Thursday, April 30, 2009

Gift

What have you been thinking about after receiving gifts? The meaning behind, value, or shape? Put the idea of the value and shape away, whether you like the gift or not, what's prescious is the meaning behind. The most impressive gift I've received is a wood-made giraffe. Not the kind that is carved on a piece of wood, my giraffe is beaded by several strings of bead. It maybe just a normal handicraft, but actually what lie behind it is an inoffensive joke to my birthday.




Because of the long, thin neck, long, thin chin and long, thin body shape I had in my childhood, I was called "giraffe" as my nickname. Kids didn't mean to hurt someone or making fun of somebody, it's only a little embarassing nickname. However, after frequently being called, it was quite disturbing. My friends gave a gratifying explanation to my appearance. They said that the long, thin chin was what we call an oval face in Chinese; the long, thin neck is a visual mistake make by my thin shoulder. They also said that "giraffe" is a cute nickname, and they like it a lot. From then on, I gradually accepted being called as giraffe. One of my friend sent a wood-beaded giraffe as a gift on my birthday. It's a sweet, cute gift with a lot of friendship inside.




It's not easy to set an ideal present since we are now chasing the changing future. Too much unknown makes us covetous and desire to own everything we like. As long as one day we are before and can control the future, the ideal gift will be clear because we can have more than before. Now except the material life, I wish somethings can happen as a birthday gift, like a group of friends shouting"happy Birthday" and promising that they will go n a trip with you to anywhere. It's a showing of forever friendship.


I don't grade the gifts others give me. Receivers never realize how much efforts the givers pay into them.

Friday, April 3, 2009

What Taiwan may impress others

Once my father told me that it's hard to find foreign news on American TV. So, I guess nearly only the serious, political news are the resource for foreign impression to us. However, policy are controlled by minoroity who are chasing profits.

Our positive, direct attitude is not only an asset to country but may alsi refresh one's eye. Unlike the scenery, different cultures, races make fifferent racial features, but similiar views can be found easily. I think when visiting a new country, racial features impresses most. We, Taiwanese, often show ourselves in an unpretential way that can let visitors feel homely.

Because of our decromacy, there are several ways to deliver one's thought. I guess in Asia, we are the one who do truly the freedom of speech. Though we need to be more tactful. Still somehow it stops governments from lengthening their power. And how our society works could
be a mirror to them.

Above are what I hope Taiwan can give to the world. not all perfect, but that is Taiwan.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

My Soulmate

What does soulmate means? Your couple or the one who can reach your mind? Probably the latter one. However, some marriages are decided by an impulse, and that's why the divorce rate can't decrease. I've been imaginning my soulmate since I was pretty young because I don't want to make a wrong decision to hurt anyone. My soulmate must be a man who is good at cooking, thoughtful, and humorous.

Eating is such a amazing enjoyment, but cooking is a tiring work. I am good at eating and giving comments on food, however, I am talentless at cooking. So for the sake of my life, I had better found a husband who can cook. A man who is clever at discovering nice restaurants is fine. Hiring a cook is a good idea as well. Though to be honest, eating outside or having a cook beside is not that romantic at all.

I am not considerate and seldom show my feeling directly. So my friends might feel icy from me when I am unhappy or down. At this time, I hope he can comfort me cheer me up. It's impossible for two woods to entwine together. So my soulmate has to be attentive because sometimes I am blunt at others' mind. If my husband were same like me, our family would never be a sweet one. However, it's not fair for him to be the listener every time. I will be inimate to him in return and find out the best way to get along with each others.

Thinking can slow down one's aging, and cultivate one's mind. I want a man who has his own opinion and style, not a person who bends with the wind. We may get different idea on the same thing no matter how serious or slightly the thing is. Humor is the best moderator when we are stiff by the discussion. So besides consideration, humor is also necessary to adjust our relationship.

Into every life, some rain must fall. Into every autumn, some leaves must fall. I won't think too much when the true love is coming. The standard I made is to judge in normal time. What a phrase "love is blind" is! I hope my couple can also be my soulmate.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Pericles

What Pericles has devoted can be easily told from the praise "the first citizen of Athen". He is one of the most prominent populists and had led Athen through the first two year of Peloponnesian wars.

Pericles' mother was a scion from a powerful noble, and this helped both Pericles and his father's politic career. Pericles' father, Xanthippus, was once ostracised but returned to lead army and win victory. The wealthy background gave Pericles a chance to study. Unlike Washington or those who born to be leader, he was quiet and liked studies more than interaction with public in his childhood.

After Cimon's death, he gradually gained his power and became the statesman over 40 years. During "Ages of Pericles", He made some ambitious acheivements that benefited the city. On architectures, he rebuilt some shrines as well as temples for gods, whose original ones are destroyed in the wars. Also a giant statue of Athena Promachus, the Parthenon, and thAthens as the strongest party did not have to beat Sparta in military terms and "chose to foil the Spartan plan for victory"e Propylaea were done in his period. Above were not only the reconstructions in order to beautify the damaged city but numerous oppurtunities of works. On culture, he promoted art, literature, education and made the Athens play an important role preserving. Philosophy was another promotion, which was received from Anaxagoras, giving him the trait of calmness. Structures and education ensure the inner of the empire.

Pericles led Athens to an Empire, but not interested in expansion. His had good navy but refused to overexpand. Those caused both positive and negative reaction. Donald Kagan called the Periclean strategy "a form of wishful thinking that failed", which means that Pericles wasn't good at strategy at all. But Pericles' defensive grand strategy made other historian say that Athens as the strongest party did not have to beat Sparta in military terms and "chose to foil the Spartan plan for victory". One of them, Hans Delbrück, even called him one of the greatest statesmen and military leaders in history.

Epidemic spreaded fastly and took away some of his relatives. Athenians considered it as his fault because he let villagers move into city. Pericles' job was taken off. When Athenians thought of his devotions again, he died. Citizens had no chance to say thanks, instead, they changed the law to allow his son, who wasn't an Athenian to inherit his properties.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

It's time for the newspapers to change

Today's media are paying too much attention on the unimportant stuff and negative news. They are busy distorting the facts to make their publications attracted. Paparazzi never stop offensing the celebrities' privacy but forget that we actually have no interest on it. It's time for them to make changes and for the news with "love" to warm us again.

If a killing happens in a small town, it might be repeated over years, but when it happens in a society, it might only be remembered for minutes. Since that, why the media don't carry us something more practical or close to our life? Take newspapers for example, there are at least three killing and rape news in a print. Sometimes stupid fail robberies are mentioned, too. I'm not saying that I ignore that knowing can help preventing, but to us, those are not special and commonly occured. Of course, we shouldn't neglect the dark side of the society.But can reporting the news that only worth a facial expression help improving the dark side? Isn't spreading the warm side of the world another way to help preventing the dark side grow?

I'm a loyal reader of newspapers. Reading newspapers after a tiring day is my dialy routine. But the content sometimes is too inappropriate to kids, like putting horrifying pictures on the headlines and discussing who had a baring accident today in the amusement section. We encourage kids to read newspapers by themselves, but could these content give positive influence to children? How many of the children can distinguish right from wrong, to do or not to do when they are young? These are what the editors and reporters should think about. Not only young people would be easily influenced but the adults are, too. A print of newspapers without some postive points of view or news would depress a person. Since that it's not easy for normal people to live in comfort, to make their publications be comfortably read with is also the publishers' lesson.

The new elected president of the America, Obama, led his supporters swear that yes, we can in his speech. However, in my view, we can't improve the society without the newspapers change first. So, to reach the goal of "yes, we can ", it's for the newspapers to change.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

I am a lucky girl.

I have the nicest parents to take care of me and arrange the life besides studies. In my childhood, Almost every weekends they would take my brothers and I to go outside instead of being a couch potato. NCKU was really an ideal place. Bridges and trees make the college of literature more romantic just like the Tang poems had praised. Also, we often went mountain-climbing, too. Every time I climbed up for the bambo-shoots-soup vendor at the mountainside and went down for chicken soup at the bottem. And the bookstore was one of our favorite place, not only because of the air-conditioner but the mountain like bookshelves. My brothers are the best, too. They always let me pick what I want first and help me when I was stuck by the computer problems. To be honest, I am really poor at anythings connected to machines.

That's how I grew up. When other members dedicate themselves to the family, I just took them for granted. I didn't learn to take on more while aging. Still being a little princess, which never exist in a realistic world. I was quite arrogant and selfish when I was young. And those weren't the parents should afford.

The volcano would finally explode.

Once, when my parents were busy participating in my class trip, help preparing and carrying the the food. I did nothing but keeped asking how well they had done as well as saying "hurry up." At the morning before going, I sat at the sofa, watching parents busy setting stuffs. My Dad was quite angry about that. He yelled at me" Stop asking others to do things for you, think about what you can do to others." I was shook at that time. Tears came out immediately. During the trip, I am much more quite than before.

After, I didn't change lot. But I learned a lesson that I should do something active rather than waiting for help. Now, I would help when Father and Mother are busy. Though I still not a good daughter but better than before.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The Communication Right

Telephone tapping is officially, strictly controlled in many democratic countries to obey Article
12 in the Declaration of Human Rights " No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation ."But still there's plenty of arguements about it.
Take Taiwan for example, in the past, government's despotism had allowed the agency to monitor people. The number of victims was increadibly high but unfortunately they were innocent in most cases. It made the progress of Taiwan slow down and the shortage of intellects. That's why lawmakers doubted on the Investigation Bureau's case of buying new devices to strengthen the phone tapping recently. Since that we are not a monocracy any more, why spend money on offensing people's privacy? On the other hand, the Bureau has the neccessary on attacking criminal and needs to renew their facilities. The most serious question is that this new device is mobile. With it, the agency could wire-tap on anyone only by parking a car nearby. It has already violated the law that cannot set a bug, video recorder, or other things which can monitor someone in private place. The Investigation Bureau needs to show the possibilities of criminal or destruction to the court to get the permission of wiretapping. But things could be change now. And it obviously offence our privacy.
Besides Taiwan, other countries are involved in it, too. However, some governments, like America, are still afraid of making promises not doing so. After reporters and officers accused CIA of telephone-tapping, they didn't even give a word on it. The prior chief of intelligence bureau in France had detected on president and his lover. Above showed our communication right is not safe anymore. How to make a good deal between people's privacy and the agency's work? The government needs to figure out.