Sunday, December 31, 2006

No Moon

Crackers are going off everywhere to usher in the New Year!

Here in Manila they are peaceful, although it starts smelling like a war zone already at 10 pm.

In Bangkok seven bombs have interrupted the celebrations today.

In Baghdad and other cities in Iraq, people keep dying without need.

Sadly, violence continues to plague our world in many places. Humanity doesn’t seem to learn and move forward.


Thirty-four years ago my history teacher taught us in school that history showed that people don’t learn from history. Mahatma Gandhi said that the world has enough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed.

A sad note… there is only one way forward, a much better way to greet the New Year. That is to reach inside us and let our best qualities shine and come out.


Let’s forget anger, greed, and envy, and make place for genuine happiness. The world will never become a better place unless we all do our bit, personally.

When I will lit off the fireworks in 2 hours time and wave sabers of sparkles with my daughter, it will be to celebrate all the good things that 2006 brought us, from within and from outside of us.

Today’s wine is a toast for the best to come out, now and in the new year!

Photograph: Drinking wine and being merry, let the best come out.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Natural clearing




















Today I took a picture of a changed landscape. Typhoon Milenyo struck a few months back at the end of September, and reminded Manila residents about the force of nature.

Here are two photographs of the same place, one of my favorite Starbucks in town, the one in Rockwell. The first was taken before the typhoon, and the second one after (today, almost three months later).

The parking guard caught me by surprise today when he asked me if I had a permit to take pictures. Apparently they are more concerned now about the security of Starbucks establishments.
















Friday, December 15, 2006

Weeping gently
















I have neglected my dear Dao and Wine blog for over a week. I've been occupied posting daily for my temporary blog Reborn at 50, which marks the countdown of days until I make my half century.


My writing starts to flow better, and I'm very pleased with that. I enjoy writing every day a bit more. I am getting out of my slump. I am getting more and more ideas for new activities.

Last Sunday when I brought my daughter to her singing lesson in Yamaha music school, I was attracted to the electric guitars on display for the first time. And this evening when I was listening to the newly remastered Beatles album Love, and While My Guitar Gently Weeps came on, I just wanted to make that gentle weeping happen myself.

With several weeks off from work, I will make the most of being creative. Especially writing and music. Life seems like a mistake to me now without these two.

Photograph: The new Beatles album Love.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Keep writing

There is no doubt in my mind. The highlight of this year is that I discovered my passion for writing. I know I have much to learn to become a better writer and I like the challenge. Most important advice to myself: keep writing. Practice is fun, and it pushes me to open myself more to the unknown.

When I meet new people nowadays, I'm interested in their creativity more than anything else. Soon after introductions, I will find a way to ask them about their art, their music, their expression. Everyone likes this question, I noticed. Yet only a few people answer it readily.

At today's art exhibit of the Asia Society at the Filipinas Heritage Library, I found that I was drawn to art works that display something red. Probably my age. I used to like dark blue.


Photograph: Red Art, by The Drawing Room Contemporary Art

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Poaching discovered

I have always thought that poaching eggs is a wrong way of preparing them. The idea of letting an egg slowly turn into a jelly-like watery substance turned me off, and for a long time I associated this quality with the way of life in England.

I like boiled eggs for breakfast when their yolk is still soft. I love fried eggs, sunny-side up, on toast or with fried rice. I cherish scrambled eggs, especially when they’re done light and creamy. I appreciate omelets, most of all with cheese.

I enjoy eating eggs as part of other dishes, like in Chinese brown sauce (khai palo), egg strips on top of fried rice (nasi goreng), whole eggs in spicy curry (telur belado) or prepared Balinese style. I also savor eggs served as a separate dish such as son-in-law eggs (khai look koey) or thousand-year-old eggs (khai yiew ma). For the latter, the rumor persists that fermentation is started by soaking them in horse urine, although Wikipedia contradicts this.

Compared with this multiversity of preparations, poaching to me seemed a method that is lost between cuisines, devoid of character, producing an egg that is neither here or there and misses out on the character of the other preparations.

A few weeks ago, I was having breakfast with an English friend in a 38th floor hotel lounge overlooking Jakarta. When he ordered poached eggs, I decided to give them another try. And I was surprised at the combination of soft yolk within its thin egg-white coating, on crispy toast, and flavored with a dash of salt and a generous sprinkling of black pepper.

The next day I ordered two poached eggs, only to find them smelling strangely. On return home, I decided to try my hand at making poached eggs, and consulted web pages for help. That is when I discovered that some experts advise adding vinegar to the hot water to help the egg stay together. That explained the funny taste.

To my delight, my first attempt produced a delicious poached egg dish, which I ate with relish.


Photograph: My first home-made poached egg