观景点. 路对面没有房子. 向前看去是九龙半岛的南端尖沙咀. 海对面就是香港. 尖沙咀那时是火车站, 公共汽车总站和轮渡码头. 到尖沙咀的路右边有房子, 包括现在被评为最佳酒店的半岛饭店. 路左边没有房子. 半路上有个球场. 我们总喜欢坐在看台上看印度兵和英国兵打曲棍球, 赢的总是印度兵. 早上我看着到广州的火车从尖沙咀车站出发. 列车总是十三节车厢. 然后看美国飞剪号水上飞机从右边飞来, 溅落在香港九龙之间的海面上, 然后停靠到左边的码头. http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2007_07_01_zongs_archive.html#2484392871134946492noreply@blogger.com (gz)Mon, 23 Jul 2007 17:49:53 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-2484392871134946492Apparently Mom has been advertising my paella--Niangniang just asked me about it. Here's the original recipe from my Spanish cookbook:2 large cups of rice300g prawns100g lean pork, diced10 chicken wings1.5 dl olive oil (*1.5dl=150ml)3 garlic cloves1 tomato, peeled and choppeda few drops of lemon juicesalt and saffron4 large cups prawn stock2 hard-boiled eggs and 1 pepper, tinnedPeel the prawns, http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2007_07_01_zongs_archive.html#5003374923228359522noreply@blogger.com (Ruli)Mon, 09 Jul 2007 16:45:36 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-5003374923228359522 There have been numerous parties celebrating Ruli's 80th birthday, starting from May and still on-going, with future events to come! Here are all the photos so far.http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2007_07_01_zongs_archive.html#5540430862001599058noreply@blogger.com (Roger)Wed, 04 Jul 2007 11:44:38 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-5540430862001599058Just received these pics from my mom. Pa must have had a great time judging by his high spirit. The cake looks delicious. I am reserving my seat for his 90th birthday party.http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2007_07_01_zongs_archive.html#8337819690311857992noreply@blogger.com (gz)Mon, 02 Jul 2007 13:47:31 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-8337819690311857992 咱中华文化有好几个跟食物有关的节日(就是可以借机大吃大喝的理由),其中我最喜欢的节之一就是端午节.在此鸣谢屈原老先生,给了我们这么宝贵的美食机会,大热天的可以冠冕堂皇地狂吃此等既高热量又不易消化之物! 记得小时候,每年端午前后大约一周左右,我都几乎每餐必食一粽.今年端午节,好友的妈妈给了我们好几只粽子,使我们得以没有辜负佳节.而我身为一猪,自然饱食之后还是意尤未尽,琢磨着怎样才能多吃为妙.上星期我突发雄心,决定亲手包一次粽子.于是电话咨询了奶奶,又上网搜索一番,充实一下理论,也算了解了一些粽子的知识:历史上关于粽子的记载，最早见于汉代许慎的《说文解字》。“粽”字本作“糉”，《说文新附•米部》谓“糉，芦叶裹米也。从米，葼声。”《说文•夂》：“葼，敛足也。”义为鸟飞时收敛腿爪。《集韵•送韵》：“糉，角黍也。或作粽。” 粽子又名“角黍”，最早记载见西晋周处的《风土记》：“http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2007_06_01_zongs_archive.html#2497289972381251872noreply@blogger.com (gz)Thu, 21 Jun 2007 19:06:47 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-2497289972381251872Doesn't the title look impressively decadent?To celebrate Matthew's birthday, we drove up the fog enshrouded Golden Gate Bridge, heading up to the sunny north. On our way we stopped at the charming plaza in Healdsburg, a town at the conflunece of three famous wine regions: Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley, and Dry Creek Valley. At Cafe Bovolo we had some delicious sandwiches. After hitting http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2007_05_01_zongs_archive.html#6252684491325885590noreply@blogger.com (gz)Thu, 24 May 2007 16:58:14 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-6252684491325885590As I was typing in the title, I realized that I must have used it before (the computer was finishing my sentence for me). So I guess my absence was nothing new. Anyway, to mark my return, I am sharing a couple of videos:Bay to Breakers 2007: San Francisco's quintessential footrace. Matthew ran it (while I watched) for the fourth time! (See my report on Bay to Breakers 2004.)and while I am at it, http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2007_01_01_zongs_archive.html#116936862973359372noreply@blogger.com (Ruli)Sun, 21 Jan 2007 00:37:09 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-116936862973359372昨天碰巧看到一篇华盛顿日报有关中国博客的文章, 又碰巧看到电视上记者采访故宫外国游客, 都说在国外没有把Starbuck 开在里面的, 只能开在外边.我没有博客, 也不看博客 (除小女儿宗桂的”宗家嘴” 和亲家母方巩的”浩然宇宙”外). 只听说在中国博客很热闹. 如果我们出网上”形影”,那也是博客.这篇文章挺有意思， 给各位看看消闲。 对和我一样不了解博克的， 也可以有个印象。(这是写给同学的 Email )---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------华尔街日报 中国博客热令企业胆战心惊来源：美国《华尔街日报》星岛环球网 www.singtaonet.com 一周前，芮成钢在他的博客中写了一篇文章，谈到了困扰他多年的一个问题：坐落在北京故宫里的星巴克(http://guimatthew.com/blog/zongs/2007_01_01_zongs_archive.html#116919322488153760noreply@blogger.com (Ruli)Thu, 18 Jan 2007 23:53:44 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6511557.post-116919322488153760不知是谁传给我这篇游戏文章, 很好玩, 给你们也看看. 胡锦涛是坏人吗？ 儿子放假回中国，我规定他们见了亲戚朋友只能说中文，结果很是让我难堪。他们的中文表达简单得如幼儿园儿童不说，还不时夹杂一些英文，而且稍微长一点的句子几乎都是按照英语语法习惯排列组合出来的。这与平时和孩子在一起时间太少有关，怪不得他们。于是决定利用在中国的假期让他们加强口语和听力。说起来容易做起来难，最后也只找到了一个方法，让他们坐到电视机前。 除了动画片他们勉勉强强能够听懂看懂，其他的文艺节目一窍不通。亲戚建议不如从新闻开始，包括新闻联播。因为那里都是目前中国最标准的语言，我也只好试一试了。 儿子听话地坐到电视机前。 三天后，新闻联播还没有结束，大儿子找到我不解地问：爸爸，