姓氏趣谈

日前在英文星报看到一则环保屋的文章，以下是其中一段:

Down a dirt road and between thickets of trees, Paul Queen lives inside a grassy, man-made hill in Orlando, Florida, in the United States.

Deer try to stroll across his rooftop. Gopher tortoises attempt to tunnel into the walls.

(Earthy Shelter, The Stars, July 27, 2010)

我早知道西方人有人姓King。其中两个有此姓的名人是已故民权领袖Martin Luther King和作家Stephen King。但我却想不到原来也有人姓Queen。

西方国家也有人以颜色为姓，这包括White， Black，和Brown。Wheel of Fortune的女主持是Vanna White，《达文西密码》的作家是Dan Brown，美国有一名演员叫Karen Black。

无独有偶，中国也有人以颜色为姓，如白、黄、蓝。另外，王也是中国一个大姓，不过我倒没听说过有人姓后。

香港歌手夏绍声，洋名叫Danny Summer。Summer也是Anglo-Saxon民族的姓。以此看来，一名姓王的先生也大可以Mr King自居，姓白的小姐可自称为Ms White。

日本也有许多有趣的姓。我以前上日文班，老师是姓白髮(Shiraga)。还有更奇怪的，如鬼塚、犬養。日文的文法是动词在名词之后，所以犬養其实是养狗的意思。但华人可能会误会它为骂人的话。

Engrish by Native Speakers

Even native English speakers make such mistakes...

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Say No to Man U?

Malaysia is a soccer-mad nation. Manchester United is probably the most popular European football club in this country. However, recently the Islamic authorities have warned that Muslims should not don the jersey of the Red Devils, as its emblem features a devil.

Note: Haram is the Islamic term for ‘unlawful’.

Further, the Islamic authorities have also told the Muslims to not wear the jersey of Barcelona FC, whose logo contains a cross.

Further, Muslims are also told to shun the jersey of Liverpool FC. The main sponsor of the football club is Carlsberg, the bear-maker.

Now, consider this: Malaysia’s national flag has a symbol of Islam – new moon. Should Malaysian Christians to salute it?

Girl in Kimono

As mentioned in my previous post, the purpose of my visit to Bukit Tinggi Japanese Village was to photograph model in traditional Japanese costumes. The model of this shooting session was Felixia.

The teahouse in Japanese Village had kimono and yukata for rental, at a price of RM20 for 30 minutes. The event organizer had also bought a set of yukata. For the uninitiated, yukata is casual wear typically worn during summer.

The three pictures below show the model wearing yukata （浴衣）:

In the next three pictures, the model is dressed in the more typical kimono （着物）:

Bukit Tinggi

Bukit Tinggi is a hill resort located slightly further away from the more famous Genting Highlands. (That is, if we drive from Kuala Lumpur.) Run by Berjaya Group, it is also known as Berjaya Hills. I have known of Bukit Tinggi for many years, but it was only recently that I set foot on it…

At 3,500 feet above sea level, Bukit Tinggi is not as high as Genting Highlands or Cameron Highlands. On the plus side, it is less developed, and less crowded…

I shot this picture with CPL filter. It really made a difference…

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Inside Japanese Garden…

The Japanese Village of Bukit Tinggi is a bit disappointing. But the purpose I went there was to photograph model in traditional Japanese costumes. Stay tuned for the pictures of the beautiful model…

How to be Famous on Facebook

I came across this news feed on Facebook…

My MBA course mate, Patricia, was tagged in a photo. But I look at the picture, it shows a dress. Where is she???

My ex-colleague, Sarah, is tagged in another photo. Again I don’t see her anywhere in the picture…

So, if you upload your pictures to Facebook and want to capture attention of other people, here is a sure-fire formula: Tag as many of your friends as possible. Not only will your friends be notified, but your friends’ friends will also get the news. Before long, you will be a very (in)famous person on Facebook.

Luxury Prison

(Click to enlarge)

This picture was taken in the township of Bukit Rimau. This is a big house with big piece of land. The owner must be very wealthy.

Unfortunately, the barbed wire makes it look like a prison…

I shot this picture from across the street. At first I wanted to shoot from close distance. But then I told myself, “No way. If the people inside the house notice that I am taking photo here, they would call the police.” These people are paranoid!

豪华监狱

以上这张照片是在Bukit Rimau拍的。照片中是一所大豪宅，屋主肯定很富有。

可惜的是，围住房子的铁丝网使它看起来像所监狱。。。

我在路的对面拍摄这张照片。我原本想近距离拍，但随即想到：『不行，如果屋里的人知道我在拍照，肯定会通知警察。』这些人怕抢劫和绑架怕到发狂了！

FIFA World Cup Post V

Soccer in USA

Note: Football is known as soccer in USA.

Soccer is the world’s most popular sport, but it hasn’t quite caught on in the United States. Traditionally, America’s Big 3 sports are baseball, basketball, American football, while ice hockey can be considered number 4. However, many girls play soccer as they are excluded from American football.

Wanting to know why Americans are not interested in soccer, I browsed through the Web to search for an answer. Based on the info I have, Americans dislike soccer because of the following reasons:

• Low scoring, boring
• Games often end in tie
• Competition from other sports – for players, spectators and sponsorship
• Soccer is difficult to understand (Well, I don’t understand American football either.)
• Soccer is a game for sissies. (Huh!!?)
• Players are not allowed to use their hands (What is wrong with that?)
• Soccer is an English game, therefore un-American. (But American football evolved from rugby, another English game.)

It is true that goals are scarce in soccer. A match with one or no goal can really be boring. On the plus side, fans get excited every time the teams they support score. Too many goals can spoil the fun.

A point in a basketball match is like your weekly wages. A goal in a football match is like hitting the jackpot. We need wages, but we look forward to the jackpot…

P/S I think 2 to 8 goals per match is perfect.

US Soccer Player London Donovan

Sky

I took these two photos – on different days – in the morning before I set out to work.

Both pictures were taken with my Panasonic Lumix FH3. This compact camera has quite serious vignetting problem. If you look closely on the second photo, you will notice that it has conspicuous dark corners.

Of course, I could have ‘cropped’ away the dark corners using software…

FIFA World Cup Post IV

Fair or Not Fair

In the World Cup England vs. Germany match, Frank Lampard of England had a goal disallowed. The incident re-ignited the debate over introducing technology to the game to aid referees in making crucial decision. Such technologies include Hawk-Eye, which uses cameras to detect whether the ball has crossed the line, or Cairos, which works on the same principle but uses electromagnetic sensors. Another alternative is to rely on video replay. FIFA has so far been resistant to technology, but it is increasingly under pressure following tons of blunders by the referees and linesmen in the tournament.

Most football fans support goal line technology or video replay, but there are some who have different viewpoints. A Malaysian photographer who went by the nickname rhizomegrass, for example, argued:

I don’t want [technology in football]…

Later nothing interesting is reported on paper. Everything is soooo perfect… Like this, at least I can talk for another 30 years about the blunder done…

Plain boring perfect game is never nice to watch.

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In the quarter match between Ghana and Uruguay, the Black Star had a great chance to score at the dying moment of the game. Uruguayan player Luis Suarez rescued his team by pushing the ball away with his hands, right in front of the goal line. (Note: Suarez was not the goalkeeper.) Suarez was giving matching order for his foul, and Ghana was awarded a penalty kick. Sadly, Ghanaian player Asamoah Gyan failed to convert the penalty. In the end, the Black Star crashed out.

It’s not fair! It’s cheating! Ghana would have won if not for Suarez’s deliberate handball.

But seriously, didn’t the handball drama make World Cup more interesting?

Do you really like fair play???

Suarez (left) handling the ball

Beauty and the Beach

I was at a beach in Tanjung Tuan, near Port Dickson. The beach was rather secluded, and it required quite a bit of walking, uphill and downhill, to get there. By the time I reach there, my legs were shaky.

My effort paid off, as I discovered the beach to be quite nice, with sand and rocks. The water was also quite clear. I took out my camera and immediately pressed the shutter…

But wait a minute; I didn’t go there to take landscape photos! I was there to join a model shooting event. This time, our model was Maria Eriksson, from London.

I was thinking that if this were the United States, this secluded beach could potentially be a haven for nudists. But this was Malaysia, a conservative nation. The model would stick to her bikinis. And here are some shots of the sexy model:

This is a picture I personally find interesting. It has sand, sea and sky. But the downside is: the background could have stolen our attention from the model. Is that good or bad?

The model posed in the water, and I shot in the water too…

Model lying on the beach…

More pictures on my Flickr page.