These last few months, I wasn't aware of a single regular local yoga class
happening anywhere in Yung Shue Wan. All the places I had occasionally tried
out - purely for my health & fitness, not for spiritual reasons - either have
closed down or went on extended summer hiatus.
Now the walls are full with posters advertising yoga classes for all levels,
more than I've ever noticed before in my 9 years of living here, plus a few
more classes I know about that don't even advertise. What's going on, is
Lamma returning to its more spiritual, meditative, alternative past? Let's
hope so! To find out more, click on the posters below which I shot straight from the walls today.
(None of these places has advertised on this website so far, so these
home page placements are freebies to promote these new start-up businesses,
hopefully helping them to survive, grow and prosper. The Lamma-zine, an
8-year old, moderately successful, local start-up itself, loves to support
local start-ups!
If your new (or old) business, product or service - targeting
Lamma residents or visitors - could use a little bit of free or low-cost
promotion, let me know.)
After finally resolving the picture attachment problem in our forum, not
losing any attachments, we're still struggling with occasional spam attacks
on our forum. These have occasionally caused this entire website to go down
with a mysterious "501 Not Extended HTTP Error code", taking hours to
recover each time.
Our long-time US webhosting company has finally admitted to shutting down
our entire website whenever there's a short peak in forum traffic. This is
usually caused by spammers who are trying to get into our forum, always
unsuccessfully, as I found out myself after some time-intensive research.
But there's no advance warning of shutting the site down, no notification
afterwards, no explanations and no automatic site recovery from the
webhosting co., leaving the site dead till I shout (by email) at the tech
support. They are completely unapologetic and tell me to get my own, very
expensive web server, even though we only use about 10% of the monthly
permitted maximum traffic in our current plan. Time to look for alternative,
reliable webhosting....
I've just extended the latest Norton Internet Security 2010 for one
year on the PC used to maintain this entire website, see above; making sure
that there are no viruses, worms, Trojans, Spyware, Adware, phishing
attacks, malicious downloads, backdoors, info stealers or any other security
threats. Yes, it's a pretty dangerous world out there on the World Wild
Web....
Together with my automatic, multiple backups of all files, photos and
websites onto several external hard disks - including a 1 Terabyte (1,000 GB
or 1,000,000 MB) hard disk - this website should remain in pretty good
shape. See the latest website report below for an exhaustive list of current
potential threats to any website - including yours!
It's been exactly one year now since I've reached my "ideal weight" of below
200 pounds (88kg +- 2 kg), remaining at this weight for a full year now. I
remember well the day, the elation and joy, when my weight FINALLY dropped
below that magical limit, my long-term goal, reached after 2 years of
intense dieting before and after my stomach reduction surgery 2.5 years ago.
Thanks to careful and healthy eating habits (no more dieting!) and on-going exercise,
I'm now at my lowest weight in decades and, more importantly, becoming
healthy and reasonably fit, getting rid of all my former medications and
health problems.
So, how did I celebrate? Well, by having a nice, colourful salad for lunch,
a celebratory single glass of white wine from Wayne's Chateau Lamma, plus
struggling through another intensive, high-impact Boostcamp session
in the Basketball Court tonight. Yes, I'm a real party animal these days,
not!
Well, one year of maintaining my new weight and New Body, a
few more decades to go (hopefully). For more details on my "Weight Loss
Journey":
May 25, 2010: Only Half the Man I Used to Be
A single, lonely poster on the former "Democracy Wall" (photo submitted
by Ria)
After the recent resurfacing and grey repainting of the YSW "Democracy Wall"
near the ferry pier, this poster appeared just for a few hours. It was
quickly removed by the cleaners, but not before
Ria snapped it
on her camera phone.
The sentiment expressed in this poster is shared by many Lammaites. So I've
preserved the poster for posterity on Lamma's virtual Poster Wall, the
Lamma-zine, where your posters will remain forever and nobody can rip them
down. Over time, these posters form kind of a visual, pictorial history of
our island community.
This Poster Wall has been formerly used as a
public bulletin board by the entire community, full of usually
home-made interesting, informative and often whimsical, entertaining
posters, greeting Lamma visitors by introducing them to our unique island
spirit and community. The former "Democracy Wall" has also inspired
many Lamma-zine stories over the last 8+ years and I'm sorely
missing it:
Now it's just a boring, steel-grey, totally empty wall, kept clean by the
FEHD workers, ripping down every poster soon after it appears, a sad fate
for this formerly so vibrant and always interesting wall. The posters have
moved to a temporary fence opposite the Post Office, far smaller, less
effective and visible.
Is the former Democracy Wall supposed to remain so dull and lifeless, or
could we convince the local powers-that-be to beautify or decorate the wall,
maybe plant it, or even restore it to its former poster-filled state, just nicer-looking?
They considered the Wall as "too dirty" and kind of a disgrace for arriving
visitors. Repaintings and no-posters-policy seem to happen sporadically (Struggle
for Democracy).
Chairman Chan, the indigenous District Councilor and Rural Committee
Chairman is actually encouraging Lammaites to come forward with new ideas
for the wall, he told me and Living Lamma in a meeting. Please submit ideas directly, or, even better, channel them
through Living Lamma.
The first suggestion has already come in, a sketch of a proposed Welcome
sign for the Wall from one of the artists behind the Fountainhead bar's
graffiti paintings:
All photos submitted by Claudia Tarr.
Many thanks! Click to enlarge.
See more Facebook photos of the
Round Lamma Outrigger Race 2010.
There'll be a public book launch party this afternoon, see above, click for
more details. Wine & snacks provided!
RSVP on Facebook or their
website.
To give you an idea of the amazing, full-colour, large-size illustrations by
Laudable Lamma Luminary Harry Harrison
in this book series, click below. Get your Dirty books signed by Harry and
Sarah. Don't these illustrations below look so much like Yung Shue Wan Main
Street on a weekend?
Concerto Inn Hotel in Hung Shing Yeh is relaunching their beachside
restaurant, renaming it
Palm Tree,
with an all-new menu and a new chef, throwing a little party tomorrow,
Friday night from 7pm, with free food & wine. See you there?
Mid-Autumn Festival coming up next week, there'll be the
yearly govt.-sponsored party in the Football Pitch, Saturday, Sep 18,
7-10:30pm (click to enlarge):
Jay Scott Kanes
- Official
Court Pet Correspondent -
Cairns Media:
(Pictures and story by Jay Scott Kanes) |
Impressive Pup Puts
Three Best Feet Forward
Four feet, three feet,
two feet….
LAMMA ISLAND, Hong Kong
– An enthusiastic newcomer has started a noble task – to
set an example that shows Hong Kong residents, both
two-legged and four-legged ones, that a physical
handicap need not diminish joie de vivre. Meet
Terry, a mongrel dog with four legs, only three paws
and an irrepressible can-do-anything attitude.
Five-month-old Terry's
paw-less right-rear leg ends abruptly several inches
above the ground. Even so, he uses his three normal
limbs to walk and run across much of northern Lamma,
often keeping pace with older, bigger and able-bodied
canines.
Impressively nimble, Terry
oozes youthful exuberance and appears reluctant even to
acknowledge a physical impediment. Like other dogs, he's
always eager to go for walks.
"He's a happy, little
dog with a really strong will," said Fiona Sham,
a 32-year-old journalist and Terry's human guardian.
Recently, Fiona, Terry and another dog, three-year-old
Buddy, moved to Lamma to live in the home of
Fiona's late grandparents, who were long-time residents
of Yung Shue Wan, the island's biggest village.
Buddy (middle) and Terry
greet a friend at the beach.
"Terry is missing a paw,
but it doesn't bother him that much," said Fiona,
who previously lived in Discovery Bay. "He runs
really fast, and he's very energetic and playful. Bigger
dogs don't frighten him at all. I don't believe he
considers himself different from other dogs."
Judging by appearances,
Terry probably has some Doberman in his blood. He and
the Labrador-like Buddy have become popular regulars
among the local dogs who gather to frolic and play at
Power Station Beach.
Although fast on his three
feet, Terry has a slight problem with balance. When
grappling with Buddy or other pals, he often tips and
tumbles, but invariably rises, unhurt, ready for more.
"Terry has a small body, but he still considers
himself a big dog," Fiona said. "Actually, he's
better at running than walking."
Terry maneuvers easily
enough that most people fail to immediately notice his
"problem". When they do notice, Fiona usually hears one
question: "What happened to your dog's leg?"
Actually, she doesn't know the answer.
Fiona's sister, Popsy,
who often feeds stray dogs near her home in Yuen Long,
first noticed Terry. Then he was a tiny guy, already
short a paw, living with his mom and four siblings in a
New Territories parking lot. Theories about the cause of
his deformity vary from attack by another four-legged
creature to human cruelty.
"Terry's mom is a stray
dog who hangs around in that parking lot," Fiona
said. "The people working there fed her, but not the
puppies. Security guards at a lot of Hong Kong car-parks
like to keep big dogs, but they don't care about
puppies."
When Terry's siblings all
died, allegedly run over by a big truck, Popsy knew the
lone survivor desperately needed a proper home. Taking
the "adorable" tiny dog, she delivered him to Fiona, who
initially planned to act only as a "foster parent" until
someone else adopted him. Now she concedes that he's
part of "her family", a lovable guy whose company she'll
never surrender.
The young dog is named
after Terry Fox (1958-1981), a big-hearted human
who lost a leg to cancer, but then launched a 1980
Marathon of Hope, trying to run across his native Canada
while raising money and awareness against the disease.
Tragically, Fox's cancer returned, cutting short the
marathon, and he soon died. Canadians and others still
organize annual Terry Fox Runs to fund anti-cancer work.
"Like Terry Fox, my dog
is missing part of his leg, but has really strong
willpower," Fiona said. "He's smart too. Even at
two months old, he could understand my moods and know if
I was happy or sad. He always learns things really
fast."
Fiona has done research
about artificial legs for dogs. Although her Terry moves
well now, he may lose some mobility later. "I talked
to the veterinarian who told me to wait and see,"
Fiona said. "He said the most important thing is to
keep Terry lean and fit, never overweight."
Sometimes Fiona places "a
little sock" on Terry's deficient leg to help him avoid
scratches or scrapes when leaning on it for balance.
"But the sock is pink," she said. "I'd like to
find a different color for him."
Do dogs really care about
clothing colors? "No," Fiona said. "But I do.
He's a boy and he's black so wearing a pink sock is much
too obvious."
This small dog looks ready
to instruct nearly everyone he meets. "Terry reminds
me that people never should look down on anyone with
disabilities," Fiona said. "You can't imagine how
powerful they are until you live with them or know them
well." |
Curious Terry: 'Hey, pal! What kind of camera is
that?'
Terry's right-rear leg
ends abruptly short of the ground.
Terry indulges in a surfside romp.
No canine word for "handicapped" enters Terry's mind.
Probably only Terry knows the reason for his unusual
situation.
The original Terry: a
Canadian hero who loved running too.
Seeing leashes in Fiona's hands, Terry prepares to go
home. |
P.S.
Staying with this "pets & vets" theme for now, let me welcome our newest
advertiser, HK Vet
Services!
They've started their ad yesterday, see on the right and top
left of this page.
We'll hear more from them very soon, after our lunch with some
of the doctors and their very charming nurses later this week.
In the meantime, here's a little
photo shoot I just did for them to create this "little" animated ad
banner to promote their Animal Clinics in different parts of HK, notably in
Wanchai and Mid-Levels, attracting many Lamma patients:
Wanchai Animal Clinic, Sep 2, 2010
Ferry Heading Towards Sunset -
Photo by
YatMan,
Monday, Sep 13, 2010, 6:18pm, Canon EOS 500D
YatMan writes:
"I took this photo this evening from the ferry from Central to Lamma. I
don't know if it would work for Photo of the Day."
Oh, such great modesty...
More Lamma Photos of the Day...
Yes, that's Lamma-Gung's foot, packed in ice, after a huge, yellow hornet
stung me yesterday night, through my mesh-covered sneaker and two pairs of
socks! It's been so many years since my last serious sting, but this sneaky
beast, several times the size of a bee or wasp, about 1 inch long, really
got me good this time.
My Frankenfoot - as Lamma-Por called it while grinning at my misfortune -
burned like fire for two days and nights and no painkiller or medication
from the Lamma Clinic worked at all. But constant ice packs eased the pain
completely. But getting up every 1.5 hours all night long to replenish the
ice wasn't fun, the burning, stinging pain returned immediately when the ice
had thawed.
Well, all good now, back to my hiking, biking and outdoor exercises. A mere
hornet won't stop me from staying fit and healthy; it's just another one of
the "little challenges" of living on Lamma. I've still never been bitten by
a snake so far, cross my fingers. ;-)
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