1. Finland
2. New Zealand
3. Norway
4. Switzerland
5. Netherlands
6. United Kingdom
7. Ireland
8. Australia
9. Canada
10. Luxembourg
11. Denmark
12. Sweden
13. Hong Kong SAR
14. Israel
15. Japan
16. United Arab Emirates
17. Iceland
18. Estonia
19. Singapore
20. Belgium Continue reading “Judicial Independence Ranking – World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2017/18”
英國脫歐之春秋大夢
之前讀過七月十五日的《經濟學人》關於英國脫歐的報導，一直擱著沒有整理一番，過了三個月再讀一遍才發現到：原來之前討論的問題，英國一直沒有解決方案，任由首相文翠珊怎麼說，很多事情他們其實毫無頭緒。
首先談一下細節。假使英國脫歐變成事實，北愛爾蘭與愛爾蘭共和國的邊界可能需要設立關卡，人員、車輛、貨物一律必須過關審查，此舉勢必增加貿易成本。英國人不是沒想過旁門左道，因為英國與愛爾蘭於 1922 年簽署共同旅行區協議 (Common Travel Area, CTA)，也就是說英國人與愛爾蘭人在兩國互訪不會受到限制。 Continue reading “英國脫歐之春秋大夢”
Earphone review – Edifier P180 Earbuds
I have come across another good pair of earphones again. This time around, it is an Edifier P180, which comes with a mic. Having watched some news clips about how dangerous it is for drivers to check and scroll their smartphone or holding their phone while driving, I decided I should get myself a good pair of earphone with mic. Continue reading “Earphone review – Edifier P180 Earbuds”
《MRS K》–惠英紅之好頭好尾
這一部算是大馬與香港的合拍片吧，或是一部在馬來西亞取景的粵語電影，但是卡士絕對國際化，香港就有惠英紅、任達華、陳果，臺灣有伍佰，大馬則有馬來影星 Faizal Hussein 與導演何宇恆執導，看一看其實蠻不錯的。
必須承認的是，身為伍佰歌迷，我看這部電影是為了看伍佰，看過他的演唱會好幾次了，但是怎麼夠過癮呢，知道伍佰上了大銀幕那是肯定要買票入場支持的。戲中的伍佰飾演惠英紅的老公，職業是婦產科醫生，銀幕上的伍佰綁著很短的馬尾幫孕婦作超聲圖像和磁共振成像（MRI）檢查。但是老實說，這畫面跟伍佰平日的形象非常不同，搖滾巨星變成醫生，我在電影院內一時之間竟然覺得有些許錯愕感。伍佰在戲中也秀了廣東話，他的粵語發音其實不錯，有臺灣口音是必然的，情況跟我以粵語腔調講臺灣國語的情況類似。 Continue reading “《MRS K》–惠英紅之好頭好尾”
English Translation of 黃美珍〈樹風〉
樹風 (Special track)
作詞：伍佰
作曲：伍佰
(Woody Wind by Jane Huang
Melody and lyrics by Wu Bai)
房間內的燈我都不開 你又不在
只有那聲音直嗡嗡
(The light in the room I let it off, while you are not around
What’s left is only the humming sound)
不應該的念頭一直出現
不能理解 所有過程太匆匆
(Ideas that shouldn’t be, they keep popping up
Rather indiscernible, the whole process such a hurry) Continue reading “English Translation of 黃美珍〈樹風〉”
《西謊極落》之苦中作樂
《西謊極落：太爆‧太子‧太空艙》血淋淋地揭露香港住房問題，但是以調侃瘋癲搞怪的方式呈現這個主題。
戲中的周柏豪是個小編，幫房地產公司在網上撰文介紹樓盤，投資炒賣文章寫得繪聲繪影，但其實自己卻祇是個買不起房子的年輕人，大學畢業之後無法往上攀升卻又背負升學貸款。他在影片中跟連詩雅是對情侶，租了每個月一萬元的單位同居，後來他騙女朋友說要到紐約出差，一兩年之後才能回香港。 Continue reading “《西謊極落》之苦中作樂”
Wu Bai – the rocker cum traveller
Taiwan’s poet rocker Wu Bai is known for his music career with his band China Blue comprises dummer Dean “Dino” Zavolta, keyboardist Yu Ta-hao (nicknamed Big Cat) and bassist Chu Chien-hui.
The reason he picked up a camera to start shooting around – as he wrote on this book Wu Bai Story (《伍佰故事》) – was that he wanted to get himself a background on his computer. And he started with colour photos, only switching to black and white films when he travelled in Siem Reap, a Cambodian town where no colour films are sold. Continue reading “Wu Bai – the rocker cum traveller”
也談亦舒與蔡瀾
大學畢業之後，我的中文讀物以香港為主，總是覺得香港作者的作品有別具一格的都市風格，讀起來覺得很 cosmopolitan。
之前有幾年常常讀亦舒的小說，一看就是天荒地老，常常八點鐘吃完晚餐之後就開始讀，讀到十點鐘打了個盹，於是走入浴室沖個冷水澡，精神回來繼續讀個痛快。讀書是最省錢的娛樂，每天懶洋洋賴在沙發上讀小說，一大樂事也。 Continue reading “也談亦舒與蔡瀾”
Random thoughts – Is it better to move out of Greater KL?
This topic does not come by randomly – it was actually a topic discussed during BFM 89.9 Talkback Thursday programme. And I discussed it with my buddy Cheah Zi Bin too.
The rationale of moving out of Greater KL or Klang Valley – as cited by the callers – are that it is expensive to live in Greater KL, and you have to waste your time on traffic jams. Which makes sense. Continue reading “Random thoughts – Is it better to move out of Greater KL?”
細讀《半島》之穿梭時空
作家 Rehman Rashid 兩個月前逝世的消息讓很多創作人覺得扼腕，BFM 89.9電台節目主持人最近時時提起他，言談對他甚是尊重，認為他的離去是馬來西亞文壇的損失。我跑去 Gerakbudaya 書局尋寶，結果只找到《半島》(Peninsula)，另一本比較有名的 A Malaysian Journey 聽說絕版了，不曉得他以前的出版社會幫他出再版嗎。 Continue reading “細讀《半島》之穿梭時空”