Nature's Splendors on a Sunday Afternoon

Hi, all. Today I hung out with Jim. You can find some great pictures from our trip over at his blog, Sponge Bear. I showed him (some of) the sights around Hsinchu City.

I showed Jim everything from my house in Siangshan near the East District (so I don't live in the Miaoli part of Siangshan!) to actual East District, to the Downtown area itself. You can see downtown in the pictures above, and below.
Surprisingly, these previous pictures were taken five minutes after Jim had gone back to Fengyuan. It was raining/showering for the final two hours that he was here. That seems to be typical in Taiwan. When you have time to do something that you have been wanting to do for a long, long time, nature throws a gauntlet in your way. Anyway, I had a really nice time with him. I warned him many times in advance that he would really, really like Hsinchu, and my declarations were pretty accurate.


Above is a caterpillar that tried to destroy my eucalyptus shrub. I killed it and about three others. The plant seems to be okay now. I was mentioning this to Jim. Jim and I talked about many things, including the nature around my house. Anyway, living in a house, even with a yard as miniscule as mine (more like a veranda than a yard) surrounded my all manner of nature (mountains, trees, animals, insects, etc.) makes it a constant battle when you want to keep things alive. Even if you want to keep your food edible for more than thirty minutes, you need to be oh, so extremely vigilant. I'm serious. in thirty minutes, ants can be all over your kitchen table and all over whatever food you've left out. It really is a constant uphill battle. But I love it here in this house, and Sharon is much more relaxed, so I hope we can be here for a very, very long time!


But just before I get to that, above is part of the view we got to see when walking around the driveways/throughways/byways/unpaved roads that are just 150 metres above my house. Below, you can see Yuanpei University. I didn't know, at first, where the path led to, or what views it overlooked. We didn't go to the end of the path. A lof of the area is cemetery land. So maybe, when a person dies, they bring a bulldozer, and path just a little bit more, and consult with the family of the deceased to see where exactly the body should be buried. That is just my guess, anyway.

I am pretty sure this picture above is of my street! Not many people walk up here along the unpaved roads (mostly, they are used for illegally disposing of trash, which is a pretty disgraceful way to treat the environment - but you see that a lot in Taiwan). I think a good way to fight environment abuse like that would be to have toll-free numbers that everybody could call at any time. You could take a photo, and report people, or simply report where trash has been inappropriately disposed. I guess I wouldn't want to video tape or take a picture of a gangster type dumping his garbage willy-nilly like that, because I could get thrashed around or worse. However, there has got to be some solution. Actually, I find Hsinchu has more responsible people than other places in Taiwan I've been. I prefer not to have the rules enforced top-down, with cops handing out tickets at every corner for every harmless little infraction like that do in Taipei. The best idea is to instill a strong sense of aesthetics and responsible awareness in people when they are kids, etc. Maybe it is the buxiban teacher in me!


This picture of Yuanpei University seen from the top of the unpaved hillside roads is quite pretty. There continue to be pleasant surprises in store fro me as I explore the city of Hisnchu, because not matter how easy it is to find you way around this town, you will always find a new nook or cranny somewhere.

This man-made lake (Jingcing Lake) located near Park Avenue 1, is a case in point. There are a lot of people who come to escape the noise and bustle of their everyday hectic activity. When Jim and I were there, we saw a foreigner man/Taiwanese woman couple who were with their twin daughters. The family looked very happy. They were all walking contentedly around the lake (before it started to rain, and everybody including Jim and I) gradually made their way home. Even though Jim and I were quite far away up the hill, the foreigner grinned and said hello to the two of us as we were making our way down. Hsinchu is much more relaxing than some cities I've been in or lived in in Taiwan.

Above, you can see the lotus pads, which this lake seems to be famous for (everybody always wants to take pictures of them).

Jim was quite impressed by the variety of nicely designed houses in Hsinchu, including these Western-style ones in the background (in the right side of the picture) which probably house Science Park managers and CEO's.


I also really appreciate the big trees and the free air in places like this. Honestly, I was ecstatic to be able to show Jim that there are really nice, pleasant things in Taiwan, that are not monotonous, and that show that Taipei doesn't have the monopoly on culture that it often seems to possess in many foreigners' eyes.

I took Jim to this Filipino-run lunch shop/café/panini restaurant. This is one of my favourite places to have a quick bit to eat, as you can sees from Jim's picture of me. I look like I am in 7th heaven, as I am eating some of my fries, etc.!
Hsinchu has many things, from parks to shopping, from multi-culturalism to more sophisticated university lifestyles...

Here is one of my favourite example of the latter, a second-hand bookstore/café called Socrates Café or Casa de Socrates Café. They have books in many languages (particularly in English), which you can peruse while you sit at the table, or even buy if you wish to take some of them home. They serve food and beverages of various sorts (although the food is a little expensive, truth be told), and if you go to the university, you might run into classmates or other students from the university, with whom you might strike up a conversation or five! It is a great place to hang out and relax, and it is very convenient for students of National Tsing Hua University. Even if you are not a student, you can just walk up the lovely campus and drop in. Just remember to buy a book or two. The owner of the café/bookstore is really friendly!

Here is a photo of Jim in front of the aforesaid café. He is of course, suitably Socratic, no question about it. How can he not be, with that pose!

Tsing Hua University even has its own man-made lake. Jim and I were able to observe a real, professional photographer performing his duties as a wedding photographer just behind us on the lawn, as we took pictures of this lake!

This is taken from the road leading up to Eighteen Peaks Mountain. I actually was hoping to show Jim that park as well, since it is really lovely. But there were just too many places to go, and to many things to do! In the area around Eighteen Peaks mountain, as well, there are a lot of neat little shops, like a bakery, that sometimes, on the weekends, sells amazing cinnamon rolls and such things. There is also a place that sells soy milk made from Canadian-grown soy beans. The soy milk is delicious.

This is a view down from the hill descending from Eighteen Peaks mountain. Jim was pointing out that some of these buildings are actually Japanese style. What I do know for sure, myself, is that the area down here is the campus/enclosure for yet another of Hsinchu's dozens of universities and colleges. This one, I think, is a teacher's college or some such.

After exploring much of Hsinchu's East District and Siangshan, we headed bad downtown (and north, as well). The above was taken from the middle of the roundabout (which accesses such roads as Minzu, Zhongzheng, and a few others besides). The roundabout is also where the East Gate is located. It is an old gate that is located under the pavement you see on top. You have to go down the stairs, and basically into the tunnel to see the gate itself. There are all sorts or hilarious and obscure warnings and rules (some of which are sensible, like not throwing trash or spitting betelnut, etc. - but some of which are a bit odd or overly-vigilant) that are listed on a sign in the tunnel.


This is part of the view you can see in the downtown area. There are lots of trendy clothing shops. It is basically where a lot of the young people hang out.

You can see part of the tunnel, with some people going down the stairs, right here. In the background and more in the distance, you can see, to the left, a sign advertising a young, up-and-coming Democratic Progressive Party politician's billboard. It is election season (for the municipal councils, I gather), and to the right, you can see one of Hsinchu's more prestigious hotels. Hsinchu has a lot of prestigious hotels (some of which are located near the Science Park), but this is one of the ones located downtown.

The most famous ornamental section above the East Gate. When people see this, people think, "ah, yes, that's Hsinchu."

There's that DPP politican peeking out from the darkness again. Maybe he will be in charge of this city soon, who knows?



This is a darn good picture of Jim, I have to say! I snapped him while he was talking to me, so I was able to get him when he was not posing. He looks younger in this picture, for some reason! Alas, about fifteen minutes after this, he had to hop on the express train back to Fengyuan. It was, however, a really relaxing and wonderful time I had, and I certainly think Jim had (at least from what I see he's written about the trip on his blog after Sharon and I got back from downtown). I look forward to many, and more frequent visits like this in the future!!!

Surveying the Damage - Typhoon Morakot in Southern Taiwan

The Disharmony of Various Difractions, Fractions, and Factions, and How They Don't Affect Us...

Warning: This post is still in the process of being edited somewhat, so please wait until Thursday or Friday until it is completely done! Thanks for your patience.

Blistering sunny here, as usual here in Hsinchu, Taiwan. A lot has been happening online and out-in-the-world these days.

I went to the Taipei Film Fest last weekend. It is a two week festival, lasting from the last three or four days of June until 12 July. One thing that really boggles my mind is this: Why do they limit the sales of tickets when so many seats are empty? For the big name movie openings, like for Chang Tsuo-chi's film, Sharon and I had to wait outside the theatre (worried that maybe we wouldn't get in on time for the beginning of the film) for people who had tickets and who were selling their tickets because they weren't going. We were lucky to get tickets, but the fact is, that while the theatre had quite a crowd, there were tonnes of empty seats. Considering this, and considering that it wasn't difficult to obtain last-minute tickets from people decided to part with them, we should have gone to the showing of The Milk of Sorrow, a Peruvian film which is debuting at the film fests this year. I really wanted to see that movie, but, apparently, it was sold-out before the festival began.
The movies we did end up seeing were good (although two were in German, so I missed a lot of what was actually said in the dialogue in the Tykwer, or in the documentary voice-over in Paragraph 174. The most enjoyable movie to watch, because I wasn't tired from the alternations of heat/cold and from having either got up earlier than usual, or being end-of-the-day-tired was the one by Chang Tsuo-chi that three o'clock. The name of the movie is How Are You, Dad?

I am glad we went, and I am glad I saw the films. Taipei, however, for me, is just like any other big city (Toronto, being a prime example). The area where the film festival was is extremely pleasant though. I like the celebratory atmosphere, the clean sidewalks, the wide-open areas for walking, and the endless displays of goods put out by stores and vendors. Anyway, for my review of the above films of the Taipei Film Festival, please click here, where I write (all too rarely - read once a year!)

Now I will contribute my usual bit of link-arrhea and commentary on various news items of the week. I have been wanting to post in this blog for several days, but keep feeling interrupted, blocked, etc. It is a real strength of will just to post a sentence or two, in all honesty. This problem is extenuated when I try to write by hand in my notebook. Of course, this doesn't apply to writing notes for work (when I am thinking about what I want to teach for my English lessons, etc.). But writing for long-term profit (be it for personal pleasure or whatever else) is becoming endangered in my life. This situation is somewhat endangering to me, as well. Creativity sifts through all the junk in my life and gives me clarity. I become healthy by becoming creative.

Wondering where that annoying term, "Chaiwan," came from? The fault lies with Time Magazine, a magazine which is as tacky and cheesy as it is overrated. Once again, a commentator writing about Taiwan who arrives here, stays in a hotel for a week, and thinks that there is nothing to Taiwan but Taipei (and who doubtlessly thinks that Chinese Taipei is a term that makes a lot of sense to him). For the millionth time, Taipei is not Taiwan. In Taiwan, maybe (although sometimes one has one's doubts). It is like going to Germany and asking where Hitler's bunker is, and then reporting from there on how the 3rd Reich economy has done splendidly because of the Bunker Policies. I doubt any German would respect that kind of reporting on his/her country. While I am being, fundamentally rhetorical, although doubtless, as I hope, I will receive a wave of hate mail, the question remains: Why do foreign reporters feel the need to report the same reports and myths and believes the first taxi driver they stop on the street when it comes to Taiwan? Taipei taxi drivers at that. Although reporters might be doing worse than that. And why is it that lazy reporters just go around to different cities asking taxi drivers the answers to all their biting questions anyway? Since when did the taxi driver become Expert #1? My experience with taxi drivers is particularly bad. In Montreal, taxi drivers (whether they are white or not) a great deal, if not a majority of them are racist, bigoted, homophobic, misogynist, cyclist-hating (and not just in an ordinary way), and opportunistic. You can't wait for a bus on a cold-day without a sadistic cab-driver pulling up in front of you, even though, considering how you are dressed, you couldn't afford their exorbitant prices.

Mind you, not all cab drivers are like this, but a lot of Montreal cab drivers are. And American cab drivers are the same. I am willing to concede that some cities are worse than others, but overall, North American cabdrivers I will say this: my experience with Hong Kong cab drivers has been splendid, and not only are they cheap, but extremely courteous. Anyway, while it might be reasonable for people to take offense at my generalizing - don't! All I am trying to say is that this idolization of the cab driver by lazy journalists of all persuasions (and this goes for the CBC, too!) must stop.

Back to the Time Magazine article, then. If these so-called journalists writing about Taiwan were really serious, they should have spent more time in Hsinchu. I don't just mean the one hour that Michael Schuman spent in the Science Park. The Science Park is important, but it is far more important than these gods of journalism seem to think it is. And from what I hear, Hsinchu and the Science Park here have been the only places in Taiwan that have weathered the bad world economy. Why? Profits from the export of electronic goods, that's why.

Heard about the new MRT line in Taipei? Well, don't rush right to it, yet! Surprised it has problems? It wouldn't surprise me that one of the reasons for this is that the MRT was built by Bombardier, a company which hails from my hometown of Montreal. They made the Montreal Métro, which - and when I say this, it is a vast understatement - is complete crap! The Métro, even the newer cars (which show now real change) is slow, the cars constantly stop between the stations because of one malfunction or another (not to mention that I've heard there are at least half a dozen suicides on it each week). Anyway, the Neihu line is having a lot of problems, not to mention tweets I've been getting from people that the cars are too narrow. Besides which, there are other Taipei Times reports (which I don't have time to look up now, considering all the stuff I want to write here) that the disabled community is not happy about the severe limitations on accessibility for wheelchairs, etc. Anyway, there are so many reasons for dissatisfaction that Taipei's Mayor Hau has lost face. He is claiming that the fares for the line will be lowered. Let's just hope the Neihu MRT is safe, though!

By the way, people, I don't have enough money to get sued for defamation, and I don't intend to, so those companies that are getting itchy litigation fingers, just slink off somewhere else, will you? Anybody with a quarter-of-a-brain can tell I am being cheeky here a good deal of the time.

Hey, have you readers seen Bruno yet? I have. I watched a copy that someone downloaded, and it is definitely hilarious. I can't honestly say it is a good movie. In fact, the narrative arc is weak, and some of the gags get a little repetitive. It is a little like watching Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 on acid. Michael Moore on acid? or the viewer on acid? A little of both, probably. Actually, I've never taken acid, but it has become so much part of our rhetoric, as a result of all those Hendrix songs, Beatles songs, and Pink Floyd movies, that well, it is the easiest simile to grab onto. The fact is that Bruno kind of resembles the Jackass movies, but the latter are sometimes more effective in their attacks on ordinary people's homosexual panic. Obviously, Bruno is not just about homosexuality and homosexual panic. There has been some talk in the news media about the impact of Bruno on various audiences, and most significant among them, Austrian audiences. I saw a short bit on CNN about this. But the most interesting thing I dug up by accident (because I am always looking at the Google News headlines when I am on the computer, which is a lot) is this article in Slate about how true to form Bruno really is in regard to Austria's gay community. Surprisingly, the movie didn't hit too far off the mark. Cohen's jokes about Schwarzenegger, while obviously just completely silly, convey a tacit knowledge that many Europeans already have about a lot of contemporary Austrians. For instance, did you know that Jorg Haider was gay? Yeah, that's right, the founder of the Freedom Party fame. That one. It kind of makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over. Not because I am gay. Not because I want to be gay. Not because I am a right-winger. Not because I am anti-immigration. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy, or maybe it gives me goosebumps because I love apparent contradictions. I love it when someone who has been vilified is finally seen as human. I think that irony, not laughter (although a little bit of both doesn't hurt) is the best medicine. I am anti-one-dimensional. Completely. 100%. That is why I will see even a movie that everyone says is bad right to the end. Or why I keep watching cheesy TV shows on Star Movies. Because I like to see how things end. I like to see that there are things to see things. I usually am satisfied. There is usually redemption. It is not a matter of patience, or even focus (I am a little ADHD, whereas I used to have a much better attention span). It is a matter of sympathy, humanity, and having a sense of aesthetics enough to see the whole. I think, in this sense, I have better taste than anyone. Anyone at all, so far.

The thing is, too many people are shallow, so they don't have an opinion or don't think anything at all. Which is okay. But how about people who are supposedly profound. People have this set of, well not even set of, but have this pre-set of aesthetics. Pre-set? Yeah. And that's the thing. Sure, there is good/bad taste. But to see a sense of continuity and value in more things than the next person takes courage. I have that courage. So give me the remote and give me the pen and give me two billion dollars.

Another really interesting article in Slate is a discussion of the reissue of the Antonioni's Zabriskie Point, which writer, Dennis Lim, depicts "as the first and biggest flop of his career." I have seen the film only once, but a lot of the images are unforgettable. If you are an arts student or a film studies guy (the latter of which I was), then you are, at the very least, sure to encounter frame enlargements from this movie. My curiosity wasn't disappointed. Certainly, while critics of the time (the hippy era) dismissed it, dissed it, and completely shot it down no doubt as a Zabriskie Pointless, they didn't the least bit of insight into the long-term impact it would have on the history of film. The images of the film became iconic, not because of the focus of the plot (which, well, wasn't, but then a lot of films at that time weren't particularly strong in terms of plot. Other examples abound, including Barbet Schroeder's La Vallée or Roman Polanski's What?), because of the atmosphere that was so conspicuous in the film, along with other Antonioni films. Is it just because of the iconic images, like the hallucinatory desert-orgy scene, or the explosion that this atmosphere exists?It would be an amusing train-wreck if Michael Bay remade Zabriskie Point. That'd be one Michael Bay film I would pay to see, because I could laugh at it unendingly! Not to mention Bay's works are an endless parade of narrative non-entities, if I say any. It is not as if they are devoid in plot. It is just that the plots are thinner than the thinnest saran-wrap, and the idea that audiences go to see two-and-a-half hours of uninteresting (if skillfully computer-generated) explosions, really baffles me. Zabriskie Point is best viewed as a skilled observers dissection of a distant land. The residents of a land are probably the least qualified to observe their own surroundings with the purpose of creating a timeless/placeless rendering that is comprehensible to those who inhabit any, and in particular, the most distant times or places. I am not saying just any tourist will do, in order to convey such an atmosphere and sensibility. The most eccentric, unfazed, and even seemingly inscrutable of observer/artist is able to capture this kind of miasma. And to such an observer, the peculiar textures and densities of the sixties will seem like a miasma of something. Within the intimacy of such a self-regarding (or as Simpsons' newscaster, Troy McClure, put it, "shrill and pointless" era, then, it is understandable that the film underwent such incomprehension and derision which is depicted by Lim's article: "characterized the Italian director, pushing 60 at the time, as a clueless tourist who had failed to bridge the inevitable cultural and generational gaps. 'Antonioni has no feeling for young people,' Roger Ebert complained." I am just giving you an encapsulated version of Lim's article, which is quite strong, particularly for the writings about film that you see these days. I encourage you to click on the link if you are interested in Antonioni, film history, films of the sixties, or cultural references in film.

Man! That man Wu will never leave, or so proclaims a Shalu train station sign with the words, "Wu to stay." The funniest Chinglish can be found in Taiwan, and more specifically, in the Taiwan Railway Administration train stations. Apparently, abominations of the English language are a real source of embarrassment for Taichung County, according to this Taipei Times report. This doesn't surprise me in the least. I once worked in Fengyuan a long time ago, and I had some of the laziest students with the worst attitudes of anyone I taught. Not everyone in that town is like that, and certainly not everyone in Taichung County is like that. However the quality of English spoken/written by people in Taichung city is really low for a city of that size. Some Taiwanese people tell me differently, but I have lived in Miaoli, and when I tried to get the same service (get a cellphone line, or a train ticket, for example), I had a much easier time communicating to the people in Miaoli City. And Miaoli city is extremely small (crowded though!): about 100,000.

One of the entrants in this year's Taipei Film Festival was Helma Sanders-Brahms. In this Taipei Times article, she talks about her good feelings for Taiwan (in her youth, a Taiwanese man visited her family in Germany). Her most recent film depicts the characters/real-life musical giants, Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms. By chance (not so much, really, considering her name!), the filmmakers' great-great-great-uncle was Brahms. There were a lot of German films at this year's film festival. I saw two German films and one Taiwanese films. I wish I saw more films from any country, but I am happy I went a couple of weekends ago, anyway!

A gratuitous picture of my home, just for, ah, measure. Not good measure, not bad measure, just measure.

We're All Asians, and Other Items In My Taipei Times News Roundup

Some scientists (in light of recent archeological discoveries of human-related remains from much older times than Lucy), think that the human species hails from Asia, originally. I guess writers in many disciplines will have to get used to referring to us all as coming from Asia, and not Africa. Clichés change, too. Apparently. If only stupidity, wars, dictators, etc. would as well.

Speaking of dictators, Ban Ki Moon kow-towed to Burma's Tan Shui. A lot of people aren't happy about that, particularly those in the British Home Office, like Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Which is really to bad. Brown is committed to the cause of Burmese freedom.

A tidbit about the instrument I played from when I was ten years old until I was about twenty or twenty one years old. I even first went to University at McGill in the music programme there when I was eighteen. So I have experience with this sort of thing. I can feel/tell what is a good or a bad flute. I owned three modern flutes during my ten or eleven years as a player. The first one I owned was a Gemeinhardt, which, for an inexpensive, no frills, flute, is really good. That flute got stolen, when I left a public washroom for two or three minutes, and then realized it was gone. The next one I got (stupidly, I chose this brand name, without knowing anything about it), was an Artley. It has to be one of the lowest quality flutes out there. The relative tuning of the notes in relation to each other is very, very bad. The sound quality is also horrible, because the keys leak. Even when you press them down really hard (which you should never have to do), the keys leak air. Not only that, the actual accoustic quality is really flat. Even blowing into a beer bottle or a coke bottle has a richer sound. The last modern flute I had was a Yamaha. It was expensive, but very good. If memory serves though (and this was back in about 1986 or '87), it cost about $ 2200 CAD.

By and large, decent flutes (which are still among the cheapest instruments in the orchestra or band, unless you decide to just play the drums in the school bandroom) are very expensive, which is why I think it is excellent that the Taiwanese craftsman, Wong Chung-jeng, is setting out to make a big name for his line of high-quality flutes at affordable prices. It'll be all the more merry the more competition that there is out there with this maker in Kuandu, Taipei County.

Guess what? This small influx of tourists from China Taiwan has been having from the country of Taiwan's distant cousins might have turned out to be more harmful than beneficial for Taiwan's tourists industry. This report certainly reveals some appalling attitudes that the visitors have towards their hotel rooms, their hosts, and...well, just appalling behaviour in general. It is not just the matter of smoking, despite the smoking ban either. The complete lack of discretion when breaking the rules and the outright stealing of items is... Anyway, read the article. By the way, I think the remedy is right there with a desire one hotelier expressed in the article: deposits. Why shouldn't Chinese tourists to Taiwan pay deposits at hotels like the rest of us. At least, if my memory serves, a lot of the hotels I have had to stay out, I've had to pay a deposit. Hong Kong, too. At the Casa Hotel in Kowloon, I was required to pay 300 dollars deposit as well as the hotel's regular rate for one night.

End of May I-Lan Trip and Keelung Trip

A little over a month ago, I went to Hong Kong.

When I came back, Sharon met up and travelled to Ilan.

I will provide more details for the pictures not to long from now!

Above, is a performer in a children's theatre. I don't know what the play was about. A lot (if not all - but I have no idea), was improvised. For instance, at one point, he took a digital camera from someone in the front and reversed the roles, parodying the audience's voyeurism. It was very funny.

Is Canada's Government Really Functional?

...is a question that needs to be asked, in light of this absurd, fruitless meeting (more reporting on this can be found at the CBC website).

The blame might seem as if it should be nearly equally equally distributed amongst both parties (Chairman Colin Kenny makes himself look like an inflexible, pompous ass. However, it is the newly appointed Conservative Senators who really take the cake. The "Honourable" Fabian Manning starts talking trash and treats the Senate Committee room like a neighbourhood pub...and Pamela Wallin (the quite Right-wing, sometime journalist for CBC's The Journal and CBC Newsworld - and CBC has not been known for being Right-wing)...leaves me speechless: She lies about what happened, two seconds after it happened! She claims there was no vote, when, quite clearly, as viewers can see, there was a vote!

Incredible! This brings me to my next point: Is Canadian politics imitating the behaviour on the hockey rink, which so many Canadians (the local machos and politicians and media, as least) idolize?

It certainly begs the question. There is great deal of the identical thuggery and incivility (the hockey player who says he can't believe he actually shook the opposing players' hand is a case in point).

You might say, again that Colin Kenney was pompous. I agree. But he was following the rules. And he was being fast and efficient. And he never lowered himself to name calling, shouting, lying, or similar thuggery that you see from the Conservative Senators. In addition, I get the feeling that the Conservative Senators are resorting to this everyday, to make life unbearable for the Chairman. How would you feel if you were Colin Kenney, having to deal with this everyday? I would want to quit that job too. It would give me anxiety attacks, and maybe eventually, ulcers!

Incidentally, I was once at a meeting like this, as an observer. It was a General Meeting for the Concordia University Student Council. The Council (supposedly left-wing, at the time, and constantly obsessed with the Middle East problem, and not so much with University politics), wanted to stifled the freedom of the press of The Link, the Concordia University. The tactics the Council used was absurd. However, they did seem to have more of an inkling of Robert's rules than the Senate Committee, or, for that matter, the poor, hapless members of the student press!

The Architectural Practice of Michael Jackson

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Check out this fascinating article, which discuss numerous features found in the architecture and interior design of Michael Jackson's sometime home of Neverland.

You Say It's Gelatto, I Say It's Sorbet!

Yesterday (Wednesday), I decided to go to the new ice-cream shop that has been lauded by the Mayor Lin, of Hsinchu. Apparently, it was the mayor who insisted that what the ice-cream shop was doing when they pressed the ice-cream into various shapes, was making Hsinchu-noodle style ice cream. The shop is only about a seven minute drive, by scooter, from my place. It is on Nanda road, almost on the corner of Nanda and Dongda Roads.



The ice cream shop does actually look like a hip ice cream shop that would be highly popular and have lines half-a-block long in my home country!

Nanda road, and near it. is home to many small, innovative shops.

The seating area is comfortable, colorful, and fun.

More Wanderings in Hsinchu...

All these pictures were taken on Tuesday in the late afternoon. Where?

this building is a restaurant in the well-to-do neighbourhood that adjoins the East side of the Science Park.

The restaurant next door to the one on the corner (sorry, I didn't catch the name of the street) looks like an aboriginal establishment.

Here is the pedestrian overpass that cross what I think is Lu Hsin Road, from the side where the town is, to the Science Park side.

The light made it easy for picture-taking.

This is Lu Hsin Road. It really reminds me of NDG in my past hometown of Montreal. Lots of trees, and very wide street help provide this impression. About half a block down from this overpass is a café called the Yukon Café. Yukon...ha. Like the very cold and sparsely populated Yukon Territories in Canada. Anyway, in Hsinchu, you find a lot of names like that. It is a little more sophisticated here.

This really looks like NDG. Uncanny.

As you see, on the residential side, there is not just a 7-11 on the corner. So that makes it five Starbucks that I know of that are in Hsinchu City. That doesn't include Jhubei, which has at least three. I consider Jhubei to be part of Hsinchu City. It isn't, officially, but if Hsinchu county ever has a merger. building an MRT would be ideal. I can even imagine a Science Park stop right on the street where the above overpass is, a Tsing Hua University stop on Guangfu Rd, or a Jongshiao Road Stop right by the RT Mart. In some ways, having an MRT makes almost more sense in Hsinchu than in Taichung, because people are more open to different forms of transportation, and it would be easier to find space, because there are lots of areas (unlike in Taichung) that are natural spots to construct stations, without tearing too much of any neighbourhoods down. After all, if they can build a light rail in Hamilton, Ontario, then they can build one in Hsinchu. Both cities have about the same population.












As you can see, there are lots of serene, pretty views in the residential area near the Science Park.

Out and About in Taiwan's Windy City

current song playing on my iTunes: "Underneath It All," by No Doubt. From the album Boom Box - The Singles 1992-2003.

Hello, all of you. Sorry to have left off blog for such a long time, and for so many times! First of all, let me say how happy I am to be back in a creative mood. I used to find my life here a bit too bland, tedious, etc. Even in my posts from one, thre, or four years ago, I was complaining much too much. This is one of the biggest faults I find with blogging by expats here in Taiwan. The occasional criticism or complaints is okay. However, the majority of writings by expats on blogs here in Taiwan comprise complaints and gripes about how bad people's behaviour is or how you can't find this or that in Taiwan.

I must confess, my blog used to be like this, too. Maybe this is necessary. But I think it is time for our expat community to grow up, or move somewhere else where the people who have been doing this are happier. I certainly have! I live in Hsinchu now, and have been living here for almost two months. I have visited here for much more than a year in the past over three years I've lived in Taiwan.

I love Hsinchu. Some Taiwanese peopel ask me why the heck I love Hsinchu. They seem aghast. I guess if you expect the usual touristy things, or if they expect nightclubs with easy 3-8 girls, then Hsinchu is not really the gold-mine for you. And yes, there are a few tourist things. Hopefully, the pictures that show some of the parts of Hsinchu that I love will prompt some of you to decide that it isn't a boring place and come and visit. However, I hope not too many people come. The reality in Taiwan is that when something becomes well-known for being pretty, interesting, etc., then it isn't really bearable anymore. It becomes a sanitized tourist clone of all other tour-bus destinations that you can find in Taiwan. While the places here are pretty popular, they are not quite as over-saturated with tourists and development. I am happy about that!

Anyway, here is a litte bit about last weekend and the weekend before...


I live in the hills/mountains of Siangshan. I live in a house...that's right, a house. It most definitely is not expensive! In addition, it is surrounded by nature, yet is still reasonably convenient. The closest OK Mart (and then a 7-11, one block further down from that) is about ten minutes (fast) walking distance from here. I always take my scooter to the convenience store though. Anyway, the picture above is not of my street, but is actually from Mortuary Road, about two streets over from my street. You have to drive up to the highway, turn left, and then, immediately, turn right. Then turn left again onto the street where I took this picture. What you see is the skyline of Southern Hsinchu (Siangshan, by the ocean, which you can see in the farthest background), as well as some of Toufen, in Miaoli County. As you can see, the view is pretty spectacular, and the distant ocean water is pure blue. It was a beautiful day.


You might be wondering if there are trails or some such in the midst of the foreground greenery. Not really. This is where the tombstones are, so a lot of people are too scared of ghosts to come here for recreation. But in my country, Canada, people come to cemeteries for any number of reaons, including to have peace and quiet, or to walk around. Personally, I think this stubborn belief in ghosts is absurd. But to each his/her own, I guess.

There is not much in Toufen. In the part you see, there are a lot of roads, rather ordinary looking apartment buildings and houses, etc. Toufen and Jhunan are practically indistinguishable. However, because Jhunan and Toufen are more sparsely developed/populated, you can see the contrast with other views of Hsinchu's environs, where the downtown, East District, and North District provide captivating skylines from above. In fact, I feel like Hsinchu and Montreal are very similar. Except of course, among other things, Montreal is English and French speaking, and things are much, much cheaper in Hsinchu.


Almost identical pictures presented here, of course, which do, however, give subtle alternatives and a fuller sense of the particular experience I am trying to convey. By the way, pollution in Hsinchu is not as bad a problem as you might think. This might be because of the wind. Although, in the two months I've lived here, I haven't felt much wind. Many lovely breezes, yes. Wind, no. Personally, I think the monikker "windy city" is an exaggeration. But the pollution does get pushed aside by the ocean breezes. Not to mention that, where I live, up in Siangshan, the air is cleaner and fresher by virtue of the dirtier air mainly staying at the lower elevations.

Here, the ocean is more distinct.

Almost every day, for shopping, and for excursions to work or to meet up with people, etc., I will go down this road, and then turn right at the bottom, in order to get to Hsinchu East District. The pointy religious-looking building is, in fact, a Buddhist crematorium, or the temple where the bodies go before they are disposed of.

A closer look at the view below me.

As you probably can guess, I took this picture on a different day. Nevertheless, this is the bridge that goes from the Siangshan District to the East District. At the top of this road, you have to make a left in order to get downtown, or to get to Guangfu Road.

After driving up Sihwei/Shihpin Road, I made a right turn one block after Xida Road. Then I made a left turn at Shuifu Road. Keep driving straight, about maybe eight nine blocks (just a rough guestimate), and then I make a right at Bo-ai and Shuifu. Keep going up Bo-ai until it stops. If I want to get to the park at Eighteen Peaks Mountain, I don't go down the scooter road on my left (which goes down to Guangfu Road. Instead, just make a right, and basically I'm there. Just find a parking space, and I'm set! The above picture is one of the many pavilions at Eighteen Peaks Mountain.

This pavilion is the first pavilion you come to after climbing up the innumerable stairs from Bo-ai Road. A lot of people come to this particular area of the park. A side note: At 18 Peaks Mountain, you will see people lying down and getting massaged and people getting their hair cut. Indeed, you can, as you stroll along, purchase a cheap massage or haircut if you so desire.

Here are the stairs I mentioned. I guess there are about the same amount of stairs as the steepest, fastest climb from the pathways to the peak of Mont Royal in Montreal. Maybe somewhat less. More or less the same, I would say.

Here is the view of Hsinchu from the top of the many stairs. Certainly, I'm impressed. I don't mknow about you!

Another view...

A closer view. You might be able to make out certain features in the landscape which indicate a break in the city limits...

And here's what I mean. Just past two-thirds of the way up the top of the picture, you mean see a river flowing horizontally. That is the river which separates Hsinchu City from Jhubei.

I really do think Hsinchu is underrated. It is highly photogenic. And on a clear day like this, it is like heaven. I wouldn't change it for the world!

And some even more details views above, and below!


This photo was taken from the Dr. Sun-yat Sen Pavilion, which sits at pretty much the centre of the park. Here you see a view towards the even less polluted Science Park (at least when you get far enough away from Guangfu Road).


Even more in the distance, although it's unlikely you would be able to see it, as it is slighly beyond the mountain in the background, is Jhudong.

This tower, presumably, was built to have been a lookout point. Some lookout point! Most likely, when it was built, the trees were non-existent, saplings, or just short. I don't know why the designers didn't take such things into account. Anyway, the trees are large. Not B.C. Douglas Fir tree large, but still pretty large.

The previous weekend, Sharon and I not only went to Eighteen Peaks Mountain (to which I went both last weekend and this weekend), but we went further, as you shall see. This is Guangfu Road, right in front of one of the main entrances of Tsing Hua University. It is a beautiful campus. One of these days, I've got to take my camera and do a picture-taking excursion to said campus. It is a prestigious university (unlike some of the ones in Taiwan) and is full of young, hip people. There are a lot of foreign students there for many different countries. I have seen them studying in the nearby Starbucks quite often.

Here is the lake/park Sharon and I found, quite by accident. It is the residential area of the Science Park. The easiest way of which I know to get there is to take a right at Guangfu and Kexueyuan Road and keep going down Kexueyuan Road. Certainly, there are other ways to get there, but they all pretty much lead back to Guangfu Road.
The name of the place is Jingshin Lake, or Jingshin Park.

It has a lot of space and lovely places to walk, as you see. As Sharon and I were walking, we saw very few people. At one point we saw a small boy riding his tricycle around the park.

At this lake, you can see fish - tonnes of them, from what we saw - and water birds. You can even rent small boats at certain times (although that service wasn't available at the time we were there, from what I observed).

There are many lovely places to just stop and sit.

In the background, you can see a lot of picturesque houses...

It is a wealthy neighbourhood to live in, but one that I am sure is quiet and peaceful.

The trees and brass look very healthy...

Here you can see some typic homes that surround the park. The large windows are unusual for Taiwan. Apparently, in a refreshing turn of events, the owners and architects think that it is ideal to have a view, and even to have occasional light seep in. The constructions look solid, and the yards are really pretty, too.

Family Marts are alive and well in this part of town, too. I just don't know how you drive to this part of town. Sharon and I walked up via the Jing Shin park. Even the architecture of this Family Mart is prettier than Family Marts elsewhere!

A great big lotus pond. I saw a photographer taking pictures, so I could resist joining in the fun as well....


Here are Sharon and I posing for the camera. Sharon ambushed a couple who were taking pictures of one another to take our picture, so this one turned out pretty well.

There are lots of Chinese-type gates and constructions in this park. Not all are exactly moon-gates, but I don't know what the term is for the six-sided ones...


Here is Sharon posing for me at said gate...

Here is the overpass of Guangfu Road. I often go to this photocopy shop. There are a lot of photocopy shops in the area, which are decent and cheap.

Here is Guangfu Road going in the direction of downtown Hsinchu.

The night-life around Tsing Hua University is colourful. I have often eaten snacks at these benches surround the statue. Across the street is J.J. Cheers Bar. Both times I have gone there, I have struck up lively conversations with some friendly people. The English level in Hsinchu, or at least in this area, is quite decent.

There are many shops on this street, both local and multinational. You can find delicious noodles and stinky tofu in this area. And when I say delicious, I don't mean simply stinky or simply passable. I mean the food is juicy and refreshing and healthy tasting!

Here is the river that divides East Hsinchu from Siangshan. This area is also quite lovely in parts.

The skyline, returning at night.

The dusks are sweet and colourful.


For a map/guide to where you can get to some of these places, check out the Hsinchu Government's website (just click on the link). Unfortunately, the website doesn't do justice to some of the places. Some of the places that they list as being so interesting to tourists, are in fact nothing to speak of, in this world or the next. Anway, just take what they say with a grain of salt. Trust my pictures!

Update: Good news for Taiwan independence supporters. The botched Yunlin County election victory of a KMT Legislator was overturned by the courts in a decision which can't be appealed.

Various Photos (Mostly Taken in Hsinchu City)

Miaoli Cram School: Last Call

Last week was the end of my contract with the school at which I was working in Houlong, Miaoli. I took pictures of almost all of my classes (and me with them). I am living in Hsinchu now. I moved on Saturday.

This first picture is of my Monday class. The name of the class is See Saw II, based on the student book we use for the class.

The second picture is of See Saw I, a Wednesday class.

The third picture is of another See Saw I class on Wednesday.

The fourth picture is of Mr Bugs, my Thursday class. Really cute kids in this one. Bobo, the little boy at the bottom is incredibly smart. He is far ahead of the other students, and the youngest kid in the class.

Ahem...the title of the post is most certainly not an allusion to the tradition known as last call. I just happen to be listening to the band, Brazilian Girls, and two or three minutes ago, their song, Last Call, was playing, hehe. I love coincidences like that.

The last picture is of Let's Go 3, my incredibly bright students whom I had on Thursdays. Ah, those days are over now. I will miss all these kids!

Dostoyevsky Quote

The dying piece of candle dimly lit up this low-ceilinged room, in which an assassin and a harlot had just read the Book of Books. At most, five minutes elapsed.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Crime and Punishment.

I am almost two-thirds into Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. It really is an inspiring book, without the massive, epic size of some of his other books, like The Possessed and The Brothers Karamazov, and without a lot of the overly-melodramatic flourishes of those books. Mind you, it has them, and it is part of the greatness of his style, but when it is too much, it diminishes the greatness.

As you see from the above quote, the urge to communicate all the contradictions in life, particularly in the unique settings about which he writes (poverty, destitution, madness, and consumption, among other things) add a powerful element to the extraordinary perceptiveness of the author's observations, and his use of style to do that.

Advice for Still Living Bipeds...

1. Don't kill yourself. Live. Know yourself and your responsibilities, who you affect, and who you could affect.

2. Mean something. Do meaningful things. If you aren't doing this, then take more time for yourself, no matter that you make some people mad. Ultimately, maybe not in the short time, mind you, but in the long term, they will thank you for it. You will enrich yourself, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

3. Life is a journey. Take it seriously, but don't take it too seriously. If it becomes a Sisyphean task, then you are either trying too hard, or not trying hard enough. Connect. Intellect must always connect with emotion. The disconnect between the two creates psychopaths: you must not let you, nor your friends, nor your associates, nor, least of all, your children succumb to this malady.

4. Always learn. Don't be intellectually lazy; that is the worst form of laziness.

5. Take account of your sins and follies. Ask yourself every week: Am I honest? That is the way to be honest to yourself. Always take account. If something is amiss, then pine and lies awake at night. But don't let it bother you for to long. Change. Always ask yourself: How can I change. Then ask yourself again whether you have changed enough. Eventually, you will suffer less stress. Honesty will become second-nature to you.

Questions About the 20% Tax Rate for Foreign Workers in Taiwan? Click on the Headline of This Post To Link to the Article and Pertinent Info!

"'The change has made little difference, as most foreign workers continue to retain their resident status as long as their working contracts state they will stay in Taiwan over 183 days in a year,' he said.

Those who cannot predict how long they will stay here will have 20 percent of their income withheld by their local employers whether they like it or not." - The Taipei Times

Reaper is So Cool!

Hello, my name is REAPER.

Have a bad day!

Honestly, I cannot stop watching it, and loving every minute of it!

Where I Live Now (on Google Maps)

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Here is where I live on Googlemaps. The street? Zizhi Road (according to the mapmakers, who don't know their pinyin from their stinky tofu, it is Zijih Road, but that is mixing up two different kinds of pinyin; I just use Hanyu, if I can).

My place is in the building directly across the street from the Family Mart. You will need to scroll down the map very slightly to get my street. Anyway, I am only going to be in this place until next month on the tenth. After that, I will probably be living in Hsinchu (about 99 percent likely).

The Era of the Sprees

We truly live in strange times. Every time I peruse the news, there is another mass-murder or spree killing. Not in a war, but in ordinary cities and towns in the U.S.A. Not simply every year, every month, or every week, nowadays I see headlines about spree killings every day. Truly, we live in scary times!

Friends, Associates, and Accomplices...

Below is a collection of photos of my son, as well as a number of friends with whom I developed a close bond before I left Montreal. I greatly miss all of them!

Above is a photo Mustafa, Trevor, and Dong, classmates and friends of mine in the Film Studies M.A. program at Concordia U. All four of us laughed and shared a lot of ideas together. We also suffered a lot of the same degradations that variously arise from the academic world... Enough said about that for now.

Above is a picture of myself, Mustafa, and Dong taken by Trevor with my camera. Not the odd pose. We look like we are being asked by a cameraman to pose for a Communist propaganda poster from the 1920s.

Above and below are pictures of Maggie (and I). I have known here since 2001, when we both worked at a direct sales company in Montreal. She has gone on to do much more interesting, more rewarding (and better work). She is a really, really good friend, and I miss her a lot. Her boyfriend, Gianni, is from Italy. He is a really good guy, too. I hope they are doing well now.


Above and below is Dong, looking meditative while explicating something about cinema. He is one of the smartest people I know. I hope his studies at the University of Chicago are doing well. Like me, he doesn't immediately blend in. He strongly challenges, not just others, but himself. Many of the friends I have or have had, like to rock the boat. I guess that is because I am the same way.



Dong and Mustafa are in the picture above. Mustafa is extremely friendly and patient. I hope he is still watching as many films as he can fill his mind with (pardon the dangling preposition, which is not my usual writing style)!

Okay, I am cheating a bit. But in actuality, I haven't seen Ranjit, or Range, for about a year. He isn't in Taiwan now. He was when I arrived, but he left in September to continue his Masters degree in Mathematics in Quebec City. He is a prolific blogger and a great guy. I have three more pictures and more to write, so maybe I will save the rest for another post, okay? I feel bad about waiting until now to post his picture (which I took in July). It was a difficult time for me. Actually, 2008 was difficult for me, period.

Above is my dear friend, Yunjin. The picture was taken (in automatic shutter mode) at a karaoke place on St. Catherine's Street in downtown Montreal. I should mention, both Dong and Yunjin are from China (but have since, or are since) become/becoming Canadian citizens. I say this, partly to dispel confusion about the people and places where I am living now. So, no, they aren't Taiwanese. They are Chinese (or should I say, Chinese-born). Yunjin is a very clever computer programmer, and she is just an all-around clever person, too. Lke Maggie, we both worked in the same office, but in Yunjin's case, we both worked at the McGill Digital Collections Libary. I won't forget her. I regret not be able to see her now that I am way over here in Taiwan. She really stuck around for me as a friend (as did Maggie, John Mingolla, and Christen Bartolo - of whom I could never get any good pictures, unfortunately). Now she has a job in Calgary. I hope that she stays comfortably and happily in her job despite this bad economy!

Above and below, are pictures of my son, Jake. I really miss him. I hope he can come visit soon (maybe in Hsinchu)!