When 張達明’s wife was so sick that she was about to die, he arranged a farewell party for her, so that she can say goodbye to her friends. That reminds me of Morrie in "Tuesdays with Morrie".
I don’t know what I would do. I know I would be sad, but I also know that one day we will see each other again.
When my friend Grace recommended to me the book “What’s so amazing about Grace?” I was tempted to say to myself “What a megalomaniac - asking me to read a book about you! Perhaps you wrote it yourself?” Of course, knowing Grace, I knew that was not the case. It turned out to be an excellent book written by Philip Yancy. Half way through the book, I went out to buy a copy for myself to keep.
The world is full of “an eye for an eye” type of justice, and rightly so. Grace, on the other hand, is Christianity’s unique contribution to the world, according to C. S. Lewis. It is God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached.
A
It is unnatural and underserved. Behind every act of forgiveness lies a wound of betrayal, and the pain does not easily fade away. It is pretty amazing that someone so wounded can forgive. Yet Jesus requires – no, demands – a response of forgiveness. Anyone can love friends and family. But love your enemies? Now, that’s truly amazing.
In reality there is no other way around some of the logjams. If everyone follow the “eye for an eye” principle of justice, observed Gandhi, eventually the whole world would go blind. Yet it seems so unfair, to forgive injustice. We are caught between forgiveness and justice.
In the final analysis, forgiveness is an act of faith. By forgiving another, I am trusting that God is a better justice-maker than I am.
All of the above, and a lot more, are in the book. It is highly recommended.
Remember this little half-on-the sidewalk-and-half-on-the street shrine smack in front of a branch of the Hong Kong Bank in
I don’t believe in the shrine personally. But it is a part of the local history and culture. As such it is well worth preserving.
When I was younger I often found myself inside a slaughterhouse, because I lived near one, and some of my relatives and friends work there. Looking back, the slaughterhouse seems to me more like a factory than a place where our food come from. Firstly, a cow is led into a tightly-fitting three-sided metal box. Then the door, the fourth side, is closed, with the cow penned in. From the top, a man presses the mouth of a gun onto the neck of the cow. A four-inch long pin is fired into the neck to sever the vertebrate, killing the cow instantly.
The long side of the box opens, spilling the limp cow onto the floor. A chain hanging from a conveyor overhead is wrapped around the ankle of one of the hind legs. A wrench retracts the chain, pulling the cow up into the air by its hind leg.
The conveyor carries the cow hanging up-side-down over a basin. A butcher with a sharp knife cuts its throat. Blood spills out, collected by a bucket below.
The conveyor then transfers the cow to another area, where butchers skin the cow, slit open its belly, and remove the intestines. I was always amazed at how much there were.
Then the head and the feet are cut off, and the rest of the cow is dismembered. Part of it becomes a steak. My favourite, however, is the tail. What is yours?
I tried to read the explanations in the book but it does not help. I have a feeling the writer of the book does not really understand what the article was trying to say. So it simply translated it sentence by sentence without trying to sort out whether it makes sense together. 
一：你唔覺得做愛好悶既咩？
二：你唔覺得做愛好煩咩？最煩係d乜野？
三：你會唔會幻想過同阿爸阿媽兄弟姐妹做愛？無論細個或而家都得！）
四：你有冇裝過佢地沖涼、換衫、自慰、做愛？
五：在街上什麼人（或動物／東西）最能挑起你的慾望？
六：你有冇幻想同朋友男朋友或女朋友做過愛？
七：如果有，你點樣處理你同你死黨同佢男或女朋友既幻想？
八：定係實現左幻想，咁你又點樣處理？
九：你自慰／打飛機時會諗住邊個？
十：你最想同咩動物做愛？
十一：你覺得一次過同幾多男幾多女做愛係最好（optimal／最理想）？
十二：你最想係中大邊度做愛？
十三：你覺唔覺得宿舍唔俾男女過夜係歧視異性戀？
十四：有冇因為性生活問題（又唔講出來）而影響愛情？
What do you think of it? Is it
1. a serious attempt to investigate a controversial issue?
2. a serious attempt to challenge a societal taboo?
3. an inept or inappropriate attempt to do the above?
4. a mis-judgement of societal moral standards?
5. a matter of freedom of the press?
6. indecently titillating?
7. a small matter for the
My youngest daughter told me x is 70 degrees, while y is 20 degrees. She does not know what z should be. No wonder, she is only in primary 6, and this question is for form 5. You know z is also 20 degrees? Congratulations, you will get 4 marks from Mathematics Paper 1 in the School Certificate Examinations. 
Not good at geometry? No problem. Can you calculate the selling price of the vase? And percentage profit? 4 marks.
Not good even at percentages? What about the least possible length of the metal wire? Another 2 marks.
That’s 10 marks altogether. And you think mathematics is hard?
In a popular fast food restaurant, an old lady rushed in and grabbed the complete, 5 inches thick, stack of free newspapers. In less than 10 seconds, she was already out of the restaurant, before anyone can stop her.
On another day, an old lady (perhaps the same one, I could not tell for sure) rushed in and tried to grab the newspapers. But this time, several other ladies were ready for her. They started scolding her for being selfish, depriving others access to the newspapers. She fought back: “死八婆! 關你X事?” No physical violence, just violent words.
Rumour has it that at another fast food restaurant, the newspapers are stacked behind the counter and handed out only one by one to customers. At one point, a member of the staff threatened to cut off the fingers of a lady who tried to grab the newspapers, scaring off the lady for a few days.
Since the papers are free, why do people still fight over them? Apparently you can get 70 cents per kilogram for them for recycling. That’s as simple as that.
I have heard of hanging gardens. Now we have hanging trees in These majestic trees have extensive root systems, depending on the air and water seeping through the earth for nourishment. One of their cousins in the
When multiplying, he sees the two numbers as distinct shapes. The image changes and a third shape emerges – the correct answer. He once recited 22,514 digits of pi without error in 5 hours and 9 minutes.
He has Asperger’s syndrome, a milder form of autism. He also has savant syndrome, as the Dustin Hoffman character in the 1988 Oscar-winning movie
He is rare among people with savant syndrome in that he is able to describe his experiences, which he did in the book “Born on a Blue Day”.
The phenomenon is fascinating, offering interesting insights into how the brain works, particularly in combining different sensory modalities. It boggles the mind to imagine what can be achieved if the potentials of the brain can be fully utilized. It also saddens to think that many are not utilizing their brains to think.
Where are these people now? Their graves sit on top of a beautiful hill overlooking Last Thursday I attended the funeral of one my father’s good friends, whose son happens to be one of my good friends as well. The following day I attended the funeral of the wife of a pastor, that I have known for many years. These days I seem to encounter more funerals than weddings and births of babies.
The pastor was sad that his wife was going away and he will miss her. But he was comforted that he will see her again. That’s the reason Christian funerals are not matters of despair. We are sad that we won’t see our friends and beloved for some time, perhaps for a very long time. But eventually for those who have faith in God, we will meet again in God’s presence. That’s what gives us hope and the strength to love one another.
I thank God for it.
What were they doing on Labor Day? This is a common sight outside any of the 125 Jockey Club Off-Track Betting Centers. No wonder the Jockey Club employs thousands of people (including some of my students) just to take their bets. Observe their concentration and palpable tension. The one scene that comes to mind is perhaps that of candidates waiting to enter the examination venues of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examinations. Few of my students seem to bet on horses or soccer. And the crowds at the off-track betting centers tend to be working class and more adult-looking.
But there are definitely lots of young people betting on soccer these days. And there are many ways to bet without having to go to the tracks or even the off-track betting centers. If only such efforts were put into their studies! Or even actually playing soccer or some other sports.
