[公告]Themes & Hosting Sequences from November to January

[Kooper]

March
Wednesday:
1. Theme: Love
2. Chief Host: Rock
3. Hosting Sequence: Rock(3/5), Vicky(3/12), Luis(3/19), Sherry Liao(3/26)

Saturday:
1. Theme: Health
2. Chief Host: Henry
3. Hosting Sequence: Linda Jr.(3/1), Henry(3/8), Christine(3/15), Georgia(3/22), Leon(3/29)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

April
Wednesday:
1. Theme: Movie
2. Chief Host: Chiron
3. Hosting Sequence: Chiron(4/2), Tommy(4/9), Lynn(4/23), Grace Yang(4/30)

Saturday:
1. Theme: Entertainment
2. Chief Host: Sunny Sr.
3. Hosting Sequence: Sunny Sr.(4/5), Katrina(4/12), Julia(4/19), Darren Chien(4/26)

Special English Learning Activity: Building up Vocabulary & Playing Word Games(4/16)(Host:Kooper)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May
Wednesday:
1. Theme: Relationship
2. Chief Host: Claire
3. Hosting Sequence: J.J.(5/7), Sherry Liao(Rescuer)(5/14), Jessamine(5/21), Brooky(5/28)

Saturday:
1. Theme: Book Recommendation
2. Chief Host: Gavin
3. Hosting Sequence: Gavin(5/10), Gavin/Angel Lu(5/24)

Special English Learning Activity: Investment-related topic (5/31)(Host:Helen)

Note1: Meeting on 5/3 is cancelled due to consecutive holidays.
Note2: Meeting on 5/10 is cancelled due to an outing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June
Wednesday:
1. Themes: Money(6/4, 6/11), Travelling(6/18, 6/25)
2. Chief Host: Anne
3. Hosting Sequence: Anne(6/4), Bill Yu(6/11), Amizi(6/18), April(6/25)

Saturday:
1. Theme: Food & Drink
2. Chief Host: Maggie
3. Hosting Sequence: Una(6/7), Maggie Wang(6/14), Fred(6/21), Laura(6/28)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July
Wednesday:
1. Themes: News Events
2. Chief Host: Sherry Liao
3. Hosting Sequence: Hanphy Wu(7/2), Mark Liu(7/9), Rico Chen(7/23), Armando Lin(7/30)

Saturday:
1. Theme: N/A
2. Chief Host: Kooper
3. Hosting Sequence: Stephen Chiu(7/5), Kooper(7/12), David Jr.(7/19), Kate(7/26)

Special English Learning Activity: Show and Tell (7/16)(Host:Georgia Lu)(Rescuer: Chiron)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August
Wednesday:
1. Themes: Beauty
2. Chief Host: Rock
3. Hosting Sequence: Sherry Liao(8/6), Luis(8/13), Gloria(8/20), Rock(8/27)

Saturday:
1. Theme: A Country or City
2. Chief Host: Henry
3. Hosting Sequence: Sunny Jr.(8/2), Henry(8/9), Chiron(8/16), Daniel/Lisa(8/23)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September
Wednesday:
1. Themes: Men and Women
2. Chief Host: Claire
3. Hosting Sequence: David Liao(9/3), Claire(9/10), Morgan(9/17), Sherry Lin(9/24)

Saturday:
1. Theme: Summer
2. Chief Host: Gavin
3. Hosting Sequence: Gavin(9/6), Linda Jr.(9/13), Sunny Jr.(9/20), Georgia(9/27)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
October
Wednesday:
1. Themes: Trend
2. Chief Host: Chiron
3. Hosting Sequence: Chiron(10/1), Ivy(10/8), Timothy(10/15), Christine(10/22), Toshi(Rescuer)(10/29)

Saturday:
1. Theme: Relationship, Education
2. Chief Host: Angel Lin
3. Hosting Sequence: Double(10/4), Angel Lin(10/11), Johnie(10/18), Kooper(10/25)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November
Wednesday:
1. Themes: N/A
2. Chief Host: Kooper
3. Hosting Sequence: Lynn(11/5), Chantal(11/12), Wen-han(11/19), Rock(Rescuer)(11/26)

Saturday:
1. Theme: Food & Health
2. Chief Host: Angel Lin
3. Hosting Sequence: Arthur(11/1), Linda Jr.(11/8), Adrian(11/15), Grace Yang(11/29)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
December
Wednesday:
1. Chief Host: Kooper
2. Hosting Sequence: Howard(12/3), Carmen(12/10), Bill Yu(12/17), Brooky(12/24), Sherry Liao(12/31)

Saturday:
1. Chief Host: Kooper
2. Hosting Sequence: Jacky(12/6), Benson(12/13), Luis(12/20), Maggie Wang(12/27)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January
Wednesday:
1. Chief Host: Kooper
2. Hosting Sequence: David Wu(1/7), Toshi(1/14), Sherry Liao(Rescuer)(1/21)

Saturday:
1. Chief Host: Kooper
2. Hosting Sequence: Gavin(1/3), Sunny Jr.(1/10), JJ(1/17)

[Georgia]

yay~~ movies!!! love 'em~~~

[Kooper]

yay~~ movies!!! love 'em~~~

My favorite - Love Movies

[Georgia]

yay~~ movies!!! love 'em~~~

My favorite - Love Movies

yeah I think I've heard you say that before...
I enjoy all kinds of movies, but love movies are usually my last choice unless it gives deeper thought, or it's starring my favorite actors/actresses, or stirs the inside feelings of me, for example, Prime（春心蕩漾） has always been a good movie for me, however rubbish to some others.

[Kooper]

yay~~ movies!!! love 'em~~~

My favorite - Love Movies

yeah I think I've heard you say that before...
I enjoy all kinds of movies, but love movies are usually my last choice unless it gives deeper thought, or it's starring my favorite actors/actresses, or stirs the inside feelings of me, for example, Prime（春心蕩漾） has always been a good movie for me, however rubbish to some others.

I never feel shamed to admit that I only like seeing love movies.

As a matter of fact, when it comes to selecting love movies, I am quite picky.

It is important that there must be a perceptible chemical reaction between leading actor and actress,

or at least the movie creates the atmosphere which makes me expect to see a chemical reaction later in the movie;

otherwise, I will simply stop watching it.

Second, the way leading actor and actress express their affection with each other must be natural and convincing, or I wouldn't be touched.

Little things such as eye contact, gestures, physical touch, body distance distinguish a compelling performance from a poor one.

Last but not least, the plot should provide sufficient details of how the mutual affections start and proceed, or the story itself doesn't look real.

[technobabel]

The so-called "Love movies" comes in two different categories.

Tearjerkers - A sad or emotionally charged broadcast, film, movie, play, song, or story, sometimes exceeding the limits of necessity and/or believability.

Romantic comedy - may be a film or novel, presenting a story about romance in a comedic style. Works in this genre are generally considered light-hearted, and are often associated with the vaguely derogatory terms "chick lit" or "chick flick", meaning "primarily aimed at a female audience". The best romantic comedies, however, explore themes of gender, relationship, sexuality and morality, and many enduring cultural icons—characters such as Annie Hall and Michael Dorsey of Tootsie—have emerged from this ever-popular form.

[technobabel]

Also, instead of having one theme topic scheduled too closely, it may be a good idea to mix and spread them out a little. For example, why not make the first Wed of the next few month "topic 1" and the second Saturday of this month "topic 2"...
The reason for this is because human mind often needs time to absorb and reflect.

[Kooper]

Also, instead of having one theme topic scheduled too closely, it may be a good idea to mix and spread them out a little. For example, why not make the first Wed of the next few month "topic 1" and the second Saturday of this month "topic 2"...
The reason for this is because human mind often needs time to absorb and reflect.

I think what you proposed is a pretty good idea. However, I might implement it in a little bit different way, considering the fact that current host teams are month-based and it might be terribly difficult to synchronize among different teams. I might let each host team choose two themes a month (two weeks a theme) if they want. Also, each team will have the discretion to schedule the two themes. For instance, topic sequence could be either

(1)
Week1: theme 1
Week2: theme 1
Week3: theme 2
Week4: theme 2

or
(2)
Week1: theme 1
Week2: theme 2
Week3: theme 1
Week4: theme 2

[Kooper]

April's meetings is going to commence tomorrow night.
Welcome all to attend our meetings in April.

[Kooper]

May's meeting themes and host teams were updated.

[Gavin]

Hi, everybody:

五月份的主題是「好書分享」。
說到讀書，我就想起小學時讀過的一首詩，一直到現在都還印象深刻。

宋 朱熹 　觀書有感

半畝方塘一鑑開，天光雲彩共徘徊。
問渠哪得清如許，為有源頭活水來。

翻譯：
半畝大的池塘，清澈得像一面打開的鏡子，映照出藍藍的天空，和雪白的雲朵，一起在水中移動。
為什麼這個溝渠能夠保持如此清澈的水呢？只因有活水源源不斷的注入。

解析：
這首詩是朱熹在讀書後，胸中所得新意，與半畝方塘的活水不期而遇，於是譜下了這千古傳誦的詩篇。用澄澈的心靈，來欣賞隨處可見的風光，更點出生命的美好，來自永不枯竭的活水。



絕大部分的書都是在某方面特別有成就的人，將其智慧有系統地、有條理地陳述出來。
薄薄的一本書，也許是作者畢生功力的傳承。
所以常讀好書，會大大地改善你的人生喲

歡迎大家來參加五月的聚會


Chief host - Gavin

[Gavin]

提醒大家一下，考量到五月初的連假 很多人會返鄉或是去旅遊，五月三日沒有安排meeting，不要白跑一趟囉

先跟大家預告一下五月十日要推薦的書，有空的人就可以先翻閱囉
(稍後我會將最有意思的兩篇翻譯成英文做為討論的重點，所以即使沒看過這本書的人也能夠參加meeting的，放心吧 )

書名：好人也該擁有好人生

作者：吳若權

出版日期：2008年1月28日

封面的簡介：
建立自信和寬容的50把金鑰匙
小人常得意；好人難出頭？
明明是好人，為什麼人生卻過得一團亂？
只要把握原則、充滿自信，懂得對別人付出、也知道成就自我，
就能開心自在地做好人，擁有美妙的好人生。

[Sherry Liao]

Hi, everybody:

五月份的主題是「好書分享」。
說到讀書，我就想起小學時讀過的一首詩，一直到現在都還印象深刻。

宋 朱熹 　觀書有感

半畝方塘一鑑開，天光雲彩共徘徊。
問渠哪得清如許，為有源頭活水來。

雖然中文造詣不佳, 我也來湊個熱鬧:

One of my favorite Chinese poems:

四時讀書樂
翁森

春
山光照檻水繞廊，舞雩歸詠春風香。
好鳥枝頭亦朋友，落花水面皆文章。
蹉跎莫道韶光老，人生唯有讀書好。
讀書之樂樂何如，綠滿窗前草不除。

夏
新竹壓檐桑四圍，小齋幽敞明朱曦。
晝長吟罷蟬鳴樹，夜深燼落螢入幃。
北窗高臥羲皇侶，只因素稔讀書趣。
讀書之樂樂無窮，瑤琴一曲來薰風。

秋
昨夜庭前葉有聲，籮豆花開蟋蟀鳴。
不覺商意滿林薄，蕭然萬籟涵虛清。
近床賴有短樂在，及此讀書功更倍。
讀書之樂樂陶陶，起弄明月霜天高。

冬
木落水盡千崖枯，迥然吾亦見真吾。
坐對書編燈動壁，高歌夜半雪壓廬。
地爐茶鼎烹活火，一清足彌讀書樂。
讀書之樂何處尋，數點梅花天地心。

What is more interested than reading? It's reading more!

[Kooper]

The so-called "Love movies" comes in two different categories.

Tearjerkers - A sad or emotionally charged broadcast, film, movie, play, song, or story, sometimes exceeding the limits of necessity and/or believability.

Romantic comedy - may be a film or novel, presenting a story about romance in a comedic style. Works in this genre are generally considered light-hearted, and are often associated with the vaguely derogatory terms "chick lit" or "chick flick", meaning "primarily aimed at a female audience". The best romantic comedies, however, explore themes of gender, relationship, sexuality and morality, and many enduring cultural icons—characters such as Annie Hall and Michael Dorsey of Tootsie—have emerged from this ever-popular form.

According to definitions in dictionaries, a tearjerker means a moive or book that is very sad and makes you cry. It may be, but not limited to, love moives. Works I can think of as typical tearjerkers are Japanese movies 一公升眼淚 and 在世界的中心呼喊愛, Korean dramas 藍色生死戀 and 對不起我愛妳, and Taiwanese drama 星星知我心.

[technobabel]

Hi, everybody:

五月份的主題是「好書分享」。
說到讀書，我就想起小學時讀過的一首詩，一直到現在都還印象深刻。

宋 朱熹 　觀書有感

半畝方塘一鑑開，天光雲彩共徘徊。
問渠哪得清如許，為有源頭活水來。

雖然中文造詣不佳, 我也來湊個熱鬧:

One of my favorite Chinese poems:

四時讀書樂
翁森

春
山光照檻水繞廊，舞雩歸詠春風香。
好鳥枝頭亦朋友，落花水面皆文章。
蹉跎莫道韶光老，人生唯有讀書好。
讀書之樂樂何如，綠滿窗前草不除。

夏
竹壓檐桑四圍，小齋幽敞明朱曦。
晝長吟罷蟬鳴樹，夜深燼落螢入幃。
北窗高臥羲皇侶，只因素稔讀書趣。
讀書之樂樂無窮，瑤琴一曲來薰風。

秋
昨夜庭前葉有聲，籮豆花開蟋蟀鳴。
不覺商意滿林薄，蕭然萬籟涵虛清。
近床賴有短樂在，及此讀書功更倍。
讀書之樂樂陶陶，起弄明月霜天高。

冬
木落水盡千崖枯，迥然吾亦見真吾。
坐對書編燈動壁，高歌夜半雪壓廬。
地爐茶鼎烹活火，一清足彌讀書樂。
讀書之樂何處尋，數點梅花天地心。

What is more interested than reading? It's reading more!

What bothers me about this poem is that it makes no mention of the books that the poet is so in love with.
Not all books are worth the papers in which they are printed on.

Chinese has no monopoly on 讀書, and this TV show clearly shows it.