So episode 2 continued with Tao Hua’s little daydream. (Phew! Shi Lang was not suicidal after all.) Tao Hua seriously gave us a heart attack with her imagination though. We almost thought that Shi Lang would be done for after that scene – IF someone got a hold of it – or captured it on camera like last time. Luckily, it was a false alarm.Yes, Tao Hua, please stop thinking those thoughts – at least for the time being.

Just as Tao Hua was occupied with her thoughts, her imaginations ran wild again since she managed to conjure up a scene of Shi Lang jogging by in his judo uniform! No, wait….it was actually real but her imagination was let loose too many times that she did not believe it was really him…until later. Too late!

Spying on Shi Lang? Okay, that was normal all right. Well, it was normal if you didn’t get caught. What to do in such situation? Why did he have to be so tall and threatening? (If only her brothers were around to get rid of him! How dared he question her whereabouts?) Oh no, false alarm again. He only looked threatening on the surface. He was actually a very nice guy. Phew! Too bad Shi Lang was not as lucky since he got distracted upon her presence and got slammed. Luckily it was only practice and not a real match or Shi Lang will have to find a place to hide.

Okay, so Tao Hua was not so lucky after all. I take that back about the threatening guy. He was actually quite cunning. How in the world could Tao Hua survive someone twice her size? (Time to close your eyes now so you wouldn’t see the gruesome match.) And I don’t know if Tao Hua should accept the other guy’s praise or not. He was setting her up for death. (Well, seems that way.)

Eh….Cheng Xiao Shi is reunited with Lei Long (Wu Zhen Ya)? He was actually having a big crush on her in Smile Pasta. Why was he so threatening now? Love turned into hate? (LOL…wrong drama, I know. Still funny to see them interacting once again.)

Some people must be very suicidal and want their funeral day to come even closer. How dared he stop Tao Hua? Honestly, they knew about her brothers after the match. So….let’s pray that they’ll stay in one piece later.

Where in the world were those threatening brothers when she needed them so badly to save her? No point in dodging the inevitable. However, it was a great chance for someone to play the hero saving the heroine! (So brave!)

Okay, he just  got braver! Not a good idea! But…someone had to do it, right? He held her hand! (Hope no one lured around with his camera!) This is beginning to be a troublesome matter with worrying constantly for Shi Lang’s safety. Hopefully it won’t be too painful. He got real talents – unlike someone we seen in episode 1, right?

Can’t blame Shi Lang though, right? She looks so fragile. He has to protect her. (If only it wouldn’t mean that he needs to protect himself from her brothers later!) Ah…the risks he would take for his bravery.

Ooohhh….Tao Hua let it slipped! That was getting more exciting than I thought. Great time to argue too! Shi Lang questioning Tao Hua? Okay, that has got to be my favorite phrase so far, “Because I want to see you.” (Um…okay.)

Shi Lang was in no hurry to talk now? I suggest that Tao Hua not try to explain. It got even more confusing one after another. Time to flee! How embarrassing was that? And once again Shi Lang got to be the hero! (PHEW…) I’m now convinced that it’s very dangerous in Taiwan. (LOL) Or maybe people should watch where they’re going more, especially crossing the streets.

Must compliment that big bus for stopping so fast – but umm….felt so sorry for the other cars. Uh…Shi Lang, you’re supposed to get out of the street before scolding her, NOT during the accident. And it got a bit more realistic that the driver was scolding at them since that was one HUMONGOUS damage all right. We got another scene to witness – but have to hold our breath because Cheng might see them. (Ahhhhhhh….)

Love Cheng! It wasn’t him? We all knew it wasn’t him but wonder if the other person would believe it. Okay, so it was expected that Cheng saw them! But was it a good idea to get out of the car? Just chase after them! (But then why would I want to encourage Cheng to go after Shi Lang in that car, right?) History was about to repeat itself! Everyone, brace yourself! Emergency light going up again! I was silently pondering if they were worrying for Tao Hua’s well being or was more concerned about taking care of the ‘guy’ who Cheng saw with her. Oh…no….expected again! But did they had to call He? Last time I checked, He wanted to rip whoever it was apart the last time he learned of the previous confession. There was no confession taken place but Shi Lang was too close. Um….so false alarm. Of course. They did not know where Shi Lang resided at, right? Had to investigate the matter and extract some information first.

A little accident? (That was an under statement of under statements, Tao Hua.) Aww….a little bonding between the siblings. (Cheng is so sweet although he scolded her but he was just worried for her well being.) But…sweet moment got cut short. Qi was definitely all business, right? Of course. He had to get to the bottom of it. If I didn’t know better, I thought that he was holding it inside for such a long time already till they sorted the other matter out before asking of the ‘to be victim’. And he had to be funny at a time like that. Come on now, stop that bit in front of Tao Hua. Wouldn’t it be more useful if Zhuan used his talents for more important matters at hand? (Getting into the traffic camera to zoom on Shi Lang’s image?) I don’t know whether to be more afraid of Cheng’s bread stick or He’s pan. (Put those down, puh-lease, guys!)

On the other hand, Qi’s expression was priceless when he was so loving and caring when he said good night to Tao Hua and it turned into a ‘beyond livid’ look like seconds later. Finally, their little front was taken off after Tao Hua’s departure. Run, Yu Yi, run! Too late…he was too badly outnumbered. (The ‘not feeling good’ excuse only works for Tao Hua!)

They made it like some secret organization’s meeting to discuss top priority missions. And Yu Yi, you forgot your place again. Stay quiet so you could be spared of some ‘lessons’ since they were too busy focusing on Shi Lang now.

I guess Qi’s oldest and wisest title is still attached after all since he was the most observant in regard to Tao Hua’s behavior toward Shi Lang. Too bad Cheng and He were not able to carry out their threats sooner. Must be patient. Okay, WAY too exaggerated with treating this situation like some government threat. But still a bit of useful information regarding their past victims on the board.

So Yu Yi was in that to spy for Tao Hua? That was pretty cool then. And I thought they were too scared to take actions. But that did not mean they could come up with a plan to stop those crazy four, right?

Once again, we got another dose of somewhat called flashbacks of the past victims with Yu Yi being the narrator for it. So all the pieces have fallen into place for Tao Hua – after being in the dark for such a long time. I wondered what possess Yu Yi to be so brave to tell Tao Hua all of that. Possibly because the others were not around to bully him? (Too occupy with all their preparations for the next battle, right?)

So they managed to come up with a plan after all. The classic theme of the four Chen brothers came on again as they made their grand entrance at the match between Shi Lang and Tao Hua. Yes, Shi Lang got affected by their threatening presence too. (Ekkk…he lost his concentration!)

Reality check, don’t these guys have work? (Classes in Zhuan’s case.) Or were they too talented, too powerful to get in trouble for their absent at work (or classes)? (After all, maniacs aside, their talents were seen during the last episode.)

Back to the situation at hand, Shi Lang was in bigger trouble than anyone could have seen. He should have maintained his calm. Because his lost in concentration got him even more careless. Still…can’t help it. (It wasn’t his fault totally since he was supposed to be the victim here but the Chen brothers did not see it that way, did they?)

While Yu Yi held his breath and waited for the inevitable to occur, the Chen clan (plus Tao Hua’s best pal) sat nearby and stared in bewilderment. Okay, Shi Lang was done for. (IF it was cartoon, the Chen brothers’ eyes would’ve popped out by now.) Qi’s killer expression said it all. (Must give him some credit to still keep his cool and restrained He in time though.)

So Shi Lang’s fate was spared for a while as the scene zoomed to tell more about Shi Lang’s background. Phew! (Saved for the moment. Not for long though!) A tad refreshing to see that the main guy got along fine with his father – unlike some other dramas that kept implying the conflict between father and son and getting acceptance from the father. (Hopefully he’ll accept Tao Hua since he seems so laid back. But I guess we will have to wait for Shi Lang to survive the Chen clan first, right?)

On the other hand, Shi Lang, why are you robbing the old man a hug? (Come on!) So cute though!

And we were brought back to the situation at hand. It seemed like a commercial break since He was practicing his shooting skills with what else but Shi Lang’s picture?

So the Chen clan (excluding Yu Yi and Tao Hua of course) were back into their secret hideout to consult with each other. What now? I was not sure if I was more scared of their plan or their evil laugh at the end of the meeting.

Loved the Fahrenheit’s song “Very Quiet” (很安靜) playing in the back while Shi Lang and Tao Hua were reminiscing  about the previous encounter and their feelings.

Cyndi finally got to do something exciting! Sleep walking or was she pretending? (Got to watch it since I won’t let you in on that one.) Anyway, luckily the others were fast or they’ve already been chopped to pieces. (Not so lucky for Yu Yi though! Poor dude, always becoming the victim of circumstances!) And more flashbacks of Yu Yi and Tao Hua when they were young. I love these black and white film feeling (though was not totally black and white since it was sort of brown-ish but still got the old film feeling). Oooohh….so that was why…

Already somewhat said it, but just love how the soundtrack is being applied for each situation in here. Just right.

Great, the day when the four maniacs had no clue of the next step. After all, they can’t just go after Shi Lang when they already learned of Tao Hua’s affection for Shi Lang, right? But they’re smart so they should come up with one soon?

Before the crazy Chen brothers could come up with more evil plots, Shi Lang already told Tao Hua not to come look for him anymore. (Sad moment and that song was not even helping.) That was a bit short lived as well since He was back with his threats again – to which the others did not seem all that enthusiastic about the plan anymore. Their precious Tao Hua was not eating again?

Must give the Chen brothers credit for it. Their creative imagination came into play again! How cute! More silent film moments! (LOL) And of course crazy, protective brothers’ moment to ruin it all!

Still love them – although they’re just crazy. Did they have to react so strongly since it was only their imagination at work, right? (Guess can’t contradict them.) Just when there was a tad of hope with them snapping out of it, Qi came up with a new plan! Their evil laugh sent chills down my spine every time. (They were that creepy.) Then I wonder again if they’re actually related to Yu Yi. (He must be adopted, right? They’re just too evil!)

And Yu Yi thought he could escape his fate when he fled from the scene? Tough luck! There were four pairs of eyes watching! He reacted too fast! LOL! Was he celebrating too fast? Genius? Okay. We’ll see.

Tao Hua surprised all her brothers by accepting their suggestion of going abroad for studying. While Qi and the others were arguing over it, they took her to the airport. Wasn’t that their grand idea of solving the problem? Why were they arguing now? So it was Qi’s idea? What was that about Cheng loving her more than the others? Um…okay, that went great.

The episode exited on Tao Hua’s change of mind in not leaving for England after all. The brothers were surprised once again of the change in attitude but was glad all the same that she did not want to leave anymore. Yes, bunch of weirdos all right. Still…couldn’t hate them though. So funny.

Ratings? Strangely though it has gained the second spot beating out one of its competitors for this episode, the rating has dropped from 1.95 to 1.48.

*All images were captured by DTLCT

Lebanon Farmers Market

Tonight I went to the Lebanon Farmers Market and stopped at a Greek stand called Sphinx. I asked for feta salad with green peppers, olives, and feta cheese. I also had a spinach pie made of phyllo dough with yummy cheese and spinach in the middle. If I were giving them a grade I would give them an A+.

We ate our dinner on a mezzanine, which is just like a balcony, and we sat next to a man singing jolly Christmas music. We could look down and see all the people and all the food.

For kids of all ages, there was an ice cream stand, and at the end I just had to get ice cream. My choice was birthday cake ice cream. It was definitely what I call delicious with chunks of chocolate cake mixed in with sprinkles and icing.

My mom told me the building was built in 1892. She was happy that she could find free range chicken, which means that they are allowed to run around free. Some chickens are kept penned up and not allowed to run around.

This farmers market was definitely great.

Elena

My final in Eros. Currently hanging in the Aphrodisiac show in the Meyerhoff.

8×22. Click image to see the full size.

I’m still amazed sometimes when I talk to girls about feeling alienated in our culture, because my desires as a heterosexual female are not considered important, and they tell me “well, have you ever considered that straight girls like to look at other women?”

Fine. Girls are pretty. I get it. But do they answer my deepest needs as a sexual being? No. Not even close. Do those words ring hollow when it’s a fact of life that images of women surround us and far outnumber the images of men ? Yes.

Blatantly sexualized men are considered homoerotic. That means that the intended audience is other men. And because of this, no matter how sexy that image might be, it never the less consistently reminds women who look that they are irrelevant, obsolete.

What is truly obsolete are straight female artists painting images of sexy ladies as if they were doing anything besides buying into a male fantasy that is so pervasive that they have CONVINCED THEMSELVES that this is what turns them on, that they would rather look at this than images of men.

I intend to paint images that turn me on—I have a rich fantasy life that in no way is accurately reflected by the advertising/publishing industry (if you want proof, go to the romance novel section and compare how many men are featured on the covers vs. women. I think you’ll find a lot of sexy lady backs, thighs, and heaving busts…and a dearth of sexy man hands, chests, backs, and hips). Because of this, I get the sense that what I like is not normal. I am alienated, dehumanized. I am expected to buy things because supposedly all women are sexually fluid enough to either be turned on by other women, or put themselves in the place of aroused women in adverts. That’s like seriously expecting a straight guy to get turned on because he sees another man masturebating. In our culture, the former is the normal, expected, acceptable course of things, the latter is clearly defined as homosexual.

I know its scary for men to be objectified. Women have long held the sole claim to that role. It makes you vulnerable and strips away your agency. But objectification, sexualization, can be fun and healing. We are sexual, visual creatures. It is when we say that only one group of people can and should have their desires catered to, or even have desires at all, that sexual violence and oppression are created.

So, ladies, look deep inside yourselves and stop apologizing for liking what you like. Stop being embarassed that you like men, the supposedly rougher, uglier sex (as if—Gary Sinise, David Bowie, and Burn Gorman are hardly otherworldly exceptions to their gender). And if you have the time and inclination, indulge these fantasies by expressing them in some public way. The most empowering thing a woman can do is say, unapologetically, “I choose this; I want this.”

I really wanted to be snarky about this article about sphinx cats being used as therapy cats. After all, it does contain the quote “Terry True says holding Jak is like holding ‘a suede hot-water bottle.’” Which is quite disgusting.

But then I read that Jak, the cat in the article, got his start visiting children with leukemia, showing them that hairlessness can still be beautiful. Damn you, sphinx therapy cat! You’re just doing too much good, and I can’t make fun of you.

Sacred Animals in Literature

Through man’s innate narcissism and a tendency towards anthropomorphism, human principles and idealisations have been projected upon the workings of the animal world.  In most cultures, there are legends of hybrids, numinous and sacred animals—creatures that embody behavioural and physical features that transcend the species, typifying a ‘moral biology’ of the natural world.

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Bonaparte encounters the Sphinx

The Pyramid Texts of Ancient Egypt (3000BC)

Cats were considered to be demi-gods and worshipped as such.  The punishment for harming a cat was severe, in some cases, the penalty of death.

Come forth, my lovely seneschal! so somnolent,
so statuesque!
Come forth you exquisite grotesque! half woman
and half animal!

Come forth my lovely languorous Sphinx! and
put your head upon my knee!
And let me stroke your throat and see your
body spotted like the Lynx!  (Oscar Wilde)

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Srimad Bhagavad-Gita, Hindu Vedas (1500-500 BC)

In chapter 10, verse 28, Lord Krishna states, “Dhenunam asmi kamadhuk.” (“Among cows I am the wish-fulfilling cow.”)  According to the Vedas, cows are the foremost of all creatures in all the worlds.  The Vedas also state that the milk of a cow is equivalent to ambrosial nectar and that ghee derived from cow’s milk is the best of all libations poured onto the sacred fires of Brahmins.

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Book of Songs, collected and edited by Confucius (400 BC)

Many of the poems in this collection refer to old myths in which sacred animals help to create the universe.  The dragon, the phoenix, the tortoise, and the quilin comprise the four numinous animals of ancient China.  The great poet Qu Yuan, in the spirit of ‘truth-seeking’, poses 172 questions on natural phenomena, ancient myths and legends, and historical events.  In his poem “On Encountering Trouble”, dragons and phoenixes are symbols for good men, while fleeting clouds and rainbows represent the ignoble.

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Qur’an (653 AD), Judeo-Christian-Muslim tradition

According to legend (the Qur’an only obliquely refers to animals in heaven), ten specific animals are allowed into heaven.  In case you’re worried, other ‘unspecified’ animals will be present in order that the inhabitants of heaven have the meat they need to experience bliss.  The ten named animals happen to be:  Jonah’s whale; Solomon’sant; Abraham’s ram; the cuckoo of Belkis; Saleh’s camel; Balaam’s ass; the ox of Moses; Kratim, the dog of the Seven Sleepers; Al Borak, Mahomet’s ass; and Noah’s dove.

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Indigenous American cultures

For Indigenous Americans, animals have a totemic value.  For example, the Kwakiutl, Tlingit, Nootka, and Haida tribes view the orca as the embodiment of strength and speed.  It’s one of many animal ancestral spirits, others being the wolf, the bear, the eagle, the bison.

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Oceanic cultures

Pigs are the most important domestic animal in Pacific cultures, being an important source of food and a basis for societal wealth.  They are also sacred animals that some cultures believe have souls.  (See below the Vatican’s take on the souls of animals and women.)

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The Aberdeen Bestiary illuminated manuscripts (1200)

These folios collect legends of all animal species then known—both real and imagined—from the spider (“worms of the air”) to the snake (“crawling with hidden steps”) to the siren (“deadly creature”).  Part natural history, part allegory, with annotated references and beautiful illustrations, the Aberdeen Bestiary is considered to be one of the best examples of its type.  The images can be divided into four categories: portrait, narrative, allegorical, or appropriated.  While some appear to be creatures with which the artist is well familiar, others are clearly decoratively posed, looking more like a pattern on a textile.  The narrative, allegorical and appropriated subjects are to remind the reader of the Christian world view and the place of animals within it.

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The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection,or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, Charles Darwin (1859)

Darwin’s ideas were (and are!) controversial primarily because they conflict with the beliefs that species are unchanging parts of a designed hierarchy and that humans are unique, unrelated to animals.  However, far from destroying the notion of God, it may be claimed that Darwin’s seminal text restores animals to a place of holiness by revealing the unity of all life.

After a slight diversion, this is the last of the “In Too Deep” series. So what is subtext? In short, it’s the difference between what we actually and and what we can’t or won’t say. The greater the difference, the better.

Subtext is used to add layers, depth, richness and texture to screenplays through mystery, intrigue and interest. It makes the audience engage more deeply with the story as they figure out what is going on at a primal level beneath the superficiality of what’s on screen. It’s the intangible subtleties of the visceral human condition that adds subtext to a good screenplay. It beats the predictability, flatness and boredom associated with “on the nose” direct dialogue.

Subtext refers to how a recipient interprets a visual (action), auditory (dialogue) stimulus. But more importantly, how these messages are deliberately manipulated by the sender to influence conclusions, assumptions and outcomes. The premeditated nature of subtext juxtaposes it against a simple misunderstanding.

Isn’t the joy of human communication wonderful? Or even complex? Imagine if computers ran on subtextual commands rather than specific unambiguous instructions? As we grow older we’re typified by our propensity to never say what we truly mean or feel. This ranges from a white lie to a downright lie. Maybe a riddle, or a musing that appears to have nothing to do with the subject at hand. This even applies to children who are often used as pawns of absolute truth in cinema. Subtext is rarely used in children’s dialogue. They generally say what they want, when they want, how they want. Except of course when they realise, they may get into trouble. Did you eat all those cookies? The said child shakes his head “no” despite chocolate chips smearing his lips and crumbs staining his clothes.

The older we get, the better we lie. Hence the expression “read between the lines”. Since dialogue is so economic we writers must ask “what are we saying?”, “what are we trying to say?” and “what are really saying?” This is called subtext, the real meaning that lies beneath the surface of words our characters utter.

WHY DO WE DO IT?

• To avoid hurting someone’s feelings
• To avoid a conflict and
• To avoid being vulnerable, especially when the stakes are high are three key reasons.

Subtext can be introduced into a screenplay from a superior (audience knows what’s going on, but character doesn’t) or an inferior one. Consider a scene where a couple is having dinner and the guy sees an ex with whom he ended things badly. He wants to get the hell out of there, pronto. So he hints to his current date “The service here is atrocious. Let’s go to Jerry’s”. We can complicate the scene by making his date want to stay. The guy continues with a litany of excuses; the restaurant’s too noisy, too expensive, he doesn’t like the menu, it’s drafty, he’s underdressed. Anything, but the real reason he wants to leave. He doesn’t want to reveal the truth because his current date will want details on why and how the said relationship ended. The truth can hurt.

Much subtext can be elicited through seemingly vague, irrelevant dialogue, but also through tonality. Tonality can be conveyed via sarcasm, pitch, speed, inflections and modulation of voice. Consider the phrase “So lovely to see you”. Think about how the ways this can be said to convey a polar spectrum of meanings, ranging from “you’ve made my day” to “get away from me”.

Subtext can also be expressed through actions. Consider the above scene where the guy accidentally/ on purpose spills wine on his shirt as a pretext for having to leave. Imagine if he locked eyes with his former lover and holds his current date’s hand to show that he’s moved on? All this, without uttering a single word. Did he cheat on his former lover? Is she stalking him?

Mad Men scripts master the art of subtext, sometimes to a fault. Fans of the show are endlessly titillated as they are absorbed into the story. Critics argue that they don’t have a clue what’s going on. Consider  episode 10  of series 3 “The Color Blue” where Don Draper is in bed with his daughter’s teacher and they discuss the color blue. She says “What if it wasn’t really blue, but we just thought it was?” What does this say about perception, when they were previously discussing whether Don was committing adultery or not? Don segues into a speech about demographics. Does he believe he’s having an affair? Does he care? Does he love his wife? What’s his conscience saying?

Where did all this come from? Cast your mind back to the riddles that needed to be solved in Ancient Greek mythology. Remember the Sphinx and Oedipus? Although she was trying to warn him of the dangers of the oracle, but he managed to successfully answer her riddle and win the keys to the kingdom of Thebes. But at what cost? Ask his mother.

So there you go. Use the power of subtext wisely and enrich your scripts.

I’ve recently submitted a photo to Pictory, a new online magazine/community site for photographers. The idea is simple – to submit a photo with a caption, according to themes they introduce. It’s an interesting idea, even if their implementation does seem a bit schizophrenic at the moment. Magazine or community, or magazine and community? Still, here’s my effort for you, just in case they don’t publish my contribution! The theme was ‘My Most Meaningful Image’.

I always found school boring. Except for history, and nothing captured my imagination more than stories from the Middle East. Babylonia, Persia and most of all Egypt. I dreamed of waking up one morning to a view over the River Nile, and of seeing the great pyramids of Giza in the flesh. In 2000 I set off on my first holiday abroad, overcoming my fear of flying. Because the destination was Cairo, and nothing would stop me fulfilling my dream. I bought a Nikon Coolpix 880, one of the earlier digital compacts, which boasted a mighty 3.3 megapixels, to capture the trip. And so I fulfilled my dream, standing before the mighty Sphinx and the giant pyramids. And at the same time kick started a new twin passion of travel and photography, which has been burning non stop ever since.

Configuring sphinx search in linux

step1: Download the sphinx package for linux from http://www.sphinxsearch.com/downloads.html

step2:place it in your filesystem under ‘/usr’ directory.

step 3:Then in terminal go to the directory by cd /usr/sphinx

step4:configure by ./configure ,add your extension to the database by prefix ./configure--with-mysql for mysql and
for PostgreSQL  ./configure--with-pgsql

step5:Build the binaries: $ make

step6:After make do $ make install

Thats it sphinx is installed in your system

to configure a database write the configuration file for sphinx manually. and save as “sphinx.conf”

(Example)

step7:create a database  called classroom
with fields id, name, report,subject.

step8:make directory called ‘data’ and ‘log’ in your sphinx installation folder
$mkdir log
$mkdir data(if you dont understand just simply create 2 folder called ‘data’ and ‘log’ inside your sphinx folder , it should look like this sphinx/data and sphinx/log)

your sphinx.conf should be like this

Note:while entering data for  ‘ sql_sock‘ check the directory it is usually in /opt/lampp/var/mysql/mysql.sock for ubuntu.(if you are confused try searching for mysql.sock in your filesystem and then enter its path).

step9:then type $indexer ,the terminal would show the available option

step 10:$indexer –all this  actually indexes all the datas which needed to indexed in the  data directory.

step11: try searching your data by $search ezhil(in this case i have a name called ezhil in my database)

result:

displaying matches:
1. document=2, weight=1
id=2
name=ezhil
report=he is a leader
subject=flexlearner.wordpress.com

words:
1. ‘ezhil’: 1 documents, 1 hits

happy searching…….

source book
{
    type            = mysql
    sql_host        = localhost
    sql_user        = root
    sql_pass        = root
    sql_db          = library
    sql_port        = 3306# optional, default is 3306
    sql_query       = SELECT id, title, summary, author from library
    sql_query_info  = SELECT * FROM library_book WHERE id=$id
}

index book
{
    source          = book
    path            = data/book
    docinfo         = extern
    charset_type    = sbcs
}

indexer
{
    mem_limit       = 32M
}

searchd
{
    port            = 3312
    log             = log/searchd.log
    query_log       = log/query.log
    read_timeout    = 5
    max_children    = 30
    pid_file        = log/searchd.pid
    max_matches     = 1000
}

Greetings from Egypt

Our tour family is bonding well as we experienced our first day of touring, even with some jet-lag! Ancient history filled our eyes and ears as our Egyptologist guided us through the fascinating Egyptian Museum spanning over 5,000 years. We learned that headdresses and eye liner were originally used as protection from the sun and sand of Egypt—only later did they become fashion/religious coverings and cosmetics.

The forty day mummification process was explained and then “dead” results viewed in the Royal Mummies Hall—this same embalming process was used on the Patriarchs, Jacob and Joseph, signifying their high standing in Egypt at their deaths (Genesis 49:33-50:3, 26).

The word “Egypt” occurs over 600 times in Scripture with about 150 times signifying to get “out of Egypt.” However there is one time that God commands to “flee to Egypt.” Matthew 2:13-15 tells the story. After the museum, we ate lunch on the Nile. Next we made a quick trip into the Coptic Christian section of Cairo. The Church of St. Sergius is believed to be one of the places where Joseph, Mary and Jesus stayed during their flight from Herod.

The Giza plateau was our next destination to view the impressive Pyramids and Sphinx, as well as “Cheops Boat Museum,” housing one of the large boats buried next to the pyramids to be used in the afterlife. There was drama unfolding as our group arrived after the gate was locked to enter the Sphinx viewing/photo area, but our tour security guard convinced them to open up the gates for us.

Throughout this day, I kept thinking about how much time, energy and effort these ancient people took to prepare for the afterlife. WOW! Scriptures emphasize the fact that we will all give an account of our lives before God one day. My question after today is, “Are we preparing for our eternal home with the same kind of passion?” Obviously, we don’t need to build a pyramid, nor be mummified to secure eternal life. But we do need to repent of our sins, and receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord to obtain salvation. Then we make our lives count for eternity by our ministry for His glory.

I sphinx it’s time to go on a diet – Short Sharp Science – New Scientist.

         Traveling to Egypt was for me, a once in a lifetime trip. Even though it took place in 1998, I remember it like it was yesterday, because it impressed upon me that much. In addition to seeing the must see sites, such as the pyramids and the Sphinx (and a camel ride while at the pyramids as well), we also went to a rug factory. This was a reality check for me. I don’t know if anyone’s parents have rugs made in Egypt in their house, but seeing that kids as young as 7 years old were taking part in the hand-weaving was difficult. There were adults in the factory as well, but there were a lot of kids, mostly girls, working in dirty conditions, sitting on the floor for hours. Obviously these kids work instead of going to school, and they aren’t paid a lot, especially considering what some of these rugs can sell for in the U.S. As a fellow kid seeing this, it was hard not to appreciate how lucky I am.

          After staying in Cairo for a few days and visiting with family at night and touring during the day, we boarded a plane and flew to Luxor, which is south of Cairo. There we boarded a cruise boat for a 5 day/4 night Nile cruise. We shared the boat with a group from France, who were not the friendliest people, to say the least. I guess it’s true what they say about the French not liking us. The cruise was relaxing and we would stop at various locations each day. Some of the stops en route to Aswan included: Valley of the Kings, Funery Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Valley of the Queens, Karnak Temple, Temple of Philae, Edfu Temple, Unfinished Obelisk, Aswan High Dam, and Kom Ombo.

          Kom Ombo Temple was neat because it was dedicated to more than one god. The south side is dedicated to Sobek-Re, the crocodile god plus the sun god Re) and there are actual crocodile mummies on display here. The north side is dedicated to Haroeris, the “Good Doctor,” and there are also hieroglyphic depictions of medical instruments that were used during the time. Being in the medical field, my parents thought that that was pretty neat, but I preferred the mummified crocs.

              On one of the cruise days we decided to take a felucca ride while the boat was docked. The felucca can best be described as  Middle-Eastern version of the sailboat. It was warm and sunny that day, and we had bought small bottles of Coca-Cola prior to getting on board. They recycle the glass bottles here (and in many other countries), so we were supposed to give them back. However, I decided I wanted to bring the Nile home, so I dragged the botle in the water to fill it. My parents were a little upset with me, because of how dirty the Nile is rumored to be, but I didn’t care. Needless to say, they were correct – about a week after we returned hom, my bottle of water had acquired a reddish-pink growth. I was never reopened, for obvious reasons, but it still sits on my desk at my parents house.

          One night on the ship there was a galabeya party, so during the day, we went shopping at a market outside the entrance to Edfu Temple of Horus and the parents purchased galabeyas for everyone. That night, everyone dressed up, and my sister and cousin attempted the Cleopatra look with makeup. It was a fun and memorable night, even if the French were present, and snooty to boot.  

“The profoundest satisfaction in travel is a sense of discovery, the private thrill of seeing something new or seeing it in a new way. This is unquestionably egotistical, but such discoveries do not come easy. Nothing is harder than that uncertain, Martian-on-Earth feeling of being alone in the middle of nowhere. The payoff is a conceited feeling of having gone to a distant place and unlocked a secret. As far as I am concerned, everything else in travel is a vacation, the view from a chaise lounge – horizontal.”  —Paul Theroux

On our first day in Egypt we visited the Sphynx and the Pyramids. For me, much more impressive this time around (I had last visited over 25 years ago). For my father whose last visit was nearly 70 years ago, things had changed a great deal and he wasn’t impressed by these changes. In the early 1940’s the army barracks were positioned next to the Pyramids and in the evenings, the soldiers would clamber to the top of them and have a beer in the cool night air. There would probably only be around half a dozen people around. Now you are not allowed to climb on the pyramids and there are hawkers, camels, tourists and horses, not to mention the poor area of Giza right next door.

Still none of this can detract from the awesome pyramids, standing as they have done – bar their original facades – for thousands of years.

Starting out with a 1.95 would not be surprising since most of the dramas directed by Director Winnie are quite slow paced but are supposed be building up with much depth – or was expected. However, that could not be said for this drama since it was quite fast pace considering the introductions of each major character to the story.

So what happened in the first episode?

Chen Yu Yi (Huang Jing Lun) was just fretting about his unfortunate fate of never experiencing when he caught someone confessing to his sister, Chen Tao Hua (Cyndi Wang).

After a quick snapshot of the incidental moment on his camera, he sent it straight to his brother – Chen Qi (Ken Zhu).

It appeared that Chen Qi was getting ready for his turn on TV with reporting the weather. However, he received a photo from his cell phone before going on. He rapidly and craftily rattled off the reports before leaving the set. We could see that he was racing down the street with much urgency. He definitely meant business and someone was in trouble.

The next scene zoomed to Chen Cheng (Lan Jun Tian) – who was overseeing an outdoor fashion show and was giving some directions to others. He was calm and collected as he directed others in the scene. However, his attitude changed completely upon receiving the same photograph that Chen Qi received earlier. Someone was in bigger trouble.

Next was the appearance of Chen Zhuan (Ding Chun Cheng). He was actually in class and was writing rapidly on the board with much focus on his face as the professor continued with the lecture. He was dubbed as the genius so he had to solve it correctly, right? Can’t lose the concentration. Then…just like the others, his attitude changed. Yes, that was it. The same ringtone. The same picture. The same hurried gestures followed as he abandoned the marker and ran out the door, not caring to stay and enjoy the hand claps. That was three. That someone had better run by now. If only that someone would know.

That was not all since the next one to come out was Chen He (Godfrey Gao). He was actually enjoying the attention from the crowd of screaming girls as he was skillfully doing his stunts on the water. Suddenly…his cell phone rang. Yes, same ringtone. Same picture. Once again. He did not care for the attention from his fangirls anymore. He abandoned his task just like the others and ran off. What was different about this brother was his temper. He was actually shouting out threats as he was riding on his motorcycle to his destination.

Okay, so that was all of them so that someone did not have to worry about the number increasing. But that was enough to bring him down, right?

What actually happened was when Yu Yi got out of class, he was heading home when he saw a red car zooming toward him. He tried to dodge but luckily that car stopped in front of him. Who else but his oldest brother? That was not all since the other three brothers were not far behind. They surrounded him and asked for that to be victim’s location. They did not take “Don’t know” for an answer because they soon found the guy in the incidental picture.

So someone did not do his research because he dared to show off in front of the Chen brothers. The result?

That would teach a lesson all right. And that was also the introduction of the crazy, protective brothers.

So after those entertaining scenes of the Chen brother getting rid of possible threats, we finally see our main couple meeting for the first time – where else but in the rain?

He just had some good intentions with handing her the umbrella. Let’s hope he won’t get run over by the Chen clan afterward. (After witnessing the previous scene, we all know he have some worrying to do if he dared to think otherwise but just help her in a time of need.)

Leave it up to Tao Hua for daydreaming at the most eventful moment. But it could not be helped, right? That was the nearest someone got to her without getting into trouble.

Apparently, not only were the Chen brothers crazy regarding driving out their sister’s suitors, but their impartiality for their sister was driven to the point that they treated their youngest brother no better than the guy next door. Understandable that they were protective of Tao Hua, but bullying their little brother? Luckily, Yu Yi still has Tao Hua to back him up on occasions. However, it would be hard to imagine what happened behind the scenes without Tao Hua around to keep the other four brothers in line.

Anyhow, was a bit interesting to see the Chen clan finally under the same roof after the long day.

I must admit that the flashbacks were nicely done with the clever touch of black and white films and its background music to recount of the Chen family in the earlier days when the siblings were all young.

Returning to its comedic side, how in the world did Qi not get fired with all his talks about ‘Tao Hua’ on TV? Honestly!

And poor Yu Yi had to resort to running away from home in order to get some peace from his brothers. But I could not help but felt a tad too funny that Yu Yi and Tao Hua made themselves at home at Shi Lang’s house just like that. Fortunately and coincidentally, Shi Lang and Tao Hua finally reunited after the previous day’s meeting.

How exaggerated could it get since the four brothers called for an emergency meeting just because they could not find Tao Hua? Still too funny. Poor Yu Yi got caught again.

Although that was so exaggerated and protective of the other four brothers of Tao Hua, but after seeing the flashback, it seemed reasonable that the others should favor Tao Hua over Yu Yi. They were saved with Tao Hua’s existence that they felt too strong a need to be protective of her. (Though Yu Yi did not deserve so much of bullying.)

Must also give credit to the four brothers for having such wild imaginations. Leave it up to them to imagine all the possible things that could happen to Tao Hua. (Tao Hua probably got the creative imagination from her brothers too – heavily influenced by them.)

The ending scene of this episode showed another encounter between Shi Lang and Tao Hua – but this time at school. However, was that her imagination at work again or was that Shi Lang for real?

Behind the scenes parts were really funny. Also, it showed everyone hard at work. Jia you, crew!

*All images were captured by DTLCT

It is every person’s dream to reach and step foot on the land most holy to them. For Muslims they have Mecca…The Hindus the Indus River…and most of all, Jerusalem for the Jews and Christians. It’s been awhile since I last step foot on Israel and I was back again recently to assist a group with their pilgrimage. Like what we usually do when we escort groups, we make sure everything is in place to make their trip more meaningful. The usual route I take begins in Egypt, and then Israel and lastly Turkey. A more orderly fashion if you read and walk thru the Bible. But on my last trip, it was Jordan, Israel and lastly, Egypt. When I first came to Jordan, I thought it was just another Arab country filled with sand. I was wrong the moment I saw the sand and rock city of Petra (now part of the 7 new wonders of the world). You will be in awe looking at the facade (which reminds me of Transformers 2: Revenge of the fallen).  The valleys and plains in that country is really incomparable to any place. Israel was said to be “land of milk and honey”. When you get there, you would understand why. Can you imagine a land in the middle of the desert where you could see plants flourishing, animals grazing and people lives as if they were your next door neighbor. Should you be amazed in its modern structures and the technology they have harnessed, how much more for the old city of Jerusalem. If South Africa is the cradle of the civilizations, Jerusalem is the heart of all pilgrimage. Housing major religions (Muslims, Jews, Orthodox Christians, etc) in a walled city no bigger than the Vatican, it is almost as if you were living inside the Bible. Part of the trip is going to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were uncovered (Dan Brown must’ve been here and gotten hold of the scrolls). For those who could take the challenge, climbing Egypt’s Mt. Sinai is one of the greatest. The top is a haven for photographers especially with their DSLRs. A vantage point whether it is Sunrise, noon or Sunset. The oohhs and aahhhs doesn’t stop there and continues with the Pyramids and Sphinx. For the finale, a Nile River cruise with buffet dinner topped with belly dancers and music. You may hear stories of these sort a dozen time but experiencing it right there is beyond joy! Most of all, a pilgrimage or a trip to the Holy Land is not just for those people who are almost knocking on Heaven’s door or just around the eve of their lives, it is a trip for the young ones and young at heart. You don’t need to be spiritually inclined or a deep to the bone sinner to be invited to the Holy city. The Holy Land is inviting everyone to be there. Who knows what’s in store for you in that place.

-Troy A.

**For those who would like to get a copy of the itinerary, you may print or download it here.

I have done this in Fedora

First download sphinx and put that folder it in some location( as i kept in Computer/File system/usr/sphinx)

For installation follow the steps:

- open the terminal window and add the command like this

$ cd  /usr

$ cd sphinx

$ ./configure –with-mysql  (for configure MySql with sphinx search engine)

- Now install mysql-devel package that contains the libraries and header files for developing  Mysql client application

For fedora –  $ yum install mysql-devel

For ubuntu –  $ apt-get install mysql-devel

-  Then give the command

$ make

$ make install

Finally sphinx has been installed

- Open sphinx folder and create a file with the name sphinx.conf  and it will have content like this

source book
{
type            = mysql
sql_sock        =/opt/lampp/var/mysql/mysql.sock
sql_host        = localhost
sql_user        = root
sql_pass        =
sql_db          = library
sql_port        = 3306
sql_query       = SELECT id, title, summary, author library_book
sql_query_info  = SELECT * FROM library_book
}

index book
{
source          = book
path            = data/book
docinfo         = extern
charset_type    = sbcs
}

indexer
{
mem_limit       = 32M
}

searchd
{
port            = 3312
log             = log/searchd.log
query_log       = log/query.log
read_timeout    = 5
max_children    = 30
pid_file        = log/searchd.pid
max_matches     = 1000
}

- In the above code library is the database which has to be created in the Mysql and

library_book is a table in library database.

- sql_sock        =/opt/lampp/var/mysql/mysql.sock

Check out for the mysql.sock in your system and paste the location in sphinx.conf file. This makes the main connection between Mysql and sphinx

- Create another two more folders data and log inside the sphinx folder. The datas added in the table is automatically updated in data folder.

Before searching the data give the command  $ indexer – -all in the terminal window.

You can search the records by giving the search command in the terminal window

eg :  $ search java

It will display the list of records containing the word java

Como primera aproximación a un buscador simple en la primera versión de Voota, se nos ocurrió utilizar “Google custom search“. Mala idea. Hoy, 5 días después de la puesta online, Google solo ha indexado 267 páginas y teniendo en cuenta que empezábamos con 1.549 políticos con sus 1.549 correspondientes fichas, los resultados no eran muy apropiados. Por ejemplo, buscando “Zapatero” aparecían varios resultados del blog, alguna ficha de otros políticos y varios enlaces al ranking, pero no la ficha del sr. presidente.

Necesitábamos un buscador, sencillo, potente y que escalase bien con los futuros desarrollos que vienen. La solución fue mucho más fácil de lo esperado. Decidimos implementar nuestro propio motor de búsqueda con Sphinx. Así es como lo hicimos:

1. Lo primero es instalar el motor de búsqueda, que básicamente consta de dos partes: El indexador, que obtiene las palabras clave de la base de datos (Postgresql o mysql) y el demonio o servicio de búsqueda que atiende a las peticiones del servidor web.
   La instalación no tiene más misterio que seguir los pasos que explican en su web: Manual de referencia de Sphinx.
2. Después viene la fase de configuración. Aquí es donde se le dice a Sphinx que datos tiene que indexar para que puedan ser encontrados en el buscador del sitio web. En nuestro caso, de momento, sólo queríamos indexar los políticos:
   source src1
   {
   type                                    = mysql
   sql_host                                = localhost
   sql_user                                = usuario
   sql_pass                                =
   sql_db                                  = voota
   sql_port                                = 3306  # optional, default is 3306
   sql_query_pre   = SET NAMES utf8
   sql_query                               = \
   SELECT id, vanity, alias, nombre, apellidos, bio, presentacion, residencia, formacion \
   FROM politico
   sql_ranged_throttle     = 0
   sql_query_info          = SELECT * FROM politico WHERE id=$id
   }
   source src1throttled : src1
   {
   sql_ranged_throttle                     = 100
   }
   index politico
   {
   source                  = src1
   path                    = /var/data/voota
   docinfo                 = extern
   mlock                   = 0
   morphology              = none
   min_word_len            = 1
   charset_type            = utf-8
   charset_table   = 0..9, A..Z->a..z, a..z, \
   U+C0->a, U+C1->a, U+C2->a, U+C3->a, \
   U+C4->a, U+C5->a, U+C6->a, \
   U+C7->c,U+E7->c, U+C8->e, U+C9->e, \
   U+CA->e, U+CB->e, U+CC->i, \
   U+CD->i, U+CE->i, U+CF->i, U+D0->d, \
   U+D1->n, U+D2->o, U+D3->o, \
   U+D4->o, U+D5->o, U+D6->o, U+D8->o, \
   U+D9->u, U+DA->u, U+DB->u, \
   U+DC->u, U+DD->y, U+DE->t, U+DF->s, \
   U+E0->a, U+E1->a, U+E2->a, U+E3->a, \
   U+E4->a, U+E5->a, U+E6->a, \
   U+E7->c,U+E7->c, U+E8->e, \
   U+E9->e, U+EA->e, U+EB->e, U+EC->i, \
   U+ED->i, U+EE->i, U+EF->i, \
   U+F0->d, U+F1->n, U+F2->o, U+F3->o, \
   U+F4->o, U+F5->o, U+F6->o, \
   U+F8->o, U+F9->u, U+FA->u, U+FB->u, \
   U+FC->u, U+FD->y, U+FE->t, U+FF->s,
   html_strip                              = 0
   }

   Extracto del fichero de configuración de Sphinx

3. A continuación se arranca el servicio de búsqueda:
   sudo searchd –config /usr/local/etc/sphinx.conf
   y se da la orden para que Sphinx realice la indexación (Esto será necesario hacerlo periódicamente):
   sudo /usr/local/bin/indexer politico –rotate
   Muy bien, Sphinx configurado y escuchando.
4. Sólo falta escribir el código Symfony para interrogar al motor de búsqueda:
   $this->q = $request->getParameter(“q”);$cl = new SphinxClient ();
   $cl->SetServer ( ‘localhost’, 3312 );
   $this->limit = 1000;
   $cl->SetLimits ( 0, $this->limit, $this->limit );
   $cl->SetArrayResult ( true );
   $this->res = $cl->Query ( SfVoUtil::stripAccents( $this->q ), ‘politico’ );
   if ( $this->res!==false ) {
   if ( isset($this->res["matches"]) && is_array($this->res["matches"]) ) {
   $c = new Criteria();
   $list = array();
   foreach ($this->res["matches"] as $idx => $match) {
   $list[] = $match['id'];
   }
   $c->add(PoliticoPeer::ID, $list, Criteria::IN);
   $c->addDescendingOrderByColumn(PoliticoPeer::SUMU);
   $this->politicosPager = new sfPropelPager(‘Politico’, 10);
   $this->politicosPager->setCriteria($c);
   $this->politicosPager->setPage($this->getRequestParameter(‘page’, 1));
   $this->politicosPager->init();if ($this->politicosPager->getNbResults() == 1){
   $res = $this->politicosPager->getResults();
   $this->redirect( “@politico_”.$this->getUser()->getCulture( ‘es’ ).”?id=”.$res[0]->getVanity() );
   }
   }
   }

   Código Symfony que realiza la búsqueda

Listo, hoy puedes buscar Zapatero, José Luis Rodriguez o ZP en Voota, que seguro que encuentras lo que buscas, a no ser que quieras comprarte unos zapatos nuevos, claro

先日、生まれて初めて、ロイヤル・オペラ・ハウスにバレエを観に行った。私は、ダンス自体はは好きで、モダンダンス、フラメンコ、ベリーダンス、インド舞踏等は見に行ったことがあるのだが、これまでバレエにはあんまり食指が動かなかった。どちらかというと、ああいう優雅な踊りよりも、情熱的で躍動的なものの方が好きなのだ。それに男性のあのピチピチのタイツは、贅肉のない美しい肉体のダンサーが身にまとっていたとしても、どうしても好きになれない、ていうか目障りでさえある。それなのにどうしてバレエを見に行ったか？それは、私たちが好きな、デジタルカウンターを使ったインスタレーションで世界的に知られる現代美術家・宮島達男氏が、3演目のうちの1つの舞台美術を担当したからだ。

今回観に行った、ロイヤル・バレエによる「Agon / Sphinx / Limen」は、いずれも30分弱のモダンバレエ演目の3本立て。何しろバレエに関してはド素人。おこがましいのでバレエの批評は控え、簡単な解説を。Agon（アゴン）は、イーゴリ・ストラヴィンスキーが、名振付師ジョージ・バランシン率いるニューヨーク・シティ・バレエ団のために作曲、1957年に初演された。Sphinx（スフィンクス）は、オイディプース神話を元にジャン・コクトーによって書かれた「地獄の機械（The Infernal Machine）」にインスピレーションを得た作品。アメリカ人振付師Glen Tetley（グレン・テトリー）が、1977年にアメリカン・バレエ・シアターのために振り付けを担当した。スピンクス（Sphinx）とオイディプース（Oedipus）、そしてエジプトの黄泉の国に死者を導くというジャッカルの頭の持つ神・アヌビス（Anubis）の3者によって繰り広げられる。

そしてお待ちかねの、宮島氏がステージデザインを担当したLimen（ライメン）。Limenは心理学用語で「閾（いき）」、「ある刺激の出現・消失、または二つの同種刺激間の違いが感じられるか感じられないかの境目。また、その境目の刺激の強さ」を意味する。フィンランド人作曲家Kaija Saariaho（カイヤ・サーリアホ）氏が作曲、振り付けは、映画「Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire（ハリー・ポッターと炎のゴブレット）」も担当したロイヤル・バレエ団の振付師Wayne McGregor（ウェイン・マクレガー）が手がけた。幕開けは、LEDデジタルカウンターを投影した半透明のスクリーンの後ろでダンサーたちが踊るシーン。刻々と変わる数字が動きを変えながらスクリーンに浮き上がる中、ダンサーたちの姿がぼんやりと浮かぶ様は、とても幻想的。そしてスクリーンが上がり、明るくなった舞台の上で、カラフルな衣装に身を包んだダンサーたちが舞い踊る。再び明かりが落とされると、次に違った色の光の帯が暗い舞台に投影される。踊りよりも、ダンサー達の影が光の帯の上に落ちる様に、つい目がいってしまう。最後は、暗闇の中、バックの壁に、青いLEDライトが、違う間隔でついたり消えたりする。だんだん点灯するLEDライトが増えていき、壁が徐々に舞台前に迫って来たところで、フィナーレを迎える。

バレエ自体は、引き締まった体でしなやかに踊る様は優雅だと思ったけれど、はっきり言って印象に残っていない。バレエではなくLimenのステージデザインを目当てに行ったので、最上階の一部が見えない安い席を買ってしまったからかもしれない。そしてやっぱり、遠くからでもピチピチタイツの苦手意識は克服できなかった。宮島氏は舞台デザインは初めてだと言うが、アーティストだけあって、彼の色をうまく生かしたミニマリスト的なアプローチは夢幻的で、光と闇を上手く表現していて、バレエというよりアート・インスタレーションのよう。観に行って良かった！

I went to see a ballet at l Opera House for the first time in my life. I like dance, and have been to modern dance, Flamenco, Belly Dance, Indian dance etc, but I’ve never been really keen to see a ballet – one reason was that I prefer more energetic and exciting movement than elegant ballet, and another reason was that I just can’t stand the tights of male ballet dancers, even on their beautiful toned bodies. The reason why I went to see the ballet is because Japanese visual artist Tatsuo Miyajima designed the stage of one of the program.

What I saw is the Royal Ballet triple bill “Agon / Sphinx / Limen” – all short contemporary ballet programs less than 30 minutes each. I am completely novice in ballet, so I won’t make any comment on the ballet dance itself, but a little explanation of the programs.

One of the 20th century’s leading choreographers, George Balanchine’s Agon is his final collaboration with Igor Stravinsky and the first stage performance was given by the New York City Ballet in 1957. Sphinx was inspired by the French playwright Jean Cocteau’s 1934 play ‘The Infernal Machine’, a variation of the Oedipus legend, and it was originally choreographed for American Ballet Theatre in 1977 by the American choreographer Glen Tetley. It is a trio for the Sphinx, Oedipus and Anubis, the jackal-headed god who shepherds the dead into the Egyptian underworld.

Then Limen, which was designed by Miyajima and what I was looking for. Limen, a word that relates to ideas of limits and thresholds, is the work by Wayne McGregor , the Company’s Resident Choreographer who also choreographed the film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, with music by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. The first scene is the dancers moving behind a half-transparent screen on which tumbling and spinning digital numbers are projected – it was very mysterious and dreamlike. Then the screen rises dancers in electric color costumes come on the stage with slowing changing colors. In the third scene, the light is turned down, and five different color stripes appear on the dark stage. My eyes were caught more by the shadows of the dancers casted on the stripes, rather than dancers themselves. Final act is performed in front of a giant wall of blue LED lights flashing on and off at different intervals, and the wall slowly approaches to the front of the stage as the number of LED increases little by little – and over.

To be honest I don’t have a strong impression about the ballet performance the night, though I admit that the dance was graceful and elegant. Maybe because I bought cheap seats on the upper balcony with restricted views – as my intention was to see the stage design of Limen by Miyajima. I also failed to change my negative view against male tight costumes! It is said that this is the first experience for Miyajima to design a theater stage, but his minimalist approach with superb use of different colors and light and darkness was pretty effective and it was like a beautiful art installation. I am glad that I went!