2024-06-07 National Donut Day

【In Vain I Migrate】

Abdellatif Laâbi (1942-Now)

        I migrate in vain

        In every city I drink the same coffee

        and resign myself to the waiter's impassive face

        The laughter of nearby tables

        disturbs the evening's music

2024-06-06 National Yo-Yo Day

【My Mother's Language】

Abdellatif Laâbi (1942-Now)

         It's been twenty years since I last saw my mother

         She starved herself to death

         They say that each morning

         she would pull her headscarf off

         and strike the floor seven times

         cursing the heavens and the Tyr

2024-06-06 National Fish & Chips Day

【Dish Of The Day】

Abdellatif Laâbi (1942-Now)

            For today's special

            we'd like to recommend a very spicy

            'killer' stew

            The innkeeper

   &n

2024-06-06 National Eyewear Day

【Fingerprints】

Abdellatif Laâbi (1942-Now)

                If we could write

                simply by placing

                fingerprints

             &nbs

2024-06-06 D-Day for Normandy Landings

【I'm a child of this dreary century】

Abdellatif Laâbi (1942-Now)

            I'm a child of this dreary century

            a child who never grew up

            Doubts that set my tongue on fire

2024-05-31 National Smile Day

【The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man (1923)】

Wallace Stevens (1879—1955)

        One's grand flights, one's Sunday baths,

        One's tootings at the weddings of the soul

        Occur as they occur. So bluish clouds

        Occurred above the empty house and the leaves

2014-01-10

【Aiden in English】

        Johannesburg, South Africa looked like an alien planet. It was only a step ahead of the other large cities of Africa, but the difference clearly could be seen. There were more modern technologies in the central business district. The houses were displayed extravagantly in European styles and the lavish neighborhood was built with high walls on leafy streets in the northeastern suburbs. The streets seemed so clean that a piece of trash wou

2014-01-09

【Aiden in English】

        I always loved animals. At the zoo, I would spend hours looking at the large animals. But when I meant love, I didn't mean waking up at the crack of dawn love. Even so, that's exactly what we did. It started with a short ride on the highway to Chobe National Park, the first park established in Botswana covered with dry savannah, floodplains, and teak woodlands that became ideal animal habitats.

        I embarke

2014-01-08

【Aiden in English】

        The first night of sleep in Chobe Marina Lodge, Botswana after a 30-day cruise made me feel like landing and sleeping on the moon, which seemed really hard. When it was time for the boat cruise down the Chobe River in Chobe National Park between Botswana and Namibia, I still had black spots under my eyes.

        This afternoon, the three-hour boat cruise was for wildlife. As soon as the cruise began, we immediately sp

2014-01-07

【Aiden in English】

        Finally, it was time to get off the cruise ship, Nautica Oceania. After 30 days of swaying and bumpy nights, I wanted to set myself free. But what I didn't want was to wake up at 4 am just to catch a flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg. From the most populated city of South Africa, we were flying out to Victoria Falls National Park, Zimbabwe to see one of the largest falls in the world and a UNESCO Heritage Site.

2014-01-06

【Aiden in English】

        After about a month at sea, the cruise was going well. It was too well. The sky was always cloudless and the sun was always shining brightly, but not today. The day of Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, was cloudy and foggy. The damp air and the ever-blowing winds from the Atlantic Ocean didn't help either.

        We scheduled to ride a cable car up to Table Mountain. But if it was too windy, we wo

2014-01-05

【Aiden in English】

        I never really was a shopper. The reason was that I never knew what to buy. That was why it became torture today trying to redeem things with my Big-O-Points as we left Durban for Cape Town and sailed across from the Indian to the Atlantic Ocean in South Africa.

        I had 112 points from Shuffleboard, Baggo-bean, Team Trivia, Miniature Golf, Table-tennis, and Brain-Teaser. The most expensive was the 50 lb luggage s

2014-01-04

【Aiden in English】

        Under the huge yellow sun, life in the Tala Private Game Reserve was remarkable. Everything was moving and had a role in the ongoing circle of life. There, three of the African Big Five could be seen, which were the black rhino, elephant, and Cape buffalo in the wild savannah outside of Durban, South Africa.

        As we drove through, the first animal we saw was a gnu that was sitting in the middle of the road. Its s

2014-01-03

【Aiden in English】

        If you love hippos, crocodiles, and aquatic birds, the Greater St. Lucia (iSimangaliso) Wetland Park, South Africa would be the place to be. Particularly when you happened to be at Zulu territory, the outskirts of Richards Bay, a few reasons you should go to this park were because not only that many animals resided here, but it was declared a UNESCO Heritage Site.

        The St. Lucia Wetland was well protected since

2014-01-02

【Aiden in English】

        When I was little, I used to love natural history museums. But never in my life had I seen something like this. The Natural History Museum in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique was like none other. 

        The whole first floor was collected by literally a manmade 4-D of a typical African ecosystem. It had the African big five- the lion, leopard, cape buffalo, elephant, and rhino. The 4-D picture had them set arou

New Year's Day，2014-01-01

【Aiden in English】

        The first day of 2014 wasn't turning out so well. I felt queasy about the food eaten last night while crossing the Mozambique Channel from Madagascar to Mozambique. In addition, I also overslept at the golf tournament. If I were to catch up to a table tennis tournament, then I had to hurry.

        The problem wasn't "Am I going to make it to the game", but reall

除夕，2013-12-31

【Aiden in English】

        The liveliness of New Year's Eve was spectacular. Everyone was getting ready for the New Year Show that didn't begin until another half hour later. The Nautica lounge was already packed and I couldn't wait for the show to get started.

        The first song that the cruise entertainers did was a classic about New Year and Christmas. I could clearly see that everyone was enjoying it

2013-12-30

【Aiden in English】

        The lemurs of Madagascar had a big pair of eyes and looked the size of a cat. Its long, puffy tail was dangling down while it rested. It was an endemic primate to see and Mom and I didn't want to miss it. In addition, the lemurs were so famous that they were featured in the Hollywood cartoon movie "Madagascar", by King Julien.

        We boarded a Dinghy, a small speed boat like a tender, and came to Nosy

2013-12-28

【Aiden in English】

        To start off the day, Mom and I were woken by the morning call. It was 6:30 am and we had a tour at 7:45 am so we'd hurry to catch it.

        The coming tour was a safari and it began with a short ride on a propeller-driven plane from the capital city so-called "Abode of Peace" Dar es Salaam to Selous Game Reserve, the first and oldest national park in Tanzania and the UNESCO Heritage Site.

  &nb

2013-12-27

【Aiden in English】

        The narrow, winding, and serene alleys made it mysterious. The bare stone walls, iron bar windows, and pointed wooden doors created a gloomy illusion. But as I entered the larger road, the place burst with excitement. I felt as if I was transported back to "Arabian Nights"  in ancient times (1706-1721). This is the Stone Town of Zanzibar in Tanzania, the Swahili coastal trading center of East Africa with African, Arabian, I

2013-12-26

【Aiden in English】

        Kenya is now one of my top favorite places. It's where I went on my first wilderness safari, right after Christmas Day.

        The safari began with a two-hour drive from Mombasa to Tsavo National Park, the largest park in Kenya. That's when we climbed aboard a van. At first, the van didn't look like something that was fit for the Safari. But as if the van was trying to prove me wrong, the roof opened up,

2013-12-23

【Aiden in English】

        The closest thing to Seychelles is Hawaii, except Seychelles, which is in the Indian Ocean, while Hawaii is in the Pacific. Our tour took Mom and me to the National Botanical Gardens in Victoria, the capital city of the Republic of Seychelles. Victoria is located in Mahe, the largest island in the nation.

        There were exotic flowers and trees like trumpet pitchers, screw pines, Coco de Mer, Spanish daggers, canno

2011-04-12

        开罗堪称世界上最古老最悠久的地方之一，既是埃及和阿拉伯国家最大的首府，又是整个中东地区政治、经济和商业的中心；它拥有2,000万人口，几乎同北京差不多，可全埃及四分之一的骨肉同胞共同驻扎在这个“征服者”之城、“胜利者”之都，远比我们想象的更加雄伟更加壮观。

        素有“母亲”之称的尼罗河昂头挺胸，骄傲地穿过市中心繁华地段；名胜古迹云集东岸，一个接着一个鱼贯而出；成千上万个宣礼塔犹如地对空火箭导弹，齐刷刷地列队待发，不愧享有“千塔之城”的美誉；鳞次

2011-04-10

        过去十天里，我们沿着尼罗河两岸寻古探幽走了一遭，光驱车跋涉埃及古王朝旧都恒美城(Memphis)不够，纵贯飞越中王朝重地阿斯旺(Aswan，意指“集市”)，最后还要顺流漂到新王朝名城底比斯(Thebes)，不觉时空已跨越了7,000年。放眼尼罗河西部，盖世无双的撒哈拉沙漠空旷无际荒芜人烟；远瞩尼罗河东部，天下第二的阿拉伯沙漠广袤千里贫瘠创痍；近看在水一方，住着8,200万辽阔之国(阿拉伯语“埃及”)子孙后代。

        古往今来，君子爱财取之有道。时下国人常向先人讨教，孔夫子绝不

2011-04-09

        古代埃及发明了香水，称它为全世界香水文化的祖师爷，恐怕早已是不争的事实。1096年─1291年间，西欧基督教发动的十字军东征，曾先后六次对地中海东岸包括埃及在内的伊斯兰教国家采取宗教性军事行动，值得幸运的是，当时法国不仅领教了伊斯兰文明，而且还见识到埃及香水文化，大概从那时起，法国开始山寨埃及国粹，从此香水行业蒸蒸日上，几乎一统天下。香奈尔“5号”（Chanel N^o5）妩媚婉约、莲娜丽姿“比翼双飞”(Air Du Temps)飘逸清新、卡夏儿“柔美·俏丽”(Anais Anais)典雅浪漫、

2011-04-09

        我们站在尼罗河游轮的甲板上向对面望去，卢克索神殿就座落在市中心河滨大道旁，外形酷似圣船(Sacred Barque)一般。3,500多年前，曾经联手建造卡纳克大神殿的古埃及新王国时期第18王朝第9位法老和平神三世(Amenhotep III,公元前1390─公元前1352)和第19王朝第3位法老太阳神二世(Ramses II,公元前1279─公元前1213)再度跨时代合作，与后来其他法老通力推出这座专门用来敬拜底比斯三柱神(Theban Triad)的大型庙宇，从此以冥王(Osiris)母亲命名的节日──底比斯女神节(Opet Festival)每年都要在这里举

2011-04-09

        距离卢克索以北2.5公里、不到2英哩处有一名叫卡纳克的小镇，古时隶属尼罗河东岸著名的“生者之城”，即东底比斯，因为圣庙、圣塔、圣堂、圣像、圣湖荟萃，一举成为古埃及最受青睐的朝拜圣地。如果说吉萨金字塔是世界上最庞大的建筑博览会，那么卡纳克综合神殿则是古埃及最悠久的露天宗教博物馆，卡纳克综合神殿于1979年被联合国科教文组织纳入《世界文化遗产名录》。

        走近太阳神二世(Ramses II)及其女儿把守的塔门，我们不觉已置身于别具埃及风格的古代建筑群之中，这是

2011-04-08

        哈布城即太阳神三世(Ramesses III)神殿祭庙，原来不在我们的旅行计划之中，后因日前鹰神庙行程变故，导游急中生智，在前往帝王谷和王后谷的路上兜了个弯取道这里，算作对我们的补偿。说实在的，倘若没有随从旅游团观光，一切行动非得听从导游的指挥，我倒觉得尼罗河黄金线路上的每一个名胜古迹(除非是废墟)都不该落下，这里的一切几乎均被收录于联合国科教文组织的《世界文化遗产名录》。

        哈布城神殿祭庙位于帝王谷和王后谷的东南，同样座落在尼

2011-04-08 

        地处尼罗河中游横跨两岸的“上埃及”古城底比斯(Thebes)是继恒美城(Memphis)之后古埃及中王国(约公元前2000─公元前1780年)和新王国(公元前1567─公元前1080年)时期最重要的地方，至今已有超越4,000年的历史。据文字记载，当时底比斯有城池百座人口稠密，建筑壮丽且兴旺繁荣，是世界上宫殿般无与伦比的城市，因此被古希腊伟大诗人荷马盛赞为“百门之都”。尼罗河东岸素来冠有“生者之城”美誉，这一带神庙宫殿广厦无穷，是古埃及宗教和政治中心；久负“死者之城”盛名的

2011/04/06—2011/04/08

        从阿布辛贝(Abu Simbel)返程的路上，我们再次穿行埃及西部沙漠，这时天色已黑气温骤减，沙漠中刮起的阵阵旋风一直尾随身后穷追不舍，我们以鬼一般的速度杀回阿斯旺。

        一听到英国电影《尼罗河上的惨案》，孩子立刻亢奋起来，因为接下来我们马上就要乘坐尼罗河游轮，开始世界第一长河6695公里/4160英哩水上游弋。过去孩子一直十分喜欢侦探推理小说，对柯南•道尔(Arthur Conan Doyle)笔下的神探夏洛克•福尔摩斯(Sherlock Hol

2011-04-07

        尼罗河一定长比天河，不然为什么源于它的神话传说生生不息，而且从不见古埃及人嫌其久，亦不见古埃及人嫌其玄，更不见古埃及人嫌其多？展示神圣王权的鹰首神(Haroeris)，象征丰产富饶的鳄鱼神(Sobek)，保护生灵涂炭的胡狼神(Anubis)，造化生命健康的生育女神(Isis)，赐福母爱丰满的苍天女神(Hathor)，……金城神庙则是这样一座祭奉鹰首神荷鲁斯和鳄鱼神索贝克的“双神殿”。

        古时被称作“金城”的康翁波位于尼罗河畔南沿，周围

2011-04-06

        中午时分，我们从阿斯旺(Aswan,意指“集市”)出发，沿着胜利水库南下，很快便驶入覆盖整个埃及将近三分之二国土的西部沙漠。快活跳跃的沙丘绵延起伏，自由自在地穿行于砾石砂丘间或堆积而成的戈壁滩中。可能因为西部沙漠跟世界上阳光最充足的撒哈拉沙漠沾亲带故，这一片几乎无人居住，且不说疲于奔命的动物毫无眷恋之意，甚至连从不挑肥拣瘦的旱生植物都鲜少到此安家落户。一路上，除了我们所乘坐的旅游大巴士以外，难得碰到像我们这些勇往无前的游客。不过，随行的武警战士还是保持高度警惕，自动

2011-04-06

        离开首都开罗乘飞机不到两个钟头，我们便直捣努比亚心腹城市阿斯旺(意指“集市”)，据信努比亚是世上第一个黑人文化，乃至整个地球第一个人种，被尊视为生命的起源，传说中的伊甸园很可能也跟它紧密相关。阿斯旺位于"上埃及"，地处埃及的南大门，素来号称黑非洲的要塞门户，是唯一一条由海上进入非洲内地的通道；阿斯旺年降雨量几乎为零，隶属世界上最干燥的地区之一。

        作为献给古埃及神话中司掌生育及繁衍女神、享有“尼罗河明珠”美誉的菲

清明节，2011-04-05

        埃及人信仰神灵社会，痴迷来世再生，认为人一辈子生命短暂，而百年之后灵魂升华才会真正永垂不朽，这种思想深深扎根于古埃及绘画艺术之中，致使许多壁刻浮雕、象形文字、王室徽牌和实体写生都着力表现死后重生，虽然大多数作品仅仅采用简练平直的线条反映两者变迁，描绘的场景也不过呈横带状依次推出，但看上去却像被时间水平线切割出迥然有别的界面。与此同时，各种动物造型逐渐出场，平面排列效果就逐渐凸显出来，柔和细腻的着色方法烘托出亲切朴实的感觉：棕红

清明节，2011-04-05

        待我们从沙伊赫湾飞回首都开罗已是晚上八点多钟，我们只好匆匆赶到使者酒店(Safir Hotel)下榻亚洲餐馆凑合了一顿东方料理，之后随即返回房间安歇，因为第二天凌晨一大早要与来自美国各地其他廿一人首次正式会合，一起动身南下，开始世界第一长河──尼罗河两岸寻古淘今之旅。

        2011年4月初，我们这个由美国最佳旅行社(YMT Vacations)组团、埃及导游公司(Travco Company)领队的九夜十日游，是自埃及“一月革命”后两个月来第一批美国私人旅

清明节，2011-04-05

        众所周知，古埃及是世界历史上四大悠久文明古国之一，古代八大奇迹之一的吉萨金字塔则为古埃及文明最经典的代表作，被视作埃及国家的象征，1979年被联合国科教文组织列入《世界文化遗产名录》。

        古埃及人笃信宗教，十分推崇死后转世为神，完全把冥间看做是尘世生活的延续，因此法老(国王)从当政即日起，就开始着手筹划建设自己未来的奇幻天堂，不惜任何代价铸造极乐世界，被当成通向乐土天梯的金字塔，正好迎合了法老这种渴望灵魂升天的

2011/04/03-04

        从开罗开往埃及东部教长湾(Sharm El-Sheikh)的飞行仅需要一个小时，飞机穿越连接地中海与红海之间的苏伊士运河以后，很快便进入山峦起伏的西奈半岛。

        1869年竣工的苏伊士运河是亚洲与非洲的分界线，原本不过是一条海边明渠水道，而且无需用闸门来控制地中海与红海之间的水位，只因独霸欧洲至印度洋及西太平洋附近地区最短的航道，所以在政治、经济和军事等方面都占有举足轻重的地位。自1882年英国在此建立海外最大的军事基地起，埃及政府就一

2011-04-02 

        亚历山大地处埃及北部地中海南岸，恰值亚洲、非洲及欧洲三个洲交接地，是通往尼罗河及地中海的交通要道，继首都开罗之后全国第二大城市，我们十四天出游埃及的序幕就是从这里拉开的。

        根据奠基人亚历山大大帝而得名的亚历山大城始建于公元前332年，历经马其顿帝国、托勒密王朝、古希腊和奥斯曼帝国的政治统治和文化渗透，曾一度为埃及王国托勒密王朝的首都，直到1952年以纳赛尔为首的“自由军官组织”发动政变，推翻了爱心二世(Fuad II)，

2011-03-21

        人的生理嗅觉若是因为常年季节性过敏，可能会变得越来越不灵光，不过这倒算不了什么，吃上一片仙特敏(Zyrtec)，不大一会儿功夫，衰弱的嗅觉就能失而复得。

        可是，人的政治嗅觉一旦迟钝起来，愣要懵头懵恼置身于风起云涌的社会变革中去，纵有灵丹妙药恐怕都难以打救。

        我便属于上述两种嗅觉十分麻木的那种，否则怎么刚刚安排好前往埃及观光旅游的行程没过两天，就赶上空前绝后的“一月革命”呢？