Macau - Day 3, Part 3

"Music is the only language in which you cannot say a mean or sarcastic thing." - John Erskine

O RLY

***

While preparing my France travelogue, I realised I still had 2 parts left for my Macau one. It'd kind of fallen by the side in the last 5 months.

Oops.

For reference,

Day 3, Part 2

Macau
Day 3 - 28th February - More wandering, Macau Museum (Part 3)


Dragon Dance in the streets: Qiang. Dong Qiang. Dong Qiang Qiang Dong Qiang. Qiang Dong Qiang Qiang Qiang Qiang.


Takoyaki place with stuff more exciting than the usual Japanese takoyaki


"The Grill House Portuguese Churrascaria Portuguesa"
I wondered how it differed from Brazilian ones


Squashed snowmen, Pikachu, a Pig and a Chamber Pot


Mao Zedong! A true symbol of Macau's adherence to the principle of "One Country, Two Systems"

I then happened upon the Capitol Theatre, which looked quite rundown.


Capitol Theatre



Capitol Theatre


Stream of shoppers. You'd have imagined that the street would've been wider, but that's Macau for you.

I then reached the Cathedral of Macau.


You can see why neither Guidebook mentioned it, despite its supposedly 1622 building.


Cathedral Nave


Cathedral Altar


Labeled candles - at the other place they were anonymous. For some reason I am amused by votive candles with dedications in Chinese.

Outside the cathedral, I saw this ang moh woman eating "Ireland Potato" (which had previously caught my eye). I went up to her and asked her if it was good. She said "oh my god" (apparently my talent for traumatising people extends overseas too) and then said the cheese sticks were good, but the normal potato products were not.

Some sights which I'd previously snapped at night:


Square outside cathedral


Fountain below square


And the road to that fountain

For lunch I went to a Portuguese place in the alley with many Portuguese restaurants (where I'd eaten the first night). I asked the Filipina waitress what the difference was between the fried prawns with tomato rice and the shrimp cake with tomato rice (both from the dinner menu - the lunch menu looked boring despite coming with a drink and soup for the same price as what I had), and she recommended the fried prawns. Maybe because they cost MOP 9 more, hah.

Sweating on a cool day and humid means it's damn cold when you go into airconditioned areas, which is why I ordered warm water (a very rare occurence for me). Hah.


Unfortunately, they had run out of tomato rice, so I settled for "Portuguese rice" (not very different from white). Fried with olive oil and spices this was not bad (98 MOP).


History taken over by neo-colonialism (SK-II)




Ad for almond cookies: "中國内地沒有分店" ("No branches on Mainland China")


A bakery was giving out free samples of the almond cookies Macau is so famous for

I also had a sample piece of bakkwa, which was thicker and tederer than in Singapore.


"The flower-pots are public property, please do not take it."
This is damn sad

I then headed to the Macau Museum, in the Monte Fort, where I basked in the aircon for a while before entering.


How to economically translate Portuguese names into Chinese.


Contestable tract on religious harmony in China claiming that Christianity and Islam are "important component[s] of the national culture"


Map of China, 18th century

I didn't know CHina customised goods for the West despite its insularity.


"Kraak" porcelain with bird and floral designs, Ming Dynasty, Wan Li
This is the crappiest China I've ever seen. They had better, but still.


Sancai horse, Tang Dynasty


Chinese Occidentalism: "After the VIII Century, the increased traffic along the Silk Route, led to the popular representation of the bizarre features of the Central Asian tradesmen in Chinese art beginning from the Tang Dynasty on - with a protruding nose and thick beard"


Plate - Judgement of Paris. Qianglong period.


Always look on the Bright Side of Life


Painting representing astronomical observation in Beijing, 1996


Underglaze Copper-red Pear-shaped Vase, Yuhuchunping
Yuan/Ming Underglaze Copper Red is rare and valuable because it's hard to make, and has a high failure rate. But to me it's still not as pretty as other types of porcelain


St John the Baptist, 15th century


Imperial Award, Qing Dynasty (1829). I'm not sure what the other language is.


Coats of Arms


Image of Goddess A-Ma (the one for whom the city is named)


Banner of our Lady of Immaculate Conception


Guan Yin representations


Shrine for Local God of Land, Qing Dynasty

The museum screened a film which essentially portrayed traditional fisherman as noble savages. There was a lot of archival footage of junks from the 40s and 50s, when fishing in Macau was at its peak.


Dough Models


Firecracker brands


Macanese food that would've been served in homes (for a function, IIRC)

The museum said har cheong (prawn paste) had brandy in it. Haram!


Blurb on Macanese cooking


Fu Kien (Hokkien) puppets


More puppets


More about puppets


Puppets from Canton


Crickets and cricket coffins


Champion Flag of Cricket Fight

I didn't know women celebrated their major (i.e. old) birthdays at 61, 71, 81 and 91. It's a Yin vs Yang thing.


When love dies:

"Tree of Love

It is said that a long time ago, in the village of Mong-Ha, a young man and a young woman fell in love with each other. Since their families were strongly against their marriage, both of them were in despair and committed suicide. At the place where they were buried a tree with two trunks linked together grew slowly.

Such a tree was seen in the backyard of the Kun Iam Temple before, but unfortunately the tree is already dead now.""

The museum said that the 3 big events in life were birth, marriage and death. Nothing about children, but still: good luck to all the extra guys in China.


I was bemused to see this, since I used to play this in Primary School.


Candle stand for wedding, 20th century.


If you look hard you can see people with Portuguese blood, but you can't tell by listening, since Cantonese is the lingua franca after all.

Strangely, it seemed easier to find Portuguese than Macanese food in Macau, but in Singapore the latter seems less uncommon.

They translated Rambo: First Blood into "第一滴血". Looks like I'm not the only one who does literal translations!

Links - 23rd October 2010

"The problem with any unwritten law is that you don't know where to go to erase it." - Glaser and Way

***

Interlopers Run Amok: Guys Crash Road Races for Women - ""You take out the testosterone and these events are kinder, cleaner, gentler and sweeter," says Robert Pozo... Men can register for these races, as footnotes on the event websites note. Technically allowing guys to run avoids legal spats, pleases charity sponsors whose fund-raisers are often male and engenders a magnanimous spirit. But these races tolerate rather than welcome male participants... Goodie bags often contain feminine-cut T-shirts, along with swag like perfume samples, chocolates and pink sandals. One race is giving away feather boas and tiaras... Other men see a target-rich environment. "If you want to meet fit young women, it's hard to beat"... "We're making this race so girly that men won't want any part of it""
It's fine to exclude men, but naturally, there is an outcry at the reverse; this is one of the few times I agree with Jezebel

A Thai Region Where Husbands Are Imported - "While the men — many of them retired and living on pensions, many disappointed in their lives and marriages at home — may be seeking an emotional connection, the women are generally motivated by economics, said Mr. Prayoon, who provides counseling for mixed couples. “For some ladies it is just money, money, money,” he said. “Getting married has become a business more than love. People want to improve their social status. Sometimes these ladies spend the husband’s money, use it all, then he’s cut out. There are many cases like that.” Even though many men are retired and living on a fixed income, they are expected to help support their wives’ extended families, beginning with a dowry of several thousand dollars"

Campaign finance: Corporate money and elections - "A 2002 paper by three MIT political scientists... finds that campaign contributions have little influence on candidates' political actions, which are overwhelmingly determined by party and by the convictions of voters in their districts. (They restate a provocative 1972 question by political scientist Gordon Tullock: "Why is there so little money in political campaigns?"...given that an investment of a few million dollars could, one imagines, affect billions of dollars in government spending.) They argue that political giving is not a form of vote-buying, but a form of political participation... senators are very responsive to the views of the richest third of their constituents, somewhat responsive to the views of the middle third, and utterly indifferent to the views of the poorest third"

"Rushdie Rules" Reach Florida - "Shariah... insists that Islam, and the Koran in particular, enjoy a privileged status. Islam ferociously punishes anyone, Muslim or non-Muslim, who trespasses against Islam's sanctity. Codes in Muslim-majority states generally reflect this privilege; for example, Pakistan's blasphemy law, 295-C, punishes derogatory remarks about Muhammad with execution... A 2003 decree ruled the Bible suitable for use by Muslims when cleaning after defecation. Iranian authorities reportedly burned hundreds of Bibles in May. This imbalance, whereby Islam enjoys immunity and other religions are disparaged, has long prevailed in Muslim-majority countries"

When God Sanctions Killing: Effect of Scriptural Violence on Aggression - "Aggression increased when the passage mentioned God, especially among participants who believed in God and in the Bible. These results suggest that scriptural violence sanctioned by God can increase aggression, especially in believers"
"Pro-censorship lobbyists generally ignore that fact and instead claim that it is proven that portrayals of violence in the media cause violence. Frequently, either no evidence at all is cited, or it is incorrect, or highly questionable at best. Of course, this is intended to encourage a belief that the solution to violence in society is to ban depictions of same (although they do not call for banning of the Bible)"

6 Romantic Movie Gestures That Can Get You Prison Time

Beijing, China: What one girl does when it's hard to find parking

Killing Tynt’s “Read More:” Clipboard Copy Hijacker With The Adblock Plus Plug-In For Firefox - "I hate Tynt. If you’ve ever copied text from a Web page, then pasted it, only to find a mysterious “Read More:” link inserted at the end of the text you copied, you just ran headfirst into Tynt... Fortunately, I was able to put an immediate end to Tynt’s “Read More” clipboard copy highjacking in Firefox with Adblock Plus"
Addendum: Tynt is not the only site that does this. Other culprits I found were po.st, so I added a "*po.st/*" filter, and sharethis.com. The Economic Times uses "clipboardupdatescript"
*po.st/*
*tynt*
sharethis.com
*clipboardupdatescript*
Or just: Disable Clipboard Manipulations in Firefox - this screws up sites like Facebook and Quora though so NoScript might be better

YouTube - Muslim girls collide with Hans Teeuwen - Subtitled - "Everything with a certain status has a certain power. Power always tends to corrupt, and has to be ridiculed. If you can't do that anymore, you get creepy situations - a dictatorship or something... An insult is for some people a truth they do not wish to hear. 'We cannot discuss that because it could be construed as an insult'...You are pretending that sensitivity and aggrievedness is a religious privilege. If I watch TV I feel annoyed, insulted. But you develop a shield for these things. That is what you do in a free society... A moment ago I heard someone say that homosexuality is a sin. A moment ago someone walked away because of a mini skirt. All these things are also very insulting"

The Meat Eaters - "The continuous, incalculable suffering of animals is also an important though largely neglected element in the traditional theological “problem of evil”... The suffering of animals is particularly challenging because it is not amenable to the familiar palliative explanations of human suffering... Suppose that we could arrange the gradual extinction of carnivorous species, replacing them with new herbivorous ones. Or suppose that we could intervene genetically, so that currently carnivorous species would gradually evolve into herbivorous ones, thereby fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy. If we could bring about the end of predation by one or the other of these means at little cost to ourselves, ought we to do it?"

MI6 'used bodily fluids as invisible ink' - "He "heard from C that the best invisible ink is semen", which did not react to the main methods of detection. Furthermore it had the advantage of being readily available."

Why Corporate Leaders Won't Abolish Performance Reviews - "The performance review, a practice that is as destructive and fraudulent as it is ubiquitous. And despite all the evidence — despite the fact that almost every person reviewed and every person reviewing knows it is bogus — corporate bosses do nothing to hasten its demise. They won't even acknowledge they have a problem."
Addendum: Keywords - 'performance review'

Why Companies Should Insist that Employees Take Naps

Jailed, fined for bribery bid - "A SINGAPOREAN was sentenced to a day's jail and fined RM10,000 (S$4,291) for trying to bribe a traffic policeman with RM50... Tay offered RM50 to constable Muhammad Afizi Salleh for not issuing a summons despite the policeman advising him not to do so"
He got caught for bribery in Malaysia because the operation was being monitored by the Anti-Corruption Commission. Too bad he couldn't take a hint

Unhear it - get that damn song out of your head! - "We created this site for those of you that have a song stuck in your head and you can't get it out no matter what you do. Using the latest in reverse-auditory-melodic-unstickification technology, we've been able to allow our users to “unhear” songs by hearing equally catchy songs. So really all we're doing is making you forget your old song by replacing it with another one... sorry"

Hamas claims West Bank killings as direct peace talks set to resume - "The statement from the armed wing of Hamas, a group that opposes any dialogue with Israel, said the “Qassam Brigades announces its full responsibility for the heroic operation in Hebron”... “Hamas blesses the Hebron operation and considers it as a normal reaction to the occupation crime and a proof of the failure … to abort the project of resistance”"
The difference between Hamas and Israel: Israel doesn't celebrate the deaths of Palestinians

S’poreans shedding clothes, and inhibitions - "He gets more requests from women to do nude shoots than men... According to Ian Ong, owner of Mr & Mrs Smith, an upscale sex boutique in Bukit Timah, its workshops teaching people how to please their partners in the bedroom are always fully booked... Some areas are still no-go, though. In the world of media and advertising, it is hard to find Asian models willing to pose in bikinis or lingerie, much less go nude for a magazine photo shoot... “I do find it strange that the models are willing to go out in a skimpy top, sometimes without a bra, but are not willing to go nude for their professional work”"

Shaanxi Normal University Tests Female Standing Urinals

Goodluck "Friends" Centre - Would SDN approve?

"A book of quotations . . . can never be complete." - Robert M. Hamilton

***


(via Wanjun)

"Goodluck Friends Centre
www.goodluck.com.sg

A Classic Place for Professional Men & Pleasant Ladies

(unlimited introduction till marriage, strictly confidential)

Quality Control

Conditions to be a member with GOODLUCK
* Ladies must be neat and pleasant looking, with good disposition
* Men preferably must be with good income and moral character

** Apology: We sincerely apologise to those who are not qualified to enrol at our centre"

I am wondering which is more important for men: good income or moral character (since these are preferred but not mandatory, presumably at least one can be dropped)


I'm trying to decide if the website is better than the ad, with gems like:

"Mr Horatio Lee, our founder did some research on how to get a good amount of members that have the quality in them. For example, how to attract pleasant looking ladies and successful gentlemen into our pool"

"It's frequent for us to hear members calling us and say:

"Hi ! Mr Lee, the lady you introduced me..... She's so beautiful and cheerful. I really enjoy going out with her."

"Hello Mr Lee, the guy is so successful and gentlemanly. Thank you for introducing me such a nice guy.""

"Below are some references of our available members. The income figures being shown are being rounded off to the nearest figure.

Because of huge numbers, only 20% of our active members are available for viewing online."
(you can search for members by height, weight and income, and the listing shows if they have a car and/or house. Tellingly, all you see about them are statistics - there's no essay feature)

Observations - 21st October 2010

"The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side." - James Baldwin

***

I can't recall a single instance where a public petition was effective in Singapore (Chek Jawa was positioned as "The government's decision was made after consulting with various government agencies and marine life experts", and nature is a very uncontentious issue). Yong Vui Kong will not be the first. In fact arguably it might even be counter-productive - they do not want to be seen to be bowing to public pressure. In the past when a softer approach was taken (albeit with stronger interests) more leniency was shown - see the banned-but-not-banned book on the death penalty.

Lim Swee Say and other Ministers think their economics is better than NUS's labour economist Hui Weng Tat. Maybe this is because they're paid better than him - QED.

Maybe in Singapore saying "I'm so angry I'm going to explode" means you're a would-be suicide bomber. Likewise, "I'm going to blow you away" (this is all keeping in the theme of burning the PAP). Probably you can also get charged for sedition for accusing Muslim politicians of indulging in pork-barrel politics or labelling them as underdogs.
Addendum: This refers to Abdul Malik Mohammed Ghazali who wanted to "burn Vivian Balakrishnan and the PAP"
Keywords: blow up, joke, violence, threats, ex ri

The NLB has 4 copies of John Loftus's The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails. Sedition!

"The SAF is a microcosm of Singapore society" - Teo Chee Hean. Yeah, i.e. Fucked Up

M. Ravi must be the world's "worst" lawyer. When was the last time he won a case?


The more butchy of a lesbian couple I saw on the MRT had 3 buttons spelling out 'GAY' and was wearing a t-shirt with a rainbow on it reading, 'Smile If You're Gay'. There's something called trying too hard!

I wonder how many of the people railing against foreign talent visit non-Singaporean prostitutes

It seems only women have human telephone alarm clocks ("give me a phone call at 9am to wake me up"). Meanwhile, more than 90% of the time, the ones I see taking cabs are girls. These observations are not unrelated.

Tim The Great's theory: the girls eating in aircon are prettier than the girls eating outside

I was waiting to pump air into my tires, and observed 2 attendants standing by as a boy haplessly tried pumping air into his bicycle tire. He tried a few times but failed and gave up. Later, a woman came to do the same, and before she did anything, one went to help her. Female privilege!

What's with Singaporean [Chinese] girls and fish soup?! Also, there's a mindset gap issue: when in school they prefer Yong Tau Hoo, but at work they love Fish Soup

Is there a point squeezing past people to the back of the bus if no one will follow my lead? I'm told that buses in Coventry are exactly the same.

What passes for food blogs in Singapore: lots of pictures, with barely any commentary (what passes for it is along the lines of "tastes really good", "my all time favorite :)" and "This is yummy"). But then Singaporeans prefer ambience to good food, which is why the general rule for food is that good food becomes bad or goes out of business, and bad food stays around for years.


A lot of Chinese philosophy (possibly even most) seems to be a lot of rhetoric with no supporting arguments

A good way for PRCs to get into the UK, and probably the EU - say they're from Falunggong.

What can one say about a society where the ability to down copious amounts of alcohol is considered an achievement?

I got a spam mail that requested a return receipt. The nerve!

Je suis toujours confus lorsque je vois 'Product of USA. Produit des É.U.'


RT @minyvlz: @gssq let's face it I don't think any singaporean online who cares wldnt know of u

"i think more people will turn up at Mr Brown's wake than the Old Man."