New Online Toy Shop!!!

Check out this new online toy shop, called Betty's shop!

Great selection of toys, especially educational, great for kids of all ages!!!

Go Betty's shop!!

Terrone

How much terrone-ness is there in an Italian?  It usually depends on where they come from.

Here's a guideline from a reliable source from Varese:

Basically, it is based on the following very simple and obvious schema:
0% Lombardia, Valle d'Aosta, Piemonte, Veneto, TrentinoAltoAdige, FriuliVeneziaGiulia
10% Liguria
20% EmiliaRomagna
30% Toscana
40% Umbria
50% Sardegna
60% Lazio, Marche
70% Molise, Abruzzo
80% Campania
90% Calabria, Basilicata, Puglia
100% Sicilia

Ghosts of White Terror

It’s strange to see the recent images coming out of Taiwan, a normally peaceful and democratic country.  Students protesting a trade pact that the KMT (Kuomintang) government is trying to ram through without scrutiny have occupied a few government buildings including the national legislature.  But it seems the government’s attempt to remove these peaceful protesters has caused tens of injuries and unjust arrests.  Protesters say that the pact gives China far too much access to the Taiwanese market, especially considering that China artificially controls market access in China and doesn’t even allow its own currency to freely float.  This coupled with the constant military threats by the Chinese dictatorship to coerce Taiwan into unification with China, and by military force if necessary, has the Taiwanese public wary about any further treaties with an increasingly aggressive Chinese nation.

Regardless, it’s hard to get used to pictures of bloodied protesters and draconian police measures in Taiwan, an island nation that has been democratic since the 1990s. But then again, the violent government crackdown on peaceful student protesters is something that is not too far away in the memories of the Taiwanese.  It was President Ma’s KMT party that imposed 40 years of martial law in Taiwan, cracking down ruthlessly against any dissent while oppressing local Taiwanese culture, a period infamously known as the “white terror era”.  It was the KMT party that attempted to whitewash Taiwanese history, trying to brainwash an entire generation that they were part of a common Chinese nation only usurped temporarily by communists.

It seems the KMT’s pro-Chinese tendencies and anti-democratic past have caught up to it again, as it disregards all consideration of the hard-won liberties, human rights and democratic system that the  Taiwanese have wrested over the years.  It’s time for supporters of democratic rights and freedoms in the Western world to show their solidarity with the Taiwanese student protests in Taiwan.

阿伯

有一工阿伯共我講: 我欲爬這个山去買八隻白馬。
我: 你真誠欲爬去買八隻白馬喔?  你按怎知影頂懸的阿伯欲賣白馬？
阿伯：伊哪袂賣白馬？ 我是爬來和彼阿伯買八隻白馬。伊哪袂賣爬來的阿伯八隻白馬？我欲買伊欲賣的八隻白馬！
阿伯就爬山去和賣馬的阿伯買白馬。
欲買馬的阿伯：平安！我爬來欲買八隻你欲賣的白馬。
賣馬的阿伯：今仔日我無欲賣馬。我袂賣你你欲買的八隻白馬。
欲買馬的阿伯：我爬來啊你無欲賣白馬？！！你是按怎袂賣我欲買的八隻白馬？
賣馬的阿伯：因為我欲賣的白馬已經予別个欲買白馬賣去矣！
莫怪阿伯袂爬去買伊欲的八隻白馬矣！


阿挺

Freiburger Eats

Here's a nice google map that I made with some recommendations of local restaurants in the area....
There are some really nice choices!


View Freiburger Eats in a larger map

小阿姨

Not to be outdone by her husband, my 小阿姨 can say some kickass cool stuff too:

Cheese Fondue Research

Yes, this goes to show that research tax dollars can produce relevant and interesting research!

Have a look at this link of a research paper:
Effect on gastric function and symptoms of drinking wine, black tea, or schnapps with a Swiss cheese fondue: randomised controlled crossover trial

Bravo!!!!

姨丈

My 姨丈 is my hero.....and here's why......

Dad

Ah, Dad, here's another one of your awesome quotes.......

"here is 富然, here is 鎮瑋, 富然 is a runner, 鎮瑋 is a jumper, they both are loser, and that is forever!"

Willi Schaefer: 2011 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese (AP #10)

Epitome of Mosel Riesling:  

not much on the nose, but delicate texture, and beautiful balance of sweetness and rounded acidity.  For a Spätlese, the sweetness is less pronounced, subtle, yet firm in its presence.  Nice terroir aspect available almost immediately which adds to the complexity.  It's like a delicate, beautiful woman, with its kind caress....but also with a sophistication which tells you there is more than meets the eye at first glance.....

(18 Euro at Drexler Weinhandlung, Freiburg - currently sold out)

阿媽

Hunawihr and the Lonely Planet

So we made a 5 day bike trip in Alsace and passed by a lovely little town called Hunawihr.....in fact it's featured on the Lonely Planet France cover!  So we tried to snap the same picture.....




























Suffice it to say, it was an awesome trip with some very picturesque little towns, great food, (and superb Alsatian muscat and riesling), with some breathtaking scenery!

Secular Nazis

Well, well, the ugly face of political correctness and secular Nazis has risen again.  A Nova Scotia student with religious convictions is suspended for wearing a T-shirt that reflects these convictions.

Read the Toronto Star article here.

The idiots administrating the school have decided that his T-shirt saying "Life is wasted without Jesus" is too controversial, and have suspended this poor student.  Talk about secular nazis, oppressing people's right to express their religious convictions.

The fact that people are so beholden to political correctness, and cannot handle people's right to express their religious beliefs is really ridiculous.  Let's hope they come to their senses and let the student enjoy his right to expression and belief.

Concert Master

Why is the concert master of an orchestra always a violin?  Why don't left-wing types complain about this blatant discrimination?

If I owned an orchestra, I would make the Tuba the concert master - is that a cool instrument or what?

Hope Springs Eternal

Well, just when all the happenings in Syria and East Asia point to an eroding of democracy and fundamental freedoms, Burma shows us that hope does spring eternal........

Aung San Suu Kyi and her party seem to have swept elections in Burma and will be a force to content with in bringing about change and democratic reform in a country ruled by an iron-fisted military junta (that seems to be loosening its grip thankfully)

Let's hope this is indeed good news, and that the government respects the will of the people!

Here is the BBC article.

There is always hope......

The Best Fleischküchle

Spring is here, which means it's time to go visit Straußenwirtschaften again!

We biked through the Hexental, past Staufen to Grunern, to go to the Schleifsteinhof of Weingut Probst, up on the hill with a great view of the nothern Markgräflerland and the ruins above Staufen.

The food was amazing!  Specializing in badisch specialties, I had the most amazing Fleischküchle ever since I arrived in Germany....Betty's Zwiebelbraten was also super-tender.  The sauce was great, with fried onions giving it texture.

That's opening the Straußi season with a bang!!

Touch Icing

The most moronic rule in the NHL has to be the touch icing rule.  It's a way of adding almost-negligible excitement to icing at the risk of injuring defencemen and forwards who are hustling their asses off for the sake of the team.......

Why do GMs insist on putting their greatest assets (the players) at risk?  That's why it's finally good news to see that the NHL is considering changing this idiotic rule, and implementing something much safe (like hybrid icing), according to this Globe and Mail article.

Let's hope the NHL rule custodians stop being morons, and start protecting the players that make this the greatest game on earth......

臺灣新年

寒天外口冷吱吱
臺灣人佇過新年
食火鍋就足歡喜
向望今年有福氣


阿挺

Three Man Booths

I'm watching the broadcast of the Divisional Playoff matchup of the Saints @ 49ers.  It's a three-man booth of Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa (albeit on the field).

It's enough to make me realize that two-man booths (like those employed by CBS) are superior to three-man booths.  Albert does a decent job with the play-by-play, but the commentary of Siragusa is really annoying, and Johnston, while less annoying, isn't really providing real insight.  (If I have to listen to one more comment about how much confidence the Saints offence has, then I'm gonna puke)

I think NFL broadcasts should just wake-up and realize that three-man booths are exasperating to listen to, and go back to traditional two-man booths......

The Best Subway System in the World

I've been to my share of places, and usually, when exploring, I make use of the public transportation system.  I now declare, hands-down that Madrid has the best subway system in the world.

Totally unexpected if you ask me.....Spain is not exactly known for efficiency and punctuality, yet the extensive system, which covers a large area was amazing.  The stations were clean, the system unified, the electronic ticketing system easy, and the most I ever had to wait for a subway was 3 minutes.  And it only costs 1.50 Euro for a single ticket, and 9.30 for 10 trips!

It has many lines, that intersect in useful places, and even has a circular line (Line 6), which encircles the downtown area in both clockwise and counter-clockwise directions.

It really was a treat to take the metro in Madrid, it walks away with the best subway system in the world!!  (For sure it kicks Toronto's ass, speaking of which Toronto may have one of the worst systems in the world, as far as I can tell)