Next time when you roam the countryside of a European Union country looking for sheep, make sure you are extra vigilant. Otherwise, Shepherds there may pull some wools over your eyes. And you may mistake some white objects on far away hills as sheep grazing calmly on remote grassland.
Recently I watched an old BBC television production. It tells the stories of many enduring characters' lives in a fictional Irish village, Ballykissangel.
In this particular episode, a young couple was about to be married. But the groom got cold feet after he almost got killed by a falling boulder from the roof of the parish church. Happily, the wedding would be on as planned. Among other alluring plots in this hour-long production, writer(s) for this episode showed us how enterprising and imaginative an otherwise harmless old farmer can be when the matter affects his pocket books.
It is not unlike what other countries do to help out their farmers. Under EU’s agricultural policy, farmers in European Union receive monetary subsidies based on the volume of what their farm had produced. To make up many invisible sheep this crafty Irish farmer had on the government's books, he dotted the green pasture on the hillsides with white wooden sheep he made in his barn. - Ayee
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
A Win-Win Proposition
Although I would love living in a heritage house, I am not very keen on antiques. If ever I was given a piece of rare artifact, I would definitely turn it over to a public museum so it can be displayed for many others to enjoy it as well. This is why I am applauding the government’s decision to conserve the wondrous beauty of the country’s iconic old dame, the Grand Canyon National Park.
The US government’s recent extension of a moratorium on staking mining claims on the public land off the Park makes everyone a winner.
Now without anyone lifts a single pick, the fragile rock formations in the Park can be preserved at Mother Nature’s pleasure in the next 20 years. The water supplies from the great Colorado River that runs through the canyon will also remain pristine without any deadly pollutants from the nearby mines. While the nature is adding extra touches onto the jaw-dropping and leg-jerking scenery, the grand old lady gets to flaunt her rare endowments to millions of tourists from around the world. I bet people in the State of Arizona, including the keen prospectors and their over-worked donkeys, can live pretty well from the benefits of the three billion plus dollars these awe-stricken tourists left behind each year.
Therefore, I, like many others, am fully supportive of the government’s new law on safeguarding the Park from further encroachments. - Ayee
The US government’s recent extension of a moratorium on staking mining claims on the public land off the Park makes everyone a winner.
Now without anyone lifts a single pick, the fragile rock formations in the Park can be preserved at Mother Nature’s pleasure in the next 20 years. The water supplies from the great Colorado River that runs through the canyon will also remain pristine without any deadly pollutants from the nearby mines. While the nature is adding extra touches onto the jaw-dropping and leg-jerking scenery, the grand old lady gets to flaunt her rare endowments to millions of tourists from around the world. I bet people in the State of Arizona, including the keen prospectors and their over-worked donkeys, can live pretty well from the benefits of the three billion plus dollars these awe-stricken tourists left behind each year.
Therefore, I, like many others, am fully supportive of the government’s new law on safeguarding the Park from further encroachments. - Ayee
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Kid! He is looking at you.
The other morning on my way to run an errand, I stumbled on something I had never seen before.
Even with proper directions, I managed to get lost on a dead end street in my old neighborhood. Like the old man who lost his horse in a Chinese fable, the wrong turn I made on a secluded street did make me tread a few extra blocks that I did not need. But it also led me to an enigmatic yard ornament.
On that crowded street teeming with parked cars, I saw an unusual carving in a front yard of a vintage house. On the top of a cement pedestal, there is a human-size face carved on a block of earth-tone substance. The simple hairdo this serene face wears resembles a clergy or a Christian monk.
We often find gnomes or pink flamingos in people’s yard. So it is not common to see a carving of a human face in the middle of an overgrown private garden.
Another unusual thing about that gentleman’s face on the stone pedestal is its interactive eyes. We were exchanging glances while I was walking by them. They were looking at me. Their attentive gazes followed me until I stepped onto the sidewalk in the front of their neighbor’s property. These watchful eyes of the carving were not intimating. But they did make me feel somewhat eerie and unsettled.
Unfortunately, the neighborhood was deserted at that time of the day. So I did not get to ask the passers-by if they knew the story why the owners of this house would choose a carving of a gentleman’s face for a yard ornament? - Ayee
Even with proper directions, I managed to get lost on a dead end street in my old neighborhood. Like the old man who lost his horse in a Chinese fable, the wrong turn I made on a secluded street did make me tread a few extra blocks that I did not need. But it also led me to an enigmatic yard ornament.
On that crowded street teeming with parked cars, I saw an unusual carving in a front yard of a vintage house. On the top of a cement pedestal, there is a human-size face carved on a block of earth-tone substance. The simple hairdo this serene face wears resembles a clergy or a Christian monk.
We often find gnomes or pink flamingos in people’s yard. So it is not common to see a carving of a human face in the middle of an overgrown private garden.
Another unusual thing about that gentleman’s face on the stone pedestal is its interactive eyes. We were exchanging glances while I was walking by them. They were looking at me. Their attentive gazes followed me until I stepped onto the sidewalk in the front of their neighbor’s property. These watchful eyes of the carving were not intimating. But they did make me feel somewhat eerie and unsettled.
Unfortunately, the neighborhood was deserted at that time of the day. So I did not get to ask the passers-by if they knew the story why the owners of this house would choose a carving of a gentleman’s face for a yard ornament? - Ayee
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Good News
When I saw people lining up at the store front in early hours to buy the gifts of their choices, I wondered if the U.S. economy is really as bad as we are led to believe. The tally on how much the consumers spent this holiday season is not yet known. But even with a near 9% unemployment rate, the US economy does seem to be heading towards the north. Otherwise, where are the hordes of Christmas shoppers coming from? I have also heard DisneyWorld had a busier than expected Christmas.
In addition to unruly shoppers and happy tourists, there are, indeed, other subtle signs of recovery on the dismal horizon.
The other encouraging trend is how American corporations were reinventing themselves over the past few years. Too-big-to-fail has become a cliche. Now instead of merging with or buying out competitors, through reorganization and divestiture, the size of the restructured American corporations has actually shrunk.
In the New Year, Kraft Inc., a processing food giant, will become two separate operating entities. We have all ridden on elevators made by Otis. Pretty soon Otis Elevator Company will have a new manufacturing plant in the States to replace the one it closes in Mexico. Furthermore, there are also other companies spinning off strategically incompatible products and services from their operation. So they can stay focused on their core business.
And all these organizational changes in corporate America create jobs. - Ayee
In addition to unruly shoppers and happy tourists, there are, indeed, other subtle signs of recovery on the dismal horizon.
The other encouraging trend is how American corporations were reinventing themselves over the past few years. Too-big-to-fail has become a cliche. Now instead of merging with or buying out competitors, through reorganization and divestiture, the size of the restructured American corporations has actually shrunk.
In the New Year, Kraft Inc., a processing food giant, will become two separate operating entities. We have all ridden on elevators made by Otis. Pretty soon Otis Elevator Company will have a new manufacturing plant in the States to replace the one it closes in Mexico. Furthermore, there are also other companies spinning off strategically incompatible products and services from their operation. So they can stay focused on their core business.
And all these organizational changes in corporate America create jobs. - Ayee
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