Hey, That’s Me!

My friend, Jason Miks, is a good reporter and writer, although he may be too humble to admit that. Currently based in Japan, Jason works for the English newspaper Daily Yomiuri, which is probably the least interesting job he is doing right now. It is not that working for a paper is boring (knock wood), but other works he does fascinate me more. As a freelancer, he has been writing for numerous entities, such as TCS Daily, World Politics Review, etc. He is also the managing editor of International Affairs Forum. To me, writing about international relation issues as a freelancer sounds like a dream job.

We know each other because I translate some of his works into Chinese online as a practice, which are later found out by Jason via Google search. Then we start to do emails, and finally meet each other in person in Tokyo in July this year, when I was going to attend iSummit. It’s a joyful experience to meet people face to face after so many exchanges and contacts via internet, especially to me.

Anyway, since we know each other, I have provided a tiny little help when he tries to write something about Taiwan regarding politics and others. His excellent writing skills transform my poor words into fine articles. In the post No to Apathy! he writes for a new British magazine Total Politics, Jason touches upon voter turnout issue in elections. He looks at why turnout in Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, are much higher than that in European countries. I and my opinions are luckily included in this piece.

Before the presidential election in Taiwan in March 2008, he also interviewed me for IA-Forum because he wants some perspectives from a nobody, which I am perfectly qualified. I am not used to baing interviewed, so it takes some time for me to reply. Overall, however, I hope the results are not too bad.

So far, seeing my name on others’ posts is still quite surreal to me. It’s like two little people in my mind, one saying “Hey, that’s me!”, while the other saying “Is that me?”

Is it?

To Take Or Not To Take

(photo by Flickr user shinyai) 

I am not good at photography. I usually enjoy watching others’ pictures on Flickr more than uploading mine. I have been struggling whether to pay $24.95 to upgrade my Flickr account for at least two months. In the past, I am really hesitant to take photos, as it costs much to buy films and develop them. Making mistakes will lead to a waste of money.

Several years ago, my brother bought the first digital camera in the family, but it didn’t encourage me to take photos. Although it doesn’t need films anymore, and it can save files online or in the computer, that camera is very big and heavy. By the way, my brother is good at buying heavy stuffs. My last laptop, which he bought, weighs 2.6 kg, for example. It seems to have many fancy functions I will never use, so I am still not interested in photography.

Last year before the Hong Kong & Macau trip, I finally picked up my first digital camera, a Casio EX-Z75. It’s lighter, and it has a 2.6-inch screen. From Hong Kong, Macau, Budapest, Tokyo to Sapporo, I gradually manage to take more photos. I also learn to take a photo of me by myself. It is a necessary skill if you travel alone or if you don’t want to bother others, although it looks pathetic sometimes.

This time in Sapporo, on a bus ride to airport, I see a beautiful scene. I instantly look for my camera, but it goes away so fast that I fail to capture. I feel disappointed, but at the same time in a meta-analytical way, I question myself when I start to be addicted to taking pictures. Before I have a camera, I feel satisfied just to see many things by myself. Now with a camera in hand, however, I lose the pure pleasure of seeing things. Maybe I have spent too much time trying to record with technology, but not enough for simple appreciation of what in front of me.

Then I put down my camera.

Music for Summer

Summer is very hot and humid in Taiwan, in my opinion, so I am always looking for some ways to cool down. Sometimes, the most effective way can be music:

This is a duo from Taiwan named 昊恩家家 (pronounced as Hao-En Jia-Jia). I love their album so much, probably the best one I have heard in Taiwan for the past two years. The following is another one from this duo:

 

It’s a Japanese old song she learns from her grandmother. Some of you may be surprised that they sing in Japanese. In fact, Taiwan is deeply influenced by Japanese culture, not just because of geographic proximity. Taiwan was colonized by Japan for 50 years during our grandparents’ generation. Many people then, including my grandmother, received their education in Japanese. The younger generation is attached to Japanese culture because of pop culture, such as manga, music, literature, movies, etc.

Anyway, these two songs are very cooling to me in summer. Maybe their album can be the best present for the next GV summit!

My friends, what do you listen in a hot and humid summer?