On the only Royal guard in Taiwan

Not a lonely chap...still hasn't moved though...

On Chinese gentleman wear...circa 1700 I think...

Loved the bowler hat...

On Dylan the granny magnet...

Surrounded by grannies that could not resist to poke and stroke him but still fast asleep...

On playing around with the panorama function

In the old dutch house...

On a magical little place called Lukang

Lukang has always been one of our favorite places...when we arrived in Changhua a few years ago...exhausted from a 32 hour no sleep jaunt...that very weekend the first place we went to was Lukang. We went there by bicycle...its a little further away than a ride to your local general dealer but it was fantastic. On the way to Lukang there are many craft stores that specialise in religious objects...it is not uncommon to see the gods reclining or standing within the entrance ways of store after store. They're beautifully made and one can't help but feel the spiritual energy hum around your ears and vibrate against your eyes as the overwhelming sights and sounds of the place press up against you. Lukang is a deeply spiritual place...though it has become a little more commercialised of late. I love Matsu and Longshan temple...Heather brought me to this place first...another reason amongst millions of reasons why I love her so much...That first day we stood at the Matsu temple watching a priest or monk in religious ecstasy leading the gods into the temple in a complex choreographed dance. He would freeze every once in a while in his trance, his sword stretched out towards the temple gates and his back dripping blood and sweat. I love Lukang. We wandered through the alley of nine turns...remnants of old Lukang...Japanese occupied Lukang...we listened to the quite whisper of old things recounting the old stories of countless generations that had lived there... Today we went there once more and I remembered why I love it here so much...I reconnected with that time and place in my memories. First we visited and the dutch house...now a museum of folk art or something...remarkable place...magical. Heather was working...she's helping her students with a project...Dylan and I were along for the ride. Dylan was uber-cool...relaxed and checking everything out from his stroller. He liked the kids and played with them whenever they had time to spare. We then wandered through the old alley ways and took in old Lukang...it was great to be back.

Below: The dutch house....probably some sort of government outpost in its day...

Above: Cool Chinese dude shows the kids how to play a game.

Above: In the alley of nine turns...this house is of historical significance...on and under the bridge intellectuals, poets and artists of the time used to meet to discuss things. Below: The oldest house in Lukang.

Above: In the wonderful food market near the Matsu temple....

On Dylan moving at the 'speed of light'

Dylan at McDonalds on Friday was moving at the speed of light...its difficult to capture how fast he moves sometimes so I played around with Heather's panorama function...

He was so super cute and brave this night...climbing everything and going boldly where he had not been before...Dylan the brave...

On a walk in the park after dark

Winter is going...gone and we three bears are out of hibernation....Friday nights are cool....the weathers becoming warmer and spring is in the air...its lovely to stroll in the evening with Heather and Dylan along the many park walkways. A nice little family tradition is forming...Heather comes home from work at about 7:30...and we set off. This park is across from the science museum and is always nice whether daytime or night. Some wild skaters were ruining the mojo a little but still nice..still polite and very hip and cool...

Above: Heather the gorgeous and Dylan the cool...

Taiwanese people are amongst the most polite and friendliest people in the world...We love them and their open 'heartedness'.

On Arnault Joubin

Check out his work at http://ajoubin.free.fr/

On recently trawling through some art galleries

Canonization of the gods: The wonderland in saha world of maha...mmm....an unusual title for this exhibit...the artist, Yang Mao-lin, mixed in religious symbols and imagery with bugs (very popular theme for toy makers and children at moment in Taiwan) and characters from Peter Pan. I thought the overall impression quite cool and escapist. The sculptures are beautifully worked off and I loved the playful aspect to it all, the mixture of sacred and common.

The exhibit right next to this one was of a more serious nature, harsh angular and heavy. Its theme embodied that of popular Communist imagery, if such a thing exists....interesting to see...

Two solo exhibitions on at the moment...by Maggie Hsun-Wei Hsu and Chu Teh Huah...worth the visit...

On dreaming

Woke up the other night after having another of my crazy dreams...Here is as good as any to document my bizarre dreamworld.

I'm at some sort of motivational camp, one of those group things big corporate companies send their employees to so that they have some sort of tax write off. In my dream I look back in hindsight and realise that my group seems to be the only one at the camp; I think that perhaps everybody else was probably hiding in their wooden chalets since it was hell hot out side. By the luck of a short straw draw I've got a midget (my apologies to the politically correct...diminutive person) and a blind guy (Sight challenged) on my team...I feel panicked but not as distressed as one would imagine one could feel. So we go and try and undertake the obstacle course,... I take it we are required to do the obstacle course instead of lounging out by the pool. The obstacle is a kind of towering seesaw puzzle...and here is the very crazy thing (since all the other things are only moderately crazy)... with amazing coordination, dexterity and team work...it was a truly bizarre sequence of events and I could never do it justice by trying to write it down....we finished the obstacle....weird.

Anyone have an interpretation?

On Dylan the beautiful

Came back from work today and took Dylan for a walk up towards Donghai University. There's this amazing open area of nature surrounded by the urban sprawl of Taichung. It was a tiring walk/run up to the cows, we sang Old McDonald all the way, but well worth it. Dylan was mesmerized by the dairy cows having supper. He has been hum-sing-mumbling Old MacDonald with the song on Baby Einstein so I thought it would be cool to see the real life version. Dylan gets cooler by the day, we're installing more routine and boundaries in his life and he seems to be flourishing from this. I just think he is the absolute best. Here are some photos of Dylan in a posing mood...Dylan the Beautiful....

On taking a stand.

China: Developers have turned a house into an island in China after the owner refused to move out. (Originally posted on Geisha Asobi blog - One of my favourite places...I don't know how she does it but she does...)

Yeah!!!!!!!....yeah that some people still take a stand and refuse to budge...of course there is always a price to be paid...mmm...I wonder how they go out for some coffee?...

On strodding with the D-man

It's cool just being with my son...just strodding down the road and checking out things.

On Taichung Art Museum

We love the Art Museum in Taichung. It is one of the best places in the city. There's an extensive garden-like park around the museum full of interesting sculpture by renowned artists. I love how these are accessible to the public to interact with; Dylan loves the sculptures and often climbs over one or feels the textures on them. We set off to visit the art museum this Sunday in our new car...well old but new to us car...our little mini-minivan had to go for a few reasons, all of them due to the fact that it isn't really a family car...Any case we had a great time...We let Dylan run there and he just goes and goes and goes...whilst we try to keep up with his pace.

Above: Heather, seven years and she still takes my breath away, with Dylan at an exhibition.

One thing I find quite interestingly bizarre is what I think are photo clubs. Obviously a club or class of some sort they get together and take photographs of places and at times they seem to organize a model for a shoot. Today there was this particular group which I thought was quite amusing...everyone pushes and presses forward to get their shot without much consideration for each other while a guy shouts at the model from the back of the group and directs her. Of course... perhaps... it's a "How to be a paparazzi" class.

Above: Paparazzi in training

The art in the museum is great, exhibits change quite often and are of a fantastic quality. There was an interesting exhibit on, comparing art during the martial law period and post. Some fantastic art and artists...I was happily snapping away, while Heather was having an interesting conversation about child rearing, when I was accosted by two ladies who nearly wrestled me to the ground, saying I wasn't allowed to take any photos of the exhibit. It always astounds me that there is a photo ban on some exhibits since they're for public view. In any case I got a few photographs, before being clamped down on, which I will post later. We have a little family ritual developing whenever we visit the art museum we usually end up having waffle and ice cream...western style....and the coffee...the coffee...wow!

Above and bottom: View from the skybridge.

Below: One of my favourite sculptures.

On Dylan and party number 2.

So we planned this party on the 3rd of March...cause that's Dylan's birthday...and it crashed cause Dylan got sick, one of his buddies, Adriaan, was sick and the other one, Ivo, had just got a baby brother. So we thought its okay we'll just do a rerun...so we finally did it on the 17th of march...yes I'm posting a little late. It was really cool...with Dylan acting all important, he was super excited. The boys played well together and its always fun to get together with this particular group of friends. We went for a morning party cause little people have a nap around about twelve or so. Here are some photos of the event. NB...the chicken little cake is the second one in a month since we had made a cake for the first event and then didn't have the equipment to freeze it into a cryonic state for party number two...sigh...so low-tech at the moment.

Above: Little Lord Dylan orders his subjects around from on top of his toddler throne.

Below: The playroom...a toddlers dream and a parent's nightmare.

On St. Patrick's day.

Happy Saint Patricks!

Above: The man himself in action...no snakes about...good job...

Below: That devilish lepercuan - Dylan Connor.

Heather

There are millions of things I love about Heather, but here is one eccentric little ritual that she does that I think is cool... Chocolate wrapper ribbons. Whenever Heather's finished with a candy bar she does this little thing subconsciously. I'll be walking around the house and find them here and there. Once she took an empty packet of Ruffles or tostitos and did the same. My theory is that the folding of the ribbon represents the very last moment of enjoyment as she savours the lingering flavours in her mouth.

The view outside my window.

Snapped this early one morning from one of our windows...thought it was a cool ray.

On Dylan.

This one is about Dylan. Dylan the cool, the individual, the beautiful. I remember that for the first three months or more after his birth, i was in this love struck daze, and all i could say was how beautiful I thought he was. He has grown some now and is a cute and still beautiful toddler. Dylan is an explorer and doesn't like boundaries and restrictions to his many adventures and explorations. This is difficult because we are his parents and charged with keeping him from harm. Try explain to a 2 year old that putting your finger into the electric point isn't a good idea or that eating your toy just might cause a little more than stomach ache. With Dylan putting on some body armor before you attempt to do this might be a good idea. He is fantastic though and we love who he is. Stay tuned for more about our wonderful tod.

Above: Dylan's substance of choice - PEANUT BUTTER!!

Above: Check out the fish real close and get asked by the staff not to stand on the ledge.

Above: Climbing, climbing everywhere.