August: Osage County (film)

Pathetic Family, everyone have problem. Bu in fact, this is so true to everyone!

京都「七運」食材

2013-1-15

日本的新年是西曆一月一日，稱為「お正月」。但一切年中行事卻依照中國舊曆二十四節氣。日本人準備迎接新年，由冬至開始。京都這個千年古都，更有其獨特的傳統習俗。

「冬至」據說是一年中太陽最弱的一天，亦即最寒冷的日子。曰本人傳統相信「湯」（音：yu, 即温泉、熱水）能治病，故有「湯治」一詞。由此伸延到以「柚子」入浴，取其 yuzu 之音，亦與「融通」同音。故於冬至來個柚子浴，除了增強血液循環、驅除一年疲勞外，也有盼望來年財源資金順暢的意思。

京都人對食物非常嚴謹，也有很特別的風俗習慣。例如在冬天吃南瓜，彌補冬日野菜不足，是營養補給食品，前人的智慧。另有所謂「七運」食材，據說是冬至過後日照時間較長，人們的運勢亦開始上昇，吃七運食材有助催運之說。

日本人鍾情於數字「七」，常説 lucky seven。所謂「七運」，即：天、地、人、外、社會、家庭和總合運。七運食材取自尾音「n」的食物，因為跟「運」字尾音相同。七種食材分別是：人參（音：nin-jin,即紅蘿蔔）、南瓜 (nan-kin)、金柑 (kin-kan)、蓮根 (ren-kon)、銀杏(gin-nan)、寒天(kan-ten)、烏冬 (udon)。日本人相信成功之道，要有運氣加根氣（即堅持）加鈍感（即不要太敏感），所謂運、根、鈍，正好迎合以上食材的諧音，亦稱為「冬至七草」。把以上食材切成幼絲，配合鰹節、昆布為主的清淡湯底，加入適量調味，便是京都人冬至暖在心頭的一品料理。是否真的帶來好運，也許是心理多於現實吧！

Japan Travel

葉一南

2013-1-15 10:09:19

很多年前，我問日本朋友，東京附近最好的温泉區在那裏？她說，去草津温泉吧。果然精彩，一幢幢和式舊旅館，江户年代的氣氛，還有那開揚濶大的公眾露天温泉，流水淙淙，漫山飄雪，真令人懷念。

又很多年前，我又問這位朋友，日本那裏滑雪最好？她說，一月份的二世古，下的雪又乾又厚，北海道第一。那時互聯網剛興起不久，只得一個非常原始的英文網站介紹這地方，由澳洲人建立，他們兼做導遊，整個滑雪區，就只得他們幾個人會說英語。今天草津温泉已成為旅遊熱點，而二世古，開始有點插針不下。

這位朋友說，不怕，清靜又好玩的地方，日本多著呢。於是指引我們去了知床吃喜之次一夜干，一人一條，吃飽為止，然後再去了羅臼試一試傳聞中的紫色葡萄蝦。想重訪京都？也行，避開寺院名勝的人羣，走到「夷川通」看和式書桌及京衣櫃，或者去「舊屋花町通」看佛具地藏王，實在有趣。

我想說的是，日本人注重傳统，對保留本地產品及本地手藝有堅韌的執著，懂得去找，一個小鎮一條舊街，滿有驚喜。不過，要發掘這些地方，只得看日文資料，或者要有日本通朋友，如果依靠香港的一般旅遊指南，摸來摸去，還只是表皮。

回憶良久，就讓我先介紹這位日本通朋友：Samantha Horie-Lam，其實不是日本人，是香港人。我們識於微時，我讀男校，她讀附近女校。中學之後她輾轉去了日本著名大學讀政治學，後來結識了現在的日本丈夫，在東京住了下來，在大學工作。一有假期，她們夫婦倆駕著車在日本跑來跑去，秘湯古地名物，一處一處的去看，看了這麼多年，Samantha 說，總算看到一點大概。我每次去日本，吃的住的，都問她。

本地人的介紹與旅遊書介紹，質素有天淵之別，這情況很普遍，就如我們看外國雜誌，介紹香港餐廳，大部份我們香港人不會去吃，我們喜歡的地方，旅遊雜誌卻不懂得介紹，情形一樣。

因為太多朋友找 Samantha 問意見買日本產品，於是她最近索性大開門户，在她的 Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/samanthaselect ) 內列出她認為價錢合理又有特色的日本精品。我剛收到京印花的 iPhone 5 外套，很有型，愛不釋手。那支特別版有田燒三得利威士忌 (Suntory )，外觀精美，放在酒櫃正中，亦非常醒目。

《主場》著我找人寫飲食文章，我找上她， Samantha，「未寫過喎」。我說，處女下海，好得不能再好。隔了幾天，老朋友的文章如雪片飛來，寫的是地道日本生活，極妙。今天Samantha首次在「主場」亮相，我全力推介。

Happy New Year 2014

Christmas Ride in Hong Kong, 2013

This year have been pasting through so fast and it comes to the end of the year today! I wish everyone have a exciting, wonderful and peaceful year of 2014!

Just read a words from my friend Stephanie "I like these pictures from Samaritan's Purse International Relief year in review. From fires and floods in Colorado, reconstruction and medical care in Africa, to the Philippines typhoon and Syrian refugee camps. Makes me thankful for heaters, safety, a roof over our head, and clean drinking water. We are rich." 
Yes, we are rich! We have water coming right from our tap, we can enjoy the warmth from our shelter home with blankets and immediate heat and hot water! I always remind myself, all these things i have shouldn't take it for granted! And remember all those people, children still suffer from hunger, and disaster. We should keep HOPE!

My Body
This 2013 have been good to me though i was diagnosis of Thyroid at April 2013!  After some races at the beginning of the year excitement, my body begged me to rest! I have been seeing doctor each months after with monthly blood test and daily medicine. Boom, after 7 months of this rest i was found my test becoming normal again! What a great news but i still have to taken medicine for 1.5 years!

My Sports
Before the diagnosis of Thyroid i have conquer myself for a half marathon race and come back with a top 23 women at the Hong Kong Standard Charter Open categories with my personal best result of 1 hours 50mins and 2 sec.! After all these excitement, my body begged me to rest! I have been doing less exercise and at low intensity. No major race for me this year, i would rather listen to my body.

My friends
 We have been attending 5 wedding of this year filled with love and blessing! From Hong Kong, Double Singapore, One in Granada and our brother in law wedding in HK! We are so glad that we can be part of them:) The HK girls joined together at Granada for my best friend wedding with a trip to Istanbul and south part of Spain which is great for this reunited POLYU things! Laugh, argue, temper as always!

My family 
My parents announce their divorce 2 years ago and we have been working so hard for them! My mother needs really long time to get through it and thanks God she is better than before. I understand sometimes when the time is come, somethings cannot be continuous and this happened and unavoidable. My sister and I have been spending alots of time for them, it needs time to heal and i hope everyone can understand. There's nothing to hide!
Charles and I being so good together, he is always by my side made me contented. I'm so glad that he is always there and support me always. Needless any words to describe.We lived, travel, explore, love, smile, food, read, share, music, movie, Triathlon, run, swim, bike, yoga, sweat together!  I'm fulfilling by everything he do for me.
Charles family have been so good to us too! My mother in law always prepared the great appetite to us, sometime she even prepare the food and sent to our home directly discreetly, so when we come home after works, we can have a best dinner meal! Charles younger brother is married on early December, the newlywed hosted a biggest wedding banquet of 35 tables! Unbelievable and is like a big show! We wish them all the best in the future!

My Work
Work is good to me, completed 2 projects this year finally! All have been working for 3 and 5 years in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. Working with great designer and consultants among the best of the world have enlighten me a lots and share great ideas and solution among the team. Looking forward for more challenging opportunity and great project this year!

loves,
Gigi xxx
Jan. 2014

Another post of Tabata

Why high intensity interval training is perfect for hectic Hongkongers

If "I'm too busy" or "I've no time" have been your reasons for shirking exercise, here's the truth: they're really bad excuses.

Getting in shape - and staying that way - doesn't require long hours at the gym. These days, supported by evidence from a growing pile of scientific studies, short and sharp workouts are becoming increasingly popular. Research shows they can be as effective as longer workouts for weight loss and athletic performance.

High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, involves repeated short bouts of vigorous exercises that push you to your limit, with only short rests in between each, explains Ray Loh, an exercise physiologist at Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Sports Medicine and Surgery Clinic in Singapore.

In a recent survey of 3,815 health and fitness industry professionals from around the world conducted by the American College of Sports Medicine, HIIT was identified as the top trend for next year. This is all the more remarkable considering it did not even make the top 20 in the previous seven editions of the annual survey.

Gyms in Hong Kong have been quick to hop on the trend. Flex Studio at Wong Chuk Hang will launch a new Sculpt and Burn class next week that's based on HIIT principles. Torq Cycle, a dedicated indoor cycling gym in Central, puts a spin on the typical spin class with a hybrid called TORQCore that combines 20 minutes of HIIT on the bike, 20 minutes of abdominal exercises and 10 minutes of stretching.

Loh says research has shown that the training improves aerobic capacity. It is also effective for burning fat, toning muscle, losing weight and for boosting your metabolic rate - meaning you will use more calories even when at rest.

"Your heart rate is maintained at a raised level even hours after the workout has ended. High-intensity exercise also causes more stress to the muscles, which, in turn, induces more repair and building to the muscles," says Loh. "HIIT is time efficient - it reduces the amount of time needed to get the same results."

There are many types of workouts, but in general they share basic principles: an intensity that is close to maximum, and bouts of work that range from five seconds to eight minutes. This can be applied to almost all sports, from running to cycling, stair-climbing, weightlifting and more.

Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in May revealed their version of HIIT called "4x4 training": four minutes of work and three minutes of rest, repeated four times. In their study published in the journal PLOS ONE, after doing the workout three times a week for 10 weeks, the participants - overweight but otherwise healthy men - showed increased aerobic capacity and lower risk of heart disease.

Another workout involves seven minutes of high-intensity circuit training consisting of 12 body-weight exercises - such as squats, planks and lunges - each done for 30 seconds with 10 seconds rest in between. The circuit, designed by experts at the Human Performance Institute in Florida, is repeated two to three times.

Flex Studio's Sculpt and Burn class is based on the Tabata Protocol, a training method that was first tested on the Japanese Olympic speedskating team in the 1990s. The namesake of its creator Dr Izumi Tabata, the method takes just four minutes: 20 seconds of all-out effort, 10 seconds of rest, repeated eight times. "All-out" refers to an effort that is 170 per cent of your maximal oxygen uptake.

The last few repeats should feel "impossibly hard", according to Tabata.

In a small experiment conducted by Tabata, moderately trained students were split into two groups: one did an hour of steady cardio on a stationary bike five times a week, the other doing a 10-minute warm-up on the bike, followed by four minutes of Tabata intervals, four times a week. In addition the Tabata group also did one 30-minute session of steady exercise with two minutes of intervals.

After six weeks of testing, the Tabata group increased their anaerobic capacity by 28 per cent and maximal oxygen uptake by 15 per cent. The other group had a 10 per cent increase in maximal oxygen uptake but saw no changes to their anaerobic capacity.

"As the hectic pace of today's corporate world continues to infringe on the amount of time individuals have for exercise, these types of programmes can offer a good option to help busy individuals improve their health and recover from stress via exercise," say Human Performance Institute experts in their report in the May/June 2013 issue of the ACSM'sHealth & Fitness Journal.

There is a catch, however. If you're out of shape - be honest now - you'll need to first build a fitness base and learn good movement patterns before easing into HIIT progressively. As the ACSM states in their 2014 fitness trends report, many survey respondents warned about the potential dangers of HIIT, such as high injury rates.

"As the stress level of HIIT is very high, it might not be suitable for everyone," says Loh. "Beginners who are low in fitness level or muscular strength are not advised to start a HIIT programme as it will be less effective and increases the risk of injury.

"People who have been leading a sedentary lifestyle, those with chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart problems, respiratory problems, a family history of heart problems, and those who are injury-prone should consult a sports physician before starting any HIIT."

Loh also recommends doing HIIT only two to three times a week and on non-consecutive days because the body needs time to rest and recover.

Personal trainer Ian Tan was inspired to start his own HIIT gym called Ritual in Singapore earlier this year after dealing with busy clients. A workout consists of functional exercises (movements that mimic activities in daily life) using kettlebells, dumb-bells and suspension bands. You're done in 20 minutes - tops.

"In my opinion, it is the way of the future because people are only going to get busier and more stressed out," says Tan.

jeanette.wang@scmp.com

Petite size lady bike review

Everyone below 160 should take alook from Mirinda Carfrae's weapon:
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2013/10/photos/photos-mirinda-carfraes-kona-felt-ia_87789

Mirinda Carfrae’s Kona Felt IA

• By Aaron Hersh
• Published Oct 16, 2013
• Updated Oct 16, 2013 at 7:48 PM UTC
• • 
    

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