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?