200 meter races

After running for cycle, it is time to stop to think whether I should continue for the next race or not, whether it is a good playground for personal growth and achievement, whether there is something worth to explore.

愈怕愈可怕

我有一個徒弟，獨自在一間老房子裡禪修靜坐。

頭兩天晚上，他不論是打坐也好，睡覺也好，都會聽到天花板上有人在大力拖拉重物。可是，那間房子裡明明只有他一個人住，所以他心下便明白是怎麼一回事。剛開始，因為天花板很薄，他老是擔心那個怪物會掉下來。每次一聽到怪聲，因為心裡很害怕 ，就把電燈打開；說也奇怪，燈一亮就沒聲音了，燈一關就又會聽到。

幾番折騰後，他鼓起勇氣說：「嘿！我不怕你了！我只管打坐，你要怎麼樣都可以 ！如果你不想吵我，就做我的護法吧！」

結果話一說完，從此以後，他再也沒有聽見過任何怪聲，可以繼續安心的打坐了。

其實，人會有恐怖感，都是和自己的念頭有關係。你不怕的時候，那個境界就不見 了；你愈害怕，那個境界的考驗就愈多。

The Voice of Versatility - Soprano Katusha Tsui-Faser

Reading the interview of Katushar Tsui-Fraser, a concert artitst and teacher at SCMP has given me lots of thoughts and learnings.

Hitting the Right Notes:

• Be forgiving: hate is a waste of energy
• Have self- confidence and value yourself
• Life is a growing process; you never stop learning
• After decising on something, dedicate yourself to making it happen
• Patience, perseverance, courage and faith are keys to success
• Dare to dream, but know that you must work hard to achieve them
• Creativity and imagination are important in any walk of life
• Always set aside time to cultivate the inner self
• Live every day as if it were your last, so you can look back without regrets
  

Babel

Watched an excellent movie by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. It's a serious movie about human communication. Communication is never easy.

SYNOPSIS

Armed with a Winchester rifle, two Morrocan boys set out to look after their family's herd of goats. In the silent echoes of the desert, they decide to test the rifle… but the bullet goes farther than they thought it would.

In an instant, the lives of four separate groups of strangers on three different continents collide. Caught up in the rising tide of an accident that escalates beyond anyone's control are a vacationing American couple (Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett), a rebellious deaf Japanese teenager and her father, and a Mexican nanny who, without permission, takes two American children across the border. None of these strangers will ever meet; in spite of the sudden, unlikely connection between them, they will all remain isolated due to their own inability to communicate meaningfully with anyone around them.

From Alejandro González Iñárritu comes a film that is at once intimate and epic, shot in four countries, cast with actors and non-actors, and concludes his trilogy that started with Amores Perros and 21 Grams.

Brwose official website here

My Photo Gear

It's the first time I bring out all my photo equipment and shoot a family photo. Bits by bits, I have collected some many gears. To name some key items:

Nikon D70 - my first digital single lens reflex camera, has been with me for more than 3 years. It's fast, reliable and user friendly.

Contax S1 - my favourite rangfinder camera with 45mm and 28mm lens. I have brough it in ebay 4 years ago. It is an second hand item just like a new model. It had been with me in my UK trip.

Ricoh GR 1- my favourite snapshoot camera. Long before the coming of digital camera wave, it has been with me on my daily bag every day. I shoot at least 1 roll of traditional film (mostly in black and white) every week.

Long time no see

It has been a busy month at work with website testing. Finally can slow down a bit and take up my pen again.