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Thursday, May 05, 2011

News ~ Paulownia Fowers & the Hakka People of Taiwan

I don't exactly know why, but I found this article interesting... 
...so I posted it on my BLOG after I saw it on CNA just a few moments ago.

Maybe it's because...

• Hakka = to Kek, and I thought of my brother-in-law.

• I didn't know that...
"The Hakka people are Taiwan's second largest ethinic group making up about 20 per cent of the population."

• I found the flowers pretty.

• I do like trees.

• I like the thought of how useful this tree use to be,
like how useful the coconut use to be to the people of Singapore.

• I like the thought of learning something everyday.

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Photos 1 of 1
White blossoms of the Paulownia tree

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Home › LIFESTYLE NEWS
Taiwan celebrates Hakka flower festival
By Victoria Jen | Posted: 05 May 2011 1203 hrs

TAIWAN: Taiwan celebrates the Paulownia Blossom Festival - the island's biggest flower festival is part of the culture of the Hakka people. 

The Hakka people are Taiwan's second largest ethinic group making up about 20 per cent of the population. 

Found mostly in northwestern Taiwan, the Paulownia tree stands as a symbol of the Hakka heritage.

It used to serve as an important source of income for the Hakka community in Taiwan.

"The wood can be used to make furniture, so the Hakka people planted many Paulownia trees. The tree seeds can be used to extract oil, so they had high economic value to the Hakka people," said Mr Liu Tung Lung, deputy minister of the Council of Hakka Affairs.

Over the years, the trees may have lost their value as economic crops, but they're still dearly cherished by the Hakka people and regarded as a symbol of their culture.

The Hakka community celebrates the Tung Hua Blossom Festival every spring, as a way to honour the tree and remember their roots. 

Another symbol of Hakka culture is Lei Cha - meaning "pounded tea" because of the way it is made. 

To make Lei Cha, ingredients such as tea leaves, sesame seeds and roasted peanuts are grounded with a guava wood stick for 15 minutes. After it becomes a paste, hot water is poured into it. 

"Lei Cha is a high calorie drink that can detox and warm your body. It's a healthy drink. No added preservatives… The tea gets rid of the oil from the seeds, so it tastes very good," said Mr Chuang Chung Cheng, Hakka Cuisine expert. 

As Taiwan's largest floral festival, the event attracted more than six million visitors, and close to US$800 million in tourism revenue last year. 

This year, the number of tourists is expected to hit a record high.

- CNA/cc

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Smiley ~ Applause Clap n Cheer

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Applause Clap & Cheer

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Frog or Horse? Watch...

Frog or Horse? Watch...


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GIF ~ Rube Goldberg Machine



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Rube Goldberg Machine

A Rube Goldberg machine, device, or apparatus is a deliberately over-engineered machine that performs a very simple task in a very complex fashion, usually including a chain reaction. The expression is named after American cartoonist and inventor Rube Goldberg.

Since then, the expression has expanded to denote any form of overly confusing or complicated system.

For example, news headlines include...
"Is politician, Bill Thomas the Rube Goldberg of Legislative Reform?" and...
"Retirement 'insurance' as a Rube Goldberg machine".

Rube Goldberg's cartoons became well known for depicting complex devices that performed simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. 

Here's an example... see image below...

Goldberg's "Professor Butts and the Self-Operating Napkin", 
which was later reprinted in the postcard book, Rube Goldberg's Inventions!, 
compiled by Maynard Frank Wolfe from the Rube Goldberg Archives. 


The "Self-Operating Napkin" is activated when... 
the soup spoon (A) is raised to mouth, 
pulling string (B) 
and thereby jerking ladle (C) 
which throws cracker (D) 
past parrot (E). 
Parrot jumps after cracker and perch (F) tilts, 
upsetting seeds (G) 
into pail (H). 
Extra weight in pail pulls cord (I), 
which opens and lights automatic cigar lighter (J), 
setting off skyrocket (K) 
which causes sickle (L) 
to cut string (M) 
and allow pendulum with attached napkin to swing back and forth, thereby wiping chin. 
Sometimes the inventions were to wipe the poo off his bum.

In 1931, the Merriam–Webster dictionary adopted the word "Rube Goldberg" as an adjective defined as accomplishing something simple through complex means.

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GIF ~ Stick Figure Animated GIF That Tiles

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Here's a Fun Animated GIF that can be tiled together.


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Here are 9 of them tiled together.





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