Reflections on 2008

Just a little note that i said i would write at the end of 2008 this time last year. Let's just say this time last year was not the best time in my life and i saw the need for some drastic changes. I hoped 2008 would be the year of change and it most certainly was. To be honest the first half of the year was not much fun and i didn't take to the change that i wanted so much that well at all. In fact, i thought the decisions i made may have been completely the wrong ones. The second half of the year has been great and makes the decision i made this time last year seem so worth it. I end 2008 on a happy note, indeed, the happiest i think i have ever been. I like where i live, i have a job i like most of the time, and, most importantly of all, the best guy ever who has done more than anything else to make me so happy!

I end 2008 on a completely different note to that of 2007. I approach 2009 apprehensively as change will be forced upon me without me wanting it this time. However, i feel in a far better position than i was this time last year. I believe everything will work out just fine for 2009. If it is anything like the last half of the year then it should be a great year!!

Christmas and ChaiYi

Christmas was actually better than I expected it to be. As usual I had to work and it was a long day but I got up early on Thursday morning to give George his presents from Santa J then it was off to work. The day was spent trying to invent ways of getting out of actually teaching and doing anything besides. I found a wonderful craft activity whereby you make a reindeer out of your foot and hands. Not only was this time consuming but the kids loved it, fun all round!

In the evening George and I went to TGI’s for their special Christmas dinner. Despite a confusion among the staff which led to an unnecessary hold up, the dinner was great and of course the company was great too! We had salad, Chicken and shrimp, calamari, steak, chocolate brownie and cocktails. After that we headed home and I got my Christmas presents from George!

On Friday we went to Noah’s Christmas party at his house after work. To be honest I was feeling exhausted and drinking and resting for a while on top of that didn’t really help matters either. Therefore we only stayed for a couple of hours but was good to see the guys there and I had fun

On the weekend George and I went down to ChiaYi to visit his grandparents and mum. It was actually quite nice to get away from Taipei for a bit. Sometimes big cities can get a bit overbearing at times and it was a perfect retreat to get away from everything. His grandparents were very welcoming and his grandma cooked an insane amount of food for us, so sweet. I came back on Sunday evening while George stayed in Chaiyi to see his mum.

A nice few days, no its time to look forward to New Years!

Taiwan's Christmas Present From China

Two giant pandas have arrived in Taiwan from China, a gift from Beijing to a self-governing island it considers part of Chinese territory. Together their names (Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan) mean reunion, underscoring hopes that their arrival in Taiwan will spur unity between the two sides. But the gesture is not welcomed by everyone in Taiwan. The pandas were first offered three years ago, but were rejected by the president at the time. The security around the pandas reflects the sensitivity of the issu. That decision was reversed after Taiwan's nationalists - the Kuomintang - won the presidency in May. Since then, diplomatic and economic links have improved. Last week daily passenger flights, new shipping routes and postal links between the two sides were established for the first time in six decades.

Hundreds of security guards and armed police were on watch at Shuangliu airport in Chengdu, Sichuan province, ahead of Tuesday's operation to move the pandas, reports the BBC's Chris Hogg in Beijing. Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan means a union, which perfectly matches Beijing's goal of bringing Taiwan into its fold.

A 20-strong team of animal experts had been in the region for 10 days to prepare for the bears' relocation - and they took special steamed corn buns, fresh bamboo and even motion sickness pills for the pandas for their trip. On arrival, they will be quarantined for a month before being taken to their new glass and rock enclosure in Taipei zoo, where they are expected to attract about 30,000 visitors a day.

The pandas were given steamed buns and fresh bamboo for their journey
The island's President Ma Ying-jeou recently called again on the mainland to withdraw hundreds of missiles that are pointing at Taiwan. For many Taiwanese the pandas are a nice gesture, but one that fails to address their main concern - the military threat from their more powerful neighbour. Taiwan's pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party criticised the panda deal.
"Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan means a union, which perfectly matches Beijing's goal of bringing Taiwan into its fold," it said. China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, but China claims sovereignty over Taiwan.

Top Movies of 2008

And now for my films of 2008. This is more of a challenge for me as I don’t feel I can speak with as much authority when it comes to movies as music. However here’s my first try, think I have played it fairly safe but here goes…

1. Frost Nixon

A gripping and stunning performance from both Michael Sheen and Frank Langella. Intriguing to see David Frost in his youth as a player! Who would have guessed? Nixon as the fallen president trying to justify his abuse of power and a young ambitious journalist with the opportunity of a lifetime. Both had something to prove and the movie sheds light on both individuals. Truly awesome

2. Milk

Because of guys like this and the rights they fought for during the twentieth century I am able to live, for the most part, the free and open life that I live. So, if for that reason alone it deserves a place in the top films of the year. Yet, Sean Penn’s performance as Harvey Milk is nothing short of stunning. A must see!

3. Blindness

A city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant white blindness and those effected are instantly quarantined in a mental hospital. Order breaks down and chaos assures. The dark side of human nature soon shows itself. There are no names of characters, the city, in fact the country, isn’t even named. This movie will probably go down as one of my favorite of all times and not just of 2008 in years to come.

4. Happy go lucky

The movie follows Poppy, that one friend you have who no matter life throws at them they are always cheerful and optimistic to levels that just appear alarming at times. I’m sure people like this are cheery at funerals too! A great British movie notwithstanding Sally Hawkins’ blinder of a performance here. Great dialogue, great drama and the odd interjection of humor along the way.

5. Grand Torino

If Clint Eastwood never ventured into directing I would have rated him as a one-trick-pony actor forever associated with westerns. His Movies seem nothing short of stunning, every one of them! This is no exception. Clint plays a disgruntled, racist old man who see’s everything bad with the world yet takes it upon himself o reform the his young neighbor and save him from the life of inevitable crime he seems destine to end up in. You actually feel there is hope of changing any racist bigot after seeing this. Emotional to the very end.

6. The Dark knight

Ledger’s performance is worthy tribute to his legacy and turns the light hearted joker into a psychopathic sadist who loves anarchy. Nolan and Eckhart both pull of Batman and Harvey Dent in convincing performances respectively.

7. Ironman

Robert Downey Jr is amazing in this role and its pure fun from begging to end. Surely the start of a new franchise here and this is coming from someone who doesn’t even really like action hero movies!

8.Wall E

I wasn’t expecting much from this movie but I certainly got it. Hints of totalitarianism, nods to 2001 a Space Odyssey, environmentalism, romance, technological overuse, humor. This movie has it all.

9.Slumdog Millionaire

An impoverished Indian teen enters Who Wants To Be A Millionaire but with a rather different motive than anyone else who has entered before. He doesn’t have the prize money on his mind but the love for his friend Latika. Unwittingly he appears to be able to do rather well on the show not due to any high intellect just purely by the experiences he has faced throughout his young yet eventful life. A great idea for a story and well told.

10.Australia

It’s like one of the old traditional movies made in a by gone era It has all the elements here; romance, sadness, drama, comedic moments and pretty decent acting to go along with it. I believe this movie will get more credit in years to come.

Best Albums of 2008

It's also that time of year again, the time when everyone seems to be producing their 'Best of everything-but-the-kitchen-sink' lists. So to join in with the fanfare, here is the list of my favorite albums from this year. Admittedly, there are tons of albums i still have laying idle on my computer just waiting to be heard and some of them could make the list if only i had the time to listen to them all. Anyway this is the best i can come up with for now.

1. Goldfrapp 'Seventh Tree'
2. Kings of Leon 'Only by the Night'
3. Coldplay 'Viva la Vida'
4. Duffy and Adele 'Rockferry and 19'
5. MGMT 'Oracular Spectacular'
6. Neil Diamond 'Home Before Dark'
7. Keane 'Perfect Symmetry'
8. Last Shadow Puppets/The Raconteurs 'Age of Understatement' and 'Consolers of the Lonely'
9. The Flight of the Conchords 'Flight of the Conchords'
10. Monkey 'Journey to the West'

Top Christmas Songs

It's that time of year again, Christmas is almost upon us and in a strained attempt to try and get even slightly in the mood for Christmas the obligatory novelty Christmas songs have come out. Most are a complete waste of time but there are some gems that have appeared over the years. Here are my top five:

1) December Will Be Magic Again (Kate Bush)
2) Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy (Bing Crosby and David Bowie)
3) Driving Home For Christmas (Chris Rea)
4) Fairytale of New York (The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl)
5) Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Diana Ross and the Supremes)

Taichung

Last weekend saw another visit to Taichung. George decided to work at the Film Festival Award Ceremony which was taking place in Taichung so i though i would go along to catch up with friends. Unfortunately George was unable to join the party as he had to work until late but it was good to see everyone again, including Ruby who is back visiting from Finland and Daisy as it was her birthday. Not to mention Phillipe who i havent seen all year! Of course, it was good to see everyone else too. We started of in Londoner which was pleasant enough and then headed to the place of bebauchery, otherwise known as Freedom. Here are some very poor quality pictures from the evening, the rest can be found in the photo album. Sunday saw an obligatory visit to Fingas before heading home.

Chen Shui-Bian Indicted

Prosecutors in Taiwan have formally indicted ex-President Chen Shui-bian and his wife on corruption charges. The charges include forgery and money laundering, a spokesman for the prosecutors said. The 57-year-old former leader has been held in a Taipei jail since 12 November, pending the results of the prosecutors' probe into his affairs. Mr Chen has denied any wrongdoing, saying he is being persecuted by his successors for his anti-China stance.
He has been a vocal and persistent critic of the new government's China policies since he left office in May, at the end of eight years in the presidency. His accusations have been denied by both the Chinese government and Taiwan's current President Ma Ying-jeou, of the Nationalist Kuomingtang party (KMT).

Mr Chen, his wife, and 12 others were indicted on charges of corruption, money laundering, embezzlement and document forgery charges, a spokesman for the prosecutors' office said.
The couple stand accused of embezzling millions of dollars in public funds and accepting a huge bribe in a land purchase deal.

Mr Chen was arrested in November, six months after stepping down"We are seeking the severest punishment for Chen since the former president had breached his oath and showed no remorse during the investigation," a prosecution spokesman told reporters.
Legal experts say the former leader could face life in prison if convicted of all the charges against him. Mr Chen has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation, insisting his political opponents are mounting a "witch-hunt" against him, and accusing the new administration of making him "a sacrifice to appease China". He is an ardent supporter of Taiwanese independence, and a trenchant critic of President Ma's stance of expanding ties with Beijing.

Damaged reputation?
Mr Chen and his family have been mired in corruption allegations since July 2006, when his son-in-law was charged with insider trading on the stock market and then jailed for seven years.
The following November, his wife faced charges of corruption and forgery. Presidential immunity prevented prosecutors from charging Mr Chen when he was in office, but now they are free to take action. Observers say the charges have damaged the reputation of the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party.