Hank Marvin

UK Rolling Stone

Are you Hank Marvin?  Probably not…

If someone says, “I’m Hank Marvin!” isn’t his or her name.  It really means that person is very hungry.  For example, “What do you want to eat for dinner? I’m Hank Marvin!” This is an example of London’s rhyming slang – Hank Marvin rhymes with starvin’, which means hungry.

Filed under: blog Tagged: england, English Rock, english tips, hank marvin, london, rolling stone, slang, travel tips ]]> http://timmijr.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/are-you-hank-marvin/feed/ 0 timmi jr. Hank Marvin UK Rolling Stone http://timmijr.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/paris-france-macaroon-julien-patisserie-and-food-arts/ http://timmijr.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/paris-france-macaroon-julien-patisserie-and-food-arts/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:18:02 +0000 timmijr http://timmijr.wordpress.com/?p=157 ]]>

Paris Julien Patisserie, Boulangerie

Macaron everywhere

Macaroon X Charlie Brown Cafe

It’s  almost certain that French is the goddess and artist of food arts, particularly with the creation and making of their pastry.  Dessert is certainly a big part of French food culture.  The colorful macaroon is like the color palette of some good paintings and it has inspired many good cross over designs and art pieces…  not only it’s a treat to the taste palate but a great sweet ‘eye candy’…

FAUCHON X Q-pot Crossover Design

Macaron is like an art form of its own with the colorful palette- a real eye-candy, serving more than the joy of our palate.

Being in Paris provides an experience to truly immerse in the culture and  the art of french pastry. Initially, it feels very different and strange see the salesman behind the counter of some pastry shops in a high-end department stores dressing up like selling jewelry. But I think that Fauchon, Pierre Hermé, Ladurée and other brands might even have such high status.

QPot - macaron mobile strap

The macarons are gaining popularity as pastries in modern time and also become trendy icons and are featured on many fashion items such as t-shirts but most notably made into macaron-shaped pendants, earrings or rings that are all the rage in some French and Japanese cities among girls and women alike.

We’d love to do some cross-over design and collaborations between macaron and another medium.

You may check a few posts by 8tokyo on the collaborations by Japanese clothing label Fauchon and q-pot, Pierre Hermé and lipton (the later one didn’t seem to go well together from design perspective but certainly fine as a combination of food & drink).

Paris has many nice shops and galleries with great designs and arts (even with food . Most don’t have “no picture” sign but as a courtesy and to avoid being told “pas de photo s’il vous plaît”, just ask politely, they’d be happy and see it as a compliment.

Paris Design shops pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=147948&id=148531309189&ref=mf

Just came across a great post (by The National Centre for Languages, UK) in regards to the value and importance of languages to the success of the Games (London 2012 and with great relevant to the undergoing Vancouver 2010 ).  It’s so true that language skills not only is critical to the execution and smooth running of the event and help bridge the communicate gap for people from around the world gathering in one place where the Games and actions are but also dramatically improve the experience and appreciation of the diversity, Games spirit, city and culture.

It’s refreshing to see that the British and London officials place great emphasis and recognizing the multilingualism in their planning and preparing for the Games 2012, even though English is statistically considered as the most commonly-spoken language in the world.  They see that language capability as a way to boost the tourism and enhance “global brand position” – so languages are a game changing secret tool for the British  now so-to-speak

Not only the British government see language capability (in communicating with visitors in their own languages) as a vital way to leave lasting legacy of a thriving, innovative tourism industry but also plays a critical in the Arts and in making the Games a truly global celebration.

We can’t agree more.  That’s truly in line with LangLearner’s aspiration and mission in helping and contributing to the language learning for traveling, cultural exchange and much more.  It’s what we do and think about day and night (even while we sleep

So, prepare yourself for a great experience, conversation and company with people from around world at the Games by learning  a few new languages now.

Ciao.

p.s. Leave you with an interesting abstract image…  so glad to see Canada hosting such big event. Go Go Go.

references:

http://www.langlearner.com
http://www.cilt.org.uk/home/valuing_languages/languages_and_the_olympics.aspx
http://www.cilt.org.uk/home/valuing_languages/languages_and_the_olympics/where_languages_come_in.aspx
http://sofiaecho.com/2009/09/24/788861_english-most-G12commonly-spoken-foreign-language-in-eu-new-statistics

Came across the following, check it out:

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Ireallylikefood and Xanga have parterned with LangLearner on their Cultural Smarts Contest.

How culturally smart are you? Have you ever been told that you’re using the wrong utensil for a particular entree? Or you’re not supposed to walk into a certain area with shoes on? Ever found yourself in other situations where you had to learn about certain cultural customs (maybe even the hard way)?

Tell them and you may win ticket around-the-world!

We believe traveling offers lifetime experiences. Mastering a language and keeping abreast of cultural sensitivity can significantly enhance the overall experience. As a result, travelers can better immerse themselves in the culture, the social life, and the food.

We are looking for lessons and tips based on your travels and cross-cultural experiences.

Enter the contest: LangLearner Cultural Smarts Contest

The submission period is:
Feb 1, 2010 – May 31, 2010.

Top ten finalists will be chosen by us and then voted by our readers, the LangLearner team and contest organizers. Judging will be based on the entry’s uniqueness, practicality, and intrinsic value to a world traveler. Rankings of the top ten will be announced on or about June 5, 2010 and public scoring will close June 30, 2010. The best submissions will be featured on IRLF.

Prizes (woohoo):

• One 1st prize winner: One around-the-world travel ticket.
• Two 2nd prize winners: 1 Apple iPod Touch with LangLearner Mobile Application.
• Three 3rd prize winners: 1-year LangLearner subscription.
• Four 4th prize winners: 3-month LangLearner subscription.

P.S. Many will enter to win, however only 10 entrants will be Winners.
P.S.S. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received and votes cast by visitors.

Head over to LangLearner and enter the contest!

Organized by:

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Reference: http://www.ireallylikefood.com/721924966/giveaway-win-a-trip-around-the-world/?page=1&jump=1508685481&leftcmt=1#1508685481

While you travel abroad, have you ever been in a situation at a restaurant in which you don’t know what / how to order food but feel a bit shy to say anything else except ‘yes’?  In places particularly in Asia where exotic food choices are served, they might offer something completely out of ordinary and that you might not even feel comfortable looking at or touching, not to mention about eating – well, chicken feet or fish head might not be that bad afterall .  

Or in other situation, you might be asked to choose from myriad options and side dishes to go with your burger.  If you said yes to all, you would end up with a super jumbo burger with load of extra unwanted calories .   To avoid situations like that, you should to pick up a few practical vocabulary and phrases before you go or during your trip using LangLearner Web and Mobile products.  And check out: http://pocketnow.com/software-1/langlearner-helps-bridge-the-gap-between-languages

In addition, to spice up your learning, you can also brush up your Japanese or other languages by playing the new Nintendo DS Language Games such as My Japanese Coach; should be fun -.-

Check out the TV Commercial.  Hope you wouldn’t run into a bad situation like this.  Until then, Bon Appétit.

Each city is famous for different style of food.  When it comes to Dim sum which by default refers to the Cantonese style unless noted otherwise, Hong Kong probably is ranked the highest in authenticity, quality and variety.  There is one old style Chinese restaurant situated on a fairly narrow street on the quiet side of Hong Kong Island between Central and Sheung Wan.

It’s called Lin Heung (蓮香樓) and has been around for about 80 years.  It is famous for dim sum and other traditional Chinese dishes.  Its old brand, legacy, traditional setting gives an old world feel.  Because of that, it has attracted both locals and tourists of various nationalities.  It’s almost as if you went to a living antique tea museum with fresh dim sum dishes.  Lin Heung is probably one of the few remaining old Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong after many years of renovation and urban redevelopment.  Perhaps, that is why it has received many good reviews and wide coverage in the media and travel publications (carried by most tourists visiting the restaurant).

Now comes to the important part of ordering food – especially the kind you want and like to try or crave for.  Unlike more modern restaurants there are no updated menus, no pictures, no displays, nor order sheets.  Most who work there do not like to speak English or even interact with their customers.   So what happens if you don’t know what’s inside those hot bamboo steamers?  Most would just ask.  But since the old dim sum lady does not speak English, probably your best bet would be body language.  That’s exactly what happened in my observation.

One afternoon a French couple came to the restaurant while I was there.  After they sat down, they asked the old waitress for beer and noodles.  The waitress simply placed their order for a large bowl of noodle and a bottle of beer.  Then, the couple saw an order of freshly steaming dim sum coming out of the kitchen.  The French man rushed to catch the old waitress and asked her about the dish.  She seemed to understand what he asked but couldn’t reply in English.  She chuckled and started talking to her colleagues.  After his insistence, she finally paid attention and tried to respond.  But rather doing so in words, she stuck two fingers up above her head and moved them sideways repeatedly.  While it was fun to watch, it was not easy to guess.  After looking at the dish, I had this “Ah-ha!” moment and a lightbulb lit up.  She was trying to say it’s ‘beef ball” – the fingers were supposed to be the horns!  I don’t think the French guy had a clue!   Actually he was becoming annoyed and insulted.

Whether it was because French cattle don’t have horns, the waitress was making an insulting gesture as a devil, or he just did not get the body language – there was the possibility of a cultural barrier on top of a language barrier.  Here is a lesson learned: it’s probably beneficial to learn some basic phrases or words of a new language before traveling abroad or serving foreigners.  Afterall, it’s easier to learn the word “beef” than taking an acting class…   @.@

A great video about Kusama Yayoi

The design is called the buddy tee.  The graphic is a playful illustration of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) or One-to-One (1 2 1).  It has the symbolic meaning of being united and working toward common goal. 

The peer-to-peer creative power increases exponentially; i.e. it’s faster, better and more without the limitation and restriction of multilayer structure of typical organizations.

Basically, with the advent of “new media” and creative landscape democratized, is it exciting to see many great online community services in a variety of domains from publishing to photography, tee design and manufacturing like WordPress, Flickr, Threadless… we can go on and on…  we can take it for granted, it has taken ages to get to this stage – treasure and enjoy openness and freedom to create.