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

Ok, I was bluffing. Grand Prix du Canada did not happen this year. But I was looking forward to its rumored return in 2010 and could not settle for a NASCAR replacement . So hopefully see you next summer on Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve !

Roddick Serving Originally uploaded by nuance1979 The second event I am excited about is Rogers Cup , which is a joint event of ATP and WTA . The men's and women's matches alternate between Toronto and Montreal. This year Montreal hosts the gentlemen. Based on my schedule and budget, I bought a ticket to a quarter-final match on August 14, featuring Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic. The program was bashing about the fact that all eight seeds had reached quarter-finals, which had not happened since 1973. However, if you had followed the result, you would know that that pattern did not last long as major upsets happened right away. Roddick v. Djokovic Originally uploaded by nuance1979 The match between Roddick and Djokovic were pretty enjoyable. Unlike in a major event such as the grueling Wimbeldon final with Federer, Roddick was relaxed, even playful from time to time, as long as it wouldn't cost him the victory. Enjoying what you do and doing what you enjoy are typic...

There are only two seasons in Montreal: winter and construction. So what do we do for fun in "construction season"? Well, for starters, we have the International Jazz Festival , a two-week long celebration of jazz, blues and beyond. The largest of its kind, the festival attracts world-class jazz musicians as well as young hopefuls, who perform in an open stage for free, while sweaty young funs cheer them in the audience below. There are, of course, ample supply of beer in nearby stands and I smelt marijuana, too. For older folks like me, we buy ticket to see some older musician playing some old-fashioned jazz. Chucho Valdes is the quintessential Latin jazz pianist from Cuba. His quintet consists of a piano, a bass, a drum and a conga. He didn't speak much (all in Spanish) and just played and played . Some songs showed off his skill and speed and others presented his softer side. There was a brief quotation from "Rhapsody in Blue", playfully resolved into his o...

Yesterday was Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, a.k.a., the National Holiday of Quebec (La Fête nationale du Québec). So it was only fitting that I went to "OVO" , the latest production of Cirque du Soleil . Founded in Québec and based in Montréal, Cirque du Soleil is markedly Québécois. My first encounter with Cirque du Soleil was made possible by generous Microsoft Research, where I had an internship for three months. The "Corteo" show was touring in Seattle in summer 2008. I wasn't quite sure about what to expect but was generally pleased by how it organized many usual circus acts into a coherent story and fascinated by their costumes. After I settled in Montréal, I wasted no time to exercise my privilege and bought the ticket of the "OVO" show, which premiered here in May. Being so close to the site, I was able to take the metro 45 minutes before the curtain and walked leisurely to the Grand Chapiteau. The show was up to its name. Absolutely amazing costum...

Over the years of my PhD study, I met a lot of interesting professors. I had entertained the idea of putting their memorable quotes in the beginning of my thesis chapters as one of my friends did. I finally gave it up but here are the ones I had in mind: "Some of my best friends are linguists." -- Fred Jelinek, using it as his LREC 2004 keynote speech title. "Engineering is advanced through two human natures: laziness and nastiness." -- Gerard G. L. Meyer, explaining how engineers, unlike scientists, always prefer simple ideas that work. "Mathematics is not a spectator's sport." -- James A. Fill, an avid Chicago sports fan, encouraging people to work out the details of the proofs he sketched in class.

Doctor of Philosophy , originally uploaded by nuance1979 , courtesy of Haolang. I just came back from my commencement. It was great. Unfortunately none of my family could come so I took a lot of pictures to share with them. (Click the photo above or here .) I like the forward-looking way of calling it "commencement", as opposed to "graduation", because I am certainly looking forward to the future and excited about the possibilities of life ahead.

When I found out that Gil Shaham was going to play Brahms Violin Concerto with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal , I thought it could be a perfect chance to savor my new hometown orchestra. The orchestra has a great place: Located right in the middle of downtown at the metro station of Place-des-Arts, the Salle Wilfrid Pelletier Hall is easily accessible. You don't even have to walk out of the metro station, which is a life-saver in winter, if you know what I mean. The music director, Kent Nagano, a Japanese American who have worked in Lyon for a long time, is fluent in French. He started the evening with a lengthy monologue, which I could not understand because of my limited knowledge of the language. Just before he appeared on stage, we were informed that the Schumann Second Symphony, the other main course of this evening, had been rescheduled to proceed the Brahms Concerto. I could understand this move because I bet what happened last night was many people simply left the conce...