Butt Cleavage, Fuck buddy, and Roti Prata

Take a look at this picture, and tell me what you are looking at?

Well, you can find the answer in one of the new English-Chinese dictionaries that went on sale last week.

One of the authors of this "麥克米倫高級英漢雙解詞典" claimed in his blog that a lot of the latest Taiwanese slang are included in this edition. Here are some of the terms:

爆乳裝：cleavage-displaying dress

台客：taiker; hip grass-roots Taiwanese

股溝妹：butt cleavage girl

車震：dogging

炮友：fuck buddy

宅男：home geek

I'm not sure if those are good translations. But things like "cleavage-displaying dress" or "butt cleavage girl" are actually a kind of fashion statement heavily related to Taiwanese sub-cultures.

"蔥油餅" (pics here) is translated as "scallion crepe". Personally, I prefer to call it "roti prata sans green onions" (pix here). Or better yet, simply call it "Tsong Yu Bing".

Finalists of the 2007 MRT Rock Band Competition, and Rabbit is Rich

This was the semi-final (第三屆捷運盃熱門音樂大賽), and took place in front of the square on the Tamsui MRT Station on Saturday afternoon. Taipei MRT is the offical organizer, and Jolin Tsai (蔡依林), the local pop diva, was the spokeslady for this music talent search.

The final winner, to be decided in yet another round at the end of this month, will take away $120,000 Taiwan dollars ( or USD$3750).

When I got there, the Grandmama (阿嬤嬤) was performing on stage

Jolin looked upon from the big background poster as one of the competing bands (人民公社, or People's Commune ) sang in the front.

A pretty large crowd sat around the stage, and enjoyed the live music on a slightly sunny winter afternoon.

The lead singer of Sunny 4 wore a red cowboy hat.

The lead singer of this Two Gods Soup (兩神湯) sang in a super cute voice.

↓ Ting Ting and Shi Shi (丁丁與西西) is more about folk ballad than pop music. Rather than the regular configuration of a bass, a lead guitar, a drummer or a keyboard player, the group uses a lot of unusual music instrument. See more pix here.

I like the band name of this team. "雞龜貓" means "Chick, Turtle, and Pussy Cat".

The keyboard player / vocal of Chick, Turtle, and Pussy Cat enjoyed her 10-minute fame on stage.

The lead singer from Freckles (雀斑) either wore a wig or dyed her hair in bright gold.

But my favorite is Rabbit is Rich (兔子很有錢). Andrea Huang (黃盈誼), the lead singer, performed the song (listening to the mp3 version here) in an extremely sensual and sexy way.

Faded Away, CKS Memorial Hall

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"The words "Da Chung Chi Cheng" were etched on a large gate of white stone to eulogise Chiang, who led the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) which ruled Taiwan for 51 years until 2000, when it lost power to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)."....more

Since the four words (大中至正, translate: "big central gets right") are going to be tore down soon, and replaced with something else, a circus composed of reporters, camera men, protesters and tourists, formed right under the gate where the four-word plague were hung.

To my untrained eyes, the four words literally mean "Middle of the Road Achieves Righteousness". That's my basic understanding of the Chinese, though it might not be correct. An official from the Ministry of Education said the same four words appear in an ancient tomb of a eunuch.

Camera crew from all local TV stations were there to capture the moment. The Chiang Kai-shek (CKS) memorial hall, located in one of the most prime properties in downtown Taipei, has been renamed lately by the incumbent Chen administration, who believed that a dictator like Chiang shouldn't be worthy of a popular worship.

But the move has angered some, especially those in the KMT camp and its followers. After all, Chiang is a national hero, not a dictator, in their eyes. A symbol only God can match. One held up high a Chiang's picture, and cursed President Chen for whoever cared to listen to him. And sure enough, that drew a small crowd around him.

"Whoever tear down the words will die of stroke and go to hell," said the poster. Who ever wrote this has a real sense of humor, as the poster was in black, which symbolizes terrible death. And two yellow paper-lotuses, usually seen only on funeral scene, were placed just right under the black poster.

But the controversy has also attracted a large crowd of visitors, both local and foreign, who wanted to take a last shot with what is bound to go into history.

The wind was big, the weather pretty chilly in the December afternoon. Some saw it as yet another tourist attraction, while the others tried to defend it like a losing battle.

Another shot of the gate. On the left is the National Theater in traditional Chinese style, while the National Concert Hall is to the right.

Christmas Bazaar at Taipei European School

I heard this piece of information on ICRT. The Taipei European School had a Christmas bazaar today. So I went and had a fun time tasting a lot of international food.

The European School is probably not as well-known to locals as Taipei American School, at least that's true for me. Until today, I didn't even realized that this school is located right at the heart of Shih Lin district.

檢視較大的地圖

The weather was incredulously great today, with a lot of sunshine on a slightly cool temperature. Before today, it had been cold and wet for at least several weeks. Everyone seemed to enjoy this rare opportunity to sit under the sunny sky.

The school is quite big. Best of all, it provided a lot of car park space for visitors. Once I went inside, the Christmas atmosphere was obvious. Students put on their red hats, and big fat Santa Claus could be seen somewhere in the crowd.

Take a picture with Santa, and pay.

Yvonne and I both agreed that western kids are cuter than Asian counterparts. They are like dolls.

Since the art auction was on the second floor, I got a chance to take a look at the school buildings.

Rain boots can be seen on the outside of each classroom. Don't think I'd ever seen anything like this in local schools.

Kids put on a belly dance show. It's very entertaining and won a lot of applause.

Each food stall provided local cuisine from different countries, such as Thai, Malaysian, Spanish, German, Taiwanese or Belgium.

A lead singer of a all-girl band performed on stage.

You could see a lot of people dressed in their traditional costumes.

There was a big discount for home bakery after 2 o'clock in the afternoon. I brought home a whole box of brownies (90 pieces in total) for NT$250. Quite a bargain.