Monday 20 May 2013

turtle

i got this capsule toy today
it's a lil turtle in a container like how we keep it as a pet
on the paper enclosed it says that this one is a "Malacochersus tornieri"
(the scanned enclosed paper introducing the turtle)
and there are altogether 9 kinds of them in the whole series
the others are these
picture from "small toys" facebook page
like, every time when there're turtle capsule toys out i got crazy about them
coz i just love turtles and if i cant keep the real ones as pets i can at least get the toy ones

and this time they're especially cute coz they actually come in containers with furniture and stuff
like you're really keeping them

guess im getting more of these in the following days

Wednesday 15 May 2013

Top Dogs datestamped first day cover with stamp set

Yes, so...
I know I've been spending a bit too much lately
but I promise that at least I'm not getting any more overseas stamps very soon

I like how all these doggy stamps worth the same price
coz most of the time when new stamps are issued, there're usually only one image for each value
for instance, in "My pet and I" (Hong Kong), $1.4 - dog, $1.8 - cat, $2.5 - turtle
well they did have all horoscopes all for $1.4, but it happens very occasionally
i'm not saying that all animals/dogs should worth the same so the stamps should be so too
coz obviously the values of the stamps have nothing to do the with the values of the animals on them
what i'm saying is, like when I like the turtle stamp best but it's $2.5
if i want to mail to local friends with it im bound to pay more than im required to
i dun really mind several cents, just that it's kinda stupid

I bought this obviously is mostly because i love dogs (like all other animals)
and among them i like king charles spaniel most
 
they're just like big-eyed little girls wearing bunches with curly hair

but i wonder why all "top dogs" here are small dogs:
Miniature Schnauzer and dachshund, King Charles Spaniel, Pug, and Australian Terrier
why are there no big dogs in the ranking?

I see that Australia post has also issued kangaroos stamps
and Royal Mail of UK has issued Jane Austin stamps which are really really lovely
I have no more money so let's hope that I will receive some of these cute stamps from kind and generous postcrossers :P

Sunday 12 May 2013

Happy Mother's Day


My favourite love quote from "The Nightingale and the Rose" by Oscar Wilde
thanks all mothers for their sacrificial and selfless love :')

p.s.: i learn it from dragoart
sorry for the small wing

Monday 6 May 2013

Oedipus the King by Hong Kong Theatre Works

 

So I went to see this Oedipus the King by Hong Kong Theatre Works today
I've never seen their production before
nor have I ever heard of them
The venue was North District Town Hall Auditorium, which is very far from me
but thanks to MTR it only takes like 1.5 hr to travel across Hong Kong

I went there with two friends, as I mentioned in the previous entry
We took the theatre course together in year 2
and the teacher actually played us some videos of companies performing this in class
Greek tragedies were played by actors with masks on
so seeing live masked actors is actually one of the things I most looked forward to
and of course, it is always intriguing to see how classical plays are moded and played on a Hong Kong stage

Before the play started I saw a lot of junior secondary school students there
It surprised me very much because I didnt expect such young students would be interested in it
We were guessing maybe their school had encouraged/required them to come
anyway it is always good for children/teenagers to have a chance to appreciate classics

The play started with the actors walking out with their masks in hands solemnly
forming a circle, facing inside, then putting on the masks together
and when it ended, they took off their masks in the same way
i wonder if it's a kind of ritual originated from ancient Greece (i know, i should've paid more attention in class)
Back in those days when tragedies were played in huge theatres that could contain an audience greater than ten thousands, it's necessary to put on masks to exaagerate the face of the actors
it seemed to me like when the actors put their masks on, they are no longer themselves, but the characters
when they put it down, they come back to themselves again 
I didnt have a chance to ask the people from HKTW why they only had half-masks instead of the full ones
but i guess it's partly due to the small size of the current audience
besides, unlike the traditional ones these masks are irregular in shape and have different colous
they remind me of Sichuan masks :P

The whole play was performed by altogether 5 actors
while it has like 9 or 10 characters
to be honest, I thought there were more - I mean, I didn't notice some characters were actually the same people
of course it's partly because the actors have put on masks
but they even have different ways to speak, walk, gesture, and all those
Since I didnt keep the booklet, I still cant tell who's who, so

and about the tragedy itself
some people say it's about Oedipus facing his fate bravely
like when at the end he realises that he's the guilty guy he himself is looking for
he doesnt escape, but accepts the fate and punishes himself

i dun think it's about that
i think it's about how one's personality determines his fate
it's solely because Oedipus's determination/stubbornness to find out the truth
that it ultimately leads to his own sorrowful end
if he doesnt insist that much, like, he gives up the finding at some point of the thing,
listens to the prophet, doesnt send for the shepherd, or returns to Corinth to succeed his kingship
then he'd not have to reveal the horrible facts himself
and would not have to blind himself and leave the city

one thing i dun understand is
if jocasta is Oedipus' wife, how come she doesnt notice the old wounds on his feet before the shepherd from Corinth talked about this?

Generally I like this show very much, especially the performing part
If they put on some other Greek tragedies or even Shakespeare or some other classical works,
I'd definitely be glad to go see it

Sunday 5 May 2013

trinity

I went to mass today and it was a great one
the Father was talking about the concept of trinity
i hope i didnt get him wrong
what i understood was like, Father is like the author
Son the words, and Spirit the interpretation

and i think it's very clever

it actually makes me miss people like Irenaeus and Tertullian
 


perhaps i should read "History of Christian Thought" all over