红酒·绿茶 / Red Wine & Green Tea / Vin Rouge et Thé Vert

We were shopping for used furniture and found a free sofa and loveseat. So I went there to check them out. They were too old so we didn't take them. The owner was quite nice, packing her stuff and sweating in a hot summer afternoon. Then she asked me if I liked classical music. I said yes. Then she gave me a box of cds saying they were her friend's leftover. I was very happy to find two DG recordings and loved them: One is a compilation of Spain-inspired music called "Bolero: Images of Spain" by Ravel, Chabrier, Rimsky-Korsakov and De Falla; The other is Bartók Violin Concerto No. 2 and Rhapsodies Nos. 1 & 2 by Gil Shaham, violin and Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Pierre Boulez.

Orchid Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . I walked out of the gallery, exhausted. So I had some food and drink and took a nice little nap on the grass. It was amazingly refreshing. Without too much time left, I entered my last destination, National Botanic Garden . The moment I entered the conservatory, I realized how much I liked plants better than animals. Those plants were exotic in both color and shape. For example, this unbelievable orchid. They had a section of rain forest plants with a very appropriate name: "Jungle". They also had a "Dessert" and an "Oasis' for that matter. I couldn't help taking pictures after pictures until my battery of the camera finally ran out.

Bodhisattva Figure from India Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . Having said hello to my animal neighbors, I went to the Freer/Sackler Gallery , an awesome collection of Asian art. Both Buddhist and Islamic Asia were adequently represented. The quality of this gallery was excellent, like this one from India depicting a graceful female Bodhisattva. Besides, good museums always have good shops; Freer/Sackler is no exception.

Cheetah Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . I love the Smithsonian Institution because it offers a great amount of museums and galleries with very high quality at the cost of free. As a (poor) student, nothing comes sweeter than that. So I decided last Saturday I should take more advantage of it when I still could. I got so excited in planning next day's trip that I couldn't sleep until about 3am. My first stop was the National Zoo , where the mother cheetah and the mother panda, Mei Xiang, had given birth recently. As a good neighbour, I felt I should say hello to those lovely families. However, it was hot and I arrived a little late, by their standard, to their home so I didn't get a warm welcome. In fact, they were all flagging, taking naps under shadows. I ended up taking a remote picture of the cheetah family: the pandas wouldn't even care to show their faces to me.

Mozart Piano Sonatas, played by Uchida , have been my treat to ears for months. Thanks to Steve! Unlike Beethoven, my love for Mozart's work was quite natural. His blissful spirit prevails via gorgeous melodies, demanding my full attention then I will be relaxed after it ends. I can't sleep in Beethoven's music; it makes me awake. I like to relax in Mozart's music.

Rumble Roses Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . I've been waiting for this game for a long time: "Rumble Roses" , an all-female wrestling game featuring a mud pool where two chicks get very very dirty fighting.

March of the Penguins Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . "March of the Penguins" is the single movie you should not miss this year. What was amazing was not only the story itself, but how those National Geographic photographers caught it on tape. Told by Morgan Freeman, who has a painful but affirmative voice, a perfect choice. I've also got a poster of this film. :)

Finally finished Division 1 Leauge and Cup and ML Champion Cup. My Real Madrid now is an all-star team: CF: Nuno Gomes, Raul, Kily Gonzalez, Morientes, Chiesa MF: Ronaldihno, Figo, Gerrand, Simone, Emerson, Nakata, Babangida, Miranda DF: Maldini, Roberto Carlos, Hierro, Kohler, Ayala, Nadal, Valery GK: Van Der Sar, Perruzi Formation: 4-5-1A Caption: Maldini Kicker: Ronaldihno (Free), Figo (Corner), Nuno Gomes (Penalty) However, we couldn't get the Best Shooter and Best Assist because in an all-star team like this, everybody can score and/or assist. (Roberto Carlos has 3 goals!) My last game was ML Champion Final vs Arsenal. Nuno Gomes scored the only goal of the game finishing his fantastic season.

一口气看完了金庸 《袁崇焕评传》 ，文字不错，论点还是他一贯的“民本主义”，虽然有些单薄，也还言之成理。对于神宗的评论显然不如《万历十五年》，对崇祯的批评也肤浅了一些。金庸文胜于史，毕竟中国历史自钱穆以后就没有大师了。

Finally bought the watch I've been longing for in SoHo. Suits well my also silver Powerbook. Haha!

West Point Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . The next day we went to West Point . They have a nice view of Hudson River. We were too tired to go CIA so this concluded my Independence Day weekend trip. Best ever!

Girl Before "Girl Before a Mirror" Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . Pablo Picasso. Girl Before a Mirror. 1932. Oil on canvas. The Museum of Modern Arts, New York, NY, USA.

Chicago the Musical Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . The Big Apple has so much to offer that you can hardly decide where to go. This time, however, my goal was clear and simple: A Broadway show. It was the first time I drove to New York City so even the driving wasn't boring. With the help of my newly required EZPass , I was able to beat the crowd in the toll line, making my trip a lot more easier. I was also wise enough to stop by a service area before a heavy thunderstorm poured down. We waked up early the next day driving from upstate New York to the city. So prepared we were that by 10:30pm we had got our tickets for our first choice, namely "Chicago" . So we took the spare time to visit MoMA , which has an awesome collection of Cézanne and Pissarro studying the same subjects showing how Cézanne learned from Pissarro and finally broke up with impressionism to pioneer a glorious age of modern art. Needless to say, they also have a lot of invaluable treasure