Friday, June 29, 2007

World Heritage List

Congratulations to Canada!!
Rideau Canal is now a world heritage site!



The 202-kilometre Rideau Canal (from Kingston to Ottawa) became Canada's 14th internationally recognized World Heritage Site yesterday as the United Nations inscribed the landmark on its list of global treasures.


The Rideau Canal may be better known now as the world's longest skating rink, but it was born from a struggle of superpowers as Britain and the United States wrestled for control of North America.

The canal was built by Lieutenant-Colonel John By. It used a technology was called "slackwater". A large number of embankments and high dams were used to inundate shallows, swamps, and rapids, thus creating a series of impoundments deep enough to navigate the full length of the canal.

"It is the best preserved example of a slackwater canal in North America demonstrating the use of this European technology in North America on a large scale," UNESCO said in its letter of designation. "It is the only canal dating from the great North American canal-building era of the early 19th century to remain operational along its original line with most of its original structures intact."


The complete World Heritage List can be found at:
http://whc.unesco.org


I have only visited a very small percentage of sites in the World Heritage List.
Will I be able to visit all of them before I die??


Source:
Globe and Mail
Toronto Star
CTV

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Sanrio Dessert Shop

日本玩具商Sanrio在大阪開設首間甜品店,精心炮製出圖中的吉蒂貓牛奶蛋糕(右)及用吉蒂杯盛載的慕絲。


I can't find any more information about this Sanrio Dessert Shop in the internet.

It would be nice if Sanrio opens the same shop in Canada. I would like to try the Hello Kitty desserts!!

Source: HK Yahoo News

Zorse

Q: What is a Zorse?
A: It's a zebra and horse hybrid.

Meet Eclyse - the amazing zorse!!
Wow... You can easily tell that she is a zebra and horse hybrid!!


Eclyse is the result of a holiday romance between German and Italian. Her mother is a white horse, called Eclipse, from German safari park. Her father is a zebra, called Ulysses, from a ranch in Italy.

Eclipse's owner sent her to a ranch in Italy for a while. There she was able to roam freely with other horses and a number of zebras, including Ulysses. When Eclipse returned home, she surprised her keepers by giving birth to the baby zorse.

While most zorses have stripes across their whole body, Eclyse only has two blocks of stripes – on her face and her rear. Now she's become a major attraction at a safari park at Schloss Holte Stukenbrock, near the German border with Holland.

Ranch spokesman Udo Richter commented: 'She is usually relatively tame like a horse but occasionally shows the fiery temperament of a zebra, leaping around like one.'


Source:
Daily Mail
Metro.co.uk

桑拿殺人事件

藍天一事件簿 之 桑拿殺人事件...

時間: 06月 27日 早上 近十一時
地點: 葵涌華景山莊會所桑拿室
人物: 一名患有感冒數日的55歲女死者張敏蓉

桑拿浴室指引上出現死亡預告…!為了醫治感冒,一名患感冒婦人欲借用桑拿浴熱力,以古法「焗汗」治感冒, 遭到熱力的侵襲…! 悲傷的死亡片上演,「慘劇」化為現實生活…!

Hahahaha.... Does this sounds like 金田一少年之事件薄??
Well... This is a real case!
Never 焗桑拿 when you are sick!!


一名患有感冒數日的中年婦人,先後向明愛醫院、私家西醫及中醫求診,但屢醫未瘉,前日到住所會所焗桑拿後,感到病情好轉,昨晨遂再焗桑拿,被發現暈倒桑拿室中,送院搶救後不治。

張婦被感冒困擾,欲以古法「焗汗」方式,焗出一身汗來醫治感冒。她「焗汗」後向家人稱感到身體較為鬆弛及舒服,希望再度「焗汗」能早些治好纏擾多時的感冒病,昨晨近十一時遂再到會所桑拿浴室「焗汗」,卻不適暈倒。約半小時後,一名女職工見張婦過時仍然沒有走出浴室,遂入內查看,赫見張婦昏迷,即救出張婦及報警。

伊利沙伯心臟科高級專科醫生何鴻光指出,感冒時焗桑拿肯定會影響到心臟,當感冒菌未清便進入桑拿房,高溫會令心跳加快、血液循環加速、心臟壓力急升,猶如患感冒卻拼命跑山,引致心律不正、心肌發炎,隨時昏倒,若本身正在服藥或有潛在嚴重隱疾,亦可能一命嗚呼。至於死者初次焗桑拿後精神轉佳,可能只是幸運避過一劫而已。

焗桑拿無論「乾焗」或「濕焗」都不應超過10分鐘,因為長時間焗桑拿會令身體缺水,嚴重者會有生命危險。

Sources: HK Yahoo News

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

5th Annual Taste of Asia Festival

I wasn't planning to go to the Taste of Asia Street Festival, because I am still coughing a lot.
It just happened that the Taste of Asia Street Festival was very close to my doctor's office. My family doctor is inside Market Village and the Street Festival is at the corner of Kennedy Road & Steeles Ave. East, just outside of Market Village. So, I went to the Festival after seeing my doctor.


There were lots of people at the Festival.




There were many food booths selling Korean BBQ, Xinjiang Grilled Lamb, Kashmiri BBQ, Smelly Tofu, Japanese Squid Ball, Roasted Corns, Roasted Yams, Fresh Oysters, etc. I noticed that the busiest booths are:
  1. Smelly Tofu
  2. Japanese Squid Ball
  3. Fresh Oysters
I did try the Xinjiang Grilled Lamb. It was very good... very yummy...
I also tried the Roasted Corn. It is ok... just like corns in BBQ...
Since I am sick, I cannot try other fried or "hot air" food.









Can you guess who I saw at the Festival? Someone who should be working...
It's Tom! He was taking a lunch break!



I saw the Mounties as well... I wasn't sure whether they were actually on duty or they were just taking a break... I also saw a person wearing costume... not sure what he was trying to be...




There were some non-food booths and events as well.
Different car dealerships (Audi, Acura, Porche, etc) were there.



The Markham Fire Department was there too...



In addition, there were basketball games going on...



I brought key chains from the Name On Rice booth.
They wrote people's name on a rice and turned that into key chains or neckless. It's amazing because a rice is so small!


The Festival was fun!! I would definitely go back next year as well!!


Friday, June 22, 2007

Sick... 2

Still sick... Start coughing too...
I guess 折凳 didn't work... The virus is too strong...
I need to be more aggressive...
This time... I am using machine gun with "Advil Cold & Sinus" bullets!!

I hope the virus will be completely destroyed soon!!

[previous post]

Geology meets gastronomy



A Taiwanese artist (Mr. Hsu) has managed to combine geology with gastronomy, creating mouth-watering "dishes" out of minerals and rocks with a striking resemblance to food in an exhibit on display at the National Museum of Singapore. His work is special because none of the stones were dyed, shaped, smoothened or tampered with in any way.


Over 50 dishes (including "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" soup, shark fin soup, bear's paw, abalone, dim sum, and fried rice, etc.) are on display. The pig’s trotters and eggs in dark soy sauce dish is the most valuable at $130,000, and is made up of rare Gobi stones from Inner Mongolia.


But the highlight of the exhibition is a Jinxiang stone from Yunnan, China, which not only resembles chocolate, but mells like it too due to the break-down of organic materials in its environment over time.


The food looks sooooo yummy!!
When I was in primary school, I was interested in collecting stones too! I did thought about creating different food dishes using stone. However, Mr. Hsu is amazing. He doesn't modify the stones in any way. He just uses it as is. Wow! He must have used a lot of money and brain energy in creating those dishes.


Sources:
Reuters Video
Reuters
Youth.SG
Singapore Sights
Asia One

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Sick...

Sick... Sick... Sick... Sick... Sick... Sick... Sick... Sick... Sick... Sick...
I had sore throat since Monday... Looks like it's going to turn into a cold soon...

It's war!!
I now declare the country of Blue Sky offically in war with virus!!

I'll use the #1 weapon... the strongest weapon... to fight against the virus... It's 折凳!! It's the folding chair!!


Well... according to Steven Chow in "食神":
折凳得奧妙之處就在能藏於民宅之中!隨手可得!還可以坐著它來隱藏殺機!就算警察抓到也告不了你!真不愧為七種武器之首!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Happy Dragon Boat Festival!

Happy Dragon Boat Festival!!
Enjoy rice dumplings!!

Today is a rainy day... just like a typical Dragon Boat Festival day...

I brought different rice dumplings on the weekend:
  • purple rice dumpling
  • rice dumpling with red beans (instead of green beans)
  • regular rice dumpling with one full salted duck egg yolk
Can't wait to taste them!!