The Island Nation

The island nation lies silent, quietly it mourns,
Formosans with bowed heads, and hearts that are torn,
They weep for the memory of those that fell,
And for those who witnessed that dreadful hell.

Though many years past, the hurt does not fade,
The bloodshed and sufferings cannot be unmade.
So many killed, so many families destroyed,
The cries of the victims, they could not avoid
The death that came to them and their friends,
From a stubborn regime that just wouldn't bend.

From the streets of Taipei, to the farms in Chia-Yi,
The gunshots rang steadily, as loud as can be.
The slaughter continued on its merciless path,
Murdering political dissidents with its angry wrath.

The death of so many will not be in vain.
Neither will be their families' anguish and pain,
We remember these victims with saddened sorrow,
But we still retain hope for a better tomorrow.

For freedom has its price, it does not come cheap,
The victims have sacrificed, they have earned their keep,
But we must go on, our mission is not done,
Until the fight for freedom has truly been won.
We will not let them down, the ghosts of the past,
Their cause of yesteryear is our greatest task,
We strive for the freedom of Formosans today,
To our compatriots, have faith, rest in peace you may.

In memory of the victims of the February 28 1947 Massacre

阿挺

Lunar New Year - the Year of the Tiger

Happy Lunar New Year - it's the year of the Tiger this year.....

In Taiwan this is usually celebrated with Hot Pot, and the giving of Red Envelopes to family members. It's the biggest holiday in Tawian......

So to my fellow Taiwanese: 臺灣新年恭喜! 向望今年逐家健康!

Schwäbische Fleischküchle

Without an oven, some dishes are hard to make, but one thing I've been successful at making are Swabian Meatballs (Schwäbische Fleischküchle)....delicious! They are tender and juicy, and make a great meal....

You need ground beef, an egg, a soaked bread roll, a touch of parsley, finely chopped onions, a pinch of salt and pepper to make them....



Enjoy with some potatoes and red wine!

Canadian Pancakes

Mmm, what's better in the morning than some good ol' Canadian pancakes with Canadian Maple Syrup? Yummy, yummy!



And they're easy to make!

190 g of flour
10 g of baking powder
A teaspoon of salt
A tablespoon of sugar
300 mL of milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons of butter

The ingredients can be mixed smoothly together in a bowl to make the pancake mix. Then pour the mix about 250 mL at a time into an oiled pan at medium high heat. Fry until both sides are slightly browned.

Serve hot and make sure to add Maple Syrup!

Superbowl Pick

So it's gonna come down to the Colts and Saints in Superbowl XLIV....

and my official prediction is:
Saints 38, Colts 28

Why? No reason, everything on paper points to the Colts winning, but something about my gut seems to think that the Saints will pull this one off....of course, my gut has been wrong before!

Who dat?!?!?! Who dat gonna beat the Saints?!?!?!


(well, maybe the Colts, but I think Brees & Co. will come out on top)

Overtime beats Shootouts Anyday...

NHL Playoff Overtimes are the most exciting parts of sports - any sport!

Don't listen to those Shootout advocates - that's not real hockey. For proof of great overtimes, who can forget the 1993 Norris Division Semi-Final Game 7 between the Leafs and Wings? Nicolai Borschevsky from Bob Rouse and Doug Gilmour in OT!

A Perfect Score!

So last December, I wrote a German Proficiency Test, called the Zertifikat Deutsch. It's not particularly hard, in fact I should have written it a long time ago...I have, after all, been here over three years already!

The Zertifikat Deutsch corresponds to the B1 Level in the European Framework for Languages, so it's not really difficult, but the minimum necessary for possible future immigration to Germany.

I got the results today, and because it wasn't difficult at all, I was expecting to do well, but in the end, I got a perfect score!
I wasn't expecting to do that well!


Here's my certificate:


and here's the evaluation report showing that I got 300 points out of 300!

Phaneuf a Leaf!

Wow....Dion Phaneuf a Leaf. The trade yesterday sent Phaneuf together with Fredrik Sjostrom and Keith Aulie from the Calgary Flames to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs give up meanwhile, Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and Ian White. It's hard to tell (as the trade only happened yesterday) who will end up getting the upper hand in the deal - but I'm betting on the Leafs being very satisfied with this.....who knows, maybe it's the Doug Gilmour trade redux!

Here's to Phaneuf, and lot's of success in a Leafs uniform!