Good sleep requires good skills 睡眠品質亦是一門功課

Sleep is never an easy homework. Lunar new year has just ended and I recalled of Sharon Cheung’s suggestion to wish comrades and our elders to always enjoy their meals and have a good sleep. That means ditching the oft-mentioned Gong Hei Fatt Choy. This is such a practical idea.

I am not a good sleeper. During my university days, I used to sleep at 5 or 6am during summer vacation in Taipei. If I did not need to work, I would take Taipei Metro to go around places to make sure that I was tired enough to have a good sleep that night.

After I became a full-time freelance translator, I find it hard to sleep well when I always need to reply emails sent by foreign clients. Continue reading “Good sleep requires good skills 睡眠品質亦是一門功課”

《機智牢房生活》:有笑有淚的人生寫照

機緣巧合之下有機會看完了這一部長達十六集、每集九十分鐘的漫長韓劇。每天晚上忙完所有事情之後看一集或者半集,其實也不容易,但是疫情肆虐這兩年訓練了我長時間坐在家裡的功力,因此約莫一個月就看完了。

誠如英文影評網站imdb的劇迷評論所言,這部劇的編劇必須記上一大功,因為每當你以為哪個劇中角色終於可以比較安穩地在牢房慢慢等待刑期過去,他們每一個人都會遇上各種起伏跌宕,可說是沒有一刻安樂過。這部劇的厲害之處在於每一個角色都有自己的故事,你以為哪個人十惡不赦的大壞蛋,原來也有他的弱點,坐牢前或期間也都經歷過生活中的酸甜苦辣。 Continue reading “《機智牢房生活》:有笑有淚的人生寫照”

《MRS K》:惠英紅之好頭好尾 (Republishing Sep 2017 Piece)

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,工作是個婦產科醫生,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,伍佰變成醫生,真的一時之間不能接受。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 (Republishing Sep 2017 Piece)”

自律與態度決定高度 沒有天註定這麼一回事 No such thing as destiny: Self-discipline and attitude decide your outcome

This episode of Sharon Cheung’s talk concluded my viewpoints. I always remember my discussion with two closer friends that nobody decides another person’s destiny, and that everything starts from our thoughts. It is the thoughts that determine our personality and action, which then lead to a choice, while the quality of our choices determines our direction. And action after a decision is made, will determine the outcome.

For example, if you opt not to have light lunch but keep thinking about having fast food, the likely outcome would be the risk of overweight to be borne by you subsequently. Your choice determines the outcome; it is not destiny or your god that determines if you might gain weight. Or, you are always praying for wealth and a lottery strike for handsome prize money, in real life you are reluctant to learn how to spend thriftily and save money, learn new skills to make sure you are still able to earn a living. If these are your choices, the poverty that entails is the outcome of your choice. This is a consequence of your action prior. Continue reading “自律與態度決定高度 沒有天註定這麼一回事 No such thing as destiny: Self-discipline and attitude decide your outcome”

Mad World 一念無明 (Republishing May 2017 Piece)

I rarely watch some emotionally heavy movies, for I find them very unbearable. Crying for loved ones is not what I enjoy watching in a cinema. I stick to my principle all the time so that I can pick cheerful and funny movies when I enter a cinema.

Yes I love sad songs, but sad movies often tick me off.

But Mad World is a different story. I bought a movie ticket to support this film of Shawn Yue and Eric Tsang, just as how I supported Trivisa starring Gordon Lam and Philip Keung.

In this movie Shawn played the role of Tung, who suffered and recovered from bipolar disorder. And Eric, his father who abandoned the family when Tung was little. Continue reading “Mad World 一念無明 (Republishing May 2017 Piece)”

好戲之人一生精彩 Great actress, great life

For Cantonese drama fans, Lee Hong Kum was a respectable senior. I always saw her acting when I was watching Hong Kong TV drama during my childhood years. Lee Senior was a great actress who played her roles naturally. The Justice of Life, a drama during my primary school years, was the most impressive work for me. She played Alex Man’s mother in the drama and people addressed her Aunt Ming, while Stepthen Chow greeted her Aunt Pretty. During my Year 3 and Year 4 at NTNU, I was always reviewing these Cantonese dramas before bedtime. This was how I comforted my Cantonese soul deep in my heart. Continue reading “好戲之人一生精彩 Great actress, great life”

每時每刻都是逆境球 It is all about moving forward in life

I make time to follow quality programmes, including Sharon Cheung’s programme. Malaysian and Taiwanese friends might not be familiar with Sharon Cheung. She was a journalist when Hongkongers were unhappy about the performance of their first Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa. She asked the then chairman of PRC Jiang Zemin if he was to appoint Tung for a second-term. Mr Jiang could not hold back his anger and described her as ‘too simple, sometimes naive’. Which then becomes the name of her YouTube channel. Continue reading “每時每刻都是逆境球 It is all about moving forward in life”

伍佰的跑車人生2 Drive around Taiwan with Wubai 2

如今每週追看伍佰開跑車到處趴趴走已經變成這兩週固定的娛樂。這一集亦是不乏驚喜,因為伍佰竟然下廚給江振誠吃他自創的饅頭料理。至於這位搖滾天王利用什麼食材將味道引領出來,大家可以慢慢看,有空可以動手自己做。江振誠特別製作的鮮蝦料理,他形容是給搖滾歌手的菜餚,若我懂下廚,我也很想實驗一下這一道菜。

這一集的主題是初心與原點。江振誠介紹他最愛的石牌早餐店,伍佰則是介紹臺北市信義區一個果汁攤,因為當初他在臺北未拚出頭的日子裡,他最喜歡去那個攤位請老闆給他榨一杯葡萄汁。根據伍佰和江振誠的說法,老闆的葡萄汁有一種倒鉤的感覺。收看的時候大家還真的必須耐得住飢渴,因為看起來真的很好喝。 Continue reading “伍佰的跑車人生2 Drive around Taiwan with Wubai 2”

舊片重溫:《西謊極落》之苦中作樂 Self-deceiving as if you had a bigger room

This film titled The Sinking City: Capsule Odyssey screened in 2017 revealed the acute housing problem in Hong Kong. The actors and actresses were ridiculing in a wacky and lunatic manner to present this theme.

Pakho Chau in the movie was an editor writing online articles to introduce apartment units on behalf of real estate companies. Despite his great writing skills to promote buying properties for investment and speculation, in real life he was only a young man who was priced out of the property market. Upon graduation, he failed to move up the corporate ladder and was encumbered by study loans. Shiga Lin played his girlfriend in the movie. They rented a flat for HK$10,000 a month. Later on, he lied to his girlfriend that he had to work in New York for a year or two before returning to the Cantonese-speaking city. Continue reading “舊片重溫:《西謊極落》之苦中作樂 Self-deceiving as if you had a bigger room”

伍佰的跑車人生 (1) Drive around Taiwan with Wubai (1)

I watched a Porsche programme on YouTube last week. Surprisingly, the German car manufacturer invited Taiwanese rock star Wubai as the host to drive around Taipei with Chang Chen. Their task of the day was to take photographs with the theme of conflicts and contradictions.

Ren’ai Road of Taipei City has lines of coconut trees. This was what I learned from this episode. In the past, I used to think that in Taiwan we can see coconut trees only in my university NTNU, or other universities including NTU. Continue reading “伍佰的跑車人生 (1) Drive around Taiwan with Wubai (1)”