Technology: Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Edge, Gear VR & S!!!

Samsung Galaxy Gear VR
Image from amazonaws

We know the adage, "you can't judge a book by its cover" and this is increasingly true for Samsung's products. The new Galaxy Note 4 might not look like much of an improvement from the exterior, but in terms of hardware, it is good enough for me to rethink about getting Oppo Find 7 as my next new phone.

The new Note 4 has all the advantages that the Oppo Find 7 once had: the QuadHD display, the super highspeed charging, optical stabilisation and a much upgraded wide-angle mode for the camera, though not as good-looking at the Find 7, the Note 4 may well be the best Android phone 2014, unless of course, the Find 9 comes out, if any.

As for the Note Edge, I think Samsung has missed the boat of wowing the world. This phone should have been released before the iPhone 5s or even the iPhone 5, now with just a bit more edge screen, I seriously do not see the coolness in it.

Now, this Gear VR IS COOL, probably because we don't know the pricing yet, but it this is going to be expensive, it will not be making an impact more than any other VR headset did in the past, which means, no impact at all.

Though still pretty big, it is by far the best smartwatch by Samsung, and it fits even better into the advertisement below:

Vocabulary:
adage -- (n)[C] a wise saying
you can't judge a book by its cover -- saying said to show that you cannot know what something or someone is like by looking only at that person or thing's appearance




Resources:
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Impressions! @YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tU-0Uxz6jw

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge Impressions! @YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uALVIcQXH4Q

[IFA 2014] First Look at Samsung Gear VR @YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCX35bCYPjc

Samsung Gear S First Look! @YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VnNiZr0CuM

Samsung Galaxy Gear First Commercial - Official [ Best Samsung Ad ] @YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRlJit28d6I

Samsung Galaxy Gear Awesome Commercial 2013@YouTube
http://youtu.be/4fMqIRa_tgc

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/adage
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/you-can-t-judge-a-book-by-its-cover

Movie, Animals & Auto: "6" The Movie X Elon Musk & Tesla Model S!!!

Tesla Model S on a mission
Image from "6" the movie

Hong Kong is a centre of shark fin and other illegal wildlife trafficking / trading and this must be stopped! In the movie 6, the OPS team together with Elon and Tesla Model S are teaming up on a daring mission to change the way we see the world!!!

Endangered sea animals, how many can you count?
Image from "6" the movie

The release date of the movie is yet to be announced, but the trailer has been updated to YouTube yesterday.

Giant clam Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3) shells in huge number appeared to be guarded
Image from "6" the movie

 Some of the images are simply indelible!

I am glad that my small donations including that one from my Ice-Bucket Challenge has in some way helped the production of such awakening documentary.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk,  executive director Louie Psihoyos and race car driver Leilani Maaja Münter
Image from "6" the movie

As a big fan of both Elon and Louie's work, I highly recommend this documentary "6" to everyone who cares about education and believes that our effort today can make a difference to the world for our future generations.

To save the world, we need OPS, Elon, Tesla, and all of us!!! Watch 6 the movie!

Will need your full support!! Our future generations depends on us!

Go to the "6" the Movie OPS page to subscribe to their movie updates.



Vocabulary:
indelible -- (adj) [before noun] Indelible memories or actions are impossible to forget, or have a permanent influence or effect:


Resources:
Event: Locky's Ice Bucket Challenge!!! @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2014/08/event-lockys-ice-bucket-challenge.html

"6" the Movie Trailer @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrw-fVADtv0

"6" the Movie @ OPS
http://6themovie.opsociety.org/

Leilani Maaja Münter @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leilani_Munter#Animal_Activism

Giant Clam @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_clam

6 @ IMDb
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1618448/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/indelible

Proverbs & Idioms: Proverbidioms -- From Cantonese to English

Great Proverbs of Hong Kong Cantonese
Painting by 阿塗
Image from Passiontimes.hk

This post traces back months ago, when the painter 阿塗 (coined the Father of Hong Kong Golden Forum by local netizens) published a piece of work capturing 80 Hong Kong's very own greatest Cantonese proverbs amidst the time of uneasiness between the Hong Kongers and the mainland Chinese. Inspired by Dutch painter Pieter Bruegel's Netherlandish Proverbs (1559), 阿塗's
Great Proverbs of Hong Kong Cantonese aims to promote Lingnan culture and educate the public about the importance of Cantonese, hence defending it from dialectic eradication through brutal political gestures.

Pieter Bruegel's Netherlandish Proverbs, 1559
Captured 112 Dutch proverbs and idioms
Image from Wikipedia

Zhimaludoushi's 高登神獸之父阿塗創廣東俗語漫畫集 listed some translations from Cantonese to English which we all can use as reference, but I would like to add a few comments to it.


Vocabulary:

1. "Freudian slip is a verbal or memory mistake that is believed to be linked to the unconscious mind", thus it has nothing to do with vision or sight and is an incorrect translation of 鬼揞眼.
2. 有錢使得鬼推磨 can be translated to an English proverb "money makes the mare go".
3. 鬼拍後尾枕 has a meaning of saying something you regret because you shouldn't have said it, which could be a secret or something mindless, so a relatively well-fitted idiom is "to put one's foot in one's mouth". 
4. 呃鬼食豆腐 is basically to tell lies, in English there are many such idioms, one of which is "lead sb up/down the garden path".
5. The one word for 鬼畫符 would be "indecipherable". 
6. 放飛機 has a perfect translation to the English phrasal verb "to stand sb up".
7. 兩頭蛇 can be translated into "a two-face", but a more intriguing one, among Transformers' fans, is the Doubledealer, hence a "double-dealer" fits.
8. "To cry wine and sell vinegar" fits 掛羊頭賣狗肉, though this English version is not well-known among native speakers.
9. 甩繩馬騮 are kids "on the loose"..
10. 食拖鞋飯 is "to sponge". A sponge means a person who takes advantage of the generosity of others.
11. 樹大有枯枝 can be translated to the proverb "there is a black sheep in every flock".
12. 牛唔飲水唔撳得牛頭低 is "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink".
13. 捉黃腳雞 is catching sb committing adultery.

阿塗's Great Proverbs of Hong Kong Cantonese is not the only painting inspired by Netherlandish Proverbs. American artist T. E. Breitenbach's Proverbidioms (1975) is arguably the first and the most famous artwork on English proverbs and idioms, capturing over 300 instances on a single 45 by 67 inch wooden panel.

T. E. Breitenbach's Proverbidioms, 1975
Captured over 300 common proverbs and clichés
Image from Wikipedia

If you want to learn more proverbs and idioms in an interactive way, you can download the free game PROVERBidioms from Apple Store and play as you learn, learn as you play. This game is good for children and excellent for adults English learners!

Screen capture of the game
Image from PROVERBidioms app

Do you know what the above proverbs/idioms mean? If you want to know, let's start playing!

Image from greenstonegames

Resources:
Pieter Bruegel the Elder @Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieter_Bruegel_the_Elder

Netherlandish Proverbs @Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlandish_Proverbs

Saving the Cantonese Language in China @China Decoded
http://www.chinadecoded.com/2010/08/04/saving-the-cantonese-language-in-china/

in case you didnt notice - big change coming? @Guangzhou Stuff
http://www.gzstuff.com/forum/topics/in-case-you-didnt-notice-big-change-coming?commentId=1345793%3AComment%3A7498093&xg_source=activity

高登神獸之父阿塗創廣東俗語漫畫集 @ zhimaludoushi
http://goo.gl/aynfLC

T. E. Breitenbach @Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._E._Breitenbach

Proverbidioms @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proverbidioms

Is Cantonese in danger? Hongkongers take steps to protect their heritage @ SCMP
http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1450856/hongkongers-take-steps-preserve-their-language-and

Proverbidioms App @ greenstonegames
http://greenstonegames.com/proverbidioms/#.U8CPhtIW33Q

http://psychology.about.com/od/sigmundfreud/f/freudian-slip.htm
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/58/messages/1159.html
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/put+foot+in+mouth
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/lead+up+the+garden+path
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/indecipherable
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/stand-sb-up
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Doubledealer
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/double-dealer
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/on+the+loose
http://tuoitrenews.vn/society/11388/beauty-salons-cry-wine-and-sell-vinegar
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/on+the+loose
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sponge
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/black-sheep
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/you-can-lead-a-horse-to-water-but-you-can-t-make-him-drink

Culture & Listening: It's Korean Day (only here on this blog)

PSY's Gentleman dance
Image from BuzzFeedVideo

Oh this is going be an awesome post which I have to write very little, but it will be really fun because I have compiled a few videos which talks about how Westerners sees and tastes Korean culture! The first video is what Americans think about Korean snacks when they try them for the first time!

Second video is a bunch of kids watching K-Pop and how what they think about it and the Korean celebrities! Man! They are mature!

The last one is how Americans try K-Pop dance moves and lots of their opinions and foul language!

Enjoy the twerks?



Resources:

Kids React to K-pop @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd6EQ4MxTWE

Americans Try Korean Snacks For The First Time @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfok7gnjhI4

Americans Try K-Pop Dance Moves @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVE96w_cl_w

Event: Locky's Ice Bucket Challenge!!!

Me VS Ice in the Ice Bucket Challenge
Image from Locky's English Playground

The following video will be slightly poor in quality at times, due to the sacrifice of a lower resolution for a higher frame rate.

I know the Ice Bucket Challenge is very much meant solely for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) fundraising now, but tracing the root of the event, it all started with cancer fundraising. Through this post I would like to bring your attention to a couple more non-profit organisations (NGO) such that you may consider making your donations more frequent to many more NGOs so as to benefit more people and animals.

Image from Cancer Fund

First off, the Cancer Fund may be quite well-known in Hong Kong, but as the number of cancer patients increases, support is continuously needed. I will never forget the day -- the day I returned from overseas studies, I was broken the news that my brother-like cousin had passed away from brain cancer months before. I was heartbroken, pieces turned to dust and dust get washed away by icy cold rain......

While we are still healthy, we can all do the Cancer Fund a bit more help.

bbSharky
Image from bbSharky @ Facebook

I have always been a wildlife conservationist, though may not be as active as I have wished I can, I have always worked hard in lessons to convey the message of conservations to the people I teach, particularly the future generations. This is the reason and goal why I created bbSharky, such that the children can understand the importance and preciousness of these amazing creatures to the world and especially to us, our very own existence.

Image from WWF Hong Kong

WWF Hong Kong again is a famous NGO and people might think because they are wealthy enough to get the job done, the fact is that they have so many projects on hand and so many animals to save that they are in constant need of support as well. 

Pink Dolphin
Image from Hong Kong DolphinWatch Ltd.

Heard of the impact of the new airport runway the Hong Kong government is trying to force construct? The government claims that they will 'borrow' the pink dolphin's home for the constructions and repay them with a 'new', 'relocated' living habitat after all is completed. Even a child can tell the flaw of this argument. Obviously, the government  is either lack of intelligence and knowledge about pink dolphin conservation, or it is too money-minded. If it is the former, maybe WWF can help them. The Hong Kong DolphinWatch Ltd. is not a charity but they do educate the general public with all their might.

Blackfish
Image from OPS

If you still think WWF is too popular, here's another one I have donated money to for their filming of the Oscar Award winning documentary "The Cove" -- Oceanic Preservation Society. Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS) is a non-profit organization that creates film, photography and media, inspiring people to save the oceans. Their work keeps shocking the world by exposing horrific truth of human cruelty and animal abuse. If you care about education and want our future generations to be able to see these beautiful living creatures in the wild, then OPS is surely worth your donation.


Donation is made to CancerFund and Oceanic Preservation Society.


Vocabulary:
break the news (to sb) -- to tell someone some important news, usually bad news.
flaw -- (n)[C] a fault, mistake or weakness, especially one that happens while something is being planned or made, or which causes something not to be perfect
might -- (n)[U] power, strength or force


Resources:
Movie: Documentary -- The Cove @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2010/06/movie-documentary-cove.html

Documentary: The Cove @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2011/01/documentary-cove.html

Ice Bucket Challenge 2014 @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=momsI5DbT_M

Ice Bucket Challenge @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Bucket_Challenge

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amyotrophic_lateral_sclerosis

Cancer Fund
http://www.cancer-fund.org/en/cancer-donation.html

bbSharky @ Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/bbSharky

City advisers blast runway environmental report as 'wishful thinking' @ SCMP
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1571451/airport-authority-experts-fairy-tale-predictions-about-marine-park

Hong Kong DolphinWatch Ltd.
http://www.hkdolphinwatch.com/faq.php

WWF Hong Kong
http://www.wwf.org.hk/en/

The Cove @ IMDb
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1313104/

Oceanic Preservation Society
https://opsociety.worldsecuresystems.com/home.htm


http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/break+the+news
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-chinese-traditional/flaw_1?q=flaw
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-chinese-traditional/might_7

Slang: Teenage Slang Explained By Clueless Adults

Image from BuzzFeed

Something to learn for the weekend!

Again, doesn't mean you are a native English speaker that you certainly know these words!

Have fun!

Resources:
Teenage Slang Explained By Clueless Adults @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozL3wg_54ws

Teenage Slang Explained Again By Clueless Adults @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9rlTEZaU6U