Family Circle

There is a new chapter for Master of the Elements.

I looked up on Google for emoticons in WordPress, and I went to the WordPress site.

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AND SPECIAL ONES!
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They go like this.
NOTE: Ones like this [: smile:] are not supposed to have spaces between the word and the colon.
NOTE: Ones like this [: )] are not supposed to have spaces between the the parentheses and mouth.

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AND SPECIAL ONES!
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S3 : cry:
S4 : evil:
S5 : twisted:
S6 : roll:
S7 : !:
S8 : ?:
S9 : idea:
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We are taking a day off and going to San Francisco today to celebrate and support the Olympic Torch Relay. We hope the process will be peaceful and goodwill as what the Spirit of Olympic means. But from recent noise in Europe and US, regrettably, we are very disturbed by the evil-minded few. We are proud of China and proud of being Chinese. We call for peace, justice and fairness. We will continue to progress toward a beautiful tomorrow even there is obstacle. United and we are strong!

Updates:

[4/10/2008] The route of torch relay was changed due to security concerns, as large crowds, both protesters, supporters and by-watchers, gathered along the planned route. So it was disappointing that most people did not see the torch and cheer for the moment.
The torch went through another route, crossing city center of San Francisco, and below the Golden Gate bridge, and safely reached the closing ceremony at SFO. So in a sense, it is good to see that it prevented those Tibetan (the few who are seeking to break away from China) from attacking the sacred Olympic torch.
We went back and forth between the ferry building (the planned closing ceremony site) and AT&T park (which is close to the opening ceremony site of McCovey cove). We confronted with some protesters, debated with them. It is a shame that those protesters would attack torchbearers and block the relay if they ever got the chance. Also it is shame that they uses “freedom,democracy” as a cover for their effort of seeking independence, and so to gain sympathy from American public who do not know much about the history, the region, and the reality of Tibet.
We respect human rights, and support the basic principle of peace, justice and freedom. We do not support that Olympic event, which is a sport event promoting goodwill and fairplay, being used by protesters as political event to attack China. Violence has no place in the play.
We wish the torch relay will go on smoothly in other remaining cities, and the Olympic games will be very successfully in Beijing.
Welcome all our friends to Beijing Olympic and have good time; welcome all our foes to Beijing Olympic to realize that goodwill is prevailing; and welcome all people to enjoy the event and experience the changes and improvements China are going through. Drop the prejudice and stereotype about China, and embrace the all new, modern, open and free China.

Master of the Elements can be seen here

Come see the new DAILY BUZZ here.

I took Emily and David to Heather Farm park for the Easter Egg Hunt this morning. It was such a beautiful day, with spring just started two days ago, trees are wakening, birds singing and children running around. I can’t stop but try to capture the color of Spring, and share the freshness and joys with our friends.

Hint: move your mouse over the picture to show the descriptive text.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tis the land of Markae, my friend,
Tis the wonderful land of Markae;
Where the flowers bloom
And the beautiful plumes of the
Magibird flutter in the wind.

For this story is of the Magibird,
With is master at its side,
The master’s name
Is quite the same
As the Magibird: Grorris-Iyde.

Grorris-Iyde would fly
With the Magibird at his side;
You are to become
A master-not that fun!
If you touched some of the Magibird’s hide.

But for poor Grorris-Iyde
He was not a master-he would cry.
But he would so much like
To be a master alike
His father and mother of Gagrkyie.

TO BE COTINUED…

Love. Cupid. Cards. Hearts. These all represent the day of love, Valentine’s Day. But how did this lovely day come to be? Why do we celebrate it? Why should we even bother to send expensive jewelry and flowers?

Valentine’s Day is celebrating St. Valentine. The character is so lost in history that we do not even know if we are celebrating one or two or even three saints of the same name. All we know is that he(or they) is a saint and that all the Valentines are buried in a church in Via Flaminia north of Rome. They can be:
1) A priest in Rome
2) A bishop of Interamna (Terni)
3) A martyr in the Roman province of Africa.

The Feast of Valentine was first celebrated in Rome, year 496. Now, it is traditionally celebrated on the Fourteenth of February. That is when the cards get sent around, hugs and kisses get exchanged, and flowers are bought.

The legend says that St. Valentine was forced to worship an idol. St. Valentine refused and said that he would never believe in any other god than God. He would always remain loyal. Emperor Claudius, brimming with anger, called for him to be beheaded. But right before he got beheaded, St. Valentine restored sight and sound to the blind and deaf daughter of the jailer. The jailer noticed, unfortunately, after the beheading, but immediately hurried the emperor and the emperor suddenly respected Valentine and changed religion.

But- who’s this? There’s a little flying baby boy buzzing around my head! He has a pack of bows and arrows and shooting them to make people fall in love! This is Cupid, or Eros, the God of Love, son of the Goddess of Love, Venus, or Aphrodite. Eρως, as he is called in Greek, would be portrayed as a winged baby or boy, naked or with a diaper. He carries a set of bows and arrows and shoots them to make people fall in love.

But that is all myths and history. Now, flowers are bought, cards are exchanged. In schools, classes will sometimes do a Valentine exchange, when each student gives valentine cards to the rest of the class. Couples would go out for a romantic dinner together; they will buy flowers, jewelry, and other symbols of love. Children might send valentines to neighbors and friends. Valentine’s Day is surely a day of love.

David participated the Baroque Festival (playing piano) over the past weekend, and won a first place prize.

叔叔（廷平）评上正教授。并被任命为金华教育学院院长。

Congratulations to Uncle (Xie, Tingping) to become full-Professor in Education, and the Dean of Jinhua College of Education!