Constellation Connie

With a triple tail fin and a dophin shaped fuselage, the Constellation Connie is one of the most distinctive Lockheed design in the last century.

The civilian airliner had a military air transport variant known as the C-69, as well as an airborne early warning variant known as the EC-121 Warning Star.

A note of interest is that the Constellation initially proved prone to engine failures (due to her Wright R3350s engines), and thus earned the nickname "World's Finest Trimotor" in some circles.

Also, this was dramatized in the motion picture The Aviator (2004) during the scene where Howard Hughes (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) surveys numerous grounded TWA Constellations.

More updates on the Connie to come, as I learn more...!

Chinese Charm

The theme song of a major Chinese movie, sang by Faye Wong, recommended by HP, indulges me in the immensity of the language as well as the origins of someone very close to me. Enjoy the following excerpt.

　　《幽兰操》 歌词及解析
　　
　　兰之猗猗，扬扬其香。
　　众香拱之，幽幽其芳。
　　不采而佩，于兰何伤?

　　以日以年，我行四方。
　　文王梦熊，渭水泱泱。
　　采而佩之，奕奕清芳。

　　雪霜茂茂，蕾蕾于冬，
　　君子之守，子孙之昌。

　　【序释】

　　兰，在中国文化中，是“入我门中，能谏我心之草”是先祖留给后人的无字天书。

　　孔子酷爱兰花，有“兰为王者香”之语。此言含义一是兰香为香中之王，一株好的兰花开放的时候，整个山谷闻不到别的花香，这是兰香香芬丰富的生物学特性。二是，兰只为王者而香。兰隐于幽深的山谷中，不开花时，与群草无异，只有王者，才能认识兰所蕴含的思想价值，从而去深山中寻访。

　　兰独特的生物学特性还有“春化”，就是兰要经历一个长期的低温期(0℃-10℃)才能顺利开花，保证花品和香品。野生的兰花，秋天孕育花蕾，经历整个冬天的休眠，第二年春天才开花，春分前后花期结束。

　　【总释】

　　本词分为上中下三阙。

　　上阙，中心是兰香是王者之香。
　　译文：兰花的叶子，长长的，在风中摇曳，优雅而飘逸;兰香，在风中升腾，向四方飘扬。兰香所及之处，所有花香都黯淡无味，并成为兰香的一部分，众多的花香拱卫着兰香，兰花的芬芳，远而不淡，近而不浓，幽幽的从中心向八方输布。兰是香中之王，如果没有人认识到而不去采摘佩戴他，对兰花而言，又有什么妨害呢。

　　中阙，中心是兰只为王者而香。
　　译文：一天接一天，一年接一年，东南西北，四方都走遍，我虽然像香兰一样，不以无人而不芳，不过我也在积极地寻找实现自身社会价值的机会。周文王夜梦飞熊入帐，渭水之畔访遇太公望(姜子牙，因周文王有“兴周之业，先祖早寄希望于太公也”之说，故名太公望)，从而奠定周朝800年基业，这是多么让人向往的啊。兰一旦被王者采摘佩戴，定会让其清雅的芬芳和其间蕴含的思想如日月般光耀。

　　下阕，中心是兰历苦寒而成其香。
　　译文：雪霜铺天盖地，树冠上厚厚的一层，虽是冬天，但看起来万物都像更加茂盛了一样。严寒中，兰的花蕾，静静的孕育和等待，在忍耐中积累。兰之所以有王者之香，是因为在寒冬中孕育了花蕾，如果人们能明白这是君子应该遵守的道理和法则，那么， 那么后世子孙必定昌盛。

More Time

I never cried. But I just cried a lot. Suddenly. I tried to stop it from happening, I tried to stop looking, stop feeling... I begged "Dun do this to me." and the next moment I broke down into a mess of tears. I almost couldn't breathe from the crying. What a fucking mess. God, there are many things I am prideful of, there are many things I have, and there are many more things I seek. Alas, truth is, there is only one thing I truly wanted and want all my life. The one thing.

Gentlemen Gathering

Came back from a really good dinner, to the credits of master Chef Podsiadlo, and one with really good wine. No mickey mouse. No vinegar. Oh man.

Pawel baked some oysters with mashed garlic in chilli sauce, and made very delicious salmon for everyone. And we had very good Wolf Blass to go with it. Matteo enjoyed it very much, having just returned from the place of origin of Wolf Blass; and he had apparently gone through some wine tutorial over there.

On reflection, it was a splendid gathering of some pretty extraordinary gentlemen. We had amongst us a really smart engineer who's doing really well, and then another professor who had made a recent notable research publication, and a smart looking training doctor. A pity, Keith was not around today, he was a very authentic and eloquent character, with that good old manly charisma. And Yucha was away down south.

Over dinner, we talked a little about some good women for Simonic, over an intoxicating 2006 Carbernet Sauvignon. This is the first time I really enjoyed a red wine so much so that, I felt we should have a poet amongst us, so he could find the right words to describe. Yes I'm recalling that scene of Dr Arroway saying they should have sent a poet for the mission, in the movie Contact.

My thought was that the scent of the Carbernet Sauvignon was matured and exciting, and it was smooth on the palettes. Really gentle and flavourful red. The best part was the lingering scent in the mouth after u have drank a sip, a playful flavour which continues to intrigue for a while.

And I just found the authoritative winemaker's introduction to this particular wine. It says: Deep Red in colour, and the nose shows rich berry fruit, aromas of eucalypt and mint, with hints of warm spices. The palate is soft, rich and elegant with subtle vanillin oak, well-integrated tannins and a lingering finish.

On a side note, Pawel cheersed to a tenth anniversary (roughly) since the night Victor and I bottomed up two bottles of port to go with the memorable chilli Mussels. It had been a trying and yet amazing decade for me.

On a good note, I look forward to seeing Simon and Pawel again by the end of next fall.

Greyscale Glamourous

A beautiful black and white wallpaper to share. Taken by a good looking and very talented photographer. I have posted this entry last month but I accidentally deleted the post. And I dun remember what I wrote to describe or praise it, nevertheless I would still like to share this wallpaper. So, here it is.