Once in a dark moon

MDTimes Number 767 Sunday Times No. 7 July 19 2009
Sunday
19 July 2009
®
Once
in a dark
moon
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Sunday
Times
C & C - Lawyers Office
Partners:
Rui J. Da Cunha*
Álvaro Rodrigues*• Nuno S. da Mata*
Zhao Lu*º• Connie Kong
Associates:
Adelino Correia*
Zelina Rodrigues•Nuno L. Martins
Susana Batalha•Luís A. Pinto
Rita Andorinho•Célia Gonçalves
Vasco G. Vidal•Maria J. Marques
António I. Azeredo•João N. Marques
Jeniffer Lao • Icília Berenguel
Trainee Lawyers:
Maria A. Giestas
Eulália Sousa
Carlos S. Ferreira
Octávio Tavares
Fong Kit In
Cao Lemeng, Rui
Wong Pou Ngai, Karen
* Notary
º China Appointed Attesting Officer
www.ccadvog.com
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19 July 2009
Cover story
20
From Macau
to Lisbon
Chilling and Bathing
in Budapest
4
Once
in a dark moon
by António Espadinha Soares
by Fernando Ferreira
24
Press Play
by Rui Freitas
16
Mouse Click
by David Brookshaw
18 World of Wonder
28 Offbeat
29 Cartooning
the World
by António Espadinha Soares
10
A pioneer of
women’s writing in Macau:
Deolinda da
Conceição
32
BACK PAIN
No More With Yoga
by Torey Lee Farmer
by António
This Day in History
30 Infotainment
34 Zoom
by Marta Melo
Universal Yoga Asia Ltd.
26
Ask the Vet
Feeding Your Pet
by Dr Ruan Du Toit Bester
Av.do Infante D. Henrique, 43-53A, second floor, Macau Square, Macau
Phone number (853) 2899 5599 Fax number (853) 2899 5533
http://www.universal-yoga-asia.com/
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Sunday
Times
0
Once in
Photo of a partial sun eclipse by Jon Sullivan – public domain.
Opposite page: The SMG and MUST will make the following equipments available for safe viewing of the eclipse.
n Wednesday, July 22, from the western coast
of India to the Eastern coast of China, a select few in the Asian continent will be privileged enough to witness what is calculated
to be the longest full solar eclipse of the 21st
century. Those who are able to take a boat 195 miles
east of the island of Iwo Jima will be able to witness
the total eclipse for six minutes and 39 seconds, but
if you prefer to be inland to witness the event, then
mainland China is your best bet, with observers to the
south of Shanghai being able to witness six minutes of
this amazing natural spectacle.
In Macau the moon will obstruct only 69.5 percent
of the sun, beginning at 8.13am, peaking at 9.24am
and concluding at 10.44am. Previous weather forecasts
have been somewhat pessimistic, with clouds and low
visibility predicted, typical for this time of year. However, should the sporadic sunny skies hold out, Macau
residents may have the opportunity to enjoy the event
in a safe and educational manner, by taking advantage
of the Science and Technology Development Fund’s
(FDCT) activities arranged especially for the day.
The Macau Daily Times (MDT) spoke with Tânia
Sales Marques, a local astronomer, and António Viseu,
director of the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau
(SMG), who both gave a brief description of the event
4
and of the day’s activities planned out in conjunction
with several of the SAR’s institutions.
What’s an eclipse?
“An eclipse happens when the moon, the
earth and the sun are aligned in a way that the
moon covers the sun in the sky” said Marques,
an astronomer from Macau. She completed her
undergraduate studies in the United States at the
University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She then went
on to complete her post-graduation studies in Mathematics at King’s College London, at which time she
moved to Macau to work at the science museum.
Marques described a solar eclipse as ‘basically the
moon’s shadow cast on the earth’. What makes this
year’s eclipse so special is the length of time of the phenomenon. According to the young astronomer solar
eclipses are actually a common occurrence, although
sometimes it doesn’t happen at all. “On average it can
happen two to five times a year, but what’s rare is to
have a total eclipse in the same place. You often have to
wait a few hundred years until you have a total eclipse
in the same geographical area” she said.
The main reason for this lack of consistency she explained has to do with the earth and moon’s elliptical
19 July 2009
a dark moon
By António Espadinha Soares
5
Sunday
Once in a dark moon
Times
orbits, both of which have varying speeds. “There’s a
tendency for there to be more partial eclipses in which
only part of the sun is obstructed” said Marques. However, even though what will be seen in Macau is a partial eclipse, with the total eclipse passing only over a
narrow strip across India and China, she refers to solar
eclipses which are only partial, regardless of geographical location.
When I asked Marques if she knew of any total solar eclipses that might be observed from Macau in the
near future, she replied, “Not that I know of but it’s a
question of checking the catalogue which has five millennia of solar eclipses. In this catalogue you can find
a solar eclipse that will happen close to Macau. I know
of lunar eclipses, like the one that happened last year.”
Location, location,
location
Given Macau’s dense urban landscape and the inherent danger of trying to observe such an event without
being armed with the proper knowledge, a joint effort
by the FDCT along with the SMG, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) and the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) has combined
resources for Macau to be able to enjoy this astronomic phenomena in a safe and pedagogic environment.
According to the SMG’s director, António Viseu, there will be two observation posts where
specialized technicians will be on hand to
guide observers. Viseu said this is a necessary precaution “because even in an eclipse
the sunlight is so intense that you can’t
stare directly at the sun. Special equipment
is necessary to observe without damaging
your eyes, and since Macau can only see the
partial eclipse, that means that the sun still
has a lot of brightness.”
“We’ll have a reserved area here in the
greater Taipa natural park on July 22 and this
eclipse will be during the morning for a rather
long period of time for this sort of astrological
phenomena, and can be seen for two hours. The
other observation post with qualified support
staff is at MUST. There are several observation
areas available with various optical instruments,
namely, telescopes and special sun observation
eye glasses” said Viseu.
Transport has been organized to get to
each location, and those who want to
attend must pre-register either with
the SMG or IACM, because space is
limited. SMG and IACM can host
a total of 1000 people, 500 in each
location, and MUST has organized
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SMG’s director,
António Viseu.
(L) Websites such as
Astronomy.com have
dispatched editors to
parts of China where
the total eclipse will be
viewable. If you can’t
travel to mainland China
for the event, consider
keeping up to date by
watching it unfold online
(C) This NASA illustration
shows the full solar
eclipse’s path through
China, with major cities
pointed out on the map.
(R) On NASA’s website
on this year’s eclipse you
can also find a special
tool based on Google
Maps that not only lays
out the course of the total
eclipse, but let’s you get
precise information on
when the eclipses several
stages will be viewable
in any particular location.
In this picture we can
see the information for
the exact location of the
greater Taipa natural park
viewing area.
19 July 2009
four different areas where the public may remain for half hour periods and observe
the phenomenon.
The area of the natural park surrounding the SMG’s main building will be closed
off, and the road closed off to vehicles to avoid congestion. The IACM will make an
area available for workshops on how to build your own solar eclipse observation instruments and there will also be five telescopes available
for use. The event’s organizers strongly discourage people from
using their own vehicles, recommending instead to specify
on registration which one of the three transportation pickup spots are better suited to them. Transport will leave
at 7:45am from the Iao Han neighbourhood, in front
of Loi Loi Supermarket’s main entrance; At the São
Francisco’s Garden bus stop, in front of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ); or at the main
entrance to the Taipa stadium.
Organisers have also stressed the importance of
making the most of this rare opportunity to educate
Macau’s youth about scientific principles. “Supposedly, school’s general science programs already have this
astronomical component but so that people are more
conscious of these phenomena, direct observation
promotes more interest. For example, when I was a
child I’d look at the clouds and wonder how they came
to be and then disappear, and it was from there that I
went into the scientific branch of meteorology. It’s precisely because of that that the government wants to make
equipment available so that people can observe, and so
kids can have the opportunity to observe this astronomic
phenomenon which isn’t an easy thing to do in Macau, in
such a small place.”
Young Macanese astronomer
Tânia Sales Marques.
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Sunday
Once in a dark moon
Times
SMG’s main
building at the
greater Taipa
natural park.
8
According to Marques and Viseu, Macau’s Amateur Astronomer’s Association has its own
program, which consists of an
excursion to a city in China inside the total eclipse area. “Last
year there was a solar eclipse
in China and they organised a
kind of video conference so that
people could see the eclipse.
This year they’re probably trying to do the same thing,” said
Marques.
I asked the young astronomer
if she’s part of the 25 year old
association, to which she replied, “I’m not a part of it but
I am in contact with them. I’ve
never partaken in observation
activities, but maybe I will in the
near future. The association’s
members are mostly Chinese,
and many of them don’t speak
English, so for me to explain
certain things is impossible. To
participate and listen is OK, but to explain, maybe I’m
not able to do it” she lamented. For even though she’s
a Macau native capable of speaking Cantonese, her
studies, and all the technical jargon she’s used to dealing with in this particular field of science, have all been
in English. She concluded by saying, “I’m somewhat
limited because of that, but maybe this year I’ll participate in some of their activities”.
Greater Taipa’s natural park
where up to 500 residents
may safely view the solar
eclipse.
19 July 2009
9
Sunday
Times
A pioneer of women’s writing in Macau:
Deolinda
da Conceição
10
19 July 2009
by David Brookshaw *
* Professor of the University of
Bristol,lectures Brazilian Studies,
Portuguese studies and also African
Literature in Portuguese.
I
t is often the case in emerging literatures that one
work assumes a particular importance when a country’s literary history comes to be written. One only
has to think of Mozambican author Luís Bernardo
Honwana’s lone collection of short stories, We Killed
Many-Dog and Other Stories, and the special place it has in
the literature of Mozambique, or Alan Paton’s iconic novel of
apartheid South Africa, Cry the Beloved Country. In Macau,
Deolinda da Conceição’s collection of stories, Cheong-sam
– A Cabaia (Cheongsam – the Kebaya), published in 1956,
occupies a special place, not only in the literature of Macau,
but in the wider world of lusophone literature and, arguably, of the literature of China. Six of the twenty-seven tales
included in the collection were translated into English and
feature in the anthology of Macau prose writing, Visions of
China: Stories from Macau, published by the Hong Kong
University Press in 2002.
Deolinda da Conceição was a unique figure in a number of ways. Born in Macau in 1914, like many Macanese,
she migrated to Shanghai in the 1930s in search of better
opportunities than the Portuguese territory could, at that
stage, provide. In due course, and by that time the mother
of two children, she was forced to flee southwards before
the Japanese invasion and occupation of Shanghai, and
headed for Hong Kong, where she taught in a school for
Portuguese refugees. In 1941, when the Japanese overran
Hong Kong, she was briefly interned in a concentration
camp. After the end of the war, and by this time a divorcee, she joined the staff in 1947 of the newly established
Macau paper, Notícias de Macau, whose editor, Herman
A Cabaia
(Cheongsam
– the Kebaya),
published
in 1956,
occupies a
special place,
not only in
the literature
of Macau,
but in the
wider world
of lusophone
literature and,
arguably, of
the literature
of China.
Macau ca.1915
11
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Deolinda
da Conceição
A pioneer of women’s writing in Macau:
Times
12
Machado Monteiro, was a Republican exile from the Salazar dictatorship. Her colleagues on the paper included other Macanese intellectuals, such as Luís Gonzaga Gomes, the author of unparalleled
studies on the popular Chinese cultural
heritage of Macau, and José dos Santos
Ferreira, the main exponent of literature
in ‘patois’, the local creole language.
Deolinda da Conceição was the first
female journalist in Macau, and was
responsible for the women’s page of
Notícias de Macau, but some of the
stories subsequently published in her
sole collection, originally appeared
in the newspaper. She was therefore
very much of her time, in the sense
that she lived through a period of
considerable social change and
political conflict in China, while
also witnessing first hand the
brutalities of war. She was also in
advance of the age in which she
lived. As a divorcee, at least until her second marriage in 1948,
and a journalist at a time when
there were few women in the
professions, and living in what
was still a highly conservative
society (as a divorcee, she was
even barred from teaching), she must
have seemed a disturbingly free spirit in the sheltered
world of post-war Macau.
Her stories reflect, in their themes, the cultural fusions and confusions of Macau and China during
the first half of the twentieth century, and her particular focus is the situation of women, very often
caught between traditional expectations of their
role in society or within marriage, and the new
possibilities open to them as a result of Western influences in China’s great coastal cities. To
some extent, the very title of the collection symbolizes the multicultural background against
which these female dramas are enacted, for the
cheongsam, the one-piece dress adapted from
the northern Chinese qípáo, and worn by upper-class women in Shanghai from the 1920s,
came to synthesize the process of modernizing East-West fusion in the area of women’s
fashion and became a symbol of feminine
allurement. On the other hand, the kebaya,
a type of long blouse, was the product of a
much earlier process of fusion. There is a
debate about the origins of this garment,
but what we can be reasonably sure of is
that it was introduced by the Portuguese
into Southern China from Southeast Asia
not long after the foundation of Macau. By the
time the cheongsam was developed, the kebaya was there-
19 July 2009
fore a traditional, native form of clothing among
Chinese women, so that the journey undertaken
by Deolinda’s female characters, is also a journey
between the kebaya and the cheongsam, between
tradition and modernity.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the title
story of the collection, ‘Cheongsam’, which was
also one of the stories included in the anthology
mentioned above. It centres on a young Chinese
couple who had married in obedience to their
parents’ wishes. The young wife, educated in the
West, has unwittingly grown away from her traditional Chinese cultural roots, and to some extent
is on a journey of no return. As a consequence
of this, there is a likelihood of later incompatibility with her traditionally educated Chinese
husband, and this begins to occur following the
Japanese invasion and the couple’s forced flight
southwards, first to Shanghai, and then to a city
we assume to be Macau. The husband’s inability to provide for
his wife and their
children obliges
her to look for
work as a nightclub
hostess,
which enables the
family to eat, but
has a severe effect
on the husband’s
self-esteem, eventually leading to
jealousy, resentment and murderous instincts.
If the outcome of
the story is tragic, Deolinda concentrates both
on the social and economic influences leading
to this outcome, and also on the moral issues
surrounding the wife’s actions, not to mention the husband’s initial acceptance of them.
The more the wife frequents rich foreign men
in what amounts to high-class prostitution, the
more she despises her husband and forgets her
duties as a mother. And yet what is the underlying cause of her behaviour and the ultimate tragedy? Is it the war and hardship? Is it the fact that
they have married to fulfil their parents’ rather
than their own wishes? Or is it the wife’s pursuit
of a dream for which her Western education is
partly to blame? It is this more universal, moral
problem that we find ourselves reflecting upon,
and which transforms this story into an exemplary tale that we can all somehow identify with.
The same could be said of other stories in the
collection, from the tale of a Eurasian fashion
model who, as a
result of a disfiguring accident, is
forced to give up
her
glamorous
lifestyle and rethink her mission
in life in a positive way, to a poor
girl’s
obsession
with possessing a
jade ring, and the
moral price she
might be prepared
to pay in order to
do so. Other tales
Her stories reflect, in their themes, the
cultural fusions and confusions of Macau
and China during the first half of the
twentieth century, and her particular focus
is the situation of women
13
Sunday
Deolinda
da Conceição
A pioneer of women’s writing in Macau:
Times
14
focus on the theme of inter-racial love, and the tragedy of
shame and prejudice besetting the offspring of such relationships in what was still a profoundly colonial society. As
a product herself of Macau’s melting pot, the theme was
particularly close to the author’s heart.
We cannot tell how Deolinda da Conceição’s work might
have developed over the years of profound change that were
to follow, for she died prematurely in 1957, not long after returning from her only trip to Portugal, a country with which
she, like many Macanese, strongly identified as her fatherland.
We cannot tell whether that loyalty might have been subtly
re-defined if she had lived to witness, albeit at a distance, the
long drawn-out colonial wars in Africa, and the growing obstinacy of an ailing dictatorship that only came to an end in 1974.
More probably, she might have continued to chronicle the lives
of the Chinese and Macanese during the topsy-turvy years of
the Cultural Revolution, whose effects were felt so closely in
her native city. What we are left with, however, is a collection of
stories that form a unique contribution to literature in Portuguese, as well as chronicling the moral choices faced by those
who are the victims of social injustice or of war, or occasionally
the perpetrators of it. They are stories that still have a relevance
today, and upon which we can all ponder.
19 July 2009
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Sunday
Times
Mouse Click
Video of the Week
Senegalese Recyclers – Youtube.com
Log on to Youtube and search for that exact
title and you’ll be presented with a video report
that past its inherent sadness will probably uplift
you with its tale of human perseverance in the
third world among the wreckage of consumerist society. It’s the story of how entrepreneurial
souls in Senegal will make use of anything that’s
even remotely usable that people will throw away.
Trash collectors will round up the best of what
they find to sell to these alternative artisans of
the third world. This short and concise report
will certainly make you rethink your “need” for
that new sports bag or trinket the next time you
go on a shopping spree.
by António Espadinha Soares
Slate.com
Good journalism is hard to come by these days, not only
because of bad journalists but mostly because of a changing media landscape which imposes its constraints ever
more on traditional media outlets. Slate is a respected
online publication that offers insightful journalism by
presenting well researched and written articles, such as
a recent article published earlier this month on Michael
Jackson’s death and the involvement of his personal physician, written by an actual doctor who has experienced
the pitfalls of celebrity customers. The site is entirely free
and there’s no need to register.
Software of the Week
http://www.gimp.org/
Digital killed the negative star, for sure, for sure... Or so
would go the song by The Buggles, had it been released 30
years later and if it talked about photography instead of the
music industry. These days the traditional darkroom has been
replaced by computer software, the most notorious of which
is Photoshop. However, this tremendous tool is a somewhat
expensive option which isn’t easily accessible to beginning
photo-enthusiasts. Gimp is a free open-source software alternative that’s just as powerful as Photoshop, and if the latter’s
interface is something you crave there’s even a skin called
“Gimpshop” which will reorder and rename Gimp’s menus
and tools to look more like Photoshop. The software is freely
available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
16
19 July 2009
HowStuffWorks.com
Arthur C. Clarck once wrote that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, which
is the case for most people who are often at a loss as to
how modern technology does what it does. Sure, TVs,
MP3s, DVDs and all that, it’s all very normal but how do
these things even work? How Stuff Works provide simple,
visually illustrated guides that explain the basic science
and inner workings behind some of today’s most mundane, and complicated, technology. One afternoon on this
website and you’ll soon be dazzling (or boring) all your
friends with your new found knowledge.
Blog of the Week
http://blog.makezine.com/
The do-it-yourself (DIY) attitude of someone
you might know usually looks amazing to most
people in this age of ready to use products. However, many still find joy in tailoring their own solutions to their personal problems, or just making
something neat for the heck of it. MAKE Magazine is an innovative publication for all the DIYers
out there who love to dabble in weird and funny
projects. The blog for the magazine is crammed
with suggestions, ideas and projects of hobbyists
from around the world.
17
Times
Sunday
19 July 2009
Sunday
18
Times
19 July 2009
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Sunday
Times
From Macau
to Lisbon
20
Chilling and Bathing
‘T
by Rui Freitas
hat’s a very nice laptop,’ he said. I
looked over across the room and a
long-haired, bearded Australian was
sitting with an identical laptop in front
of him. This is how Adrian and I met
at the hostel in Prague. We started chatting about our
travels and soon discovered we had made almost the
same journey so far. Adrian is on a four year trip and after travelling in Southeast Asia for six months he stopped
to work in Japan for about a year. From there he took off
to Beijing and crossed into Europe on the Trans-Siberian
railway. We had both visited the same cities in Europe
and after Prague we discovered we were following the
same path and decided to travel together.
I travelled to Bratislava ahead of Adrian because he was
waiting for a friend in Prague. When we met up in Bratislava I was scheduled to leave the following day so we
decided to meet again in Budapest.
I was hosted two nights through CouchSurfing with
a Hungarian girl named Virag, which means flower in
Hungarian. Virag had lived in Lisbon for a year and
spoke Portuguese. She was very hospitable and let me
19 July 2009
in Budapest
have her apartment while she went to work. Virag drove
me around Budapest and showed me all the important
places and wonderful vistas over the Danube and the
city.
Originally, there were two separate cities: Buda on the
western bank and Pest on the eastern bank. They were
finally united in 1849 with the construction of the Chain
Bridge across the Danube. Budapest is a beautiful city
with a rich influence; originally a Celtic settlement, it was
a provincial capital in Roman times. Later the Magyars
arrived, from whom present-day Hungarians are descendent, and the Ottoman Empire ruled over the city for 150
years. During the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Budapest
was the second capital. All these cultural and architectur-
21
Sunday
Times
From Macau
to Lisbon
22
al influences stand out spectacularly at night. The Buda
side has rolling hills and is more of a residential area and
features plenty of scenic spots from which to look over
the Pest side or Castle hill on the Buda side. The Pest side
is flat and bustling with life and beautiful buildings.
Unlike Prague, where tourists can leisurely stroll through
the cobbled streets of Old Town, Budapest forces visitors to mingle with the locals, to walk the same streets
the people from Budapest use on their way to work and
to shop for groceries in the same supermarkets. It feels
like a real city, with crowds
of Hungarians going about
their daily lives, streets
filled with buses and trams.
I walked along the eastern
river bank, past the Parliament building and then
lost myself inside the city. It
is a nice city to be lost in.
Often, a beautiful square or
building surprised me at the
end of a narrow street. The
banks of the Danube are
part of the World Heritage
Site, as are the Buda Castle
Quarter, Andrássy Avenue,
a boulevard of neo-renaissance palaces and houses and fine facades, and Heroes’
Square at its end, and the Millennium Underground
Railway, which runs beneath Andrássy Avenue.
Adrian arrived in the city and we checked into the same
hostel. We ambled along the streets until the City Park and
lingered there, taking photos and watching the locals. The
next day we walked across one of the bridges to the Buda
side. It was a very hot day and we stopped for a beer and
chilled out before climbing all the way up to the castle.
The castle is comprised of many buildings and a large residential area inside its walls. The heat was taking its toll
on us and we relaxed on the grass under the shade
of a tree for a long time. At night we decided to check out one of Budapest’s
legendary bath/pool parties. Budapest has many hot baths
and natural springs that
date back to the Roman
and Turkish times and every once in a while parties
are organised in one of the
many baths of the city. We
went to a Brazilian themed
party at two huge outdoor
pools. It is an interesting
concept but probably Brazilian music and Hungarian people don’t go well together and the pools were
sort of empty. It was time
for us to move on. Next
stop: Romania.
19 July 2009
23
Sunday
Times
Press Play
by Fernando Ferreira
Album of the Week
Crack the Skye
Mastodon
Featuring seven tracks, Crack the Skye is the fourth studio album by American progressive metal band Mastodon, released on March of this year, via Reprise Records.
Mastodon’s drummer Brann Dailor described the album as more “focused” than its predecessor, Blood
Mountain.
“Maybe there was a deeper heart to this record that
needed more exploring (…) We got more involved with
feeling the vibe of the record and everything feels more
creepy and spaced out and something special is going
on”, he said.
Produced by Brendan O’Brien, who also produced albums for Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Rage Against
the Machine, Bruce Springsteen, among many others,
Crack the Skye was highly praised in the press. UK
based Clash magazine said : “no metal release of 2009 is
likely to be as important as ‘Crack The Skye’.”
Mastodon began in 1999 with Brann Dailor, Bill Kelliher, Troy Sanders, Brent Hinds and original vocalist Eric
Saner, who left the band in 2000.
They released an EP, Lifesblood in 2001 and their first
full-length album, Remission, was released one year
later.
In 2004, the band released the album Leviathan, which
received high critical acclaim, giving the band an Album
of the Year award from Kerrang! magazine.
24
Best bands of the 21st c
Based around brother and
sister duo Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, the Fiery
Furnaces are a U.S. indie
rock band formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 2000.
After signing with Rough
Trade in 2002, their debut
album Gallowsbird’s Bark
was released one year later
and often compared in the
press to The White Stripes,
due to the garage blues elements of the band’s sound
and the fact that the members are siblings.
Eleanor, who some say has the
unwitting charisma of a young
Patti Smith, is one of the most
compelling singers the current crop of new rock’n’roll
bands has produced.
In 2004, the band released
Blueberry Boat and kept on
releasing albums at the rate
of one per year. EP and Rehearsing My Choir in 2005,
Bitter Tea in 2006, Widow
DVD
Nirvana:
Video
Aphex
nated for the Best Video
award at the BRIT Awards
The music video for “Windowlicker” is a ten-minute
long parody of contemporary American gangsta hiphop music videos. In the video, two foul-mouthed young
men (a Latino and an African American) in Los Angeles are window shopping for
prostitutes until Richard D.
James arrives in a (very) long
white limousine.
The video was directed by
Chris Cunningham, who
also directed the infamous
music video of Aphex Twin’s
“Come to Daddy” in 1997.
The promo video was nomi-
2000, alongside videos by
Supergrass, The Chemical
Brothers, Fatboy Slim and
Robbie Williams.
The full “Windowlicker”
video is restricted to being
broadcast only during the
night time on most music
television channels.
Richard David James, aka
Aphex Twin, is an electronic
musician described by The
Guardian newspaper as “the
most inventive and influential figure in contemporary
electronic music.”
19 July 2009
century – Fiery Furnaces
City in 2007 and Remember in 2008.
In April of this year, Thrill
Jockey, the band’s new re-
cord label, announced the upcoming release of I’m Going
Away, the band’s seventh studio
album on July 21.
“Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!!”
Nirvana’s Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! video album released in November 7, 2006 was conceived by Cobain as a powerfull document of the band’s 1991-1992 world tour, but completed by
bandmates Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, along with director Kevin Kerslake, Nirvana: Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! careens
through the band’s early catalog, including their earth-shaking
platinum record, 1991’s Nevermind.
Most of the live footage is from 1991 and 1992 and the latest
footage in the DVD is from January of 1993 at the Hollywood
Rock Festival in Brazil.
A message appears at the beginning of the film to say that due to
the circumstances of Cobain’s death it was never completed.
Released in the sad months after Cobain allegedly took his own
life in April 1994, Nirvana: Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! works as
a complement piece to the “Nirvana: MTV Unplugged in New
York,” which was released two weeks prior to the documentary,
providing a glimpse at both ends of the band’s musical spectrum.
Like Kurt Cobain used to say: “here we are now, entertain us.”
Twin “Window licker”
Lost in Time
Ramones
The Ramones, featuring Dee Dee (bass, vocals), Joey
(vocals), Johnny (guitar), Tommy (drums, later replaced by Marky), were the greatest American punk
band of all times, who helped to reinvent rock ‘n’ roll
when it needed it the most.
Their first release, Ramones (1976), was initially
panned by critics, featuring songs like “Blitzkrieg Bop”
and “Beat on the Brat”, but the Ramones’ anthems of
rebellion earned them a solid cult following.
During the next two decades, the Ramones produced
over 20 albums. Although few performed well on the
charts, their continuous touring schedule nurtured a
devoted following.
Despite several lineup changes, including the departure of Tommy and Dee Dee and the addition of Marc
“Marky” Bell (1978), Richard “Ritchie” Beau (1983)
and Chris “C.J.” Ward (1989), the Ramones consistently drew large crowds to their live performances.
On March 19, 2002, the Ramones were inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
Joey Ramone died on April 15, 2001, at the age of 49
of lymphatic cancer. Dee Dee Ramone died of a suspected drug overdose on June 2002 and Johnny Ramone died just two years later, on September at the
age of 55, after fighting prostate cancer.
25
Sunday
Times
Question Categories
to be covered are:
-All about Dogs.
-All about Cats.
-All about Exotics.
-All about pet ownership.
-All about nutrition.
We will be focusing on
the following;
Allergies
Avian/Exotics
Behavior
Boarding
Dental
Digestive System
Diseases
Ears
General
Heart
Hormones
Husbandry
Medications
Musculoskeletal
Neoplasia
Nervous System
Nutrition
Reproductive System
Respiratory
Skin
Surgery
Travel
Urinary
Vaccinations
by Dr Ruan Du Toit Bester
Ask The Vet
Ask the Vet - is a service that allows you to ask questions about your pets’ health and
behavior. My goal is to help you, the pet owner, improve the knowledge of your pet’s
everyday needs and health care in Macau through a variety of pet services and veterinary
resources that where never available to pet owners before.
Pets have become a very important part of our families. In many cases they have become as much a part of our lives as children or grandchildren. And, in certain ways, just
as complicated. Think of all the questions raised by wanting a pet. Pet ownership has
definitely become more complex. Everybody seems to have an opinion on what pet you
should get and what being a good pet owner means. My goal is to answer your questions
and try making things simpler for you. I want to give some of the basic information that
will help you to raise a healthy, happy and family compatible pet. And, of course, have
fun while you are doing it.
The ideas listed in this column come from many years of studying and practicing veterinary medicine in South Africa, Australia, Hong Kong and Macau. And they are just that,
my ideas and opinions. They are not meant to be all-encompassing or correct for every
situation. Use this information as a tool, along with the advice from your veterinarian, to
help you make the interaction between you and your pet a wonderful experience.
As far as I am concerned, there are two kinds of people; those who really love animals,
and those who have never owned any. People who say they do not love pets have usually
never owned one. And for those who say they hate them, well, let’s just not talk about
them! The picture above is of a 150kg sea turtle at Australia Zoo that I did abdominal
surgery on after it ingested a ball of fishing line. Indiscriminate and over fishing causes
this to happen too often.
I hope this section helps you enjoy that perfect life with your pet. And I would love to
hear the stories of how you came to own your particular pet and any interesting experiences you have had.
Please send all your questions to
[email protected] or mail to
Dr Ruan Du Toit Bester
Rua, D.R, L, P, Marquest 2/F, Flat B,
Ponte 6A, Macau SAR.
Tel: +853 28763349 Fax: +853 28763349
26
F
eeding your pet (cat or
dog) should be one of
the easiest things you do.
However, with all the hype
and advertising that exists in the media, it has become one
of the most confusing areas for pet
owners. Pet food has become a multibillion dollar industry and each company is very interested in convincing
you that their line of food is better
than the others. Do they have your
best interests at heart? You’ll have to
make that decision for yourself.
I have discussed this before but here
are some extra tips that may help:
Stick with the major brands of food
and avoid “generic” diets. The major
brands are tried and true and they
cross state lines during transport,
which means they fall under stricter
governmental controls. Diets that
are made locally are not as rigorously
controlled. And even some of the generic brands that are made by large
super store chains cannot compete
with the quality and research that is
put into the diets that are made by
those companies that only make pet
foods. So if you’ve never heard of a
brand before, be sure you check with
someone (hopefully, your veterinarian) before you purchase.
The commercially produced brands
of food are complete. You do not need
to add any supplements to these diets. Water is the only thing they are
missing. Before adding anything else
19 July 2009
Feeding Your Pet
(vitamins, minerals, milk or other liquids, etc.), please consult with your
veterinarian. Some of these supplements can actually cause more harm
than good.
The only difference between the
dry and canned versions of food is
generally the water content. It is OK
to feed canned foods if you want to
deal with the added mess and work.
Dry food is, however, very good for
the teeth. If you do not feed dry food
at all, and even if you do, be sure to
give your pet things to chew on and
consider brushing their teeth. This
not only saves them from having
dental problems, it will save them
from having anesthesia to clean their
teeth and save you veterinary bills.
As a general statement, puppies
and kittens should be fed puppy
and kitten food until approximately
six months of age. At that time they
should be slowly weaned onto adult
foods. It takes about 2 to3 weeks to
wean dogs and cats from young to
adult food. This will vary from breed
to breed, so please check with your
breeder or veterinarian for your specific pet. Additionally, if you have a
large breed dog (Great Dane, Golden
Retriever, Burmese Mountain Dog,
etc.), be sure to also check with your
veterinarian about specific feeding
instructions. It is extremely important to not overfeed the large breeds
early in life. This will have an impact
on their skeletal system and increase
the chances of hip dysplasia.
Beyond all the hype of premium
brands versus regular brands, pet
store vs. supermarket brands, dry vs.
canned, etc., I have found one thing
to be true: the more money you
spend on the foods, the less faeces
you have to pick up! The premium
brands are more concentrated and
digestible, therefore there is less fecal
material produced.
As your pet gets older, it is very important to discuss diet with your veterinarian. There are terrific diets on
the market to help prolong the lives
of our pets as they develop certain
problems (obesity, kidney disease,
liver problems, allergies, etc.). They
are more expensive, but well worth
it. This is one area where the truth is
as good as the hype. Dietary changes
can make a significant difference in
the older pets.
In summary, feeding your pet should
not be hard. Pick a name brand that
you are familiar with, feed puppy
and kitten food to the young ones,
adult foods to those generally over 6
months of age, check with your veterinarian on what to feed when they
get past middle aged, and don’t get
caught up in all the other advertising hype. Most of the diets out there
are fine and our pets seem to thrive
well on nearly all of them. Speak to
your veterinarian or email me with
specific questions.
As always, I’m happy to help your
pet…and their people, too.
27
Sunday
Times
Offbeat
Australian woman escapes wrong turn into croc-filled river
An Australian woman had a lucky escape after
making a wrong turn into a crocodile-infested
river in the country’s remote north, police said
Tuesday.
The woman mistook a boat ramp for a road
crossing the East Alligator River, about 300
kilometres (185 miles) east of Darwin, police
said.
Officers who retrieved the vehicle after the
accident last Thursday found it surrounded by
deadly saltwater crocodiles.
Police said the woman, from New South Wales
state, had to scramble through the water as
her four-wheel drive sank into the river near
the world heritage-listed Kakadu National
Park.
“She managed to get out of the car once
she realised she had gone the wrong way
and her car was going to sink,” a police
spokeswoman told national news agency
AAP.
“She did have to wade through the water but
she didn’t have to swim.”
The mishap prompted Northern Territory
police to warn travellers to carefully research
their routes when driving in the area.
“All water crossings should be considered
extremely dangerous and exceptional care
should be taken to avoid similar incidents such
as these, especially considering the number
and size of crocodiles that inhabit remote water ways,”
Sergeant Ben Higgin said.
Two people have been killed in Australia this year
in attacks by saltwater crocodiles, which can grow
up to seven metres (23 feet) long and weigh more
than a tonne.
Horses without ‘nappies’
Horse-drawn carts were banned from one of Ireland’s most famous
national parks Tuesday in an escalation of a long-running row about
their refusal to use “nappies” to deal with the horse dung.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) said it had “taken
action to refuse entry to jaunting car operators” to the
Killarney national park in the south west unless they have
“the required dung catcher device”.
Operated by so-called “jarveys”, some 66 traditional
carts, known as jaunting cars, carry tourists along 15
kilometres of internal roads within the picture-postcard
park.
“An unfortunate consequence of such a high volume
of horses frequenting the park is that the roadways
are consistently fouled with horse dung, and has for
a long time been a concern from the point of view of
environmental, health and safety, aesthetic and tourism
grounds,” the NPWS said.
The jarveys claim the dung catchers – attached to the car
– will unbalance the carriages and the horses.
It said the majority of the more than a million visitors to
the park each year walked the roads and it had received
numerous complaints about the horse dung.
28
19 July 2009
Cartooning the World
Celebrating 200 years of Bolivian Independence
by António
MDTimes exclusive in Macau
This Day in History
America bombs Rome
On July 19, 1943 the United States bombs railway yards in Rome
in an attempt to break the will of the Italian people to resist – as
Hitler lectures their leader, Benito Mussolini, on how to prosecute
the war further.
President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill had appealed three days earlier to the Italian civilian
population to reject Mussolini and Hitler and “live for Italy and
civilization.” As an “incentive,” American bombers raided the city,
destroying its railways. Panic broke out among the Romans.
Convinced by Mussolini that the Allies would never bomb the
holy city, civilians poured into the Italian capital for safety. The
bombing did more than shake their security in the city – it shook
their confidence in their leader.
The denizens of Rome were not alone in such disillusion. In a
meeting in northern Italy, Hitler attempted to revive the flagging
spirits of Il Duce, as well as point out his deficiencies as a
leader. Afraid that Mussolini, having suffered successive military
setbacks, would sue for a separate peace, leaving the Germans
alone to battle it out with Allied forces along the Italian peninsula,
Hitler decided to meet with his onetime role model to lecture him
on the manly art of war.
Mussolini remained uncharacteristically silent during the
harangue, partly due to his own poor German (he would request
a translated synopsis of the meeting later), partly due to his fear
of Hitler’s response should he tell the truth-that Italy was beaten
and could not continue to fight. Mussolini kept up the charade
for his German allies: Italy would press on. But no one believed
the brave front anymore. Just a day later, Hitler secretly ordered
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel to take command of the occupied
Greek Islands, better to “pounce on Italy” if and when Mussolini
capitulated to the United States.
29
Sunday
Times
The Born Loser by Chip Sansom
Sudoku
Easy
Easy +
Cinema
Cineteatro
9:15 pm
Room 1
Starring: Shia Labeouf, Megan Fox
Director: Michael Bay
Screenplay: Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci
Language: English ( Chinese subtitles)
Duration:150 min
2:00/4:45/7:30/10:15 pm
Harry Potter and
The Half-blood Prince
Starring: Daniel Jacob Radcliffe, Rupert Grint
Director: David Yates
Screenplay: Steve Kloves
Language: English ( Chinese subtitles)
Duration:153 min
Transformers 2
Room 2
2:30/4:30/7:30/9:30 pm
Ice Age 3
Medium
Starring: Cha Tae Hyun, Park Bao Young
Director: Kang Hyung Chui
Language: Cantonese ( Chinese subtitles)
Duration:94 min
Hard
Macau Tower
1:30/4:15/7:00/9:45 pm
Room 3
2:30/4:15/6:00/7:30 pm
Keroro 4 - The Movie
Starring: Hotcha
Director: Shin Yamaguchi
Language: Cantonese ( Chinese subtitles)
Duration:95 min
Harry Potter and
The Half-blood Prince
Starring: Daniel Jacob Radcliffe, Rupert Grint
Director: David Yates
Screenplay: Steve Kloves
Language: English ( Chinese subtitles)
Duration:153 min
Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince
TV
Canal Macau
Sunday
RTPi (live)
16:20
Lost
11:00
Sunday Mass
17:45
Documentary in portuguese
12:00
Magazine
18:40
Young adult series
12:30
Cooking Series
20:00
Situation Comedy
13:00
TDM News ( rep. )
20:30
Main news, financial 13:20
News at 24h (RTPi) & weather report
(delayed broadcast)
21:00
TDM Interview
14:20
Young Children
22:00
Criminal Minds
14:42
Animation:
22:40
Documentary Series
Johan, the young scientist
23:00
TDM News
15:00
Animation: Turtle Island
23:20
Non-daily portuguese news
15:30
Magic
RTPi (live)
30
Harry Potter’s sixth year at Hogwarts turns out to be quite the exciting year. First off is the arrival of a
new teacher at Hogwarts, Horace Slughorn, who is a bit more useful to Harry than he realizes. Next,
Harry obtains a Potions book which used to belong to the very mysterious Half-Blood Prince. Harry
finds that the Half-Blood Prince’s ancient scribbles are written along the margins of almost every page,
giving Harry advice on how to improve greatly on his Potions work, and also teaching him a few helpful
(and dangerous) spells along the way.
Amidst this, Harry is starting private lessons with Professor Dumbledore, during which Harry learns the
dark secrets of Voldemort’s past, hoping that they could use these secrets to find a way to defeat him.
Harry’s year gets even more stressful with the suspicious actions of Draco Malfoy, who has been
sneaking around the school doing, so Harry assumes, Voldemort’s bidding. Harry quickly becomes
determined, and slightly obsessed, to find out exactly what Malfoy has been up to and putting an
end to it.
19 July 2009
31
Sunday
Times
BACK PAIN
No More With Yoga
by Torey Lee Farmer*
Av.Do Infante
D. Henrique,
no. 43-53a, second floor
Macau Square, Macau
Tel: 2899 5599
*From Universal Yoga
32
B
ack pain is one of the most common reasons to seek medical attention. Yoga has
consistently been used to prevent and even
cure back pain by strengthening lower back
muscles, the all-important hip-flexors and
increasing flexibility and range of motion.
Practice yoga with a
knowledgeable
instructor
Back-pain can also happen as a result of tight hamstrings and weak abdominal muscles. The Yoga postures along with self-awareness that are learned from a
knowledgeable and experienced teacher can ease these
conditions over time; however, you will need to work
diligently at it.
I would like to mention that yoga is no quick fix; the
results and benefits will come with time and progress
steadily with patience and practice.
Prevention is always the best medicine. Each time
that you practice yoga, you are investing in your health
and well-being. But if you already have back-pain or
discomfort, be aware to perform your yoga poses slowly,
maintain a comfortable maximum without risk of future
injury, truly gaining an understanding from each posture
practiced.
Symptoms
Back pain can be constant or sporadic. The intensity can vary from a dull ache to intense pain and
the initial discomfort may be sudden without
any clear reason. Most back pain resolves itself
in a few days or weeks with or without treatment. However, some people have chronic
pain that can last months or even years.
Severe pain lasting more than a few days
without improvement may require medical attention. Anyone experiencing
numbness, pins and needles, weakness in the legs, shooting pain down
the leg, or unsteadiness when
standing should see a doctor
immediately.
Causes
Both severe and longterm stress can lead to
19 July 2009
gentle yoga or even a Sun series class. Yoga can also help
with other common back ailments such as:
- stenosis
- problems of the intervertebral disk
- nerve root problems
- pinched nerve
- herniated disc
- sciatica
- poor posture
- degeneration of bone and joint tissue…
Research shows that 80% of back pain will go away
by itself. This typically means the pain is related to your
posture, your muscles and how you use your body. It is
always best to get an ‘okay’ from your doctor before starting yoga as they will let you know of any movements to
avoid and adding safety measures – if any – on the effects or interactions of medications and exercise. Certain
poses, movements and stretches will actually alleviate
discomfort and aid in a speedy recovery
Solution
muscle tension and aggravate back problems.
Many conditions can cause back and neck pain, ranging
from injury to infection to simply twisting or moving the
wrong way. When you have a lot on your mind or move
with unawareness, this can create blocks or injury and
pain in your body… An injury sustained in a car accident
or other types of accidents can damage muscles, joints,
ligaments, and vertebrae.
Overuse or under-use of the back is by far the most
common cause of back pain. It starts as tightening or
spasm of the muscles that connect to the spine.
Inflammation and swelling often occur in the joints and
ligaments, especially in the cervical and lumbar regions,
especially as people get older.
Yoga for back pain can be a winner and just what the
doctor ordered, but you must respect the limitations
placed on you by your pain. This also involves listening
to your body, a skill you will certainly develop as a student of this 5000-year-old ancient system.
So stop by Universal Yoga and get started today with
some preventative medicine.
Below are some examples
of the back conditions
yoga has been known to
help with:
- Scoliosis, an excessive sideways curvature
of the spine.
- Lordosis, an unusual inward curving
of the spine in the lower back.
- Kyphosis, a permanent curving of the spine
that makes a person looked hunched over.
- Osteoporoses, occurring in women
after menopause
in which the bones break easily, become porous
and heal slowly.
With modifications and a gentle, no-nonsense approach
we suggest starting with: beginner yoga, yoga therapy, or
33
Sunday
Times
Photo by Eduardo Magalhães
Zoom
God’s wish
We want to be free. Free of spirit and mind. Always believing in the unknown. Asking
Gods to help us being what we want: happy and free and perhaps even eternal as Gods.
It’s why we always run towards something we don’t know. Perhaps thinking everyday: if
you cannot beat them, then join them.
Marta Melo
Journalist
34
19 July 2009
35
Sunday
36
Times