Moon Cake Festival

Today I receive a box of mooncake from my company contracted travel agency which remind me that Moon Cake Festival is coming up (30 September). So I would like to share its story with you.

Moon Cake Festival: A Mid-Autumn Festival (Chung Chiu), the third major festival of the Chinese calendar, is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month. This festival corresponds to harvest festival s observed by Western cultures (in Hong Kong, it is held in conjunction with the annual Lantern Festival).

Contrary to what most people believe, this festival probably has less to do with harvest festivities than with the philosophically minded chinese of old. The union of man's spirit with nature in order to achieve perfect harmony was the fundamental canon of Taoism, so much so that contemplation of nature was a way of life.

This festival is also known as the Moon Cake Festival because a special kind of sweet cake (yueh ping) prepared in the shape of the moon and filled with sesame seeds, ground lotus seeds and duck eggs is served as a traditional Chung Chiu delicacy. Nobody actually knows when the custom of eating moon cake of celebrate the Moon Festival began, but one relief traces its origin to the 14th century. At the time, China was in revolt against the Mongols. Chu Yuen-chang, and his senior deputy, Liu Po-wen, discussed battle plan and developes a secret moon cake strategy to take a certain walled city held by the Mongol enemy. Liu dressed up as a Taoist priest and entered the besieged city bearing moon cake. He distributed these to the city's populace. When the time for the year's Chung Chiu festival arrived, people opened their cakes and found hidden messages advising them to coordinate their uprising with the troops outside. Thus, the emperor-to-be ingeniously took the city and his throne. Moon cake of course, became even more famous. Whether this sweet Chinese version of ancient Europe's "Trojan Horse" story is true, no one really known.

The moon plays a significant part of this festival. In Hong Kong, any open space or mountain top is crowded with people trying to get a glimpse of this season's auspicious full moon.

Thank you for the information from http://www.regit.com/hongkong/festival/mooncake.htm and the picture from http://www.manager.co.th/travel/viewnews.aspx?NewsID=9540000106673

Ellipsis

According to the last Ajarn Sripen'class, she taught about an ellipsis which urge me to know more about it. So, I searched and found a use ful information and I think that it neccessary foryour writing.

Ellipsis

An ellipsis is a series of three points with spaces between them (. . .) inserted into a quotation to indicate the omission of material from the original quotation. There are quite a few simple rules for the proper use of ellipses, which are used more often in legal writing than most forms of writing, since lawyers often (generally too often) quote material from other sources. Failure to use the proper form of an ellipsis could misrepresent the work of another person and result in legal liability for the writer. Correct use of ellipses, on the other hand, shows that the writer has carefully attended to detail, and thus increases the reader's confidence in the reliability of the written work.
 

1.  When placing an ellipsis in the middle of a quotation to indicate the omission of material, use three points with spaces before and after the ellipsis.
 

Incorrect: The First Amendment provides that "Congress shall make no law respecting. . .the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." U.S. Const. amend. I. Correct: The First Amendment provides that "Congress shall make no law respecting . . . the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." U.S. Const. amend. I.

2.  When placing an ellipsis at the end of a quotation to indicate the omission of material, use four points -- a three-point ellipsis and a period. The ellipsis should follow a blank space.

Incorrect: The First Amendment provides that "Congress shall make no law. . . abridging the freedom of speech. . ." U.S. Const. amend. I. Correct: The First Amendment provides that "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech . . . ." U.S. Const. amend. I.

3.  Do not place an ellipsis at the beginning of a quotation to indicate the omission of material.

Incorrect: The First Amendment also prohibits laws ". . . respecting an establishment of religion. . . ." U.S. Const. amend. I. Correct: The First Amendment also prohibits laws "respecting an establishment of religion . . . ." U.S. Const. amend. I.
 

4.  When combining a fully quoted sentence with a partially quoted sentence, or with a second, but nonconsecutive quoted sentence, place a period at the end of the fully quoted sentence, followed by a space, an ellipsis, another space, and the remainder of the quoted material. Do not place a space before a period at the end of a fully quoted sentence.
 

Incorrect: In a unanimous decision, Justice Holmes wrote, "The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent . . . .When a nation is at war many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right." Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47, 52 (1919). Correct: In a unanimous decision, Justice Holmes wrote, "The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent. . . . When a nation is at war many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right." Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47, 52 (1919).
 

In the preceding series of quotations, the ellipsis in the middle of the two quotations indicates that one or more entire intervening sentences have been omitted.

 
Incorrect: In a unanimous decision, Justice Holmes wrote, "The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent. . . .their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right." Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47, 52 (1919). Correct: In a unanimous decision, Justice Holmes wrote, "The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent. . . . [T]heir utterance will not be endured so long as men fight and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right." Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47, 52 (1919).
 

In the preceding example, the ellipsis indicates that some material -- it could be a whole sentence and the beginning of the next sentence, or just the beginning of the next sentence -- has been omitted in the midst of the quoted material. The brackets around the "T" indicate that the letter was lower case in the original and was changed to upper case by the writer to create a proper sentence. The brackets also confirm that material at the start of the second quoted sentence was omitted, because the letter "T" would have been capitalized in the original, and therefore would require no brackets, if it had started a sentence. For more information concerning the use of brackets, see the section of this tutorial on brackets.
 

5.  When omitting one or more entire paragraphs, indicate the omission by indenting four points and placing them on a separate line. If the quoted material is 50 words or more, use indented margins and do not use any quotation marks.

Incorrect:

"Poverty imposes costs on the nonpoor that warrant, on strictly economic grounds and without regard to ethical or political considerations, incurring some costs to reduce it. For example, poverty in the midst of a generally wealthy society is likely to increase the incidence of crime: the forgone income of a legitimate alternative occupation is low for someone who has little earning capacity in legitimate occupations, while the proximity of wealth increases the expected return from crime, or, stated another way, the cost of honesty. . . . An individual who feels endangered or appalled at the poverty around him can contribute to an organization designed to alleviate that poverty an amount equal to the benefit that he would derive from the reduction of poverty enabled by his contribution (net of administrative costs)." Richard A. Posner, Economic Analysis of Law 350 (2d ed. 1977).

Correct:

Poverty imposes costs on the nonpoor that warrant, on strictly economic grounds and without regard to ethical or political considerations, incurring some costs to reduce it. For example, poverty in the midst of a generally wealthy society is likely to increase the incidence of crime: the forgone income of a legitimate alternative occupation is low for someone who has little earning capacity in legitimate occupations, while the proximity of wealth increases the expected return from crime, or, stated another way, the cost of honesty.

. . . . An individual who feels endangered or appalled at the poverty around him can contribute to an organization designed to alleviate that poverty an amount equal to the benefit that he would derive from the reduction of poverty enabled by his contribution (net of administrative costs).
Richard A. Posner, Economic Analysis of Law 350 (2d ed. 1977).

6.  Never leave a point in an ellipsis floating at the beginning or end of a line of text. (However, you may have a period at the end of a fully quoted sentence at the end of a line of text and begin the ellipsis on the next line.)
 

Incorrect: "His refusal to cooperate with the court and name the source .
. . resulted in a contempt citation."

Also Incorrect:

"His refusal to cooperate with the court and name the source . .
. resulted in a contempt citation."

Correct: "His refusal to cooperate with the court and name the source . . .
resulted in a contempt citation."

Also Correct:

"His refusal to cooperate with the court and name the source
. . . resulted in a contempt citation."

Also Correct:

"The period may properly be placed at the end of a sentence.
. . . The ellipsis may then be placed on the following line, indicating the omission of an intervening sentence."

Thank you for information from:
http://www.kentlaw.edu/academics/lrw/grinker/LwtaEllipses.htm

Once in a blue moon

"Once in a Blue Moon"  I think that everyone has ever heard this phrase but do you know what is a Blue Moon?

There are two more definitions for Blue Moon. It can be the third of four full moons in a single season. Or, someday, you might see an actual blue-colored moon. It’s very rare that you would see a blue-colored moon, although unusual sky conditions – certain-sized particles of dust or smoke – can create them. Blue-colored moons aren’t predictable. Actually, Blue Moon is defined as the second full moon in a calendar month.In this year, the first full moon is August 1 and the second full moon will happen tomorrow(August 31, 2012). The time between one full moon and the next is close to the length of a calendar month. So the only time one month can have two full moons is when the first full moon happens in the first few days of the Moreover, there are two blue moons in a single calendar year. It last happened in 1999. There were two full moons in January and two full moons in March and no full moon in February. So both January and March had Blue Moons.

If you miss this Blue Moon you have to wait it is coming up in 2018.

Thanks for useful information from:
http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/when-is-the-next-blue-moon

Different Types of Japanese Green Tea

Green Teas from Japan

The different types of green tea emerge due to differing locations on where the tea is grown, slight changes in how the tea is cultivated, the differing climate in locations and a whole host of other factors.

Gyokuro : Gyukoro is considered the very best of Japanese green teas. The leaves are flat and pointed, that provide a smooth taste with a light fragrance. During the final weeks before harvesting, these leaves are moved to the shade...out of direct sunlight.

Sencha : Sencha is the "everyday" Japanese green tea. Types and qualities vary widely. Leaves of this tea are exposed directly to sunlight.

Bancha : An unusual green tea that is harvested very late in the season. The leaves are large and rather hard. During the harvesting, the stems and stalks are included in the picking. Known to have a weaker flavor than other green teas.

Matcha : Matcha is a powdered green tea. The is manufactured in the Uji region of Japan. Tea is grown primarily in the shade. This tea is commonly used in the Japanese Tea Ceremony.

Houjicha : Houjicha are green tea leaves that are roasted, hence the brown color. The flavor of the tea tends to be nutty. The roasting process also naturally lowers the caffeine levels of Houjicha green teas, too.

Kukicha : A tea made from white stalks produced by harvesting one bud and three leaves. A very unusual tea, with a taste of chestnut due to the twigs in the tea.

Genmaicha : Also known as the "popcorn tea." This is actually a sencha tea that is pan fired and then blended with toasted hulled rice. During the toasting of the hulled rice, it is not unusual for the rice to "pop," leading to the name of "popcorn tea."

For me, I prefer matcha green tea because it is the most convenient way that I can enjoy green tea. Since it is a powder, I just have to put it in the water both hot and cold. Usually I put the powder in a bottle of cold water and shake it well. Some people say that hot green tea provides more health benefits but I still like to drink iced green tea. I don't think Thailand weather is suitable for drinking hot beverages, I mean the weather is already hot. The only time I enjoy drinking hot green tea is during the winter season which lasts less than a week in Thailand, and during the time whn I have a flu.

Thank you for information  from http://www.teadiscussion.com/types/green-tea-types.php

A Winning Solution for All

          Have you ever heard of a Pyrrhic victory? This phrase is used to describe a temporary victory that eventually leads to a bigger defeat. The phrase refers to King Pyrrhus, who, after defeating the Romans but losing many of his soldiers, is said to have stated "Another such victory and we are lost." A modern, phrase used for this type of situation is " winning the battle, but losing the war."

          When you negotiate, you should always focus on finding a mutually beneficial solution. In other words, the key to successful negotiations is coming up with a win-win situation for both sides.

          By all means, avoid Pyrrhic victories when you negotiate; it makes no sense, for example, to fight tooth and nail for something that will cause ill feelings or trouble for you later on. You may win the negotiations in the short term, but end up losing in the long run. Instead, always try to find a solution that lets everyone win, including you.

Pyrrhic victory  (ชัยชนะพีริก)

ชัยชนะบนความพ่ายแพ้

          You can see the example,  King Pyrrhus loves the win, who, after defeating the Romans but losing many of his soldiers. I think that If everyone think about win of the same kind. Sure that, you shout avoid Pyrrhic victories when you negotiate. You won't see the livable earth forever.

Thanks for information from Workplace & Social Occasion Book, Nanmeebooks, 2554

Bull and Bear Markets

          Have you ever wondered why the words bull and bear are used to describe the stock market when it goes up and down?

          Simple put, in today investing language, a bull is someone who is optimistic about the stock market and thinks that stock prices will rise. A bear is a pessimist who thinks that stock prices will fall. Similarly, a bull market is a rising or growing market, while a bear market is one in which stock prices are falling.

          The origin of these words are unclear, used to describe the up and down movement of the stock market because of the movements of these animals; a bull, for example, sweeps its horns up when it attacks, while a bear sweeps its paws down when it fights.

          Although the origins of these words are uncertain, one thing is certain these day: most investors prefer a bull market to a bear market.

       What do you like a bull or a bear? 

       You know the stock market goes up and down, but historically it always bounces back. And you have to remember that past returns do not guarantee future success. If you are an aggressive investor,so you will to take some risk, too.

Thanks for information from Workplace & Social Occasion Book, Nanmeebooks, 2554

How to prepare for a mountain trip

For all kinds of trips or activities, you will be very fun and happy during your trips, if you prepare well. For a trip to a mountain, you have to prepare many things:

1. Search information about a mountain such as the weather there, height of the mountain, time for driving, a steep road, situation on the way, and tropical rain forest or sparse forest. Driving on a difficult road, you should prepare materials for using in needed time.

2. Book a ticket.
For your trip, you must plan in advance about vehicles. Especially, if you travel during long holiday, you have to decide whether it is appropriate for driving your own car because you have to park your car for many days and you will be exhausted from driving as well. A public car, train, or a rented car might be more convenient than driving your own car.

3. Reserve for an accommodation.
Most of the accommodation on a mountain is camps. Mostly, there is no a house or a room. If camps are not provided for tourists, you have to prepare your own camp. In case your destination is located in the national park, you may have to reserve a room or a house in advance in order not to be disappointed. Moreover, you have to tell them the number of members because it is limited for tourist numbers in some places.

4. Prepare your body.
You have to fit your body to be enough strong for passing a steep mountain and a far road. Before going on a trip, you may do joking or riding one hour a day, so you will not be too tired and enjoy in your trip.

5. Bring a coat for your trip.

Due to the weather at the top of mountain is cold along year, you have to find information about temperature. Providing a coat and a sleeping bag is needed. Your coat should be light and it can protect you from coldness.

6. Provide boots for climbing the hill.

Boots are needed in your trip. It is important that you should be comfortable with your own boots. Besides, your boots should be well- conditioned, so it will not be broken on a road. They should not be a new one because new boots may cause injury and you may not be able to wear them for long distance.

7. Get ready for your spirit.
For your trip to a mountain, spirit is important. If you do not like a mountain trip, you should cancel it because you should not suffer yourself and your friends along a trip. For the most important, you have to think and preserve the environment.

Thank you for a picture from google.com