Friday, December 30, 2011

Gardening early Summer November - December 2011

So far the garden has had a good start to Summer. Plenty of Rain (for Melbourne) and plenty of sunshine.

Unfortunately plenty of weeds - but 100 hours of weeding and spraying work + 2 cubic metres of mulch will help cure that. Did I tell you I generally loathe weeding? But its a bit like doing your tax. You hate it but you still have to do it, unless you're like me - which reminds me to send a card to my accountant who has practically given up hope on me.

Anyway, screw all the bad vibes. I'll show you some of the gardening photos I've taken this month-  the roses, agapanthus are doing very well this season. The rose flowers are getting mildew, blackspot, and a possible botyeris infection. I blame the hot humid wet conditions.






I've only got one rosemary bush in my garden. I decided to propagate it. Stick the cuttings in a glass bottle with water and wait til the roots appear before transplanting it. Its that easy! I did the same for my Lavender except they all went into the potting mix pot instead of the glass bottle and now I have about 20+ plants. I did not use any root chemicals. Although they say that dipping the end bits into honey is suppose to help produce roots faster.


I make no apologies for liking beautiful things. Even the humble box art cover of a box of sea salt. I like it!
We're surrounded by so many vile things - so to compensate, you should have beautiful objects and things.

 I collect Noritake porcelain. Its beautiful, inexpensive and very good quality.



Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Spare time reading

For kicks I like to read academic articles. Now, I don't claim to have read them fully, sometimes skimming through them or cherry-picking parts I like. One of the subjects that interests me is the interpretations and re-interpretations of the absolutely appalling history of Kampuchea (Cambodia) and how other readers see the whole affair too.

I was very bemused when Noam Chomsky, who was a great defender of Pol Pot's regime, was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize of 2011. I mean, what has he done to deserve it? And can someone who is living in a free liberal democratic nation be called "courageous" for criticizing the government? Its ridiculous. They should have given the prize to someone whose very life was endangered by speaking out against corruption and crimes against humanity.

When I look at lefties, they seem stuck in a protest mindset at the height of the Vietnam War. ie. US Govt evil. Lefty Govt good. But that's just me, because I'm a liberal conservative.

And so Noam comes up with this line- written in 1977 when the world, even the Reader's Digest, was well aware of the atrocities going on in Cambodia.

The "slaughter" by the Khmer Rouge is a Moss-New York Times creation. Noam Chomsky
http://www.chomsky.info/articles/19770625.htm

He says this because - the evidence is coming from Western Media and the US Govt - so by default, such claims are "a completely worthless source".

The whole thing becomes rather infantile. Instead of meaningful dialogue - it becomes a case of us and them. A sort of "(insert Country name) bomb" game.

"India bomb, India bomb, India bomb to Pakistan bomb"
"Pakistan bomb, Pakistan bomb, Pakistan bomb to England bomb"
"England bomb, England bomb, England bomb to..."

What I find perplexing... and paradoxically enlightening in my understanding of how humans behave, is the way Noam Chomsky chooses to deny he ever supported Pol Pot's evil regime and instead chooses to do some serious mental yoga moves to rewrite history. It would have gained him the respect of many people if he had simply come out, admitted he made an error in judgement instead of trying to rewrite or re-interpret his earlier stance on Pol Pot's regime.

I guess the moral of the whole story is that very smart people can be incredibly petty, proud, and incapable of seeing their own flaw even if it bit them in their ass. And sometimes, when you hate something long enough, you end up becoming like it. You become what you hate.

Anyway, here are some articles which I've been reading on the whole subject.

I see it as an education in rhectoric - ways of arguing etc.. and you get gems like this by Bruce Sharp:

Bruce Sharp, "Curiously, he never gets around to explaining precisely what he thinks is "dishonest." (Generally, I believe it is customary to cite something that is actually false when you accuse someone of lying.)"

Bruce Sharp: "I find myself rather underwhelmed by the accuracy of Professor Chomsky, a man who is surely one of the world's most renowned scholars. There is something vaguely amusing about being called "dishonest" by a man of the Professor's stature... particularly when he admits that he didn't actually read what I wrote, and neglects to explain exactly what I said that he finds dishonest."

http://www.chomsky.info/articles/19770625.htm

http://www.travelbrochuregraphics.com/extra/hypocrisy_of_noam_chomsky.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2779086.html

http://www.mekong.net/cambodia/chomsky.htm

http://slackbastard.anarchobase.com/?p=12441

http://www.chomsky.info/onchomsky/1985----.htm

http://shirazsocialist.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/noam-chomsky-and-pol-pot-my-enemys-enemy/

http://www.mekong.net/cambodia/reply_to_chomsky.htm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/10/malcolm-caldwell-pol-pot-murder

http://www.city-journal.org/html/12_3_urbanities-americas_dumbe.html

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Weeding

Just spent a good  hours weeding away in my garden - I'm totally buggered. I got have 2 cubic metres of mulch I need to pour onto the flower beds to prevent the weeds from coming up.

Of course it won't prevent ALL of them from coming up. Some will still manage to break through. But the impact of the mulch will kill a lot of the weeds and also make it easier for me to pull the shoots when they poke their heads out of the ground.

To do it right you also need to place wet soggy newspaper underneath the mulch - on top of the weeds, top soil. But I don't buy newspapers and the local library is being run by an old bitch who refuses to pass me any of the old newspapers - which is all placed into their secured paper waste bin. Argh, I'm not going to sell the  papers you stupid woman. I'd make more money pulling the tyres off your car and flogging them off. Geez.

Anyway, I buy my mulch from Col Smith. 1 cubic metre cost about $65. I buy a mix of two types. Eucy and something called Finebark - so 2 cubic metres, roughly one truck load. Its a good combo. The birds have a problem trying to dig at it. Total cost is $140 including delivery. Its a do-able amount for me.

What's a cubic metre? Well, pile it up and its roughly the size or volume of an office desk.

Placing it on the garden bed gives me a bit of respite. The weeds will eventually poke through in 3 weeks time or so and generally they are easier to remove due to their need to push through the mulch to get to the sun.

Reading about gardening is much more easier. I find a few good links on gardening I'd thought I'd share you you.

A good way to turn your compost pile without resorting to back breaking shovelling. As you know, we're suppose to turn over the compost pile to help it disintegrate. But its tough trying to turn the bloody pile over. This guy has come up with an easier way to do that.


http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/more-compost-less-work.aspx

Compost tea
 http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/jury-still-out-on-compost-tea.aspx
 http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/brewing-compost-tea.aspx

In my next post, I'll share more thoughts on making compost tea.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Weed Tea Problem

Two posts back I mentioned using the wheelie bins to make weed tea.

After about 2 months or so they didn't stink and so I thought the whole mix had become matured.

However when I scooped out some of the water- I found that was totally incorrect - IT STANK LIKE RAW SEWAGE. It stank so bad that my hands stank of the filth for days afterwards despite repeated washing using all manner of soaps and anti-bacterial agents - I didn't use rubber gloves.

I think what happened was that the top layer of water did in effect mature and stopped stinking - but the oxygen was not able to penetrate to the lower levels - but once I gave it a stir - the O2 got into the composting material and ripen the whole mix.

I emptied the dead weeds into the council green waste bins. And after a week, they still stink.

I've been slowly and very carefully removing the waste weed tea water and emptying into the compost bins to hasten the rotting process in those containers.

But the stink is so bad I wish I had a full haz-med suit.

I think a solution might be to use smaller bins - and keep them well away from the house and washing drying clothes area.

However the whole idea seems OK. The weeds looked totally dead and consumed, not sure about their seeds of course (only time can tell).

The compost bins are also rich with plenty of worms. Not sure how they take the weed tea but I suspect that it will help to hasten the rotting process of the contents of the static compost bins.

Post script 2012.

Looks like some of the oxalis bulbs are actually surviving being soaked in the stink. Incredible.

Monday, November 07, 2011

Weeds weeds weeds

There are just so much awful weeds in my garden.

I've filled up the two wheelie bins with weeds and have soaked them in grey water. They stank for awhile but now they don't stink so much. Actually, they don't seem to stink at all. I think the weeds are dead though. Not sure whether the seeds survived the process.


What I plan to do is to pitchfork the weeds into the council bin - on a week when its hardly used - and empty the nutrient-rich water onto the lawn. But the problem is my council rubbish green bin is perpetually full at present.

Yeah, I've got weeds all over the damn place. What is especially irritating are the grass runners that have weaved into the flower beds and gotten amongst the lavender and rose plants.Trying to put them all is sheer torture.

Its easy to get discouraged- so I'm just concentrating on one section of the garden at present. Get that cleaned up. Mulch it. Then proceed to the next area.

Saturday, October 08, 2011

Niue - The South Pacific: The Dolphin Chase




It began with a map, a postage stamp and a strange story.

Several years ago, I became fascinated with maps. I used to walk into Travel shops to gaze on their Wall maps. What attracted me especially were the small remote islands scattered predominantly in the South Pacific. When I was a child I would watch the old Jacques Cousteau and WW2 Pacific documentaries - and that area has fascinated me for the longest time.

With names like Bora Bora, Tahiti, Glibert Ellice islands, Phoenix Island, Truk, Caroline, Palau, etc.. my mind would wonder over these tiny specks of sand and coral.

What would I see there? Would I find magnificent sea creatures? Perhaps a hidden (abandoned) naval base? Or uncover some other beautiful object not seen by human eyes? (I'd also settle for a gorgeous Pacific Island mermaid...)

I also noticed that the International Dateline cut across the Pacific Ocean like a child's pencil mark. And due to that quaint artificial construct, we have on one side one day, ie. "Sunday 20th September", and on the right side of the line, the last day ie "Saturday, 19th September". So in a manner of speaking, if you travel Eastward far enough you'll be heading West!!!

And there was this island called Niue (spelt New-Ay) which was sitting right on that side of the Dateline.

(I also started collecting stamps a few years ago and found that Niue also produced some of the most beautiful stamps in the 1950s -1960s. I kept them as reminders that i had to travel to this place one day.)

And thus: To get there, you fly from Auckland on Saturday morning - cross the ID line - and land a few hours later on FRIDAY lunchtime. Congratulations you've just gone back in time!!!!

Wow, the thought amused me so much that I had to tell as many people as I could about it - boring many of them to distraction no doubt. But the idea also bemused my friend Spencer so much that he caught the fever too. And he then read up on it and found that it had 80m water visibility and humpback whales frequented the bay from July to September. There was also schools of dolphin to be found and incredible limestone caves above and below the sea.

Whales! We get to swim with HUMPBACK WHALES!!!!

Damn we had to go.

I found that its relatively "cheaper" to get there from Melbourne. Fly Air New Zealand to Auckland - then to catch (the one and only) flight on Saturday morning to the place. By-force you have to stay there for one week until the next plane arrives next Friday... so that you can fly back to Auckland on Saturday. Got it???

Niue is a coral island - its foundation are ancient coral reefs now dead. Only a small layer is top soil - which accounts for the exceptional water visibility (no soil erosion runoff)

The small nation is still recovering from a cyclone which not only leveled parts of the island but also destroyed its coral reefs. Its making a comeback - and you'll see plenty of table top corals, mostly hard corals... and the sort of marine fish life you see at Dayang, Maldives, Manado, but not in great numbers. You probably can see more fish further out in the blue - the fishermen hunt for Wahoo and the other bigger fish in the deeper waters. But we didn't dive there.

The divemaster pointed out nudibranches and moray eels for me to see - but frankly, its was the common stuff we find in the Malayan Archipelago, and I gave them only cursory glances. The corals are mainly hard corals. I saw practically no soft corals at all. Fish life wasn't that abundant as in Raja Ampat or Komodo or Sipadan. I briefly glimpsed a shark, a turtle... ho hum.

The weather has carved out a series of spectacular limestone formations on its coastline. They look gothic looking. There are arches, lookouts, cave with cathedral ceilings, rock pools. Some of the caves are so huge you could fit a WW2 Japanese submarine inside or a scout biplane complete with crane and docking facilities. That would have been awesome to see.

Due to a storm, we did not witness the breathtaking 80 metres visibility underwater. I'd say its more like 30m on our diving days. One dive group saw a Manta Ray sailing by gobbling up plankton. Our group saw nothing of that kind.

Nonetheless the diving experience was still very good. Jumping into that clear sea water and swimming around is still an amazing experience. In the water I cannot sin. I am at one with the ocean. And I am at peace with God. I tumble down into the ocean depths, baptized yet again by the Neptune's hand. My troubles, my fears are forgotten, beneath the blue azure sea.

On land, there were a couple of subterranean passageways that took you to underwater caves where you could snorkel through - but the guide was on holiday and so we did not go. We did climb down one of the labyrinthine staircase which led to a natural vault with a freshwater stream. It was really amazing to see. Truly.

But honestly what I really came for was to dive with whales, big freaking humpback whales. And there were none to see. Unfortunately the whale season ended earlier than expected. A big herd of them came to the bay in late August, early September. One dive group did see a mother and calf on Monday but we weren't with that group unfortunately. I felt like a child who goes to Disneyland but didn't get to go on any of the rides; I was that keyed up, my bad.

We went in the last week of September - but by then the whale sightings had been so subdued that the Dive Operator had cancelled all the whale "hunting" expeditions. If I went back I'd go smack in the middle of the season in August to get a better chance of more whale encounters.

I did manage to swim with the dolphins on three separate trips. On route to the dives the boat might chance upon the dolphins and the divers would get into the water and hang onto the zodiac speedboat while it followed the dolphins. The ones I met were a school or rather a nursery of dolphins, roughly 10 adults and their calves, protected by 2 adult dolphins acted as a decoy group. They were shy though and would swim away from the boat upon being sighted. I wish we had something to feed them to make them stay. It wasn't easy holding onto the speedboat rail rope as it moved with speed.

Accommodation was fairly cheap - roughly NZ$100 a day to rent an entire self-contained bungalow at Lanutahi. It had cable TV, a living room, a kitchen, fridge, cooking utensils, hot water and a personal organic alarm clock, ie. the wild rooster(s) that start croaking at 6am. They woke me up a few times and I went out to greet them with a couple of coral rocks.

Anyway its good to wake up early. The diving started at 7.45am (due to the lack of whales). There were only two dives a day. No night dives. The water temperature was about 26C. I'd recommend a 7mm wetsuit if you have one. I had a 3mm/5mm wetsuit and that was OK.

There is only one dive shop on the island - run by Annie and Ian Gray who are the most nicest of people. Google "Niue Dive". The divers are split up to two or three zodiac dive boats and often go to separate locations. If one of the boat sights a whale or a school of dolphins, the DM radios the information to the other boats. Radio transmission was patchy which made it difficult for the dive boats to communicate.

There are a few grocery shops on the island - and they sell quite a few things, including frozen pork ribs, beef mince, very very delicious NZ apples (which I'm still thinking about), Kikkoman soya sauce, (sadly, no wasbi) etc.. If you want a coconut drink, just pluck one from the nearest tree and borrow a parang to hack the top off and drink the water. You won't find anyone selling it cut though. Paw Paw also grows wild on the island - eat it with fresh lime and you'll think you're in paradise.

If you do intend to bring some food into Niue - just make sure that it is packaged together with your check-in luggage. Air NZ the only carrier into the country only allows ONE check-in luggage. You have to pay $75+ for every additional piece, even if it comes within your permitted 23kg amount.

If I'm going back there again - I would buy my groceries from New Zealand - stuff like fresh mushrooms, dried herbs, earl gray tea bags, and spices, fresh lime, pasta, jelly beans, shortbread biscuits, ... mainly small small stuff easy to carry, not fragile. You cannot bring fresh fruit into New Zealand - to do so would risk a hefty fine.

Israel Mart stocks the most wonderful ice-creams (Movenpick) - it was creamy, fresh (no doughy or icey texture) and for $2 a scoop- I thought it was one of the best treats on the island. I had at least 4 everyday. I swear it was one of the best ice-creams I have ever had before in my life.

They also stock fresh fish caught on the day - including Wahoo and Mahi-Mahi (Coryphaena hippurus). Pretty good, but you had to descale it. I took the expeditious route by (descaling most of the scales then) slicing off the skin - and frying the skin to a crisp.

Great ice-cream and fresh ocean fish... yum!!!!

Niue is a rather sedentary place. Most shops close by 5pm. And on Sunday everyone goes to church or stays at home - even the Radio Station shuts shop. Scuba diving and most active sports are forbidden on Sabbath.

One thing you do notice is the number of wild chickens running all over the island. Other nations have seagulls and pigeons- Niue has chickens. I just couldn't understand it. Why weren't they caught and housed? But the people there seem to prefer to import their eggs and chicken from New Zealand, strangely enough.

The other thing that caught my eye was the number of abandoned buildings and homes - there must be been hundreds of these derelict structures, some quite substantial buildings made out of brick, carved limestone, others made of corrugated iron or wood - all of them all slowly rotting away in the warm climate, eaten by the jungle. You would have thought that the land and house would have been auctioned off to be made into something more productive than an awful testimony to the number of Niueans leaving the country by plane, boat or death.

And the other thing you will notice are the number of graves scattered around the island. Niue does not have a public cemetery, instead the people are buried on their property - which might seem a quaint idea but it does lends an unsettling look to the place.

It seems that most of the island is uninhabited. You'll find wild paw-paws (unsweet papayas) growing wild in various places. It all looks like a scene out of the TV series, LOST. Drive around long enough and you'll come across the Dharma Initiative village I bet.

Niue has a great deal of trade-protection - the Movenpick ice-cream man told me that his import tax is 40%. But this does not stop Niue from relying on foreign aid from New Zealand though. Foreigners are not allowed to purchase property on the island - and even the long abandoned buildings are protected, in the hopes that their residents whether dead or alive will return to claim their ancestral homes. Many islanders have left- seeking employment in New Zealand. The NZ ambassador has a really nice house on the island - great life too - he spends most of his time playing golf.

Postscript: When I got back to Victoria, I went to Westfield Doncaster to try the Movenpick ice-cream being sold there - it tasted horrible, it tasted like dough mixed with lard. So disappointed. I guess I have to fly back to Niue to try their ice-cream again! :)

Friday, September 30, 2011

Voyage to the Land of Yesterday, Niue

Several years ago, I became fascinated with maps. I used to walk into Travel shops to gaze on their wall to ceiling maps. What attracted me especially were the small remote islands scattered predominantly in the South Pacific.

With names like Bora Bora, Tahiti, Glibert Ellice islands, Phoenix Island, Truk, Caroline, etc.. my mind would wonder over these tiny specks of sand and coral.

What would I see there? Would I find magnificent sea creatures? Perhaps an undiscovered and abandoned hidden Japanese naval base? Or uncover some other beautiful object not seen by human eyes? (I'd also settle for a gorgeous Pacific Island mermaid...)


I also noticed that the International dateline cut across the Pacific Ocean like a school child's pencil mark. On one side is one day, on the other marks the last day. And there was this island called Niue (spelt Nu-Ay) which was sitting right on the other side.

(Niue also produced some of the most beautiful stamps in the 1930s by the way)

And thus: To get there, you fly from Auckland on Saturday morning - cross the ID line - and land a few hours later on FRIDAY lunchtime. Congratulations you've just gone back in time!!!!

Wow, the thought amused me so much that I had to tell as many people as I could about it - boring many of them to distraction no doubt. But the idea tickled my friend Spencer so much that he caught the fever too. And he then read up on it and found that it had 80m water visibility and humpback whales frequented the bay from July to September. There was also schools of dolphin to be found and incredible limestone caves above and below the sea.

Damn we had to go.

I found that its relatively "cheaper" to get there from Melbourne. Fly Air New Zealand to Auckland - then to catch (the one and only) flight on Saturday morning to the place. By-force you have to stay there for one week until the next plane arrives next Friday... so that you can fly back to Auckland on Saturday. Got it???

Niue is a rather sedentary place. Most shops close by 5pm. And on Sunday everyone goes to church or stays at home - even the Radio Station shuts shop. Scuba diving and most active sports are forbidden on Sabbath.

Matapa Chasm, Niue. If you look closely - you can see the image of a man leaping off the cliff - around the centre of the photo.

One thing you do notice is the number of wild chickens running all over the island. Other nations have pigeons- Niue has chickens. I just couldn't understand it. Why weren't they caught and housed? But the people there seem to prefer to import their eggs and chicken from New Zealand, strangely enough.

The other thing that caught my eye was the number of abandoned buildings and homes - there must be been hundreds of these derelict structures, some quite substantial buildings made out of brick, carved limestone, others made of corrugated iron or wood - all of them all slowly rotting away in the warm climate, being eaten by the jungle. You would have thought that the land and house would have been auctioned off to be made into something more productive than am ugly testimony to the number of Niueans leaving the country by plane, boat or death.

However the Niue people are quite protectionist of their country - this does not stop them from depending on a great deal of foreign aid from New Zealand though. Foreigners are not allowed to purchase property on the island - and even the long abandoned buildings are protected, in the hopes that their residents whether dead or alive will return to claim their ancestral homes. Many islanders have left- seeking employment in New Zealand.

Niue is a coral island - its foundation are ancient coral reefs now dead. Only a small layer is top soil - which accounts for the exceptional water visibility (no soil erosion runoff) Its still recovering from a cyclone which not only leveled parts of the island but also destroyed its coral reefs. Its making a comeback - and you'll see plenty of table top corals, mostly hard corals... and the sort of marine fish life you see at Dayang, Maldives, Manado, but not in great numbers. You probably can see more fish further out in the blue - the fishermen hunt for Wahoo and the other bigger fish in the deeper waters. But we didn't dive there.

The divemaster pointed out nudibranches and moray eels for me to see - but frankly, its the sort of stuff that is very common in the Malayan Archipelago, and I gave them only cursory glances.

The weather has carved out a series of spectacular limestone formations on its coastline. They look gothic looking. There are arches, lookouts, cave with cathedral ceilings, rock pools. Some of the caves are so huge you could fit a WW2 Japanese submarine inside or a scout biplane complete with crane and docking facilities. That would have been awesome to see.

Due to a storm, we did not witness the breathtaking 80 metres visibility underwater. I'd say its more like 30m on our diving days. One dive group saw a Manta Ray sailing by gobbling up plankton. Our group saw nothing of that kind.

Nonetheless the diving experience was still very good. Jumping into that clear sea water and swimming around is still an amazing experience. In the water I cannot sin. I am at one with the ocean. And I am at peace with God. I tumble down into the ocean depths, baptized yet again by the Neptune's hand. My troubles, my fears are forgotten, beneath the blue azure sea.

The Royal bath pool at Makefu, Niue

On land, there were a couple of subterranean passageways that took you to underwater caves where you could snorkel through - but the guide was on holiday and so we did not go. We did climb down one of the labyrinthine staircase which led to a natural vault with a freshwater stream. It was really amazing to see. Truly.

But what I really came for was to dive with whales, big freaking humpback whales. But unfortunately the whale season ended earlier than expected. A big herd of them came to the bay in late August, early September. One dive group saw a mother and calf on Monday but we weren't with that group. We saw nothing. I felt like a child who goes to Disneyland but didn't get to go on any of the rides.

I did manage to swim with the dolphins on three separate trips. On route to the dives the boat might chance upon the dolphins and the divers would get into the water and hang onto the zodiac speedboat while it followed the dolphins. The ones I met were a school or rather a nursery of dolphins, roughly 10 adults and their calves, protected by 2 adult dolphins acted as a decoy group. They were shy though and would swim away from the boat upon being sighted. I wish we had something to feed them to make them stay. It wasn't easy holding onto the speedboat rail rope as it moved with speed.

Accommodation was fairly cheap - roughly NZ$100 a day to rent an entire self-contained bungalow at Lanutahi, 5 mins walk from the Dive Shop. It had cable TV, a living room, a kitchen, fridge, cooking utensils, hot water and a personal organic alarm clock, ie. the wild rooster(s) that start croaking at 6am. They woke me up a few times and I went out to greet them with a couple of coral rocks.

 Anyway its good to wake up early. The diving started at 7.45am (due to the lack of whales). There were only two dives a day. No night dives. The water temperature was about 26C. I'd recommend a 7mm wetsuit if you have one. I had a 3mm/5mm wetsuit and that was OK.

There is only one dive shop on the island - run by Annie and Ian Gray who are the most nicest of people. Google "Niue Dive". The divers are split up to two or three zodiac dive boats and often go to separate locations. If one of the boat sights a whale or a school of dolphins, the DM radios the information to the other boats. Radio transmission is patchy.

There are a few grocery shops on the island - and they sell quite a few things, including frozen pork ribs, beef mince, very very delicious NZ apples (which I'm still thinking about), Kikkoman soya sauce, (sadly, no wasbi) etc.. If you want a coconut drink, just pluck one from the nearest tree and borrow a parang to hack the top off and drink the water. You won't find anyone selling it cut though. Paw Paw also grows wild on the island - eat it with fresh lime and you'll think you're in paradise.

If you do intend to bring some food into Niue - just make sure that it is packaged together with your check-in luggage. Air NZ the only carrier into the country only allows ONE check-in luggage. You have to pay $75+ for every additional piece, even if it comes within your permitted 23kg amount.

If I'm going back there again - I would buy my groceries from New Zealand - stuff like fresh mushrooms, dried herbs, earl gray tea bags, and spices, fresh lime, pasta, jelly beans, shortbread biscuits, ... mainly small small stuff easy to carry, not fragile. You cannot bring fresh fruit into New Zealand - to do so would risk a hefty fine.

Israel Mart stocks the most wonderful ice-creams (Movenpick) - it was creamy, fresh (no doughy or icey texture) and for $2 a scoop- I thought it was one of the best treats on the island. I had at least 4 everyday. I swear it was one of the best ice-creams I have ever had before in my life.

They also stock fresh fish caught on the day - including Wahoo and Mahi-Mahi (Coryphaena hippurus). Pretty good, but you had to descale it. I took the expeditious route by (descaling most of the scales then) slicing off the skin - and frying the skin to a crisp.

Great ice-cream and fresh ocean fish... yum!!!!

Apparently Westfield Doncaster has a Movenpick ice-cream outlet. Guess where I'm heading tomorrow?

Thursday, September 01, 2011

Compost bins


I just received two Black wheelie bins from Australian Waste Management. They are selling them for about $44 each brand new - you have to add $35 for delivery which I thought was reasonable. If you buy them brand new, you can choose the color and I wanted black. Because Black is Beautiful - and also the right color for compost bins.

Its cheaper if you buy the seconds or the used bins -but you don't get a choice of colors, just what is available on stock.

My local hardware store is selling them for $90 each - not including delivery.

My plan is to use them to make "compost tea", a weed and seed killer. :D

My garden has tons of weeds now. Throwing them into the traditional compost bins helps to kill some of the seeds - but enough of them survive the composting process and will germinate when I use the compost in my garden.

The end result - more weeds.

I really hate weeds. And because of their hardy nature - we end up throwing them away in the council garden trash bins. Which is a pity because we're throwing away a lot of good nutrients and also soil trapped in the weeds. Sometimes we get so many weeds that we run out of space in the compost bins and council bins to dispose of them. The feeling of being overwhelmed by weeds is pretty horrible - probably much the same as that sinking feeling the British colonial troops had when they were being overrun by Zulu imps. haha.

Enter the "compost tea" bin. What you do is to throw the weeds, seeds and all into the bin - then fill it with grey water, rain water etc... After 3 months, everything in the bins rots and turns into putrid waste, hopefully including the blasted clover seeds.

Because of the foul smell, you had better place the bins in a corner of the garden which is secluded. If the smell does really bother you I guess you could gladwrap the opening.

I'm placing them near my traditional compost bins for easy access.

Some people have recommended using a plastic bag to hold the weeds and water - that might be good for small gardens but for bigger gardens like mine I think I'd prefer something more robust.

Size matters!! I chose a smaller size 140litres instead of the 240litres for easy handling. The 240 litre bins once full or even partially full would be very hard to move around. Trying to scoop out the waste of the larger bin would also be problematic; I don't wish to risk falling inside the darn thing!!!

I actually wanted the larger bin because size for size, it was cheaper. But if it may prove to be a hassle to use, what's the point? The tool has to fit the job.

You can use the waste water, diluted of course, and pour it on your garden. Don't use it indoors because of the odor. I think I'll probably just add it to my aerobic bins and open compost bins.

In case you are wondering I have a fairly large garden for a surburan home, roughly about 2,000 sq feet.

I have two council garden waste bins. (330litres),

two aerobic "darlek" type of bins (800litres),

one open compost bins (probably 2000 litres if filled to capacity),

and now two 140litre black wheelie bins which I intend to use as compost tea bins.

Somehow it feels like Christmas!!!

(Edition. 21 Nov. I removed the dead weeds in the container - and it stank like raw sewage - see explanation in the following post)

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Wheelie bin Compost bins


I just received two Black wheelie bins from Australian Waste Management. They are selling them for about $44 each brand new - you have to add $35 for delivery which I thought was reasonable. If you buy them brand new, you can choose the color and I wanted black. Because Black is Beautiful - and also the right color for compost bins.

Its cheaper if you buy the seconds or the used bins -but you don't get a choice of colors, just what is available on stock.

My local hardware store is selling them for $90 each - not including delivery.

My plan is to use them to make "compost tea", a weed and seed killer. :D

My garden has tons of weeds now. Throwing them into the traditional compost bins helps to kill some of the seeds - but enough of them survive the composting process and will germinate when I use the compost in my garden.

The end result - more weeds.

I really hate weeds. And because of their hardy nature - we end up throwing them away in the council garden trash bins. Which is a pity because we're throwing away a lot of good nutrients and also soil trapped in the weeds. Sometimes we get so many weeds that we run out of space in the compost bins and council bins to dispose of them. The feeling of being overwhelmed by weeds is pretty horrible - probably much the same as that sinking feeling the British colonial troops had when they were being overrun by Zulu imps. haha.

Enter the "compost tea" bin. What you do is to throw the weeds, seeds and all into the bin - then fill it with grey water, rain water etc... After 3 months, everything in the bins rots and turns into putrid waste, hopefully including the blasted clover seeds.

Because of the foul smell, you had better place the bins in a corner of the garden which is secluded. If the smell does really bother you I guess you could gladwrap the opening.

I'm placing them near my traditional compost bins for easy access.

Some people have recommended using a plastic bag to hold the weeds and water - that might be good for small gardens but for bigger gardens like mine I think I'd prefer something more robust.

Size matters!! I chose a smaller size 140litres instead of the 240litres for easy handling. The 240 litre bins once full or even partially full would be very hard to move around. Trying to scoop out the waste of the larger bin would also be problematic; I don't wish to risk falling inside the darn thing!!!

I actually wanted the larger bin because size for size, it was cheaper. But if it may prove to be a hassle to use, what's the point? The tool has to fit the job.

You can use the waste water, diluted of course, and pour it on your garden. Don't use it indoors because of the odor. I think I'll probably just add it to my aerobic bins and open compost bins.

In case you are wondering I have a fairly large garden for a surburan home, roughly about 2,000 sq feet.

I have two council garden waste bins. (330litres),

two aerobic "darlek" type of bins (800litres),

one open compost bins (probably 2000 litres if filled to capacity),

and now two 140litre black wheelie bins which I intend to use as compost tea bins.

Somehow it feels like Christmas!!!

(update1: I removed the dead weeds in the container - and it stank like raw sewage - see explanation in the following post)

update 2
I finally managed to take out the waste from one of the bins - I threw most of it into one of the dalak bins and the rest I diluted and spread it onto my garden. The tomato plant seems to like it. Looks like most of the seeds are dead but its a bit hard to say until after we experience one whole year.

I found that I had to modify the hose section of the Bunnings plastic watering containers- drilling them out to make them bigger, too much crud was getting stuck.

It still stinks alright. But after a couple of days the smell goes away.

I highly recommend using old clothes and full length rubber gloves and a hat when handling the crap.

Postscript - 23 April 2013
Its been over 2 years since I started the project and to that I've added 2 more black bins.

The good news is that it seems most of the weed seeds do get taken out by soaking them in water for over 1 - 2 years. The bad news is that it looks like some of the very small oxalis bulbs are actually surviving the process. I checked on my number 2 bin - emptying out the contents - and to my horror I found small little oxalis bulbs floating on the surface. I'm not sure whether they were introduced earlier in the season - as I have not been very stringent in making sure that no new weeds get reintroduced into the brewing cycle once started.

I think a good solution would be to apply the tea to areas of the garden where it would be easy to control the oxalis should it grow from bulb again.

Other solutions please look here:

http://www.sfgate.com/homeandgarden/goldengategardener/article/Nipping-oxalis-in-the-bulbs-is-key-to-control-2570258.php

The other thing that I should mention is that if too much heavy material - esp. weeded soil - gets added to the bins - this could cause the material to not compact. In other words the tea becomes too dense - more cake than tea. This makes it extremely difficult and dangerous to try and move the bins around - they are simply too heavy and could pose a danger to the gardener.

Another solution to preventing the weed seeds from germinating is to sieve it out. You get a pail - cut a hole - you place an old tee shirt to act as a sieve - and pour the crap from the bins into that pail. The waste water will leak out - just place it in the area of garden that you want to fertilize and leave it there. Dilute the mix with water if you think the brew is too strong.
 

Change of focus

I'm changing the focus of my blog - devoting it to my garden here in Melbourne. Its fairly large - roughly 1800 sq feet.

When we first got here over 20 years ago it had gum trees, ivy, and ferns. We removed the lot.

We have since planted the roses, crocus, bluestone walls and steps, ornamental trees, bulbs like tulips and ranunculus.

Ah yes, my ranunculus flowers. They are a stunning sight.

I plan to grow them back next year in 2012.

Gardening is a love hate relationship with me. There is often so much to do. The combination of sunny winter weather and wet rain cause the weeds to multiply in the millions. Its a hard slog to remove them all.

In my respects, the garden is also a spiritual metaphor. Is it no surprise that God gave Adam a garden as his first care of duty? Gardening was man's first job.

It gives me great pleasure to see the final product but the journey there is hard and arduous.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Change of focus

I'm changing the focus of my blog - devoting it to my garden here in Melbourne. Its fairly large - roughly 1800 sq feet.

When we first got here over 20 years ago it had gum trees, ivy, and ferns. We removed the lot.

We have since planted the roses, crocus, bluestone walls and steps, ornamental trees, bulbs like tulips and ranunculus.

Ah yes, my ranunculus flowers. They are a stunning sight.

I plan to grow them back next year in 2012.

Gardening is a love hate relationship with me. There is often so much to do. The combination of sunny winter weather and wet rain cause the weeds to multiply in the millions. Its a hard slog to remove them all.

In my respects, the garden is also a spiritual metaphor. Is it no surprise that God gave Adam a garden as his first care of duty? Gardening was man's first job.

It gives me great pleasure to see the final product but the journey there is hard and arduous.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Chiam See Tong and 300 Spartans: Some thoughts on the SG Election 2011

Any error found in this essay is unintended and not malicious. Sources have been gleaned from Wikipedia and personal notes. 
The Singapore 2011 General election follows in the shadow of the Opposition's historic win 20 years ago, back in 1991 when 4 Opposition MPs were elected to Parliament. Three of them were from the SDP which was led by Chiam See Tong which enabled CST to actually form a working Parliamentary Opposition for the first time since the 1960s.

Chiam had proposed a non-confrontational style to the Opposition movement. Unlike JB Jeyaretnam, he believed in a thoughtful considerate (gentlemanly) approach to taking on the Ruling Party. It made common sense, most Singaporeans acknowledged the good that the PAP had achieved - public housing/transportation, and social + economic stability. To aggressively hammer and criticize the government at every point and turn would reduce the effectiveness of the tiny minority voice of the Opposition. Eventually, Jeyaretnam paid the price and was ejected from Parliament.

Chiam on the other hand stayed the course and even won the respect of the Old Man himself who on occasion would seek his opinion on policy. Maybe its because he was assured that he would receive an independent rational response. PAP Ministers and MPs were bemused to see LKY summoning CST - only to receive the laconic response that he'll talk to the Founder of Modern Singapore after he got his coffee!!! Chiam's straight talk, coupled with his lack of fear, un-cowed nor overawed by the most august leader - gained CST a level of influence not realized by other Opposition voices or even some PAP MPs.

As it is, Chiam See Tong has lost his place in Parliament, neither was his wife able to retain the Potong Pasir seat. A lot of Singaporeans are upset but I don't see it as a zero-sum game, ie. "PAP won, Chiam See Tong/Lina/ Potong Pasir residents/democracy :) lose".

2480 years ago, when King Leonides and 300 Spartans (+Thespians allies  etc) dared to hold the Thermopylae pass against a million strong Persian Army - it wasn't to "win" - to defeat the entire Persian Army. The point was to hold off the enemy to buy time for the Greeks - Athenians, Spartans etc.. to mobilize their armies. That Leonides' small band of troops could stave off an enemy army vastly stronger in numbers - for even a day, eventually three full days (before being overwhelmed), was a god-like miracle.

The delay was a strategic disaster for the Persians, a shameful humiliation. Xerxes was so furious he had the Greek king's corpse ritually mutilated. Nonetheless, the battle put an awful dread into the Persian heart for if a handful of Spartan soldiers could hold them off for 3 days what more the entire Greek Army?

Today Leonides' and his 300 Spartans are remembered not for being annihilated but for their bravery and for their honorable, incredible fight against overwhelmingly odds. That in itself was the ultimate victory, celebrated to this day, for which they have gained eternal fame and glory.

So what if "Aunty Lina" lost Potong Pasir? That a relatively unknown housewife (an "aunty") could audaciously fight a three time PAP contender- who was promising millions of dollars in incentives - and lose by a mere 114 votes (0.72%) - is victory enough.

We also have to bear in mind the herculean fact that Chiam See Tong held the seat for 27 years against a supremely stronger opponent!!! And the political scene back then was considerably more harsher with situations like "The Marxist Conspiracy", "Operation Cold Storage" slamming into the news headlines. Chia Thye Poh, a member of the Barisan Sosialis, was still under detention without trial under the ISA. That was the political climate back then.

Despite the PAP threats, cojoling, and recriminations, the people of Potong Pasir kept on voting for their "Mr Chiam". Who would have thought that Singaporeans who are said to be materialistic, self-centered etc.. would reject  the promises for HDB property up-grading, better amenities, and other public services in favor for what exactly?

Chiam even fought off Mah Bow Tan's electoral bid which perhaps caused the PAP not a small amount of consternation as they did not field another high flyer candidate in that seat ever again.

When the SDP won 3 seats in the 1991 GE. Chiam See Tong was riding high. For the first time since the 1960s, there could, be a working Parliamentary Opposition - 3 SDP, 1 WP. It was very small but it all looked very promising.

Then came an Ephialtes moment, in 1993 Chiam faced a revolt against his own leadership in the SDP - apparently led by his own protégé. There was even a serious attempt to expel Chiam from the SDP which was confounded due to a legal technicality. If it had succeeded, he would have had to stand down from his seat in Potong Pasir. Since the next election was sometime away (1997) perhaps someone from the SDP hoped to take over Chiam's Parliamentary seat? A terrible thought indeed.

Its one thing to be thrown out of your seat by the PAP, its quite another to be thrown out by members of your own political party. Imagine the horror if the PAP expelled Lee Kuan Yew from the PAP (and Parliament) because of remarks he had made. !!! This bitter infighting certainly did not reflect well on the Opposition movement; its no wonder the PAP has dominated Singapore's political battleground for 50 years.

Eventually in the next election, Chiam had to join another party, the SPP, and fight the very party he founded (as well as the PAP). Amazingly, he still managed to win. Not many Singaporeans remember this or perhaps they do since the SDP has not won a single seat ever since that incident.

In this General Election, its noteworthy to remember that Chiam in the Bishan GRC managed to score a decent innings against the PAP. A spectacular result considering the odds. Who would have thought that a 74 year old opposition politician stricken with stroke together with a couple of unknowns could achieve a 43% result against the PAP team led by a Deputy Prime Minister in the Heartland?

Its highly admirable that Chiam chose to step outside his comfort zone, despite his immense frailties, and take on this almost impossible challenge. Would you? A lesser man would have given up ages ago. But like King Leonidas, Chiam See Tong has remained steadfast despite the odds.

The Ruling Party, like the Persian Military Behemoth, won in the end but certainly not convincingly. Like the 300 Spartans, the people of Potong Pasir defied the odds. For 27 years, the people of Potong Pasir made its point: "Don't tread on us." You can expect that the PAP will be making good on its promises on the upgrading. You can also expect Potong Pasir to be merged with another constituency before the next election. But if promises are reneged - Potong Pasir will be like a porcupine fish swallowed by the shark.

As for the magnificent win by the Worker's Party in Aljuneid and the overall drop in the popular vote for the Ruling Party I'll talk about that some other time.

In the meanwhile, I'd like to end with a poem by Robert Graves - its a satrical poem awash in irony. Purporting to tell the Persian version of history, the parochial speaker casually and condescendingly dismisses the Greek victory (the earlier one at Marathon) to focus on the "bigger picture", avoiding any serious reflection on their defeat. I certainly hope the sentiments are not shared by the PAP... for Singapore's sake.

Truth-loving Persians do not dwell upon
The trivial skirmish fought near Marathon.
As for the Greek theatrical tradition
Which represents that summer's expedition
Not as a mere reconnaisance in force
By three brigades of foot and one of horse
(Their left flank covered by some obsolete
Light craft detached from the main Persian fleet)
But as a grandiose, ill-starred attempt
To conquer Greece - they treat it with contempt;
And only incidentally refute Major Greek claims, by stressing what repute
The Persian monarch and the Persian nation won by this salutary demonstration:
Despite a strong defence and adverse weather
All arms combined magnificently together. -- Robert Graves

Bibliography, Notes, Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chee_Soon_Juan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiam_See_Tong
http://wonderingminstrels.blogspot.com/2000/08/persian-version-robert-graves.html

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Party for kids




Photos taken at Euen's party

Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Centurion Tank outing




I took my niece and nephew to Carribean Gardens, an ex-Army base turned into a park. The Army left behind two of their Centurion tanks.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Transformers The Dark Side of the Moon

Rating:
Category:Movies
Genre: Action & Adventure
I didn't like it. It had too many plot holes. Watch it at your peril.

I'll tell you why later but at the moment I'm trying my best not to remember the stupid story.

And its not worth watching in 3D.

Friday, July 08, 2011

Jesus Culture: Show me Your Glory


I think this is one of the most awe inspiring songs I have ever heard.Verse 1: I see the cloud, I step in I want to see Your glory as Moses did Flashes of light, rolls of thunder Pre-chorus: I’m not afraid, I’m not afraid Chorus: Show me Your glory, show me Your glory Show me Your glory, show me Your glory Verse 2: I’m awed by Your beauty, lost in Your eyes I want to walk in Your presence like Jesus did Your glory surrounds me and I’m overwhelmed Bridge: I long to look on the face of the One that I love Long to stay; in Your presence is where I belong Tag: Oh how we love You, oh how we love You Oh how we love You, Jesus

Saturday, June 11, 2011

The Disconnected Society

Sometime ago, one of my cousins - Hui Ling - made a perceptive comment.

"Did you know it thinks a great deal of effort to harvest these cashew nuts we are eating (gobbling by the handful)?"

I vaguely nodded, using my wise vague nod.

"If we had to do harvest it for ourselves, we would have to be expending a lot of time and energy into the activity." She added.

That comment has stayed in the back of my mind for a long time.

In one word - we are "disconnected".

We are living in a disconnected world. (When I say "we" - I mean citizens living in developed nations. A world where we do not need to plant, forage, run, harvest for our food.

We work in totally unrelated environments from our source of food.

With our hands, we type, draw (with our computer mice), and work in non-farm activities.

We do not need to run and hunt for buffalo, boar, deer, etc..

We do not need to plant, harvest, forage for our crops, vegetables and fruits.

In fact, most of us live very sedentary lives. When we work, we are sitting down in an office chair. When are relaxing, in front of a TV, in front of a computer, in front of a video game, we are sitting down. When are traveling, we are sitting down in a passenger seat, in our car.

The amount of effort it would take to acquire a food item - hunting and gathering - is no longer required. We just go to a supermarket, 711, fast food outlet, restaurant and buy it. In fact, we could probably order it over the internet.

The amount of physical activity required is negligible - practically non-existent compared to our ancestors.

Its unreal. And its also not healthy.

In the past, we had to really exert ourselves physically to acquire meat, berries, rice, wheat etc.. We also had to put in a lot of effort to obtain the basic essentials like drinking water, firewood for cooking, heating etc..

Now its all there. And we can sit in our comfy sofas, eat buckets of fried chicken, eat steak, eat whale meat (imagine the extraordinary effort it would take to acquire that in the past!!!), and do very little in the way of physical activity that would correlate to the direct manufacture of the food source.

Of course, it happens in every part of our modern lives too. We live in homes built by construction companies. We do not build our own motorized vehicles (I tried. Not good idea). We fly in aeroplanes without the need to understand the laws of aerodynamics. We use a banking system with scant regard to the flimsy state of our monetary system.

Do we really understand how things work. Or are we caught like little cogs in a massive mechanical machine moving about unthinking, ignorant?

When I was a child, I was so ignorant that I was actually shocked that cha-siew paos were prepared/baked. I actually thought they grew from trees!

But I digress - we are disconnected from our surroundings in this monetary based society and it distorts realities.

It distorts realities in the sense that people living in affluent nations can destroy the habitats, and wipe out entire species - not because they are living in their proximity - but because with their cash they can place an inexorable demand for shark fins, whale meat, bison flesh, seal fur, etc..

Fishing trawlers cross the globe laying miles of nets that catch literally everything in their path, including dolphins, manta rays, endangered species - most of which is thrown back into the sea or ground down to become cat food or "fish paste". Merchants tempt local fisherman to wipe out their fish reserves.



Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Airborei, Manta Ridge, Raja Ampat April 2011




We dived at Manta Ridge and the Mantas came on cue. Beautiful majestic creatures. Calm your heart, stay still, and they will come to you, wondering in amazement at us just as we are of them. Do not chase after them, it will only cause them to flee. Follow them only at a respectful distance but the second you speed up, they will sense the chase and move away. I was a little disappointed with some of the dive team who chased after the mantas and practically jammed their big cameras with their massive strobes into their eyes; being experienced divers they should have known better. I choose the melancholic soundtrack (a Mongolian song, Hodoo by Urna) to reflect the sheer grace and magnificence of the Manta - and the sad realization that their days are numbered as the number of fishing trawlers, drift nets increase. Will I see Manta Rays 40 years from now? Or will they be a distant memory like the lyrics of a long forgotten song?

Monday, May 02, 2011

The Call of the Kings: Raja Ampat




I went scuba diving in Raja Ampat for a week on the dive boat Sea Safari 8, a fine ship with a good crew. Raja Ampat is located on the western end of Papua New Guinea, known as West Papua, Indonesia. I particularly loved the dives at Misool Islands, Boo, and at Airborei, Manta Ridge where we saw the majestic winged creatures. The area was filled with such amazing natural pristine beauty. There were underwater caverns the size of cathedrals. Sunlight streamed down from some gaps in the limestone bathing the caverns in a blue surreal glow. We even saw dolphins but they were shy and kept their distance.

I love diving here - it was so beautiful and pristine. I'd say its better than the dive at Komodo. The visibility however was not so good, perhaps caused by the storms in the area. I think June/July might be clearer.

Our Indonesian / West Papua dive guides were fantastic and brought us to all the right locations.

I love the sea here. It gave me great pleasure and joy to sit on the bridge or the crow's nest and gaze at the magnificent salt water wilderness. I could imagine myself an ancient mariner sailing across unchartered waters and seeing dolphins, whales, and all manner of amazing sea creatures frolicking in the waters. Now I see mainly the massive clouds sitting past the horizon - making it seem that our sea was a thin slender table - measurable. Sail past that point and you'll fall over the side.

I was using a brand new camera for this trip, the Olympus XZ-1.

Photo Album 2011-05-02




Saturday, April 02, 2011

Manado trip May 2011

My first dive trip of the year, not counting my abalone free dive daytrips, was to Manado.

Apparently at Manado, in the waters of the Celebes Sea, you get to see

1. Sperm Whales - 40 were spotted at one time.

2. Orcas. Yes, killer whales, who take a fancy for the Whales or Dolphins

3. Dolphins. A Singaporean photographer has a sweet shot of one doing a jump against a Rainbow background.

3. Friendly Whale Sharks.

A story is told of two divers who were busy snapping photos of nudibranches and other small creatures when they suddenly noticed it was becoming decidedly overcast. They assumed it was clouds blocking the sun. When they surfaced, the ecstatic boat crew were asking how many spectacular photos did they take of the Whale Shark that was loitering over them, enjoying their air-bubbles.

The big stuff is found in between the waters of Bunaken and Manado. I spent a whole week at Manado, I didn't see anything big. I did see many interesting small creatures though. I refuse to call them "critters" - it sounds so provincial. Many of them were very cute - I was quite amused to see a furry seaweed covered crab that looked like a teddy bear. Photos don't it justice.

Unfortunately it rained half the time that I was there. And the damn smokers polluted the air non-stop with their cigarette smoke. Next time, I'm going to bring a cover mask. If the Indonesian divers weren't smoking, they were coughing their TB infected lungs out. Covering your mouth when you cough is considered bad form in Indonesia: they may be poor, but they share their germs. I find their generosity in this regard overwhelming.

Thankfully, I got my own room at the resort. La Racasse. Its a pretty good place. We each had our own ensuite which came with a 24 hour cable TV channel. I found myself shamelessly watching war documentaries on the History Channel until 11am. Eventually my guilty conscious found me out - so I headed out to the lounge room to enjoy the sea breeze, gaze at the surf, try and spot the Loch Ness monster or Flipper or Willy the Killer Whale etc.. and to mingle with the other guests. 

But I found that my lungs and Indonesian cigarette smoke are not compatible. So I retreated back to my air con room to watch more war and architecture documentaries.

.... Damn it, my gay neighbor upstairs is humping his cat again or bouncing a big ball on the ground. The fucker causes so much irritation, I wonder whether its a gay thing...

Back to topic - To be honest, I didn't enjoy the Manado trip a lot. The highlight was the trip to the Lehbeh Straits - which took over a total of 5 hours of driving there and back. We got to see an electric looking clam. Plenty of small critters again. 

I guess I don't enjoy muck diving as much as I enjoy wall diving or seeing colorful coral.

The whole process of searching through silt, brown sand, abandoned trash, plastic bottles, plastic bags for a couple of amazing looking tiny creatures is - fascinating! Don't get me wrong. Its quite the experience. But to do that day in, day out gets old very fast.

On one of the dives, the Divemaster, instead of searching for creatures, was busy hunting for his dinner. which was a small yellow pattern conch shellfish. I even helped his quest, thinking I would share some of the bounty for dinner later. No chance, the bugger jumped off the boat and swam to shore with his catch. It was nonetheless an impressive feat given the stormy water conditions. I did find an impressive helmet size conch shell. It was so smooth, shiny and pretty. I wanted to keep it but there was a living creature inside, so I planted it back. Not sure how long that will stay there though given the tremendous amount of overfishing here.

We managed one day's diving at Bunaken but the rainy stormy weather kept most of the diving to the shallow waters at Manado. Shallow water I think is really shitty. Most of the city waste goes straight into the sea. I saw this woman defecating in a river, then later saw the same river leading to our dive site. Woopee.

Maybe it was the unremitting cigarette smoke, or just the muck diving conditions - or a combination of both that made me feel rather sick towards the end of the trip. I was glad to be back home.

The best time to go to Manado is May/June I went in March. 

(Update: On second thought, I think I was a little too critical. I guess the wet weather, constant drizzle, made me a little grumpy.

It really was pretty good. I mean, I dived at Lembeh Straits!!! The ride to the dive site is really beautiful and a foretaste of the wonder that lay beneath. However, the floor is still a brown sandy depressing morass. 

I guess I just found out that I'm a blue water diver at heart. :D

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and Dictatorship

What is it with the Left and their love for murderous dictators?
I can understand it if a person who holds Conservative views shares sympathy for a benevolent dictator or even a ruthless one. But the Left, why? The Left meaning people who are supposed to love human rights, human freedom, fair justice, worker's rights, etc..
All the communist revolutions - starting with the French Revolution (through Russian, Chinese Revolutions) ended in utter failure. Instead of freedom, the citizens received a government much worse than the old regime, the exact opposite of what the revolutionaries fought for (but I guess that's why its called a Revolution - meaning it circles back 360 degrees)
The French Revolution created The Terror, Napoleon Bonaparte.
The Russian Revolution beget Stalin and the brutal Soviet regime.
The Chinese Revolution made Mao, one of the worse rulers of China whose reign resulted in the death of over 50 million Chinese people and the destruction of uncountable numbers precious artifacts.
And whenever the Left get into power - all sorts of stupid cranky ideas get entertained - hello "Great Leap Forward" and the "Cultural Revolution". And these people are supposed to be intellectuals for crying out loud.
Anyway here are some articles about the Left and their support for Gaddaffi who supports freedom of speech, religious tolerance, worker's rights, equal distribution of wealth... oh wait, no, the guy is a megalomanic who surrounds himself with a bodyguard of 40 virgins, cuthroats, child killing terrorists, and has amassed a fortune for his family at the terrible expense of his people. Who would want to be a friend to him?
 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/dictators-useful-idiots-happy-to-take-his-money/story-e6frg6zo-1226010964238
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/left-wingers-change-their-tune-on-gaddafis-regime/story-fn59niix-1226010981876

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Black Swan

Rating:★★★★★
Category:Movies
Genre: Mystery & Suspense
In short: I loved it. Its a flawless film. I watched it tonight, and wow, I thought it was one of the best films I have ever watched.

Natalie Portman's performance was mesmerizing. Her acting was superlative. She played the role of the sheltered, insecure, fragile, but highly skilled ballerina to harrowing perfection.

The other actors Barbara Hersey, Vincent Cassel, and Mila Kunis also give exceptional performances.

The story, pacing, direction was also brilliant. Darren Aronofsky, the director and script writers should win an Academy award for their work.



But wow, I love how they brought the film to that ultimate climax - that Dance of the Black Swan - I was riveted. I don't wish to give the story away - but Portman had spell-binding screen presence. Did anyone else notice the shadow of the black wings in the background?? Wow!!! I want to watch it again!!! That was good!



Hmmm... ok, what I didn't particularly like was the handheld camera effect at the initial part of the film. I guessed it helped conjure up the tension - that feeling of being stalked. ... But to be honest, I totally forgot about it midway when they switched to more orthodox filming approaches.



Other things- ok - so its got a few adult themes. I suppose the use of drugs will result in this film being cut or banned in Singapore. But it wasn't gratuitous.

Friday, January 14, 2011

The King's Speech (Collin Firth) 2010

Lionel Logue: [as King George "Berty" is lighting up a cigarette] "Don't do that in here".

Prince Albert (later King George VI): Why not?

Logue: Sucking smoke into your lungs will kill you.

Albert: My physicians tell me it helps to relax the throat.

Logue: They're idiots.

Albert: They've been knighted.

Logue: Makes it official then.

*****

With such witty and wonderful dialogue, how could I not like this film?

The story is about the then Prince Albert (or rather His Highness Prince Albert of York, "Albert Frederick Arthur George" , otherwise known as Bertie to family) second in line to the throne of Great Britain (when it was Great) and his painful stammer which is a source of acute embarrassment to himself (as well as his family and nation).

Medical knowledge and their treatment of stammering was not so good back then. The doctors even advised him that smoking cigarettes would help ease his stammering. The other treatments prescribed by the medical establishment prove equally as ineffectual and embarrassing.

Enter Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), the enigmatic speech therapist. The Prince's snobby but practical wife, played by the now matronly Helen Bonham-Carter, tracked him down and hired him to treat her husband.

The story then revolves around the developing relationship between Bertie and Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). We see them as the odd couple at the start. The proud Prince who is conscious of his social status and Logue, kind but abrasive and irreverent in that typical smartass Aussie manner.

Eventually, they did develop a warm and affectionate friendship. I guess in part because Logue realized that stammering was due in part to social and psychological pressures - and helped to address those issues in the Prince/ King's life. The other doctors treated the problem as purely a bio-mechanical problem which could be fixed by stuffing marbles down his throat or just yelling at the patient "to improve".

Both actors give great performances. Firth is brilliant as the aloof, initially reluctant, and distrustful aristocrat, while Rush plays the witty, flippant specialist who deeply admires his difficult client despite his arrogance.

I also absolutely adored the beautiful 1920 style architecture and the other marvelous set pieces. I was mesmerized by Logue's spartan art deco office, that imposing large fire place, the criss cross stained glass, the ornate bronze lights... the simple elegance of that room made me want to rush home and redo it. Bloody hell my room is a mess.

I felt that the film could have been improved on three parts.
. The film really needed to stress the unsuitability of Prince Edward to be King. Edward, Albert's older brother, was 1st in line to the throne. Albert became King George VI due to his brother, Edward, infamously abdicating to marry Wallis Simpson, a divorcee, which was prohibited at the time.



Of course, modern scruples would wish to paint Edward as the real hero - giving up his kingship for LOVE - that's the REAL STORY in today's society.



But in actual fact he was a playboy, a dilettante. He didn't give a damn about his role as king instead he just wanted to live the high life, and sleep with as many married women as he could grab. Even after he abdicated he was constantly badgering his brother for cash to fund his extravagant lifestyle. This was despite the fact that he was already considerably wealthy owning plenty of properties inherited from his father. In short he would have made a terrible king and its a very good thing that he stepped down.



It also wasn't just the Royal Family that was against the marriage. The Dominions - the representatives from Australia, New Zealand, for example, were scornful of the marriage and said they wouldn't approve of having an "adulterer" as their Head of State. Edward's response was (in effect) "So what? There weren't that many people in Australia anyhow."

Edward's lover - Wallis Simpson - also made a very poor candidate as Queen. She was the ultimate gold digger, swinging from husband to husband, lover to lover in search of a bigger purse. She was also a Nazi sympathizer; she was even reputed to have been sleeping with Ribbentrop, Nazi Germany's Foreign Affairs Minister. At a time of war, she traitorously leaked sensitive information about the Allied defenses to Nazi sympathizers and was practically happy when England was bombed by Germany. She was a pretentious upstart who sought the status and priviledge given to royalty without any of the responsibility. Wallis demanded that her staff refer to "Her Royal Highness", which she was not entitled to.



In short, she was a very unpleasant woman totally undeserving of the public affection then and now.



The couple also visited Nazi Germany several times and met with Hitler (without the approval of their Government). During the first year of WW2, Edward and Simpson stayed on in occupied France, apparently in the hope that England would collapse and that he would be appointed King by the Nazis.



The film made the mistake of telling this negative aspect of the couple in a small conversational scene- rather than showing it. For the sake of drama they could have had a scene where Albert finds the couple talking with the Ribbentrop - cumulating with Edward trying to persuade Albert to take a more pro-Nazi stance.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallis,_Duchess_of_Windsor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VIII_of_the_United_Kingdom



Instead we are left with the negative (and false) impression (in the film) that Albert's wife, Elizabeth, was a snooty arrogant snob who despised Wallis for being a divorcee and an American. In reality Elizabeth never said a nasty word to Wallis as shown in the film.



2. The Handling of WW2 and the King's role in it. Whilst the film is about Albert's stammering problems, it is also about the importance of the King as a symbolic leader of Great Britain - hence the vital importance of the King's need to conquer his problem. The scene at the end when Edward, now King George VI, gives an impressive speech felt a bit too triumphant - the way he swaggers back like a rock star was so wrong. I felt that detracted from the seriousness of the situation. Their country was at war - and although the King had given a great war speech - it should have been tied in with the gravity of the event. They were at war. Millions of people were going to get maimed and killed.



I felt they should have had a cautionary moment at the end. Logue (et al) could have heartily congratulated the King, the King is happy, but then he pauses and says, "But its going to be a long war... I'm giving speeches while sending young men to their deaths." They both look very solemnly at each other. Then Logue says something about the importance of the King's speech to the nation and the people - and the fact that although Hitler was a powerful orator, the King represented something morally superior... and needed to articulate that.



3. Stylewise - this is just my personal opinion - I felt the handling of Prince Albert's stammering problems in public could have been done better. What was the point in the opening scene which spent 5+ minutes showing the BBC presenter, an incidental character in the story, preparing himself? They should have done more with the scenes where Albert is consciously stammering and there's total silence - just Albert and his acute embarrassment.

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

The Beckoning Silence

I just watched the documentary, "The Beckoning Silence" - which is a film about mountain climbers who climbed the infamous North Face, and the perils that they faced. Its narrated by Joe Simpson who also has an incredible story of survival to relate. He even wrote a book about it, "Touching the Void".

I found this story - enthralling to say the least - due largely to the exceptional narration given by Joe Simpson, a man who has been there, done that, experienced defeat, depression, and revival!

He tells his own remarkable story, entwining it with the tale of the ill-fated climbers from the story, "The White Spider".

If you are kind of bored at work, or feeling rather miserable, I urge you to watch this film - not to motivate you to do this sort of crazy activity - but to show the level of human endurance, strength, perseverance, and ultimately, rash recklessness... stupidity. All that effort, and for what? The thrill. The Beckoning Silence. The lure of the Syren.

I can relate to that, as I've done some pretty dumb things in my life before.